Will seek final opinion

Hi people. Just gonna keep tis short. I have been deeply troubled by the state of my head. I can feel pressure near where the cut is, and all day I have been touching and feeling my limbs just to make sure I can feel them. The second doc (company doc) asked me to take note of signs of sleepiness and nausea. Earlier on today, I felt very slight numbness on the skin all around, especially my head area. Feels the area has been injected with anesthetics. But my fingers can feel texture. Doesn't make sense. Wanted to go and see the third doc, and tis time make it definitive. But there was meeting till 745pm. Raffles Medical would be closed bu 8pm. Then had a accompanied my boss to Marsiling coffee shop for my dinner and his wind-down drink. We spoke a bit. In between that 1.5 hours, we spoke quite a bit. Deep down, he's a damn good engineer and I respect this guy more abt his engineering than his management, although, it has picked up real well for him too.

I feel nausea since a few hours ago. Sleepiness? Tell me which workday am I not wanting to fall asleep? Maybe its psychosomatic this all, and I wish so. It's just driving me nuts just to guess. Will get an X-ray too. Maybe its the 3 packs of fries that I shared with two friends earlier on. I wish I have an answer now. Looks like visiting Ngee Ann tmr will have to make way for a final check by the doc.

To get wet or not to get wet?

An hour from now I have to get up and go to work. Did not sleep due to several reasons. One was because I did the night shift last nite, another being my head still hurts and I am uneasy about it. Not that it is killing pain, but just an uneasy pain. A little paranoid. I guess age does catch up somehow, when you start seeing tell tale signs of your body functions becoming less efficient. Just like machines - before a major failure on its subsystems, it sends out warnings and alarms, or even symptoms like noise, vibrations, defects etc. First rare, then intermittent, and finally every other day and hour. Well, if anything... nothing lasts forever.

Its raining now and I wonder how the heck am I going to get to work without getting wet on the head, whereon a 1.5 inch scar lies? I hate to bring umbrellas. Ouch my head hurts from thinking.

90 bux for a headjob

Oh my head hurts... literally. Last night worked till real late, the incentive being today I could be off if I worked beyond 2 am. But what a price to pay. I was working on T14 over a repeated cases of rinse flow errors. Thats about more than 10 hours of work put in by my colleague and I prior to that. I decided to stay on to monitor the machine while it ran production.

At 3 pm the problem was not solved yet, but I had no clue what else to try. At the same time, T35 was down and was being attended by one of the AE's in the line. So I decided to go help. While crouching to look at a chemical buffer tank below, I forgot that the chemical rack above was drawn out... and KRONGGG! I had a splitting knock on the head. I looked around to see if anyone saw that and thought it was funny, coz I felt embarrassed and would certainly laugh along. Well it was painful really but somehow overcame the pain with thoughts of more painful incidents. I think I hit a corner of a piece of panel at tangents. Lucky it was chamferred.

So I went on... looking a the front of the machine. As I went along, I touched and felt my head... maybe to feel for blood, if not, just to soothe the pain at least. Then it happened... on my gloves I saw red! Quickly I took a look at a reflective stainless steel panel on the machine... Red! Red! And it ain't red coloured photochemicals this time! Blood has seeped from my head through the hairnet onto the hood of my bunny suit. A patch of bright red soon formed on the hood. I panicked a little. Quickly raised the hood and hairnet, and the AE whom I was working with told me theres a gash.. and asked me to go wash immediately. Gash!? Never had blood coming out of the head before!

2 hours and $90 bux later (After a visit to a 24 hour clinic at Bkt Panjang) at 5 a.m., I was already seeping Milo at the Kopitiam downstairs. It turned out to be superficial, though the gash was about 2 inches in length. I was so relieved. Sigh, job hazards. Clumsiness or am I really getting old? My head still hurts like its been squeezed outta proportion.

Sometimes in life I feel like I needed a 'knock in the head' moment. Just to let me rethink and regain the bearings around me. Don't you wish it too? Sometimes you do get it, but other times like this, you get a real, hard knock. Hey, this one's more costly for less benefits.... so to make it worth I will pretend its a wake up knock as well.

Looks good in black and white

Hi there. Had a good weekend? I 'm glad u had... Just came back from a very hectic weekend in Malaysia. Sisters wedding. Am chauffeur for the wedding couple. Just too tired to do anything else now. Even Maggie2's been lying there untouched for the week because I just had so much to do.

The wedding - first I went back in time on Friday for our little family party at home. Can see mum's been overworked preparing the events and what was to come. THen for the first time I met my brother in law. Saw so many cousins whom I would not usually meet until someone gets married. After everyone left, we still had lots to clean up, some more preparation for my sister's big day. Fell asleep watching my favourite animals mawing each other on Discovery. At 4 am got woken by the mossies that bit the shit outta me hands and legs. SO went back to the room to sleep.

Yesterday I drove all day... picking the couple up from their hotel, which thankfully was well chosen to be the one near our home... Brought them back for the Chinese Tea Ceremony, and a Happy Family picture. Uncle Kee from Melbourne who was on his way to INdia, transitted for a few hours in time to attend this and later the church ceremony. Then at nigth the banquet. Was given the task of presenting the speech in English, while my brother did in Mandarin. U know in every of this weddings, there would be some individuals who shouted the "YUM SENG" loudest? Yep... this time it was me. Coz everyone else...my bro, sis have already done their parts in organising the wedding. I went around pouring the cognacs and spoke to pple I have not met for ages... ages... So, if you ask me... the dinner was more like a trip to eat while you have to work, so much so that the food couldn't settle in your stomach. I'm sure you know what I mean.. yes that feeling!

Midday yesterday... the most relaxing I felt was when after the church reception and we had a coupla hours of R&R before night madness came. I spent about half an hour at the hotel's (where the couple stayed) cafe sipping latte and a slice of Etoile (Moussy chocolaty cake - tat's my best translation for it!). Pretended to look cool by reading newspapers but inside was cursing like hell coz it was a real hot day despite the aircond. My attempts earlier to get pple to join me were not successful. Everyone was too tired.

Today I woke up with a sore throat. Gee... I wonder why. Was forced to get up because my sis wanted to treat us to a meal of Bak Kut Teh before my brother drives back to Penang, and later me back to Singapore. It must have been 10 years since all my sisters, and brother and me sat on the same table. My folks must have been contented. And tis is one of the reasons I am back here... What would life be worth if you can't even do this? At least in modern life context, once in a coupla years.

After breakfast, I k.o. to sleep again before it was too soon to take the bus again. Sigh, what a tiring weekend. I remembered at the church, I almost cried. The feeling bordered between feeling happy for my sister and realisation of the fact that we were not that that 13-year old and 10 year old always arguing kids. I guess we can't be the kids in the family anymore and have to make way for the next generation. Reluctant to accept it, but thats how life goes! I remember us moving from the old house to the new. The annual spring cleaning, the mooncake festivals, the ching ming, the dumpling festival and the CNY.. We used to be so excited about it. The gambling, the lanterns, the fireworks and the food. But most of it was the togetherness.

So - life at this point for me looks like the grey area between the young and the old. Carry a bag of memories, a palate of paint and brush, and paint off the coloured age of innocence... with black and white.

Days of 2002 relived!

Had an ok weekend. Friday night, met up with Zac and Gul who was down for a business trip. Have not seen the man for 2 years already, and he has built up a little. Had ribs and chicken and beer at Chimes. Guess who we spotted? Yuri and Wern Fung! That was a dude I truly have not seen since 2002. Was really a pleasant surprise. My ex-housemate in Kanooka. Still miss those days. Kindof a different era distant from recent memories I guess. But I enjoyed my 2 years stay with him.

Then back to hotel for talk cock. Then down to Bakerzin for a some coffee and cakes... yummm... that slice of tiramisu and cookies n cream cheese cake... guilty. We left arnd 1 plus o'clock.

Saturday was spent... hmmm first woke up arnd 1 pm. Then MSN (haha I am online now! YOU wish!... I swear I stole this line off someone, what the heck) with an ex CHRT colleague, who's since gone back to China, waiting to give birth come April. Then another exhsemate... CW.. Now I miss Turnbull Ave. Next, I gave Maggie2 a very good blow (fyi, she is my one and only saxaphone). Then played guitar and sang shit.
In the evening, went to Yishun to meet Zac. Now Yishun BK is our new Mulgrave, coz its smacked in between where we stay. At night surfing again.

Today, well woke up arnd 1 just in time (or late!) to go to my polymate's newborn's 1st month old. Wow, saw so many ex-classmates some of whom have had more belly than yours truly. Affirming thought isn't it? But...Half already have a kid or two... All doing ok lifewise. After that, some of us decided to adjourn to Bukit Batok for some Coffee Bean's hot lovin coffee.... Then bumped around in Beast's place. Went for dinner and had long talk, engineering debate with the dude who makes designs your vibration motors in Nokia handphones. Yes, de company he works in makes half the volume of Nokia's handphones' vibration motors for the world.

Was back around 11 pm. Have been doing jack surfing and ironing clothes, biting (I mean... snipping my paws) and oh, most pleasantly was - chatted online with Ms Yeow. 1 year no communication and its nice to talk to her. She said she misses Deal or No Deal on Channel 9. I miss it too. AND Simpsons... I'm going crazy just missing Homer... Arrgh!!!!

This weekend I would describe as a trip down memory lane. Really nice seeing those ppl again. No idea when I will see them again.. but sure in this lifetime. Had a crazy emotional episode Thu, and was damn moody at work Friday - took every opportunity scrutinizing AE's work. I had valid reasons, but I was doubly pissed. Now its 3 and I know I only have 3 hrs to sleep. I'm outta here.

Life in a vigh volume manufacturing environment

Have been assigned the care of this barcode scanning system that worked externally from the TEL Tracks. This system has been designed by this electronics prodigy a few years back, and recently moved on to another company.

Now manufacturing have been highlighting the case of dysfunctional barcode scanning for their daily chemical use... Since June, I had to learn the stuff, the wiring, the functionals, and the what is's and what isn't's of the system. No schematic, and the last person who had a hand at this system proly said good riddence to it when I was assigned to this. Anyways, I have spent days and days figuring up this system... and ways to make it better. Because my boss ain't hearing this = my description of this system is "a few compenents soldered with shit!".

Yeah, it is frustrating when every month your monthly report says "I.O.U" because you simply have no time to look at all these things. Between the three of us track owners, we are up against over 40 machines that may require our attention 24/7, and there are times when we work 24 hours straight on. We also have projects under our care, on top of other daily responsibilities such as quality feedback from KLA group (DO issues), championing of certain systems and key performance indices (I take on MTBI), cost reduction activities (second sourcing repairing is hot in the industry now) and various other logistics command and controls implementation. There simply just isn't time to do a lot of monkey work around.

Then there is the human factor to come into play. High turnover industries such as semiconductors have a predominantly high worker turnover rate, depending on the economic cycle. When people leave a company, they take along with them the skills and experience that have been nurtured thus far. If a major movement of people occur in a specific division, then there is bound to be a vacuum of skills, and those experienced ones who are left, have to take on extra burden Replacements that come will take time learning and assimilating to a new system and culture. It is a fact that training takes a long time in semiconductor manufacturing, and the effect of this void will immediately hit the uptime (equipment) and utilisation (manufacturing). Even process engineering group will suffer from wrong disposition and human errors.

Anytime anyone out there thinks your job is tough, think again. Think when everyday when you plan to sit down to do something in your cubicle, there are issues and your presence is needed in the production floor (fab). Don't think you are engineer you are excused from doing the dirty jobs. I change valves, motors, drives, I sniff carcinogenic chemicals, crawl over and under multimillion dollar machines. I analyse problems ranging from electrical connection failure, to encoder problems, and intense troubleshooting. Our set of machine manuals, when arranged side by side, are around 3 meters thick! These do not test my knowledge of the Fourier Series, or, even my B and D matrices in composites. These test how much I can troubleshoot a problem, starting from gathering of information (usually very sketchy), assess the problem, choose and discuss the best possible solution, assess the potential risks to both the machines and the product that will run after, and make it happen. All this have to happen in the fastest time possible, or, you will definitely get it in tomorrow's morning meeting. A lot of times there will involve external parties such as the KLA (Defect Density people a.k.a. "the fab police"), process engineering, engineers from other modules (Etch, Diffussion, CMP etc.), manufacturing engineers etc. Within, you will have to control your pool of Associate Engineers (AE's) so that they remain vigilant throughout the intense 12 hour shift.

101 things are happening everywhere at the same time, you bet at least 5 have your name in it at any given time.

"Where do I put my attention then?" Then I was thought to ask myself further:

"By not doing which one now, will I be fucked for tomorrow?" and then the answer immediately becomes clear. Same goes with clearing your mail. Always ask "By not reading which one will I be screwed by someone next?" Coz we have heaps of mail to read every morning.... from various departments/sections..

My boss hardly sleeps these days. Because being the most highly ramped fab in the company, we are busy. And as if that is not enough, all fabs are designed to have the lithography (masking) to be bottlenecks. What does it mean? It means people working in lithography are fucked twice over. Every second missed, the entire fab misses 1 second. Shipment will be delayed and this will warrant the attention of the Fab VP, and in worse cases, our CEO. But who can guarantee 300-400 machines, 900 people, not to go wrong or make mistakes? Most machines therein are designed to last for 5 years, and they are already running 10! Financially, they have been fully paid up years before this (talking a billion dollar worth of capital assets) and on finance papers, they have $1 value, but they are capable, in the example of the TEL track and ASML stepper machine cluster, in producing a throughput of 1000 wafers per day.

So, my boss asked the line AE shift leader to give him an update every 3 hours 24/7. Still, he is expected to come to work on time at 8 a.m. till 8 p.m. most of the time! Saturdays he comes back for Operations meetings. In fact, the Fab VP, a Malaysian Indian, cancelled his Deepavali leave yesterday to come back to meet up with his 40 over directors, managers and section managers, and no one is surprised..... Coz I bet you he asked himself this question: "By not doing which one now, will I be fucked for tomorrow?" while thinking of his boss, the Senior VP of Operations'look.

Such is the life working in the semiconductor business. They pay relatively ok, but they throw you in a pool of aligators. You either swim like you never did before, or you die. Then we have this freakking barcode scanning system that I hate to further troubleshoot... because it is plagued with bad design for serviceability. At one glance, it does resemble some ITE (of TAFE) student's final year project that was poorly documented. Last night would be my umpteenth time overtiming without pay to troubleshoot this system. I left the company at 5 a.m. (after working for 21 hours) and that was how I spent my Deepavali wee hours - cursing on a poorly designed, fragile, yet critical system that I have to carry on however I hate it.

I think I have better things to do.