Monday, March 28, 2011  

[Excited...]

It's been almost a week, but I am still pretty excited.

I've been applying for a HDB flat since July last year. I haven't been applying for every exercise. Only the ones that appealed to us. It's not easy getting a good queue number. Sometimes, we didn't even get a number.

The time-line is pretty complicated, but long story short, we were invited for to select a flat at two different locations in Punggol. One BTO, and the other SBF. A check online showed that the only units left were on the second and third floors. It was around this time when an application for new BTO units in my current area opened.

We were in a bad situation. We didn't want units on the second and third floor, so we were going to reject the two chances we have at Punggol. This means we would no longer be considered as first-timers for a year. This also effectively means we can forget about getting a brand-new, BTO flat.

It was at this time that they announced that the application period will be shortened. I emailed and called them - it didn't apply for the BTO in my area. It will only apply for the one after that. Which means, rightfully speaking, we would have turned down the Punggol offers and lost our first-timer statuses before the ballot for the BTO in my area began.

We were sunk.

But as it turned out, the information I got was wrong. The new, shorter application process was already in place and I got my ballot number for the BTO in my area. A very good number, at about 27% of the total units available. Pretty sure we can get a unit we want.

It was incredibly lucky. If we didn't make it this time round, we would have to spend more money shopping in the resale market. The location this time round is also much better than the previous recent BTOs.

So excited.

^^^ by Locksley @ 8:32 PM. 1 comments.
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011  

[Fuck yeah!]

Got some good news today. Won the "national lottery", of sorts.

Makes the shit I dealt with today at work worthwhile.

^^^ by Locksley @ 10:23 PM. 0 comments.
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Friday, March 18, 2011  

[The aftermath...]

The past week was a busy one for me at work. I was involved in a project which kept me very busy. It also exposed a lot of the problems we have in the company, as far as how we dealt with our IT assets. It also exposed the shortcomings of our vendor, the very same one who killed a very popular bank's ATMs recently.

Anyway, because I was really busy, I did not have time to read the papers carefully. I read mostly the headlines and scanned through the articles. I knew about what happened in Japan, but only now did I realise exactly how bad it was.


Saw this picture in the papers the other day. Truly a holy shit moment...

My company is in a mini-crisis mode. Flights were getting rescheduled, information being passed down every few hours, and colleagues updating the Intranet website constantly. I never really paid much attention to it because I was extremely busy. But now that I think about it, piecing together what I saw and heard and now I realise what a big deal it is and how hard it was to deal with this crisis. Because of my position, I was not involved at all.

I can't decide if that is a good or a bad thing.

^^^ by Locksley @ 11:04 PM. 0 comments.
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Tuesday, March 15, 2011  

[No, not really...]

I wonder why they phrased it this way...


Are the "youths" not really youths? So what the hell are they? If they are youths, then why the quotes?

Of course, I never bothered reading the magazine to find out. I have better things to do with my time.




Every time I get letters like this, I get worried...


I wonder what have they thought up of this time, to screw with me.


I mean, I am already forced to defend a country where I am a second-class citizen. What else do they want from me?

It was nothing this time round. It was just a brochure to explain the new IPPT system, which I already knew about. I heard through the grapevine that there would be an overseas ICT this year. Not everyone would be involved. If I could pass the month of April without hearing anything, I should be safe.

^^^ by Locksley @ 10:34 PM. 0 comments.
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Sunday, March 13, 2011  

[We share time...]

I don't understand how people can arrive forty minutes late for an appointment and act as if nothing's wrong. Not even a sorry-for-making-you-wait.

We keep track of time for a reason. 7pm for me is also 7pm for you.

I haven't decided how am I going to deal with this problem in the future. It's not really fair to blame her because she was waiting together with me. And she was pretty miffed about it too.

^^^ by Locksley @ 12:29 AM. 0 comments.
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Tuesday, March 08, 2011  

[Nobody cares...]

I don't understand why people post their locations on Facebook. Nobody cares where you are at. Unless you died and posted on FB that you're in heaven or hell and basically prove that there is life after death. Otherwise, stop it. Nobody cares.

^^^ by Locksley @ 9:29 PM. 0 comments.
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[What did you say?]

My office now is much bigger than it was in the past. This means a lot more people around me, a lot more noise, and a lot more jokes. I overheard this today:

"I can hear a sound in my mouth."

(On the phone) "It will either be earlier or later..."

Oh, really?

^^^ by Locksley @ 9:19 PM. 0 comments.
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Sunday, March 06, 2011  

[I wish...]

I have had enough. To be honest, things are not that bad. Especially if you look around at our neighbours. Things are actually pretty good. But still...I've had enough of their bullshit. I have had enough of working my butt off and not really reaping any of the benefits.

I have had enough of being made uncompetitive in the labour market, being made to defend a country full of foreigners. I have had enough of wondering when will I be able to get a place of my own. And when I do, I will be wondering how long it will take before I can truly say that the place is mine.

I've been waiting to make my voice heard. Looks like the time is coming soon.

I wish that capable people will come by this time round. Based on current reports, seems like it is going to be the same ass-clowns as last time.

I wish it would be a three-cornered fight. Let someone else come in, please. Anyone but the biggest ass-clown of the lot.




I've noticed something about Hollywood and Taiwanese drama shows.

For Hollywood shows, the opening sequence is short. Always very short. This is usually because they have too much to air and opening credit sequences are just a waste of time. Shows like Lost, Desperate Housewives, 24, etc, all have very short opening sequences.

Taiwanese drama shows, on the other end, have insanely long opening sequences. They sing their song and show a bunch of random scenes. When the show starts, they repeat a bunch of scenes from the previous episode.

Why? I think it is because they have nothing new to air. Always the same old themes, reused over and over again. The whole idea is to stretch and fill as much time as they can.

Pure rubbish.

^^^ by Locksley @ 7:10 PM. 0 comments.
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[Stuff breaking down...]

Traditionally, I have bought only mouse and keyboards from Logitech. I stopped buying hardware from them when two of their keyboards gave me a lot of grief. One of them lost all the printing on the keys while the other was designed such that you need to hit the keys at a 45-degree angle in order for the key to go down and your input registered. I'm not really sure why they made it like that. Do people really hit keyboard keys at a 45-degree angle? I sure don't.

So I switched back to Microsoft. I have bought a Microsoft keyboard in the past that I used for the longest time, but that was a time when computer peripherals were still beige and white. So it was a long time ago. Anyway, I bought a wireless mouse and keyboard combo and they shared the same receiver. It was good, until I realised a few of the keys on the keyboard did not work. I managed to get a new set replaced by Microsoft, who sent it to my door-step which was phenomenal service on their part.

My next Microsoft hardware purchases were the Arc Mouse and the Arc Touch. I can't say much about the Arc Touch as I only just got it and haven't really started using it yet. But now my Arc Mouse has a problem.

For some reason, all the batteries I've used in the mouse has leaked. A clear, transparent liquid leaks out from the battery compartment. There is no apparent smell or anything, but that's definitely not supposed to happen. Also, a blue residue is building up around the battery contact points which is interfering with the power that the batteries are supplying to the mouse.

I've written to them, asking for a replacement. Let's see how they respond. In any case, it is most disappointing to have two out of the three Microsoft hardware I've purchased recently requiring some sort of after-sale service.

^^^ by Locksley @ 3:59 PM. 0 comments.
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