Friday, February 18, 2005

Hard Disk and Fever

On Monday I went to HP service centre to get a hard disk replacement. They told me to call after three days because they usually had it replaced in three, four days.

Yesterday I gave them a call and they said that they needed to order the hard disk replacement from Singapore and it would take about two weeks. AAARRRHHH two weeks??! How am I going to work without my notebook for two weeks?

What am I going to do for these two weeks? REST! REST! REST!

Remember my previous entry about fever? It turned out that I had typhoid and the doctor had ordered me to have a five-day bed rest. He really meant it literally...no walking unless going to the toilet :P

Somehow there seems to be a "conspiracy" to make sure that I do rest for a few days. HAHAHA

Lessons:
1. Sometimes seemingly unrelated events are connected to each other in a divine way
2. Be patient - waiting for hard disk replacement and being confined to bed :)

Learn and Grow!

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Another Hard Disk Failure

On Monday, I noticed that my notebook computer displayed a message "Non system disk. Please replace disk". I thought it was because I had a floppy disk in my drive A:\ and my computer was booting up from the floppy disk. When I restarted the notebook, there seemed to be no problem. After a few minutes however, the screen went black and the message "Non system disk. Please replace disk" came up again. I started to panic because I haven't backed up my notebook for a week.

That night I stayed up until midnight doing whatever I could to repair the computer. First, I ran Norton Disk Doctor, it turned out fine. Second, I ran all virus and spyware scan, there was no problem there either.

Anyway, that night I was able to save and back up my recent files. That was good enough for me.

On Tuesday morning, I could start my notebook but it kept re-booting after a few minutes. I was quite upset because I knew that I wouldn't be able to get it repaired until next week due to holidays.

On Wednesday morning, I remembered that I haven't backed up my voice-date file. When I started my notebook, the first thing that came out on the screen was : "HARD DISK FAILURE."

"AAAAAARRRHHHHH. What am I going to do now??"

My good friend suggested that I booted up the computer using a floppy disk and bypassed the system. It worked! I was able to save my voice-data file as well as those I didn't get the first time. I was just so glad and happy. (Thank you mate!)

This morning, although my notebook still showed "HARD DISK FAILURE", I managed to read my e-mails, write this blog and print important documents. HAHAHA :)

First thing on Monday, I will take my notebook to HP Service Centre and have it repaired.

Lessons:
1. Once again, remember to back up your data!
2. Make a list of important folders and files so you won't forget to save them.
3. Organise your folders and files to make the back-up process easier and simpler. Don't let your important data scattered all over the place.
4. Get proper software to help you protect your computer such as Norton SystemWorks, Norton GoBack, etc. These software may be expensive, but it costs you less than losing all your work. (Symantec, do you give commission to people who recommend your software? HAHAHA)

Learn and Grow my friends!

Thursday, February 10, 2005

High Fever On The Eve Of Chinese New Year

Last Tuesday, I had a very high fever in the afternoon. I felt so cold although I had a warm blanket covering me from head to toe. I was sleeping from noon until around 5PM.

At around 6PM, my parents took me to see a doctor. The doctor said the fever was caused by inflammation. He also said that I didn't drink enough water, so the fever was not coming down. He gave me a prescription and told me to drink at least 2 litre of water everyday.

After getting home, I slept again until Wednesday morning. Fortunately, I felt so much better that day.

Imagine being sick during a Chinese New Year celebration...
Everybody was eating delicious food...I was sleeping
Everybody was having a good time partying...I was sleeping
Everybody was celebrating with other family members...I was sleeping
NOT FUN AT ALL!

Lessons:
1. Drink water!
2. Do not fall sick during a festive season :)

Learn!

Sunday, February 06, 2005

Kuala Lumpur International Airport



My flight with Air Asia was delayed for more than two hours. I got bored and started to take pictures using my T610. I chose the signs because there were so many of them scattered around the waiting hall.

While I was hunting for good shots, I was approached by a security guard. I thought he was going to stop me from taking pictures, but he walked passed me without saying anything. Perhaps it was because he saw me taking pictures of the toilet sign...definitely harmless HAHAHAHA

Even a Dead Chicken Needs a Rest!


Would anyone help me to give a title to this picture please?

I love this picture. I wish I had a better camera with me :)

Two Chickens

Thursday, February 03, 2005

Difficulties

Yesterday I saw a sign on the side of the road in Kuala Lumpur:
"MAAF KESULITAN AMAT DIKESALI"
In Malaysia, it means "sorry for your inconvenience"
In Indonesia, it means "sorry, difficulties are hated very much"

When I read the sign, the first thought that came into my head was nobody liked difficulties, no wonder they were hated :)
Nobody likes difficult situations
Nobody likes difficult people
Nobody likes difficult problems
Difficult...difficult...difficult....

But when I think more about this, I realise that even though we do not like difficulties, these difficulties are the ones who help us to learn and grow. When we encounter difficulties, we are challenged to think, to be creative, to ask questions, to find answers, and to search for meaning. We need difficulties and problems to help us to move forward, improve and become better.

Lessons:
1. See difficulties in a positive way. Like and not hate them :)
2. Embrace difficulties to help us learn and grow
3. Malaysian and Indonesian languages may be similar but they are not the same. The same sentence can give different meanings :)

Learn and Grow