Saturday, September 29, 2007

Got the Right Card

I finally got the right SD card for my phone. It's not the mini but the micro one. Buy.com had a great deal for a 2 gig card and USB gadget so I can read it from my 'puter.

Now, I can off load the pictures I took from my phone. The phone actually takes some great pictures if only the operator does not shake I generally don't agree with all the stuff one can now do with a phone, but the camera is a great idea. I don't have to remember to bring a camera with me. With the 2G SD card, I can take as many photos as I can. I have not tried taking videos yet. One of these days.

Maybe I'll put a couple of songs on the phone. Nah, that's what my MP3 is for. Though if I forgot the MP3, I would be tuneless. Nope, I won't do it.

At Last, Disneyland

I finally had to do it. I missed Disneyland so much. In the prior years, I would visit the place at least 5 times a year.

It was destiny. The moons were aligned. I could not fly on client's dime so Continental had a great deal. My work schedule even accomodated my visit.

I flew out early Saturday morning, Sept 15, got upgraded to First Class, enjoyed a great breakfast and landed in Los Angeles 10am. I got my rental car and headed straight to Disneyland. I met my friend and her 4 year old grandson. We rode Space Mountain, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Peter Plan's Flight, and Pirates of the Caribbean. After returning the kid to his Daddy, we hit Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, had dinner at Cafe Orleans and ended our day with "Remember... Dreams Come True" Fireworks.

On Sunday, after a bit of shopping, I headed back to the park. I did a bit more shopping I picked up all the pins I've missed for the last several months. My poor credit card I tried to catch the Disney's Aladdin (a musical show) at Disney's California Adventure (DCA) park, but they only had seats in the balcony. I didn't want to sit there because you miss some stuff. Instead, I checked out Disney's candy corn decor (see pictures) -- very cute. I headed back to Disneyland and caught Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. I had dinner at the French Market (yummy fried chicken). I then got my spot for Fantasmic. It was very handy to have my PDA and MP3 so I able to entertain myself for 2 hours before the show started. It's a ritual at the park to stake out your place. There are no more good spots an hour before the show.

Monday arrives and it's my last day here. I got up at 6am so I could be in the same time zone as my colleagues on the East Coast. I finished up work at 4pm. Guess what? I headed back to the park. LOL No worries. I'm an annual passholder and can go in and out as many times as I want. I caught High School Musical 2: School's Out at DCA and found additional candy corns that I missed. At DLR, I caught Billy Hill and the Hillbillies again. I ended my trip with Parade of Dreams. Then off to the airport to catch my redeye flight to home.

Now I got to plan my next trip. Definitely have to head back there in December for their Christmas decor.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Fallen...But Not Forgotten

I really started thinking about of this day yesterday when I looked at my bookmark. I grabbed a bookmark and slipped it into one of the several books that I threw into my suitcase for this week.

Well I pulled the book I was going to read first and noticed the bookmark for the first time last night. It happens to have a picture of what the area looks like now, but reflecting in the river is the Twin Towers. The backdrop for both pictures is a flag. It says "FALLEN... ...BUT NOT FORGOTTEN". Very odd that I picked up this bookmark to take with me.

This day holds many memories... tis my oldest sis' birthday. I've worked right across the street from the Twin Towers for many years. I worked for one of the World Financial Center companies for 12 years. I walked through one of the Towers to cross the overhead bridge to get to my office. I saw the automatic window washers move up and down on the Towers. Yes, I've even rode the elevators to visit some of the offices there. I always thought that the complex will always be there. I will one day visit the Observation Deck and eat at Windows on the World. The things we take for granted.

I knew what the newscasters were saying as they reported about the area. It was my backyard for many years. My parents, now just Mom, still lived in Chinatown. Majority of my siblings worked in Manhattan. As the city came to a stand still and trying to figure out what's happening, family came thru to ensure everyone had a place to stay. I discovered later on that my sister-in-law was just a block away.

My company did work for one of the company's that had one of the highest lost ratio. We worried that we may have had consultants still there. I learned later on that an ex-company president had just left the Tower after a sales meeting.

I will remember the fellow consultants I was with when we first got the news that something hit the first tower -- we were in Charlotte, North Carolina on assignment. Our whole group and lots of company employees watched the whole thing transpire on a big screen in the cafeteria.

On this day, the United States air travel came to a stand still. While I and some others stayed in Charlotte because we could not get home for the weekend, the others came up with a game plan to get home. I think it was a one car drive from Charlotte NC to Houston TX with stops in Atlanta, New Orleans and Dallas.

I saw, read and heard of many stories of people helping each other. Some had happy endings and many around the tragic sites did not. Yes.... sadly.... thoughtfully....

FALLEN... BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Monday, September 3, 2007

Computers and Me

I use to have personal computers. Yes, computers. Not all at the same time.

My first one was an Atari 2600 (not sure about the numbers). I mainly brought it for the games and visions of learning basic. I still have this computer with it's peripherials.

The second one was an Apple IIfx. This was the largest expenditure I had after the mortgage. Several years later, my first car became the largest expenditure. The Apple is still in the family. My bro has it, and I think he has plans to take it apart after he finishes renovating the house.

At about the time I got the IIfx, my employer started giving me a portable computer so I can monitor and troubleshoot system problems after hours. It was the size of a portable Singer sewing machine. When the PC became more powerful, employer decided to give me one for home -- desktop with dot matrix printer.

When I became a consultant, my employer provided me with a laptop. Since I was on the road constantly, I did everything on the laptop -- work and personal stuff.

At some point, I did buy a desktop -- a Compaq Presario. I did not spend much time on it because of the laptop. Too much hassle moving stuff back and forth between the two machines. When my niece said she needed a pc, I gave it to her and brought myself a newer desktop -- Dell with the latest available processor. My oldest sister finally became a homeowner and needed a pc to do whatever. So I gave her the Dell. It was sitting in my home office gathering dust. I still had my work lappy. I heard through the grapevine that she may have passed this pc onto my niece cause the Compaq died.

Well, the work laptop was not feeling well last week and I sent it to Doc IT for fixing. The laptop came back.

I cannot run my IM software (Trillian) on the lappy. Darn employer has put a locked down on software they frown upon. So now I cannot talk to anyone via the lappy when I'm on the road The cheapest form of communication when you have an internet connection.

I'm loading back software slowly and hope there are no others that are being prohibited. It might come down to buying my own personal something again. Most likely a laptop, but I don't look forward to carry two laptops with me when I'm on the road.

Oh, well, gotta see what happens. Almost to the point I want to retire. If I only won the $330 million lottery.