Monday, January 25, 2010

Zulkarnain Zubir

Thanks to mom's genes, I can eat upto 8 times a day for a month- gain 5 kg and it disappears in just a cardio session. Which makes me prefer targeted area exercises on most days; else I would end up a walking skeleton =p.

I was trained to focus on completing tasks at hand with excellence, which can sometimes lead to unintentional skipping of meals. Hunger sometimes can be overcome by occupancy of the mind.
Whenever this happens, my partner@zulkarnain zubir@ajoi@sayang will make sure i am fed.
He will cook the most wonderful meals. Simple, yet tantalizing.
Leading however to his gain of 30kg ever since we're together.. aww....

Whenever I needed a crying shoulder ...he will be there.
Whenever I needed a ride to anywhere ...he will be there.
Whenever I needed advice ...he will be there.
Whenever I needed strength ...he will be there.
Whenever I needed someone to Imam ... he will be there.
Whenever I wanted to learn about religion ...he will be there.
DL was rushed to emergency unit ...he was there
Dad needed a photographer ...he was there

whenever I needed him ...he will-without fail-always be there.

This is a man who keeps to himself. who does when time calls him to do so.
giving everything that he possibly can without announcing even a whisper to the world.
who will perfect his every effort with practice and research.
for whatever he lacks, he will find a way to make it up.

I am the luckiest woman alive.
Thank you my sayang.

*the earlier posting of 35,000 words article on Porsche 911: Past, Present & Future by Zulkarnain Zubir, was removed due to Ajoi's request. It's a masterpiece- trust me. But he's shy about it.

You're perfect.
I love you.

paper vs reality

After the Diploma in Computer Science Course, I decided to pursue Diploma in International Hotel and Catering Management.

was it a smart move?
was it a waste of money?
was it a waste of time?
was it a waste of effort?

NO SUCH THING!

how can we ever stop studying? life itself is a bed of education worth experiencing.
the decision was made due to one thing only (at that time..) my friends all enrolled in that college!!
hahaha..

oh well for whatever it may be, don't let things go unfinished. never give up.
as i entered the world of 'hotcat' - hotel&catering ,the new arena taught me:
  • marketing
  • hr
  • security
  • art of fine cuisine
  • wine appreciation
  • bar service
  • pr
  • housekeeping
  • financial planning
  • business management
  • grooming
  • diligence
  • stamina
  • mental strength
  • communication
  • team work
  • multi-tasking
  • event&management

Your paper qualification will play a very big role in life; job interviews.- employers will ask for a minimum diploma in any field (if you're not applying for professional / niche careers). Reason being is because, a completion of a course will show determination.

My point of view:
It's for my own sense of achievement.
I can practice- work hard, play hard, art of living and most importantly.. discipline.

as i entered the second year, our very targeted group of learning ended with just 5 from the previous 25 number of students (per class). Being elected vice president of the student council showed me what it feels like to unite. to get everyone together. to participate. to get involved; hence the strength to command crowds which i still utilize until today, when it comes to being a master of ceremony (mc/emcee).

so looking back, I've come to realized that whatever you do...
challenge yourself. as we become a better person, we can make the world around us, a better place too..

no regrets.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

if there's a penny for my every thought.. I'd be rich.

The Laptop

Mine is a Dell Inspiron 1420 Sunshine Yellow- absolutely gorgeous, if you don't mind me saying..
Comes with an in-built 14" True Colors LCD screen, upto 5.1 DTS surround system.
The ultimate cinema experience.

When it comes to work, however, a MAC is faster to use. The system allows more protection than windows. Vista is crap by the way.. can't wait to upgrade to Windows 7- gotta pick up the trial version from Josh, he has put it aside for me since November.. haish, kept forgetting. Anyhow, back to the topic. MAC hardly lags if you're executing documentation and its processor is designed for multimedia support. Unlike windows, even when you're working on a single document, it could jam your hard-disk for no particular reason... Aha! But alas, the secrets of Microsoft, Anti Spyware, Anti Virus and Dell are revealed.

Microsoft Netagent.
Windows Update.
Limewire
McAffee Antivirus.
AVG Anti-Spyware

etc..etc..etc..

If you look under Windows Task Manager, with it, there are pages for applications and processors.
all i see is "sampah, sampah and sampah by microsoft"
*all computer geeks have this habit of ending of switching off unnecessary applications, services or functions.

My simplest solution is.. to off my windows update. Remove Anti-spywares. Use an external hard drive.
Windows rely on a system called the registry: its how your hard-disk knows what is suppose to be there and what is not. The anti-virus will run constant checks on your registry and proceed to C drive to see what has been changed in your computer and search its database for new worms, bugs and viruses. It detects, it removes or quarantine them.
Downsides of it; more files you have, more activities on your computer, windows and anti-virus will keep running, doing its job in constant search for bugs -while the whole time, keeping checks and updates using your internet connection as gateway for information exchange. These dudes are just softwares. They do need guidance from the big guy. Imagine a toddler that keeps asking his teacher on what to do next.. "is this color, ok? is this the right green? can i draw my tree next to the picture of my house?"
With the help of an external hard-drive, you can set your system to NOT to automatically check your external hard-drives even if you want to run a manual virus-scan. Saves time and your computer won't 'pening'.
I like my laptop as they way i customize it to be! I don't need to install or update things that I don't need. which is why to off the automatic install function of windows update is just heavenly. From there, i can choose the updates that I want instead of bombarding it with instructions from Microsoft. MAC is 'dengar cakap'. It does not dictate to manufacturers'- it let you be you and the shortcuts are freaking amazing!

If you also remember back in 2004, Atom 02 PDA- big craze i tell you.. came with a bang. But sadly, also busted. As you go in deeper, you can find out that the system has been set to crash after one year. Why? simple.. money.Wants over needs. Marketing 101.
Consumers are very much influenced by lifestyle; you have a hot gadget in your hand, it 'kaput' on you.. what do you do?
BUY THE LATEST MODEL OF THE SAME MAKER.
Atom 02 magically launched a 'better enhanced' model. But sometimes when you're too excited chasing the big market boom, the boss tells you to launch another one. The competitor is on your back trying to out-step you. The buzz is already out there but your status is "coming soon". What else can you do? Other examples are:
Nokia N95
I-phones

*the latest blackhole was the massacre of I-Phones where countless I-Phones was returned to dealers as they have completely crashed- nov'09. the demand was high, the phone was launched before its' full potential can be fully researched. Then came David Blaine to work his magic, and TA-DAA!!
"The latest most stable-most reliable-3G optimized I-Phone is now available at your nearest participating dealers!! -dec09"

My Dell also came with an irresistible warranty of 2 years:
-on site repair service.
-24 hrs online help
-excellent driver download and troubleshooting database via website.
-they'll even replace your laptop if its damaged or broken beyond repairs!
*one time payment of RM400 for a worry free experience.

ehem, 1 month before my warranty expired, my laptop started to act "weird". Feeling a wind of uneasiness i backed up all my files and saved some work online. David Blaine again came with constant reminders that my warranty is expiring. I ignored it, tried to battle it myself while making the necessary back-ups. And phoof! It crashed right after expiry. Damn smart IT engineers!! Should have PhD-ed my computer science course, but hey, diploma is sufficient enough i guess -for me. Oh well, I sent it to a friend's shop, got it fixed -hard-disk crashed but they managed to breathe life into it once handed over to their programmer (
gotta check if they complimentary changed my hard-disk, that's just too wonderful). Except for the USB and bluetooth settings which his interns forgot to set to 'ON' under BIOS setting- tsk..tsk..tsk.. should not have a.s.a.p them. more kelam kabut jadi nya.. ahahahhah.. they did however installed some other cool applications which i have yet to fully test them and upgraded to blu-ray ready player. my USB? I noticed a never before seen message: "The hubs shown in bold can support HI-SPEED USB device." Now my maxis broadband USB modem is happy =)

Best thing is, they also offer a phone call away service for any troubleshooting inquiries.

Total cost: RM100.
Friendship: Priceless.
Thank you,
David Blaine@John and The Locco team.

Being too analytical can cost more time though.. my mom always say that. So I will spend upto 10 minutes on a task, if it doesn't fruit, then just put it aside and come back to it with strength and knowledge and get it done!
or.. get help.

Problem : LCD screen was affected with some distortion.

Nora: Checked driver. Uninstalled and re-installed driver (time spent: 10mins)...
Status: Failed.

Ridzal : Checked driver. Checked flicker rate. Checked device manager (time spent: 30mins)..
Status: Failed.

Ajoi: Saw the screen. Adjusted the gamma color setting. (time spent: 5mins)..
Status: No problems found with your monitor.

AND THE WINNER IS.... David Blaine@Ajoi.

I LOVE MY LAPTOP