Follow-up on my last post.

Since I was still furious, just to confirm it from my end I called Western Union and asked what sort of identification I need if I am receiving money. He asked my country, I told him I am in Malaysia but I am not a Malaysian. We discussed about the amount since there can be restrictions on larger amount and finally after checking it for me he told me I can use any “Government Issued Photo Identity”. e.g. Driving License.

So it’s confirmed now, shall I complain to Western Union about their Agent, or RHB about their branch and employee? Or just be me and forget what had happened?

RHB bank - Western Union and their service

I am so F******* P***** off right now.

I went to RHB bank just now to receive money thru Western Union, because I was suppose to buy medicine for my 12 year old cousin back in Pakistan, who is Autistic and still doesn’t speak or hold proper social skills. Let me remind you that this is not the first time I am receiving money using same method. Here is what happened.

I filled up the form and went to the counter. “Hello, I am here to receive money using Western Union” and I handed over the form.

“Do you have your Passport?” asked the lady

“No, I have my ‘i KAD’ (Expatriate Identification Card)” I produced my I KAD

“I am sorry, you need to have your Passport” she said

“But I have my i KAD, you don’t expect me to carry my Passport all the time, do you?” I said, knowing that I have used the i KAD countless times for both Western Union as well as Money Gram.

“Maybe at other agents, here we need your original Passport” she sounded confident which made me more p****** off since just last month I received money from the same bank as well as same branch and I told her so.

“Just last month I used it right here on this very same counter” Now I wasn’t smiling anymore.

“Maybe last month, now we don’t, this is a big amount”

“It is exactly the same amount I received last month; it wasn’t big amount last month?” I was being sarcastic now.

“No we need passport” Now her customer service sweet smile was gone and she sounded agitated as well

“Why the heck not the i KAD? I don’t make it at home, your Government gives me this card, Immigration told me I can use this anywhere instead of Passport as my authentic identification, you can even verify my finger prints from the database right now, you can even verify this card is authentic using simple SMS service to immigration” My voice was defiantly raised.

“But bank policy changed” It was clear she was out of excuses.

“I don’t see any notification posted, perhaps you have some notice or memo you would like to show me?” She kept quiet, and I tried to lower my voice and politely asked again “would you please confirm it once again from your superior, I am telling you I have received money using my i KAD previously several times” and she went away to consult someone.

After few minutes she came back with this guy who didn’t even greet me with a hello and said “Sorry, our system went down, cant process Western Union requests right now”

My Blood Pressure jump to my tamples again.

“I am sorry, this is just an idiotic lie, but let me ask you this, this means you are saying I can use my i KAD but only your system is down right now – correct? So I will wait right here till your system comes back online” I was bluffing, I didn’t want to collect the money anymore, I was simply just angry and I was seriously thinking to bring it higher and complain.

“No” he replied with blank and confused look, I am sure he wasn’t used to of getting someone who will argue. Maybe most people just go back when asked.

“You know what – Sir, I am really, I mean really disappointed in your service and behavior right now, and I will make sure you have to give an explanation for all this” I spoke slowly and angrily “May I know your name and designation?”

His eyes widened and narrowed, and you won’t even believe what he did. Can you imagine? He babbled “Oh and …. That is there” and run away in one direction out of my sight, pretending he just remembered something important and avoiding telling me his name. Arghhhhhhhhhhh

I was so P***** off.

Call for header design

Okay so any volunteers who would like to design a header for my blog? Yeah I am talking about this picture at top; I don’t have anything in mind what I would like, but something calm — something thoughtful — something abstract.

The design specifications are, I think it should be 1600 pixels in width and it will be squeezed to fit according to user’s browser. Height, I believe should be 200 pixels.

If you know my email address you can send it in my mail or you can comment and ask for it. And thank you if you even consider doing it.

Upgraded

As mentioned in this post, I started to feel obsolete in blogging world looking at many widgets and fancy options in other blogs. I tried to insert few new things in my theme only to find out it wasn’t compatible and they told me I was living in a stone age – alas.

I decided to change the theme, and when I did, they once again laughed at me, I was “Obsolete” since I was using a Stone Age version of Wordpress; never mind, I upgraded to 2.7 version of wordpress as well as a new theme called Atahualpa. Hopefully, I am upgraded now.

There are more than 200 options of the theme itself and various in wordpress, it will keep me busy for few days trying to figure out what is what. Though I have noticed some fonts have been messed up in some posts.

Income Tax

So it was my first visit to Income Tax office here in Malaysia. I filled up the credentials without actually knowing what the heck was I doing, as everything was in Malay. Even after I selected the language to English I think many things still appeared in Malay. Anyway, the important thing is I received my file no and the remaining amount I need to pay. So I hope I can do it anytime online now. And hopefully next time I won’t need to visit the office either and I can use the e-service since I have my password now. I guess, now is the time to take a nap.

The Gender of the Monkey

With Reference to Mr. M's post (Link) about the monkey. Here is a prove of my claim that the monkey was - a female.

Google Friend Connect - The world has changed

There are so many fancy gadgets and what not; for the bloggers and blogging world now. I haven’t been writing much from a year or so and now I already started to feel I live in a Stone Age. Just to keep up, I tried to register and put on this “Google Friend Connect” thingy on my blog, but honestly, I don’t really like it, because I am unable to properly adjust it in my sidebar. I have tried to reduce the width of gadget as well as expand the width of sidebar but all in vain.

Hmmm any suggestions? I am still skeptical about keeping it or just throw it off and go back to my simple world.

Woods Camp

Woods Camp – a lot has been written on it on various blogs with many amazing pictures and videos as well. Here is my version.

As mentioned by Mr. M the idea of this camping date’s back to August 2008, right after the first camp, there are very few people with amazing ability to turn ideas into reality – and one of them is Mr. M. he proved it once again.

Around a month ago I first found out about the camp but I wasn’t sure if I will be able to join it for many reasons, some of which were personal and some family related. In the end I did make it.

During the course of preparations, arranging, settling things, marketing etc and God knows what else, I used to get updates mostly from Mr. M and partially from the Committee Members or Ms. Y. It looked promising knowing there were so many colleagues and friends who were willing to join along with the students. But disappointingly some of which couldn’t make it at the end, with the reasons ranging from business, family and personal choice. Similarly some of the students couldn’t make it either.

We ended up with thirty eight participants. Mr. M asked me few times to join him while he was arranging things but I was never able to make it because of my contact hours during work. On 18th of April when we got there it was my first time to see the place. Let me list down the Good(s), the Bad(s), the Cute(s) and the Ugly(s) of the experience.

I might post some photos later (if I am not really lazy) otherwise if you are a camper drop a comment or email and I will send you some. Or collect a CD from me once I burn few.

The Good(s)

-Finally going there on Woods Camp in reality.
-Being away from Kuala Lumpur and work
-Amazing view of nature, trees, crystal clear fresh water. (Not to forget ice cold)
-Independent and responsible committee members (Hats off to you guys)
-Decent transportation (it was a mess last time)
-Just laying down in the streams (it was heaven in itself)
-A chance to know a different side of every participant.

The Bad(s)

-Maintenance of the chalet (I would have preferred more cleaner one)
-The place being too big, it was too far away from one place to other
-The HEAT and the HEAT and HEAT and HEAT HEAT HEAT (it sucked out all my energy, specially the second day and I was completely dried out)
-No spoons (yes no spoons, had to eat with hands and I really don’t know how to. I ended up eating not only with my mouth but my chin, cheeks and even nose.)
-Loosing a game of chess from Ms. J (Just Kidding. I know you are a wonderful chess player. At least I won all other 3 games I played with others)
-The fact that I would have loved some others to be able to join the camp, but they couldn’t.


The Cute(s)

-The Poser Monkey.
-There were many participants who were cute in their own way, and since I don’t write the complete names there is no point to mention the initials.

And the Ugly(s)

-The waste. Either from one of the participant or the Monkey. But I hope it was the monkey (kidding)
-The Lizard (or was it crocodile/dragon?) it was around 1.5 meter long. Black. Ugly. Disgusting. I went up to the chalet around 2 AM and I saw it on Mr. M’s chalet. I didn’t dare to go closer.

Charles Petzold

Charles Petzold is a legendary author about computers, specially programming on windows platform. He is one of my favorite authors and he never seizes to inspire me as a programmer, as a student of technology; and he gives me a strange sense of motivation—He is a true visionary.

I am reading one of his books again and some of his lines are echoing in my head since yesterday. I just wanted to share.

“Late at night, when the day’s work is done but the brain is still buzzing, programmers have sometimes been known to ask themselves this question: Is programming an art or a science?

Surely it seems like a bit of both. As an artist, the programmer starts with a palette of basic tools, spreads open a canvas as wide as available memory, and with a dash of inspiration begins fashioning a unique creation where once existed only random bits. But the canvas can’t be decorated with complete anarchic abandon. The syntactical rules that govern the tools of programming may allow an infinite variety of constructions, but at the same time they are as strict and unrelenting as the laws of nature.

Programmers are the designers and builders, architects and bricklayers, visionaries and engineers of the modern age. The edifices we build become the global cities of the future, an ever-expanding series of links and connections between people, communities, and information, often with a beauty truly admired only by those who share our passion. To nonprogrammers, our creations are rarely respected—unacknowledged when they work correctly, cursed when they fail, and abandoned when they become superseded—even as they become ever more essential to users’ lives.

A computer program is a magnificent machine. Were it to be implemented with whirling gears, levers, and pistons, it would fill our rooms with a music of breathtaking complexity. We’d see logic in motion, algebra in action, a dance of data. A strange vision, yes, but that’s really the perspective the programmer sees, as pieces of a program are fitted together with a precision unmatched by machinery in the corporeal world. Few joys in life come close to the thrill of getting a new program working, seeing it suddenly blink awake and take life before your eyes.

Such joys are never experienced by the vast majority of computer users. Most people who use computers these days aren’t programmers and never will be. They instead simply run applications—word processors, e-mail programs, Web browsers—that other people have programmed, or they use appliances—cell phones, DVD players, bread machines—that have computer programs embedded deep inside.”

An attempt to come back

Over the past few months I have been thinking to write again, but write what? It seems I have lost the ability to write and worse, living here in Malaysia has caused my already broken English to become “Minglish”. Where my every other sentence end with word “Lah”. And there is an endless list (which perhaps will need a separate post)

I am having feeling of “uselessness”, being caught in void and static. And I desperately need to do something, and I know what I should – I must. But that’s where the “Excuse Master” comes in. It’s another part of me, with great excuses about why I shouldn’t do, or can’t do what I must. Anyway, till next time, here are few lines of chat I had with my student the other day, sometime they scare me :\

STUDENT: sir..
Me: Yes Sir?
STUDENT: your ass want print screen or burn in cd?
Me: My "Ass"?
STUDENT: WHICH ONE
Me: I have only one
STUDENT: ASSGNMENT
Me: phew ....you scared me