Thursday, November 30, 2006
Person Under Train
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Body Massage In The Office
Every Friday, Cheiko, the Japanese therapist will come in to our office. And every week, 10 lucky people will be picked for a free body massage. Last Friday was my lucky day and I received 20 mins of heavenly back massage from Cheiko. My muscles were screaming for more ... more ... more ... more. Frankly, 20 mins was just too short! Cheiko also charges £10 for anyone who would like to have a massage in the office. But nah ... if I wanted to pay to get a body massage, it wouldn't be in the office!
After the 2nd week at work, I soon realised the many benefits of working in the UK compared to Malaysia. I mean ... Malaysia has its perks and fun and everything but I never once had a free body massage in the office before. Besides, the culture here is really different. I come in to work at 8:30am and leave the office at 4:45pm. And no one actually minds that I leave the office early everyday. In fact, my team lead had a discussion with me recently and told me that I need not come in so early - 9:30am or 10am is fine. And he also suggested that I leave the office at 4pm or 4:30pm occasionally! This is fantastic! He said that I produce work at such a fast pace that I need not stay so long in the office. And the fact that I have a baby justifies me wanting to stay home more. Well, he also offered to let me work from home once a week, if I want to. However, I do not think that I'll take up that offer since I'm pretty sure I'll never get anything done with Dominic around.
Every morning, a guy will come in with a fruit basket - which encourages me to eat at least one fruit a day. And most of the time I'll bring some home for Dominic too. And I also drink 1 pint of milk each day - since the office fridge is loaded with milk. I should be getting healthier and healthier. :-)
I also have the 'morning jog' ... or rather sprint every morning as everytime when I was about to reach the train station I would see the train approaching and so broke into a sprint - across the road and up 4 flights of stairs. I don't understand how, but this happened every morning! It was reaaally good caridac exercise!
I have got my first pay checque, but quite disappointed that 50% of my pay was deducted for tax and National Insurance. Apparently, I am still on a temporary tax code and the employer did not know how much tax to deduct - therefore they took the maximum. According to Saimun, it will be another 6 months before I get a permanent National Insurance Number, after which I'll be able to reclaim the extra tax that I've paid.
On another note, Saimun said that he's losing weight because I don't feed him properly. I don't understand how I managed to make Dominic so 'chubby' but not feeding my husband enough.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Dominic Says Da-da!!
Ever since I've gone back to work, I've been hearing about Dominic's progress rather than seeing it with my own eyes. I used to spend 24 hours a day with him but now I leave for work before he's awake and spends barely 2 hours with him in the evening before he goes to bed. The good that turns out of this is that SM has now become a more involved father.
I leave the house at 7:15 in the morning. Most of the time Dominic will wake up when I do and I'll give him his bottle. After that he either falls back asleep or plays in his cot until Daddy wakes up around 8am. Daddy will wash Dominic (at least I thought he did) before handing him to Nanny Maria.
One day, SM told me that Dominic said "mmm-mmm" in the morning when he wanted to do his big business. My response was .. "Really??" Really ... it has been one of my most frequent words these days.
Dominic knows how to wave bye-bye now.
Really??
Dominic said car-car today.
Really?
Dominic has been talking a lot today ... car-car, ja-ja, cha-cha, da-da ...
Really?
Dominic is growing another 2 teeth.
Really?
It has only been a little more than one week and I have already missed so much. Dominic is indeed growing every day. Two days ago he kept on saying "uh-oh!" over and over. Today he was saying "da-da"! Well, actually it was "da-da-da-da-da" but it'll make SM happier if we tell ourselves that Dominic actually meant Da-da!
Going back to work was something that I've been dreaming of for the past few months. Now that I've got it, life has taken on a new meaning and it's indeed more fulfilling. However, on the other hand I have to give up my child-bearing ideals. I'd like Dominic to brush his teeth twice a day, everyday. But I doubt that Nanny Maria does that - even though I have mentioned to her that Dominic needs to brush his teeth. I started to potty-train Dominic when he was 6-7 months old. Although he's now able to say "mmm-mmm" when he needs to poop but how do I know if Nanny Maria bothered to bring him the potty instead of letting him poop in the diaper? I told Nanny Maria that Dominic needs at least a book everyday before his bath, but I doubt that she reads to him very often. On top of that all, I can't even trust SM to clean Dominic's buttocks in the morning - as I found out a few days ago that he hasn't been doing so.
asd
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
First Day At Work
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Nanny Maria
Here's a video of Nanny Maria giving Dominic his bath: http://sukye.multiply.com/video/item/31
Friday, November 10, 2006
Job-Seeking Ordeal
When I first arrived in London in April 2006, I only wanted something small which I could do from home during my spare time. I found one in about 3 weeks time. Then I got bored staying at home but at the same time still wanted to spend time with Dominic. So I started looking for a part time job. I said I wanted a job that would let me work 5 days a week from 9am to 3pm. Sadly, there was no such thing at all. I submitted my CV to any recruitment agencies that I could find, specifying that I was looking for part time job. None of them got back to me. Those who did were only interested in full time employment.
Months passed and Dominic was turning 8 months old. I finally gave up on part time. There were hundreds of jobs available which may be suitable for me. I applied to almost anything that sounded feasible. Over the next few weeks, I received rejection e-mails after rejection e-mails.
I applied to Consulting jobs but I was not a subject matter expert - in any single subject. Jack of all trades won't do as all were looking for specialisation. They wanted a consultant in financial software implementation, a consultant in telecommunications, etc. As far as industrial knowledge was concerned, I had one year in the broadcast industry and zero gained during those 4 years in Accenture. Government industry?? Come on! Not to mention that I had never liked the stuffs that I was dealing with - data centres? Networks? Clearly not my cup of tea. I applied to Accenture in UK too. But it would be difficult if you're not willing to travel.
I was looking at Project Management jobs too. In Malaysia, Project Management was easy and straightforward. You manage the resources, liaise with all parties, make sure that the project is delivered on time, you control the budget and you resolve issues. Over here you gotta have certification in some Project Management standards and methodologies - which I've not even heard of. Otherwise, you would need to have at least 10 years of experience. And it wasn't all general at all. You gotta have project management experience in infrastructure implementation, for example.
And I also thought of being a software tester. I said I was doing intensive software testing during my one year with Astro. Have you used any software testing tools? No, it was manual testing most of the time. Have you run any automated test scripts? No, only manual scripts. Can you write automated test scripts? Well, obviously no! Although I think I can learn it up in one week.
My best bet was to be a Business Analyst. The job scope of a Business Analyst - to gather requirements, analyse business needs, transform those needs into technical specifications, liaise between IT and business, own the requirements and ensure system meets all requirements. It was that simple. It was the thing that I was most confident with. It was my strongest skill. And I said - that's it! I have finally found what I really wanted to do.
Over the next few weeks, I applied to Business Analyst in financial implementation, Business Analyst in legal software, Business Analyst in Web development, Business Analyst in the oil industry, Business Analyst at Google, etc etc etc. I think I sent over 20 CVs. I amended my CV again and again. I needed to have experience in structured methodologies such as UML, RUP, PRINCE2 and heaven knows what so I needed to mention UML in my CV since it was the only one I've ever heard of. I learnt up UML online and made it sound like I was an expert. Have you used any requirements tool? This time I said - Yes, we used Test Director - even though we used it only to track issues. I made it sound like I had been doing nothing else but business analysis for the past 5 years. My previous job titles had to be Business Analyst or Analyst and not Consultant, Application Architect or Solutions Architect.
All my competitors had at least a Masters degree, if not a PhD. There were thousands of jobs but millions of applicants.
Finally, after 2 long months, I was called in for an interview and it was THE ONLY interview that I needed. I was offered a job with decent pay and excellent benefits. I am only praying that I will have no problems with the job scope.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
This Time WE ARE The Babysitters
Today, SM's colleague asked us to babysit his son Noah for the evening as his babysitter cancelled on him. Noah is 10 months old - the same age as Dominic. Noah had the reputation of being 'the better baby'. While Dominic was clingy and wouldn't sit still in his buggy, Noah never had a problem with the buggy. While Dominic was afraid of strangers, Noah had made many friends in his nursery. Noah was already feeding himself at 5 months old while Dominic only achieved that 2 weeks later. At 8 months old, Dominic was just pushing himself up to a standing position but Noah was already cruising around furnitures. It was true - his parents weren't boasting. I saw it with my own eyes. Noah was growing faster than Dominic. He had more teeth, he was taller and he was standing more steadily than Dominic.
When Noah's dad brought him over, Dominic was having his evening nap. Noah was so good and sociable. He didn't cry when mummy and daddy left for the theatre. He entertained himself with Dominic's toys while SM and I had dinner. He was really fine ... until we tried to entertain him!
It was all my fault. I was trying to count how many teeth Noah had and I said "Open your mouth, please. Ahhhhhh." And he started crying. He wouldn't stop crying after that.
Dominic woke up and he was so confused to see another baby there. He just looked on quietly and didn't do anything else. Noah was still crying and SM and I each took one baby in our arms and it reminded me of how it would feel like if we had twins.
SM and I both took turns to look after the babies while we took turns to shower. Noah still would not stop crying even though we gave him his bottle. Fortunately, Dominic was extremely good. For once, Dominic was the better baby!
We thought that Noah would feel more comfortable in his own home. So the four of us took off and went to Noah's apartment. But then he started crying again. Now Dominic was in a stranger's place, but he was fine. He crawled around the house and played with Noah's toys. He was the angel that night.
With all my motherly instinct, I finally managed to put Noah to bed. Dominic and I left the place at 10pm while SM stayed back until Noah's parents came home.
It was our first experience of being babysitters and I think we did alright.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Hands & Feet
Monday, November 06, 2006
Trip To Rome
The train: Is it art or vandalism?
Our hotel was 4-stars and it was way better than the one in Paris. Our room was spacious and Dominic got his own cot. Our bed was king size and it was really comfortable. But again, there wasn't a kettle in the room (and our friend told us that all hotels in Europe do not provide kettles in the room). I must remember to bring one myself next time. There was also no bath tub, which means Dominic had to bathe under the shower - and it was really no fun for him.
Our first destination was The Colosseum - The greatest amphitheatre of the antiquity - was built in Rome, Italy, about 1920 years ago. It is considered an architectural and engineering wonder. Entrance fee costs 11 euro dollars per adult. There's a lift to go up but you may also climb the stairs. The queue was long (about 20 mins) because of security checks.
After that, we walked around the city and saw ancient Rome through a perimeter. The ancient city closes at 3:30pm daily and entrance is free.
We had pizza for dinner and the next morning we had a hearty breakfast at the hotel.
Our next destination was the Vatican City, formally the State of the Vatican City or Vatican City State whose territory consists of an almost completely walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy is a microstate and the smallest independent nation in the world. It was created in 1929 as a vestige of the much larger former Papal States and governed by the Bishop of Rome (the Pope). The Vatican City can be said to be the governmental capital of the Catholic Church. Entrance to the Vatican City and St Peter's Square is free but costs 12 Euro dollars per adult to visit the Vatican Museum, Library & Sistine Chapel. We reached at about 10am and the queue was unbelievable! We were in the queue for 2 hours!
The queue. It stretched 4 walls. This is only one of them!
The Museum:
The Chapel. Can you see anything at all???:
St. Peter's Square:
The Tower:
The Church:
From Vatican, we walked to Piazza Navona and The Pantheon which were next to each other. There was some kind of manifestation going on and the Piazza Navona square was closed to public. But we managed to get in anyhow but it was after dark. The Piazza Navona is one of the most famous and arguably the most beautiful of Rome's many squares. The large and lively square features no less than three magnificent fountains. The fountains were all on construction.
The Pantheon is just another church. It is the best-preserved of all Roman buildings and the oldest important building in the world with its original roof intact. It has been in continuous use throughout its history.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Happy Halloween
