New IT Expert

Last week I moaned about how I felt like a chicken without its head.

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I had been spending half a day figuring out what was wrong with my computer. Jim finally managed to help me with getting all my documents back. He created a new ID for me and transfered all my data from one profile to the new one.

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I was estatic.

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BUT .....

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I couldn't connect to the system and I couldn't send/receive any emails from my outlook express. I don't really mind not being able to receive/send any emails from my outlook express because over the past few months I told my purchasers to write to me via my gmail address. But there was this other generic email address which comes into my outlook express and most of them are enquiries - this means more business for us. And I know I had to get this outlook express fixed incase someone out there is wanting a house urgently.

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Also, I really needed the system so that I could do my work.

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I did a few tests on a few computers and different passwords and finally connected the problem to the "Administrator". I changed certain things in the server and tried logging on to the system from my computer. Voila! I did it!!! I managed to solve the problem. Yeh!

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My next problem to solve was the outlook express. All I needed were the two passwords which I wasn't privy of previously. Emily (my colleague) helped me a little and I also tried asking the IT people in my HQ. Finally, I called another person (whom I have never spoken to before) and she managed to find out the password for me to retrieve my emails. Phew!!!

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My computer problems are now solved! Woohoo!!! After almost 1 month of being computer-less. You know, I wonder how people survive without the usage of a computer....

Cracked

I was walking out of my office when my mobile rang. I didn't recognise the number and asked the person for his name. He started asking me why I don't have his number in my contact list and insisted that I get it done. Sigh! I was kinda irritated by his suggestion.... well, the WAY he insisted on it.

Anyway, I was carrying stuff in my hands, and wanting to open the car door when I felt the phone slip from me. Gulp!!! I picked it up, hoping that nothing would be wrong with it but to my horror, the screen cracked! My heart sank.

Feeling sad about it, I continued the conversation with this person, who by then, was asking about whether I had a digi number, and what my digi number was and etc, etc, etc. I told him that the number he called me at was fine and I didn't see any reason why he should want to call me at my digi number. Finally, after arguing with him to a point where I got so fed up and still not knowing why he called me in the first place, I told him that I didn't want to talk to him anymore and that I dropped my phone while having that irritating conversation with him and that the screen cracked. And his reply? "Well, your phone is still ok. You can still talk to me, right?" Gosh! Of all the insufferable @#@#@@ .... yeah, I wanted to curse but hehe! I didn't.

I think it was the firm tone in my voice that made him realise that I was very angry with him and he quickly (and finally) told me why he called. He wanted my husband's phone number.

During the ride into town, I was feeling so stressed and troubled over the condition of the phone.

I finally had the nerve to call dear hubby to tell him about it. He patiently listen to me ranting about it before saying, "Don't worry about it. I'll buy you another one". Wow!!! So nice of him to say that. I told him that it's too expensive to get another one. And he answered that he doesn't mind paying for it.

At the back of my mind I was thinking, "Gosh!!! That $$ can buy me a D90!!!!" but all I told him was "I'll try to see if there's someone who could fix the screen".

I also did tell him that I was so angry with everything (especially that person who called me though I know that it's NOT his fault but I remember feeling so irritated even before I dropped the phone) that I really felt like crying.

And dear hubby asked me to cry so that I would feel better!!! :)

Well, tears were welling up in my eyes but I was determined NOT to cry. After all, I was standing right outside a bank and there were many people around me.

After "consoling" me, dear hubby told me that he wasn't feeling well and that he needed to rest. Gosh! I felt so horrible for thinking only about myself while he was sick and was still listening patiently to me.

I went back and quickly went online to see if there was such a service for screen replacement. There was one which I called and he was in KL. He said that I need to leave the phone with him for at least 24 hours (which meant overnight) and that it would cost me RM650. Earlier on, I read in one of the MAC forums that it might cost USD250 to get the screen replaced. So even thought RM650 is NOT cheap, it was still a better option than buying another phone. But somehow, I was a little skeptical and was going to look for other options. I had this mental vision that he would tear apart my phone and replace not only the screen but the whole phone!!! Sigh! I know, I don't have a very high opinion of the people here in Malaysia. Blame it on all the stories I read from the forwarded emails.

Anyway, that night we had cell meeting and YM, who was on holiday from Singapore, told me that he would be going to Singapore next week for a few days and if I like, I could pass him my phone so that he could take it to Applecare in Singapore to get it fixed. He too, felt that the phone would be safer hands in Singapore than in Malaysia.

I haven't really made up my mind yet. All I can feel is relief that it could be fixed. What I am worried about is that the touch screen might not be as sensitive as the original one. Whatever it is, I always have to remind myself, it's only a phone.

The ironic thing is .... this happened on the day Malaysia launched the iphone!

Wrongly Accused

On Monday, three police officers were in my office. They asked us for a copy of our layout plan with all the house addresses, reason being, it would make their job easier should anyone call in for help.

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We have more than 2000 houses with CF and knowing that would take more than a few minutes to compile everything for them, we asked if they wanted it immdiately. They were kind enough to give us one week to complete the task.

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After attending to them, my colleague and I went back to our work stations. Not long after that, our dear RE decided to appear and seeing no one attending to them, took an initiative to ask what they were there for.

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The moment I saw that, I knew that we were in trouble.

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True enough, the very next day, we were accused of not attending to the police officers' needs. This matter was actually brought up to my big boss' attention and my department was in a hot soup once again. Accodring to him, WE told the officers that we needed two weeks to complete the task.

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I decided to clarify this matter with my big boss. I had to explain that my colleague and I did attend to their needs and that this dear RE came in AFTER we had spoken to the officers. And yes, it was just like him to assume the worst of us. My exact words were "Don't believe everything he says"

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I really do not know what he has against us. I'm thinking that maybe he is trying to gain points with my big boss by reporting "untruths".

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And this has been going on for years!!! Every now and then, we were being wrongly accused behind our backs.

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And to top it all, he's not even in the same department as me. I get this feeling that he's trying to push his way through until he takes charge of my department because presently, he doesn't have the support of his subordinates and couldn't get anyone to do what he says - simply because he has lost their respect a long time ago.

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To top it all, everyone else knows that he has done certain things which will definitely not please the management but we did not report any of it, simply because we do not want to play the role of a whistle blower.

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All we wanted was to work well together. Different departments coming together in unity and understanding. But sad to say, I don't see that happening because of him. Sigh! :(

Alleged

Last week, two government officers came to my office, demanding to see our business license. Not knowing exactly what they wanted, even after showing them certain documents, they went to the next door shop, took the sample for us to see. It was the blue background with a picture of the business owner kind of license. Something which I have never seen in my office in all my 9+ years of working in this company.

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As far as my immediate boss and I are concerned, all we needed was a developer's license and the Advertising & Permit for the houses (currently under construction) that we are selling.

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According to the officers, we renewed the said license every year except last year. Puzzled by it, I asked the HR dept to contact our resident engineer (RE), who happened to be on a one year leave last year. I thought that perhaps with his absence, the business license wasn't renewed.

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Our RE told the HR dept that I (yes, yours truly) have the said license and that it was kept in my safe. I was shocked.

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We couldn't produce the license and were issued two summonses.

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The next day, the RE came to see me concerning this matter and once again, I explained that I have no clue whatsoever about this license. I specifically told him NOT to mention my name again, where this license is concerned.

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I received a phone call from my big boss in the afternoon saying that MY name was mentioned concerning this license. I immediately told her that I knew who that "snitch" was and that I really had no clue concerning it.

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I called my tax consultant as well as our group secretarial and was informed that as a Pte Ltd company, all we needed was to have a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation to operate our day to day business.

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I was by then, pretty mad at the RE for accusing me of keeping something which didn't exist in the first place. More so because I specifically told him that I know nothing of it and that he shouldn't say that I know about it at all.

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I receive NO apology from him todate.... not even after a letter was sent to my big boss explaining the whole situation and that we wanted an explanation from the person who "accused" me of keeping the license.

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And to top it all, I discovered a few days later, that even though the summonses were wrongly issued out of the ignorance of the government officers, we still had to pay a minimum fine - just to save the faces of the govt officers. Gosh!!! What utter madness. Sometimes, I just shudder at the way things are done here.