Time of the year again to look back and count our blessings for the year that has passed. This is our 3rd winter in Ireland. Still not getting used to the early sunset and the cold. It is also this time when we felt the most dejected with only hopes of spring/summer to the rescue. We still have a list of places we want to explore in Europe.

It’s Shipped!

I would say this is the biggest achievement in my professional career. We finally shipped Lunar Lake or Intel Core Ultra Second Generation. I was hired to the team in Intel Ireland 2.5 years ago to pick up this project. At that time, I was sold the idea that this product would be an “Apple Compete”. The company was trying to prove a point that we can make a low power performing product. They also took the risk of putting in a huge NPU. Needless to say, there is a lot of people in high places watching over the project.

Plenty of challenges, especially managing the stakeholders as we are a new team. We need to prove ourselves out. I was told I did a good job in handling escalations and stakeholders, in way that we gained supporters. The team also told me that I am good in prioritizing what is important for them to focus and then managing the items that we cannot commit to. Happy to hear that I am valued in this team.

For 2025, will be starting a new project. It’s mostly going to be the same old strategies for me. However I was given the task to lead the work to improve the processes and methodology in the team. In a way coaching the team on how to be successful.

Dream Vacation

Not sure since when, we had the dream of one day visiting Rome. We even bought a Rome travel book and has been sitting in our shelves back in Malaysia. We finally visited Rome in the summer of 2024. Best of all, my parents and sister managed to join us for the trip. It was a great experience, other than having to survive the hot Italian summer.

Winnie had planned out a great itinerary that you can steal from my posts. We managed to cover all the important places, Vatican City, Colosseum, Castel Sant Angelo. There are many more places that could not fit in the itinerary and many places that were closed for restoration. Definitely need to go back there again one day.

I also managed to go to Naples with Gabriel to visit a colleague. Was kind of him to take us around Naples in his own time. Gabriel keeps saying that the best pizza was the fried dough pizza in Naples. Soft, fluffy and delicious simple toppings.

The Anxious Wait

In August, the CEO came out to say that they need to cut 15% of the workforce. We just went through a headcount reduction last year and I was sure I will get hit this time. It was very quiet, not much update week after week. NPU is a very important IP but I am in a program management role. Program management role was specifically called out by the CEO as one of the roles that they will cut.

There were a lot of anxious weeks waiting for news. At the same time, Lunar Lake was getting ready for launch and there’s a lot of work to be done. It was a confusing time, on one hand busy and another just waiting for news.

Alas a lot of people took up the voluntary retirement, got a lot of goodbyes from friends and colleagues in US and Malaysia. The connections that I have back in Intel Malaysia, mainly have gone. Everyone has spread out. It is a different world if I decide to go back again.

At the end, after 4 months wait, I was spared the chop. Life goes on but this event was really a wake up call. The CEO left just after Thankgiving. So we wait for a new CEO and I am sure there will be more cuts and restructure.

Everything is a Challenge

I came to Ireland because I want some challenge. Life in Malaysia was a bit of a cruise control and I did not like where it was going. I had underestimated how hard it is going to be. For one, there’s not many friends here. So those that I have, I cherish and meet up as often as I can. Winnie has tried to look for jobs, from tech to supermarket staff. So far no luck although she has been getting some interview towards to the end of the year. Maybe things are looking up. We also got our mortgage approved but the housing crisis is crazy. People are willing to pay crazy money for houses and we have been unlucky so far in our few offers for properties.

On the brighter side, the kids are doing well. Emily is getting good reviews from her teacher. Always a good student, reading skills above her age, helpful in class. Gabriel is doing better than his peers. This year his class is struggling as the first year had 2 classes and the SNA’s are focused on them. A lot of his classmates are not coming to school for prolonged time. His final exams are great, above 70’s except for one subject (which I cannot remember now). Well he still has not spoken a word in school, has been amazing how he gets communication through without talking. It is something that I think he would not have achieved with the school system back home. For that, I think coming here has been a good decision.

What’s next then?

What did I say I want to achieve in 2024? Well I am still in Ireland, taking it one day at the time. Due to the pressure of project, I have been going to the gym but not as often. Time to pick it up in 2025. Need to see more places, nothing planned yet but maybe to Legoland Winsor or to Germany. A lot more to explore in Ireland, thinking of Waterford to learn more about Viking and medieval Ireland.