.::cYxG::.

Thursday, March 31, 2005

But what I know is...

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=) Hee...
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^.^ So they actually dispatched earlier, 1 week in advance to be exact.

& something else...
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I am glad for what i have & fortunate that i have made the decision at a right time. Whew... =)

Shaolin Soccer Philosophy

Responsibility is something that we do not see, but start to realise slowly. It is just like an invisible football. At the beginning, you are always hit by it because you do not see it coming, & you can't handle it at all. After you get knocked down plenty, you learn to catch the ball when it comes, although blindly. As you get accustomed to your job, you can start to predict where it will come from & how to dribble it well. Then you learn to pass the ball to others. You may kick it too hard & hit your own teammates, or throw in a clumsy manner. However, that will improve when your start acquiring the new skill of deflecting the ball away. You learn to reject a pass by deflecting the ball to someone else, even before catching it. By then, you would have mastered the physical laws that govern the movement of the ball and can predict where the ball will come & go. Finally you will learn to score a goal, where you bring the ball right into the door of your superior.

While you can score a goal with a one-man show; in this world, the workplace is like a 11-man footbal TEAM. You are brought together with a common target: to survive. However, everyone's goals are different. That's why it is often a group playing a team's game.

No matter how good a commentator you are, or how accurate you are at predicting goals, you will never understand how the ball moves unless you play on the field personally. It is only then that you can understand both the player & the ball; the team & the importance of victory. Responsibility is just like experience; no amount of words of advice can bring out any amount of meaning.

& I am just tired & dejected from the amount of work pressure that responsibility can bring to you. People are always being kind; instead of expanding their territories, they let you take over their spheres of responsiblity. Coming straight out from school & working in NS now, I've learnt that there is nothing friendly about that 1st smile a working partner gives to you. Responsiblity flows more fluid than water down along the hierachy, & as it gets deeper, it gets sludgier; finally it gets stuck (you've guessed it), not right at the bottom, but somewhere just below the middle, like your water pipe, your blood vessels. All it needs is a little mistake, a little sludge by the inner side of the pipe, a little lump of fat in your vessel, & it will attract those that come along & grow to an exponential size so fast that you are out of breath even before you have taken in the first. The snowball effect. The "being-arrowed" feeling. Deadliest, fast & lethal. No one can escape from responsibility, because I have yet to understand the world yet. Maybe someday all will be enlightened, the day when all shall be revealed. But that day has not seen any light, yet. Responsibility works just like energy; it cannot be destroyed, it is merely converted to other forms (motivation or depression), and passed on to other objects (superior or subjects). If you think you have escaped, take a look around at all those suffering in your place. You can try kicking the ball out of court but there will always be another one thrown in immediately.

Unity is strength, if you have a superior that will stand up for you, applaud for the victory of your team. If you have teammates that are willing to take the hit & catch the ball, you have good strikers, & aggressive defenders who always make the 1st move, you have a World Cup team. However, such teams are not formed with payoffs or $ contracts. They cannot be bought, but only organised with trust. Trust is a glue thicker than blood, stronger in faith, & works best when spread.

Anyways, I was having some huge problem in the evening because the ball was kicked out of court straight into my home. It was a last-minute pass & I didn't have time to react. I was never taught any tactics to respond to this trick, & an opponent's goal seemed eminent any moment. Almost on the edge of despair but inability to give up, I tried to pass the ball away but everytime it gets kicked back to me, it gets bigger. Uh-oh, the snowball effect that will bring up all the dirt & dust from the past. Suddenly it seems that all faults are belong to me. But then all of a sudden, the referee intercepted & the storm just dispersed as quickly as the clouds had gathered.

All things have two sides of explanation. If you can't see the truth in your side of the story, you are good as gone. Many stories only tell one side of the event, so you must be optimistic & stand up for yourself. If you don't, who is going to? Always speak in a direct, definite one-way manner, be specific & narrow so nobody can U-Turn your words. Especially organise your thoughts into a continuous progressive line, supported with a parallel string of evidence & proof, instead of a dotted line of broken views. Follow your views through & never, at any time, consider the possibility of the other party; because then you will have a head-on collision & be sorry you were ever here in the 1st place.

Workplace relationships is but one of the social relationships we have to deal with; but i'm already getting wary of all of it, even before I have started working as an adult. Maybe because I think too much? I still dream of a countryside life on the green plains of Switzerland... how much is a peace of mind selling for? & how far away is the road to freedom, can it ever be measured with a string of happy thoughts?

I wish i knew, but the only thing i know is that i know nothing.

~Sighing off~

Monday, March 28, 2005

Work sux worK

My series of unfortunate events have started to unfold in the worst week of the year, but let's just skip all the bad things ok? (Lip: Nononoooo.... :P) Today i went back to Sungei Gedong Camp & saw all my old friends, each busy with their responsibilities, & i realised i'm not alone. We're all exploited beings in these martian concentration camps, doing work like a hamster on a running wheel. Wee~~!! Lots of energy exerted but no work done. I want... to... be... free...
To be free...

Drowning my sorrows in work somehow doesn't work anymore; the more i work, the more obvious it seems to me that what i'm doing is useless & meaningless. Repetitive & mundane work just to keep the world spinning, & many frustratingly intricate layers of paranoid safety procedures. Work just doesn't get done as straightforward & direct anymore. Every transaction must be accounted for & every action taken with reason. Too much cover-up & people playing the blame game. This lack of trust kind of thing, & drawing the lines of responsiblity too clearly, is driving me nuts. I do things when i need to, feel to, want to. Positive motivation. To strive for the better instead of trying to keep out of trouble. But sadly that's one working environment that is extinct. I do not do things just so my actions are recorded down & others can see that i'm doing work. Neither do I like to work in just my own sphere of responsibility. I share the working environment with many other colleagues, we should help each other out & view our organisation as a common identity, with a common goal & aim. Definitely i'm more cut out for a different nature of work; however, there's little choice we can make in life but to adapt & suit the choice destined instead. This is the hardest part which i'm currently facing, & facing all the time.

Anyways, today had passed with time flying & the sky sinking into a deep grey. Looking ahead & realised that work really never does finish, i turned & looked the other way: making work seem less important in life, more routine, & it won't kill you if you don't finish it. =)

Sunday, March 27, 2005

Update your blog regularly...

Wow, it's a long time since i last blogged. The more i have to blog, the less time i have to sit down & blog. Maybe that's why moBlogs are getting popular. You can instantly update your life during coffee breaks, or immediately broadcast a snippet of rumour you overheard. But then again no one walks around with a diary in their hands; there's a reason why diaries are written at the end of the day (or week). Writing a diary is a process for you to organise your thoughts & reflect on what has happened for the day, then settle down for another day of activities. There are many things i want to tell to people in a day, but only a few remain important at the end of the day. These events are a hint to what influence us the most, & how we want to lead our lives.

*LipS just called*

That's a very important event that happens every night before the week starts. I have duty tml, so today is the end of the weekend *sobs*. So you see how important her call is *sayang sayang*.

I have officially started using my new T630! Yeah i'm always one generation behind. I bought my T68i when T610 came out, & now i got my T630 when people are buying K700i. & K750i just got announced. Handphones are changing seasons faster than fashion. I don't even know what model number is Nokia up to already. Probably 77** or 67** or whatever. This weekend was the "Dress up my T630" week. Got the following items:

1. Martin Fields screen protector T630
2. HPB-20 SE Handsfree
3. foofpod!

The screen protector is a must, & there is no substitute for this brand. It has protected my T68i effortlessly for near 2 years & still going strong. The handsfree is a relief! I'm tired of numb hands & tired arms propping the phone to my ears for hours. No $ to buy a bluetooth headset though. That'll come at a time when i'm happier (ORD!!!)

& finally the foofpod! Guess what material i bought ;-) Waiting for the order to process...

Tomorrow is Sunday. It could be a short day, like today, rushing to go out then rushing to go home. Or it could be a long day, slugging it out in camp with my depressive unwillingness & incomprehension. Lol. Sunday duty sucks most. & i'm still obssessed with the foofpod. Can i get one more design? Pleeeasseee? *^.^* Did a google & wow, saw so many recommendations for it. Word of mouth is the most effective advertising channel & they certainly have won over many hearts with their simple product, handmade with heart & soul.

It's getting late & my darling called me again... will update again soon. Happy Easter Day! =)

Sunday, March 20, 2005

How fortunate are the 1980s...

Sigh, was reading a HWZ EDMW thread... about the things we missed about our childhood in the 80s. So many & more... it's not just the things we share in common, but the whole community & how things were back then. When i'm young, i studied in a neighbourhood primary school & my social life was just in the neighbourhood. Life was simple & doesn't go any further than the wet market shopping trips. Simple things like a takeaway box of mixed vegetable rice from the coffee shop downstairs as lunch were worth looking forward to, & life was pretty much down to earth. The occasional visit to East Coast beach felt like "出远门", & felt a really long trip which i slept away most of the time. It felt special, like getting out of my "village" & into the "city" that kind of feeling. Taking the MRT was a really special thing too, getting to see so many things as it winds through the various neighbourhood towns. Back then, Lakeside was the last stop & the trains don't get packed as they do now; the air-con was really refreshing as most buses were still open-air then. Although i do not have the punchcard tickets, i collect those Transitlink tickets that come with your farecard. Think i got my 1st farecard when i was about Primary 5, & the only button i ever got to push on the Validator was the 1st button, with the option screen vaguely showing "0.45". I never got the change to grow out of teenage before they started Ez-Link.

Oh & i remember those educqation programmes they used to show, from CDIS or sth. The music would start playing & the logo starts drawing out in the form of a white circle within a circle, against a blue background. Those 5-15 minutes of programme is the only breaktime i'll get from my study, & do i look forward to them all the time. & I can still remember how the whole family would watch news together at 8pm, & have an early night, every night.

Sigh... never could have imagined i'll be wasting my time staring at the computer for hours today, & worrying about my handphone bills. & buying CDs & should i eat Sushi tomorrow.

Time for bed... after a good sleep, life continues on from the present here... & tonight is but only yet another piece of nostalgic history in my life...

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Yeah!!! :) It's halfway past the week, & one step closer to weekend! Sneaked some time off the busy schedule just now & spent my stay-out night having dinner out. Although I spent more time travelling than eating (& she spent more time waiting too), i'm already feeling much better after just seeing her for a while. We went back to eat at Prince Eating House, & the uncle asked if we were students. The student (her) pondered & laughed out embarrassingly, not knowing what to say; while the non-student (me) was acting innocent & all & answered a quick "yes". Lol, the difficulties of studying full-time in a private institution; you are not a student, not yet an employee. You have no travel concessions & no student buffet prices (boohoo~!). As for me, I'm just imagining that i'm back as a student & freed from my current dreadful life.

See how Mayday's young & happening spirit has died down nowadays? & the Korean star who declared he may not act anymore after serving his NS? NS does make one more mature, but that does not mean one is more understanding. He just becomes more adult, losing the enthusiasm & life of youth. What he has gained... is something i'm still trying to appreciate, but none.

Went shopping at NTUC after dinner & I bought this: Sounds like a nice flavour! Not your usual berry fruity flavours, but tangy sweet & sour lemonies! Can't wait to try it haha... & i like the branding of the stuff, talking about pure earth food & WWF support, instead of how many added Vitamins & minerals. Eat for the sake of enjoying the food! Vitamins are not tasty, & there is a balance of different types of vitamins in every food. If you want to take in more vitamins, then plan the diet well & eat a diverse course of food. But that's not as horrible as artificial colours & flavours. They may rarely be found in daily supermarket products anymore, but they are still common in unpackaged & unlabelled local food such as those you get from the confectionary shop or the market.

Anyways, after shopping, I went home, bathed, & mum massaged my tired bones. After which I decided to take a nap & only wake up at about 2.30AM after a dream in a deep sleep.

http://www.flickr.com Clever way of limiting free accounts, by bandwidth & not no. of photos. The number of photos can grow in pace with its company & server expansion, & new users are attracted as there is potential to grow their photo collection, albeit a bit slow (10MB per month).

Going back to sleep now, zzz. A long day ahead, work & work & work... Thursday.

Saturday, March 12, 2005

Beautiful Deception

A blog can be more than a diary. It can be a daily clipping of knowledge, humour, or just something you wish to share with the world. A blog can have personality without getting emotional. Anyways "blog" came from "weblog" which sounds nothing close to a "diary", but more like a daily rant in As The Apple Turns, or just a random note on Everything2. Just a log on the web, you know. The idea of posting something so personal as a diary online is sarcastic, & if there is it would be of pure parodic comedy work or a deceptive & disillusioned account tailored for mass appeal. But nowadays it seems that people are more interested in reality blogs than those that offer content & information. Which one would you prefer to read, this or that? Well, this may be a over-simplified comparison of 2 blogs of different nature, but you know where public taste goes from here. It's all downhill.

Monday, March 07, 2005

Colour the way you shift world

You can't be sure of WYSIWYG anymore. How do you know if it's the real world you're living in? Check the source code, geeks will suggest. You will be surprised how a w3c validated website can still turn out differently on IE (MyIE2), Netscape, Mozilla (Firefox), Opera, Avant Browser, Safari, Camino, iCab... (well iCab is still THE best w3c-compliant lite browser out there, IMO.) Behold, I have found a way to hide Neo from Agent Smith! There seems to be workarounds to the validating system (WOLS! you might say) that hide your illicit & unethically proprietary code from the watchdogs. Though this is no bigger crime than chewing gum, you have just "Microsised" your site, surrendering your site to their anti-competition monopolising scheme to make all source codes indexable & archived! Imagine someone stealing your script algorithms & saying "oh, i just got it from some free Microsoft knowledge base".

Of course that's not going to happen. Microsoft will start charging a subscription fee & start sending you big bundles of source code CDs, & you'll find your very own code in it stamped with small print "(C) Copyright Microsoft, Inc. 1985-Infinito"

While it doesn't mean going back to the prehistoric ages of Times New Roman & the FONT tag, it does help to support official World Wide Web Consortium recommendations so at least there's something we can all agree on, besides Steve Jobs makes a better movie studio CEO than a tech CEO. (What happened to my colour-screen iPod mini & Mac mini with built-in iPod dock?!?!)

Anyways, here's the specific subject matter in question: http://www.htmlite.com/faq016.php
Microsoft's CSS: scrollbar colorisation. Sorry Microsoft, but the era of the blueberry iMacs is over. Letting users create scrollbars of fruity colours is but a passe.

Just kidding. I'm fully supportive of a standardised & fully customisable system, but certainly "standardisation" is the missing X-factor here, as this feature has not been implemented browsers-wide. However, being a modding freak, i'll still use {SCROLLBAR-DARKSHADOW-COLOR: #ff0000} in my site; but honestly, i'll not hide the code.

PS: For those who wants to learn how to use scrollbar colorisation: http://www.htmlite.com/CSS011.php

Sunday, March 06, 2005

==Coding in Progress:60% Completed==

Coding is really hard work, when it's all true hand-coded. Which means using Notepad & w3c HTML 4.01 Reference Guide. Being a green hand at Dreamweaver, I found it of little help, & the cluttered workspace is freaking me out. So i just started my plain ol' Notepad with all the typing space i need & churn out 100% fresh typewritten code. Woot! At least i'm getting somewhere now. Having lost touch with coding for so long, i had to depend heavily on web references to use the tags properly. HTML browsers are worse than your English tutors & they do not accept even the single punctuation mistake. They also mess up your work if it's not written to suit their style. Currently i have only optimised it for viewing on IE 6.0. Well, it's not much an optimisation as we all know IE 5.0 is broken. (Try visiting this site using both Firefox & IE 6.0: w3c CSS Homepage. Ok i know Microsoft is now burning security updates like coal in winter & a little layout hitch problem can always wait. As long as the text's readable & the image can be seen, what matters right? Oh, & no dead links. They lure visitors to click on them thinking there is an exit to some alternate escapist reality with their big blue round letters, & so suddenly turn pale purple & die with a "click" in front of them. Without loading a new page. Yes, that is indeed sad.

Back to my coding... i was getting bored as i just mistyped a "{" as "(". Took me 15 minutes to catch the bug.

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Say It Isn't So

Perfectionism is defined as a meticulous pursuit to reach excellence.
In psychology, it is an ego self-defense mechanism: it is a form of procrastination when it is used to postpone tasks ("I can't do anything on this until I know the perfect thing to do so that I won't make any mistakes"), and a form of self-deprecation when it is used to excuse poor performance or to seek sympathy and affirmation from other people ("I must be perfect, but I keep falling short of my own goals, why am I so terrible?").

- wikipedia.org

Sadism did not originate from sadness; it originated from a crazy 17th century French erotic writer. Its relationship with causing any form of sadness upon others is purely coincidential.

Figuratively...

Onomatopoeia, or "boing" for those who don't know.