Vagabond's Next Adventure- China

I got a book to travel with me this time. An inspiring travel diary by a traveler who traveled for 10 years living almost a vagabond. His encounters and experiences make me feel like to travel again.

My next stop is China. The most populated nation on earth. This country is a rising dragon and is going to change the face of the world soon. As a chinese, how could i miss this place in my travel list, i am fortunate to arrange an internship oppourtunity in China and gonna live there for 4 months...another four months( after US and Finland).

This place is gonna be a great one, more exotic, more vibrant, more challenging, more beautiful.... I can feel that China is welcoming my arrival, he has some adventure to offer soon....

中国，我来了！

Priority Determines Value

  The way you set your priority determines your value. When you determine what you gonna do first among all the assignments or work, we tends to choose between urgency and importance. If urgency takes priority over importance, then how much you value your importance over urgency.

  It is always important to know what is the purpose of what you doing, this reflects your value over an organisation, a team, personal relationships and undertakings.

  So its time to realign our priority, to what we value the most. I will start to learn to value people, then growth and result.

Finnish-Good, Bad and Ugly

  So far I work with Finnish people; they always opt to high quality outcome. My teacher would buy a 40 Euro safety switch for my project to cut off power. For me, it’s too expensive to be done for a student project but he insists to do as safety switches will have the circuit breaking guaranteed features. The equipments and the setups of laboratory are also using industrial standard devices and products. Hence, I had a feeling of working in industry during in the laboratory. I feel great to have the insights of working in industry working with standard electronics from Siemens, Phoenix Contact, Omron, and ABB etc.

  Drinking is one of the best capabilities of Finnish people. They drink a lot. I mean very lot. I visited some bars before and I witness with my own eyes the amount they drank into their bellies. Sometimes in the street you can see drunken men doing weird things in public. I was a weird scene for me in the beginning, but now, it is completely normal. I can draw out a fact which agreed by Finnish people themselves: Finnish are shy; therefore they need to get drunk to be friendly to foreigners. This is very true, that when I was on a cruise, drunken Finnish people will approach and start a conversation with you.

  “Let’s have a coffee break!” This is the statement that comes out of my teacher after every lecture of 45 minutes. They have a good understanding of human brain that only able to focus at most 45 minutes. Hence, take a break, have a coffee and we shall continue our studies. I used to push myself too much and in the end make my body and mind exhausted. However, I could not believe that I am able to take a 5 hours lecture of a same subject with ease. I think the credit should goes to the coffee break.

  Depressing Winter Weather is the thing that I hate the most about Finland. During November, I was astonished by the white snow and I am as happy as a kid playing with snow, sleighing down the slope, making snowman and playing snow ball fight with friends. One month later, when temperature goes down to negative 20 degree Celsius, I was freezing along the way to school every morning. When I woke up at 8am, the sky is still dark until I have my lesson at 10am, the sun rises. Soon after the lunch and a couple hours later, sun sets and the sky is dark again at 4pm. During snowy days or cloudy days, you have no chance to see the sun. I miss the sun very much.

Finnish people like to stay away from the city during holidays, that’s why most of them have their own cottages for summer and winter. I was participated a winter activity in a winter cottage. We stayed in a forest in the middle of nowhere. We were in completely remote area where there is no man in the parameter of 25km. At night, we could see the clear starry sky and shooting stars are visible every few minutes. If you are lucky you could even see Aurora Borealis. I totally enjoyed the activities like sleighing and ice skiing on about 10 cm height snow. The lake is frozen and we could walk on the lake and went across to another land.

  Finnish youngsters are quite exotic in their makeup. They have extreme colour dyed to their hair and piercing in many parts of the face. Most of them smoke. They often wear leather costumes and metal rock resemblance clothing. It was interpreted that the reason of this behavior is due to they refuse to be invisible man. They want people to notice them and feel their existence. Perhaps they need to learn something from Spanish people where you can get a friend anytime with them.  

Europe Sum Up

  I have left my trail in Europe. Its been an in-expectable accomplishment in my student life. I always think of living Europeans cities which they are famous with history, culture and architecture. Indeed, i am impressed by the scenery there. Autumn in Prague, Hungarian boulevard, Extreme winter in Finland, Frozen sea in St Petersburg, Adorable Stockholm etc etc were nicely capture in camera and frozen in picture.

  I lived with the Europeans particularly the French, I learnt the way they live their life and also showed them how hardworking the Asians are. Europeans have more open mindset and somehow adventurous. If Asians were to learn from them, i would say stand up and speak out. Tell your idea and convince people.

  Europe is the leader in environment protection effort, their environmental consent has been inhabited in their daily practice, we need to have this mindset and be responsible with our usage in environment. I learnt this culture and i would love to bring it with me.

  Culture is the best souvenir you can take back from travel.

Loneliness, Privacy, Calm

 Friends gone out for trip, for some reason i didnt follow then as i have plans for that soon. Hence, this weekend, i will stay with myself.

 When i walked back from school, i saw Christmas candle lights by the window, the light shone from the inside, through the gap between window coverings. It felt so warm. I guess this is the warmth from home. I miss home.

 Then after i saw a huge Christmas tree with lighting bulb on it standing still in the common yard. The feeling of Christmas has come. Xmas songs start humming in my head. My mind flashes back how i celebrate xmas at home.

 Feeling calm, i entered my empty flat. Turned on the classical songs in my computer, i started cooking something warm, something reminiscing-my curry chicken.

 "Rhapsody On Paganini"playing as my food is hot and ready to served. Signing off with the mixture feeling of loneliness, total privacy and calm.

Impact

  When you been asked why you do what you do, i am thinking of IMPACT. I want to work my stuffs which brings impact to my project, community and world. This reason is the motivating force to keep me working and make me live a great life.

  While getting impact to the world, you have to innovate. Innovation is about renewing ideas, invention in a realistic product that change people's life, improve well being, restore environmental resources and make sustainability the bottom line of working things out.

  Personally, as an engineer to be, we design to realize innovation from plain invention. We make things accessible to everyone within reach. We expand new possibilities and improving technologies that emphasize on expand more capabilities.

 While toolset changes as technology improving, human mindset have to change as well to make innovation happens. From telescope enable mankind to see farther space and broaden the horizons in mind, motion camera taken out of the box and capturing motions from different angle of the play instead of standing still facing the stage as a normal stage audience view. We should use out technology wise to do new things and not use something new to do old things. 

 Mindset change is the ultimate set to bring innovations, and innovations bring impacts, and impacts improve mankind lives.

                                                                                                                  -inspired by Autodesk University

My Visit to ERA

Electric RaceAbout-ERA is the runner up of the recent Automotive X Prize. Today I have this great oppourtunity to pay a visit to their workshop where the legend of student built EV is happened.

As I seen from the student poster about ERA:

2 years ago, a group of Finnish engineering students with innovative minds, started an electric vehicle project from an empty table.

Working hard, learning step by step, together with the help of talented teachers and experts, gave us a lot of experience.

The automotive industry is now in the changing point, ERA vehicle project can show that high quality Finnish engineering is ready for that change.

The passion to the automotive world keeps our team to focusing hard to one great goal, success in the Automotive X Prize competition in the summer 2010.

The goal of the Progressive Automotive X Prize is to inspire a new generation of viable, super efficient vehicles to offer consumers more choices and make their lives better as a result.

For me, this looked like a declaration of motivation to me for my future undertaking. My counterparts prove to me this challenge is not impossible for undergrads. They done it superbly well with over 60 partners from industries and government, highly performance car with power train of the future, sporty-eye catching aerodynamic body, and a great deal of knowledge to learn.

I am very excited to see these phenomenons happening around, the trend is starting fast and young. This is the wave that I am gonna to ride.

Following the trail, this lead to another great electric automaker-Tesla Motors. One of the Founder, Elon Musk is a great example to follow.

I will start my project with a WHY as the central value. Why I do this? Those who are in pursuit of WHY will do what is right. So Why?

1^st: To prove that we can have alternative solution to combat global warming. In terms of technology, we must equipped ourselves with technological solution and knowledge to use energy in a more efficient way. In mobility, car is major part in human’s life. Electric vehicle will be the future solution.

2^nd: To redefine Malaysian engineering. German is famous for their upmost quality product, US is leading the innovation and Japan for their depth of research. As a Malaysian engineering student, the best I can do is product a high quality product that can go on par with other counterparts in an international platform.

3^rd: To create new value for future business. Since electric drive will be the solution for mobility, new value will be added to current products. Better motor, better control, better power electronics, better battery, better drive train are the sectors to be market for business in future.  

4^th: The fulfill thirst of knowledge. As for mechanical students, what else could be more interesting and technological demanding than building a car? Electro-Mechanical is the best scope to learn in my bachelor degree.

5^th: To win in the coming Shell Eco Marathon Competition. A platform is needed to prove your work. A defined standard, rules and test track is set up for the engagement of engineering strength for students in Asia. SEM 2012 is my stage. 

What i learn from people with different background

I have been educated into some degree today. Normally, I am always the one who lead to project among my peers and the project goes in the direction of my thinking. This time, initially it is under my urging to keep the project progress.

However, today I am educated by my friend who has working experiences with few big companies before and he comes from a different background from I do and also where I am not so good in but interested in. Hence, I learn a lot from him.

For example, when you design something, you need a concept. After you got you concept you need to validate your concept with the specification or the requirement. Validation has to be written in black and white or else your boss change his mind and your work will be futile. Another importance of validation is to confirm your functional description of your work. After this, you add in sensor, motor and so on in your application. At this time, no more “maybe”s should be in your explanation or description. You are going to confirm your design and soon it will be fabricated.

It is good to spend some time in design, validate, discuss and finalize rather than restart the whole process or make add on corrections after. CAD is made to allow you see the problem after fabrication, make full use of this. By the way, the best way is always prevention, not curing.

Personally, I think it is good to work with different people from different background. We can complement each other and together we achieve results. Now I felt the advantage of diversity makes some difference in the project and if we are open to ideas and adapt accordingly. I think we benefited in our own ways. 

Stockholm Syndrome

  My 22nd Birthday was a wonderful one. I was on the cruise to Stockholm. Apparently the capital city of Scandinavia. Its true, it is very very beautiful. Probably the most beautiful city i ever visited this far.

  I just don't know how to describe the classic city view of Stockholm and the mesmerizing narrow aisles between buildings.

 
So i think picture speaks more powerful than my words in this instance. Indeed, this is the syndrome i got here in Stockholm. I will want to visit again. If you only have a short day in Stockholm, just pick Gamla Stan. This old town has much to feed your sight.

Hello Helsinki

My third week in Finland:

I was in Helsinki on Saint Migual's Tapas Day. I traveled to Helsinki to have a look at the city of Sea.

I got down from the train and i headed to the famous Lutheren Church which is the famous landmark of Helsinki. I love big building with strong big pillar, they are very awesome. The church is white and i feel very pure in my heart standing in front of the church, high on the steps looking towards to the gulf of Finland.

Soon after, i take on the ferry, and travel across to an island called the Suomenlinna. It was a place that protected Finland from the invasion of Russia long time ago. You can see fortress, bunkers and cannons in that island.

I was lucky to visit Suomenlinna that day because that day was coincidentally the the 300th anniversary of the birth of the founder of the Suomenlinna fortress, Augustin Ehrensvärd. People wearing traditional costume and having some celebration within the island. I followed the marching band and enjoyed the activities they had around the island. Some memorial, sketches, cannon fire and photography session.

I also went to the edge of the island where it becomes my favourite hideout this far. Sitting on a big rock by the sea, looking farther to the opposite island. Sea waves hitting the rocks, sea gulls flying in the free open air, people yachting in the middle of the sea, cruise ships bringing merry crowds back from Stockholm or Talinn have been a great scene of relaxation.




Sitting beside with another traveler from Norway. We chatted about places we have been, showing off our travel companion-DSLRs and we share the common interest at this stage of life- See and experience the world when we are young.

In Tampere with Friends

Sitting on the VR train to Tampere, I saw wide fields, yellow woods, little cottages pass by the train window. My heart was longing for meeting my friends in Tampere.

I reached the city center and it was drizzling. Tampere is washing her face and welcoming me with a fresh look. Tampere impresses me in way of city planning with well-blended nature. This city has big buildings arranged nicely in grid, a big canal in the middle of the city with few bridges linked across. She has some great and historical cathedral and churches for prayers, music orchestra and of nice settings for wedding of course.





I met my friends and they gave me a warmest welcome I ever had in Finland. We walked around the city and visited the some churches, parks and the city square. It is indeed worth travelling for weekend wanderers. There is a mural along the wall edge between the roof and the ends of pillars. There are 12 children holding a long tied bush. Each of them has different load on them symbolizes how people carry their burden in life. I feel this mural is so real reflecting how life’s hitting us. We live the way we carry our responsibility, burden and ambition. Somebody have born burdens, some people are living carefree, and some of them have legacies in life. Well, what am I? I live in the way I choose. I am lucky and I appreciate my freedom of choosing my life.




Along the way, we went to Asian Market. At last I am able to get the ingredient for some Malaysia food-Curry Paste. We made curry chicken for our dinner. It’s been awhile my tongue hasn’t got challenged.




The next day, I was coincidentally lucky that I located at the right place, at the right time to attend an Asian gathering for celebrating mid-autumn festival. This gathering gathered a lot of Asian exchange students and some international students in a church. I have a great fun meeting new people from Asia. They are having the same life as I am. Studying abroad alone and facing new experience every moment, they leaving dearest friends and family at far side of the earth. Hence, when we chatted with each other, we felt the same telepathy frequency among us. The best of all is, we tasted mooncake in foreign land. Rare food always tasted more delicious. During the gathering, I meet many Chinese living in this Suomi land on various reasons. They are very helpful to each other, the root in heart and blood. I think this is the connection of ethnic. Living in foreign is never been easy. Finding identity among whites and blondes, these Chinese tolerate with people around, and trying to serve the community as well as they could be. They appreciate the opportunities given to them to start a new life.






Day dreaming when I was on the train back to my place from Tampere, my mind is recalling the smile and the laughter of my friends. I have a great time in the weekend. Unfolding my little torn scrap paper with some written contact of my new friends, this could unveil another subchapter of my life.

Its Been A Week in Finland

Today marks my first week in Finland. Hence, i am here to express my impression about Suomi.

Finnish is always drunk. This is for sure. Drinking (a lot) is their culture, so you can see late at night, someone walking in dizzy, talking nonsense (not always) to stranger but in a very friendly way, you bet he is a Finnish.

Finnish likes coffee. Every class i have, they have coffee break. Lecturer will get a cup of coffee to wake up their brain cells, maybe coffee can cure yesterday's drunk hang over? i guess so.

Finnish is erotically cool. Most of the teens got piercings, girls have extreme colour dye on their hair, like pink, blue, green... They are always dressed like rock star.

Finnish can be cool if you don't know them, but once you are close to them, they are one of your best friend that you can get. Finnish is nice people generally.

Finnish sauna is the trademark. I tried and i starting to like it. In sauna, they heat up the rocks and pour water on them. The vapour rises and heat the whole room up. People inside soak in sauna naked. It is the culture, respect and bear with it. Its nothing after all. Keep cool~ Hence, Finnish child got early sex education.

So this is my impression about Finnish and Finland. I guess there will be more to be discovered. Time and people will show me the uniqueness of Finns.

荆棘鸟与浪子

有一个传说，说的是有那么一只鸟儿，它一生只唱一次，那歌声比世上所有一切生灵的歌声都更加优美动听。从离开巢窝的那一刻起，它就在寻找着荆棘树，直到如愿以偿，才歇息下来。然后，它把自己的身体扎进最长，最尖的荆棘上，便在那荒蛮的枝条之间放开了歌喉。在奄奄一息的时刻，它超脱了自身的痛苦，而那歌声竟然使云雀和夜莺都黯然失色。这是一曲无比美好的歌，曲终而命竭。然而，整个世界都在静静地谛听着，上帝也在苍穹中微笑。因为最美好的东西只能用最深痛的巨创来换取……这就是荆棘鸟的传说。

我正如多数的青年，二十几岁，毫无方向感，不知未来的是否该干什么。内心地下有个答案，但是不知道如何描述出来给自己。人生辉煌只有二十年，如何把自己的灿烂二十带给社会，世界一直是我的使命。

处于无约束，有选择权利的我，选择了荆棘鸟的方法-流浪。流浪天涯，四海为家，看看世界怎么转，找找属于我的地方，寻觅我的灵感。别人问到，你不是有家吗？你没朋友吗？是的，我有家。家始终是家。不过我向往更大的家。朋友求缘不求选，缘来自天时，份跟随着地利。能成为朋友是缘的接合，但知己之交需经营。就这样，一个浪子带着荆棘鸟的翅膀，心里与身子开始流浪。直到找到心灵的栖息地才着陆。

我自认没有荆棘鸟的伟大，更不甘于以一次的发挥断了未来的机会。我只想成为一个随风使者，把自己的知识帮助路过有需要的人们。当着落在属于自己的天地大展拳脚，为社会付出并留下自己的痕迹。回顾曾经的脚印，对自己说，我看了世界。

My Sophomore Highlight

Speaking about highlight, it should be something accomplished, some kind of achievement, and you feel proud of it.

This highlight of mine is none other than my participation in Shell Eco Marathon Asia.In fact we didn't finish the laps, we did not get an official result.

Actually, i did not put much high hopes in this competition. We know our progress and our level. We know the problem and the major flaws. Being first timer is only one time excuse, however when you come back next year and so on, make sure you have more than 100% improvement.

Putting resolutions aside, the event i had in July was awesome! We worked on stuffs in the pit stop, put it up and running, chatting with other students,learning from others and etc.

I have seen some great designs, i can feel the effort from some students and i am exposed to a wider play field. There are much more to achieve, there are more possibilities, the idea is in your head, the passion comes from your heart.

In the coming years, i am gonna start this task as David and finish it a Goliath.

Don't Worry...Be Happy

Playing hard games is the matter of choice, if you able to overcome the pace and the difficulty, you will have a sweet victory. If you and your team are not strong enough to win, all you have to do is to enjoy your game.

A man (like me) is very egoistic, not giving up to failure and if anything go against my way, i will give it a bad time. However, when things f***ed up, i am giving myself a hard time. Yea...you should not give up easily but exhausting yourself will not make you survive for a long war.

Learning to enjoy the game is a virtue to practice if you positive yourself, things will get straightened up when it comes.

Dave, take it easy.

The Best Smell and Noise I ever had

People hate noise, people hate unpleasant smell. Well, I hate engine noise and its exhaust cause i had a damn problem tuning and starting my LPG engine.

Me and my friend tune and crank the engine for few days and it seems about to start but loses momentum a few a couple of cycles.

At last, Prof came into play. He diagnose step by step, testing parameters, finding out the possible problem and uses some tricks and voila. Engine starts really easy and operating strong. I like the strength of combustion.

Get more tuning, massage the engine out and let it run lean.