to my two friends...

a loss is only a loss if you are silly enough to let it go without even trying.

if you are both lying on your bedroom floor crying your eyeballs out, then it's a sign to work it out!

sydney update: conference ended today, checked out of the hotel-with-a-view, and checked into a smaller hotel, which is cheap and big enough for me to sleep and watch some tv.

have been walking around Circular Quay taking pictures of the bridge and the Opera House. syok gila now i'm armed with my D50 and a tripod! will post pictures at the end of the week.

cheers, mate.

it's cold

It's cold here.Just spending the nights taking pictures of the Darling Harbour from my hotel room.

I'm going to read my textbook now, since it's way overdue and the exam is about 40 days away, boohoo..!

Sydney...

is as before, wonderful.

It between conference sessions, I stand at the window and stare outside, admiring the weather.

Biasalah..orang putih suka panas, orang melayu suka sejuk. hahaha.

Got a tripod setup in my hotel room, which has an amazing view of Darling Harbour and the Bridge.

Ok lah. looking for dinner..hungry..!

tata mates.

amsterdam...and more

Le Meridien Apollo, Amsterdam - overlooking a canal

visit my fotopages for more.

croydon

From inside the train from East Croydon to Central London - at dusk

tashkent

The Tashkent International Transit Lounge Restaurant - it looks a bit like a high school dining room.

Hope...forgotten

You lose something
And you hope that you find it again someday.
Along the way, you learn to live without it.

Then, further along the way,
you realize that you never really needed that thing you lost.
When that glimmer of hope used to make you so nervous with anticipation,
remains just a glimmer of hope, flickering in the distance.

* Leaving London for home tomorrow night. And dreading it too. :-)

Will be posting pictures soon.

London

After a 24 hour door-to-door journey, I am now comfortably sitting on a sofa in London.

My flight stopped in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Tashkent was the weirdest place. The transit area was like a big old house. It had the atmosphere of the Kota Bahru airport almost 15 years ago.

The situation at the London Airport was not bad at all (for me at least). Me and Lan managed to get out within about 40 minutes from the time we landed.

Ok lah, am going to try to sleep my jet lag off.

Home!!

Finally back from Bangkok. Not that I hate that place, but it sucks to be alone in a strange land, especially for work. heheh.

I suspect Monday at work will be hell on earth. It's the one day I have to catch up before I fly off again.

Boo hoo.

ITSM

I have been receiving emails from whatis.com since 1999 I think, and I have never received anything relevant. And look what came in the mail today. ITSM.

It's like they know.

I'm a loser baby...

so why don't you kill me... - Beck

I got an award in class today for being "The only one that completed the homework on time."

hahaha...

note to all: I do have a life.

Financial Management

I was learning about charging yesterday, and we were talking about how charging for IT services can act as a demand management mechanism, which changes user behavior.

After incurring an enormous phone bill last month, I've decided to control that by purchasing a local prepaid number here. I thought, ok so now people can still call me and I won't have to pay that ridiculous amount. But since I've purchased the line, I have received zero calls, since people don't want to pay extra to call me international. I guess it's always expected for people to be more careful when it's their own money on the line instead of another person's. Behaviors change when money is involved, whether we like it or not. The sensitivity of that depends on how much money is involved, based on the different personalities we have in the world. Some people leave it until they foot a 600 dollar bill before they do anything, some are more prudent and take more preventive measures.

Let's calculate the total cost of me answering calls on roaming and on my local mobile:

Roaming
For me: RM 3.00/min (roaming charges)
For caller: RM 0.20/min (local rate)
Total: RM 3.20/min

Local
For me: Free
For caller: RM 0.40 - RM 1.50/min depending on what service is used
Total: RM 0.40 - RM 1.50/min

The cheaper option is obvious.

Apa aku membebel pagi2 ni. It's only 6.30 AM here...I'm up early because of the 1 hour difference.

Ok I better get ready to get to Dusit Thani.

La gorn kaa!

Bangkok Part Deux

Alone again in Bangkok. Checked into Centerpoint Saladaeng around 5.30pm. This room is much much better than Tower Inn last month. Even Internet is free, which is perfect for a geek like me. Went out for a bit to Silom Road to get my prepaid mobile topped up and some groceries.

I have a bad flu and cough. Probably from shaking too many hands last week. I think i'm going to take a nap now...though it's only 7.20PM here. Hopefully the flu goes by the time I wake up tomorrow.

This area is a bit dark to be roaming around alone at night, so I'll just stay in. I don't know what I'm going to do with two TVs in this apartment. heheh.

Get well soon, me!

La gorn kaa!

mon poisson est mort

oui.

it looked a bit smaller in the last few days. it wasn't swimming around happily as it usually does.

i came home today and it's lying at the bottom of the bowl.

poor fish.

Made in Thailand....

A night in Bangkok...from my last trip.

The First Wedding was a success, I think. It was a tad overbooked, but a success nevertheless.

Will be back in Bangkok on Sunday.