Doctor - a zigzag journey

Part 18 - "The Boundless Sea and Sky"

Background: 1992 - 1993 (Age 25 - 26 years)

As an engineering graduate, I received my degree on a stage. At that moment, I thought that I had a bright future and I could find a job easily. Disappointedly, I was unemployed for a couple of months because there was stiff competition in finding a job then. Esther and Lola were working in corporate companies while I was still unemployed.

After a few months of job hunting, I finally found a job as a quality assurance engineer (QA engineer) in a factory in Singapore. I was 25. Inexperienced. I was sandwiched in between the manager and factory workers. I wished that I had a collegial working environment throughout the factory. I wished. But that was not the case. The factory production department and quality assurance (QA) department always under pressure to meet production targets. The QA personnel was unjustifiably perceived as an enemy to the production department when a product was rejected due to quality issues.

WS was the production manager. He had an unfriendly face, a chubby body and a loud voice. He shouted to the workers to get the job done. He regarded QA personnel as a pest.

One day, at 5pm, I packed my documents and was ready to head home.

WS walked up to me and said loudly: "Your QA inspectors had rejected my products! So, I could not meet my production target this week. I want you to sort it out!"

"Yes, I will find out what is really happening," I replied.

WS went on to say: "You, QA people, know nothing about production work. Go to try soldering a tiny piece of wire on a small circuit board yourself!"

I nodded and went into the production department with an intent to try the soldering work. Clad in a white long-sleeved shirt and dark brown suit pants, I appeared nerdy. I found a workstation. After sitting on a hard icy cold iron stool, I read the process instructions and observed the worker next to me who was a fifty-year-old experienced female production operator. I said hello to her. A cold face and a pair of cold eyes were the return. Her non-verbal response reflected her doubt on my ability to do the soldering work.

I picked up a hot soldering iron rod and started soldering a tiny wire onto to a small green circuit board.

"Ouch!" I accidentally burnt my right index finger with the hot iron soldering tip.

The production operator gave a chuckle as she witnessed the incident. The chuckle implied that I was defeated in the challenge.

I felt so ashamed of myself for the incident. I would come back and try it on another day. Demoralized, I walked out the production department with my head down avoiding cold faces and ridicules.

Then, I went to the QA department and met my colleagues to discuss the rejected products. My QA colleagues came from different background i.e. Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Filipino. The multi-culturalism blended well in a united working team. We stood by our decision to reject the product in order to protect the customers. My QA inspectors were upset with WS's defiant attitude. They wanted me to stand up and face him with courage.

WS was impatient and elevated the matter to my QA manager who summoned me to his office. I rushed to the manager's office. I vented my frustration while standing at the door of the office. My words could probably sound like the rattle of a machine-gun to the manager.

Annoyed, the manager said sternly: "I want you to sit down!"

The incident was similar to a school teacher punishing a student who had made a mistake. I should have sat down and discussed the matter calmly. I was regretful. The manager wanted me to follow up on the matter the next day.

That night, I felt down. I was a sandwich in my work place. The pressure was building up! Nonetheless, I could not give up the job. I needed money to pay my study-loan and living expenses. I could not let my family down.

In my rented room, I shut the door and listened to music to calm myself.

In that era, the BEYOND band was famous for their Cantonese songs. Their song titled "The Boundless Sea and Sky" is one of my favorite songs. The lyrics aptly described my feelings at the time:
"Many times I face the cold faces and ridicules,
I never give up my hope..."

The song was composed and sung by the lead singer in the band - Wong Ka Kui (10 June 1962 - 30 June 1993) who won the Best Lyrics award for his touching and inspiring lyrics in another song titled "The Glorious Days" 【光輝歲月】, which is a tribute to the former president of South Africa - Nelson Mandela. Part of the lyrics of the song: "The beauty of diverse colours of multi-culturalism lies in their unity." The singer - Wong Ka Kui - passed away, aged 31, in an accident while he was performing on a stage in Tokyo, Japan.

You can listen to the song titled "The Boundless Sea and Sky" with English subtitles via the YOUTUBE link in this chapter.