Yuna’s Village - A Slice Of The Daily life

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If you think Mac is a better safer operating system, check out the following story and let me know if you still think the same way…

On February 22, a Sweden-based Mac enthusiast set his Mac Mini as a server and invited hackers to break through the computer’s security and gain root control, which would allow the attacker to take charge of the computer and delete files and folders or install applications.
Participants were given local client access to the target computer and invited to try their luck.
Within hours of going live, the “rm-my-mac” competition was over. The challenger posted this message on his Web site: “This sucks. 6 hours later this poor little Mac was owned and this page got defaced”.
The hacker that won the challenge, who asked ZDNet Australia to identify him only as “gwerdna”, said he gained root control of the Mac in less than 30 minutes.
“It probably took about 20 or 30 minutes to get root on the box. Initially I tried looking around the box for certain mis-configurations and other obvious things but then I decided to use some unpublished exploits — of which there are a lot for Mac OS X,” gwerdna told ZDNet Australia .

We all got the illusions that Mac is safer than PC ‘cause nobody is hacking it. Exactly! Nobody was hacking it until Apple made such a star of itself and invited all the attentions. Now, as Mac starts to gain shares in household computing market, the little Mac might be a whole lot worse than PC systems.

The other reason why I dropped nearly $1700 beginning of this year on a Mac system was because of its relatively stable performance. At least that’s what I heard, read and believed. Turns out, my little Mac froze every now and then and there is no damn “Control –Alt –Delete” to bring up the task manager to kill the hung process …Incompatibility is another issue. Although there are many Mac compatible software out there, there are tons don’t make for Mac users. For instance, none of the software I use for work supports Mac. I have to have a PC to get into my company’s intranet to check emails on Lotus Notes, book flights and do my expenses. Uggrrrr… I am glad I didn’t buy the iMac, instead, I spent half of my money on the ass kicking cinema display, which will very likely be hooked to a PC some day.

I was real excited to learn that my 4.5 hour Denver to Boston flight which departed at 4:21pm last Sunday had meal service. “Finally.. “ I said to myself, “I am on a long enough flight to get something to eat.” Turns out, it wasn’t exactly what I hoped for. I was given a box of junk food from cockie, crackers to chips after paying 5 bucks!

“Do you have any sandwich type of food?” It was dinner time on a Sunday and all I wanted was a damn turkey sandwich… The flight attendant smiled and directed me to the “in-flight” meal page on the Hemisphere magazine. After scanning through bunch of big words like “Newman’s Own Organic raisins” and “Fino Selections Gouda cheese slice”, I gave up the thoughts of biting a turkey sandwich.

Once upon a time in those good old days, we had hot pasta, salad and desert even in the economy class. Now I have to dream about a lousy turkey sandwich on a cross country flight during the dinner time.

United isn’t the only one selling so-called meals now on long haul flights. Pretty much all major airlines have started this trend. But to keep the cost down, they try to stick with easy packaged food such as my lousy “minimeal” box.

I won’t be surprised that a year from now, I will have to pay for the soda and the pretzel too. Till this day, I still can’t figure out why the airlines keep going bankrupted while the airports are busy as hell… Obviously, we are still flying. So where did the money go?

Ok, this might come a bit of shocking. Just a few months ago, I was SO TRILLED to work with the brightest bloggers I admire and joined b5media blogging network. Now, I don’t even have time or energy to read the posts from my favorite blog sites such as Darren’s Problogger.net.

A few of my loyal readers/friends also emailed me and hinted me that my posts don’t read the same anymore.

Well, they ARE NOT the same anymore. When I am spread thin across a few blog sites instead of just one while working on a full time job, things have to be different. A blogger has to have fun to be able to run a successful site with quality posts … I haven’t had that kind of fun lately. Everyday, I am reminding myself, “Christine, you gotta blog now. It’s time to write a few more posts. Christine, you are behind on schedule…”

So, in order to get my blogging spirit back, I have to cut down on the quantity. And in no means that I would give up my beloved Yuna’s Village. So here I am, just wrote my second resignation letter in 2006… It was a painful one because I really love this network and the people in it… I wish b5 the best of luck. Finally, I will have time to keep up with all Liz’s and Darren’s posts again.. Hew…

The slavery is finally over! After pulling 12 - 17 hours a day on the job, I walked out of the consulting career for good last Friday. I had been long curious about how I would feel when this moment finally came. I pictured it as the most relieving or the most exciting moment of my life. Well… let’s just put it that way… when I walked out of the office building, I was actually frightened that someone would chase me down and ask me to do more work. It actually took me about a day to gain a sense of excitement and finally feel the relief.

You can catch the story “My Last 5 Days On the Consulting Job” on my professional blog site.

It’s Monday afternoon. I am sipping a cup of coffee in my family owned store in Nashville, chatting with my mother and … finally blogging!!

I scanned through my blog and saw only 6 posts this year! What a slacker! Hehehe…:-)
With all the time I have now, I am sure you guys will see a lot of nerdy talks, photo updates, climbing journals, 5 More Reasons Why Thongs Must Die… you know.. the usual stuff..

Thanks to all of my friends and families from all over the places for helping me to go through this difficult time! Boy! I am so glad that I am finally back after a long absence!

Now, I have to clean up my yunasville email inbox.. 717 emails??? Wow! What did I miss??

Jason, my good friend and my loyal reader dropped a note today asking if I were still alive. I feel that I own a short post just to explain what’s going on lately. Actually, if you read the posts I did on my professional blog, you may already figure it out.

The project I am working on recently has taken its toll on me. I can rarely find time to breathe, sleep or eat. Maybe I forgot how to say No again. Maybe I am no longer the 20 some year old who can think 15 hours non stop. Maybe I am just too tired to keep going with this job. I am absolutely feeling frightened when I’ve learned that I have to work overtime at night and on weekend again. I started to make critical mistakes on the job which resulted in serious consequences and caused my company some damages.

I have sold my soul to this company in the last 10 years by working overtime year after year. I was ill for 2 years; I lost half of my right eye’s sight; and I lost my family because of this job. I kept going because this is all I know and I like my manager who gives me big bucks.

I finally decided that it’s time for me to retire from the consulting life, retire from the travel job and start to focus on having a normal life. I am 32, yet, I am still trying to figure out where my home is. That’s just plain sad.

I do feel being defeated and I do feel that I am sort of kind of running away from my problems by quitting what I do. But I know one thing though: my current job is the source of my unhappiness and I gotta do something to get my life back.

Stay tuned…

You’d think that with all the bad lucks I had, things could go a bit better. No, not really.

Despite the difficulty to locate new machines for me during the holiday, IBM managed to send out one loaner earlier this week and one replacement 2 days after.

The loaner that was supposed to arrive in Nashville 2 days ago was lost in DHL’s Nashville handling center. They told me the package couldn’t be found anymore. No further explanation.

So what about my new replacement today? It was held in US Custom since it was coming from Canada. Somebody didn’t finish the paperwork on time to ensure the “Next Day” service. I was just informed that it won’t arrive until Tuesday. Great! I am leaving on Monday.

Ok, forget about the crappy carrier’s service for a second. But what are the odds to lose 2 computers and screw up every shipment in one week? It almost seems that some mighty power is making sure that I am NOT going to get a laptop.

Alright! Alright! I am not supposed to complain. Let’s turn my crappy bad luck experiences into “Lesson Learned” again. I also made my first “New Year Resolution” list, inspired by my crashed digital world. You can read both lists on my pro blog site: http://www.blogfabulous.com/when-digital-world-crashes/

Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas! It’s the best time of the year to relax and spend some precious time with my family for a week or two. But this whole gift exchange thing really sucks!

I am so stuck with the following questions and have no idea what the heck I should do..

• My parents don’t really care about material stuff. It burns my brain every year to figure out what the heck to give to them. They don’t need much and they don’t really know how to play with the hot techie toys on the market. I once bought a USB flash memory for my Dad when that thing just came out. It cost me nearly 100 bucks in 2003 and last Thanksgiving when I went home, it was still sitting in a box. It’s Dec 17, and I am still scratching my head…
• My guy is a very simple man who is living in a simple life. He loves high tech gadgets but is very careful with his money. If I buy an expensive toy, he’d feel he would disappoint me if he wasn’t prepared to do the same. If I buy him something simple but useful, then I’d feel bad if he shows up with a big nice super trendy toy. So… Video iPod? Camera? Tool box? Basketball? Or a big nice kiss??!! It hurts my brain when I think about this…
• I am going to a friend’s Christmas holiday dinner. I am close to only one girl but a few others will be there too. Should I just not care and bring one gift only or be polite to buy everyone a gift?

Valentine ’s Day is even worse. Those people who don’t have Valentines feel sad with no gifts while those ones who do have Valentines have to go through another round of the find-that-perfect-gift exercise without having enough time to recover from the Christmas brain and wallet damage.

It’s nice to give and receive gifts when we need to, such as on a BIG and SPECIAL occasion. But if we have to buy nice gifts 6 times a year to cover Valentine’s day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Anniversary, Birthday and Christmas, that’s just getting way too much.

For those of you who don’t know the East part of the World War II history, Japan invaded China in 1937, ruined the entire country for nearly 8 years. My grandparents escaped from the village in Canton and migrated to Shanghai, which at that time was under the ruling of several Western countries. I was born in the old French district of Shanghai where my grandparents settled down in early 40’s. 60 years have gone by but the hate for the Japanese are still in the blood of majority of the Chinese including the younger generations like myself who were born way after the War was over. I can’t forgive them for slaughtering my three aunts like pigs by cutting their stomachs open. And I am still deeply insulted by the fact that they killed 300,000 people in Nanjing in one night and destroyed nearly every city they had touched from 1937 - 1945. If you dare to see some most disturbing killing and raping pictures, you can click the following link. Take my warning seriously; they are VERY DISTURBING because I CAN’T finish viewing them. I went through page 2 and I was about to vomit.

Nanjing Massacre Exhibit

As much as the hatred I have carried ever since I’ve learned the history, it never prevents me from falling for the beautiful Japanese culture and the arts. The stunning wood architecture, floral arrangement and the traditional painting have always captured my heart.

Although I can read only half of the Japanese characters, I would still spend hours wandering in a Japanese bookstore admiring the visual arts they have created. I watch Japanese anime and I play mostly Japan made console games such as my favorite Final Fantasy series. When Aeon Flux came out last weekend, I went to see it twice because of its anime background and the Japanese influenced architectural production settings.

I sometimes do feel guilty but I also feel that I have the freedom to appreciate whatever I appreciate. The love and hate conflict runs so deeply in my vein that I don’t think I will ever forget or forgive. But I do hope such battle can end in my generation. After all, we all need to move on and let the history become history.

I didn’t know Netflix got sued until I received a case settlement email from the company. Apparently, Netflix was sued by lying about “unlimited rental” and “one day delivery promise” in the marketing materials. The case is now settled and you can read about the benefits you can collect if you signed up before Jan 15, 2005.

I will not collect the benefits simply because I don’t think Netflix can do anything better than what they have been doing. You get “unlimited rental” as long as you sign up for their 2 or 3 DVD program and it is a one day delivery service in most of the metro areas.

I think this country has gone mad when it comes to lawsuit. “Just sue it” was printed on Tulane University’s Law school T-shirt a few years back when I visited the campus. Everybody can get sued by virtually doing or saying anything. If some people don’t like the way you look, they can sue you for “public appearance disturbance” and ask you to pay for their mental damage.

Just over a year ago, some students made cookies for the neighbors. They unfortunately rang the door bell of a professional suer’s house and got sued for scaring her. I don’t remember the details, but the students were fined around 900 bucks for the hospital fees the bitch claimed that she had spend on “calming down”.

If there are people who work full time to figure out the lottery wining algorithms, I am sure there are people out there who are doing absolutely noting but trying to figure out how to screw other people for money. Sick bastards!

Update:
Coincidentally, RJ pinged me this morning and sent me a story happened a few miles away from me. A home depot shopper sued Home Depot after he got stuck to a restroom toilet seat because a prankster had smeared it with glue.

Bob Dougherty, 57, accused employees of ignoring his cries for help for about 15 minutes because they thought he was kidding. …This is not Home Depot’s fault,” Dougherty said. “But I am blaming them for letting me hang in there and just ignoring me.”

Here is the full story.

A few weeks ago, I saw an article on Newsweek about being a Type D personality (the kind that easily gets stressed out) and its relation to the heart disease. Today, I saw another article about how a stressful working environment and an unfair boss can slowly eat our health away.

Researchers in Finland who did the study found that workers who felt they were being treated fairly had a much lower incidence of coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in all Western societies. Most people care deeply about just treatment by authorities…Lack of justice may be a source of oppression, deprivation and stress.

Somehow, majority of us are mentally trained to be good employees. We believe that climbing the corporate ladder is the way to go. So we work hard. We sometimes put our careers ahead of our families and our health. When I was in my 20’s, I gave everything I could give to my job and the only thing I wanted in return was my boss’s approval that Christine did a good job. I ended up having an immunity disorder disease caused by stress/depression and suffered for 2 years. I am glad I am cured now; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to have kids.

Ever since then, I start to ask the “What’s for” question. Why are we working so hard? A 3% pay raise? An email from the boss which says “job well done”? Or a long waited promotion which adds more stresses and responsibilities?

if you put what we give vs. what we receive on the two sides of the equation, things just don’t add up:

Stress + long hours + health threats + work/life conflicts + unhappiness = “Good job” from the boss + a wimpy paycheck

If it were not because of the responsibility I have for my co-workers and the projects, I’d be a total slacker right now. And that’s probably why many of us work so hard - a sense of responsibility.

The ultimate goal for me is to get out of Corporate America. I don’t want to be here until my hair turns grey and get kicked out at age 60 for being “too old to work”. However, money is a real issue. We all want to do something we love and be our own bosses. The real question is how we are going to cope with the transition from a secure paycheck to something uncertain. I have always been thinking about this scenario. Well, this post is about stress and health. So I will run another post sometimes later on this topic.

Additional Readings:
Are you stressed out and worried all the time? Take the quiz to find out if you are a type D personality. After the test, you may read the health impact of being a Type D and what you can do.

I worked my butt off in the late 90’s to climb to the Advisory Architect/Designer position. Then, I was crashed and burned on a very high profile project in 2002 so I stepped back to be a happy system engineer. Despite a few complains and long hours, I was pretty happy to stay away from the politics most of the time.

After my Denver project, I decided to give my old job another shot. So, to brush up on my Archtiect/Designer skills, my manager sent me to attend an industry leading IT Architecture class.

Today, I spent 10 hours in the classroom and learned one thing. That is, in order to win the customers, make things sound and seem as complicated as possible. Here is an example:

Instead of saying, “Let’s figure out a way to help our clients to make some money. “
We’d put out a dozen slides that look like this:

So, if you are interested in becoming a high paying smart ass consultant, take an English vocabulary class and learn some real big words such as Market Strategy, Framework, Methodology, Competency, Integration, Governance, Industry-Focused, Line Of Business, etc.. Then, try to answer every question with no less than 250 words, the longer the better. The ultimate goal is to make your audiences’ heads spinning. If you are producing a diagram, make sure to use Microsoft Visio and the final product should look like a meatball spaghetti dish stirred by a baby. Finally, remember to provide a “Six Flag Great America” sized bill even if the client is asking for a swing set. If you are lucky, you can make $200K a year, thanks to the higher-than-prostitution rate we are charging.

Want some more tips and tricks? Read the following fantastic tips and examples:

• How IBM answers client’s question: Why did the chicken cross the road?
  (This is my modified version based on the old Anderson Consulting’s Value-Added Chicken Architecture)
• In order to become a consultant, you need to first have the prostitute’s mentality. Use this check list to make sure you are ready for the job.
• Case study: Consulting Sheep

Now, buy a BMW M5 and good luck!