Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Road to PMP Certification

Two weeks ago, I attended my first course in the last 4 years! (Yes, it's true!) It was a course that will help me attain my PMP Certification.

Here's some pic to show you what we have done during our course...

The project that my team wanted to implement is called Sea Paradise, an underwater hotel!

First, we have to create the Project Scope Statement for the Project. Together with that, we also have to include the Flexibility Matrix and the Major Deliverables.


Next, we have to decompose the work required to complete our project into 'Work Packages', this will create the Work Breakdown Structure. The WBS also include the duration & the PIC for the work. Sequence of the work packages is not important!


By right we should decompose further into activity level, but due to time constraint, we just use the work packages and arrange them into a Schedule Network Diagram (sequence diagram) and determine the Critical Path...


After determining the Scope and Time, we have to develop the Cost Breakdown Structure...


For every project, there is some amount of risk involved. So we need to determine the Risk Assessment Matrix!


After identifying the risk, of course we also have to work out a Risk Response Plan!


Tada! After all that work, there was hardly any space left on our classroom's wall...


This is certainly an interesting course. For those who are planning to go for PMP certification, remember to look for our trainer - Mr. Alan Puan. He has definitely helped us digest our syallbus really well! Two thumbs up for him!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Durian Durian

On Thursday, my colleagues and I went to Katong to have a durian buffet. We did the most important preparation by having little for dinner.

At 8pm, we were all ready for our durian... but our boss has not arrived yet, so we started with the appetiser - Mangosteen and 'Lu ku'.



Finally, after a long wait, our first durian is served at 8.30pm.



By then, we were all drooling and really couldn't wait for the boss of the durian stall to explain to us the type of durian that is being served to us. See... the durians looked really good, didn't they?



After digging into the durians, I turned around and realised that my colleague from China has a really interesting way of eating durian. Never have I seen anyone eating durian in such a 'weird' manner. Don't believe? See it for yourself!



By 9.30pm, our much anticipated 'Cat-Mountain-King' (猫山王) still has not been served. In order to reserve some space for the King of Durians, we decided to 'tabao' whatever that we could not finish.



Finally, here comes our much awaited King... One of my colleagues descibed it as 'the best of the best' (极品中的极品)!



Hmm... I felt that though the 'Cat-Mountain-King' was good, but not sure whether it was due to the fact that by then I was almost full, I thought 'Red-Prawn' (红虾) was the best durian of the night! And 'Tai-Yuan' (太源), though looked a little pale and small in size, was not bad too!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Masticating Juicer

Ever heard of a masticating juicer? Well, a masticating juicer 'chews' the fruit or vegetable to break down the fibers and cell wall structure of the pulp. It is different from the usual fruit juicer that we normally buy and it can juice a wider range of fresh produce like vegetable, wheatgrass, nuts and berries too!

In May, my sister bought a masticating juicer which I thought is quite interesting. So I have taken a picture of it to share with you.



Notice the pulp of the fruit 'excreted' from the front of the juicer? Hee... I thought that look quite funny!

The juicer turns very slowly and squashes the juice out into the cup. This preserves the nutrients in the juice.

The fruit juice extracted from this juicer has a little bit of very fine pulp in it. Hmm... frankly, I think the centrifugal juicers make better-tasting juices, however, people who are more health-conscious will pick this masticating juicer any time!