Time for a turnaround!

In oil & gas, when a plant is due for a turnaround, it means that production has to be stopped for a while and the plant goes through a major overhaul. All the equipment will be rejuvenated, the system revised and any damage will be repaired. The turnaround period is very crucial as it has to be done quickly and efficiently- every single minute lost of production results in losses of millions of ringgit or pounds or whatever currency. But once the turnaround is completed, the plant will work tremendously better than before and everyone's happy.

As for me, a turnaround is very much needed at the moment. Since Hubby left, I have piled on more weight than before, motivation is at its lowest and work has not been efficient. I haven't clock in a single overtime this month, which is a shame because the project is at its end phase and I might not be able to cash in some extra money anymore. But most of all, I am really disappointed with myself because I have left my work to record my development pending.

You see, I have always dreamed of becoming a Chartered Engineer. Heck, its the only one reason why I decided to leave Malaysia- my position in Petronas, my family and friends. I have sacrificed my comfort zone to start over as a graduate in the UK, so that I can have the opportunity to complete my Charteredship with KBR. As I looked back to where I was in Malaysia, I knew that I will never get the chance to do my Charteredship with the shitty support by the Malaysian bodies. Yes, I might be entitled to extra 'technical professional' allowance, or bonus or unlimited medical benefits- but I would just be a normal engineer, counting on my 'seniority' level to proceed. Its a vicious game to get on top in my previous company- you have to take everyone else down before you can climb up the ladder. A game I know that I will never survive.

Here its different. You can lick you boss's backside all you want but if you don't show any improvements in your work- you're doomed. You'll just be stuck at where you are. But if you work hard enough, your efforts will be appreciated and rewarded. To survive successfully, you have to do beter than what you're expected- no 'seniority' crap! If I work hard to become a Chartered Engineer, my current salary will triple and I can climb up the ladder twice as fast. Instead of having other people bringing you down, here they support you all the way.

However, it all has to start from myself- whether I want to do it or not. I confess that I have not been working hard enough lately. So I have decided to write this post to remind myself on what I left behind, what my goal was and what I need to do to catch up. I have to prove to myself and all the negative people out there (who brings me down by reminding me of all the "good" things I sacrificed) that I am here for a reason.

Adita, its time for a turnaround!

The day Hubby left...

The day Hubby left... I feel so lost and lonely.

The day Hubby left... I feel so bored and lazy to update my blog and photopages.

The day Hubby left... the sunny weather was gone and it has been raining, cold & miserable since.

The day Hubby left... I was in no mood to work. I went back on time every day and am not bothered to clock overtime.

The day Hubby left... I stopped going to the gym and piled on more weight than before I started exercising.

The day Hubby left... kerepek pisang, sweet-home-made-teh-tarik, roks and the tv have been keeping me company.

The day Hubby left... I feel so de-motivated to do my Chartered quarterly report, which is due this Monday.

The day Hubby left... I haven't been going out to town or shopping since I'm so pokai.

The day Hubby left... I feel so bloated and heavy. My pants seems to be tighter that the side pockets are all stretched out and I haven't got my period yet... (hmmm???)

Please God, answer my prayers so that I can have Hubby back here again...

Hubby's here :)

Hubby is finally here! I'm so happy and have been in a chirpy mood ever since. Since its a short visit, I was trying to fit in everything to make sure that his stay will be worth it.

Last weekend we went jalan-jalan to Croydon & London. In Croydon, I hit the shops and did some serious spring shopping. We also went out for yummy tosai at Chenna Dosa. The tosai really reminds me of home... On Sunday, we braved London to watch STOMP, which was good. I don't usually like London because I hate the rush, the crowd and the madness- but last Sunday was an exception. The weather was so beautiful as Spring arrives.

Tonight we are heading up north to Glasgow to visit Nina & Ezrul. Hubby's excited coz he's never been to Scotland before and is really looking forward to being a jakun tourist for the weekend. So, I have to be mentally ready to be irritated as I bet he'll be stopping every 2 minutes to take photos.. hehe.

3 days to go....

I know I have not been keeping my blog up to date as I would want to. Plus, my past posts seems to be getting grumpier by the day. I don't know- I have not been in a good mood. Probably because of waiting till Hubby comes- he's arriving this Friday. Why does time passes so slow :(

Though I did have a good week last week. I finally did my Body Combat performance. Unfortunately, I got half the routine wrong. All those aching practice and I screwed it up.... oh well. My housemate did tape it- so I might put it on the post one of these days. At least its a good reminder to myselfon how badly I did.. hehe.

Last weekend was great. Devina came down from Lemington Spa and Marc & sis Serina joined us as well. I cooked Kueh Teow goreng and had a good night rest with Mama's famous baju rumah. On Saturday, we lepak at Churchills Pub in Clapham Junction after Marc & Devina watched footie... sorry Ayang, Liverpool kalah.. hehe. Had some good thai food and layan Devina's mabuk moment. It was really fun.. hehe ;) Will post some photos once Marc sends them over.

On Sunday we spent a good relaxing time at home, while bitching on American idol. Went to town for a short while, and came back home for some more relaxing tv. Got a shock of my life when I saw my sis taking up knitting! She said it calms her down... hmmm, probably if work is stressing up, I might take it up too.


Today, I was quite productive at work- finished 2 schedules in a day, which is quite an achievement as I usually take a week to get one done! Now, I'm just tired and I wanna go home.

Can't wait till Hubby arrives... sigh... 3 days to go...

Sorry, wrong number

Dear Mr X,

I'm not sure how you got my contact details from, but I think you might mis-understood with what you "heard".

To clarify- yes, I am currently working in the UK. However I am not in any way working with recruitment or human resources to have the power to give you a job offer in the UK. So unfortunately, I don't have the info you requested and thus, your intentions to send me your CV will not benefit either of us.

Thank you for your very brief email. However, it would be much easier (and much more friendlier) if you could at least provide me with an introduction about yourself, who gave you my details, what's your career background and what type of work you're looking for. I might not land you a job in the UK, but I can certainly help share some advice from my experience on applying.

One thing for sure, there are loads of company websites where you can apply online and upload your CV directly. That was how I applied for my job here. If you want to work with KBR, I can send you the online link. Getting a job by the "who-you-know" method might work in Malaysia... but unfortunately, its not the job survival method here.

I do apologise but I hope you can give me a bit more info about yourself and what you are looking for. At least then, I know where to start....

Thank you & Best wishes.

Body Combat blues

After a much deserved relaxing weekend with my sis, Serina, I dragged myself to the office again and found loads of work on my desk. I have to do protection settings - a task that requires a lot of patience as it is very time consuming. Imagine going through a file of 10 pages of fonts size 6, doing a line by line comparison and then repeating for another 259 others! Its not rocket science, but definitely eye straining. It took me a week to finish the last 50 files- so when I got the new load last Monday, I knew that I'll be the grumpy old lady that everyone should just avoid this month... not fun >:/

Plus, I'm already getting tired with the Body Combat practice. I find it a struggle gettig out of bed in the evenings to drag myself out to go to the gym for the practise sessions. Though I know its good that I am forced to exercise, but I just needed some quality time at home, which I am not getting anymore. By the time I get home from work, I only have time to change into my gym clothes and I'm already off to gym. When I reach home after the practise session, its already time to go to bed. I so want this performance done and over with! I miss my quality time in front of the tv and those nice relaxing bath and early bed times...

I also miss Hubby very much since the past few days. I wish he was here to give me a hug.... I so need a hug right now...

A snowy trip to Leeds

Yes, I had to go to Leeds again for another Factory Acceptance Test, but this time I'm going with my colleague Sanjay. Sanjay's a bit more serious than Alan and Peter- so I expected that this trip up is gonna be different from the last. Well, weather wise it was totally different. South England was hit with heavy snow since last Thursday morning. I woke up freezing. The whole town was covered with snow! It was lovely... but I wasn't as excited because I knew I had to deal with the inconvinience to travel up to Leeds dealing with bad weather.


It turned out that it wasn't too bad really.. of course there were delays of the train travel, but that was just for half an hour. This time around, I got to travel business class and that saves the day. You see, I was all drained up from the gruelling gym and Body combat practise. My body's all aching and knackered. So, business class rail travel was bliss. Again, we stayed at Malmaison and had a good Indian dinner at the posh Akbar's.

The next morning, the FAT went well. I witnessed some LV motor starters- pictures below:



We finished by 3.30pm. We caught the 4pm train and arrived London by 6.30pm. My sis, Serina met me at King's Cross and is spending the weekend with me in Sutton. So, this weekend will be a good sisterly bonding weekend.

I'm all sore

My body is aching. My muscles are tired. Since last night's Body Combat, I slept like a baby and was struggling to get out of bed for work. The long stairs down was painful and the walk up the hill was nasty. Thank God there was a lot of work at the office, so I sat down most of the time. By lunch time, I was OK. However after work, I dragged myself to the gym again for Aqua aerobics. It was a good relaxing workout. We played water polo and that was fun. After that there were more practice for the show. Worked out quite a sweat and the journey home was a cool down for me as the temperature has really dropped recently. Now I'm sprawling on the couch and can feel the pain coming back. My body is aching. My muscles are tired. I'm all sore... Kalau tak kurus jugak ni, tak tahulah....

A lucky newbie...

Being a newbie to my new company has its perks. I can start fresh and avoid mistakes done in the past. Hence, since first impressions are always the best expressions of who you are perceived, I've been quite lucky.

I was invited to the HQ office in Leatherhead to attend a pre-meeting for the IET re-accreditation exercise next Thursday. I was specially chosen by my boss to take on the task with 4 other colleagues. We were supposed to impress the IET people this Thursday to show that my company is capable of producing quality graduates and future Chartered Engineers. Since I was the only one that has just started recently in the company, it was quite a good compliment to be invited. My mentor met me afterwards and congratulated me for being chosen. That made my day :)

Later, I rushed to the gym to attend my first Body combat class. I arrived a bit late and the instructor, Daniel, made me stand in the first row and forced me to introduce myself. I told him it was my first class and he said not to worry if I can't catch up. It was really good fun- I worked up quite a sweat and followed attentively to Daniel's instructions and moves. After the class ended, Daniel came up to me and told me to stay back for awhile for a briefing. I was shocked to find out that he wants me to join a few others for a Body Combat performance in Sutton town centre to promote the club. The 'Spirits Fair' will be held in 2 weeks and they have been practising since last 2 weeks. He told me that I was a natural and I should consider joining the team. In return, we'll get freebies from the Club.

Wow, can't believe it- it must be my lucky day. Well, I've always believed that life is like a wheel- sometimes you're up and sometimes you're down. Today, I definitely feel like I'm on top of the world. Syukur, Alhamdulillah.

My weekend...

On Friday night, Olu & Marc came over and I cooked Assam Fish with fried chicken and kailan. After dinner, we headed off to the local cinema for Dreamgirls. It was a good musical movie. I was excpecting a musical - so, when a bunch of youngsters were making noise when Jeniffer Hudson & Beyonce got singing (again and again), I got irritated. Hello... we're watching a movie here?! How come you didn't complain with Chicago or Moulin Rouge??? I mean, it is a musical movie, so of course there would be singing. Anyways, apart from the jerks, Dreamgirls was a good one.. I liked it.

Saturday started off quite badly when I overslept and woke up late- feeling all bloated and grumpy. I made an appointment to visit the Spirit Health Club in Sutton at 11am, but since I woke up at 11.05am, I had to call in and cancel. Had lunch from the leftovers and was wobbling through the hall... when suddenly I caught myself in the mirror. Yup, I've put on quite some weight since Xmas and the sight of my bloated self in the mirror got me quite depressed. So, I decided to head over to Spirit anyways - I so needed the fresh air and the sun was out- might as well.

When I got to Spirit, I was shown around the club and I was really impressed. They've got a pool with Aqua-aerobics, Body Combat classes, Steam Room, sauna and the gym equipment are all new. Plus, the toilets were very clean and they give you towels. It was definitely better than Cannons and a whole lot nearer from home. Without hesitation, I signed up.

So today, I walked up to Spirit with my new swimsuit and waterproof bag in hand and had a good 30minutes swim. It was lovely and I was smiling all the way back. Never felt happier. Now, i'm so geared up for the classes to come. Tomorrow is Body Combat, can't wait!

The taxman is here :(

Got my payslip today. Not as much £££ as last months', despite me putting more overtime after Christmas. After consulting the finance department to know why the big difference, it turned out that my tax roll has started.... the tax man is taking my money away now. Not fun :(

Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala lalala

I'm gonna start my own song of the week to express or sum up what I'm feeling/ experienced. This week, I'll start off with Lily Allen's Smile. This song is dedicated to this "friend" who've been putting me down in the past, convincing me that I'd be making the worst decision of my life moving to the UK. Well dear, I hope I proved you wrong coz I'm having the time of my life now and have no regrets leaving. To those out there who've experienced that someone (who always have negative things to say about you all the time), don't worry about what they said. They are just insecure. Just because they can't have what you have does not mean you deserve to be put down. All I can say is "The people who mind don't matter.. The people who matter don't mind".

So, this is for you, my "friend":

My trip to Leeds

I am knackered. Last Monday, I went up to Leeds for work for a factory testing on one of our switchgears. I went with my colleague and client. It was a good 4 hour train ride from London. We arrived at the Malmaison hotel and it was lovely! I loved the room - its quite big for a standard room, complete with an LCD tv + dvd player. The room has a nice modern touch to it. I'd like to have that concept for my future home. Pictures of the Malmaison below:


The Malmaison welcomes you.

The bed:

The closet & desk:

The LCD tv & dvd player

The bathroom:


We then went for a good italian dinner at BB Restaurant. Oh my god, the creme bruelle (if I spelt that right!) was excellent... yummm...

The next morning, we left early to Bradford to the S&I factory, where we had the testing. Ricki the testing engineer was very friendly, considering being bombarded by all my daft questions. I've been to FAT testings before when I was with my old company, but this experience is far better. I noticed that they do their testing thoroughly. A usual FAT back home can finish within 2 hours... but here, they do it step by step... explaining every single connection and testing them individually and thoroughly- which is how it should be done. I've never learnt so much about switchgears before! It was an amazing experience. Here's me with lovely Ricki :)

Dim-sum & kway teow... sedap...

Yesterday, I followed Fern & Olu to Croydon for grocery shopping at London's biggest Chinese store. Here at Wing Yip, you'll find everything from Malaysia- well almost everything, from Maggi to pau kacang to kicap manis etc. When I got back home, I went straight to the kitchen and steamed some nice prawn dim-sum and ate them with nice chilli oil.. yum! Dinner was Maggi Asam Laksa... nice...

Today pulak, I cooked myself Char Kway Teow.. so sedap since I haven't had kway teow for a long time. Since it was a bit too much, I had to give some to Maureen, our next door neighbour. Keeping some for tonight's dinner as well.

I know I'm suposed to keep to a strict diet for Vas's wedding but I couln't control myself this weekend. I'll make up for it by enrolling myself to the local health club here in Sutton. Also, might think of joining Salsa classes and Wing Chun. Am just waiting for my pay day this Wednesday. This January so pokai. Gave hubby £1500 last month to pay back what he owed when I moved in to the UK. Also, not forgetting the boxing day shopping... so can' wait for the long awaited pay day.. I worked quite a lot of overtime this month. So hopefully, will have a good start on my savings again.

This weekend I'll have to stay home - the house is in a huge mess! I haven't houvered for a while and the kitchen looks horrible, not forgetting the big pile of laundry! Its gonna be a tiring Sunday today to clean the hose up... but a good exercise too. In 2 weeks time, the lettings agency are gonna come around to inspect the place. So, hopefully the house will be in perfect condition by the time they come in.

I miss Boboy so much though. I really hope and wish he will come here soon. A house is not a home without Boboy :(

Its snowing!!!!

It was so difficult getting out of bed today. I was struggling to let go of my comfy duvet. After much hesitation (and numerous irritating alarms), I finally jumped out of bed and got ready for work. I was surprised when I stepped out of the house- it was snowing!!! It was breathtakingly beautiful....


The lovely snow made my day. I was in a cheerful mood the whole time at office, albeight the huge pile of work on my desk. Though it was rather cold than normal, I managed to keep a smile on my face to last me till the evening. I wish Hubby was here to see the snow. He loves snow. I'm sure if Boboy was here, he'd love it too...

Bon Voyage, Mate!

Tonight we had a good farewell get-together for Arvin, my housemate, whose leaving to site in Baku (Azerbaijan) tomorrow. Marc, Olu, Stella, Arvin and I had dinner at Mama Dumpling's and then to Revolution for drinks. Its good to be out again after quite a while being alone at home. Though it's getting freezing out there. Apparently, its gonna snow in the next couple of days.

Work was boring today. I was trying to stay awake most of the time finishing my presentation. I haven't finish the slides yet, let alone practice on it! I don't know why I'm procrastinating- usually I'll be dead panic by now.

My diet regime is getting better. I find myself more careful now with my food intake, trying to control myself to eat less than 2000 calories a day. Workout wise? Err, I'm failing miserably. I haven't done any form of exercise yet.. though I do hope to start as soon as Arvin leaves. Also, I'm planning to try out Wing Chun tomorrow. I haven't tried martial arts yet, so it might be interesting.

Anyways, good luck to Arvin. Enjoy yourself in Baku. I'll see you in the next couple of months!

TV? No... Zara coat? Yes!

I have a confession to make. I have been very naughty today. I set out to go check out the second hand TV at a repair shop in Wallington. Its about 2 train stops away. When I got there (after a gruelling 20minutes uphill walk from the station!), the shop owner told me that they don't have any TV in stock for sale, only repairs :(

So, since I had time to spare... and I was at the train station anyways, I decided to do a detour to Croydon instead.. you know, just to get some fresh air. By the way, it is the last weekend of the Christmas sale. So, it won't hurt just go window shopping on the last bargains available, right??? Err.. WRONG!

As soon as I stepped into Croydon, I headed straight to Zara. There was quite a frenzy there, coz they slashed an extra 20% off on top of the sale price. So, I kinda looked around, browsed through the sale rails and there it was... the red Zara coat that I saw a month ago with Marc. Its this lovely 60s inspired red coat - I remembered that it was love at first sight... but my heart broke when I saw the price tag - £99. Of course, I put it back, obviously I couldn't afford it. Anyways, the red coat was on sale for £40!!! And it was the only one left. So without hesitation, I grabbed it straight to the till!


I'm so excited... I love my Zara coat! Its one of the best buys ever. On top of that, I also managed to splurged on a summer dress a sweater, a T-shirt and a couple of thermal singlets. Nice...

So, I'm now home feeling satisfied with my bargain buys... especially my Zara coat. Can't wait to wear it soon!

My Television Decision Obsession

This is our TV in our lounge. As you can see, it is a bit too old... no, its actually an ancient antique. Don't get me wrong, it works perfectly fine... but because it was from 20 years ago, it doesn't have any input/output connections. Thus, we can't connect our DVD player nor put in a digital Freeview box.

So, in line with my new year resolutions no.1 and no.3 (to lose weight the cheap way), I am all geared up to exercise at least 3x a week via the numerous DVD workouts that I have. We have a huge carpeted lounge, so space is not a problem. My housemate is gonna leave to site soon, so time share to use the lounge is not a problem either. The only problem is making the right decision to buy which tv.

You see, I can't afford a brand new LCD tv, which costs a minimum of £500 each... minimum! I don't mind a second hand CRT tv. In fact they are becoming so much cheaper now due to the introduction of the LCD tvs. The only thing is that I'm torn with either getting a small tv which can fit in our existing tv cabinet (see picture) or getting a new set all together inclusive of the stand. If I look through ebay, it costs nearly the same for a Sony 24" and a Phillips 32"... so then, I have to decide on the brand aka quality history. I know Sony's the best one out there.. but its quite difficult to find. My budget's the other problem... I hope I won't spend more than £100, inclusive of the delivery and hopefully I can include a freeview box into it as well.

I went through loads of internet sites to find the best deals and I find quite a few good offers. However, a colleague of mine at office told me there's this repair shop in Wallington selling cheap second hand TVs. So, I'm gonna go check it out tomorrow. Well, wish me luck!

A new year, a new start

I know that I might be more than 2 weeks overdue, but erm.. Happy New Year everyone!!! There were so much going ons that hindered me to post much earlier. The main one would be not having our home internet connection connected last December as promised by the internet provider. I can't sign in to my blog from office anymore, for some strange reason... apparently a forbidden message pops out every time I tried to. So apologies for not updating the blog for quite a long time.

But anyways, now that the internet is up and running, I am so happy that I can now blog and hopefully update it as regularly as I would like to. Hmmm... where shall I start??? OK, since my last posting I've had some memorable ongoings that's worth mentioning. I've had my first company ball, wearing my very first formal black dress. It was a good evening. I went with my housemate, Arvin and we had a good time with my colleagues and bosses. It was a 3 course meal dinner and dance. Unfortunately, the pictures are with Arvin (whose back in KL at this moment- you lucky guy, benci...). I'll try and post it up soon.

Then, there was the long Christmas holiday, which Hubby came up to join me here. That was really fun. We spent quality time together and rented a car for the week. We went up to Oxford and went on a shopping spree. More details are in my photo blog. I bought quite a lot of stuff, mostly work clothes, coz unfortunately I can't fit in my old ones from last year. Yup, I've put on weight. I used to weigh an average of 48kgs, but sadly now I'm 54kgs... which is already in the overweight category for my height.

Thus, I'm hoping that 2007 will be a good year- a new start for me. This year I have decided to commit myself to the following:

1) To start my diet & exercise program to lose 5kg before my birthday

2) To start serious work to get my Charteredship

3) To start saving for a house

Hopefully, the above will keep me busy since I'm all alone at the moment. It will keep me a bit focused and lessen the stress of missing my loved ones.

Seasons Greetings

Its been a month already since I started work. All is well. I'm getting along pretty well with the project team. I'm allocated at Sutton office, which is about 10minutes walk from home. I love it here... so easy to get to everywhere and you can stay off overtime without worrying on the last train.

We already had a few get-togethers and it was really fun. Its their culture to go have drinks at the pub first before dinner. The good thing is they all let their hair down after a hard days work- no work talk at all, just fun and laugher and a few mabuks laaa...

Financially getting better, though I still have to pay Hubby his hutangs... So, basically come January 2007 will be a good time to start saving.. so, in the meantime I better spend as much as I can during Boxing Day.. hehe.

Everyone's in a festive mood today, so not a lot of people are in the office anyways. I'm planning to go home early as well.

I can't wait till our internet goes live tomorrow at home... finally!!! At least I can update my blog more regularly with pictures and all.

In the meantime, I do apologise for the unorganised layouts, missing links etc... Will get it sorted once I can work from home when our internet's live.