Programming Sucks! Or At Least, It Ought To

Here's a nicely laid out read for the "creative" developer in us. When it comes to coding, it all really boils down to KISS.

Golden Boy of MAS

After reading that news article, I don't know what which I found more amusing: that the resulting ad hoc produced system sounds suspiciously like an amalgamation of open source software, or that MAS, as the national airlines, is still using a paper-based system for maintenance management!!! No wonder the national carrier has always been plagued by financial issues.

I just found it a little ridiculous that the reporter would choose to use a phrase like "design a database solution that rivals commercial systems". If that were true, don't companies around the world feel stupid to have bought all those commercial systems? And just to be helpful to many would-be programmers, try searching for inventory-related management software on Sourceforge.net. You'll be surprised. And want to manage a database? Try phpMyAdmin. Either the reporter or the subject of the feature article had been exaggerating when mentioning "zero knowledge in programming". He studied in APIIT, so come on, no knowledge at all? What exactly do they teach in an information technology-related institute of education? Of course, I'm not trying to dumb down the accomplishments of that MAS employee and his team, it is certainly a strong showing of their dedication and passion for improving their job environment. I'm just a little miffed at the exaggerations of the article.

And for MAS itself? I'm stumped as to how their management had managed to go that many years without even hitting upon the thought that maybe, just maybe, an IT solution would help reduce their cost. That feature article certainly opened up my eyes as to why MAS kept reporting losses - they seem not to have improved with the times. It's rather sad that it had fallen on an engineer of the company to take it upon himself to improve the company's competitiveness. I hope that same management would reward the man and his team handsomely for their dedication and freelance work, rather than just reap the profits. I suppose MAS is happy to know that they hired a group of people willing to sacrifice for their company without expecting remuneration.

Turning a Page

I am, right now, officially an ex-staff of my company, joining a whole bunch of those who left before me. It's a been an interesting journey, full of ups and downs, hates and loves, and bittersweet memories. People who could've made a difference has gone before me, and people who are probably better off in a competitor's employ are still in the company, and still there are people left to carry on the slow (very!) march onwards. On the one hand, I feel sad that I'm leaving this part of my life behind, but excited at the start of something new. It's a weird mix of feelings when I start handing over the work that I've been doing for the better part of my 2-year-plus time in the company. It's like giving away my blood and sweat and all those long nights. In a way, it's a relief as well, to no longer have to look at it... :P Oh well, the next chapter is here, and I'm definitely looking forward to see what it contains.

A Fork in the Road

I've recently arrived at a fork on the road of life. I got an opportunity to work in a large multi-national corporation as opposed to staying in this current small start-up company. Let me organise my thoughts...

The pay's only slightly better, but the benefits are definitely very much better. Of course, given the new location, the transportation costs and traveling time may well increase, so it's more about the job.

It's a change of environment and is a new beginning, with lots to learn and opportunities for new contacts. But I'm neither fond of changes nor making new contacts. I wasn't good at people skills to begin with and haven't picked up enough yet. But of course, I have to learn at some point. Also, let's just say that my technical skills probably won't be in any challenging or interesting situations; which is bad, since I'd much rather face a computer than a customer.

I'd get to periodically travel to new locations. That might be good, except most of the time, I'd rather be at home. Being away from weeks and months at a time is, well, unexciting at the very least (to me anyway).

The job doesn't feel bad at all, but I can't help feeling apprehensive about it. The road seems to lead to a point where I had no interest in going. So what's wrong with changing again if I don't like it? Because there's still quite a bit I can learn by staying. There's an expert (a damn good one) in the house.

Currently, things might not feel stable, but I was reassured it's more stable than it looks. And I did say I'd stay until Chinese New Year, to see how things go after all the hand-overs. Plus, I have this promise of a good job with even better pay after the festive period... we'll see.

Oh my... I'm leaning towards staying. Can you believe it? Truth to tell, after quite a bit of chats with my (relatively small) circle of friends, I do, in fact, rather stay on than change jobs.
What?! Are you crazy?! Yeah, yeah, maybe I am. I actually feel sad about leaving. There's so much potential in the product, if only we can get past that point of actually selling it. Some of the objections put forth by my pals (my beloved included):

• Wait for Chinese New Year lah, more jobs, find more alternatives.
  
• You donno how to talk to customers wan lah, sure kena bully.
  
• You sure? I thought you just like to interface with computers?
  
• Ask you mamak oso you lazy, some more want to go overseas ah?
  
• A bit waste loh, since haven't close shop, faster ask for promotion lah!

Well... as mentioned, sooner or later you'd have to learn. Right now, I'm thinking later. All those talks and ponderings have actually brought out some resolutions for next year. I even made a list of things I need to improve on. But first and foremost, I need to pick up:

• Better code and design skills. Basically, more technical know-how.
  
• Professionalism. These days, I haven't been working as I'm being paid. Letting morale and feelings cloud my judgment. You can hate your job, your colleagues, or your superiors; but work is work. Personal feelings should never influence the results of which you're being paid for.
  
• Leadership and team skills. I need to learn this anyway, so what better way to do it than in a working environment I'm familiar and comfortable with?
  
• Basic business logic. I need to learn this anyway, so might as well try to pick up some concepts.

Bad choice, good choice? Only time will tell (wah cheh, like I'm making a really big decision like that... :P ). But a decision has been made. I better go apologise to those whose efforts I wasted.

Work Professionally

I was told that someone said we should work professionally until the very last day, as a matter of ethics and professionalism. I have a problem with that. I'm not leaving (yet) and I'm also not really working (not a good sign).

What does it mean when you don't feel like putting any effort into your work? Is it the fact that I'm getting unrealistic tasks to work on? Tasks that I'm ill-equipped to tackle? Is it the management's fault for the company's low morale? Or is it my own fault for not being mentally stronger to resist this lethargy?

If I wasn't right in the middle of this situation, I might have found it hilarious. With people from finance doing HR, those in HR don't really know how to do HR, those from consulting doing management, a non-techie is the lead tech person, and sales and marketing not closing any sales and not doing any marketing. Even worse, pluses are allowed to leave seemingly without much effort to retain them, while minuses remain to leech without much effort to get rid of them.

Sounds grim doesn't it? There are so many cracks and holes already; I wonder if it's still repairable. End of rant.

Months at Work

It's been four and a half months since I started work. While learning quite a few stuffs, people have been leaving. And of the original group that was around when I came in, only a few are left. It's kinda disappointing to see the old familiar faces go, and then becoming the minority to fit in with the new faces all over again (well, it feels that way, ok?). But I guess that's how life is, people come, people go.

Plus, these days are becoming really busy, what with a long overdue deadline and all. Sigh. Starting to feel a little overwhelmed. Did an all-nighter recently, and long nights. Weird, but it's a kinda nice experience, although I'm not at all tempted to repeat such an experience. I hope things start improving soon. It's a nice place to work, just wish people can and will start going home earlier.

Back for good?

Hi all! But I guess there's no body to 'Hi' to now. It's been pretty long. I don't know why but I'm getting an urge to expose all my personal thoughts out to the world again, hee. Still working, but no longer as a lecturer. I finally decided to go out and get some real working experience. And boy did I get what I was looking for. 9 -9 job as a software engineer for Tokuii Corporation. It's a CRM software company. Pretty nice group of people. And with me blogging on company time!

Time Management

Hmmm.... been quite a while hasn't it? Well, at least, in terms of those regular bloggers who put in something once every 2 or 3 days on average. I've been kinda busy... well, not busy with my working life (which, by the way, is pretty smooth and relaxed hee*2); but more like busy with my personal life. I'm learning how to juggle my work (preparing lectures, tutorials, labs, consultations, etc.), my part-time research (downloading stuffs, testing, writing reports), my interests (games, RPGs, TV shows, movies) and spending time with my girlfriend (just talking, cuddling, going out, shopping, etc. [but not into THAT yet :P not that I'm not interested ;) ]). Actually, it's more like trying very hard, not learning. Trying very hard not to put my priorities in the wrong areas!

First Lecture

Phew! Just had my first lecture. It finished pretty early, considering it was the first and most of the material were basic stuffs. I wonder if I did all right? My mouth and throat were really dry after talking for so long. This is so very different from the tutorials and practical sessions that I had done before. I was quite nervous last night, but during the class, I was calm enough. Some of the students were pretty bored, it's so obvious - one even yawned. Sigh. We all don't like boring lectures but I really wonder how I can keep their attention without boring them. I remember certain teachers or lecturers that simply commanded attention, and when they're lecturing, it's tough to feel sleepy. I wonder how they do that.... Oh well, hopefully I'll figure it out soon. I give myself a passing mark for my first ever lecture ^-^.

As an Educator

I'm going to start work as a lecturer soon (though it probably won't be a permanent job just yet). I'm getting pretty nervous. The start of the next semester's just around the corner. And no, it's not a public university and it's not a college, so I suppose that should narrow things down. Not going to name, as I'm still not used to the idea of exposing everything around me (except those I've already exposed on the sidebar).

So far, 25 students are confirmed *gasp*. What? So it's not that much, but it's still the first group of students who's going to depend on me for that subject! *shudder* Having been a tutor didn't seem to help much... sure, those were my students too, but I was there as an assistant. Now, full responsibility is on my shoulders. *sigh* What if I can't impart what I know? What if they don't understand what the freak I'm talking about? How the hell am I going to drag a lecture for two long hours?! What if someone complains? Oh boy... getting out of hand.

Oh well, at least I've seen enough lecturers to know what NOT to do. And I hope they agree to break up the lecture into 2 sessions.