All These and More in 2008!

After much thought, I have decided to pursue these personal goals in 2008.

1. Hit target weight and body fat % by end March and maintain these for the rest of the year; develop upper body strength
2. Join a swimming school and survive the water on your own when lessons are over
3. Meet at least 80 new friends from diverse backgrounds within and outside of Singapore ; update contact list based on people you met over the past 3 years
4. Document your life - update blog more regularly, take more photos, track expenses, maintain various personal lists
5. Support independent artists ; develop a higher appreciation for the arts (music, film, theater, design)
6. Strengthen regular prayer and worship life
7. Best effort to take the bus or MRT when traveling on your own but don't punish yourself for taking a cab on a need basis
8. Continue to discover Singapore by checking out a new bar/restaurant/ food center per weekend and by exploring the vicinity of the MRT stations you haven't exited from during the past 1.5 years
9. Take calculated risks in learning how to cook including the use of the oven
10. Volunteer time and effort each quarter to develop the youth or give happiness to the sick or elderly
11. Spend more time browsing business, finance and IT-related sites and be able to discuss basic/recent topics intelligently where appropriate
12. Decide what you want to happen in 2009 and 2010 and take drastic measures to ensure you have a clear view by October 2008

Triple Bypass Laptop Operation

My laptop has undergone a triple bypass operation in my very capable hands.

http://directflightsonly.blogspot.com/2007/06/high-tech-birthday-gifts-for-myself.html

It has been acting extremely slow that I demoted it to second-class laptop in my house several weeks ago. Imagine, it took me around 15 minutes to print a single page document, even longer than my travel time from Vivo City to my home via bus (including stops)!

The HP PC tablet that came with the unit and was dedicated only to reserving condo facilities, activating the lift when guests arrive, and occasional browsing (for bus arrival time) had served me surprisingly well.

It's amazing when Customer Service Helpdesks actually work as in the case of HP which has seemingly built a capable team. I spent several minutes with the Customer Support officer who patiently took me through the steps in creating recovery disks and using them as appropriate. In the end, I took the easy route and reformated the Windows partitioned drive after a major backup using my external hard drive.

My rejuvenated laptop is now ready for active duty in 2008.

Let's Groove Tonight

Before


After