Time flies from the last posting. Yes, I went to Korea, and no, did not head for US, instead I was in Germany in April (was supposed to head to US then, but due to change of role, this trip was made instead).
So what change... Well, got the D7000 just before the Korea trip - so it was a birthday present to myself. First thing I did was to test it out with 50mm F1.8 lens on my nephew (technically speaking, it should be my cousin's son which in someway still nephew, but who cares right?). One thing that hits me with that testing - I don't know the camera well enough to figure out the way it works. However, the most important note which I am still trying to grasps is why half of my shots are blur!!!! I never had issues with D70, but man, it's weird to have half of the shots on the blur side. D70, pick up the cam, set the required settings, focus and shoot. No issues, but when I did the same with D7000, some were fine, some were blur. So, is there something that I am not getting right here!?!?
Having been reading up the DPreview forum on anything that talks about D7000 and it seems that I am not the only one. Some managed to overcome it by using some settings, like changing from AF-S to AF-C, from a single point to 9 point focus mode, etc. Some with success, some still having issues. I am still doing a lot of test shots, along with more pictures of my nephew and 2 trips to Zoo and a "free" trip to Bird Park (department held a workout session there, so we were give some time to enjoy some shows at the Bird Park - which means bringing out the camera!).
Along with that, I had also added in a new lens into my lens collection - the most expensive lens to-date on my collection, the venerable 70-200mm VRII F2.8. Purchased on the last day of 2010, along with the TC20III. Reason for it - simply, I am heading to Alaska (YEAH!!!), and this is the best possible lens that I can afford to hopefully bring home some good/great shots of wildlife that I hope to encounter during this trip. No, I cannot afford the 200-400mm lens (please, it's in the range of an MP's monthly income and I don't earn that much! It would have taken me a long time to save for that kind of $$$), and if I was to rent the lens, it would have come up to more than 1K just for rental! (Not taking into consideration what happen if something happens to that lens while I was renting it?!?!)
The count on the camera is now at range of 2930 shots already passed through that sensor. I think I am getting a hang of it, but I still get those blur shots at times, if not often. I have to start learning how to use it again in trying to take birds in flight, which I am still not able to do so. What have I brought onto myself... Haiz. Anyway, I am still scratching my head on this, and the only way I could think of it is that my hands are no longer as steady as it was, which does not seems to right, since I have no issues with D70. Could it be that with such a huge jump in the pixel size/resolution, it somehow made it a more demanding camera? Mystery continues as I try to get this issue righted.
Did I mentioned also that I was using this for some event shots like a dodgeball game (company) and team building games (department) held recently as well? No? Well, since I need more practice, even if it was something I am lousy with, it's still practice with the camera, I brought the cam down just for this reason. Was I happy, well, I got to learn more, and tried to get familiar with the camera, so yes, but still, the shots were, well, let's put it as still in progress!
Meantime... I am counting down the days - Yes, it's actually approximately 9 more days to flight for that trip (of a lifetime, hopefully, for me).
Showing posts with label Ranting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ranting. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Ha!
Time flies... It's now Q2! Checking back, well, as usual - not much movement in blog. Not sure what to write anyway.
Life at home is the same as usual, been flying to a few places including a week in Beijing, where I spent Sunday climbing a section of the Great Wall. Suffer the aches and pain for almost entire week, where I had difficulty even in walking the day after the climb. My colleague happen to have bought some ointment during the Sat after "shopping" walk, where we were told of this street area, which happens to be 500m away from TianAnMen Square. So, she passed me a bottle and I had to rub them for 3 days onto my thigh and calf muscles. I guess the price to pay for not being actively exercise for a while.
Yes, and immediate after the Beijing trip, had to make a trip to Hong Kong. Next weekend I will have to head toward Bangalore. Funny that I only had the training in Beijing, and now I have train people on the same product in Bangalore. So, now I am frenetically coming up with my training materials just for this trip. No, I can't use the ones I got from the training because it did not contain much stuff at all!!! So I have to create my own, hopefully I got most of the guise of the training in there...
As someone with issues with Indian spices, so I am a bit apprehensive of the trip. Yes, I don't know why but if I have roti prata or biryani at the food centre, I don't have issues, but if I were to head to Little India or any Indian restaurant, and ate food there, I tend to have to visit the restroom 2 hours after the meal. I also noticed that if I take non-spicy stuff, like tandoori or tekka, and skip their sauce/curry made of beans, etc. I might avoid the trip. So, it has to be some spices and also the chilli spice that is in the other food that is causing the issue. Just that I don't want to experiment further, so I tend to stay away from Indian restaurants and food.
I am also getting advice such as watch out for what water I am drinking, which means I may have to skip ice. When I buy bottled water, I have make sure the cap is new, as if it is not new, the bottled water could have been refilled, and not sure of what water they would have used, etc, etc. I am also told to avoid cut fruits, salads, or anything that is not cooked (I think, since salads are usually veges that is not cooked). Not something that boost your confidence of making through the trip without issues, eh?
Still figuring out the flight details as well as where is the embassy so that I can get a business visa while trying to get materials done. Adding onto the load, I had to get another demo server ready for a Proof of Concept due next week.
Meantime, it seems either my SCV boxset is having issue or my TV is the culprit. One night last week, mother was complaining about the TV not having any sound thus making it hard for her to watch her TV series. Since it was weekend, I wrote an email to the TV service centre asking for advice. They contacted me on Monday and ask if I had test it by directly plugging the antenna to the TV to see if it is working fine. Of course, I did not, so now I have to test and see (which basically means I have to wait till the issue happens again) if this scenario works out. I do hope it's the SCV boxset, as it's cheaper or even free to replace, but the TV replacement will cost. Heck even to get their technician to come over to check and confirm that the TV is having issue already cost 100plus!
Oh well.. till the next time... Oh yes, I need to get my Beijing/Great Wall photos done... "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow, you're only a day away"...
Life at home is the same as usual, been flying to a few places including a week in Beijing, where I spent Sunday climbing a section of the Great Wall. Suffer the aches and pain for almost entire week, where I had difficulty even in walking the day after the climb. My colleague happen to have bought some ointment during the Sat after "shopping" walk, where we were told of this street area, which happens to be 500m away from TianAnMen Square. So, she passed me a bottle and I had to rub them for 3 days onto my thigh and calf muscles. I guess the price to pay for not being actively exercise for a while.
Yes, and immediate after the Beijing trip, had to make a trip to Hong Kong. Next weekend I will have to head toward Bangalore. Funny that I only had the training in Beijing, and now I have train people on the same product in Bangalore. So, now I am frenetically coming up with my training materials just for this trip. No, I can't use the ones I got from the training because it did not contain much stuff at all!!! So I have to create my own, hopefully I got most of the guise of the training in there...
As someone with issues with Indian spices, so I am a bit apprehensive of the trip. Yes, I don't know why but if I have roti prata or biryani at the food centre, I don't have issues, but if I were to head to Little India or any Indian restaurant, and ate food there, I tend to have to visit the restroom 2 hours after the meal. I also noticed that if I take non-spicy stuff, like tandoori or tekka, and skip their sauce/curry made of beans, etc. I might avoid the trip. So, it has to be some spices and also the chilli spice that is in the other food that is causing the issue. Just that I don't want to experiment further, so I tend to stay away from Indian restaurants and food.
I am also getting advice such as watch out for what water I am drinking, which means I may have to skip ice. When I buy bottled water, I have make sure the cap is new, as if it is not new, the bottled water could have been refilled, and not sure of what water they would have used, etc, etc. I am also told to avoid cut fruits, salads, or anything that is not cooked (I think, since salads are usually veges that is not cooked). Not something that boost your confidence of making through the trip without issues, eh?
Still figuring out the flight details as well as where is the embassy so that I can get a business visa while trying to get materials done. Adding onto the load, I had to get another demo server ready for a Proof of Concept due next week.
Meantime, it seems either my SCV boxset is having issue or my TV is the culprit. One night last week, mother was complaining about the TV not having any sound thus making it hard for her to watch her TV series. Since it was weekend, I wrote an email to the TV service centre asking for advice. They contacted me on Monday and ask if I had test it by directly plugging the antenna to the TV to see if it is working fine. Of course, I did not, so now I have to test and see (which basically means I have to wait till the issue happens again) if this scenario works out. I do hope it's the SCV boxset, as it's cheaper or even free to replace, but the TV replacement will cost. Heck even to get their technician to come over to check and confirm that the TV is having issue already cost 100plus!
Oh well.. till the next time... Oh yes, I need to get my Beijing/Great Wall photos done... "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow, you're only a day away"...
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Not a good start for the year....
It's not exactly a good start of the year if you were to check and found 2 of CDs in your collection seems to be missing - with no idea of who's taken it, or borrow it, or misplaced after playing. Previously was a missing DVD (which is still missing), and now 2 CDs, of very old days guitar music by Los Indios Tabajaras (Always in My Heart and Maria Elana Vol 1.)
Chances of misplacing seems a little wide as it's 2 of the same group's CD missing, not 1, so... But to ensure it's not that, and CNY is round the corner, might have to do a little clean up to check and ensure it's not lying anywhere in the house.. Then again, there are not many places it could be placed...
But, sigh, I will be flying again this weekend, looks like I will have to do this after I am back... Time to clear some rubbish from the house for CNY, and start searching for those CDs...
P.S. Mean time, if anyone who don't recall buying this particular group's CDs and yet found them in their house... Could you let me know - perhaps it could be mine??!??! :P
Chances of misplacing seems a little wide as it's 2 of the same group's CD missing, not 1, so... But to ensure it's not that, and CNY is round the corner, might have to do a little clean up to check and ensure it's not lying anywhere in the house.. Then again, there are not many places it could be placed...
But, sigh, I will be flying again this weekend, looks like I will have to do this after I am back... Time to clear some rubbish from the house for CNY, and start searching for those CDs...
P.S. Mean time, if anyone who don't recall buying this particular group's CDs and yet found them in their house... Could you let me know - perhaps it could be mine??!??! :P
Monday, June 08, 2009
Silly Me!!!!! Argh!!!!
Recently, I had issues with my motherboard and had sent to the service centre to get it resolved. As it issue was too random, and they could not resolve since they could not figure the issue (!!!), so they decided to change the motherboard for me. Well, after that, they restarted the system.. and my Vista went into some errors which required some chkdsk resolution to it, and cause the applications installed to be a little unstable. To ensure it's not the HDD giving way soon (as it's already in its 4th year), decided to grab a new 350GB HDD to replace it instead.
Great, had that installed, and reinstalled Vista and all the programs etc. Most of it installed fine, if not with some errors, but go them resolved. Then since I had Palm Centro, I had installed the Palm Desktop, as well as Documents to Go. Well, I did a hotsync, and darn it, the hotsync stalled at Documents to Go updating.
Now I had faced this issue before and after much hard work in surfing the internet for solutions that I finally found it. It was working fine in the previous HDD. However, I had not remembered to make a note or save that page of information into my HDD - darn silly of me as I forogt that I might need to reinstall next time and well, I forgot how the solution was, I forgot where the heck I found that solution from, and I am having a lousy time surfing the net trying to find the same solution again!!!!
Sigh... Should have been wiser to keep a copy of the solution somewhere... Well... Now I have keep searching for it - don't even remember what I words or phrases I used to search that would yield the link to the actual solution. ARGH!!!!!
Great, had that installed, and reinstalled Vista and all the programs etc. Most of it installed fine, if not with some errors, but go them resolved. Then since I had Palm Centro, I had installed the Palm Desktop, as well as Documents to Go. Well, I did a hotsync, and darn it, the hotsync stalled at Documents to Go updating.
Now I had faced this issue before and after much hard work in surfing the internet for solutions that I finally found it. It was working fine in the previous HDD. However, I had not remembered to make a note or save that page of information into my HDD - darn silly of me as I forogt that I might need to reinstall next time and well, I forgot how the solution was, I forgot where the heck I found that solution from, and I am having a lousy time surfing the net trying to find the same solution again!!!!
Sigh... Should have been wiser to keep a copy of the solution somewhere... Well... Now I have keep searching for it - don't even remember what I words or phrases I used to search that would yield the link to the actual solution. ARGH!!!!!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Still in the pipeline... Coming out soon...
Yes, my NZ trip photos are still in the pipeline... It's coming out soon, because... Well, I had started to work on it, but found out that Adobe does not take Nikon raw format (NEF) very well, so for all my IR shots, it reads in wrongly!!! So, I had to find another way to feed PS3 with the correct set of readings in the photo.
Finally I downloaded trail version of Nikon Capture NX2, as this is currently the only way I know to overcome this issue. So, I have not make sure I get all my photos done before the trail date expires...
So.....o, yes it's coming... Just wait need to wait a little longer... :P
Looks like I will have to spend more $$$ to get this... I wonder if there is any other product out that could replace CaptureNX2 totally and have a panorama tool!
Finally I downloaded trail version of Nikon Capture NX2, as this is currently the only way I know to overcome this issue. So, I have not make sure I get all my photos done before the trail date expires...
So.....o, yes it's coming... Just wait need to wait a little longer... :P
Looks like I will have to spend more $$$ to get this... I wonder if there is any other product out that could replace CaptureNX2 totally and have a panorama tool!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
ARGH!!!!
That's it! When I get back, the cam is going to the service centre!!! I cannot believe this. This is the second time it's giving me issues. First the Lexar CF card, now this one!!! My photos are ruined!!! Should have download daily instead of waiting like what I did. Darn it!
So, my photos of the trip from Edendale to Christchurch is almost totally gone, and so are the photos taken today. Sigh... Have to go back and see what can be salvage from it.
ARGH!!!!
This means.. I really need to be making another trip here... Oh well, at least the video is ok... Small consolation I supposed.
So, my photos of the trip from Edendale to Christchurch is almost totally gone, and so are the photos taken today. Sigh... Have to go back and see what can be salvage from it.
ARGH!!!!
This means.. I really need to be making another trip here... Oh well, at least the video is ok... Small consolation I supposed.
Friday, April 24, 2009
So near... Yet so far
Just when I thought this is my last day in NZ... Got a call, and I have to go back to Hamilton next week. Which means I am cutting it thin on my visa expiry as I am given only 1 month in NZ.
Had balloon flight today - finally something in the air!!! It was fun, but cold! Super cold. Interestingly, it was not that cold while in the balloon flight, but super cold when on land. But now I am tired... Did not have enough sleep last night and got up 1 hour before the actual time... I must have been excited by it that I thot I might have not set up my alarm correctly!!! Oh well, this means early night for me, as I have to return the car tomorrow as plan and walk around Christchurch town area (do some winter shopping - getting some polyprothene stuff since it's supposed to be very good in keeping heat)
Even though it's autumn here, I am freezing like mad, with my fingers and toes getting the worst lot, as the fingers are not covered, and I am still not sure why my toes/feet are feeling cold as I am wearing my thickest socks!!!
Oh, well... And I thought could end my NZ experience with a nice feeling... Sigh... But it does give me a day in Christchurch and Auckland. Give and take... Give and take...
Had balloon flight today - finally something in the air!!! It was fun, but cold! Super cold. Interestingly, it was not that cold while in the balloon flight, but super cold when on land. But now I am tired... Did not have enough sleep last night and got up 1 hour before the actual time... I must have been excited by it that I thot I might have not set up my alarm correctly!!! Oh well, this means early night for me, as I have to return the car tomorrow as plan and walk around Christchurch town area (do some winter shopping - getting some polyprothene stuff since it's supposed to be very good in keeping heat)
Even though it's autumn here, I am freezing like mad, with my fingers and toes getting the worst lot, as the fingers are not covered, and I am still not sure why my toes/feet are feeling cold as I am wearing my thickest socks!!!
Oh, well... And I thought could end my NZ experience with a nice feeling... Sigh... But it does give me a day in Christchurch and Auckland. Give and take... Give and take...
Saturday, March 21, 2009
*Bleep*
Sigh... I cannot believe this, but I apparently schedule a trip to Blenheim for the wine and tour day exactly on the same time as an old classic airshow!!! Because of this, I am having trouble getting some affordable accomodations, and still am scrambling to find some motel/b&b/others that still have rooms available, and at an affordable price. So far, the cheapest room I have got is NZD180 for 1 night and that's in a B&B!
Haiz...
Haiz...
Friday, January 30, 2009
A different life... leading to CNY
For so many years, the time leading to CNY has been relatively easy... I just had to make sure I got my new clothes, help mother with some of the task like chaffeuring her to places to get the CNY stuff, and packing Ang Pow (with chocolate coins) for her school kids...
Well, for this year... By the time the clock strikes midnight on 26 Jan 2009 (start of CNY), I was literally flopped in front of the TV with no strength to move at all - upper body muscles (or tissues whatever you want to call it) was screaming for some relief and the soles of my feet was throttling like crazy.
I had spent almost the entire 2 days - Sat and Sun, cleaning the entire windows in the house, which comes to 6 different sized panels of window, with various degree of dirt on it. After which, I had to iron all the new clothes to be worn for the next 2 days. Then, move boxes around to ensure the living room looks clean and uncluttered (yes, some of the boxes were moved to a room for the time being) as my relatives will be visiting. Mother wants the living room to be as nice and neat and without any boxes or articles around.
I am certain there were more tasks that were performed but my brains were too tired to think, and recall what they were. Heck, I am still not recovered from it as yet.
Thankfully, most of my CNY days are relatively quiet... No need of any more exertions, other than driving to my relatives place. Actually, I was left in peace to work on my new rig on the 2nd day. Usually, my relatives would come over to my place on the 2nd day, but this year, interestingly, we had a merry-go-round in our visitation. I went to my aunt's place first, then together we proceed to my uncle's place. After that, my aunt and family came over to my place. Not long after they left, my uncle's family came over to my place.
So, all visits were done within 1 day. Rest and relax for the 2nd day!
Next year, preparation for CNY will start 1 month ahead... No more 2 days scramble to get things done... It's too tiring!!!!
Well, for this year... By the time the clock strikes midnight on 26 Jan 2009 (start of CNY), I was literally flopped in front of the TV with no strength to move at all - upper body muscles (or tissues whatever you want to call it) was screaming for some relief and the soles of my feet was throttling like crazy.
I had spent almost the entire 2 days - Sat and Sun, cleaning the entire windows in the house, which comes to 6 different sized panels of window, with various degree of dirt on it. After which, I had to iron all the new clothes to be worn for the next 2 days. Then, move boxes around to ensure the living room looks clean and uncluttered (yes, some of the boxes were moved to a room for the time being) as my relatives will be visiting. Mother wants the living room to be as nice and neat and without any boxes or articles around.
I am certain there were more tasks that were performed but my brains were too tired to think, and recall what they were. Heck, I am still not recovered from it as yet.
Thankfully, most of my CNY days are relatively quiet... No need of any more exertions, other than driving to my relatives place. Actually, I was left in peace to work on my new rig on the 2nd day. Usually, my relatives would come over to my place on the 2nd day, but this year, interestingly, we had a merry-go-round in our visitation. I went to my aunt's place first, then together we proceed to my uncle's place. After that, my aunt and family came over to my place. Not long after they left, my uncle's family came over to my place.
So, all visits were done within 1 day. Rest and relax for the 2nd day!
Next year, preparation for CNY will start 1 month ahead... No more 2 days scramble to get things done... It's too tiring!!!!
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Ouch... Ouch...
It has hurt that bad that I had no choice but to see the chiropractor. It started with some pain the wrist, although I am not certain how or why it happened - Could be due to the amount of weight and stuff that I have been shifting around. The pain was tolerable, so I thought it would just pass after 1 or 2 days... Well, it didn't, in fact, it became worse as time goes on that it affected the entire arm. Started to feel a little sore at certain points of the arm, and numbness actually seeps into the arm after a few days... I guess that trigger off the alarm, to make an appt, not that I did not want to, but the work has been such that once I get into it, I totally forgot about making the appt, so that also drag the days... Finally, the pain was that bad that cannot be ignored, and thus call up and ask when is the next available date/time - thank goodness that the appt was just a day away...
Had about 1 and half hour session of pain as apparently the tissues in the body were so tensed. It was much better after the session, but the event was not over as the body literally aching when I woke up this morning... However, the wrist was much better than before, just that certain points of the arm and shoulder still feeling sore as i can still feel some pain when I press on them. I think she gave me a lecture on this, about not having the right posture, not carry/holding the stuff correctly, etc... She was also telling me about using certain part of the body tissue to hold rather than just the shoulder, etc which I am having issues to understand. Hey, I have not study the body before, so I don't really know the actual terms for certain part of the tissue you have around your back and shoulder ok?!?! More importantly, how to use them when carrying stuff, especially heavy stuff... It all sounded so foreign to me...
Anyway, the body still ache, even when sitting, not done properly, I would find the soreness flagging saying "hello" like an old friend... Sigh... Need more Vitamin B complex to help with the muscle and tissue, along with metabolism. SMS to mother about it, and asking if I should get it in SG or Penang, she immediate got a bottle of them there...
Yes, she is in Penang, and I am flying there tomorrow night to join her and my aunt, for the weekend, since it's a long weekend due to Hari Raya Haji on Monday... Will be back on Monday, while they enjoy another week there...
Meantime, got work to do, and I have to do it remotely. Darn, just as I thought I could make a trip to somewhere (which I have never been before)... The travel freeze has bite off the travel plans... By I supposed in this current economically challenged environment, I should be happy that I still got a job...
Whatever it is... Weekend is coming... Yeah! Assam Laksa, Chendol, Rojak... *Slurp* Food... Here I come!!!! :P Which also means I might be gaining some weight, despite it being a very short trip... I am certain that I would be having lots of food at anytime of the day...
Had about 1 and half hour session of pain as apparently the tissues in the body were so tensed. It was much better after the session, but the event was not over as the body literally aching when I woke up this morning... However, the wrist was much better than before, just that certain points of the arm and shoulder still feeling sore as i can still feel some pain when I press on them. I think she gave me a lecture on this, about not having the right posture, not carry/holding the stuff correctly, etc... She was also telling me about using certain part of the body tissue to hold rather than just the shoulder, etc which I am having issues to understand. Hey, I have not study the body before, so I don't really know the actual terms for certain part of the tissue you have around your back and shoulder ok?!?! More importantly, how to use them when carrying stuff, especially heavy stuff... It all sounded so foreign to me...
Anyway, the body still ache, even when sitting, not done properly, I would find the soreness flagging saying "hello" like an old friend... Sigh... Need more Vitamin B complex to help with the muscle and tissue, along with metabolism. SMS to mother about it, and asking if I should get it in SG or Penang, she immediate got a bottle of them there...
Yes, she is in Penang, and I am flying there tomorrow night to join her and my aunt, for the weekend, since it's a long weekend due to Hari Raya Haji on Monday... Will be back on Monday, while they enjoy another week there...
Meantime, got work to do, and I have to do it remotely. Darn, just as I thought I could make a trip to somewhere (which I have never been before)... The travel freeze has bite off the travel plans... By I supposed in this current economically challenged environment, I should be happy that I still got a job...
Whatever it is... Weekend is coming... Yeah! Assam Laksa, Chendol, Rojak... *Slurp* Food... Here I come!!!! :P Which also means I might be gaining some weight, despite it being a very short trip... I am certain that I would be having lots of food at anytime of the day...
Friday, October 10, 2008
Ranting Session
What do a person do when something you faced at work and felt that the other person is not thinking properly and taking an easy way out (by making assumptions) on issues with may affect the company and the system you work on? This person is supposedly trained in the field and have other degrees that "persuaded" the manager to hire. However, in field and work done, even a person who is not trained knows that you should not be doing what the person is doing, especially in making assumptions as some of it may deal with people's life and health.
How do you tell a person who is rather bullheaded, non-communicative and has the tendency not to listen to people, especially those who were in the field longer and with more experience - even if they are supposedly to be reporting to you - that this person should be more careful in the requests and perhaps discuss with the team before making those assumptions? As I learn to be a leader may not be as experienced as required, but you must have that ability and knack to recognise the talent of others and to put them of good use; giving them encouragement to grow and expand; selling them visions and how they can contribute to that vision; empowering them to make decisions so that they can grow; not only areas which they are good in but also other areas; challenge them to do better, to go further.
Then again, I guess that's an idealist thinking... Realistically, 90% of the workplaces in the world is the opposite of what is listed... Nevermind... Just another ranting that I felt need to get off my chest...
How do you tell a person who is rather bullheaded, non-communicative and has the tendency not to listen to people, especially those who were in the field longer and with more experience - even if they are supposedly to be reporting to you - that this person should be more careful in the requests and perhaps discuss with the team before making those assumptions? As I learn to be a leader may not be as experienced as required, but you must have that ability and knack to recognise the talent of others and to put them of good use; giving them encouragement to grow and expand; selling them visions and how they can contribute to that vision; empowering them to make decisions so that they can grow; not only areas which they are good in but also other areas; challenge them to do better, to go further.
Then again, I guess that's an idealist thinking... Realistically, 90% of the workplaces in the world is the opposite of what is listed... Nevermind... Just another ranting that I felt need to get off my chest...
Thursday, October 09, 2008
What a start to the day...
Sigh... Who would want to wake up to a flooded kitchen? Well, I definitely won't want it but it did happen to me this morning. It seems that the recent change to the kitchen tap has affected the flexible pipe that connects to it that that pipe has burst, which happened when I was still asleep... So, currently I am not certain when it happened, and how much water has flown from the burst area. I do know that the kitchen floor was flooded, given the fact that the drainage hole was somewhere around there...
It's a good thing that it did not reach higher than 5 cm, which is the level which the other cabinets are elevated. The other was that we got the contractor to place in switches during the last small renovation we did, so it was more modular in shutting down the water pipes - only 2 taps were affected by the shutdown - kitchen tap and the water heater tap.
Went down to the stores and bought another pipe and had to fix it in myself. This leads me to think how on earth did those people do it when the piping and the joints are of such awkward positions! I mean the joint for the straight pipe and the flexible pipe is exactly that the corner which leaves little space to maneuver the wrench in either loosening or tightening of the screw!
Oh well, it's fixed... Just waiting for the wet area to get dry, and then having the task of placing all those stuff back into the cabinet below the sink...
It's a good thing that it did not reach higher than 5 cm, which is the level which the other cabinets are elevated. The other was that we got the contractor to place in switches during the last small renovation we did, so it was more modular in shutting down the water pipes - only 2 taps were affected by the shutdown - kitchen tap and the water heater tap.
Went down to the stores and bought another pipe and had to fix it in myself. This leads me to think how on earth did those people do it when the piping and the joints are of such awkward positions! I mean the joint for the straight pipe and the flexible pipe is exactly that the corner which leaves little space to maneuver the wrench in either loosening or tightening of the screw!
Oh well, it's fixed... Just waiting for the wet area to get dry, and then having the task of placing all those stuff back into the cabinet below the sink...
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Shopping... So unlike me... :P
If there is anywhere in Sg that I don't really know well, then it would have to be the east side. The funniest part to it all is that everyone kept saying that all the good food are found at the east side of the island...
I have spend most of my life in the centre of the island as I was staying in Toa Payoh when I first know my location. Then, changes in my life that lead to moving over to south-west part of the island. I am now staying in the North. So, you see, I have moved mainly around the central region of the island since young. The most time I ever venture to the east was because the airport is there!! Of course, I do have a friend living in that area, but it has been ages since I had visited her place.
So, it was a public holiday, and because of my mother's quest to look for the cabinet (so that she can place her boxes of shoes and stuff into it), that we ventured to the huge Giant Superstore in Tampines (Yes, it's the east side of the island!). Interestingly, the Ikea superstore as well as Courts Megastore are also in that vicinity - directly opposite Giant.
Started with Giant, since the cabinet was actually from their advertisement. However, we were not lucky as the cabinet is not found there. So, instead, we went round the hypermarket, and look at the stuff they had. Of course, it quite similar to what you find in IMM, but just the size is 2 times the size of the Giant in IMM. Can't quite remember what we purchase there, it's definitely not the cabinet - Still waiting for them to restock!
From there, we moved to Courts, which I wanted to see if the Wii console was still selling at the reduced pricing. Alas, it was only for Friday and there isn't any Wii console in the store that day. Instead, my mum bought this Corningware like bowl for her colleague's wedding (I think).
Then we went over to Ikea as I was looking for a cabinet (specifically a solid wood one) for my books & ever increasing DVDs. Walked the entire floor area and finally, after queuing for almost half an hour, we left with a table lamp for my mother's table.
By then it was late, and time for dinner. We had chilli crabs (among other stuff) at Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood at Casuarina Rd. I think that was the best highlight of the day... Oh, and they ran out of tables by the time it hits 6.15pm! Good thing we were early!
That was not the end of it...
On Sat, mother decided to visit Tangs to get the Tanyu claypot. It turns out to be a 3 hour visit, as we were standing, among a large crowd of ah sohs and ah mas... Listening to this man teaching how to cook - using the Tanyu claypot. The most interesting point I pickup from this guy is that he uses coke to cook his braised duck! Anyway, Tangs made 200plus $$$ from me that day as we walked away with 1 Tanyu claypot, 4 cookbooks, 1 set of 3 knives, 1 BBraun blender and 3 white vinegar shampoo.
Darn... Spending $$$ again...
I have spend most of my life in the centre of the island as I was staying in Toa Payoh when I first know my location. Then, changes in my life that lead to moving over to south-west part of the island. I am now staying in the North. So, you see, I have moved mainly around the central region of the island since young. The most time I ever venture to the east was because the airport is there!! Of course, I do have a friend living in that area, but it has been ages since I had visited her place.
So, it was a public holiday, and because of my mother's quest to look for the cabinet (so that she can place her boxes of shoes and stuff into it), that we ventured to the huge Giant Superstore in Tampines (Yes, it's the east side of the island!). Interestingly, the Ikea superstore as well as Courts Megastore are also in that vicinity - directly opposite Giant.
Started with Giant, since the cabinet was actually from their advertisement. However, we were not lucky as the cabinet is not found there. So, instead, we went round the hypermarket, and look at the stuff they had. Of course, it quite similar to what you find in IMM, but just the size is 2 times the size of the Giant in IMM. Can't quite remember what we purchase there, it's definitely not the cabinet - Still waiting for them to restock!
From there, we moved to Courts, which I wanted to see if the Wii console was still selling at the reduced pricing. Alas, it was only for Friday and there isn't any Wii console in the store that day. Instead, my mum bought this Corningware like bowl for her colleague's wedding (I think).
Then we went over to Ikea as I was looking for a cabinet (specifically a solid wood one) for my books & ever increasing DVDs. Walked the entire floor area and finally, after queuing for almost half an hour, we left with a table lamp for my mother's table.
By then it was late, and time for dinner. We had chilli crabs (among other stuff) at Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood at Casuarina Rd. I think that was the best highlight of the day... Oh, and they ran out of tables by the time it hits 6.15pm! Good thing we were early!
That was not the end of it...
On Sat, mother decided to visit Tangs to get the Tanyu claypot. It turns out to be a 3 hour visit, as we were standing, among a large crowd of ah sohs and ah mas... Listening to this man teaching how to cook - using the Tanyu claypot. The most interesting point I pickup from this guy is that he uses coke to cook his braised duck! Anyway, Tangs made 200plus $$$ from me that day as we walked away with 1 Tanyu claypot, 4 cookbooks, 1 set of 3 knives, 1 BBraun blender and 3 white vinegar shampoo.
Darn... Spending $$$ again...
Friday, September 19, 2008
After a while...
I think I am in a rather "low" feeling lately that I seems to be "binging" on Jap food... For 2 weeks in a row I have been going to Tomo (Hokkaido Sushi in M Hotel, which is a different focus is open by Thomas as well, and the next one, coming up in Nov, at The Sail, and focus is on cafe style-like food - sandwiches, etc) for Friday dinners. Maybe it's also because my usual Friday dinner partner is busy these 2 weeks - work activities and building castles (or dry swimming as some would put it)...
With all the issues at work - which leads to no enthusiasm for work, and since I tend to pamper myself a lot when I am not happy... by eating! (yes, I noticed that it's a habit - Not happy, eat; Happy, eat; Nothing to do, eat!) Isn't it a wonder that the weight is creeping up the scale and don't seems to be heading downwards?!?!? However, I have to say this - The Uni I had there is simply the best I ever had so far in my journey of Japanese Food - creamy and sweet, unlike those you get in the chain stores like Sakai Sushi/Sushi Teh. I have heard about the great food (including Uni) my friends/relatives had when they are over in Japan, but I have not got that chance of getting there to taste it. So, I guess I have to be contended with the food I get here. One more to log down into the travel wish list...
Maybe it's also that 2 months of traveling, especially the last month where it was Alor Setar which basically means you eat to survive rather than you live to eat, as well, there isn't much variety there for you to chose... It was either KFC, Pizza Hut, Kenny Rogers or Peranakan food; and we had Peranakan food from the same shop for the whole entire week for lunch!!! Dinner was no better as it was either the same Peranakan food shop, Thai food or Seafood (which we had to drive to the next town - Jitra)... The only good part is that of the seafood at Jitra - good food at very affordable pricing... A meal for 9 people, which includes 9 totally deep-fried catfishes (fish bones can be eaten as well! Very yummy!), crab tang hoon, soft shell crab, steam fish, toufu, vegetables and another 2 more dishes which I cannot remember, and drinks (coconuts, ambulah with sour prunes, cans of coke for some; and sometimes 2 drinks per person) - all comes up to only RM100-110!
Ok... With the current economy situation... Maybe it's time to tighten the belt a bit... Especially if I want to travel again!!! My Mar-Apr holidays seems like a decade away despite it being only, what, less than half a year ago? There is still more out there to go.... Canadian Rocky Mountains; Eastern Europe; Other parts of Western Europe which I have not been to, and still a lot to go; Turkey; Egypt (The rest of Middle East is on back burner); Israel; New Zealand; Hawaii, and many other parts of US, including Alaska; Bhutan (although I am not certain if I could take the altitude - I seems to have issues with altitude); Silk Road; All of South America; come to think of it, most of Central America; Iceland (are they part of Western Europe?!?!?); Antartica (if there is such chance!); Uluru in NT, Australia; Safari in Africa (Not sure where as yet); Not forgetting Japan for the food!!! So many places, so little time/money!!!!
Let's see if I will get a chance to see Lake Titsee in Nov... No news as yet...
With all the issues at work - which leads to no enthusiasm for work, and since I tend to pamper myself a lot when I am not happy... by eating! (yes, I noticed that it's a habit - Not happy, eat; Happy, eat; Nothing to do, eat!) Isn't it a wonder that the weight is creeping up the scale and don't seems to be heading downwards?!?!? However, I have to say this - The Uni I had there is simply the best I ever had so far in my journey of Japanese Food - creamy and sweet, unlike those you get in the chain stores like Sakai Sushi/Sushi Teh. I have heard about the great food (including Uni) my friends/relatives had when they are over in Japan, but I have not got that chance of getting there to taste it. So, I guess I have to be contended with the food I get here. One more to log down into the travel wish list...
Maybe it's also that 2 months of traveling, especially the last month where it was Alor Setar which basically means you eat to survive rather than you live to eat, as well, there isn't much variety there for you to chose... It was either KFC, Pizza Hut, Kenny Rogers or Peranakan food; and we had Peranakan food from the same shop for the whole entire week for lunch!!! Dinner was no better as it was either the same Peranakan food shop, Thai food or Seafood (which we had to drive to the next town - Jitra)... The only good part is that of the seafood at Jitra - good food at very affordable pricing... A meal for 9 people, which includes 9 totally deep-fried catfishes (fish bones can be eaten as well! Very yummy!), crab tang hoon, soft shell crab, steam fish, toufu, vegetables and another 2 more dishes which I cannot remember, and drinks (coconuts, ambulah with sour prunes, cans of coke for some; and sometimes 2 drinks per person) - all comes up to only RM100-110!
Ok... With the current economy situation... Maybe it's time to tighten the belt a bit... Especially if I want to travel again!!! My Mar-Apr holidays seems like a decade away despite it being only, what, less than half a year ago? There is still more out there to go.... Canadian Rocky Mountains; Eastern Europe; Other parts of Western Europe which I have not been to, and still a lot to go; Turkey; Egypt (The rest of Middle East is on back burner); Israel; New Zealand; Hawaii, and many other parts of US, including Alaska; Bhutan (although I am not certain if I could take the altitude - I seems to have issues with altitude); Silk Road; All of South America; come to think of it, most of Central America; Iceland (are they part of Western Europe?!?!?); Antartica (if there is such chance!); Uluru in NT, Australia; Safari in Africa (Not sure where as yet); Not forgetting Japan for the food!!! So many places, so little time/money!!!!
Let's see if I will get a chance to see Lake Titsee in Nov... No news as yet...
Monday, August 18, 2008
New Directions required....
It's official... The higher management has, in 1 stroke, has given the straw to break the camel's back... They have given a "leadership" award to a manager who has not shown any leadership skills; and in that act, upset the entire team under that manager. As one of them asked - "What did (the person) do?" (as in what did the person put in to justify the award). The projects has gone live, in spite of no direction, no help from the manager; but to give an award to the person that has the tag of "leadership" was an insult for team. A highly self-motivated team, who in their own principle works toward trying to satisfy customer, with all the appendices they faced; now felt betrayed and no longer felt they need to strive anymore.
Since they are motivated by their own principles, and the environment has no longer given them the mandate and recognition of their sacrifice and hard work, they are now "motivated" to find pastures somewhere else.
Since they are motivated by their own principles, and the environment has no longer given them the mandate and recognition of their sacrifice and hard work, they are now "motivated" to find pastures somewhere else.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Spring (Erm... Late Summer, I mean) Cleaning in Progress
My place is finally no longer "under construction"... The last of the painters has left, the new aircon is in placed... The living room no longer looks cool, but warm... I seems to see lavender, well, if I can find a blank space to stare at, in the rooms... That signals the start of "spring" cleaning session.
The place was done rather quickly and not to my inconvenience... How can it be an inconvenience when you are not in town to be in the middle of it!?!? Yup, I was out of town again for work and during this time, thankfully, my aunt was around to help in "supervising" the work... So, by the time I came back, most of the work is done. I had to endure another 2 days - one to place the new curtain railing and another day for the painters to patch up whatever work that needs to be done...
Now the major task (for me) is to sift through and "shredding" all the letters which accumulated for 3 or more years *blush*... I have not even finish a pack (as in 1 big plastic bag holding maybe a few months of mails), and my fingers are already complaining... I need to get a shredder to do this job... I don't think my fingers can take another 8 or more bags!!!
More things are coming in... New TV table (yes, I am moving my placement of the plasma TV), new study desk for my mum's room and new chairs to replace the broken one in my room... Yes, more $$ spent... See, I'm helping the economy to roll - the marketplace already got almost 6k *gasped, wow, now that I have added the sums up* from me and my mum for the new "improvements"...
Sigh... more $$ to spend... Let's see... A book cabinet, a side table, reading lamp, shredder, new light bulbs, and.... etc!!! Maybe I should look for a side line... I am feeling the case of "Money no Enough"!!
Movies that got my attention: Star Wars - The Clone Wars & Quantum of Solace; No, I don't think I am interested in Money No Enough II...
The place was done rather quickly and not to my inconvenience... How can it be an inconvenience when you are not in town to be in the middle of it!?!? Yup, I was out of town again for work and during this time, thankfully, my aunt was around to help in "supervising" the work... So, by the time I came back, most of the work is done. I had to endure another 2 days - one to place the new curtain railing and another day for the painters to patch up whatever work that needs to be done...
Now the major task (for me) is to sift through and "shredding" all the letters which accumulated for 3 or more years *blush*... I have not even finish a pack (as in 1 big plastic bag holding maybe a few months of mails), and my fingers are already complaining... I need to get a shredder to do this job... I don't think my fingers can take another 8 or more bags!!!
More things are coming in... New TV table (yes, I am moving my placement of the plasma TV), new study desk for my mum's room and new chairs to replace the broken one in my room... Yes, more $$ spent... See, I'm helping the economy to roll - the marketplace already got almost 6k *gasped, wow, now that I have added the sums up* from me and my mum for the new "improvements"...
Sigh... more $$ to spend... Let's see... A book cabinet, a side table, reading lamp, shredder, new light bulbs, and.... etc!!! Maybe I should look for a side line... I am feeling the case of "Money no Enough"!!
Movies that got my attention: Star Wars - The Clone Wars & Quantum of Solace; No, I don't think I am interested in Money No Enough II...
Friday, July 25, 2008
Eye Opener... Well, at least for me...
I have to say, if I had not gone on aircon hunting... I would not have known what are the technology behind the aircon system. In fact, I had done (what I usually do before even starting to hunt) started reading about the aircons, and lurking in forums to check on what people had to say about aircon and the different brands...
Did you know the difference between the inverter and the conventional types of aircon? The label behind energy saving etc? Well, I did not... But I did learn a fair bit while hunt for one... I have to say, it's quite interesting to know, if you have the time... Actually, I think I only ask around 3 shops and got it from the last one... 2 shops were in the neighbour type of environment, and the other is a larger company, with 1 head office and 3 other offices/showroom around Singapore.
Interestingly, the 1st 2 shops recommended Toshiba, and the last has some award from Toshiba for past few years. Yup, we went for Toshiba inverter system 3, replacing the old (inherited from the previous owner) system 2 carrier that we had.
I was supposed to be able to enjoy the new system tonight, but... Well, it turns out the wood that was supporting the old compressor unit was rotting away, and had to be replaced. So, we finally managed to find out what cause the mysterious "flooding" of the master bedroom during heavy rain. Yup, leakage from this rotting piece of wood. So, the 3 rooms had the smaller unit fixed up, but the compressor is back in the company's office, and awaiting for the wood to be replaced. This, apparently, is by another contractor of the aircon installation company, so tomorrow I have to call the company to see if they could get hold of their contractor and get them to come and replace this rotting wood.
It seems to be a home-fix year, with the changing of the aircon system, as well as repairs on some sprawling ceiling issue we had in the 2 bathrooms, we also decided to, after 13 years, to have a new coat of paint for the entire house! But then the work can only start after the aircon system is in placed.
So, in midst of my hectic work travel, my place is also having some hectic schedule to get it fix up and repainted by September. Which also means I had to do a little packing up after years of not throwing away junk as well as huge piles of letters and junk mails and magazines like Nikon Focus and Highway.
Sigh... I guess any time is a good time to clear junk from the house... How did those junks ever get piled up... Blame it on the travel??? :P
Oh well, with these stuff... I guess the AV receiver and new speakers will have to wait - review in 2 years time?!?!? :P Sigh.. Hope still got cash to upgrade this PC at the end of the year...
This year seems to be spending year... Haiz...
Did you know the difference between the inverter and the conventional types of aircon? The label behind energy saving etc? Well, I did not... But I did learn a fair bit while hunt for one... I have to say, it's quite interesting to know, if you have the time... Actually, I think I only ask around 3 shops and got it from the last one... 2 shops were in the neighbour type of environment, and the other is a larger company, with 1 head office and 3 other offices/showroom around Singapore.
Interestingly, the 1st 2 shops recommended Toshiba, and the last has some award from Toshiba for past few years. Yup, we went for Toshiba inverter system 3, replacing the old (inherited from the previous owner) system 2 carrier that we had.
I was supposed to be able to enjoy the new system tonight, but... Well, it turns out the wood that was supporting the old compressor unit was rotting away, and had to be replaced. So, we finally managed to find out what cause the mysterious "flooding" of the master bedroom during heavy rain. Yup, leakage from this rotting piece of wood. So, the 3 rooms had the smaller unit fixed up, but the compressor is back in the company's office, and awaiting for the wood to be replaced. This, apparently, is by another contractor of the aircon installation company, so tomorrow I have to call the company to see if they could get hold of their contractor and get them to come and replace this rotting wood.
It seems to be a home-fix year, with the changing of the aircon system, as well as repairs on some sprawling ceiling issue we had in the 2 bathrooms, we also decided to, after 13 years, to have a new coat of paint for the entire house! But then the work can only start after the aircon system is in placed.
So, in midst of my hectic work travel, my place is also having some hectic schedule to get it fix up and repainted by September. Which also means I had to do a little packing up after years of not throwing away junk as well as huge piles of letters and junk mails and magazines like Nikon Focus and Highway.
Sigh... I guess any time is a good time to clear junk from the house... How did those junks ever get piled up... Blame it on the travel??? :P
Oh well, with these stuff... I guess the AV receiver and new speakers will have to wait - review in 2 years time?!?!? :P Sigh.. Hope still got cash to upgrade this PC at the end of the year...
This year seems to be spending year... Haiz...
Sunday, June 29, 2008
*Head bang against wall* Emoticon
If you have been using some internet messengers like MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, etc or even some online forums, you would probably come across this emoticon that shows a smiley banging against a wall. Well, this is becoming one of the most used emoticon in my office chat program. The other most probably is the emoticon that is in red colour that is gestering madly, in a ranting manner - raising hands, pounding a fisted hand against and open palm, with the mouth moving very rapidly and some steam coming out of the sides of the smiley.
Why am I so fed up or shall we say seemly unprofessional by being coming rather emotionally frustrated, especially in my dealings with some of my colleagues?
Well... That's because sometimes I wonder if common sense is really common at all? Also, if anyone is really using their brains when they work?
Why? Well, let me ask you a question... If you are working, and there were some errors when you ran some jobs or report. Would you just ignore those errors or would you look at the errors, and try to resolve those errors?
Logically speaking, if anyone encounter errors, they would not ignore errors. Right? No? You mean you would let the errors be there and simply ignore them, not even bother to check and retry to ensure that there is really no issues? If so, how do you ensure these errors will not affect your operations/cash flow/etc at a later stage?
So, if you encounter errors, you would start looking at the errors, try and resolve them or if you could not resolve them, you would start asking for help or seek assurances from more experienced persons to ensure the situation is under control. Well, what happens if you had someone else working with you, but both of you when encounter errors, would both of you ignore the errors? Giving it an opportunity to blow up in your face?
Where am I getting at with all these scenarios?
Well... a site went live yesterday, or rather this early morning. However, due to these people who decided not to do anything about the errors, had issues down the road after 2 hours into the go live, and start to call people asking for help due to some other issues they are facing with the system. It took another hour to find out that they had screwed up by ignoring those errors which is very easily resolved within 10 minutes. However, because of these, there were people who had to forgo some hours of sleep and making some other people very angry and fed up with the kind of work attitude, causing more "fireworks" within the team which is already barely holding on due to the projects.
This is despite the several prompting by some to ensure when certain things are done, some checking needs to be done to ensure the work is done correctly... Well, apparent the check is done, but when you have 2 persons who have this working attitude of not bother to ensure all errors are resolved checking each other... You know how this would work out...
So... I had to wake up in the middle of the night to resolve some issues that would not have happen if someone has bother to use their brains, for a change, to resolve issues or at least if they don't know what to do, ask before the entire thing blows up in their face!!! No, they simply just ignore those errors and tell everyone else that the system is ready!
ARGH!!!
Why am I so fed up or shall we say seemly unprofessional by being coming rather emotionally frustrated, especially in my dealings with some of my colleagues?
Well... That's because sometimes I wonder if common sense is really common at all? Also, if anyone is really using their brains when they work?
Why? Well, let me ask you a question... If you are working, and there were some errors when you ran some jobs or report. Would you just ignore those errors or would you look at the errors, and try to resolve those errors?
Logically speaking, if anyone encounter errors, they would not ignore errors. Right? No? You mean you would let the errors be there and simply ignore them, not even bother to check and retry to ensure that there is really no issues? If so, how do you ensure these errors will not affect your operations/cash flow/etc at a later stage?
So, if you encounter errors, you would start looking at the errors, try and resolve them or if you could not resolve them, you would start asking for help or seek assurances from more experienced persons to ensure the situation is under control. Well, what happens if you had someone else working with you, but both of you when encounter errors, would both of you ignore the errors? Giving it an opportunity to blow up in your face?
Where am I getting at with all these scenarios?
Well... a site went live yesterday, or rather this early morning. However, due to these people who decided not to do anything about the errors, had issues down the road after 2 hours into the go live, and start to call people asking for help due to some other issues they are facing with the system. It took another hour to find out that they had screwed up by ignoring those errors which is very easily resolved within 10 minutes. However, because of these, there were people who had to forgo some hours of sleep and making some other people very angry and fed up with the kind of work attitude, causing more "fireworks" within the team which is already barely holding on due to the projects.
This is despite the several prompting by some to ensure when certain things are done, some checking needs to be done to ensure the work is done correctly... Well, apparent the check is done, but when you have 2 persons who have this working attitude of not bother to ensure all errors are resolved checking each other... You know how this would work out...
So... I had to wake up in the middle of the night to resolve some issues that would not have happen if someone has bother to use their brains, for a change, to resolve issues or at least if they don't know what to do, ask before the entire thing blows up in their face!!! No, they simply just ignore those errors and tell everyone else that the system is ready!
ARGH!!!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tired.... But some accomplishment...
I am damn tired after that 10 days out of town... Had to fly again for work and doing a 5 day 24-hr shift work is no joke, what more immediately the next day fly to another location and drive 2 hours to the next location. The worst part of it all? I am flying again on Mon early morning, first flight out again!!!
However, I am proud to say I was able to drive from Penang International Airport, out to North-South highway and up to Alor Star without map & GPS! Sadly, it did take about 40 mins driving round the town area to find the hotel as there; in the midst of finding the hotel, I also found the customer site as well, so it was easier for me, the following day to get to the site. So I was driving in Alor Star for about 5 days. It was back to the airport on Thursday to drop off my colleagues who had the earlier flight, then drove to my cousin place for a very, very short visit and having food like Assam Laksa and Cendol. Was feeling good that I managed to get to her place without any map/GPS system, and get back to the airport too! So, kind of feeling good with my accomplishment this week.
I think it was also these driving trips that leads me to start looking for the right GPS car system which I could use. While driving there and back without much detour was good for the system, we had some issues in finding places to eat, that were good and cheap, well, at least it has to be good, price-wise, it should not be issue, since company is paying for it. However, since no of us have really stayed or been to that part of Malaysia, it was kind of difficult. Wonder if the malsing maps would have recommendations for food in Alor Star and Sg Petani.... Meantime, it's a tousle between Holux and Garmin. I have been told to get Garmin as it has more maps than Holux. However, Holux is able to show/simulate a route without GPS, which Garmin does not do. The other plus for Holux is that it shows the list of roads which you would have to take to get to the destination, so, it's easier to ensure you are turning to the correct lane.... Garmin, for the higher models, is able to show the road that you should be traveling, only when you are about to reach it. Another plus for Holux is that Mapking has SLA approved maps which allows to search by postal code, which Garmin is not able to. However, Garmin uses malsing maps which is updated very regularly by GPS system enthusiasts and this ensure the maps they have are very up-to-date. Still weighing the pros and cons, and deciding on which system to get. If course, price wise, Garmin higher models are more expensive, while Holux is currently $499. Wonder if there would be a drop in price during the upcoming PC Show in June. There are 2 other models that I found - Packard Bell (which is using asiagis, and not certain how updated the maps will be and any other compatible maps available) and also Shinco (saw it at the airport. Uses mapking as well, but like Packard Bell, not certain how updated it will be). So, I am still mulling over this. Kind of hard to find good sites which reviews these GPS systems. Most of them have Garmin, but not the rest. Kind of hard to make decisions based on not much information at all...
Sigh... Have to fly again on Monday... ARGH!!!
However, I am proud to say I was able to drive from Penang International Airport, out to North-South highway and up to Alor Star without map & GPS! Sadly, it did take about 40 mins driving round the town area to find the hotel as there; in the midst of finding the hotel, I also found the customer site as well, so it was easier for me, the following day to get to the site. So I was driving in Alor Star for about 5 days. It was back to the airport on Thursday to drop off my colleagues who had the earlier flight, then drove to my cousin place for a very, very short visit and having food like Assam Laksa and Cendol. Was feeling good that I managed to get to her place without any map/GPS system, and get back to the airport too! So, kind of feeling good with my accomplishment this week.
I think it was also these driving trips that leads me to start looking for the right GPS car system which I could use. While driving there and back without much detour was good for the system, we had some issues in finding places to eat, that were good and cheap, well, at least it has to be good, price-wise, it should not be issue, since company is paying for it. However, since no of us have really stayed or been to that part of Malaysia, it was kind of difficult. Wonder if the malsing maps would have recommendations for food in Alor Star and Sg Petani.... Meantime, it's a tousle between Holux and Garmin. I have been told to get Garmin as it has more maps than Holux. However, Holux is able to show/simulate a route without GPS, which Garmin does not do. The other plus for Holux is that it shows the list of roads which you would have to take to get to the destination, so, it's easier to ensure you are turning to the correct lane.... Garmin, for the higher models, is able to show the road that you should be traveling, only when you are about to reach it. Another plus for Holux is that Mapking has SLA approved maps which allows to search by postal code, which Garmin is not able to. However, Garmin uses malsing maps which is updated very regularly by GPS system enthusiasts and this ensure the maps they have are very up-to-date. Still weighing the pros and cons, and deciding on which system to get. If course, price wise, Garmin higher models are more expensive, while Holux is currently $499. Wonder if there would be a drop in price during the upcoming PC Show in June. There are 2 other models that I found - Packard Bell (which is using asiagis, and not certain how updated the maps will be and any other compatible maps available) and also Shinco (saw it at the airport. Uses mapking as well, but like Packard Bell, not certain how updated it will be). So, I am still mulling over this. Kind of hard to find good sites which reviews these GPS systems. Most of them have Garmin, but not the rest. Kind of hard to make decisions based on not much information at all...
Sigh... Have to fly again on Monday... ARGH!!!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Sigh... What to do....
Been feeling frustrated lately at work, and getting questions like "Does the workstation (as in computer) needs graphics card?" does not do very well, especially if the person has been in the industry and was working in IT department before joining this company...
Frustration comes in 2 areas. One is that you have spend a lot of time working to creating materials, which contain almost your entire knowledge of the system (and since you are supporting more than 1 products, you would refer to it when necessary, which is why it was created in the first place - to ensure no knowledge is lost due to too many products). You place it out there and even encourage those who has to be involved, and has to follow what is in the materials, to download it and go through it. Well, they did download it, they follow it blindly and not even understanding what they are doing, and then when things goes wrong, without even referring back to the materials, start sending emails and throw the issue into your hands, or starting bugging you on the phone... When you look at it, it was already clearly stated and noted in the materials that you need to do certain steps and when you start asking if they refer to it, they say "no"! "Why not!?!?" Silence received, if not an excuse of "might have missed out"...
The other would be some work attitude towards the projects... I mean, if you are task to do something, you won't do it 3/4 way and then, ask someone else, who by the way is working on other aspects of the project and is not technically trained, to check it?!? You would make sure it's working fine, at least you had witness and make sure it's working before passing it onto the other person, right?!?!?! No?!!? Well, I had people who would work half way, did not even bother to check if it is correct, especially when the steps and what to take note is in the emails, and then just ask someone to check if it is working... Maybe he is overwhelmed with work, but then again who isn't?!?!?! And if you are overwhelm, all the more you should prioritized and ensure each job is finished before moving to the next! Work with your boss to ensure a smooth transition from 1 job to the other. I am certain your boss is not expecting you to do one job with left hand and another job with the right! If your boss do expect this... I think it's time to talk to him or leave... There is no way you can survive with this kind of demands...
The other frustration comes that while the company emphasis on customer satisfaction, and wanting to be the first to come to people's mind when they want to get a system, it counteracts with the other end of the company's emphasis - $$$$ and it's not just small margins of profits and growth, but huge ones. It can be come oxymoron as how can you sell something and promise to hit a target date, when internally you know you can't; and yet obtain high customer satisfaction?!?!? Especially if the end users of your system is not your customer?!?!? And to hit that target date, you remove all buffers, telling customer that there will be no customization, which basically means "you follow our work flow, not yours"?!?! Do you think that the end users will agree to that? Well, apparently the end users have not even been given that information as yet. So... I wonder... Do they think the end users would just go along with it? I know for a fact that in some sites, with demanding end users, this will ultimately fail. Do you really want to risk it? But of course, what do I know, I am lowly employee, and to some I am not working to contribute to the "bottom line" because of such questions that I raised...
So, now what?! Well, it becomes a ho-hum job, which you start to dread going into the office, because of such situations, and also getting those unbelievable questions... Oh, yes I did voiced out during my review of last year with my boss recently... I think this is the 1st time he is getting whack with all kinds of frustrations we (me and my colleagues in the same team) are having... Although I have to say, I think mine would be the mildest... Being in the same office, he can heard my loud rants at times - Yes, I do that often especially recently, and I think my office colleagues are used to it, although it can be rather intimidating for those new ones...
However, with the turn of the economy, with US having issues with sub-prime mortgage and credit crunch, and the rising cost of commodities like oil and even basic necessities like rice... Is this a good time to change jobs?
Come to think of it... I seems to be looking to change jobs in such environment... Got retrenched once when economy turns bad, and then at height of SARS period got into another job, and now, it looks like economy is also getting bad and here I am starting to look for job opportunities... Something is not very right... But I cannot put a finger to it...
Sigh...
Frustration comes in 2 areas. One is that you have spend a lot of time working to creating materials, which contain almost your entire knowledge of the system (and since you are supporting more than 1 products, you would refer to it when necessary, which is why it was created in the first place - to ensure no knowledge is lost due to too many products). You place it out there and even encourage those who has to be involved, and has to follow what is in the materials, to download it and go through it. Well, they did download it, they follow it blindly and not even understanding what they are doing, and then when things goes wrong, without even referring back to the materials, start sending emails and throw the issue into your hands, or starting bugging you on the phone... When you look at it, it was already clearly stated and noted in the materials that you need to do certain steps and when you start asking if they refer to it, they say "no"! "Why not!?!?" Silence received, if not an excuse of "might have missed out"...
The other would be some work attitude towards the projects... I mean, if you are task to do something, you won't do it 3/4 way and then, ask someone else, who by the way is working on other aspects of the project and is not technically trained, to check it?!? You would make sure it's working fine, at least you had witness and make sure it's working before passing it onto the other person, right?!?!?! No?!!? Well, I had people who would work half way, did not even bother to check if it is correct, especially when the steps and what to take note is in the emails, and then just ask someone to check if it is working... Maybe he is overwhelmed with work, but then again who isn't?!?!?! And if you are overwhelm, all the more you should prioritized and ensure each job is finished before moving to the next! Work with your boss to ensure a smooth transition from 1 job to the other. I am certain your boss is not expecting you to do one job with left hand and another job with the right! If your boss do expect this... I think it's time to talk to him or leave... There is no way you can survive with this kind of demands...
The other frustration comes that while the company emphasis on customer satisfaction, and wanting to be the first to come to people's mind when they want to get a system, it counteracts with the other end of the company's emphasis - $$$$ and it's not just small margins of profits and growth, but huge ones. It can be come oxymoron as how can you sell something and promise to hit a target date, when internally you know you can't; and yet obtain high customer satisfaction?!?!? Especially if the end users of your system is not your customer?!?!? And to hit that target date, you remove all buffers, telling customer that there will be no customization, which basically means "you follow our work flow, not yours"?!?! Do you think that the end users will agree to that? Well, apparently the end users have not even been given that information as yet. So... I wonder... Do they think the end users would just go along with it? I know for a fact that in some sites, with demanding end users, this will ultimately fail. Do you really want to risk it? But of course, what do I know, I am lowly employee, and to some I am not working to contribute to the "bottom line" because of such questions that I raised...
So, now what?! Well, it becomes a ho-hum job, which you start to dread going into the office, because of such situations, and also getting those unbelievable questions... Oh, yes I did voiced out during my review of last year with my boss recently... I think this is the 1st time he is getting whack with all kinds of frustrations we (me and my colleagues in the same team) are having... Although I have to say, I think mine would be the mildest... Being in the same office, he can heard my loud rants at times - Yes, I do that often especially recently, and I think my office colleagues are used to it, although it can be rather intimidating for those new ones...
However, with the turn of the economy, with US having issues with sub-prime mortgage and credit crunch, and the rising cost of commodities like oil and even basic necessities like rice... Is this a good time to change jobs?
Come to think of it... I seems to be looking to change jobs in such environment... Got retrenched once when economy turns bad, and then at height of SARS period got into another job, and now, it looks like economy is also getting bad and here I am starting to look for job opportunities... Something is not very right... But I cannot put a finger to it...
Sigh...
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