The Craftsman’s Forge

Flying to Jakarta tomorrow for three days. Need to visit the office, size up the infrastructure and the readiness of the environment for the new system we’re gonna roll out. Will be meeting my Indonesian IT Manager for the first time tomorrow. I’ve been told some pretty good things about him, and I’m looking forward to meeting him.

Indonesia is the least of my concerns really. Some other countries with bickering IT staff. Boy….I SO need to quell this thing. Only problem……the country isn’t safe to travel to now. So…. sigh….can’t do anything.

I’m tired man….. been back only for 4 days and I’m out again tomorrow. Good thing though… things won’t be as hectic as my previous place. I’m looking forward to spending the rest of the month in Singapore after I get back this Friday night.

This is another slightly wider shot of the skyline. Click on the photo for a larger image.

I left the shutter speed opened for 8 seconds on ISO 100 and 18 mm.

The first thing I made a beeline for when I touched down in Hong Kong, was the Krispy Kreme cafe located right smack in the middle of Hong Kong International Airport’s arrival hall.

I haven’t had dinner, and promptly bought myself three doughnuts! Ha! Finally! My first encounter with Krispy Kreme doughnuts!!! I know… its cliche and childish and immature and whatever… who cares….its Krispy Kreme!!!

I then hopped on the Airport Express and headed to Kowloon Hotel. I was determined throughout my journey to the Hotel that I would only devour the doughnuts after I reached the room.

The hotel lobby was nice enough, but when I opened the room, “Oh my god!!!” Chris had pre-warned me about the small size of the room before I left Singers, but nothing…..nothing will ever prepare you for something like this!

Not even enough room to put a TV in front of your bed! The desk and TV has to be by the side of the bed. The space allowance betwen the wall and the foot of the bed must have been no wider than 60 cm. Bad… real bad….

But, I didn’t have time to get upset about it. I really wanted to go take a couple of photos of the Hong Kong Bay at night, and figured that this was my free night. So, I walked out to the Cultural Centre, which is just by the pier. From this area, one can see the fantastic skyline of Hong Kong Island. This is a shot I took that night. Click on the photo for a larger picture.

When I got back to the hotel room, it was really time for Krispy Kreme.

My favourite, the “Original Glazed” doughnut

I had to extend my stay in Hong Kong by 1 night, as the sessions were to end late on Friday. Because of the last minute change, I was not able to get a room extension in the hotel I was already in, but had to change to another hotel last night. I switched to Kimberley Hotel further down the road from Kowloon Hotel, and although the room quality were a notch lower than Kowloon’s, their rooms were markedly larger than Kowloon Hotel’s, which I may add is like a sandwich box.

If you ever are in Hong Kong and staying in the Tsim Tsa Tsui area, stay clear of Kowloon Hotel if you are the type that need ample space. I’ll post the pictures shortly, and you’ll know what I mean.

Anyway, the quality of Kimberley Hotel was not a problem for me, as I only needed the bed for one night, and I’ll be out first thing the next morning, as I have a 10:30am flight back to Singers.

So, here I am in the SilverKris lounge at Hong Kong’s International Airport, with four, 1/2 dozen boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts ready to spring on the kids back home. Boy…. I don’t even know what flavours I bought. I just told the Krispy kreme guys to pick and choose for me. Just make sure they had at least three pieces of donuts with fairy sprinkles, or I’ll have a riot on my hands. Amidst our jovial banter, one of the counter girls asked…..”you’re from Singapore aren’t you?” “Yeah”, I replied.

Obviously Singaporeans make a beeline for Krispy Kreme everytime they’re in Hong Kong, and we’ve developed quite a reputation as Donut nutters. When I arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday night, there was a Singaporean girl at the outlet who bought four 1/2 dozen boxes back to Singers as well. There you go…..

Wow….I’m dead tired….

There is just so much information to digest. But I’m really enjoying it, as this is the first time in years where I am not in the direct driving seat, but just taking directions from the top.

The company is so huge… and there are just so many IT staff. wow…….

One of the things I noticed, is that the IT staff (in particular the staff around my grade) have stayed with the company for a long long long time! The other Regional IT Managers who are attending the meeting with me, have been with the company ranging from 7 to 25 years!

Even the HQ Managers are long serving.

This, to be honest is really mind boggling. In Singapore, most IT people stay in their jobs for 2 to 4 years before moving on. The turnover rate is quite high. But here….. it appears to be different. People seem to be so happy staying on in the company, and of course, the culture of the company is to retain staff.

Of course, this doesn’t affect performance. The company is doing very well. 22% compound growth year on year.

Anyway, there will be another 2 more days of Exchange discussion and technology transfer, and I am sure I will enjoy it tremendously.

Leaving for Hong Kong for a Regional Meeting. Its good to be back in Hong Kong. I think I miss the place.

Also looking forward to buying back some Krispy Kreme Donuts for the kids.

Just finished reading Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows. To be honest, I had a head start. Got hold of the leaked version on Thursday 19th July, 2 days before the actual release. Didn’t feel guilty about it, cos I already placed a booking for it. Just wanted to read it first.

Chris went to collect the book this morning from Popular Bookstore at about 11:30am, and said the queue was extremely long. Anyway….I digress..

It was a really long book, and very interesting. So, without further ado…. I’m gonna reveal all. If you don’t want to know what happened, don’t read this post.

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(WARNING……..SPOILERS BELOW…………………………………….)
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1. Snape is a GOOD GUY!!!!
2. Harry is the 7th Horcrux, and KILLS Tom Riddle/Voldemot
3. Neville Longbottom killed Nagini the snake, which was the sixth horcrux
4. Fred Weasley, Remus and Tonks died
5. Harry married Ginny, and had 3 kids named James, Albus Severus and Lily
6. Ron married Hermione, and had 2 kids Rose and Hugo
7. Lucius, Narcissa and Malfroy features quite little in this book. Nothing mentioned about Lucius and Narcissa going to Azkaban. Lucius seems to be a free person after Voldy’s death

ok…. thats it. The rest, you read.

It was my first day at work today, and I am so thankful for my friends who remembered, and who took the trouble to SMS. Thanks Danesh and Jo. Appreciate it. Your prayers and blessings mean alot to me.

I also met Danny on my way out of the carpark, and was reminded of his prayer for me last week when he found out I was starting work today. I appreciate it.

Well…. what can I say? It was a fabulous first day! Met my boss, and colleagues, and was whisked for my orientation and meetings for the rest of the day. By the time I finished my meetings, it was already 5:45pm, and I still had not met my staff. Wah…. it’s been a really busy day, and I’ve got alot of information to plough through. But I am happy with the great colleagues I have. Very friendly and helpful.

My team is also great. They got my laptop up and running today, and gave me my “present” - the Blackberry….. sigh… I will never get away from this dastard device.

One thing I am very thankful for above everything else, and that is we have a corporate services team that handles all administration matters, which includes renovations, key cards, etc, etc.

And lastly, I am thankful to God for providing the position, and for opening the door.

Being in a resort that is on the fringe of a mountainous rain forest, meant that we were often treated to the fabulous wildlife just outside our chalet!

Grasshopper just outside our front door. This guy was about 7cm long! Used to be quite numerous in Singapore, but with the rapid modernisation, just can’t see it anymore in Singapore. The kids were simply amazed that they grow so large!

Then, on our second night, we saw the legendary HUGE Tokay Gecko just outside our balcony!!! This guy was at least 27cm long! Wow! Again, the kids were shocked. I first saw one on a trip to Kota Tinggi many years ago, but seeing one again makes me feel goosebumps all over again.

Then, the highlight was the appearance of a Colugo, or more commonly known as the “Flying Lemur” on the huge tree just next to our chalet. This bloke stayed on the tree for the whole day! There are Flying Lemurs in Singapore, but they can only be found in the central catchment area.