Thursday, January 26, 2006

Promotion..................

My company has 2 periods for promotion, one in January and the other in July. For the promotion period just gone by, 2 lunch mates has been promoted. One from a senior to a lead, the other converted from direct contract to a permanent position.

After one year of agent contract, he was converted to direct contract. After another year of direct contract, he was then converted to a permanent position. Discussions on his speedy conversion came out a prominent conclusion. His boss has helped him a lot to get him converted and my boss is doing nothing about my conversion. Having a good boss is important to your career. We definitely need them to help and promote your career or you will be stuck in the same position and place.

2 years of service already, on the 3rd contract, at least 2 converted to direct contract and 1 of them is now a permanent (as above). Maybe it is because of my position, as my ex-teammate took 3 yrs to convert to direct contract.

Hmm , hope to strike Toto top prize and then I can resign liao hahaa.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Disappointing soccer movie

Got some free tickets (via some kind souls in my department) to watch a soccer movie. No. It is not the movie Goal!. That is a bit old and also not Football Hooligans (or simply Hooligans). It is the up and coming movie Real (starting in Singapore early February). The Spanish name is Real, la pelĂ­cula, translated as Real, the film.

My opinion on the film is, if you are a Real Madrid fan, good show for you; Soccer fan, normal so-so show and luckily only 1.5 hr only; Non-Soccer watching, what are you doing here wasting your money.

The movie is almost a propaganda film to promote Real Madrid, a money-earning vehicle in my view. It features the 2004-2005 Real Madrid Team which still includes Michael Owen.

There is perhaps 2 main storylines in the movie. One is the preparation works leading to the match between Real Madrid and Barcelona which Real Madrid won 4-2. The other is a history teacher who moved to Madrid and experienced first hand the excitement and the passion of soccer, although it is specifically to Read Madrid.

The other side stories told of different reasons on why fans love Real Madrid. One is the Beckham factor or the idol factor, shown by a Japanese school girl almost breaking up with her boyfriend over David Beckham. The boyfriend eventually learns to accept and then ignore the idolism by his girlfriend and fit in well.

The English female amateur soccer player, who had a serious right knee injury, looks at Ronaldo as inspiration and determination to overcome her injury and idolizes him.

The Senegal father who was said to travel 60km (2 days journey) to watch Real Madrid play and then back home (another 60km) to relates the match to his son. He then manage to enroll his son, who cannot concentrate on his studies due to obsession with playing soccer, to a Unicef – Real Madrid sponsored Soccer Academy for studies and learning soccer.

The last story is of family relations torn apart by the love of Real Madrid. A grandfather is one of the kidnappers who kidnap Real Madrid’s star player, Alfredo Di Stefano, nicknamed “The Blonde Arrow”. His son never forgives him and deny the existence of his father to his own son. By chance, the grandfather and grandson met and forge their new relationship by soccer and their passion for Real Madrid.

In all, it is a disappointing show. Though it is about Real Madrid but the method is too documentary. Maybe this is due to it being the official Real Madrid movie. Editing was poor. Scene changes illogically at times. As mentioned, view it only if you are a Real Madrid fan.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Sleepy............

Will update this blog later....

Currently very very sleepy!

hee overdue update.

Was very sleepy due to some informal technical support on the wee hours of Wednesday.
There was program migration on Wednesday midnight. M ran into some problems and had to call me for help. There was around 3+ in the morning. Took about 30 minutes in all.

Later around 4.30am, I (think I) heard the phone ring. Pick up the call but heard a lot of background noises but nobody is talking to me! So I terminate the call, tried calling back but got the wrong person. Luckily, it was BQ who came back to do testing also. So I call M and things are not resolved also. Was stressed that the migration has to be rollbacked.

5 something morning. Woke up, decided not to call back to ask since it will be a forgone decision whether is there a rollback or not.

Sleep was interrupted and hence, did not have enough rest as needed. So was damn sleepy the whole day. I can bring up to my boss on support work done and get the morning half off. However, this will sabotage M as its implicates him on something. So well, just being damn tired for the whole morning instead of sabotaging M. Anyway, minor issue with me also =P

Monday, January 16, 2006

Sunday OT!!!!! Damn!

Have to work yesterday on Sunday morning from 9.30am to 1.30pm. I am damn pissed off. What is done yesterday can be done this morning. The 2 bosses only think of their own bottom line, which is to settle everything asap without care and considerations of the people below them. No issue was found and everything went smoothly.

The only thing out of is that I get to earn $100 and claim 2 ways taxi for my effort. I rather sleep in for another 2 hours, read my papers etc though!

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Movies galore!

Watched 2 movies for the past 2 fridays at TBP with A. First up is The Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The next is In Her Shoes, starring Cameron Diaz. Both are movie adaptions of books.

The Chronicles of Narnia was adapted from a series of children books written by CS Lewis, friend of J. R. R. Tolkien, writer of the series Lord of the Rings. The 2nd book from the Chronicles of Narnia was taken and made into the movie. Comments from colleagues and friends about this show was that it is too kiddish. One main reason for this comment was probably due to the fact that this is a children's book and not adult fiction. Comparisions made to Lord of the Rings is like comparing a child and an adult. Harry Potter was actually catered more to Teenagers and appeal to Young Adults. Themes explored certainly is too deep for children and hence better appreciated by Teenagers and Young Adults. If you was to think of the movie as a movie for children, an adaption of a children's book, you will enjoy the show immensely. I read the Chronicles of Narnia when I was a teenager or even younger but I enjoy the book lots and hence the movie too.

In Her Shoes, an adaption of a book also, was pretty good also. Maybe due to the adaption and limited screen time, I feel something is lacking in the movie. Perhaps it is the fleshing out of characters or the plot needs some strengthening. 2 sisters of very different qualities clashes and then come back together stronger after knowing and meeting their grandmother. Nevertheless is a good movie recommended by A. Thanks dear. :)