To Mac or not to Mac

My experience with Mac goes back more than 20 years back in 1986. At school, we are introduced to Apple IIe as PCs (ie DOS,Windows) were not as easily accesible. We learned programming for educational (and writing up some games along the way) purposes mainly and it was great, writing up codes and see it come alive on the screen.

After school, i did not have the chance to get reacquainted with Apple as its getting harder and harder to get my hands on such machines. When I started working in a financial institution in 1992, i was introduced to the world of Bill Gates. Working on terminals and servers, writing DOS programs and learning the intricacies of IT pose a new challenge for me (even if I actually work in accounting)

Fast forward a few years, while learning to troubleshoot in MS-DOS, the introduction of Windows 3.1 and the adoption of IBM compatible PCs as the standard computing platform have put Apple computers in the backseat as the platform of choice. That marks the start the Bill Gates effects. The rest they say is history as PCs currently take up of more than 90% of the market share, while Apple taking a measly 5%.

Unfortunately the general impression is that Mac's product are expensive compared to Windows machines but Mac fanatics would swear by their UNIX stabilty, almost non-existence of viruses and true out-of-the-box functionality with great softwares to boot. Taking that into consideration, Mac user would say that their price tag are justified. Macs are the machine of choice for the creative ones they say :)

Personally, I have fallen in love with Macs since 1986, but I have to admit that their higher price stalls me in my track. But with the introduction of Mac mini and now, Intel powered Macbooks would mean I could actually run Windows on Mac (not that I really need to). Dah lama sebenarnya simpan niat nak dapatkan Mac, dari masa Apple keluar ibook G3, to G4 and now Intel Core2Duo powered Macs.

So, i do think its a good time to get one. When? Nampaknya, kena tunggu duit saya cukup dulu la. Maybe I'll get a pre-loved Macs first and then, maybe then grow to a better system. We'll see how. Will post an update on my Mac adventure :)

Hence the question, to Mac or not to Mac?

The meaning of humility...

I was having a quiet dinner at a Japanese (sushi) fast food restaurant a few days back. While I was busy choosing which item to eat (the most item for the least money), the silence was shattered by a loud scream. Looking for the source, mana la tahu ada emergency ke, apa ke...

"Ko ingat aku ni baru hari ni ke makan kat sini?" shouted The Man. "Tiap-tiap bulan aku makan kat sini! KO BARU KEJE KE? KO INGAT AKU NI APA??". Apparently The Man was shouting to the cashier as he was paying. That girl was terrified and she could only give him a blank stare. That obviously riled him more. The whole restaurant was perplexed, what could have happened there?

"MANA MANAGER KO? PANGGIL DIA KAT SINI" The Man insists. The manager came and apologised profusely on behalf of the girl. The Man was complaining about something to the manager (nope, I did not eavesdrop, tak baik tau!) and he was pointing a lot to the girl. He left after paying.

The question is, is anybody any bigger that anybody else to publicly humiliate another person? Well, The Man could have had a bad day at work but it doesn't give him the right to humiliate another person, in public some more. That very day could be the cashier's first day at work, and she could be a bit slow as not to make any mistakes.

But then again, unless the girl tries to rip off the customer, I personally don't think anybody deserve that kind of humiliation. Whatever happen could be settled amicably between the parties involved, without rousing much fan-fare. Or maybe, The Man is doing it for kicks? To feel superior? Pity his lovely wife for that...

Its better to be humble, and have a bit of humility, methinks.

"What goes around, comes around"

Naik turun kehidupan... Pt 2

Update on the ups and down of my resolve during the puasa month... (with regards to food intake that is) up to the end of September on the 27th and 28th of the month.

Total lost for end of September from the early Ramadhan? A total of 3.8kg (which most probably is water. I am dehydrated this Ramadhan. Need to drink more during break of fast).

Going up or coming down?

This is my weight on the 20th of September, after one week of puasa. Hmm, has not been moving up or down that much... maybe my body is adjusting to the fasting month nicely :)

This is my weight on the very next day. Not too bad, but most probably its just the loss of water from my body. Hey, during my international duties a few years back, I can lost 1.5kilos (of water) in a day..

This is taken on the morning of 25th September. I do not expect the numbers to go down that fast due to the fact that I was back in my hometown over the weekend. Can't say no to Mum's food that is, hehe :) ..

Pics taken on 26th September. Apparently it only registers a 50grams reduction in my weight. Hehehe, I do have a viable explanation for this. Yesterday evening, 25th September, I was summoned to a breaking of fast do somewhere near my office. Could not say no, due to the fact that its work related. Hosted by my big, big boss. So, with buffet available, favorite food some more, teh tarik etc, its no wonder I overstayed there, hehehe...

Will catch up soon. BMI is 26.6. Need to go down some more.

Undone

One of the many perks of fasting is (supposedly) weight loss. But, i would beg to differ. For some people, rather than losing weight, they tend to put on weight instead. How? Aren't we supposed to fast and refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk?

That is exactly what happen for the past two years. Each puasa month, instead of losing weight, i ended up gaining some weight. Ceh! Macam mana ini bisa terjadi? The answer is easy. The problem lies not with fasting itself, but rather during breaking of fast.

As I was entering the working world, puasa month (for the past two years at least) has been the chance of sorts to catch up with my ex colleagues, schoolmates, uni mates and old acquaintances (throw in an ex girlfriend or two). And these buka puasa do usually takes places at a hotel or coffee house rather than a mamak stall. And these places have... buffets. Aahhhh...

By nature, i dont like to waste food so as there are food around (endless) I ended up eating more than I should. Hmm, change of tactics... should be taking a bit only of the food on display. That also backfired, due to the fact that there are so many different choices of food available at these places, I ended up taking a little of many, many things... Ceh!

Err, going back to my hometown every weekend also contribute to the weight gain. I just can't say no to Mum's cooking, hehehe... The picture on the left, is the normal spread at Mum's for buka puasa. Under the green tudung saji (bottom left), there are at least 3-4 types of food (2 meat, 1-2 vege)

This year I have refrained from attending any makan-makan do (if I can help it). As of the 14th day of fasting, I have only went to ONE buka puasa do, which is unavoidable actually due to its work related (hosted by my big,big boss). So far so good. Have only set aside one more day for buka puasa, on the 6th for a reunion do with my unimates.

Will keep updating on my weight (loss or gain?)...

Pintu oh Pintu

On Friday evening usually I'd make my way to my hometown, which most of the time would mean a bus ride home. I got the seat numbered 3, right behind the driver. Hmm, not really my preferred seat but well, i cant choose really as it was the last bus out. Luckily, the bus was half full so I got both seat on my row for myself.

Suddenly, up walked a sweet young thing, clad demurely in blue baju kurung with small floral print, seated on the other side. We exchanged glances and polite smile (thats about it actually). Anyway, the journey starts normally and uneventful. Ho-hum... and as usual, the engine drone is quickly drowned by my snoring, hehehe...

Then, somewhere after a small town, the bus slows down, as someone is getting down. As I open my eyes, hey, its that beautiful girl getting down. She catches me glancing at her, and we again exchanged smiles. As she was standing up ready to step down, lo and behold, the bus door refuse to open. The driver tries again and again, releasing the hydraulic/pneumatic pressure and all, but still the door refuse to budge.

The driver was stumped. According to him, the door has already been fixed. The girl was unsure of how to get down. The driver moved the bus a little bit more on the side and walked to the back. Everybody has the same question on their mind, how are they getting off the bus if the door is jammed?

From the back of the bus, the driver asks the girl if she could use the emergency exit to get off. Mind you, an express bus is quite high from the ground and the girl is clad in baju kurung. I can only wonder how she got down from the bus. Once she got down (somehow) we continue with our journey, but its evident the question on everyone's head, how are we getting off then? Are we going down the emergency exit too?

Not long after that, another guy wants to get off. The driver tried to open the door again. To everyone's delight, it works this time. The driver quips, 'Memang saje je la, nak jadi cerita tadi tu...'

Torn

I heard some disturbing news at work a few days back. Its regarding one of my colleague and his boss. Actually, i have been hearing that he has been given the cold shoulder by his boss due to some misunderstanding at work. Well, to be fair, he has his own share of fault in the incident which leads to the deterioration of their professional relationship.

Their professional relationship has always been a bit strained. The boss has always been a slave driver and both of them are strong personalities in their own right. This friend of mine is no mere pushover too. If he saw something that not right, he would not hesitate to point it out, which at times put him at a loggerhead with his boss.

Well, unfortunately today, someone told me that the rumours that he heard is that the boss has actually gone up to higher ups and demand that the staff be sacked. Now, thats shocking. I would never thought that the relationship would deteriorate to that level.

If that is the case, it would be a sad thing. Knowing both of them personally, i do think that the matter has been blown out of porportion. I do hope what I've been told is just that, mere rumours. Hope that their professional relationship will be for the better...