Lost Photos

I had a laptop for four years which broke down within a few months after graduation. The only part that I could salvage was its hard drive.

All along I thought had that I have an extensive collection of photos in this hard drive. So I bought a casing yesterday to cloth this little piece of device. I am particularly interested in the pre-uni photos taken mainly by my first digital camera. D reminded me of the Bundu Tuhan photos when we met last week.

But the photos aren't there. The disk is only littered with programming assignments and assignments of first year students I tutored. I might have burned them into CDs but could have thrown them away. Now, I am left checking every pile of CDs in the house in the hope of bringing back some sweet, old memories.

HSS

It was a splendid weekend. I was the driver for the female members of the family for a weekend trip to Miri. Naughty sister had to be returned to her rightful place in Curtin Miri while mom was attending a women-only church conference centered on the development of holiness. The men's version will follow suit in about two weeks. Dad decided to hear Anwar Ibrahim speak so he stayed back.

I must admit it was a date regardless whatever the situation. In my opinion, it was one because:
- the meeting was only between a guy and a girl
- the guy was a nerve wreck throughout the day
- the guy spent the morning at a car wash (the female equivalent is to spent the day at a spa or a hair saloon, no?)

I like how we got lost trying to find our way to the Miri-Lutong highway. I love the way she warns me not to knock down the mat motor who was trying to merge into my lane. The music at the stone-bowl restaurant where we ate were of the late 1990s and early 2000s (i.e. music that dominated the airwaves of our secondary school days). There was no John Mayer, Kanye West or Justin Timberlake but hits from MLTR, N Sync, Boyzone and BSB.

Glad to know all is not lost.

Steelers Did It Again

Photo by NY Times

With this win, the Steelers is the best team in NFL history. Six Superbowl titles in 7 appearances. Last night's last two minutes is epic with the lead changing hands twice.

How did I become a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers? Four years at CMU in Pittsburgh. Anyone who had spent time in Pittsburgh, even as a foreign student, would in one way or another be a Steelers fan. Steelers Nation is not bounded within the city of Pittsburgh but across America and throughout the world. The fans travel well too.

I argued with my dad who does not think American Football is not a real sport with all the technicalities and safety gear. He prefers rugby.

In its defence:

- AF is very much about team work. There is little opportunity to show off one's skill unlike dribbling in soccer.
- Like other American sports such as basketball, baseball and hockey, American football is filled with technicalities. The commentaries are heavy with statistics.
- AF players do not live the celebrity lives of the soccer players in Europe. There is no TV show on AF players' wives.

I was in my junior year when we won the Superbowl in 2006. I remembered as soon as the game ended everybody poured into the streets which in turn developed into what I call mini-riots in different parts of the city. I am sure last night was similar, if not worse.

LSE

Just got an offer to do an MSc. in Operational Research (a.k.a. management science with concentration on applied maths) at the London School of Economics.

Stay tuned.

Children Books to Donate

My family minus my brother are in major spring cleaning mode right now. Tonnes of belongings have to be moved temporarily to allow some kind of experimental, partial DIY renovation to be performed on the house. Yes, we are extending the height of the house by 200 ft by building a minaret.

There are painfully so many things to move - from books to glasswares that were my parents wedding gifts 25 years ago. Among the books is this little paperback titled "Your Child and Sex". Not sure which of my parents bought it and had the balls to shelve it among Enid Blyton's books.

Anyway, there are tonnes of children books including an encylopedia set that I want to get rid of. Thinking of donating them to some primary school libraries. I wonder if you had done this before. I would appreciate any sharing of experiences.

-C

Reset

I am back home and I felt like I had just pressed a reset button. The past 5 years passed like a flash. I do enjoy it here currently with the little stress. Alternatively, I could have been in NY worrying whether the software release that I made would generate phone calls from London and India in the wee hours.

Attended mass on New Year's Eve. I felt like I had just left secondary school yesterday with the memories suddenly as vivid as last night's dream.

Layoffs

We received an internal memo informing that layoffs will be carried out this week. The firm has a solid reputation on the street but nevertheless, this is an entire economy on a downturn - not a particular company not a sector. I am blessed to not be affected but the experience was a first and very surreal for me. I no longer see colleagues' names that were there on the company's directory last week. I saw empty desks as I walked around the floor. Teams were called to conference rooms and briefed by their MDs.

Wall Street layoff/firing typically goes like this:

- HR calls you to a conference room
- They tell you that you have to be let go and the severance pay that you'll get
- You can't get back to your desk. Not even to pick your jacket or personal belongings.