Stan got swept away by a sandstorm and ended up in the digital wilderness before returning back to the cyberspace urban center. *blows dust away* This space has been abandoned for almost 3 weeks, quite a number of events have not been archived but I'll try to give a summary of what had happened for those weeks in the wilderness. It was an unexpected sequence of events and let's recount back from the day when Stan got dispatched and dismembered from the cyberspace connection in an almost torrential manner.
It was on a Tuesday when my trusty old lappie froze with yellow lines streaking across. I restarted the lappie as usual but to my horror, the screen graphics started with a distorted mess. I cannot see anything in the screen at all and at first I thought it was a virus. After analysing it in the net using the library com, it dawned upon me that it could have been the graphics card problem and true enough, the google search yielded a whole mass of complains on nVidia 84 and 86 series going haywire for all computer brands. Gosh, it's going to be costly trying to fix up that problem sinc one fix would cost at least RM300 to Rm400 plus it's not guarantee that fix will last for long. In any case, I need a quick temporary fix because the spoilage came at the worst possible time, when I need to complete my thesis within 2 weeks.
It so happens that I chance upon a rather strange and bizzare solution in YouTube for my problem. It involves using a HAIRDRYER blowing at the graphics card chip to pump it back to life. Personally, I think it's quite ridiculous but I gave it a try anyways since I have nothing to lose with such desperation. Reuben and I dismantled the entire lappie and gave the lappie the hairdryer treatment that it needed.We were laughing as we put back the parts after the hairdryer treament and to our utter shock, it DID work! LOL! The joy was short live because the graphics card got fried after 30 minutes. Then I have a DIY session to give another round of hairdryer treatment and this time it lasted for another hours before going off. I repeated the process a few times and soon, even the hairdryer treatment can't get it back on track. This calls for desperate measures and this means that a motion for a new lappie has to be initiated. I do not really have plans to get a new lappie until June just before I fly off to UK so as to ensure that I get the most updated models in the market. I had always wanted to have a lappie that can touch high-end games but I didn't expect that it had to come that early in January now.
I was hoping to get it within the second week of January so that I could at least have one week to rush finish my thesis. I ordered from Dell but to my frustration, the new lappie did not come within the second week. Getting to Dell's customer support to ask them to double up was nonsensical coz I wasted RM10 trying to call them and no one picked up the phone. I really had no choice but to go to the library to type it out or borrow some of my friends' laptop (being parasitic for the moment..lol). It was hard work travelling from place to place but not that I had lots of options available. The most wasted thing was the weekend because that could be the period in which I could make the most progress in my two thesis. As the days approach nearer to the dateline, I was kinda nervous that I won't complete it on time. Nevertheless so, I manage to receive some really important aid at the right time when Jojo's boyfriend offered to lend me his lappie for the last 3 days of the thesis, enabling me to burn the extra midnight oil to get it done since library or labs don't open overnight. I'm indeed very thankful and grateful for his help :)
I manage to complete the two thesis on last Friday, right to the death of dateline and it was a relief for me personally during the weekend after the thesis fiasco was gone. In fact, not only was the thesis was affected because of my lappie breakdown. The CF secretary work suffered a major deficiency as I had to go to library or Jonathan's room everyday to type out the memos, proposals and register and again, the lappie breakdown had to hit on the spot when I'm the busiest in the CF calendar - the Exhibition Week itself.
After the long long wait, I finally received shipment from Dell yesterday. I was anticipating it well over the weekend since I received a sms from Dell stating that I would receive my new lappie latest by the 26th which is today and then another which stated that delivery would be made earlier on the 25th. I was kinda excited on Sunday night and couldn't get to sleep and on Monday, I had difficulties concentrating in class because I'm eagerly waiting the phone call from the delivery person. However, by 2 pm, when I did not receive any call, I was kinda worried that they might have delayed it or something like that for the next few days. Then I remembered Ben telling me that his friends needed to go to the General Office to collect it and no one actually informed him that his shipment had arrived. True enough, the lappie was there and I happily carried it back to my room. I only had the opportunity to test it on yesterday late night since there's Equity class and captain ball. Haha..the testing period will continue today and few others to see how the programmes would run.
This is fantastic. With a new lappie at hand, Stan's blog is back to life again and he shall go forth to continue with his conquest of cyberspace xD
Tuesday 26 January 2010
Sunday 3 January 2010
The final lap at ulu land
Committee retreat was fun over the weekend. It started off with Jon, Reuben and me heading to Lerdie's house on the 31st. It was planned that we leave campus at around 3-4pm but car air-con problems meant that the three of us were stuck at the mechanic repair shop for almost 4 hrs as they refilled back the gas into the air-con box. We finally got the car started and it was 7pm when we left nilai. We got a little lost around Sunway while trying to find Kylie's house and by the time we reached Lerdie's house, it was 9pm. We quickly had our dinner and some rest and we headed off to St. Paul's Church at 11pm for the watchnight service. I was expecting the usual service like maybe a band or something like that but it was a traditional Anglican service equipped with full hymns and processions and of course, with the Bishop leading the frontiers. I looked at Reuben and Reuben looked at me, we both agreed in telepathically that it's gonna be a long long long night..lol. It's an interesting experience again because this is the first time I'm in a traditional Anglican service. It reminds me alot of the Catholic Masses that I once attended in SJI. The Holy Communion was rather similar in style in that everybody shares the cup but it stops short in drinking from it for the Anglicans. We just had to dip the bread into the wine in the cup.
After service, we went to Bangsar McDonalds for supper. The whole town area there is still reeling from the New Year Celebration and policemen are crawling everywhere keeping watch to ensure that the crowd doesn't get out of hand. Afterthat, we crashed to bed and woke up pretty late the next morning at about 11am. I led devotion after everyone has gathered around and then we are off for our first session. The sessions went fine and we had our lunch and dinner at the not-so-expensive areas in Bangsar. On the second morning, we played a really hilarious game which involves us trying to guess the character name that was written on the paper pasted on our backs. "Girly Man" conjures up some really interesting questions to ponder..lol. During that lunch time, for some funny reason or so, my car alarm sound animated to life after being silent for all these years. That was strange but it's a welcome anyways. Dinner on the second day was a fun affair as all of us cooked spaghetti in the kitchen with Lerdie's mama helping us. The Bishop joined us for the dinner and he opened up 2 non-alcoholic fruit drinks from the bottle. We had a jolly good time listening to him telling stories of his experience at Israel as well as the historical aspects on the origins of the Bible. On the last day, which is Sunday, we headed off to Erwin's church for Sunday service and finally back to campus in the afternoon.
Oh well, it's the start of my final semester here in Inti. There's the dreaded mid-sessional results that are about to be released and I hope that I don't get slaughtered that badly. It's gonna be the most busy semester yet and it looks set for me to end the lap at ulu land with a massive bang and burnout.
After service, we went to Bangsar McDonalds for supper. The whole town area there is still reeling from the New Year Celebration and policemen are crawling everywhere keeping watch to ensure that the crowd doesn't get out of hand. Afterthat, we crashed to bed and woke up pretty late the next morning at about 11am. I led devotion after everyone has gathered around and then we are off for our first session. The sessions went fine and we had our lunch and dinner at the not-so-expensive areas in Bangsar. On the second morning, we played a really hilarious game which involves us trying to guess the character name that was written on the paper pasted on our backs. "Girly Man" conjures up some really interesting questions to ponder..lol. During that lunch time, for some funny reason or so, my car alarm sound animated to life after being silent for all these years. That was strange but it's a welcome anyways. Dinner on the second day was a fun affair as all of us cooked spaghetti in the kitchen with Lerdie's mama helping us. The Bishop joined us for the dinner and he opened up 2 non-alcoholic fruit drinks from the bottle. We had a jolly good time listening to him telling stories of his experience at Israel as well as the historical aspects on the origins of the Bible. On the last day, which is Sunday, we headed off to Erwin's church for Sunday service and finally back to campus in the afternoon.
Oh well, it's the start of my final semester here in Inti. There's the dreaded mid-sessional results that are about to be released and I hope that I don't get slaughtered that badly. It's gonna be the most busy semester yet and it looks set for me to end the lap at ulu land with a massive bang and burnout.
Friday 1 January 2010
The Decade in Review
It's 10 years into a new millennium and it's a historical moment that Stan is happy to take note of. These are the most notable moments in the previous decade that are memorable to Stan and they include political, historical, sports, gaming and personal milestones. Lol..mostly they are random ramblings that are mixed up like a rojak but these are my top picks for the decades.
2000 - Y2k doesn't seem to be a bad problem afterall. The computers ran fine and the world didn't come to an end. I reached the shores of Singapore for the second time since my holiday there in 1998. Little did I know that I am gonna remain there for a good 8 years before returning back to a Malaysian life later. A new environment and a new place seemed like a frightening process but life at the southern island seems to be a fresh new start from the old conflicts. France won EURO 2000, following their success in World Cup 1998. SQ 006 crashed in Taiwan - A big news for Singaporeans at that time and for SIA. The younger Bush enters the White House as the President nearly 10 years after his father.
2001 - It's my final year in primary school and it's time for me to sit for the exams to enter secondary school. September 11 terrorist attack remains probably the strongest event that changed historical and political landscape in the world. On thee very same year, US launched a counter-offensive against Afghanistan to bring down the Taliban regime, marking the start of the US war campaign in the Middle East. Leeds United reached the semi-finals of the Champions League but lost the final spot to Valencia. Man United bought van Nistelrooy, one of their most prolific goalscorers.
2002 - I entered St. Joseph's Institution and was delighted that I got a place in there. It was another new phase of life with new friends and new environment. World Cup was held in Japan and Korea with Brazil claiming their 5th title after failing their bid in 1998. France bowed out of 2002 in a shameful way, a shadow of their team in 98. GTA 3 came out that year, giving a whole new meaning to rampage on the streets. Avril first established herself in her new album and those were the days when Avril, Norah Jones and Michelle Branch competed for the radio waves.
2003 - Sec 2 streaming exams. Knights of the Old Republic became some sort of a benchmark for future RPG games to be measured in my opinion. The Iraqi invasion by the US finally saw the capture of Saddam, marking the end of his long regime in Baghdad. Back in Malaysia, Mahathir announced to the shock of his party comrades and the nation that he will resigning from the top post of the country after 20 years there.
2004 - It's a year of forming and defining who I am. The year when I finally started to focus specifically to historical knowledge and strive to build a library of them following my acceptance to take History 2158 (World Affairs since 1919) in SJI. The American Idiot album inspired me to stay loyal to the rock genre and rock became the defining style of music that drives me. Wayne Rooney arrived in Man Utd, after waves of speculations. In Malaysia, Pak Lah won the 2004 elections in a landslide victory, with a promise of reforms to every aspect at government administration. Bush too got the vote of confidence to renew his term following the climate of terrorism.
2005 - My graduating year in SJI. As a senior in the Cadet Corps, it's time to enjoy the fruits of labour that we have worked so hard since starting out as a recruit. Had my first rock band performance in front of a few-hundred crowd for the teacher's day concert, ending off my high school year in a bang. O Levels season was quite an interesting period.
2006 - Got into Nanyang JC, something I didn't really like at first because I had planned to go St. Andrew's JC instead. Eventually I settled in, finding some good buddies like Sandeep and TG in the process. I went to Vietnam for a one-week fieldtrip and that was an eye opening experience. Man Utd won their first silverware in the Carling Cup since 2004 and it was hoped that many more will come in the future. The World Cup was held in Germany with Italy emerging as Champions.
2007 - Final year in A' Levels. The crux of change. I made the final decision to leave the southern island and started making plans to return back to the Malaysian life. It's the year when I discovered about Muse and an upgrade to a taste with alternative rock. Man United won their first Premier League title since 2004 and personally, it's a joyful end to a wait to see the trophy being lifted up by a Mancunian. Malaysia's 50 years of independence was celebrated on this year.
2008 - The start of reestablishing myself in Malaysia. The March 8 elections marks a new political watershed in Malaysia. It's the beginning of my journey in law. Man United won the Champions League, a sight I have being waiting for since 1999. Barack Obama voted in as the 44th US President, the first African American in the top office.
2009 - The year when I acquired full mobile movement to travel around Malaysia. It's also the year when I took on more responsibilities in many areas as a committee member. Man Utd visited Malaysia and it's an atmosphere that'll stay in my mind for a long time.
2010 - May this year be a fruitful year that the Lord has bless and it'll sure be another major phase in life as I step foot on another continent.
Here's cheers to another 10 years down the road for the new decade! :)
2000 - Y2k doesn't seem to be a bad problem afterall. The computers ran fine and the world didn't come to an end. I reached the shores of Singapore for the second time since my holiday there in 1998. Little did I know that I am gonna remain there for a good 8 years before returning back to a Malaysian life later. A new environment and a new place seemed like a frightening process but life at the southern island seems to be a fresh new start from the old conflicts. France won EURO 2000, following their success in World Cup 1998. SQ 006 crashed in Taiwan - A big news for Singaporeans at that time and for SIA. The younger Bush enters the White House as the President nearly 10 years after his father.
2001 - It's my final year in primary school and it's time for me to sit for the exams to enter secondary school. September 11 terrorist attack remains probably the strongest event that changed historical and political landscape in the world. On thee very same year, US launched a counter-offensive against Afghanistan to bring down the Taliban regime, marking the start of the US war campaign in the Middle East. Leeds United reached the semi-finals of the Champions League but lost the final spot to Valencia. Man United bought van Nistelrooy, one of their most prolific goalscorers.
2002 - I entered St. Joseph's Institution and was delighted that I got a place in there. It was another new phase of life with new friends and new environment. World Cup was held in Japan and Korea with Brazil claiming their 5th title after failing their bid in 1998. France bowed out of 2002 in a shameful way, a shadow of their team in 98. GTA 3 came out that year, giving a whole new meaning to rampage on the streets. Avril first established herself in her new album and those were the days when Avril, Norah Jones and Michelle Branch competed for the radio waves.
2003 - Sec 2 streaming exams. Knights of the Old Republic became some sort of a benchmark for future RPG games to be measured in my opinion. The Iraqi invasion by the US finally saw the capture of Saddam, marking the end of his long regime in Baghdad. Back in Malaysia, Mahathir announced to the shock of his party comrades and the nation that he will resigning from the top post of the country after 20 years there.
2004 - It's a year of forming and defining who I am. The year when I finally started to focus specifically to historical knowledge and strive to build a library of them following my acceptance to take History 2158 (World Affairs since 1919) in SJI. The American Idiot album inspired me to stay loyal to the rock genre and rock became the defining style of music that drives me. Wayne Rooney arrived in Man Utd, after waves of speculations. In Malaysia, Pak Lah won the 2004 elections in a landslide victory, with a promise of reforms to every aspect at government administration. Bush too got the vote of confidence to renew his term following the climate of terrorism.
2005 - My graduating year in SJI. As a senior in the Cadet Corps, it's time to enjoy the fruits of labour that we have worked so hard since starting out as a recruit. Had my first rock band performance in front of a few-hundred crowd for the teacher's day concert, ending off my high school year in a bang. O Levels season was quite an interesting period.
2006 - Got into Nanyang JC, something I didn't really like at first because I had planned to go St. Andrew's JC instead. Eventually I settled in, finding some good buddies like Sandeep and TG in the process. I went to Vietnam for a one-week fieldtrip and that was an eye opening experience. Man Utd won their first silverware in the Carling Cup since 2004 and it was hoped that many more will come in the future. The World Cup was held in Germany with Italy emerging as Champions.
2007 - Final year in A' Levels. The crux of change. I made the final decision to leave the southern island and started making plans to return back to the Malaysian life. It's the year when I discovered about Muse and an upgrade to a taste with alternative rock. Man United won their first Premier League title since 2004 and personally, it's a joyful end to a wait to see the trophy being lifted up by a Mancunian. Malaysia's 50 years of independence was celebrated on this year.
2008 - The start of reestablishing myself in Malaysia. The March 8 elections marks a new political watershed in Malaysia. It's the beginning of my journey in law. Man United won the Champions League, a sight I have being waiting for since 1999. Barack Obama voted in as the 44th US President, the first African American in the top office.
2009 - The year when I acquired full mobile movement to travel around Malaysia. It's also the year when I took on more responsibilities in many areas as a committee member. Man Utd visited Malaysia and it's an atmosphere that'll stay in my mind for a long time.
2010 - May this year be a fruitful year that the Lord has bless and it'll sure be another major phase in life as I step foot on another continent.
Here's cheers to another 10 years down the road for the new decade! :)
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