will i am's delayed diary

One of the fluorescent lights in my dining room died on me. No flickering at all, no response. Did some basic troubleshooting by switching the tube and the starter. The results were the same. Surmised that it was something more sinister like the death of the ballast. Tried my hand to convert the bugger to an LED light by just bypassing the ballast. Changed the wiring and swapped in a LED tube. The light came on, but wasn't stable and I could hear crackling from the light switch. Immediately aborted. Video-called Drew for some professional advice, and he concluded that the light switch is also part of the problem. I had reached the limit of my DIY skills and decided to call in the professionals. Drew was right, the light switch had KO-ed. Also took the opportunity to correct some quirky wiring. Originally, the left gang controlled the right light, while the right gang, controlled the left light. Zzz. The electrician also replaced the casing of the light so things look more streamli...

It's that time of the year again-- my birthday. My birthday celebrations are often simple, and my forty first birthday was no different. A simple lunch at home with family and friends. Crabs are high on my craving list, so KH got me a nice serving of the crustaceans from Crab Generation . Other than that, he also packed roast duck from his favourite food truck in Taman Desa. Gratitude came all the way from Klang, and came with something sweet-- a foot-long mango strudel from Strudel Bakery House . Drew also came with vegetarian food. SK was in charge of the cake, and the custom cake she ordered from Lynn Can Bake was jaw-dropping. The rose-lychee liquor watermelon cake "was brought to you by the letter W!".  Quite a challenge fitting that monster of a cake in the refrigerator. Once we had lunch, the cake was cut, and I made a round of drip coffee for everyone. From the dining table, we spilled over to the living room for a chit-chat session long into late afternoon. Than...

On Sunday morning, mum and I went out to Taman Tasik Titiwangsa for a walk around the park. Arrived before 7 AM, so there was still ample parking along Jalan Temerloh. I misunderstood KH, so he was parked at another side. As the name suggests, it's a park around a lake, and its a big ass lake. Separated into the East Lake, and West Lake, both are connected via a short canal with a couple of bridges. The ecosystem of the lake seems well-maintained as efforts were taken to plant reeds, and other aquatic plants. The water was so clear that one could easily make out the fishes in it. In comparison, Taman Bukit Jalil's ponds are like overcrowded muddy aquaculture ponds.   The park is well-organized with clear paths for runners and cyclists. But Malaysians don't really care for such things. Haha. We'd be all over the paths. In places like Stanley Park , one could easily get run over by cyclists or roller-bladers. Overall, we didn't quite like this park due to the lack of ...

Transitioning from one job to the next, I would have really preferred to take a break before a new start. Unfortunately, that was not to be. My new employer was in a hurry to get me onboarded. Definitely could have used some time to detox to better absorb the fresh environment, and new challenges. Over the weekend, I received a pretty Nyonya kuih gift box from my ex-colleague, and had a nice early birthday dinner with Gratitude at Restoran KK Ocean Point in Kota Kemuning. The next morning, I clocked into my new job!

Always one to grab opportunities, KH turned my last working day into a paktor session. He picked me up and sent me to the office. After I was done with all the formalities, he brought me out for coffee at Bean Brothers . While sipping my long black, and enjoying my chocolate roulade, I composed the customary farewell e-mail. KH took one look at it and disapproved! A bit too fake lo. Try again. Hehe. Ran a few drafts past KH, and finally sent out a semi-fake version. Done! A surreal feeling to have finally left my first job. A long 'detox' session would have been beneficial before I started my new role, but I didn't have the luxury. I was to report to work on the coming Monday!  

During my last two weeks at my old company, I tried to make sense of the exit documentation. Why so difficult right? The HR system automation sent me one variation of the forms. Payroll also emailed me. My company admin also had a long-winded email on the subject. In the end, I chose one version and had to merge all the instructions that I received, and even consult with other ex-colleagues who had run the confusing 'exit gauntlet'. Zzz.  First and foremost was assets. The systems department set an appointment with me at 11 AM on my last working day (LWD). The purpose was for me to surrender my laptop. They later changed the appointment to 3 PM ( too many resignations? ), but it didn't matter because I wasn't doing any real work. In the morning, I had one last handover session ( *roll eyes* ), then headed to the office. I arrived at 11 AM, and tried to settle some stuff with the admin department. Managed to return my insurance card ( expired years ago ) but I was given ...

By the time my work handover started, there was only one month left. It was a funny affair really. My work was handed over to a bunch of people, and even so, it had to be done carefully as not to 'stress them out' ( wise words from my COO ). In my career, nobody ever cared if I would be stressed out whenever I was on the receiving end of a handover. Another funny thing was that the person leaving had to chase for the handover. In my opinion, if you 'don't have the time', then its not my problem. My handovers continued right up to my last working day. I made sure to document all the sessions, and also left as much documents as possible on Confluence. The first colleague I told about my departure was also leaving. She tendered her resignation a month after me. She made it a point to like all the pages I authored on Confluence-- "no one would read it anyway".  An inside joke between us. Anyway, it was great to unload all that had accumulated over the years. T...