hectic day...

10:00 wakey..10:30 dropped by SOAS office to retrieve a WST account statement for the meeting in the evening11:00 arrived in lab for our first session of chip testing...the instructor was rather unhappy that only 3 our 4 of us showed up and asked us to come back at 2...11:30 began work on the micropump project again...found out to my horror that my precious 4 hour work the previous night was not SAVED!!! followed by a 30-min cursing in all languages i know...all i can say is 'classic'...13:30 finally redone all the parts i did the previous night...then rushed to Bursley for a 30-min lunch before sprinting back to lab for lab testing...apparently the instruments we were using cost a handomse $170 grand...finally getting my tuition worth in my last term..16:00 lab testing cut short...to be contiued on friday, which i will probably have to miss as i'd be spending all my time rushin the 514 project...went MU to try fixing the ANSYS simulations...finally come to the conclusion that I will not be able to master this beast within a week...decision to go ahead with potentially way out of range data...19:00 rushed to East Hall for another quick meal before hoppin next door to ginsberg center for WST...since i've been missing all the SERVE boards this term, i know sarah is not happy...but the meeting turned out well...and Kim actually cried because she felt so proud of our achievement thus far...the moment wasn't particularly uplifting thou she does tat alot so i'm not surprised...wat surprise me is Luke's enthusiasm...it seems that the cambodia trip relly have a great impact in him (although he's still a difficult person to work with because of his harsh and direct words)...i'm really glad he's taking charge of things and the direction WST is going for next year..for now it looks like we'd be having two seperate sites and a few more site leaders...apparently we're the most popular choice of programs for ppl applyin to SERVE lead...i really think that we are filling a hole in demand in this university...20:00 starts 514 saga again...Keith and Anshu did a great job writing the reviews...in comparison i haven't written any shit but i have quite alot of solid content built-up from all my simulation works...it'd take me another day to finish the write-up part...things are looking goos and i'm actually thinking that it's a pretty gd idea to have them both in the team...thou i confess that at one point i thought i'm the only one who knows wat is happening with the whole project...gave my lo po a ring but she doesn't sound too gd...wonder wat's wrong...sigh..00:50 on the brink of my human capcity..time to call it quit..another battle to fight tomolo!

crunch time!!!

I have decided to write in proper English from this entry onwards. While rambling is certainly a much less restrictive way to get my thoughts across, it makes for confusing reading.
Anyway, I'm beginning to feel the mounting pressure from my senior class projects. i think the next 4 weeks will not be easy at all with 2 detailed report on an organic electronic printing pump and the microaccelerometer that our team actually fabricated. The testing phase for the chips is gonna take a long time and the writing will be asusual a tedious process. Not forgetting the final report on my OLED research, i'm just hoping that my consistently slacking Flat Panel Display professor will continue his "assignment-less" approach and just give me some passing grades. frankly speaking i feel that i didn't learn too much from the class, most of it would be my fault. i guess i'd be doing a similat class under Prof King when i'm in berkeley.
oh, and today's the first truly sunny and warm day for the past 5 months! weather does have a great influence on my mood :) i pray that europe will be like this everyday durin our 6 week trip.

paris here i come!

Yay! so brandon has replied! looks like me and my baby are gonna have a place to bunk in for free durin our stay in paris...cant wait to see tat dude man...been readin his online journal (e main reason why i attmpt to start sth myself)...read with amazement the diff experiences he's goin thro over there...i guess he's rite...it's gd to babble once in a while...we'd see how long can i make this attempt last...
anyway...so our trip is pretty much all set...after 2 months of meticulous plannin...things are finally comin together ...i'm realli lookin forward to this trip...i think it'd be a great bondin experience for me and tammy as well as an eye-opener...thou we'd need to watch out for the ever falling US$$...

bands covering my song..

well...i was sitting with these 2 other local muscians i knew from open mics over dinner...and we're just chattin abt the local bands...then out of the blue mentioned that there're these 2 bands...Midnight Special and Lame As Me that actually do a cover of the same song in the same show...and apparently the song is called 'Dark Side of the Road'!!! i was like 'Wat the Hell'! first of all i have never heard of these 2 bands thou i suspect i might know one of their guitarist...and i certainly had never heard of them askin me for permission to play my song...i mean, on one hand it's really flattering...but on the other hand i feel taken advantage of...if they were to ask me i'd most probably say yes...it's just tat the fact tat i'm kept in shadow tat realli bothers me...anyway...wat's done cant be undone...i really wish one of these days i'd have the determination to actually record a serious full album...before i find my own songs appearin in other bands album (which has already occurred for one of them apparently)...
anyway, i wonder if the bands are a big fan of Bob Dylan...cos 'Dark side of the road' sounds realli familiar to Dylan's 'Don't think twice it's alrite'...i will say i definitely have no intention of copyin dylan when i wrote 'dark side'...but subsconsciously i might have done just tat...since i was listenin to Dylan practcally everyday durin tat period when i wrote it...i guess the most impt thing is sincerity..and i realli meant and felt the way the lyrics go at the moment when i wrote the song...i wonder wat if Dylan would think if he were to hear my song...he'd probably feel cheated, more so than the way i'm feelin a while ago...

beck anime..

recently been hooked to this new anime series named Beck...a story abt this 14 yr-old boy joinin a band and their road to stardom...first of all it's abt music...so i like it...and the demeanor of this boy realli reminds me of myself when i was younger...so i like it even more! and there're actually some awesome songs in the anime...thou the ascent and lyrics is not exactly top-notch...but the anime does create a sense of sincerity from these songs...realli like it! read somewhere tat there's only gonna be 26 episodes..and i'm already at episode 24! dun wan it to end man...realli enjoy this one..

new song (i'd be your boy)...

wrote this song 2 weeks ago for my lo po :)...i realli like th melody and the words are fittin :)

I’d be your yellow when you feel so blue
I’d be your rainbow when it rains
I’d be the sun in your secret garden
I’d be your joy everyday of our lives

I’d be your prince of your magic kingdom
I’d be your pillow on your bed
I’d be your ice in the scorching summer
I’d be your everything

Well you’ve got me
And I’ve got you
That makes the most beautiful song
Cos this loveIs 10 years in the making
And I can’t wait for more

Chorus:
I’d be your boy for this chance of a lifetime
I’d be your boy everyday
I’d be your boy for this love’s overflowing
I’d be your boy everyday of our lives

I’d be the ring on your forth finger
I’d be your carrot cake
I’d be your song in your lonesome hours
I’d be your everything

I’d lay this kiss on your head
And I’d whisper in your ear
I’d hold you in my arms
And I’d sing this lullaby for you

For you…

interesting fact about "bong bong"..

a search on yahoo for "bong bong" yield the following result: he Bong Bong Village in Southern Highlands, Australia...hmmmmmmmm

tent...

man..our europe honeymoon trip is gettin super exciting man...after 2 months of detail plannin..we have finaly come up with a pretty detailed plan (down to the train timing!) on our itinery...looks like we're gonna do a bunch of camping while stayin off for free with Brandon in Paris and my uncle in Berlin...me and lo po are both lookin ard for a gd tent now...originally we found one lesser-known brand tent tat cost like $64..cheapest we can find for a 2-person tent...but to me it's too bulky and heavy...well...then i saw this North Face Rock 22...first of all...it looks damn chio! hee...and there're some awesome reviews on this tent...we might be able to get it for ard $110...which is $40 above our inital budget..but man..i realli like this tent! i cant wait to be a garang backpacker and camp ard europe with my baby with this tent!

taiwan situation...

hmm...read abt the huge demonstration in taiwan today...a protest against the recent china's passin of a law that warrants military action if tw shall declare officially independence...while the law doesn't add any new element to wat the chinese govt has been sayin for a long time...the passin of an actual law is bringing the tension bet the straits to another level...thou i realy hope tat it wont happen...but i think it's quite possible that war break out between the 2 durin my lifetime...which is gonna be really nasty...the chinese history is laiden with these sort of seperation and unification for thousands of years...seems like there's no stoppin it just yet...as a ex-hong konger i feel affiliated to china...and i think that the 2 should not be seperated...but it's not a simple matter of uniting 2 polarize political systems tat has gone off two seperate tangents for hte past 80 yrs...i realli like the way taiwan is now...but somehow i think, possibly for sentimental reason, taiwan and china sld be one country...how tat's possible thro diplomatic means is realli the headache...thou i hope US dun inerfere (unless for a UN authorized peace-keepin mission)....dunno too much abt international politcs but i feel tat US is usin TW for its own benefit...too complicated...sigh..

my ideal start-up..

as i was saying...if i'd have my way...i hope to build a company where people actually enjoy coming to work...that fun is a big factor and be treated seriously by the management...i believe that culture is a company's most important asset...not technology know-how, not financial soundness, not even top management...but a strong and meaningful cultre...i guess i'm relly influenced by our experience serving in ITC where my commander (COL Yeo Eidik, now Commander of commando) brought in this Learning Organization concept, which is largely based on the book "The Fifth Discipline" by Peter Senge of MIT's Sloan...anyway, my commander is quite possibly the only person I've met (personally) in my life that deserves to be called 'wise'...he has the foresight to bring in a untested contemporary management concept and apply it to a rigid regimental setting...frankly speakin i thought it was al wayang and bull shit in the beginning...but the changes were there for everyone to see...i think in essence the 'fifth discpline' is just another managament jargan...but Peter Senge did a great job vocalising some of the most basic age-old management principle...and that change of mindset in the people in my unit was so powerful...it's really something you have to be involved to really absorb what this subtle change of perception and hence culture has on the whole organization..
i aint sayin that there's a universal culture tat works for all companies...certain operation, such as in a military setting, require a different set of guiding values and culture...i guess it does not depend as much on wat the values or culture is...but rather how deeply these values are respected and treasured by those involved in the organization...to tat extent, 3M, HP (at least in the older days), GE, Apple and IDEO (my fav company) has done a great job at tat...of course ppl argue tat they have good strategy and finance plannin and operational efficiency etc...but all these in my opinion come after the culture...
well then wat kind of culture do i wan my start-up to have...this gets tricky cos i think diff form of culture is required at different stages of a company as it grows...i'd very much like mine, especially for a tech compnay, to value creativity...i once attended this awesome creativity course (where i think i learn more in those 3 days than i've leant in a whole yr in college) and the guy teachin the course mentioned something abt companies actually havin a CCO...a Chief Creativty Officer...BANG! i love that idea...i mean, if a company is really interested in creativity...then this post is a testimony of the company's commitment to creativity...
hmm..i'd also wanna have a company where employees can take 2-3 week consecutive leave and get company's sponsorship if they're goin on comm service trips....it'd be even more ideal if they should collaborate and organize with others within the company to organize such trips...social awareness...loyalty to organization...personal development...there's so much that such trips can do for a regular worker...of course it'd be immensely difficult to pull this one off...but somehow i think it's possible...and i kno that some smaller companies are doin similar things...personally i think tat corporate donation doesn't do much, from the company's point of view, possibly a tool of 'effective' tax management...if that can be used for initiatives within the company's employees...the benefits are far-reaching..
i've also thought alot about job security and organization loyalty...i think in the old days and in certain culture (asian countries like japan, korea)...employee's loyalty is a HUGE plus...though this might not be sustainable now with a global economy...this has direct implication for the kind of company that i aspire to build...if culture, as i said, is the organization's main asset...it'd be extremely hard to exercise this philosophy in today's context...workforce is much more mobile while market fluctuation often exert swings that jeopardize a company's standing with its principle...i mean...i think a great company is a lean and swift company...but tat will also mean sackin people when necessary...man tat's freakin tough to do...but there's probably no escape from it...job performance is no longer the only valid reason for layoffs...i guess the best thing to do is to remind everyone tat the job is never gauranteed...i dunno how tactfully one can bring the oint across without affectin morale...tat'd be a challenge for a manager..
i guess i sld stop my rambling...i actually have lots more thoughts on organizaiton and how to run a company...but everything's comin out randomly withou any structure...messy...hmm

bored (continue)..

hmm..i think i'm on a roll now...cant stop writin once i started...i think the idea of startin a new company upon graduation is really appealing...i wonder if any of the past ST schoalrs have realized this before...that we're in a priviledged position...firstly, ST/Temasek is a company..not a govt agency (thou the link is kind of blurry)...and they have a really diversified portfolio...the exsitence of venture capital within the group is also a big plus...wat these amounts to is tat we can serve our bond while starting a subsidiary (or essetially a new company) using fundings from them...it's also immediately apparent that this scholarship contract is a safety net against any failures with the enw start-up..cos my job is ultimately still gauranteed within 6 years..and i'm assumin i'd need at most 3 yrs to kno if this gamble pay off...
i think right now my motivation is very clear..i'm definitely NOT doin this for e money (actually chances are i'd lose a great deal of $$ int he process)...anyway the goal to only make $$ complicates things and takes away the fun of doin it...i think the challenge of creatin a new entity and seeing it grow and having a big influence in the direction she's goin is gonna be a really satisfyin expreience...if i'd have my way...i wan my company to be really social conscious...
(to be continued..)

bored...

trying to finish up a ton of work that i've been puttin off for the whole week..the report for the tech comm class sld be pretty easy bull shit as usual..the thing tat worries me is the write-up for my research on OLED...recently my experiments have been met with a host of problems.. substrate roughness, calcium srouce depletion (which is supposed to be pretty rare..which means i'm damn sui..) and of course the Aluminium problem...i guess it's about time that our lab's evaporator goes up for some maintenance...it's quite frustrating to have to wait the whole day to pump down the vacuum chamber and then deposit just 400 A of Al...when i actually need 2000! anyhow..i hope professor kanicki would let me pass with the data i've collected so far...which to be honest is not much..thing is..this is something i relly can't bullshit about..unlike my tech comm report...
anyhow..i was really excited to read about the OLED development back home..i've known for a while that EDB is interested in pumping up OLED manufacturing sector in singapore..but i didn't kno that they have actually set up a oled network (ON-Singpaore) ..i wonder if it's a gd news for me..on one hand the govt is generating alot of buzz within the OLED circle so i suppose it'd be easier for me to ask for fundin from temasek to so my start-up...on the other hand i'd be swimmin in a much bigger pool of major players like Sony and Samsung...i guess i'd have to find a niche spot within the value chain if i wanna convince them...it's really quite fascinating to think tat i'd be using flexible elctronic display within 10 yrs or so...and i definitely wanna be part of the first wave to commercialize this tech...
there're other competing technologies of course...ppl are tryin to make flexible LCD...but backlight is a big issue...E Ink is also makin headway makin monochrome electronic display but tat require high voltage...i guess oled will be the main leadin contender for the next generation of flexible display...thou i think that most of the big companies are aimin for conventional TV displays or durable displays...i personally think tat a disposable model (keepin in mind the lifetime problem of oled) would be a more ploausible option...thou i've also heard tat samsun and sony are beefin up oled manufacturin capability this yr...i wonder wat else do these big players have tat they're not reportin in the public domain....
well...i'd also have to think abt what to do for my research in Berkeley...of course gettin into berkeley is great...and the fellowship certainly sweeten the deal...plus i'd get to spend the whole tiem with my lo po...:)..but i'm kind of disappointed that no one in Berkeley is doin oled research...i found out that this woman professor named King has been workin on poly silicon TFTs...tat's possibly the closest i'd get to OLED in eecs...this other prof Vivek works on organic stuff...but only on transistors and material characterization...wat a waste man..i'm also considerin of workin with Prof Chenming Hu...apparently this dude was the CTO of Taiwan Semiconductor, the world's biggest foundry..with 40 patents under his belt..haha..makes me feel insufficient...but he certainly seems like a nice dude...even do paintings with his son in his spare time (at least from wat i gather from his website)...this guy sort of invented the FinFET too...read his paper on tat one...i guess this would be my second option...
i'm also plannin to learn japanese and possibly do the MOT (Management of Technology) program wile i'm there...i guess i'd need some marketing skills if i wanna come back to signapore and start the start-up straight away...