some thoughts...

this year of the ox, there are some major events.

- decided to get a car (and get some rather big financial burden in the process)
- graduated from school

many of my colleagues, ex and current wondered how these 2 can be possible, especially when the car came before graduation. This is a problem that is slowly manifesting itself. It constricts my personal development, because i'm not so willing to switch to a perhaps more rewarding career yet pays less. Due to the current job, i don't have quality time to spend with my loved ones, let alone going for language and career related courses to increase my value.

there's much money if i claim over time and mileage, but somehow this path don't seem to be a wise one.

maybe i'm a thinker, i think forward and imagine consequences. Yet i made the above decision without much thinking...

there must be some sacrifices made...it seems. Some advise from people who walked this path or not is appreciated.

the dangers of outsourcing

i've been in my new job for 3.5 months. Been to much data centres, and find that the ones that give somewhat bigger problems are managed by internal outsourced teams. 2 cases that i see:

- a well known household brand locally until it was absorbed into another financial institution in 1998. A not-so critical clustered logical partition failed with data corruption. The joke - sysadmin specialists requesting software support to recover a crashed OS, when they support their own software requests. Next joke - the backup was undated, and there were multiple ones. Next joke - the boot disk started to fail 4 months ago, and was only partially mirrored.

oh yes, the clustered system failed to work. High availability... indeed.

- a tyre brand. Server is in a particular off-site location, principally managed by a Blue team in China, co-managed by a local team. The local member asked for technical support insisting we go on site to look at a server that is down. Yes, down (lightning strikes). So we went on site but nobody was at the location. He was sitting nicely at Changi, happily acting as a middleman between me and the Chinese engineer using his phone. He was clueless as to what happened, saying "i'm not sure, i don't know" and kept asking his Chinese counterpart to call me all the time. The Chinese guy thought i'm part of his Singapore local team when i'm from maintenance, asking me to do things that i'm not authorised to do.

why the hell these sysadmin are employed for? What are the data protection policies for? If they are doing a lousy job for too long, it's time for the managers to take action and tell them to go.


on a more positive note, i have praises for...

- a well known electronics company based in Japan, you'd always pay a premium for their products. The server rooms are well furnished and managed. The staff are always seen using only products from the company, such as their monitors and laptops. When there's a disk failure, the sysadmin will do the necessary to move out all the data from the disk without any intervention on our part. The boot disks are always properly mirrored with another.

i'm still alive

work started for half a month already, still riding the learning curve. The curve is still manageable, but there are pockets of free time here and there. Could have been put to better productive use in office.

i'm working with System p server hardware, which is based on IBM Power architecture (the old Macs use this; the PowerPC all the way up until Apple switched to Intel). Along with it would be the System Storage solutions, such as storage enclosures, SAN, tapes and what not.

the learning curve is steep i don't know server hardware, and we don't hook these hardware up like a PC, which can fail when any component goes down. It's difficult too due to the Unix based operating system - lots of work with console, AIX commands...

my focus now would be to be a good employee and manage my free time better. But it's going to be tough.

Deskmount? Rack? Frame?

The 7th generation of Power chip

making the move...

i'm changing my job environment on 1st July 2009 - my new employer is IBM at Changi, with an intermediary company as the agent managing my payroll and administration. Am i sad? I think i am, but the move must be made since i've completed my bachelor's degree and cannot remain in the temporary position for too long.

i've been with NYP for many years, 2000-2003 as a student then 2006 till now as a staff. Factoring out army, it's already 7.5 yrs. I seen level 6 uncovered (it was covered up in late 2007), LTL3 red seats (it still is), blk M up to level 4 only, the unrenovated Mac and previous Food Junction. Many things changed subtly over the years, but the general look remains.

some key memories during the course of work was the 2006 period i was depressed and spent many nights at the level 5 office. Only the ghosts saw me. It's somewhat entrenched since it was part of the life experience.

then came the larger events, such as the Oracle workshop in 2007 where i had the chance to handle the event, the stay at the campus accomodation at Blk 170 and in early 2009, the Xin Min Symposium.

i had much satisfaction building up (and tearing down) labs myself - CL 1, 2, 3, 11 and M310. CL 11 is my favourite, because i built it up and tore it down few times in 3.5 years. I put in effort to make sure the smaller details were included and the labs would be neat and tidy even after few semesters of usage. No messy or dangling cables in these labs!

there are many emergency incidents from small to big in the course of work too. Projectors and instructor PCs go south at the wrong time, requests come when there is only me, people getting hurt or vandalism of property, card readers going crazy, thumbdrive virus busting. Interesting incidents.

i certainly hope students at large are satisfied with the dept's customer service level. I would say we have progressed in small steps towards a student-centric learning environment, where we try to understand their needs and problems. Like SIT Club, instead of being defensive against their requests, we have largely changed towards listening and supporting them wherever possible. There is still much to be done though.

more photos to be updated in this post later.

summary of interviews

actually, interviews need practice and some homework. Read about salary negotiation skills (don't give a range, give a fixed number but suggest the competitive market rate before giving that number, ...) and working history problems. For example, how to explain job hopping in a nice way - unfortunately, any decent explanation would look bad on the applicant.

so far i applied 55 job positions, received 6 requests for interviews. You can guess the catch rate is around 10%! Went to ST Electronics, IBM, Philips, HSBC, Standard Chartered (PS) and NP, some turned out fine and some were superficial. Had 2 more calls from Hitachi and through a banking friend's referral, but i had to turn down since i received an offer.

come to this offer itself, decided to accept it since the terms seemed alright. The salary was not the best, but acceptable in such tough times. For the next 4 days, no response from the agency. I should give the staff a buzz tomorrow.

job searching, interviews, (repeat)

to date i've knocked on the doors of about 50 employers. Not real doors though, only their email inboxes. Through the online agents such as JobStreet, JobsDB and JobsCentral. Along the way, recruitment agents got my information through the portals and job applications and contacted me too.

still, the chances of being shortlisted for an interview is really, really rare. Yes, rare neither occasional nor frequent. I just went for my 1st, with ST Electronics (ISS). I knew that company and some of their staff through the former SES back in army days. Surprising what i did in army became of use in the interview!

maybe i'm having tough luck due to my salary expectation and what i'm trying to apply for. I'm willing to go a little lower for IT operations and support (+ management executive roles or similarly non IT ones), but not willing to budge for software development jobs. The latter can be extremely intensive, i'd make sure my time is well compensated.

there are 3 more interviews, but i'm thinking of canceling one. I need more interviews, please.

my colleague's hitched

our colleague and graduate from IT06 Lionel has officially taken out the hot seat for helpdesk support. He has a nickname - Helpdesk 小王子!

a year 1 girl went up to him, asked for his hp number. A night later she declared her feelings to him! Fortunately (or unfortunately) he is already attached, so he had to say no. She's also attached (hmm, the choice is hers, as long as she 欢喜就好). The saga continues...

then he mentioned to another girl at his earpiece was spoilt. The girl got a replacement earpiece for him!!

how come no girls did these for me uh. Actually got lah, but i don't say only (pui =p). I want a VW Golf though, any girl can give me? lol...


good luck to everybody who're going for their exams soon

xin min science and technology symposium

this symposium last Wednesday highlighted the successful collaboration between the secondary school and NYP in science and technology projects in the past year; our lecturers provided guidance to XMS students in the research and prototyping of key topics and inventions.

was the supporting guy for my 26 baby computers outstationed to Xin Min Secondary School. Schools today have indeed changed in their facilities. Definitely an improvement; because i see things such as a lift, airconditioned hall, nicely tiled parade square, etc. BUT the lift wasn't really meant for the handicapped - many staircases are found upon exiting the lift. So what is the lift for..?

the setup was army style, i have 2 movers helping me with the muscle building tasks such as moving them from lorry to the school hall. I was supposed to connect everything up one by one, but all the lecturers came and started connecting up themselves. So, i simply opened up my 'stocks' and let them 'loot' first, then stock-check later. Went around tidying up and duct-taped the power cables. 1 man for the entire hall... really... speechless.

Very nice hall


The actual event


?

Blk L is undergoing another renovation ever since the major level 6 refurbishment. Most of us who came from there would have booked project rooms or at least went into one. Thinking of that, i remembered it was my area to take a quick nap in between classes! Now the project rooms are being converted into notebook labs. There's another minor change at the infamous fish tank at level 3 as well.

what will be my job in 3 months?

IF nothing goes wrong, i would be finishing my studies in a matter of 4 weeks.

over the past few months, i listened to a number of advice, from those in the infocomm industry (or those who deals with infocomm indirectly, but still rather intensively such those from my current workplace).

i was bathing just now, and i thought i have identified my choices as i was soaping up and down.

first of all, i believe in work life balance. What i personally experienced, seen and heard so far has changed my view of a good job. Now, given this understanding, read on.

while i'm being trained for the technology industry so far, i'm hesitant to accept a full blown career in it, especially software development. Not that i'm not confident in my skillset, but i have other interests that i'm keen to explore.

an interest would be in writing. Writing for the mass, a focus group, giving my audience a piece of my views. So far some well wishers thought of this route as difficult, because i'm not trained in mass communications. I still feel otherwise, because a piece of writeup does not simply depend on how technically well versed the author is. I find myself interested in Asia Pacific politics, social affairs in general, and of course consumer technology. This is a job offer i would not resist in taking up, given favourable conditions.

another interest will be in hospitality, human resource or front line. These areas are rather large to define, but to summarise it - i believe in serving the needs of a related customer well, yet i also believe in having my colleagues working towards that goal too.

the last yet significant interest will be to serve my alma mater. I prefer to use 'serve', because i'm grateful for the conducive and open environment, as a former student and staff. I consider being accepted as a full time staff as an uphill task and something i won't dare to wish for right now, because i look bad in my academic department.

i know a person of my age would be running a small risk in exploration, but i don't mind it. As least, i won't regret in my thirties or forties, that i have only managed to carve a career in a single industry.

after saying so much, if you know of such jobs that seem to be what i'm looking for, and the company will benefit with such a person like me - please drop me a message at:

student tsos

of recent, we recruited a group of juniors to join our lab operations. They came at a time where level 6 was reorganised, just nice.

melvin got them out for lunch. I invited 2 more guests who helped out with the pack too, jewel and guangyun.

hopefully this big batch will learn as much in time to come! Of course, must give them the exposure and confidence, on our side. No point hiring them if any of us is scared of this or that, "can they do it?" kind of looks. As far as i can see, they are willing to get their hands dirty, so i have no doubt on their performance.

many issues at work

1. timing. Since this is the 84571298 times it happened, i think it's useless to talk about it. I just hope people can be more tactful, more mindful of mutual respect. It's very ugly to see a seemingly kind person, then turn out to be not-so below the table.

2. responsibility for a lost item. I'm most likely to take responsibility for an item that was appeared to be issued and received by me. The problem is, the item is nowhere to be found (and the system still states x borrowed it). The circumstances on that day was different, because a temp staff was at the helpdesk. There are many things i cannot say here, because it will affect her reputation. I blame it on my short term memory, which i couldn't confirm that i received the item from x. But 2.5 months is rather difficult for anyone doing such jobs to recall. I have probably received more than 500 items in this period.

i accept this responsibility wholeheartedly, but there is a problem - no enforcement on the loan system. For example, y can borrow items for as long as possible, even though the system prompts and prompts via email. Say if management decides to recall all items borrowed out, i'm very sure every colleague of mine will have to accept responsibilities. Because x, y or z will insist they have returned their items, and say a, b or c received it. There's almost no proof to confirm it, although i won't say how here.

if you still don't get what i mean by responsibility, it means pay. Pay for the loss.

unfortunately, i'm the one to be put on the chopping board first. Me being helpless is an understatement. $1000 bucks may be out of my pocket soon. If i hear i'm rich or anything along this line at work, be very sure i'll be very nasty in my reply. If on friendly terms, i'm cool with it. But otherwise, no. I'm after all still a student with finances to manage. What i spend on is my business. You may spend on this, but i don't. I run my life, i don't attempt to run yours. So don't attempt to run mine by giving me hints or instructions.

more ever, i don't have the privilege to use certain government property as my own. Of course, i have to buy them for my own usage.

3. deflection of arrows. I thought this only existed in army, now i get it at work. This really made my day.

4. a task that went over time. I thank my student TSOs who did their best. It's their very first time setting up half a lab in 2-3 hours. Not easy, because it's not just about connecting wires together. Any tom, dick or harry can hook up in that case. The school's standard is beyond that.

on hindsight i should have foreseen they couldn't finish on time. I believe these people need recognition for their efforts, getting their hands dirty for the school. Especially GY who stayed to help although he wasn't paid. Plus Richard who stayed with me till midnight to find the missing item, but no avail.

it's no good to have pent up frustration. So i'm letting them go here.

farewell lunch

there are some changes happening to the stable of support personnel, thus a working lunch for

- eric, leaving for greener pastures. If you are wondering who, he sports a crew cut hair and is around my height.

- melissa, leaving for further studies. She has been 'parked' at the helpdesk, so there's no problem identifying her.

- melvin (chan), incoming colleague. I found out someone in my group of friends knows him, just now.

actually, there are more outgoing colleagues, the 2 senior ones originally from EI are also leaving soon. EI peeps should know them.

2 colleagues didn't attend, one due to compassionate factors and the other was simply too busy. I guess so, because there is a problem since Eric is leaving, or rather has left since he has leave to clear.

hope the renewal is positive for the dept in the long run. I'm taking my leave after my exams in december, but may stay around until i find a suitable job.

Started eating too soon. Remembered my camera only at this moment...

went to pick up my new specs too, later in the noon.

The box


Why they must call the colour brown tortoise...


The hard casing. Nice.

no pictures of the actual stuff. When you see me you'll see it too =)

a lousy night shift

the day started off quite alright, before work.

i know i shouldn't take my temper to those who are not in the situation. But somehow people will approach me at the wrong moment - text messages when i put helpdesk as my msn location, FREAKING busy as my status message. Do i need to be so explicit to say don't message me? I'm sorry if i hurt anyone, but a little sensitivity on your side goes a long way.

anyway, why i'm so upset. I had to cover my colleague's work (close 9 more labs), but it's alright, just a little more stress towards the end. He had an emergency to attend to. But another incident happened much earlier, at the particular period where night classes start. Around 6.30 to 7.00pm. When classes start, it means 2 things. Either no sos request, or if there is an sos request the problem must be quite severe.

let me announce my actors/actresses.

- VIP: the biggest honcho in the school
- M: my indirect honcho
- L: one lecturer
- S1 and S2: 2 students

L had a problem - his instructor workstation crashed. So of course, this means he couldn't load his slides, etc. In my mind, i probably had to do a swap. A student in his class wanted me to do a repair installation with the windows disc. Realistically, that idea was impossible. Maybe that student was thinking of repairing his home computer. Anyway, i did the necessary using my judgement.

just oh so nice, another sos rang. It was M, she told me to help S1 and S2 open a protected access door. Since my priority was on L, i told her i'll be down in 5 minutes.

in about 5 minutes, L's problem was solved. M rang again - this time she said VIP was waiting for me with the students. Now i knew why she called again; someone was impatient.

when i went down, i saw VIP. He was quite cool about it, asking me to escort S1 and S2 into their room to retrieve some files. So i did. I observed the surroundings - 2 development staff peering over to see the 'show', some students i know looking in my direction, as though something big happened. I told S1 and S2 that they were so lucky (yeah).

after VIP plus S1 and S2 left, i asked YH. He said VIP appeared to be upset, raising his voice on the phone, thus attracting the attention of everyone in the area.

the problem now is - i don't see why he should be upset. There is only one support staff present in the whole building after 5.00pm. Maybe he wasn't aware i had to attend to a poor lecturer who couldn't start his class on time, but he could have been more understanding. Assuming my assumptions are right, why must he raise his voice at M?

even military commanders are turning away from such authoritarian styles. My former superior, a Brigadier General, closes his door to reprimand his subordinate. The latter is 43 years old, educated overseas and commanded the respect of his entire division, from his Chief of Staff to ground troops, even if he doesn't raise his voice. So why can't VIP be another respected boss?

he has spoilt M's night and mine. Is it worth my effort to serve my alma mater this well, given such an environment? This is an ethical question, but as far as work is concerned i believe in being professional. So far i am, thus i'm not afraid of posting this up.

another bus broke down

this time in the afternoon, just after i was done with blogging and ready to get out of my house.

instead of breaking down at the bus stop, the engine failed while the driver was making a turn from Marsiling Lane into Marsiling Drive. So the bus was in an awkward position, occupying slightly more than a lane. Heard the driver restarting the engine a few times, then trying to move. But the engine only roared, like revving in neutral mode.

went near to have a look, and saw Uncle Boo at the driver's cabin. So i stayed around to chat with him while he was waiting for the mechanics to come. He had to direct the next few buses to pass with care, since there wasn't much clearance for heavy vehicles.

4D!


The traditional Mercedes Benz bus dashboard.
The battery and fire hazard indicators were lit with beeping sounds.

the mechanics came, checked the gearbox oil and what not. Then using some Fluke and electronic meters they adjusted some stuff at the articulated section. The bus was movable after that, but had to be driven back to the depot. So we bid goodbye and uncle followed the mechanic's van back.


something is terribly wrong this semester at work. There are many viral outbreaks, already 4 as of this week (15). Luckily, the semester is ending soon.

normally, once i found out the root cause, i'll obtain a hashed value of the executable and pass it to P for blocking at domain wide level (entire SIT and affiliated domains). But the latest discovery caused mayhem - tests had to be postponed as the computers were effectively made useless. Plus the executable file varied in date/time and size, so the hashing method was useless. Command prompt was deleted too, so no way to delete off the bugger. I suspect there's another one undetected, so i'm tracing it down when i go back on sat.

at this rate, we will be busy catching worms and wearing bio suits in the lab. Instead of working on more technical and pressing issues.

my cd got stolen...

man i was so surprised. I have some really gian peng part time students in the lab.

the lecturer reported that a PC kept rebooting during a night class, so i brought a diagnostic cd and left it in the PC's optical drive while the program ran.

after the class, and to my horror, the cd disappeared!

since it's in a controlled environment (not some free access lab, a small class of part time diploma students in the evening), i don't think anyone else except someone in the class did the dirty job. I expected the student(s) to be more honest. All of them are working, have more money, more senior in age and working experience, why be so gian peng gian sai?! For god's sake, the diagnostic on the cd can be downloaded free on the Net!

speechless...

private blog updated with photos...

1st week of poly term

my life has been undergoing time warps recently. The load of projects and assignments came after the 2nd math quiz, making me quite lethargic, ironically. I'm supposed to gather my energy and work on them right? Those who know me well... know that this is dead wrong. That's why Melvin calls me a slacker, for a reason. shh...


workplace
so, my 'mother school' and workplace was extremely busy for this week. On monday, there were 7 night classes on. Just now, there were 9 night classes. Going to faint for the next 15 weeks...

had new colleagues onboard, and as all army guys know - newbies have to suffer for a while. So Anthony (DIT05) had to man the 2nd helpdesk created for freshies, while the old birds take care of the main helpdesk. He's quite motivated, and i was like him, staying beyond my alloted working hours to finish up things. But i'm been at it for a loooooong time, so my pace is slowing down.


think carefully...
j text-ed me far away from singapore, at another place in Asia. He was apparently going to let go. My friend, if you're reading this entry, remember my words. We friends can advise you based on whatever we heard from you, but you cannot take our advice alone. In the r/s, there are only 2 people. The rest are outsiders. And try not to complicate matters by operating a ferry service. Don't break ba chiu's heart unless your mind is set... i'm sure my friend got my meanings. :)


school
i just received the video clip of myself giving the short talk (an assignment) 3 weeks ago. Not bad... lol.

Natural not??

the long talk just finished today. Zw asked steve a question for the latter's presentation, and steve decided to pay us back by asking 'harsh' questions. At least this 'harsh' word was defined by my evaluator, not me!! But well, we all know at the end of the day, no feelings will be hurt.

was working with Google Maps API for past 2 days, for my GIS project. Quite satisfied with the API references, thumbs up for Google.


etc
my private blog is clocking up posts. I'm sorry if anyone felt offended by my actions, because i prefer to keep love matters closer to my heart. Friends who understand me well will better appreciate my rationale. If you want to read, just let me know.

oh yes, better log down these NEEDS for this summer holiday:

- get a pair of white plastic specs (eww)... or lasik?
- go for dental
- get a hairstylist.. wanna plant some gold strands in my hair

tired

this week is the last week before the poly term starts.

expectedly and unexpectedly, there had to be a "warm up" exercise for the heavier night shifts ahead. A student vandalised a piece of wall, so i decided to help the guys track the bugger down quickly. From my past experience, the longer such things are left to be, the lesser the chances of 'solving' the case is.

i find my night shifts to be extremely exciting since 2 years ago. There is always something memorable every year... lol..

[added]but on a more serious note, perhaps for this incident the club exco should deviate from using corporal punishments or shaming the culprit, but find out the reasons behind the vandalism (be it personal or club related). A forgiving yet firm response echoed out will set the record straight for those who think they can break the rules without getting caught. Without affecting the image of the leadership as well...

20 days to exam. Focus... focus...

my fish died :(

first and foremost i have to report the death of my resident algae eater, Mr SAE (Siamese Algae Eater). It was when i was feeding my fishes, then realised he (maybe a she, not too sure) didn't appear to grab the food, which he would normally do. Even if he didn't, he would reappear after a day or two.

then i searched the corners of the tank, he was nowhere to be found.

i searched the area in front of the tank, nothing either. Finally popped my head to the rear of the tank and found a dried corpse :(

File picture - this isn't Mr SAE 2007, but Mr SAE 2003.

Back in 2003 i bought a nice killifish, he was forever smiling. lolz...

then at the toilet i found a xiao-qiang. Drowned it instantly. Argh.

today was quite a slacking day - i was late for CS3265 meeting, which i'm again so paiseh for - they were all waiting for me to issue orders. So the next 1 hour we discussed about the report sections; facilitated whatever i can and we went down to Megabites for a meal. Remember Huiming was mentioning it in her blog, wondering whether this is the one.

Science converted a lobby and passageway into a mini cafe selling western food

Not bad for $4.50. But BJ takes the honour though.

while waiting for 97 at the dover bus stop, i met this particular girl.. she attracts me because she's rather cheerful whenever i saw her in the labs. Of course, she's really my type. She was standing nearby, but went in front of me, to sit at a chair facing the other way (facing me directly). Funny i thought; since the rest of the chairs were empty. Actually should have went up and get to know her, but.... shy lah. It's the same thing when Kelvin tried to introduce me to Tingli. No movements till now. Can someone give me thicker skin to approach a girl i want to know and ask for her number? alamak....*slap forehead*


at NYP school is starting next week; i can observe a heightened atmosphere - some staff went up to my manager to request these and that. Level 6 had some last minute shockers (yes, some workers literally got shocked), but its well on the way for usage next week. Heard that there were some timetable hiccups, so some peeps might have to reprint their timetable.

from my understanding it's kinda inevitable, since staff and students of SIT(EI) are joining our block this semester onwards. There will surely be some mayhem due to unfamiliarity in the first 4 weeks, so i shall keep my fingers crossed. Need to ask Choo how to operate and troubleshoot the new touch screen for the LTs, so i won't be so paiseh when i'm down there with hundreds of peeps looking =x

my helpdesk duties are greatly cut down though. Planning to keep it this way, at least until after 15 nov.


SE k850i finally arrived on our shores - the key differences from k800/810i are the 5mp camera (plus the automatic lens cover), directional keys being merged into a ring surrounding '2' and '5', touch-sensitive top row keys, and side lighting (blue and green).

the price is fantastic as well. iPosh and Mobilesquare are selling it for exactly $850.

i'm planning to get it, but not at this ridiculous price. Will probably go for it when it's nearby the $600 mark.

anybody wants to takeover my U600 white? The screen protector has been on since day 1, so the condition is somewhat 9.5/10. 0.5 for the age.

Can you sense the aura? =)

toiling (re)starts

just to report, it's week 8 of this semester 1 for AY 07/08 .

my deadlines are looming -
- 22 oct: CS3265 report
- 25 oct: CS3214 system analysis report
- 2 nov: CS2250 video submission
- 14 nov: GEK1531 final test (no exams yipeeee)
- 15 nov: CS3214 final system release

- 22 nov: my birthday (right smack in the study week AGAIN)
- 27 nov (evening): exam
- 28 nov (morning): exam
*end of agony*

my days ahead until the final system release will be more painful than what happened during the recess week. How to study for GEK1531, i wonder too. =(


had a chat with Chia over dinner just now. He was concerned for my box-office, which i had no time and motivation to do anything to it. The feeling simply sucks when a person is treated like a dead person - everything goes into a coffin. Shucks, enough of this. Still very angry with certain people. But i'm just a small fry that no one will see. Just wish to steer clear and far away from these self-centered minds.

i was thinking aloud my plans to him for my remaining year in NYP. Since i have been spending almost 2 years with deep immersion in lab setup/maintenance, it's high time i do some programming and be much less involved in the labs.

by the next week i will be proposing to my manager that i roll out the improved inventory system coded by Reyas in december, followed by really taking on the role as programmer for eHelpdesk application enhancement until i graduate from NUS in 2008.

but then he has also said - when people think of setting up labs, they think of me. It was a different impression for Reyas, so he has been able to concentrate on programming all these while. The easiest way out is managerial support for my tasks, provided i really produce results (which i will given the state of my box-office now).

now i understand why he has been able to withstand some bad press but the management still stood by his side - there is a certain positive disposition he has displayed in his working attitude and treatment towards colleagues. What is probably missing is the extra consideration towards 'customers' at the helpdesk, that's all.

that being said, i'm of the belief that its not only technical knowledge that determines a person's competency. Many other small yet superficial factors apply, even such as how a person organizes his/her table and furnishing, or the attitude towards similar rank-and-file colleagues or 'customers' at work - tells volumes about his/her management of every single matter.

i admit i'm a little messy though =x

anyway i will stop talking about my work here. For the ex-nypians the fastfood centre and foodcourt has been renovating for weeks already. Mac just re-opened.

Much brighter

Grinning Gecko and Splash 'n' Decker are still here

Koufu is still not ready.
Sad to see the old furnishing go - it has been there since my time

updates on SIT Level 6

before the updates, let me recall what i've done today. Jac called me to print some stuff, so i woke up at 8+. Then she told me no need anymore, i felt tired and went back to sleep, since the room was still cool. =x

brunch was at CWP's foodcourt again, then i went to visit RMG to get my flu medicine. So expensive!! Anyway the next trip is to Guardian.

wanted to repair the iriver, but did not due to time.

now the updates. It's going to be open soon! The security cams are already up at the helpdesk. However the 2 3/4U machines running these digitised cams are making a din with their noisy fans. When will the existing CRT based screens be changed to LCD or plasma? Your guess is good as mine - god knows.

This is the view on my left after entering the main door -
the open air space on the right of the picture is converted into classrooms

The view behind me. At the background is the access door to staff area, formerly L619 to L625

New male toilets which overwrote the old club room

A peek into one of the rooms

The corridor from L601 to 608.
This is the only corridor (and 8 rooms) that remained intact, except for the glass windows and flooring

The other corridor. On the right are staff rooms


A dried up xiao ming in the server room. Aww

Boliao #1 - Mr Brown

Boliao #2 - Who lost a durian on the bus?