WHO SAYS ELEPHANTS CAN'T DANCE?

It's my second week and i've been presented with a great gift from my mentor. I would not have looked twice had i come across this book two weeks earlier, but now that i've learned more about IBM, it's culture and most of all, it's history and turnaround, i find this a business bible with all the answers to any business plight (and god knows IBM has faced many of these).

Already ive been exposed to many new subject matters and concepts which without this internship i probably would not have been familiar with until later. I had the opportunity to sit in a press conference on Grid Computing and meet many interesting people during lunch breaks. Apart from that, i also get to indulge in information inaccessible to me had i not become an IBMer (i know my status as an IBMer is temporary, but what the heck, i'll use it as often as i can til this is all over :D). Which also reminds me of the fact that i currently have an IBM email add. nyahahaha. (and a security card to boot :p)

IBM aside, my brother returns this thursday. i can't wait to see him, kak azi and of course my darling nephews. We'll finally be a whole family again soon and it's these rare moments that make all the waiting worthwhile.

Inspirational words from En Hasan:

"To Yazmin the leader,

May God's blessings be upon you
May His peace abide with you
May his presence illuminate your heart
Now and forever more

So be it"

STEPPING OUT OF THE RAIN AND INTO THE CORPORATE WORLD

Apparently, here it is not called "internship", but instead has a much more fancier name. Now when people give me the "who-the-heck-are-you?" look, i don't tell them i'm an intern; i tell them i am "under industrial training". Hah!

Today was mighty interesting though. Except for the part where I had to wake up at 6am and head out the house in a rush to beat the traffic. I ended up skipping breakfast and have mum call dad up (numerous times) in the car to ask if i had everything i needed. She also conveniently reported that i had left my pen on her bed. It turned out that i had not remembered to pack a pen anyway, so how could i have left that one on her bed.

Anyway, despite the stupid rain, I reached IBM at 8:15am only to realize I had no card to enter the office. But it didn't matter much because En. Hasan showed up soon enough, and 5 minutes later we picked up Mrs. Veronica Ong and were on our way to MSC for my first meeting ever.

We arrived at MSC 10 minutes late due to the downpour, but naturally we weren't the last to show up. I had been briefed by En. Hasan about the meeting. As i was only present to observe the meeting, i wasn't terribly worried. However i was afraid that i would nod off and start to snore gently. After all, when was the last time i had participated in anything scheduled at 9.30 in the morning?? Upon entering the meeting room, being the observant person that i am, the first thing i saw were the plates of meehoon goreng; neatly arranged along with bottled water, cups and saucers and pieces of cakes. I asked Mrs. Ong if all meetings were like this - to which she replied with a laugh (evil, to my ears :( ) and a final shake of her head.

Not surprisingly I had to pinch myself to keep awake. But i did get some note-taking done. Back in Damansara during lunch, En. Hasan discussed the meeting with me. It was interesting that i was given the chance to relay my perspective on the meeting. Nicer still, i was able to experience first hand the do's and don'ts of chairing a meeting. Books might have described it similarly, but nothing beats sitting smack in the middle of one.

The weather seemed to be saying stay-in-bed-with-all-the-covers-on. But despite that, it was a great day.

LONDON PICTURES

been back for almost a week now. i've been sleeping at 6am and having midnight snacks with my sis and mum at 2am for the past few days. and i'm still thinking in dollars.

anyway, naturally i have loads to tell but not enough energy to tell it. jet lag you see. but i've uploaded photos from london (yay!) so go see those first.

i have a meeting tomorrow in which i hope to become an intern at IBM. wish me luck yah :D ! also, i've finally started my OCR job which is basically doing stuff on my lappy and sending stuff back to my employer through email. how cool is that. heh :)

oh and before i forget, check out my sister's new website. really cute ;). also read her entry on her encounter with The Cockroach :p

well i better get some sleep. it's 4:30am and breakfast is not til another 4 hours.

Nottingham: Of Pretty Sceneries and Domestic Animals
Madame Tussauds: The Land of Famous Wax
Hamley: The Land of Toys, Toys, Toys!
London Streets: Part I
London Streets: Part II

LONDON BABY!

i'm in london and my sister just received her master's :)

anyway, i finally get to see all the places on the monopoly board again :p

catcha later! toodles!!

FAMILIAR ROADS

hey-ho

...another 7 hours til i leave for home!! whee!!! i can't believe that another year has passed and here i am waiting to go home to see my family again :D

the room is now empty except for a couple of stuff lying around waiting to be packed after i'm all set to head out. i know this might sound crazy (and totally unnecessary) but i feel a teensy bit sad leaving pittsburgh. it is, in some ways, home to me. i've grown fond of the place and it's just so nice to be around familiar faces everyday as i walk to school. like Vera who's always sitting in her chair at the lobby in fairfax, and the little Tibetan old lady who sits at the stair to her shop with her prayer beads, and John who owns kiva at the end of south craig. it's true that routine can be a bore. but it also makes you comfortable. i guess it's true that people don't like change, even if it's nothing really drastic or even new.

so, i guess my next entry will be from malaysia :).
hope everyone has a fun summer!