Tuesday 31 August 2004

MERDEKA!!!

I just want to wish all Malaysians a very Happy National Day! Merdeka means independence and today we look back and see how far the nation has grown over these past 47 years. From a place where it all begin, Malaysians young and old can now look forward to a brighter and better future! MERDEKA!



Monday 30 August 2004

Liverpool? Nah Shiterpool

Honestly after watching Liverpool's appalling play throughout both halves, its a wonder that they will ever survive the Champions League let alone reaching top 6 of the Premiership this season. This has been the worst of all 3 matches Liverpool played so far. There was no determination from the entire team. I could even see Steven Gerrard losing confidence in his team. Its no wonder that he wanted to leave during the summer to join Chelsea, I mean, who wouldn't?

With no sense of determination and just simply waiting for the ball the land at their feet, the Liverpool players lost plenty of possesion for no reason at all and are constantly pressured by the Bolton players. Even during one of the corner kicks for Bolton when all of the Bolton attackers were happily camping in front of the goal without any Liverpool defenders to cover them. Of course there are exceptions like Josemi who played wonderfully, fighting for every ball where else players like Hamann who does not know the meaning of passing the ball forward and it seems to be like a joy for him to always pass the ball back. Really, if he ever passes a ball forward, its because he must have gotten his bearings wrong and thought that his goal was on the other side.

The two new signings I won't criticize, its their first time playing in the Premiership and it must be tough. I just don't get it, even under Rafael Benitez the still keep on playing the same old long ball tactic which makes those new signings unable to control the midfield long enough to pass the ball to Baros and Cisse. I pity the two of them having to run after those atrocious long balls from the defence. It just show that old habits die hard.

Don't even get me started with Stephen Warnock. All those balls he gave away together with Hamann would definitely think that the two of them are under Sam Allardyce's payroll.

This "new" Liverpool doesn't have much changes except now that they are about £30million poorer. Could it be that Houllier has imbeded in them his tactics that they just can't let it go and not pay any heed to Benitez's instructions? No matter how much you try to beautify shit like putting fancy ribbons on it or spray perfume on it, at the end of the day, shit will always remain shit!

Even lady luck was not on our side after that darn linesman called Garcia's goal an offside. He better go check his eyesight for the next match. Its always at this time when you wish there were electronic replays to help with the decision making.

Conclusion:
After all this I have to say that Liverpool still deserve some support. Its really a wonder that they didn't let it more goals. Some credit have to go to Carragher, Josemi and Dudek. Just need to work harder and communicate better amongst their new team mates and aim for glory!

Saturday 28 August 2004

The week has just begun

Finally its Saturday. Ok well its not that big a deal for me since I am not working yet but just an update, praise God, I have a job. Finally, all this time waiting and countless applications have finally paid off. God really is gracious and let me explain why. Oh by the way, I am starting work on Monday the 6th of September at JVC in Shah Alam.

Firstly it all started with my interview being held on Tuesday. The HR Department called me last week and confirmed the time with me and of course I jotted that down in to my trusty Ipaq. Then came Tuesday, D-day. Chuen was so kind and sweet enough to accompany me for lunch as well as for the duration of the entire interview. The company was located in Shah Alam, about a 10min drive from the toll on the federal highway at the point between Subang and Shah Alam. Deep in the industrial zone and sandwiched between huge Panasonic factories, JVC had a huge area as well comprising of both JVC Video and JVC Electronic. Thanks to my horrible memory, I actually can't remember which one I was supposed to go. My interview is supposed to be at 2.30pm and I was there by 2.00pm eager and I remember the HR person whom I spoke to last week mentioned that the post was for an Electrical and Electronic Engineer so I guessed its probably a process or product engineer post.

Onward I walked towards the guardhouse and the guard for some reason gave me a a queer look. It was at that point I felt there was something wrong. Why? For all my other past interviews especially when it comes to huge factories, the guard in the guardhouse was always informed of my coming for an interview. This was the first time but thinking that the HR department might have forgotten to inform the guard, I became extremely critical of them being so unprofessional. So the guard then asked me to walk in to the compound and he was unsure where to send me. Pointing towards the building where the HR department is, I entered the compound but Chuen was not allowed so she drove off in my car and headed to the nearest mamak to have a drink and read her book. She finally learned from the previous two interviews I had when I was unexpectedly questioned for 2 hours straight so she had to wait for that long!

I was going for an interview, so the normal attire would be black slacks, a shirt and a tie. Now that sounds decent enough but under the Malaysian heat? You got to be kidding, I would rather be wearing slippers and walking around in my shorts. And you know what? The HR department was like a 10minute walk away and by the time I arrived at the building, believe me, I wasn't smelling all rosy and all. So much for the after shave lotion I put on. Want to know the funniest thing? The guard pointed me out in the wrong direction. Doh! Thank goodness someone from the HR department led me to the main lobby through the factory which was air conditioned (yay gave me some time to cool off).

Upon arrival at the main lobby, the help desk lady gave me an application form to fill out. Taking the paper, I noticed that there were a couple of other sheets and I was thinking that I had to spend a good 20mins just to fill out those long forms. I seriously wonder why do I have to fill in so much details especially when most of them are on my resume. Guess what? I was in for a surprise. The extra sheets of paper was not part of the application form. It was a test paper which I had to complete in like 15mins. Panic! I didn't realise that so I quickly took out my "Mark" pen which Joshua gave me and began scanning through the paper.

First question, how much amplification do you get from 6dB. So the first thing that comes to my mind is 10log (Output/Input) = 6dB. Those of you who are engineers out there would know that the formula is not for dB's but for another unit called dBm mainly used in fibre optics. So there goes my first question. Onward came some simple calculate the resistance problem and I thought I did quite ok. The next page came a couple of RC, CR and a notch filter circuit. Of course at that time I couldn't remember the notch filter but I managed to calculate and draw out the response curve of these filters together with answering the question to "What is a cut-off frequency?". All these while, I was not provided a calculator but thank God that I brought my trusty Ipaq with me and used it as my calculator.

After the short exam, they invited me in to a room and there were 3 people sitting in front of me just waiting to interview me. Noticing their name tags, the 3 of them were, a HR personnel, I guess she must be a pyschologist, the R&D manager and R&D Chief Engineer who so happen to be a japanese guy. So they begin to ask me loads of questions, those normal during an interview. The part that surprised me was that the post was for an E&E Engineer in the R&D section and I wasn't prepared for that. Second thing was that, haha, you are probably going to laugh in my face, the interview was actually scheduled for 1.30pm. I have absolutely why I mixed up my time and I was so sure that the HR person mentioned that the interview was supposed to be at 2.30pm. So I gave a very puzzled look when the manager mentioned about the timing. After the interview I asked the manager how I fared for the short test. He said not too bad but he actually understood why I made some careless mistakes.

Honestly I really thought that it didn't go well and I told God that it really was a humbling experience and the last thing that I thought was I would get the job. Knowing that things went not as smoothly as my other interviews had went, I said to God that I leave the results up to him. And of course by now you know that I had gotten the job. The great thing about God was that He just provides and the company actually called me up the very next day. So I start work soon! Woohoo!

Praise God!

Wednesday 25 August 2004

Three Days Update

Sunday:
Woke up to a beautiful morning, Liverpool had beaten Man City 2-1 and I am proud to be a Liverpool supporter! Come on lads, get us a couple of trophies this season! Although they are starting their Champions League qualifier round later in the week. Problem is, that it is held too early for Malaysians especially when I have to wake up early in the morning. In case you didn't know, I was in Malacca for a couple of days. Arrived back in time for a birthday party! Woohoo! The drive back from Malacca was tiring though.

Monday:
Another day passes by and I manage to get a good swim in the morning and get me some shelves from Ikea. They had this meal deal where I got a chicken chop and a bottemless soft drink for only RM5.50. Nowonder the whole place was packed. The helping was extremely large as well. So much for me losing weight but I could say that I went swimming in the morning for about 2 hours. Since worship practice was cancelled, I caught the night viewing of Collateral starring Tom Cruise. In my opinion, it was a good movie and I thought the storyline was pretty ok and decent. What I loved about the show was how it actually laid out the fact of the meaning of "collateral" itself unlike other movies such as Collateral Damage. Anyhow I won't blurt out any parts of the movie but to you under 18s, haha too bad! Can't wait to watch Alien versus Predator though. Wonder if I can book it in advance.

Today:
Went for a job interview at JVC in Shah Alam. Didn't really go off that well. They asked me quite a lot of technical questions since I applied for a position in the R&D section, so its normal that they ask technical questions. Looks like I have lots of revising to do for my upcoming interviews! Played basketball at church and there were a huge crowd there. Managed to sweat a lot but I think the two chicken mayo sandwich which I had for dinner probably replaced what I had lost during sports. Sigh, only less than 2 weeks to show some results!

Sunday 22 August 2004

Two days in foodland?

No I am not talking about Penang, but Malacca! This is the place to get great and wonderful food. If only my doctor didn't ask me to lose 15kgs I would have done the usual. Eat chicken rice ball (rice squished in to a shape of a ball) for lunch and then satay celup for dinner. That would be my usual routine with of course eat yam chee cheong fun for breakfast the next day and snack during lunch time with some good old wan tan mee and finish off with a good nonya meal for dinner. Now wouldn't that be the life? To just eat and eat and eat! Well that would just make you guys out there as fat as me haha. Anyway what I did instead was just to eat some good old satay (mind you, only 6 sticks) and some fried egg with oysters. Even as I write this right now, Chuen is feeding me duku langsat.

Tomorrow I start my diet and exercise routine. Since my doctor recommended that I go on an Atkins diet, looks like its no more carbs for me. Thanks to my busted knee, well not really busted, just not strong enough to support my huge upperbody weight (and no I am NOT big boned) I have to start swimming. Another way of getting money out of my pocket (RM5.25 per session). Anyhow, tomorrow is the start of a new week and I have an interview lined up on Tuesday. Wish me luck!

Saturday 21 August 2004

Tiring week

This week was one of my most tiring weeks ever. Ok, I know I can't compare myself to those working peeps but the fact that I was sick for 4 days should count as something heavy to shoulder. Had food poisoning and as a result of that, fever which sucks because I wanted to be happy and carefree! Anyway I could have done that but it had to be in bed. Anyhow, its already the 21st of August which is my mate's birthday today so I want to wish Hsern Wei a very happy birthday. Woohoo! I won't say how old you are!

Monday 16 August 2004

Liverpool off to a great start?

To think that I was happy with Owen leaving for Real Madrid and that Rafael Benitez could have changed Liverpool, but after yesterday's match, tears started to flow again. Well it could have been the fact that Gerard Houllier was still at the match working as a commentator for a French TV but the fact that Liverpool that was the favourites to win yesterdays game only managed a draw? Cisse played marvelously but Sinama? He is of a different level altogether. I never knew anyone could actually come on as a substitute and act like a total idiot throughout the game, giving balls away, getting yellow cards and giving away free kicks. That to me is just pure stupidity. He definitely needs to up his level of the game if he wants to improve.

On another note, its my mum's birthday today, I won't mention her age or else she will murder me but another Happy Birthday from me! Woohoo!

Well for your information, I went to the doctors last week on Friday about knee problems and I found out that the cause of my problems was that I was overweight. Yes, I have put on a hefty 5kg since I returned from the UK and I need to lose about 15kgs altogether. Since my knees can't take my weight, I can't jog or jump that much so it looks like its swimming and cycling from now onwards till I lose about 10kg. Wish me luck! I start my regime tomorrow. Also, the doctor recommended that I go on an Atkins diet. Now isn't that controversial?

Today, I have been baffled by the number of stupid Malaysian drivers out there. It really does amaze me that I can actually meet lousy drivers everyday. I am not the type that will blame small things because I know that everyone is not perfect but doing stupid things like when looking for a parking lot and can't make up their minds when there are like a hundred spaces and then keep on braking to see whether if that particular parking space suits their tastes, come on, there is a queue of cars waiting behind you!

Saturday 14 August 2004

Problems and more problems as usual

I think I feel that I am somewhat of a magnet that attracts computer related problems. So far, there is never a time where I can actually go through computer stuff without problems. In the beginning it started off with being conned or how shall I say, fell prey to those thieving dealers who quote really cheap prices for a computer and then give you scrap components that hardly functions properly. Or how about buying something with a 1 year warranty and once that warranty expires, the item fails? Well this is typically how I felt about 4-5 years ago.

Actually the only time when there weren't any problems was when I bought my Dell Inspiron 8000 laptop before I went over to the UK. Believe you me, it was the best 1 and a half years in terms of computer problems for me. That is why when anyone asks me for my opinion on laptops, Dell would certainly come to mind first. But as much as reliability was an issue, performance issues started creeping up. Newer programs and OS like Windows XP started to arrive and my laptop began to take heavy beating from memory and power hungry applications.

Then came my desktop. This was the mama of all problems, well, honestly I would say that in the course of all these problems, I managed to learn a lot about computers including dismantling and assembling computers, cable management, how to pick the right hardware and various other hardware stuff. The only thing was that my side of the brain that deals with software seemed to have packed and gone on a long holiday. So more and more issues with software such as windows crashing (yes even with XP), viruses, trojans and now networking problems. Well it all comes down to one thing.

God is teaching me patience!

Wednesday 11 August 2004

Woohoo A level's anyone?

So the A level results are out already everywhere online. Wonder what this years results are going to be but I spent the late morning watching loads of people either crying or screaming with joy at Taylor's College and no I was not there to eyeball any chiqs. But I just want to congratulate everyone out there for their A level's result, no matter what you get. Remember sometimes results aren't always everything but character, anyway enough ranting.

Came across a very interesting piece of reading material over at Malaysian Ping's blog. Check it out, believe me, it really is interesting.

Tuesday 10 August 2004

Service

Alright, I do agree that in the UK, we as consumers are pampered by the after sales service that they provide there. I actually thought Malaysia would be trying to achieve great or even good after sales service but where is the courtesy? No manners and no passion to even want to try to please the customers. All you see is an irritated face or maybe a person's voice that sounds dissatisfied and you are the customer who is really dissatisfied. We can all shout Malaysia Boleh and all but what good is it shouting that out with a frown on your face? I just wonder whether sales people in shops will become friendly instead of just standing there like zombies and when you ask them something, all they do is just either point you to something or just give a single word answer. At least do it with a smile!!! Sigh, no matter how polite you might be or how interested you are as a customer they can just be so cold. I would definitely love to just tell their boss about their behaviour. Seriously, that thought will always ponder in my mind the next time I get shitty service.

Monday 9 August 2004

Streamxy Up and running!

Woohoo, its finally here, my broadband internet connection, Streamxy. Honestly I have to say that Telekom's response was very good. I signed up for Streamxy last week on Wednesday and by Thursday they called me up to set a date so that the tech guy could come over to set it up and by Saturday I was up and running. Talk about efficient nowadays. Too bad Webbit.

On another note, I was at the new 1 Utama wing today looking around for laptops and after spotting a new shop (same row as Roti Boy), I think the name of the shop was E-Box, I went into the shop and started browsing through a Fujitsu flyer. Then I asked the salesman about the Fujitsu Lifebook notebook and asked him why the price stated on the flyer was cheaper than the price displayed. Then he just looked at me like a robot and then just pointed at some price tag or paper with the computer's specs on it. Well the price difference was RM300 and the reason for the extra charge was that, that particular laptop came with Windows XP Pro instead of the Home Edition. I thought fine, there is definitely a price difference. But what irritated me the most was how unfriendly the salesperson was. One was eating away on his packed lunch while the one that served me, his face was longer than measuring tape as though he had just lost the winning ticket to the lottery. Nowonder the shop is always empty. In case you do go snooping around to check out the shop, its at the bottom floor, the one that connects between the old wing and the new wing in 1 Utama.