6.29.2008

A new life.

I just witnessed the birth of my 2nd niece today. Julian/芷瑜 is the name. My gawd. I mean, how many times in your lifetime would you actually witness someone giving birth, watching the baby come out of the... (forgive me, but my bio knowledge sux way beyond your imagination) Anyways, it was quite a smooth delivery (and yes, it was all bloody and I watched through EVERYthing). I thought this would be a good chance for me to understand the procedure visually, trying to comprehend the amount of pain during the giving birth. My sister finally resorted to epidural anesthesia, it means sticking a needle into your spinal cord to numb your body so you don't feel pain from contractions. I guess the pain is really menstrual cramps amplified n times. :s Most part of the process is just gross. Looks painful, and I wonder if without the epidural, whether the pain from contractions or the pain from tearing the vagina is more significant. Ewww.

Pictures to come.

6.27.2008

new avatars!!

At last my love!! Our avatars are done!
Ain't they adorable??

my hunny:

me:

6.26.2008

People and Humans.


  • peo·ple
    human beings making up a group or assembly or linked by a common interest

  • How do you tell that a woman is angry? Sudden display of intentional cold-heartedness and cruelty.

  • What makes an angry woman angrier? Everything.

  • Tip: You must more cruel than her.

  • What makes a human human? Selfish and greed.

  • Are you seriously different from anyone and everyone? No, because I am human. You are too.

  • How do you differentiate between an angry woman and a jealous woman? You can't.

  • How many non blood-related persons can one love? Just one.

  • Between people and humans, which is your pick? Humans, because it sounds wiser.

  • What actually makes an angry woman angry? Jealousy.

In my other life..


  • Been quite into Wii sports after my family arrived. They're quite into it. And oops, I forgot to do my Wii fitness today. Although I can never quite believe how a 23 yr old and a 61 yr old can have their ages switched in a virtuality. =\

  • They watched 2 HK dramas and I missed out on both. =( Caught only a few episodes over the weekends. But this House drama is awesome. Watching Season One. Only just started watching so I've missed quite a number of episodes now, but it's a different medical case each time so no missing out on plots.

  • I got my international license today. $15 + 10 for 2 passport-sized photos. Eh hem.. don't know if you are aware of how it works, but this is supposed to get me my license in Singapore. We'll see.

  • Nothing much happening on WoW these days. We transferred servers (back on a PvP server.. exciting). But it's like everyone's disappeared after the transfer. I don't log in as often too. Plan now is to focus on leveling and PvPing (I'm learning). Season 4 just came out.

  • It's MidSummer festival now.. xiang xiang surprised me with a Captured Flame yesterday. Muuuuacck. So sweet. ^////^ Love you much!!! =D

Uploading 2-3/5


  • Whee~ finally finished the Gen. 3 project specifications tho a day late.. more like a draft I would say, but meh, that's the best I can do for now. =p Will see what's next on Thurs. =(

  • Info site status: still on hold. I put the text into a word doc today so the prof could edit over it. Stupid me didn't think of that before. Mmm.. 不够完善。

  • Website edits: 1) Video link still needs to be updated on 26 other pages. Plus I need to add a fullscreen option. 2) Job openings changed. More interns. No more NPI. Add technician. 3) Create a form that allows customers to submit information for product registration.

  • Many other things that I will not have the time to do. I should at least finish my operations manual so I could hand down the trivial tasks to Alyssa.

  • I just want to do as much as I can. For my own sake.

6.24.2008

Uploading 1/5...

Yawnz.

My whole body is aching bad and I am feeling awfully drowsy from today's team lunch. (Not that I'm usually awake at work :p) Buffet again at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. Something more today though... A CAKE (& a card)! My gawd.. A farewell celebration for me as this is my last official week at work. So sweet. :) For some reason, I've always been teased around by my bosses and colleagues. I guess it's because I don't talk much?? :x But all that's fun, so it's okay.

I have a 2-page project specifications to finish by tomorrow. Darn, I forgot about it ever since I got home on Friday. Haha! It's for revamping the Innovolt website to Generation 3. 2nd meeting on Thursday with people from ObjectNet. It's a pity I couldn't stay to see this project gets completed. It'll be a great experience to further boost my resume. ;) Grr, they could have started this earlier though. :( But at least during the time I'm here in Atlanta, I will be "assisting" with the project as needed. Don't know what that means exactly. :\

The info site that I wanted to do is ~80-85% completed. Putting them into html then getting them approved by the technical people (that's basically just Dr. Divan). Looking great so far, personally. The proofing part is usually the worst part. >< Some people just prefer something else that is not your style.

We'll see how things go.

6.20.2008

Fortune telling

"The details of a certain person's manipulative behavior could come into fine focus. Since these likely affect essential matters, you are strongly encouraged to deliberate before responding."

Sometimes it is more interesting to read your fortune at the end of the day than at the start: It may shine a new light on you. Rethink. See a different side of things. Laugh. That's the way to appreciate the present even more. ♥

6.13.2008

"I'd love to spend hours troubleshooting @#$% computer."

Wah sianz.

Since I arrived in the office this morning around 10+, I have been scratching my head and chin *pulling my hairs* trying to fix a silly Vista problem for this guy from our partnering company (they do concept design/development and initial manufacturing), who just arrived from India recently.

The problem was..
Somehow this morning around 8, after a forced shutdown, his default Windows account profile could not load up correctly, so a temporary profile was created, and he could no longer access information previously saved on the original profile, including old emails in Outlook. Now, the problem is actually pretty straight forward. The old account no longer function properly; we want to restore old emails, and documents saved to that user account. A straight forward solution would be to create a new profile and copy the documents/application data from the old account to the new one. Open Outlook and boom! Everything should have been perfect.

Unfortunately, we were so distracted by the Windows scan disk (or check disk), it kept prompting whenever we restarted the system. Looks like it would help with the problem. I mean, you would have assumed that following instructions, step by step, should get things fixed. But not really. The check disk kept hanging at 3%, restarted, and it hung again.

From this point on, my decisions just spell out how plain stubborn my brain is structured. In chinese, I would call myself "死脑筋". It's a common type of structure among people, but not one of a creative or wise person. Instead of going back to the original problem and finding alternatives to solve it, I tried to drill through a chain of secondary, tertiary problems stemming from the initial failed check disk operation.

Sigh. Stupid leh. Waste of my time.

6.06.2008

dotdotdot

Ever felt awkward when you are talking to someone, who tries to joke around.. acting friendly and humorous, yet you don't really share his/her level of humor but you are forced to respond positively to everything that person said? It's like: "Ha-ha-ha. So now what?" It happens real quick.

I just saw three people talking in the office and I wonder if they realized how awkward they had been. Or maybe they just don't think their jokes were lame.

. . .

6.04.2008

What is your dream home like?

Here's mine:




[source: Freshome]

Much like the Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe.

[source: e-architect]

Very open, flowing and dynamic living spaces carved cleverly by the use of materials and the circulation of spaces. Pretty neh... Imagine relaxing in the living room whole day not doing anything. No loud TVs. (A cool laptop and internet connection is sufficient. Ok, maybe a flat panel TV just for console gaming. =p)

Green note:
"...the design integrates concrete flooring to absorb the sun’s warmth in the winter, operable windows and large sliding doors to facilitate natural ventilation and low-maintenance recycled materials."
- freshome.com

6.03.2008

Last month at work

...and counting down to my sis's EDD (Expected Date of Delivery). =)

Woot finally.

I'm recreating my online portfolio and adding in projects from work. Too lazy to revamp my website right now, so using webjam as the temporary solution. Erm.. looking back now, seems like I haven't achieved much over the past 8-9 mths!! =D haha ha ha T_T *shhh keep this to yourself wink*

First, the Squirrelville video. Just a couple of weeks back, I heard that some executives at Only Green 4 Me saw my video series and wanted to hire me on some projects. Unfortunately, I could not offer you any more details about this company, their "website" does not help either. But apparently they are our first distributor for Innovolt products. Whee.

Then comes the "major" website upgrades. Mainly involved changing the organization of the content, adding in new content, and giving it a newer look (home page: product views, animated banner, "buy now" link; connecting website to webstore). This is the so-called Generation 2 website: commercialized.

Other personal developments include:
1) building professional relationships with different vendors. The webstore is the first, where Michael and I worked on getting it set up with CoreXpand. Then comes the problem with the actual selling online. Securing credit card transactions, authorizing transactions online, and processing the authorized transactions.. Selecting the compatible Gateway, hiring the right merchant bank.. Was fun getting involved in the decision making/problem solving process, even when I was only just assisting. The second one was sort of a project I initiated. Well.. they approached me first but I went on with the discussion and finally received a proposal from the company. Search engine optimization is what the company PointMetrix does. While no decision has been made yet, I think I'll send in a note before I leave to remind them of the proposition. Looking to totally revamp the website, so further actions will only likely take place after the Generation 3 upgrade.
2) getting things done... and follow up!! 2 major events. Assisted in getting peripherals designed, printed, and ready for the show. First, the ITEX show in Vegas - feb (sadly, I did not go on the trip). Then, our official launch event, with a press conference and reception - apr. Very basic principle that you already follow in elementary school: meeting deadlines. Now the key is to follow up. It's something that my dad has stressed repeatedly in the past before.. then my eldest sis as well.. and now my boss too. So reeeeaaally important. Following up with the people from ITEX (that was Michael's job) then the people who we invited for our event - I did a newsletter for that which my bosses thought was fantastic and very much impressed.

Being the youngest in the office, I think my colleagues and bosses dote on me much. My bday celebration.. "slacked" hours :x ..and always praising me for good work oO I've seen ppl come and go.. Blanche and Madhav, always bringing to the office joy and laughter. I've seen new ppl joining the team.. Michael and Tania, then Alyssa, Lanecia and Jason. Kudos to Michael for the help and snacks and photos (!!); Tania for getting me paid on time =D Seen people grow, and more kudos to Michael for his work attitude and capabilities. Sometimes I get inspired.. *sometimes* And now, it's my turn to say good bye..

My last tasks on this job:
1) Finish up the addition I wantED to make to the website. So I can put it on my portfolio too. IMPT!!
2) Finish up the product brochure that I started *ahem* week*s* ago.
3) Listing ideas and next steps that I feel is required for a Gen 3 website. Generally modularity and flexibility is of highest importance. Then comes the theme and content upgrades.. I've had those ideas but didn't have time to make it happen.
4) Train Alyssa to perform some of the routine tasks I'm on.. web admin, email stuff, IT stuff..

My family is coming June 15!! =D So time is running low.. and there's packing and many other things to settle.. cat stuff, visa stuff, air tix, money... T_T

Last day of work: June 30.