Thank You Note

Dear Colleagues

With mixed emotions, I wish to inform you that tomorrow (28 May 2015) will be my last day working in NSL OilChem, after which I will be transferred back to corporate office.

Working in NOC has truly been an eye-opening and memorable experience. I thank you, my dear friends who have taught me so much about dedication, teamwork and enthusiasm. As I leave to pursue my new career venture, I’ll never forget how welcome everyone made me feel here. Thank you once again for your care, valuable insights and support over the past 3 years.

Do keep in touch! :)

Regards,
Winnie Ti

There goes my final note to fellow NOC-ians. Cheers to a happy ending, and Cheers again to a brand new beginning! 

1-2/10/2014 - Food in Makassar

As the title of this very entry indicates, there really isn't much to blog about a business trip apart from the exotic food that we had the opportunity to try. Well, this is mainly because 70% of our time there was spent on work, and only 30% was on food, resting and everything else. I guess that's what business trip is all about - doing as much as you can whilst you're there.. hmm..

Anyway! Like I said, since this entry is all about foooood, let me just brief through some of the local delicacies here.. On our first morning there, our partner (and the owner of the hotel which we stayed in) actually brought us to this shop called Aan Ping Lao for its pangsit mie (wonton noodle) and pork porridge.

Even though the food look pretty common (to a Malaysian at least), somehow, they tasted very different to me.. it was certainly worth a try.

The restaurant has a very traditional setting, reminded me of the kopitiams we have in mum's hometown many years back..

After having our breakfast, we were then brought to another coffee shop called Phoenam for its kaya toast, soft boiled eggs and coffeeeeee! 

After which, of course, we were all charged up for work! 

One of the car workshops we visited to gather some ground information.

We were really glad that out of all the places we visited, most of the people we met were very co-operative and friendly, feeding us with a wealth of information. In short, the trip down to Makassar was really fruitful (not to mention, an eye opening experience for me too).

Some kuih we had for tea break..

and a generous amount of Indonesian food for dinner!

Thanks to our partner, I have successfully gained 2 kg of weight after that mere 3 days. There goes all my 3 months of effort trying to lose weight. sobs!!

We ended our trip with a plate full of Nasi Campur (honestly speaking, this was the only meal there which I didn't really quite adore.. causing me to have a bad diarrhea a couple of hours later. aiks!!). 

The way I look at it, it does really seem like I will have to travel back to Makassar again for more follow up matters. As tiring as it is, like I said I'm really grateful for the opportunities given to me. I will continue to work hard as long as I know my effort is being appreciated and I believe that all these experience will lead me to a place of great altitude eventually =)

30/9/2014 - Makassar

Though a last minute decision, I'm always appreciative of the opportunities that are given to me by the management to broaden my personal horizon. This time around, I was allowed to join the trip to Makassar with our very own CEO, AGM and Market Development manager. Business aside, we were also being chauffeured around the city for some sight seeing. 

Just to share some pictures that were captured during our visit, here are views from the top of Colonial Hotel (one of the properties owned by our Indonesian partner).

and this is the living room as well as the master bed room of the penthouse.. 

So classy yet traditional eh? 

After we're done with meetings and a few other visits, our partner actually brought us to this roadside stall for coconut drinks and jagung bakar.

I was surprised to find out that the Jagung Bakar there is actually served with salted chili and lime. Oddly, it tasted pretty good to me.. While the rest were enjoying their coconuts, I took a few moments out to walk around snapping items I found interesting.

Two cockfighting roosters that were kept in cages..

A statue showing some of their local culture (I presume..) and a ship that looked pretty run down to me. I wonder what's the function of it, really. Seeing it might collapse anytime soon.. hmm..

Of course, one of the reasons why I got away from the group slightly longer than expected was because of this mesmerizing sunset that astounded me!

It was so beautiful I couldn't help but to stare at it, almost putting all my personal safety and working responsibilities behind me. tsk tsk. Our partner was worried for my safety he actually sent his personal driver to come looking for me. aiks!!

Some roadside stalls that I happened to walk pass, before we got sent back to the hotel for a quick shower. 

Dinner that evening was a seafood feast! Here are some of the local seafood that our partner ordered for us.. some of which I totally had not seen in my entire life! lol.

We really can't thank our partner enough for his warm hospitality.

A weird habit that I picked up ever since I started going on business trips - taking picture of my hotel bed. lol. This time, it's at Same Hotel, Makassar. Where's next?

1-5/4/2014 - Dili, Timor Leste

When I told my friends that I was going on a business trip to Timor Leste, the first reaction that I got was.. "What.. Where??!!"

Indeed, Timor is a less renowned country probably due to its under development as it attained its independence only in 2002. Located north of Australia, Timor forms part of the southern outer archipelago of the Lesser Sunda Islands.

When I touched down at the airport on Tuesday, my manager was a bit worried if I'd suffer from cultural shock. Well, at that point of time, I only recalled a sentence told to me by a friend. He said, "if you can survive in Malaysia, you can survive in any 3rd world country!" and the place which Timor reminded me of was actually.. Sabah.

Anyone who's been to KK would find this familiar..

It looks so much like the view at Tanjong Likas, don't you think so?

Throughout my 5 days there, my manager and I actually stayed in a hotel called Esplanada. Boring repetitive breakfast menu aside, I have nothing to complain about the hotel. It has decent rooms with pleasant staffs to serve us whenever we needed anything. Some photos of the hotel..

Of course, since we were not there on a holiday, the facilities and the views that you just saw were "only for display" as we did not have much time to appreciate or utilise them anyway. To give an idea on how people in Timor live their everyday life, here are some of the random pictures taken while I was driven around Dili for work.

As you can see, Timor is actually still very far behind in terms of development. When I was there, I kinda imagined myself travelling 30 years back on a time machine. There were even stalls at the road side selling diesel / petrol in used mineral water bottles like this.

Can you believe it? and yes, some vehicles would just stop by, pay and pour petrol into their vehicles instead of going to the proper petrol stations to top up their fuels. Interesting.

Everyday on this business trip, we talked about work from 8am to 10pm.. though there was not much time to tour around and enjoy what the country could offer for a foreigner like me, I was fortunate enough to have met people from exotic backgrounds during my stay. They were so open-minded and fun I felt like I was the only introverted species left on earth! hmm... looks like there's a need for me to polish up my social skills already...

Some pictures of my personal encounter during the trip..

Like I told my friends, five days in Timor was really a physically taxing but mentally enriching experience for me. Just by observing the trainings and discussions held, I've learnt so much from my new direct superior.. and I know there are a lot more that I can pick up from him in the near future. I guess the statement "the more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know" is quite true after all. 

Timor Leste, checked.
Career progression, in progress.
How I like my new role, TBC.

Toodles.