Book Quote!

Posted by mkhairul - January 6, 2009 at 05:01:07 pm - No Comments

Categories: blog

I really like this quote, even though I haven’t read the book (Practice of Programming) yet (it sure fires me up to read it now).

The beginning of a new end

Posted by mkhairul - January 5, 2009 at 12:01:06 pm - 2 Comments

Categories: blog

The last entry in my notebook is on 23rd December 2008. By that time, I was struggling to keep awake from the empty cubicles in the office. Most of my colleagues have gone on vacation, holiday, or whatever you want to name it.

Lots of my work involves other people, since no one is around, even if there is, they’re busy with council’s meeting and stuffs. So, I can’t proceed on the stuffs that I’m working on. I read some news and gets bored and falls asleep on the chair. It was also the time when I feel really down, depressed. I have no idea why, but I noticed almost every end of the year my enthusiasm would deteriorate and all I want to do is sleep. Maybe my ancestor was bitten or mauled by a were-bear or something and passed along the gene so that at the end of the year (usually winter), I can’t resist the urge to hibernate.

So anyway, since the holiday season is over, the sense of productivity is coming back to me (or maybe its just the salmon sushi that I ate on saturday at Shikiya, Low Yat).

A New Year! I have to make amends the stuffs that I did last year, spend time to ponder, make some SWOT analysis on myself (or pareto whichever I can), and widen my options. Take new challenges, aim for the sky, if I can’t reach it, at least I will be among the stars!

One of the saddest thing about our history is how much it has repeated itself.

Let us learn from the past, remind ourselves of the present and the future, so that we can thread carefully through this journey that we call life.

Katakanlah: “Mengembaralah kamu di muka bumi kemudian lihatlah bagaimana kesudahan orang-orang yang silam; kebanyakan mereka adalah orang-orang musyrik” [al-Room 30: 42]

Still tired

Posted by mkhairul - December 30, 2008 at 12:12:03 pm - No Comments

Categories: blog

There was a meeting just now, lots of stuffs discussed and lots of stuffs that I had ideas about but I refrained from mentioning any of it, other than “When will we have new team members?”. I was told new team members will join in next year. I don’t know when will that be. I hope it will be soon.

One of the point in the meeting is one of the Software Development team members asked a member of the LMS team to teach him about LMS. I have been preaching to the LMS team (even though I’m also a team member of the LMS, I don’t deal much with users of the system) to write that kinda stuffs down in the wiki so that we could reduce the overhead on teaching people how to use the system. Since they have reluctantly refuse many times by giving stupid excuses, suit themselves. If they want to spend time teaching over and over again to other new people, its their choice.

Why do I refrain myself from giving out ideas? One of the factor is that I’m just plain tired. I’m like the drummer on a row boat. Beating the drums to get the rowers to row faster and follow the drumbeat, but in my case, they still rows slowly, ignoring the drumbeats. Realizing my drumbeats were ignored, I joined the rowers and show them how its done, they just nod and cheer but when they continue they still rowed slowly. So I just sit down and let them row in whatever speed they want, the left side rows fast, the right side rows slow, and we’ll just go round and round getting nowhere.

Master Plan System Estimation

Posted by mkhairul - December 22, 2008 at 04:12:10 pm - No Comments

Categories: blog

The Master Plan project started on 2nd November 2008. It was a very urgent project, initially we agree to finish it up in 2 weeks. We even planned between holidays on finishing up some stuffs, but it was actually foolhardy.

We tried to plan between the holiday, working around my annual leaves and other kinds of hoops without considering the environment and emotional situation that leads to a rather unproductive day.

There was also data’s or forms that were created by the project owner (financial advisor / consultant) that was given to me that was incomplete and doesn’t make sense. I tried to make whatever that is possible from the data that was given. I informed him of the incomplete and inadequate information that is provided in the form for a department and he gave me another file with budgeting information in it and expect me to extract something from it. At first glance it looks like it would not be a problem but when I delved more into it, it doesn’t make sense at all, I don’t know which I’m supposed to put inside the datatable form.

Instead of just extract some data that I don’t understand about from the file and put it inside the system, I’d suggest that the user for the department to have a discussion with me in front of the computer and tell me right there and then about the categories/data that should be inserted into the form. Reducing the overhead of inserting wrong data and observing the user’s impression and reaction on the system, killing two bird with one stone.

I still have a lot of stuffs to practice in managing this kind of stuffs. Currently I’m currently reading Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams (Second Edition)
, in the book, it is stated that this is more of a sociology aspect of a project. What makes stuffs works and what doesn’t. Hrmm, I haven’t finish the book yet, still a long way to go with my schedule. I’d have to make time for it.

So anyway, the Presta Project (Performance Management System, keeping data for KPIs and stuffs), is not seeing much use right now in my department, where it should start with. I have no idea why, I think I should have a discussion with my HoD and raise this issue on an upcoming meeting. And I also feel (spider-sense) that the new HR Manager is getting annoyed at me for delaying the progress and adoption of the system. Heh.

Rollercoaster

Posted by mkhairul - December 18, 2008 at 03:12:50 pm - No Comments

Categories: blog

Everything seems like a rollercoaster. Especially in my management skills. There are days when I just jolt down things that needs to be done in bullet points and managed to divide my time between all the tasks to get it done flawlessly (well maybe a little bit of hiccup here and there) to micromanage tasks by using Google Calendar daily view to reserve slots for tasks within a certain time frame and follow it as a plan or guide (but not as a commitment).

I think I need more practice and try to be as consistent as possible. In the meantime I’ll try to analyze and identify the variables that contributes to the elevation of this rollercoaster that I’m on. What makes it go high? What makes it go low? And see if I can do as much as possible when I’m on top and minimize the impact when I’m at the bottom.

Here’s something to think about from Lao Tzu’s, Tao Te Ching.

• To know others is wisdom;
• To know oneself is intelligence.
• To conquer others is power,
• To conquer oneself is strength.
• To know contentment is to have wealth.
• To act resolutely is to have purpose.
• To stay one’s ground is to be enduring.
• To die and yet not be forgotten is to be long-lived.

Some people says, “Pfft, I already know that”. Yes of course, when we are confronted with stuffs we already know we would say that, but when we’re not, we often forget. We are forgetful, and needs to be reminded until the day we die. If there’s no one to remind ourself, we should try and find ways to remind ourselves. (refer to the movie Memento or RPG of the Year, Planescape:Torment).

History is repeating itself on work related stuffs.

Posted by mkhairul - December 17, 2008 at 03:12:33 pm - 1 Comment

Categories: rants

I’ve been from someone who wants to know everything that is happening around the LMS (Learning Management System) that we’re dealing with, cheerful, full of enthusiasm to someone who doesn’t give a shit anymore. My teammates takes me for granted and is uncooperative with me and I’m giving them a taste of their own medicine.

Now I’m under a unit called Internal Support Application under Enterprise Application division and I’m the only member, even though my name is still under LMS, I’m not doing much for LMS anymore. I would give advice and stuffs but I don’t put my heart into it anymore, unless they give me some incentive to boost my morale, I’d consider to shrug off the disappointing and frustrating past that I had with the LMS team members.

History is repeating. I’m alone with reduced interaction with team members (since I’m the only one in the unit, NO INTERACTION WITH TEAM MEMBERS!). If I had superpowers or ninjutsu techniques like Peter Petrelli or Uchiha Itachi, I’d be a superhero after working hours and maybe that would make me feel good about myself, but I don’t. I’m feeling depressed. I woke up late and sometimes I take leaves just to be alone (washing clothes and going around settling my bills) since it doesn’t make a difference in the office.

I have requested to be transferred to the CMS (Campus Management System) team since they have more enthusiastic people in the team, I thought I could fit in and make myself useful. But my request have been ignored by my Head of Department, no news, no nothing, not a word about it.

I’m aware of my situation and going to monitor it. I have gone through this and I think I know my limits and ways to get through this.

Insulting

Posted by mkhairul - December 16, 2008 at 12:12:09 pm - No Comments

Categories: blog

Yesterday, as I was doing some freelance stuffs after work at home. I received an SMS inquiring about the screenshots about a system that I’m building for friend of a good friend of mine for his thesis.

I put in some filler text, Lorem ipsum, into the system and took several screenshots. He asked me, why is there a weird language in the system? Did you built this system or took someone’s system?

I was fucking pissed off with that SMS. He came to me asking for help and dare to tell me I took someone else’s system? WTF? The thought of dropping this project came across my mind, its not like I get a lot from this project and with that kind of insult really makes me mad.

I lie down to cool off and replied his SMS, explaining that it was a latin filler text to fill in the spaces so that it will look like a real system with data and stuffs, it is a standard practice in web development, etc. After that he replied, Oooo, I thought you modified someone’s system.

I think that’s a very rude thing to say when you ask someone to help you on a project. Even more he’s a friend of a friend.

November’s Cloud

Posted by mkhairul - November 27, 2008 at 08:11:46 am - No Comments

Categories: blog

I missed the deadline for this month’s cloud. I was too deep inside some code for a new application, the Master Plan, that I forgot all about the cloud.

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