Recently my macbook gave up the will to live, and died on me unexpectantly. The phone conversation with the Apple Care staff was pretty interesting, which gave birth to this note here.
Me: I cannot believe my macbook is so lousy. It failed on me within a year, and now all the keys refused to work and my trackpad has gone off track as well. Is this common among mac users' complaints?
Apple staff: Mdm, you might like to know that your warranty is still valid at this moment. However, it is expiring in 3 days. Your problem is rather special (notice he din use words like 'terrible', 'unimaginable' or the sorts), which is not common among the feedback (not 'complaints') that we get from our customers. It's great that your laptop gave you an early warning before the warranty expires (which, btw, is a fantastic way of reframing the very same idea that i pointed out - that my macbook is so lousy that it failed in its first year!!). All the parts required for the repair will hence be covered by the warranty, and you will not be required to pay for the repair. Allow me to refer you to our ..."
Wow. After the conversation, i actually felt lucky about the timely demise of my macbook. Customer service excellence at its finest, if you would like. =P
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Whirlwind weeks
The past 2 weeks have really been crazy - They flew by so fast, i had little recollection of the happenings. As part of my recent 3/4 year resolution to make special efforts to 'document' bits and pieces of my life, I shall write dilligently about the various chunks that collectively make me a whole. When the internal hard disk is failing, it's time to turn to 'external backups'. *winks*
More Courses at the Blue and White Building
I went for a course yet again at the blue and white building. My friends have been quizzing me on lotus notes on the frequency with rather satirical tones like "Ma-cham no need to work liddat" - Well... what can i say? It's quite addictive, promising a short week with something new to look forward to. =P This time though, the speaker wasn't very impressive, but the content was pretty interesting. She confirmed my worst fears though - That the predominant purpose of writing in third party tones was to confuse rather than to communicate. Every writing style belie a purpose, and in a nutshell, cheem writing never happens by chance. =P Use it sparingly, i would suggest, unless you wish to be an irritating prick. More verbs, less nouns! *ought to slap myself with this constant reminder* I have a unconscious urge to write in a stupid manner that people don't understand.
Of Graduation and Graduation photos
I finally graduated over the weekend. Thank goodness. =) Had the brief feeling of being in the paparazzi limelight, with multiple cameras snapping at us. It was fun! We had our Harry potter day with all the pretty mortar boards and long black robes. Briefly thanked God that i din have to don on business regalia gown, a pale dead mushroom brown. =P The following sunday, i went for a professional photoshoot by our in-house, long suffering photographer, Jinfu. So nice of him to slog it out for us on a sweltering sunday and watch us live out some of our friends' childhood fantasies of slashing one another in a sword fight, albeit the apparent mismatch of graduation robes and swords. Of course, in return, we had an earful about Jinfu's lewd analogy of women being akin to red wine, which i shall not repeat here to save you the anguish. =P I was labelled as a serial flasher because my exorbitantly priced graduation gown refused to zip up properly like all expensive gowns should. Ugh.
And of course, there was my birthday.
My birthday flashed over over the week as well. Oats cooked an entire series of my favorite foods. Yum yum. =) Went to Malacca real early in the morning with jourdan, alex and oats as well for ultimate food adventure - Ate really bad chicken rice there though - Why would anyone possibly think oily mashed up chicken rice balls as a good hallmark of a place? i think the chendol there is their saving grace. However, we more than made up for it by bashing through the unknown in the velvet night to reach the elusive world's best nasi lemak. Perhaps due to double whammy of global recession and inflation, the crispy chicken on the world's best nasi lemak actually shrank. sigh
Took lotsa pictures at the highest vantage point of Malacca, only to have them mysteriously disappear. Must be the beautiful tombstones that we were "sua-ku-ly" embracing with morbid interest, much to the amusement of the dutch tourists who knew better about what was inscribed on those beautifully crafted stones. Celebrated Oat's daddy birthday as well, whose birthday is a close stone throw's away from mine. Utterly convinced that people born in july are generally nice people from the small, severely biased sample that i have. =P
And I took up belly dancing.
That's part of the 3/4 year resolution as well (that is, if you believe i am capable of 3/4 year resolutions). A rash decision that turned out hilarious. I find myself surrounded by neighborhood tai-tais that bat at me with unbelievably long, artificial lashes, adorned in the brightest belly dancing attires. Not to say that i dislike their company though - on the contrary, i find myself enjoying the class. Managed to find another student younger than me, a VJ junior who's now a chemist with A*. Just when i thought my work-home distance was the longest, she came with the news that she lives in the block next to me and work in Tuas. Wow - that threw a new light in my perspective. haha. Not to say i gloat in others' misery, but wow, that's really far. =P
Ran around half of Singapore and trawled the whole of little India, just to find that i could actually buy the hip scarf at Tampines 1. Gee, we really do have everything in Tampines, belly dancing attire included.
Things to look forward to
Over the week, i also met up with lotsa friends, old and new. It's really fun catching up, and yep, you all really paint me the rainbow on a gloomy day. ;) Going to jog with old friends and new friends on Mondays and Wednesdays, with some serious belly fun on Tuesdays.
More Courses at the Blue and White Building
I went for a course yet again at the blue and white building. My friends have been quizzing me on lotus notes on the frequency with rather satirical tones like "Ma-cham no need to work liddat" - Well... what can i say? It's quite addictive, promising a short week with something new to look forward to. =P This time though, the speaker wasn't very impressive, but the content was pretty interesting. She confirmed my worst fears though - That the predominant purpose of writing in third party tones was to confuse rather than to communicate. Every writing style belie a purpose, and in a nutshell, cheem writing never happens by chance. =P Use it sparingly, i would suggest, unless you wish to be an irritating prick. More verbs, less nouns! *ought to slap myself with this constant reminder* I have a unconscious urge to write in a stupid manner that people don't understand.
Of Graduation and Graduation photos
I finally graduated over the weekend. Thank goodness. =) Had the brief feeling of being in the paparazzi limelight, with multiple cameras snapping at us. It was fun! We had our Harry potter day with all the pretty mortar boards and long black robes. Briefly thanked God that i din have to don on business regalia gown, a pale dead mushroom brown. =P The following sunday, i went for a professional photoshoot by our in-house, long suffering photographer, Jinfu. So nice of him to slog it out for us on a sweltering sunday and watch us live out some of our friends' childhood fantasies of slashing one another in a sword fight, albeit the apparent mismatch of graduation robes and swords. Of course, in return, we had an earful about Jinfu's lewd analogy of women being akin to red wine, which i shall not repeat here to save you the anguish. =P I was labelled as a serial flasher because my exorbitantly priced graduation gown refused to zip up properly like all expensive gowns should. Ugh.
And of course, there was my birthday.
My birthday flashed over over the week as well. Oats cooked an entire series of my favorite foods. Yum yum. =) Went to Malacca real early in the morning with jourdan, alex and oats as well for ultimate food adventure - Ate really bad chicken rice there though - Why would anyone possibly think oily mashed up chicken rice balls as a good hallmark of a place? i think the chendol there is their saving grace. However, we more than made up for it by bashing through the unknown in the velvet night to reach the elusive world's best nasi lemak. Perhaps due to double whammy of global recession and inflation, the crispy chicken on the world's best nasi lemak actually shrank. sigh
Took lotsa pictures at the highest vantage point of Malacca, only to have them mysteriously disappear. Must be the beautiful tombstones that we were "sua-ku-ly" embracing with morbid interest, much to the amusement of the dutch tourists who knew better about what was inscribed on those beautifully crafted stones. Celebrated Oat's daddy birthday as well, whose birthday is a close stone throw's away from mine. Utterly convinced that people born in july are generally nice people from the small, severely biased sample that i have. =P
And I took up belly dancing.
That's part of the 3/4 year resolution as well (that is, if you believe i am capable of 3/4 year resolutions). A rash decision that turned out hilarious. I find myself surrounded by neighborhood tai-tais that bat at me with unbelievably long, artificial lashes, adorned in the brightest belly dancing attires. Not to say that i dislike their company though - on the contrary, i find myself enjoying the class. Managed to find another student younger than me, a VJ junior who's now a chemist with A*. Just when i thought my work-home distance was the longest, she came with the news that she lives in the block next to me and work in Tuas. Wow - that threw a new light in my perspective. haha. Not to say i gloat in others' misery, but wow, that's really far. =P
Ran around half of Singapore and trawled the whole of little India, just to find that i could actually buy the hip scarf at Tampines 1. Gee, we really do have everything in Tampines, belly dancing attire included.
Things to look forward to
Over the week, i also met up with lotsa friends, old and new. It's really fun catching up, and yep, you all really paint me the rainbow on a gloomy day. ;) Going to jog with old friends and new friends on Mondays and Wednesdays, with some serious belly fun on Tuesdays.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Somethings are best done without thinking
Thinking too much is bad - At least in my case, that is. I was just reflecting on the things i have not done in my life, just because i thought too much. Why hesitate, when my age is prime for doing absolutely crazy things. Regret is more haunting than remorse, so yep, it figures logically. =)
So yesh, after pondering on what recreational activity to take up for donkey years, factoring in stupid irrational concerns that doesn't really matter, i have decided to take up BELLY DANCING. hahaa. Signed up for the course without much thought, and heck, if it's fun, i'll let you know k. *winks*
Now there's something to look forward to every tuesday! Yeay!
So yesh, after pondering on what recreational activity to take up for donkey years, factoring in stupid irrational concerns that doesn't really matter, i have decided to take up BELLY DANCING. hahaa. Signed up for the course without much thought, and heck, if it's fun, i'll let you know k. *winks*
Now there's something to look forward to every tuesday! Yeay!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Positive Aggression & other misc updates
Went for a medical examination today which really set me off on the wrong mood for what would otherwise be a wonderful Saturday.
Felt i was handled like a cattle more than a human (i am sure Cosmo has it better at his little pet clinic) - For all you know, i could have uttered the wrong digit at the eye test and the nurse probably wouldn't notice. The doctor was worse - Obviously studying for so many years only to know that you have to work Saturdays as well made her a very bitter woman. The session was tense and went roughly like this:
"Lock the DOOR, will you?!" was the response she had to my greetings (i said good morning) - that was the sign of things to come.
"You are so thin, i am not sure my equipment (a manual blood pressure monitor) can work on you" --> Silly me thought that she was saying that as a joke (i mean, when has blood pressure monitor ever been affected by how thin a person is?!) and laughed, only to get a stern, crossed look from her like she really meant it - Not Funny.
Anyway, as a side note, the pressure pad loosened itself halfway (probably because the velcro couldn't cover two rounds of wrapping around my reed-like arm) and the blood pressure was like 80? That din stop her one bit in jotting down the erroneous reading on the sheet - which i am sure she must have plucked some healthy figures in space to pen.
This was followed by some rough jabbing of my body to check if i am half distorted in my spine or have monstrous lumps in my flesh - Ouch, ouch and ouch. What else could it be, if not deformities, that cause this half wit here to be cheery on a saturday morning at a clinic, right?
Sigh.
Anyway, that aside, i had a fantastic afternoon with Emu dear, who is relocating to Tokyo come end July - While feeling happy for her, i am also sad that we won't be seeing each other for some time soon! =(((
Besides catching up on each others' lives, i think there was an important thing to learn at the end of the day - That we choose the path that we want and more often that not, means guarding your ideals with not only sound reasoning, but also a certain positive aggression. Not making your choice does not mean status quo - Horribly, we realized that the passive default will not be remaining where you are, but to close in onto a downward spiral to metaphoric hell. =P
I am not sure everyone gathers this concept while at work - It's crazy not to teach this in school, yet at the same time, i don't know how to go about putting this into theory - Only experiencing it will ingrain the concept.
Felt i was handled like a cattle more than a human (i am sure Cosmo has it better at his little pet clinic) - For all you know, i could have uttered the wrong digit at the eye test and the nurse probably wouldn't notice. The doctor was worse - Obviously studying for so many years only to know that you have to work Saturdays as well made her a very bitter woman. The session was tense and went roughly like this:
"Lock the DOOR, will you?!" was the response she had to my greetings (i said good morning) - that was the sign of things to come.
"You are so thin, i am not sure my equipment (a manual blood pressure monitor) can work on you" --> Silly me thought that she was saying that as a joke (i mean, when has blood pressure monitor ever been affected by how thin a person is?!) and laughed, only to get a stern, crossed look from her like she really meant it - Not Funny.
Anyway, as a side note, the pressure pad loosened itself halfway (probably because the velcro couldn't cover two rounds of wrapping around my reed-like arm) and the blood pressure was like 80? That din stop her one bit in jotting down the erroneous reading on the sheet - which i am sure she must have plucked some healthy figures in space to pen.
This was followed by some rough jabbing of my body to check if i am half distorted in my spine or have monstrous lumps in my flesh - Ouch, ouch and ouch. What else could it be, if not deformities, that cause this half wit here to be cheery on a saturday morning at a clinic, right?
Sigh.
Anyway, that aside, i had a fantastic afternoon with Emu dear, who is relocating to Tokyo come end July - While feeling happy for her, i am also sad that we won't be seeing each other for some time soon! =(((
Besides catching up on each others' lives, i think there was an important thing to learn at the end of the day - That we choose the path that we want and more often that not, means guarding your ideals with not only sound reasoning, but also a certain positive aggression. Not making your choice does not mean status quo - Horribly, we realized that the passive default will not be remaining where you are, but to close in onto a downward spiral to metaphoric hell. =P
I am not sure everyone gathers this concept while at work - It's crazy not to teach this in school, yet at the same time, i don't know how to go about putting this into theory - Only experiencing it will ingrain the concept.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Finally its friday
I think i should go beyond the stage of describing my work as "Ok lor..." with a nondescript expression when friends and close family enquire. I should instead put more thought into my replies, i figured, and here's a description of my work:
"My work makes me feel like a PFC (personal financial consultant) working with a team of investment bankers. "
I can't think of a better analogy at this point.
Anyway, it's the weekend! (yeay!! I can feel the little butterfly flutters in my heart)
I realized i pretty much like the idea of penning my thoughts and spamming across facebook. My little small brainless note actually drew quite alot of responses from friends, and some came back with very interesting links. I felt like i learnt more, just by asking people for opinions with my 2 cents worth. Fully felt the power of knowledge sharing this week, and more importantly, the power of people and network. =) But that's another long story altogether, and perhaps fodder for another whimiscal note on life from me soon (perhaps).
"My work makes me feel like a PFC (personal financial consultant) working with a team of investment bankers. "
I can't think of a better analogy at this point.
Anyway, it's the weekend! (yeay!! I can feel the little butterfly flutters in my heart)
I realized i pretty much like the idea of penning my thoughts and spamming across facebook. My little small brainless note actually drew quite alot of responses from friends, and some came back with very interesting links. I felt like i learnt more, just by asking people for opinions with my 2 cents worth. Fully felt the power of knowledge sharing this week, and more importantly, the power of people and network. =) But that's another long story altogether, and perhaps fodder for another whimiscal note on life from me soon (perhaps).
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