Pieces of Paradise

Funny how things can turn out sometimes... how something you'll think will be bad turn out to be good... how something you don't expect much from can actually turn out to be better... It was a real bummer when our original vacation plans never materialized. Palau became Thailand, then Thailand became Hong Kong... due to budgetary constraints of some friends. I'll be leaving for Hong Kong in a few hours, though I'm not really excited. I've been there a lot of times, and I don't really like shopping. What else can we do there? There's not much to see, except for that new Disneyland--- which is nothing to write home about, according to many who have been there. Also, our trip to Bohol didn't materialize because the hotels were fully booked for weeks. I opted to go to Cagayan Valley instead where a few of my relatives lived. It's basically a free vacation, so who am I to complain?

At first, I wasn't really expecting much. A few days of rest at least, during my last few free days. I wanted to make the most out of the remaining days of my vacation. Plus I've been searching for sites about the place in the internet, and the things I saw didn't excite me. Apparently, the place had a lot to offer--- things those internet sites don't show. I've seen beaches on the internet that sucked... then I saw magnificent beaches on those isolated islands. My jaw practically dropped! Paradise would be the word to describe those beaches. I've been to many beaches, but none were as spectacular as the one i saw there. The fact that the island was practically devoid of other human life besides us added to the beauty of such serenity. The region also had great caves which were a joy to explore... though we didn't have a tour guide then, so we weren't able to fully explore the chambers, which were said to be snake infested. I wasn't able to take very good pictures also, because the caves were so dark, and the camera I brought had a weak flash. I also took a swim in the river. The water was so clean! The only drawback was I had to change my clothes in the bushes, because there were no amenities. lol. good thing no strangers were around at that time... or else scandalous pictures of myself could be floating around the internet by now. haha. There were a lot more things to do, but I had to go home earlier because of affairs back home. There were more caves and forests to explore, and I wasn't able to try white water rafting, which is a favorite tourist activity there... Maybe when I come back after 5 years. :)

Oh yeah, pictures are worth a thousand words right? So here are some pictures i took. They don't justify the beauty of the place though, you have to see the place with your own eyes. Who cares if my Hong Kong vacation will suck? The great time I had in Cagayan is enough to mask any bad memories of a number of future vacations. :)

I Had A Dream

... and what a sweet sweet dream that was. I'm talking about the Sega Dreamcast, that forgotten current generation videogame system, who's life was cut short when its creators prematurely pulled the plug on the system. I would argue that it's the best videogame system ever made. Most people would scoff, especially the legions of Sony fanboys out there... but to those who have owned and played the system--- they would know where I'm coming from. Whenever i meet someone who had dreamcast, a bond is instantly formed, as if we're both members of some elite fraternity, or some exclusive club. It's impossible not to love the system, with all the innovative and genuinely fun games released for it.

We've owned 3 Sega systems, but that doesn't make me biased. I can't be called a sega fanboy. Fanboys are likened to blind followers. i know a bad sega game when I see one, and I know how bad they've screwed up. We were reluctant to purchase a dreamcast at first because of the way sega f*cked up in the past, but with the games released for it, its cheaper cost, and with the impression that they're seem to be doing things right for their next system, we decided to take the plunge. To those who are not that keen on videogame history, Sega was acknowledged as the king of the 16 -bit hill, back when it was just Sega vs. Nintendo, back when videogames were actually made by people who cared about videogames, back when corporate giants like sony and microsoft weren't in the picture. Sure, Nintendo won in Japan, where it maintained such a tight stronghold, but sega won in the US and Europe, so when worldwide sales were considered, Sega was leading by a slim margin. Their campaigns have labeled Nintendo as uncool, and the Genesis was what the cool kids were playing. However, it seemed that success has gone through their heads. They seem to have become so overconfident, that they thought any product they released would be purchased by consumers because anything with a Sega label in it was cool. The first misstep was the sega CD, an add on which brought no improvements with regards t the hardware, save for the CD format which could hold more data. Graphically, games for it were no different than those for the Genesis. They just had better sound, longer levels, plus a whole lot of choppy videos. With no upgrades in graphics, those videos looked horrible. Thus the system was plagued with "full motion video" games, which had no fun factor whatsoever. On the other side of the fence, Nintendo was developing a CD add on with Sony (the company that would later crush them all) which would bring improvements with the system's performance. The plan was scrapped though, after marketing research showed that an add-on device is a risky investment for many people. The fact that the Sega CD wasn't much of a success proved this. After a few years, the next generation of systems were about to be unleashed. Sony caught everyone by surprise when they announced a very powerful videogame system--- the Playstation. Sega had to get back to the drawing board. Their next generation system was optimized for 2-D environments, while the playstation showed 3D capabilities that wowed everyone. It's a wonder how Sega never had the foresight to create a home videogame system optimized for 3D, when their arcade division was already in the 3D realm at that time, with the release of the virtua fighter and virtua racing games. It was too late to start from scratch, so they added chips here and processors there, to give the system more power. The result was The sega saturn, a system that was such a mess inside, that it was so difficult to develop games for it. And it also wasn't as powerful as the playstation, with its streamlined hardware, programming for it was a breeze. This resulted to many games that were being developed for it. Good thing Virtua Fighter was so popular in Japan, that Sega managed to hold its own against Sony... at least in Japan. Back in the United States, some stupid sega official had another bright idea. The saturn was too expensive, so why don't they make another add on for the Genesis, which would finally add power to the system. Shouldn't they have done that with the Sega CD? What's even more frustrating was the fact that they weren't learning from their mistakes. People didn't respond to the Sega CD add on, what made the think that the people would respond to the 32x? With the Saturn already released in Japan, gamers in America were aware that a more powerful Sega system will eventually be released shortly. Why purchase a 32x, which was clearly a stop gap measure, some evil attempt to milk more money from consumers? As predicted, the 32x failed. The saturn was launched in the US. By then, Sega's reputation was tarnished, especially for those who were duped into buying a sega CD or 32x. And their campaigns against Nintendo backfired on them. With graphics that were so much better, with more games available, and with more games with edgier content, Sony managed to brand sega as uncool, and made the playstation the cool thing to own. The nail in the coffin was made when squaresoft announced that they will be developing games for the playstation only. Squaresoft's games are huge in Japan, and the announcement was what sony needed to finally leave Sega in the dust, at least in Japan. In other territories, they had no problems. Sega had pretty much tarnished its own reputation to still be considered a threat. Nintendo survived because it still had a lot of loyal followers. The niche crowd was still profitable. On the other hand, Sega fucked up many of its fans, and only the blind fanboys remained. With the number of games made for the playstation, innovative games have surfaced which further expanded the market. Plus the realism attracted a lot of adults. Videogames were no longer viewed as for kids only. Sony was brilliant, examining the strategies of their would be competitors and learning from the mistakes of Sega and Nintendo, before making the plunge. Sony had clearly won the war by a landslide. They did everything right, and they deserve the victory.

After a few more years, it was again time to develop the next generation of videogame systems. Sega wanted to redeem itself. First, they pulled the plug on the Saturn even when they still didn't have a new game system. I say it was the right decision. The userbase was so small it was no longer profitable to develop games for it. Better concede defeat and pool the remaining resources to gear up for the next war. However, this pissed a lot of saturn owners in Japan where there was still a profitable userbase, where Sega was still managing to hold its own. Some say this was the reason why the dreamcast wasn't received that well in Japan. Anyway, they seemed to emulate what sony did. The hardware was powerful, the design was so simple that it was easy to develop games for it. It included a modem, which was a sign that they were finally thinking of the future. Those memory cards called VMU's (visual memory unit) were innovative little gadgets where you can play mini games on. The price was attractive to many consumers. Most importantly, the first party games screamed of innovation. The games released for the dreamcast were sega games at their best... Probably because the Sega desperately wanted to atone themselves. They did have a shot. With aggressive promotions, a lot of systems were sold. People seem to have forgotten how they fouled up in the past. They also had a head start. After a year, the Playstation 2 was released. Developers complained that the hardware was a mess, it was difficult to develop games for it. There were also a lot of manufacturing problems, which delayed the mass production of systems. With all the problems hounding Sony at that time, Sega seemed to really have a shot--- then they suddenly pulled the plug on the system, just like that... claiming it was no longer profitable. The dreamcast was at the prime of its life back then. Naturally, developers stopped making games for it. Who would develop games for a system that was already pronounced as dead? Sega's developers may make the greatest games on earth, but their actions show that it's all about the money. Unlike Nintendo who cares about gamers, Sega is no different from those giant corporations like Sony and Microsoft. It's all about money. If there's one thing i've learned from all this, Sega shits on its own followers, it stabs its own fans in the back. I doubt if they'll ever be successful if they return to the hardware business. i wonder if anyone can ever trust a videogame system with the words Sega on it again. I know i won't.

But no matter how despicable Sega as a corporation is, I have to admit that they, together with Nintendo, make the sweetest games. Sure, with the ease to develop for the system, there are a lot of crappy games for it. A lot of third party games were uninspired ports of playstation games. Some ports were heavenly though, like Rayman 2 which fully took advantage of the system's capabilities. The graphics were so beautiful, one would really be immersed in the surreal Rayman universe. For a third party fighting game, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was such a joy to play, with all the madness going on the screen. Speaking of fighting games, nothing could match the level of quality of soul calibur. Sure, sequels were released for the playstation 2 and other systems, but the Dreamcast was the place were it all began. Dreamcast users were already witness to the majesty of Soul Calibur years before Playstation owners. And when it comes to depth, nothing can match the depth of Virtua Fighter 3. Tekken sure is fun to play, but ask anyone who has played VF3, and they'll tell you it's pretty shallow. The other first party games showed Sega at its best. The Saturn had The Panzer Dragoon series and Nights, but the Dreamcast had a lot more high quality games. Space channel 5 was such a guilty pleasure. It looked so fruity that I had to deny I enjoyed it. hehe. The sensation of speed in Sonic Adventure 2 was incredible. So what if some parts were cheesy? It was such a blast to play. So what if the playstation had a lot of RPGs? what the dreamcast had were of extremely high quality. Shenmue was really innovative, and the graphics were breathtaking. It would be impossible not to be immersed in its world. Phantasy Star Online looked boring at first, with seemingly repetitive gameplay and graphics that were not to flashy--- I was eating my words when I coudn't put down the controller whenever i played it. The game was so addicting! But my best RPG experience was when i played skies of Arcadia. I would argue that it's better than the Final Fantasy games that were already released at that time. Everytime I reminisce about the hours I've been playing that game, I can't help but smile. It was so much fun discovering what the whole world of Arcadia had to offer. All those quests, those hidden treasures, all the people encountered, to the epic battles--- such fond memories. Sure the graphics were cartoony, and the story seemed somewhat derivative... I don't care. The bottomline is, I've never had so much fun playing a role playing game in my entire life. My most favorite game for the system however, is Jet Grind Radio. Everything about it screamed innovation. The gameplay, the graphics--- it was a totally novel gaming experience. The cell shading makes the game look like a freaking cartoon, but it's in 3-D! Succeeding games would even copy the innovative graphics later on. And the gameplay... who would've thought skating around town vandalising property while escaping from the police could be so addicting?! and the soundtrack--- I never thought Japanese music could sound so good. Everything about the game was perfect. So what if it was a little short? with so much replay value, you wouldn't care if it only had one level or two. Sure, sega had pimped itself and ported the once exclusive games to other sytems, but it is only in the dreamcast where you can find all those exclusive games on one system. I strongly recommend buying a dreamcast when you find one on sale somewhere. It's technically a current generation game system after all, and a lot of great games are already available for it, and they're most probably dirt cheap. Any real gamer should experience what the dreamcast had to offer.

If sega didn't pull the plug prematurely, then the Dreamcast would probably still be alive, though on its deathbed since the next generation of systems have now arrived. If only the dream didn't end prematurely... How great it would've been if the dream lasted for 5 more years, i would've spent more time in pure gaming bliss. :)

Undeserving

My parents, grandparents, and most of my relatives seem to be extremely generous as of late--- at least to me. It would seem that anything I would ask for, they'd give me. They even insist on buying stuff that i don't want or need, for Christ's sake. A new bed. New furniture. A new TV. A new cellular phone. Any new gadget. New clothes. All expense paid trips abroad. Even a new car.

All this started right after I passed the board exams, after I've managed to have an M.D. attached to my name. They seem to think that I deserved a great reward or something, because I've done some monumental achievement. To an ordinary person, i guess becoming a physician is a great achievement--- however, I don't see it as a great achievement at all.

So I passed the board exams. woo-hoo. big deal. I just earned the right to practice a certain profession. If I had the right to celebrate and make a big deal out of things, then all other professions deserved such fanfare. They never made such a big deal when my siblings graduated and subsequently got jobs. What's the big deal with becoming a doctor anyway? What makes this profession so special? I certainly don't feel special. It takes such a long time to become a doctor, and still the financial returns are many years away. I wouldn't want my children to become doctors unless they really want to, because fulfillment in this profession is a long way off, you'd often wonder if becoming a doctor is worth all the time and effort. Also, so many people become doctors every year, I wonder why new physicians are still seen as special. You'd think one should be unique to be seen as special. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a breeze to get to where I am now. There were some difficult moments in med school, but it wasn't that hard. It was fairly easy to get high grades, thanks to that faulty problem based curriculum wherein you get high grades but don't learn as much. There were many moments during clerkship and internship that were pure torture--- days without sleep, stuck doing the dirty work, practically being slaves, trying to find time to do some studying amidst all the manual labor... and with seniors that kept scolding you and watching your every move, those 2 years were far from being easy. Yet I still feel that I don't deserve all these "rewards" they're giving me. I know I didn't study hard during med school. I spent most of my time going out, partying, watching movies... and when I was at home I'd just watch TV, surf the net, or play videogames. I actually watched more TV and played more videogames when I was in med school than when I was in college. I only studied the night before exams, and there were times when I'd fall asleep while studying, so I was not fully prepared for several exams. I would think that I deserved all these if I really worked hard for it. God knows I also didn't study as much as I could for the board exams, which would explain that average that was just satisfactory. If I got a very high score, then I wouldn't feel so undeserving. I can't help but think that their generosity is misdirected. Such rewards should only be given to those who are truly deserving.

Scientology = Stupidity

I never thought I'd judge a religion I know little of... heck, I thought I'd never judge other religions at all, with my belief that all religions are man-made, we believe in the same superior being, all differences just stem from the differences in each man's way of thinking... but from what I've been hearing about scientology--- I'm sorry to say this, especially to its devout followers out there... but I think the whole thing is pretty stupid.

Some core beliefs are similar to other religions. Like the idea of spiritual cleansing, which seems to be a universal theme. The idea of reincarnation is also present in other religions, but the belief that we lived on other planets during our past lives is literally out of this world. So does the belief that aliens implanted certain thoughts in our head. Silent birth and discouraging breastfeeding? for a medical practitioner, that really sounds kookoo. That "barley" formula made to replace breastfeeding is actually hazardous to a infant's health. For a medical practitioner, their beliefs against psychiatry have no merit either. For people who know better, those who believe in scientology sound like raving lunatics. Disconnection policies and imposing restrictions on members? Accounts of hypnotism? Those are things you'd expect from a cult, not from a religion.

And if all those information are still not enough to convince anyone with at least half a brain that scientology is nothing but a pseudoreligion, I've just read an article describing their wedding ceremonies:

Scientology's "traditional ceremony" includes such advice to the groom as
"Now -----, girls need clothes and food and tender happiness and frills, a pan,
a comb, perhaps a cat. All caprice if you will, but still they need them."

The bride is told: "Hear well, sweet -----, for promise binds. Young
men are free and may forget. Remind him that you may have necessities and
follies, too."

I had to keep myself from laughing out loud. Honestly, I thought the whole article was a joke. How can something that sounds so silly actually be for real? Are they really serious? For anyone with common sense, to think of scientology as an actual religion is a joke. The fact that it has gained a lot of followers is an even bigger joke. Anyone who's gullible enough to believe such bullsh*t must be really really really really stupid.

Adulthood Delayed

It seems that the secret for eternal youth is to keep on studying. It may not hinder one's physical growth--- the added stress can even hasten the wear and tear --- but it surely keeps you feeling young. Even at my age, i feel lost in the ways of the real world. And instead of acting my age, at times I act like people who are 5 years younger than I am.

As I look at my peers, especially those I've known since high school and college, I can see the difference. Most of them started working 5 years ago, when I entered med school. You can say they had a head start in the real world. They've been employed for several years now. Many of them are already married with kids. They already receive salaries that I can only dream of. They also act mature and more responsible.. while i act like some teenager, with few responsibilities, someone who can afford to party all night, wasting my days doing practically nothing. I can see the way some of those old friends look at me. They might think I'm immature. The truth is, i really feel young. How can I not feel young? up to now, I still depend on my parents for almost everything because I still have no source of income. I'm currently a bum, doing nothing of worth. I'm feeling the way they felt 5 years ago. It's as if my growth was delayed for 5 years... you might say that 5 years was taken away from me, as if someone pushed the pause button, and it is only now that my life is playing again. My life as a student has been extended. and although I'll already have a salary come January, residency and fellowship training, which is how I would spend the next 8-10 years, is practically a continuation of my studies. Sometimes I wonder if I've made the right decision, seeing the life my old friends are living now. It will be years before I'll be in their position. They say it's a mixed bag--- there are a lot of sweet stuff, but there are hefty responsibilities that come with the good stuff. They say i have the better life. I see their point. I can act like a fool without hurting others. I can do many things that adults can only be nostalgic about. Sometimes though, I wonder if my life really is better. Sometimes i feel as if I'm going nowhere, as if that pause button still remains pressed...

sometimes it feels like I'm stuck in some sort of limbo.

The Switch

after much apprehension, I've finally made the switch to the new version of blogger in beta. I've been seeing the option for a few months now, but after many harrowing experiences with beta versions of different programs, I've decided to wait a while until they've fixed up all the bugs that are sure to be discovered. This new version really seems better-- with a lot more features, and it still remains user friendly. I just need more time to tinker with the new options available. i just hope my previous entries have really remained intact. :)

Memento

Yeah, after months of searching, I finally got to see Memento. How? I downloaded an illegal copy through some file sharing program. Don't blame me! I've tried so hard to do it legally. I've been searching for an original copy for months, to no avail. So when I did a random search in the internet, and it popped up--- all 750 megabytes of it--- i proceeded to download it.

So what can I say about the movie? Apparently, it's actually Christopher Nolan's second movie. His first movie was Following, a relatively unknown movie shot on a shoestring budget. Critics say it was good, even more so considering the budget it had. It was mostly shown on film festivals, and producers took notice and they proceeded to give him funding for his next film. The Following was shown on more screen after Memento. The film's posters actually show the words "from the director of Memento" in huge letters, even though the film was made earlier.

So, were my huge expectations met? I say "Hell Yeah!". You can say I'm biased because I've already read all those positive reviews the movie had. After I've seen the movie, I say it deserved all the praise it got. That was a complete mind f*ck. If you don't pay attention, you'll get lost. See, the movie basically starts at the end, showing clips lasting for about 10-15 minutes each, moving towards the very beginning. The excitement doesn't lie in seeing how it turns out, but in filling out the blanks, finding out how things happened. The movie has a lot of twists--- just when you thought you've had it all figured out, the next scene shows that all your assumptions were wrong. Those few negative reviews said that the way they edited the movie was just a gimmickto make a very simple story look complicated. True enough, when viewed in reverse, the movie's plot really seems simple. But they're completely missing the point. The way it was edited completely fits the movie, it further immerses the audience to the point of view of the main actor. He has this condition wherein he can't form new thoughts--- everything that happens, he'll forget in a few minutes, so he has to take pictures, write stuff down. We can see how things happen before his very eyes. We can even relate to the character, trying hard to remember every detail, because once we don't pay attention and forget the previous events, we get lost. Like the character, the audience is put into some sort of struggle with memory. And there's so much to see, so many clues to watch out for, that the second viewing is even more pleasurable.

It's hard to believe such a film can be made early in a director's career. The future looks very promising indeed.

Oh yeah, here's a site where a critic discusses everything about Memento. It's best read after seeing the movie. :)

A Shocker

All the time i was asleep, there was a commotion outside. See, I have a reverse sleep-wake cycle. Now that I'm bumming around, my sleep patterns have reverted back to "normal". I sleep at around 7 AM, I wake up at 3-4 PM, so everyone's basically awake when I sleep. I have a vague recollection of someone opening the door to my room, checking if I was awake. I think it was our maid, wanting to ask me something. When I finally woke up this afternoon, I found out why she was trying to wake me up. The answer was a shock.

This morning, our family driver just died. In his sleep. They wanted me to confirm if he was really dead. He wasn't up at around 7AM, and he had to take my sister to school, so they checked his room. If they only told me why they were trying to wake me up, I would've woken up. Such news would surely drain all sleepiness from my body. Then again---- maybe I would've chickened out and pretended to sleep. Not that I've never encountered death--- I'm actually numb to death, with all the deaths I've witnessed. It's just that I've never proclaimed someone dead on my own yet... am I just supposed to check the vital signs, pupillary reactions, or am I also supposed to check for post mortem lividity as well to estimate the time of death? Okay, I guess that's too much. But who will I report it to? The local hospital? The city government? All those things I've learned about legal medicine seem to have flown out the window, and I've already lent my old books to someone. Bu more than that--- It's just too weird, and creepy, when you proclaim someone you actually know personally, someone you've known all these years, someone you were close to, as dead. And he lived with us. Even if he's not family, he was almost like family. And we never expected it. For one thing, he was young, only a few years older than me. And we never knew his underlying condition. When my dad called his wife, he found out he had some heart ailment, plus diabetes. And he goes on occasional drinking sprees even with such conditions. They also can't believe it, because they've just talked to him on the phone 2 days ago. When he first became our driver, he was only 21 i think, and I saw him as somewhat arrogant back then, some happy go lucky, irreponsible pr*ck, with an air of pride around him. He was also kinda slow both in thinking and in action. And I remember being so irritated everytime he asks me to loan him money--- because he did that a lot of times. He was fired after 2 years i think, which was expected, so I was surprised my father hired him again. But I was more surprised to see that he has changed into someone really mature. I saw how having a family changed him into a responsible man. And he became some sort of a buddy, especially to my sisters, probably because he's almost our age. i suppose we're going to his wake, I just don't know when. He's still in the morgue, apparently. They're still waiting for his wife who is still in the province. Everything still seems surreal, no one seems to be looking that far ahead yet.

A Great Disservice

I was back in the hospital earlier, gathering the paperworks needed for residency, and to have several lab exams done to get my clearance. I've noticed how inefficient some employees were, back when I was still an intern... but falling in line with the rest of the people to get papers signed and to have labs done further opened my eyes.

Maybe because I've rotated in different hospitals before so I can't help but compare --- but a lot of PGH nurses are extremely inefficient. Using that term is putting it nicely. A lot of those nurses are just plain lazy. And when I say a lot, I mean MAJORITY. The fact that even those who never worked in other hospitals notice their laziness says a lot. Where else can you see nurses who can't be disturbed during their "meal breaks", even when there's an emergency? One time in the medicine wards, a patient went into arrest at around 12 AM, and no nurses were coming even when we kept on shouting for them. Apparently, they were having their midnight snacks. They eventually came after a few minutes, and I wondered what difference it made because they made lousy assistants. Then one time when I was on solo duty at the Cancer Institute, a patient went into arrest, and no nurse came to assist me even when I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I had to run back to the nurse station which was within hearing distance, and found them in the middle of endorsements, which is another one of their "untouchable" sessions. The outgoing shift wanted to get out of their as soon as possible, hence they don't want their endorsement sessions to be disturbed. They don't want to go into overtime, so they pretend to be deaf. Granted there was this one nurse who did try to help me, and she seemed sincere when she apologized for the behavior of her co workers--- I saw the shame in her eyes. But the rest of them didn't really care. I've never met people who are so obssessed and strict with time, with their work shifts. Even in the operating room, they mumble and grumble when they go into overtime, and no amount of pleading would work if it would mean that they'd have to compromise their time. During our breast mission, one patient's operation was postposed because the previous operation was delayed, hence the following would start a few minutes late. Who cares if we were doing it for charity? Apparently only the doctors give a damn about charity work. If it means sacrificing their time, nurses don't give a f*ck. So what if they go into overtime?! It's expected in their profession, for you can never tell when emergencies can happen. If they can't deal with that, then they'd better find some other sort of work for they are in the wrong profession. What makes it even more sickening is the fact that they only work 8 hours each day, and they have the nerve to complain about time! Depending on our residency program, some doctors rarely get to go home! and so what if they go on graveyard shifts at times? When I go to their stations after midnight, most, if not all of them are asleep. And to think I haven't slept at all for days, and there I was still working. Everytime i hear one of them complain about their f*cking work schedules i try so hard to keep myself from shutting them up.

I noticed though, that those nurses at the private divisions seem to be better. What would account for such difference? Is it because in the charity divisions, they're serving people who don't pay much, or don't pay at all for their services? Does that give any person a right to give substandard service? i noticed the same inefficiency when I do some transactions at several government offices. Inefficiency is rampant. Laziness is commonplace. When lunch break lasts from 12 noon to 1 PM, expect it to start at 11 AM and end at 2 PM. And they cannot be disturbed during such breaks. And at government institutions, good public relations doesn't seem to exist. Most workers aren't accomodating and friendly; mst are antagonistic. each time you'd ask for their help, it's as if they're doing you a really big favor. Even if it's part of their duty to help you, they act as if they're being disturbed. If they don't want to deal with people, they'd better put themselves inside a box and look for work there instead. If they're in a line of work that involves service and yet views service as a huge burden --- these people better quit there jobs. For I cannot think of a greater disservice, than getting substandard service or no service at all from those people who are meant to serve.

Malware Attack !!!

Just had my laptop fixed and upgraded, and I've been busy copying my old files from my back-up discs. I've also been downloading several essential programs from the net--- plus some not so essential ones, but still quite useful. Apparently, one of those non essential programs have some malware attached to them, i can't pinpoint which one exactly. Out of the blue, several critical alert messages have been popping up, saying my computer was infected with a lot of spyware and viruses! upon clicking the balloon, several websites would open containing links to programs to be downloaded, all of which claim to be the solution to viruses and spyware that have suddenly infected my laptop! I ran a system scan with my anti virus and anti spyware software, yet mysteriously no viruses were found. No spyware either. There was something fishy. The fact that the same links to the same programs kept popping up further intensified my suspicions. Internet explorer wasn't working properly--- any web address i typed eventually led to sites advertising those programs, so I did a search with firefox. A lot of people have been encountering the same problem! My laptop was infected with malware! And not just one, but 4 different kinds! The fact that my updated and EXPENSIVE anti virus/ spyware software failed to detect them further pissed me off! For crying out loud, a FREE online scan detected those malware! They didn't really do harm to my system, but those endless pop-ups were really annoying! I've spent 4 hours trying to get my system back to the way it was! THe process was quite complicated... downloading several programs, manually deleting files... I can't help but get really pissed at the people behind the malware--- obviously the same people who make the software that were supposed to be the "solution". What devious, scheming assh*les! How low can a person get, to stoop down to such a level of trickery, just to sell a product?! misleading common people, making them think that their systems are infected, when in truth there are no viruses nor spyware at all, just an irritating malware designed to advertise their stupid products?! Good thing I had the common sense to ignore those products--- their stupid brand names were a giveaway thay something wasn't right. i hope they go bankrupt one of these days.

>:(

If there's one good thing I've learned out of this, it's that the world still has a lot of good people. A lot of computer experts were willing to help strangers with their computer woes--- for free. It's amazing how they would post detailed instructions in the discussion boards, and how incredibly patient they were, especially if the technical problems of the stangers asking for their help never seem to end. And yeah, I've discovered the wonders of Firefox also, which has now become my default internet browser. As one of those experts have said--- ditch internet explorer, which is vulnerable to a lot of threats. Use firefox instead.

... he also said stop using windows which is vulnerable to a lot of threats and use Linux instead--- but I'm not ready to make that leap yet. hehe.