Salams to all

just checking in after such a looooong time. this blog looks like it's dying of natural death, but i think i'll give it a little lifeline.

how's things been doing? everything's going quite well for me. still surviving at work and in life in general. it's almost reaching the end of Ramadhan already. how time flies. wish it could go a little slower. the cleaning for the upcoming Syawal is almost halfway done. curtain's up in my room already *winks*.

ok, i'm having writer's block already. been so long since i've written and it's after midnight anyway. so, i think i'll say goodnight for now. let's see when the next update will be...

got me another new toy

been so long since i've been here. seems like there's not much to update nowadays.
last tuesday, after a very looooong consideration that made all the friends gave up on me, i've finally made up my mind and decided on a new mobile phone :

Sony Ericsson W902 in this exact colour. something i'd normally wouldn't pick as a first choice, but the shop i went to didn't have it in black. so, before i changed my mind again, i decided to just get this colour instead. the sis bought hers in green.
i'm very happy with the purchase. the camera's really good too - 5MP, and it comes with a 8GB memory stick. i'll be taking more pics soon...

slideshow

i've discovered this :

enjoy the show :)

holiday summary & pics

i've uploaded the holiday trip pics to India. check out the Zorpia link at the bottom of the right column. i'm glad i didn't cancel the trip. the penalty played a big part actually (LOL).
anyway, it was a really great experience, Alhamdulillah. i never imagined that i would survive such a long time with the sis alone, but we got home in one piece each.
there was one incident where the airport security didn't tag my hand luggage and i had to disappear without informing her and she got fuming mad with me. i had to scoot off like my pants were on fire for fear that i would miss the flight if i had to go through the security checks again. but i managed to just get the bag scanned and tagged without having to line up and get myself frisked again.
the other bad experience was that i developed a stomach upset from the second day of the trip. everything i put in my mouth went the way of the merlion. even threw up in the car on myself halfway through on a 6 hrs trip from Agra to Jaipur. the poor driver had to make a stop and clean up the mess. i felt so guilty that we gave him extra in tip.
the sis' camera had a little 'athma' attack when we reached Kashmir. we thought the camera had died on us but turned out the battery got a big shock in the cold temperature that it flatlined. so the pics of us in the snow wasn't captured with her camera. we made new friends in Kashmir. they were so kind to offer to take our pics at Gulmarg Mountain with their camera.
that's the summary of the trip. overall, we had such a good experience and so much fun. if given another chance, i would like to go there again. despite the bad news reports, it's not a dangerous place at all.

reflections 2008

how time flies. 2008 is now approaching to an end soon.

it's been a very roller coaster year. there are some high times and there are the low times.

i've experienced some interesting instances since the beginning of the year. some has been good, some has been not so good. the best thing that's happened is that i've finally completed my part time course after some struggle along the way.

overall, i've no regrets in all that's happened. everything that happened has gave me some lessons.

i just hope to do some major revamping of my life in the coming year.

i leave you with this pic of one of the most majestic monuments in the world :

another place of my dream i've just been to.

i'm done, finally

i can now say i'm finally done with the studies. didn't get a good grade, but it's still a pass.

it's a sweet birthday present that nothing else can buy.

but to make it a not so good celebration, i'm down with the flu today. spent the whole day lying around. reading makes the head hurt.

ok, that's all for the latest update. head's starting to spin already.

minor gripes about life for now

exam's just over. i'll praying hard that i've managed to answer enough to get a pass. i'm contented just to pass and get it over and done with. the assignments marks has given just enough marks.
i've just got a new project manager. now i'm answering to a fresh grad who not only doesn't have any work experience, he's also very much younger.
now, suddenly i feel like getting a diploma is not enough. you're still a white collared worker, but it can only take you up to a limited level. you still have to report to somebody with a degree. that piece of paper gives the person more responsibility and not to mention a very much higher salary scale. i've been working for almost 10 years and now i've to report to somebody who just got their first job.
talking about jobs, i'm now a little aprehensive in trying to apply to new jobs. although i did mention that taking a degree was just to see how far i can go, i think i'd still like to see what value that piece of paper would give me. in this economic downturn, you hear news of people losing their jobs and i'm grumbling about having to report to a newbie.
(ok, i realise that i'm contradicting myself in the second and third paragraph)
graduation from poly in 1998 pushed me right into the asian economic crisis. i spent almost a year looking for a job, landing into some temporary jobs along the way.
then came the minor downturn in 2001/2002. i missed getting affected since i was still new to this job. now the downturn is here again. this time, i got burnt a little more but i know i'll still survive.
i put in a huge chunk of my savings into some investment stock only to see the value drop like stone in water a few weeks after buying it. then came the american investment company going bust causing myy cpf investment to drop in value too. the melamine case in china simply 'helped' since part of the investment was linked to growth of china. i hope that i'll get at least my capital value back even if i don't get much or any profits.
yesterday, i did something i didn't expect i would do. an early morning sms resulted in a trip to the Singapore Expo Exhibition Halls. there was an MPH books sale, Crocs sale and some other offers.
when we first looked at the queue to enter the Crocs sale, we decided not to enter the sale at all. but an encounter with a very satisfied purchaser of the Crocs footwear convinced us to queue up. well, the line to enter the hall was moving and we finally got into the hall in an hour. but the next queue really tested my patience and strength. i stood for four (4) hours to pay. by the time i'm done paying, i was so hungry and my body was just telling me to shut down.
but after looking at the result of the ordeal, i'm very happy with what i did. would i do it again? maybe if the products are really worth it. no pictures cos i didn't feel like taking them.

Salam Lebaran

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin from Jamal Family :

it's really late, but it's still Syawal :)

another gadget

i think i have to be restrained from entering anymore computer or IT exhibitions. next time, somebody please chain me.

just came back from COMEX and temptation got the better of me. bought a new mp3/media player.

i've been on a gadget buying spree this year. first was the new PDA, next was the laptop and now the media player.

i barely blinked my eyes when buying these gadgets, but when it comes to bags or shoes or other items mainly coveted by the fellow species, i'll get taken aback. i think i need to invest in a really durable and classic designed bag to carry these items. the bags i carry don't last me as long as i use these gadgets. *LOL*

mac & pc users

extracted from Reader's Digest (Singapore) August 08, page 15:

MAC USERS ARE

ARROGANT SNOBS

If you've seen those Apple advertisements on TV with a young, hip Mac user versus an old, slow PC user, you should get the idea that there's a bit of rivalry between the opposing computer camps. But why?

Because they have wholly different personality traits, say branding experts. Mindset Media, a US branding company that analyses the relationship between consumer behaviour and personality, surveyed 7500 Mac and PC owners. Its findings? Mac users are "snobs".

In comparison to PC owners, they're likely to visit Starbucks for coffee more often, buy organic products and drive a hybrid car. Mindset Media says that people who purchase Macs fall into what it calls the "Openness 5" personality category - which means they are more liberal, less modest and more assured of their own superiority than the population at large.

The rivalry continues...

who, me?? a snob?? let's just say i'm different from the rest. i rest my case.

presenting to you the newest family member

next, need to upgrade the handphone.
i'm such a gadget freak...

delivered

i'm so excited that i can't wait to get home today.
it's been so long since i'm this excited. hehe...

new baby

last friday, after contemplating for so long, i've finally decided. the confirmation from the rebate centre made the decision final.
wait for the pics of the new baby soon.
i'm so excited.

last saturday...

watched fireworks in the rain.
very interesting experience.

it's june already

half a year is already here.
how time flies.
i need a good long break before i get busy again.
after this, i'm going to search for better pastures.
it's getting too mundane here.

if it's free, i'm there

last year
this year :



for this snaking queue, it took less than 30 min for me to get to the end point.

this 'cow' starts dancing when you put some money in the box it's standing on.

my 'loot', chocolate fudge brownie

on a high

a dose of cough syrup followed by coffee afterwards.
makes an interesting combo.
interesting feeling too.
try it someday.
really, do try...

i got me a new toy

last night, the sister and me braved the IT Show crowd to look for a bargain for a new tv and a new toy for myself.
the night ended with getting a pretty good deal on a new tv set and a new toy for me.
here's my new toy :

it was a little sad to part with the old toy but this one was too tempting to resist. besides, i've not spent on anything major for myself lately. the old toy will be passed on to a new owner very soon.

to all women

it's International Women's Day today.
enjoy the day :)

for you, a thousand times over

i have just finished reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. the story is not a very heavy read, but it is just filled with so much emotions. the movie's already out, but i don't know if i want to watch it.
i have been reading quite a lot lately. reading books made into movies to be exact. movies don't do much justice to books in my opinion. while it can potray the scenery and settings of the story, it doesn't really bring the true emotion of the book through. some movies even omit certain parts to keep the movie at a time limit.
take for example, Harry Potter. watching the movie after reading the book is such a disappointment. the movie is like another dimension. it only extracted some key points from the books and leaves out the reason behind it. certain characters who were potrayed prominently in the book were not in the movie version of the series.
given a choice of a movie or a book, i'd pick the book. nothing beats the feeling of immersing yourself into a book. it's like the world doesn't matter just for that moment while you have the book in your hand.
i've got my next read in hand. will be starting on it very soon.