Week Two - Hiratsuka

Monday, 12 October 2009.
Back to training

The skin is still awful, and I found a whole bunch of hair fall off my comb while combing my hair. Is it the MSG, or the water, or my shampoo?
Anyway, training today was pretty dreary because the whole lot was conducted in the classroom. Turns out, the PEs in Japan too are sometimes faced with unsolved mysteries in terms of product problems, so we are not alone.

After training, we headed out together for dinner, all the 7 of us because the cafeteria was closed (It was apparently a holiday in Japan which we and the trainers were not involved in!) As CK, JC and I had travelled the streets of Hiratsuka on practically a daily basis, we seemed to lead the way to the place we were supposed to go for dinner. It was hilarious seeing CK being all tour guide-ish, informing our other 4 friends what restaurants there are and what they serve and the price range. Finally, we ended up at a very cozy looking place which served ramen noodles, but the variety of soup bases were much more interesting. I was incredibly glad to have found that chilli does indeed exist here and requested for the spicy soup base. It tasted like a fragrant version of curry mee. Chu paid for the meal stating that it was on the Thailand company’s account. I have also officially stopped eating rice for lunch and dinner. It takes up way too much space and time.

Tuesday, 13 October 2009

Fully into the groove of the second week of training. Nevertheless, we had changed venues, and the PE office is right next door. I was incredibly distracted by the sounds of the paper shredder. Do they have that many confidential documents? Honestly, I’d rather not use the paper shredder… I use the recycle bin after I’ve used both sides of the paper!

I took 5 cups of Japanese green tea today. The chocolate milk carton I bought turns out to be a cocoa drink and lacks real milk. I worry to think of the fate of my bones these three weeks. Osteoporosis, please stay away. Unlike the last time, I noticed that I could at least drink plain water this time. Another bunch of hair came off the right side of my head today. And yet another thing to worry about.

JC, CK, Chu, PY and I headed to the Hiratsuka Station by bus after dinner to prepare for our Mt Fuji ‘expedition’ on Saturday. The temperature up there would be about 10 C. Naturally getting to the peak (0 C) would be out of the question, but no one wants to have news sent back home that they’re up on Mt Fuji, frozen or worse, dead due to hypothermia, either.  I wanted to get a beanie and a scarf and a small hand carry. Long story… but the beanies there were ugly as hell, so I only ended up with a scarf and the hand carry.

Anyway, CK mysteriously carried his backpack to town, something he’s never done before. And he went off shopping by himself stating that he’d meet us at stop no 6 (our stop) after 15 minutes or so. Also, we usually exchange news on items we found/bought, and this time, he pointedly refused to reveal what he got, stating that it’s a *guy thing…  and I thought it was women who usually played the mysterious card! Finished Lost Diaries tonight after a marathon reading session, regrettably. Now I’m out of books to read!

A few things I noticed this past one and a half weeks… living without the internet is possible, although you may miss certain things you usually do, like finding out what’s on people’s mind, or sharing what’s on yours, or communicating with certain people whom you occasionally communicate with via the internet, or even blogging, but it doesn’t kill you. The quiet life is not too bad, as long as you’ve got some good music (still loads available), good reads (I’m dead now), and something to pass the time with. I currently find that doing the laundry and reorganizing my music files makes time move. I kind of miss Malaysia, though…

* Naturally JC and I played a little game among ourselves trying to guess what CK could be so secretive about. Edit: Turns out we guessed correctly. Back in M'sia sort of admitted to getting some Japanese porn for himself and the guys... can't see why is that such a big secret!

14 October, 2009
Still in Hiratsuka

JC and I can’t seem to wait for Saturday where Mt Fuji beckons. Training was as usual… more discussion and we find out that all PEs have very similar problems. Slept late last night because of Lost Diaries, and paid dearly for it today as I was incredibly drowsy during training.

Attempted to make myself a cup of coffee from the Blendy coffee packet and gave up. Even with two sticks of sugar the coffee was bitter and made my hair rise on its ends. Pouring some milk from the mini milk containers didn’t help either. I think I will just stick with green tea after this.

Stayed in today as we have apparently seen all we needed to see in Hiratsuka. Had to do some packing as well as we shall be sending our big ass luggage by courier to Nagoya on Friday evening, our next point of training. I tried to do my report but seemed to have lost my gusto for it, instead I sat next to the laptop and listened to some new stuff a friend gave me over a month ago. Good stuff.

My plans to sleep early was thwarted by a sudden obsession to play solitaire, of all things!

Thursday, 15 October, 2009

I am planning to sleep early today. Training was ok, but we seem to keep repeating the grinding process, which should be good for me as it is the hardest part as well as that I happen to be in charge of it at my place. Still am moodless to do the reports. Went out with JC for a walk for chocolates for the people at the office. I got some free chopsticks today when I asked for a pair from the salesperson.

Spent the rest of the night doing laundry and listened to more music.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Last day of training in the Hiratsuka plant
I can’t believe that two weeks are over. This second week seems to have moved on pretty fast. It’s only 7:15 pm here as I type this and I’m incredibly sleepy. Managed to haul my big ass luggage down the stairs, and it’s now there awaiting the courier man who will arrive anytime between now and 9 pm.

Training was pretty good today, although I was still feeling drowsy (my sleep was disrupted by a pretty disturbing dream about me organizing a contest between a lion and a tiger to see who was better at catching a single prey, in this case a white fluffy rabbit in an open field as throngs of people who think gore is good looked on from elevated platforms. I even shook hands with the tiger! Nevertheless it was a sick sight as the rabbit turned from white to a pink hue and everyone knows what that pink colouring is. For some reason, I had to leave the place and drive home, leaving behind my jacket and bag, only it wasn’t home although my family lived there. I had to use the gps to find the venue again, and as I entered the elevated platform I was on earlier, it was blocked because there was a Chinese calligraphy competition for kids going on. I retrieved my stuff and woke up.) We ended the training session with a small photography session.

I shall attempt report writing in a bit.

The First Week is the Longest

Thursday, 8 October 2009

The Typhoon

I was awoken at 5 am by a loud sound, but refused to get up until after 6. The sun rises early here, and you tend to wake up with it regardless if your curtains are drawn or not. Looking out of the window, I could see the effect of the ‘tempias’ (can’t find the perfect translation for this in English, sorry) of the typhoon that hit Tokyo. The wind was so strong that you could see trees swaying like crazy. There’s a motorbike parked right beneath my window, and the sheet that supposedly protects it was blowing with the strong winds and looked as though it was about to fly. The walk to the training place was challenging compared to the other days as the wind threatened to blow us away. Surprisingly by noon, the sky was clear once again and we saw the sun. According to our trainer/translator, the sun comes out when the typhoon ends.

Later that evening, we headed out to town. ***We took the bus to the train station, which is like the most happening place there. We tried some shopping. JC needed a coat, I just wanted to look around and so we split into several groups and headed our own way until we met again at 9 pm. The saddest part is that everything closes by 8 pm and it gets dead boring. I kind of like the walkways in Japan, though. The streets have some interesting signage at certain areas.

Did laundry tonight. I love the warmth of the clothes after it comes out of the dryer!

*** This time we went out in a group, all 7 of us. JC and I have this feeling that the Singaporean dude somehow does not like us at all. I think I’ll call him Kenny. This is because, on Wednesday, when CK, JC and I went out, we called Kenny along as well after finding out that he was actually a Malaysian working in Singapore, but he declined. Turns out he likes hanging out with CK (he apparently went over to CK’s room to call him out for a walk on Tuesday night) and not JC and I. Maybe we talk too much – at least to each other. Conspiracy and orientation theories aside, it’s Kenny’s loss.


Friday, 9 October 2009
We live for weekends.

Training continued as usual today, a bit of classroom session and a bit of a lab session. They have very high tech equipment here, especially for testing and the process engineers actually have their own department with their own mini machines (one looks like those old fashioned urns people use for storing dead relatives ashes, hehehe) , a few labs and a pilot plant. It looks like a great place to work in. It would be lovely if we could expand the PE team in my workplace, get a couple of machines and have our own lab instead of having that one pathetic bench in the QA lab.

The guys from Thailand wanted to check out the *100 yen shop, and the trainers said that it was near our place. Just walk for 30 minutes and you can see it. So, we decided to go and check it out. The group from 7 reduced to just 3 of us (CK, JC and me) as one by one of the others backed out. The worst was when Chu refused to go stating that ‘no one else’ was going. Then who are we? Ghosts??? Anyway, we walked and walked, at top speed. One awesome thing about Japan is that you can walk and walk and not feel tired because the weather is such. Alas! We did not find the 100 yen shop and backtracked. I took the walking as some form of exercise, hehehe.

Walking back, we decided to stop by at one posh looking restaurant that was at the side of the street. This one had the proper tatami concept, where you’d sit on a cushion on the floor. The food was lovely compared to what we usually have at the **cafeteria. I took a noodle dish (Udon, if I’m not mistaken) with some tempura and tamago toji (egg with a meat and vegetable base that has custardlike consistency)

*The 100 yen shop is the Japanese concept where everything in the shop is sold at 100 yen, (actually it’s now 105 yen for some reason that I haven’t found out yet) which can be quite good if you’re sort of looking for something cheap. My beloved scientific calculator refuses to work here, so I bought a 100 yen basic calculator in a different shop of the same concept (about RM4 or USD 1.x)

**The cafeteria food thing was planned by our respective companies, and they’re the basic fare of rice, miso soup, a main dish (in our case mostly fish or chicken because I don’t take beef and the Indonesian guy doesn’t take pork), and a side dish and Japanese green tea. Like any other institutionalized food, you get bored after some time. For me, it was 4 days. The cafeteria at the workplace serves similar dishes as well, but you have a choice from 4 menus, and they serve everything there. I don’t usually take much meat, maybe twice a week or so, but over here, I’ve been having some sort of meat (or fish) almost every day, and a bit too much pork. I’m worried about my belly.

From the top: The little boxes where we can place our shoes safely while enjoying a meal, the meal I ordered, Udon, the fish that remained after it was sliced ever so delicately for the sashimi - the dish my colleague ordered.

THINGS I LEARNT

Over 5 months have passed since I went for the Performance Driven Team training which involved a trek in the jungle. I recall posting up anguish filled posts that were related to the issue before and after the training because it did mean a big deal to me. Nevertheless, one final post about it remained in the drafts section of my blog for reasons I cannot remember.

A cap and a watch, lying on the floor. It's anybody's guess what could have possibly happened

Anyway, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, as I was floating in and out of the different stages of sleep, I found myself dreaming that I was in another outdoor adventure of the same sort, this time with team #5 at the beach, in which someone I sort of know but haven't actually met in real life made a special appearance and was part of the team. Nevertheless, our adventure was far from pleasant as we had to deal with waves that turned into tsunamis. As a self professed hydropobic, that was freaky gila babi! (Literarily translated gila babi means crazy pig and does not make any sense unless you take into consideration that we also call wild boars babi in the local language, and they can be a bit crazy. Oh well... one thing's for sure is language can drive anyone crazy!)

And then when I was at work, they made an announcement for all the members of team #4 to head on to the HR department, and we received a baseball cap and a watch each. Actually, every team receives the watch and cap, but check out the co-incidence of me dreaming of the training just a few hours before that!

Admittedly, I am on the geeky side, but I've never obsessed about any training I've been through except for this one because this one was really really good. So, I thought it would be best to give a summary of the few precious lessons I've obtained from this training.

1. Nike was right. Just do it should be everyone's motto.

2. Everything you can or can't do is because of your mind. If you believe you can do something, you can. The same goes if you don't believe in yourself then you can't. It is a pity that you learn something so important like this when you're in your late twenties, but hey, better late than never.

3. Focus is the key. Focus removes all fear.

4. Food cooked when you're hungry is the most delicious even if you lack certain ingredients.

5. When a group of equally focused people combine their brains and their energy, nothing can stop them.

6. Insects only like some people, and not all. Evidently, they didn't give a damn about me.

7. Sometimes, lack of sleep and being under pressure can help you perform better.

8. If you put in a group of people together for a long time, they end up becoming very close.

9. If you can communicate well, then your ideas will be well accepted. You've just got to make people understand.

Aside: I wonder if my fear of water would disappear if I went for hypnosis. It would be even better if I could be hypnotised into believing I was a champion swimmer! Anyway, they would never actually conduct the training at the beach. Some people would just have too much fun seeing that the beach is so very relaxing. The jungle is more conducive for torture!

DAY 3 & 4: Where Adrenaline Rules the Day

You never know how much you're capable of doing until you're chucked in the middle of nowhere with nothing to depend on other than your gumption and your team mates.

Our journey into the jungle started easy enough with breakfast first and another journey by bus to a camp by the name Kem Bina Semangat (can't think of a proper translation right now) in a small town called Kuala Kubu Baru (KKB). There we lodged our other bags in an empty dormitory, took our respective heavy camping bags by the handles and trudged on to the assembly point with nervous anticipation.

Our first task started at about 11 am after a short briefing. Not much information was given (because the journey is supposedly a secret of some sort!) except for the target time we needed to achieve. Putting on brave faces, we marched along the path with the following thoughts - 23 in, 23 must come out. From dry land we were suddenly face to face with a ferocious river that reached chest level (for someone of 5'3"height) with a strong current which we had to cross by using a rope as our guide. So it all depended on how tight you managed to hold onto the ropes while the water tried its best to drag you away. Being naturally afraid of water, I was totally petrified at the prospect of doing so. Of course I ended up doing it pretty successfully in the end because it had to be done but I was left shaken (and shivering) for a few minutes after. Even the trekkers who guided us were worried about the river conditions as we had pretty good weather in KL, but apparently it was raining in KKB and no one had expected such a strong current. By the way, the river is also used by white water rafting thrill seekers.

As the day wore on, we completed assignment after assignment. After the second assignment, our trainer gave us a pep talk regarding our non-commitment and demoralised conditions. It apparently did wonders as we were suddenly back to being enthusiastic and sailed through the following assignments with flying colours. Now, most people would think that jungle trekking is merely moving through the jungle from point A to B safely. Our was the same, except that each part was treated like an assignment with valuable information that would enhance team spirit, instill values such as sincerity, trust, openness, respect and integrity. And above all, everything that matters is that all 23 people are there at the end of the assignment, and if anyone faces difficulties, you just grab them and help them up. My leg didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, but I couldn't put too much pressure on it either, as I could feel some pain with pressure and was afraid to hurt it even more. This is what you get when adrenaline rules your life (and dependant on painkillers!)

After about 4 to 5 tasks, we finally reached our campsite at about 7 pm. Light was fading fast, and we still had to negotiate for our camp supplies for that night. The tents and cooking were all finally done by 10 pm. Showering was a challenge as we had to use the river for all washing purposes, and some of us missed out on the chance for a shower as we had a rushed meal, and got ready for the night activities which was supposed to begin at 11pm.

It was a good thing the moon was bright that night, although you could see that the trainers were deeply disappointed. The jungle was not as creepy as it was meant to be. Nevertheless, our night activities (including one where you have to walk all alone in total darkness) lasted on until 3am, after which we were finally asked to go and get a rest for the next day's activities.

Bathing in the river is an experience of it's own class. No doubt the water was icy cold, especially at 6 am, but it didn't give you goose bumps, but the sandy river bank actually made me dirtier than I was earlier (we heard that one of the girls who went for this training in the previous batch suffered from severe skin problems and had to be on medical leave for a week because she did not wash up nor change her clothes, and we didn't want the same thing happening to us either, hence the forced baths)

Our 'bathroom'

And in that early hour, I managed to catch a bit of the eclipse of the moon as well. It just looked like the normal moon, maybe with a bit of it hidden, that's all.

Part of the jungle near our campsite in the morning

The campsite after we removed the tents and stuff

As everyone got up, we had some breakfast, packed our stuff and took out the tents and put everything aside to be taken away. After a long lecture and a session where we exchanged thoughts about the program and lunch with one of the trainers, we proceeded to the final assignment which was one of the most interesting ever. The key to this is to apply everything you have learnt so far, but as usual, you never realise that the answer is in front of you until it is too late. By the time the assignment was over it was about 5 something in the evening. We were then asked to head back to the camp where we were given a chance to have a proper shower. That was one of the best showers I had ever had in my entire life!

Anyway, we then had dinner, and another class session where we reviewed videos taken of us in action during our assignments, as well as a summary about the whole lesson. It was funny watching us with our scared faces as the incidents that occurred only slightly earlier was played back in front of us.

It only took about 3 and a half days and were already feeling how much we are going to miss each other even though we work together in the same building albeit in different sections. We then sang a song together (That's what friends are for) and took a few photos for posterity and said our farewells.

It has been a very interesting journey.

DAY 1 & 2: Under pressure and an unexpected accident

I don't know how many muscles we exactly have, but I can safely say that every single muscle in my body aches as I'm typing this out. Anyway, pain aside (which I hope will disappear in a day or two), here's a rundown on my so-called torture camp.

I woke up Thursday morning with a deep sinking feeling. Due to the late hours spent working in the previous days, I hadn't had the time to pack nor prepare myself mentally for what I was about to face. Nevertheless, I took half day off that day, went back, got packed and drove back to work in the evening to board the bus that was to take us to our destination which was a golf club amidst green trees and fresh mountain air in a place known as Templer's Park.The pathway we used to get to the seminar hall from our apartments. I thought the arch made by the trees were cool

Top: The view outside the apartment balcony, Bottom: The hall in our apartment for the 2 days

The classroom session began at almost 9pm that night and continued way up till 2.30 am. So what they said was true, you will be deprived of sleep, but seeing that you're not exactly sitting down listening to a boring lecture (instead, you're moving around with Mahjong paper and coloured markers doing assignments, or having small group discussions) chances of you falling asleep is a million to one.

The dining area where we were given food (and coffee!!) which overlooks the place where people play golf

Anyway, after the class, and after we elected the leaders, we were shown the way back to our rooms via a shortcut. It was short, no doubt, but the small fence that we were supposed to use was locked, and we had to fold ourselves neatly to be able to creep through the fence to get on the other side. Personally, I thought it was hilarious.

Friday started early with breakfast. As a team, we had made arrangements to meet at the guard house of the apartments where we were housed. Despite being in a secluded area, we weren't really cut off from technology. Our bathrooms actually had hot water! However, we never had the chance to chill in the apartments due to our tight schedules.

And then, a small disaster happened. As I was putting my camera back into my sling bag, I missed a step and sprained my ankle. It hurt like crazy for a bit, but I ignored the pain and continued with the class, but as the day progressed, the pain continued. In the end, I was taken to the clinic, and one of the trainers had to miss his Friday prayers because of me. The doctor said that my tendon was sprained, and I'd need to rest my leg. I asked if it was possible to go hiking the next day, and the doctor gave me an injection (painkiller) and bandaged my ankle and asked me to judge for myself if I was up to it. To myself I thought, I'm going into that jungle by hook or by crook. As long as the pain is gone, and I can walk, I will do it. I'll deal with the real injuries once everything is over! What made it pathetic as well as funny is that most people end up getting hurt in the forest, and here you have me getting hurt even before I step in the forest.

My injured ankle all bandaged. :(

The classes were interesting, challenging and sometimes downright cruel. We were given "money" for each successfully completed assignment, but the 'customer' always managed to twist the story and you end up being unsuccessful despite all the hardwork. It was a nerve-wrecking, mind-numbing experience and somewhat frustrating as well.

Our team consists of people from the different departments and different levels (middle management aka slaves, as well as union level guys (except for department heads)), and despite our usual hi and bye attitude back at work, we managed to work together as a team in this environment. Nevertheless, after each assignment, the trainers conduct an overview of it and you tend to learn a lot of new things. Doing the job I do, I hardly meet customers, so seeing customer demands is something new for me and I now quite understand how our sales people must feel trying to meet ridiculous customer demands on a daily basis! Classes ended at about 2:30 am which was then followed by the distribution of our safety helmets, camping backpack and sleeping bag. After packing the stuff for the camping, my head finally touched the pillow at about 4 am.