Jotwein's World

I’ve been staring at the IAP/IBP submission screen for a good 15-20 mins. And I still can’t decide whether or not to submit it now. It’s such a difficult decision because even though I’ve chosen my desired area, I don’t know whether or not to choose IBP over IAP/OIAP.

There are so many things to consider, yet so little time to consider them all. But writing the last paragraph has made me realise that I haven’t submitted ‘cos I’m lazy to attach and click send. Okay I’ll do that now.

Just submitted. Don’t feel exceptionally relieved I must say. But indeed this kinda marks a new chapter in my mass comm education. It’s time to leave school and strike it out in the industry, local or overseas, and more importantly, without friends and lecturers around.

Yeah, I applied for OIAP too. I’m eyeing the position at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. But that’s just a dream.

So anyway, here are my choices in order.

1. Journalism
2. TV Production
3. PR
4. Events
5. Radio
6. Web Design
7. Advertising
8. Media Research

Hm.. Sounds interesting doesn’t it?

Recently I’ve upgraded my Macbook to 4GB RAM and 320GB HDD. Now for this awesome upgrade I naturally turned to Sim Lim Square. Last Saturday I went down with Mummy dearest to procure the various components. Here’s what we wanted to buy:

- 4 Kingston 2GB DDR2 SO-DIMM RAM modules for laptops
- 1 External DVD Drive
- 1 Western Digital 320GB 2.5″ SATA External HDD

But here’s what we ended up getting the first time round:

- 4 Kingston 2GB DDR2 DIMM RAM modules for desktops ($39.90 each)
- 1 Pioneer Internal DVD Drive ($45)
- 1 Western Digital 320GB 2.5″ SATA External HDD ($129)

Naturally, we didn’t know where it went wrong so we went home with the above three, only to find that the 4 RAM modules weren’t the ones we wanted. So I went back to Sim Lim and got the right ones.

So I happily installed everything that I wanted. Then, Mum informed me that the DVD drive had no cable with it so she couldn’t use it. So on Friday, I went down to get a cable for her, only to find that the drive was an internal DVD unit for CPU.

Finally, I went back again yesterday to exchange the internal drive for an external drive. So finally, here’s what we got in the end:

- 4 2GB Kingston DDR SO-DIMM RAMs ($49 each)
- 1 LG External DVD Drive ($99)
- 1 Western Digital 320GB 2.5″ SATA External HDD ($129)

So the actual purpose of this post is really to give some tips (based on what I’ve experienced) for shopping at the fabled IT thrift store (as opposed to Funan).

1. Know EXACTLY what you want. Not just in terms of ‘I want a hard drive’ but which hard drive. Get the brand name, model number, specifications, what it looks like, anything that can help you get your desired product. For example, the mistake I made with the RAMs was I didn’t check on the Internet first which RAM I required. So while I knew I wanted 2GB Kingston, I didn’t know that I needed SO-DIMM.

2. Be DAMN clear when you ask for things. Just because they’re IT salespeople it doesn’t mean they know what it is you want. So be sure you are clear about what is is you want and what its desired purpose is. Which brings me to the next point.

3. It is worth noting that sometimes the salespeople do not get what you are saying. For example, I actually knew what I wanted and I told the person who attended to me what it was I actually needed. I told him very clearly I want Kingston 2GB RAMs for laptops, and an external DVD drive. The result, well you all know. So it’s good to know what the thing looks like also.

4. Ask plenty of questions. Anything you’re unsure about, do ask. Even if the questions seem stupid or very ‘DUH!’, as long as you get the final product that you are out to get, that’s the most important part of it.

5. Go with an open mind and prepare to do a considerable amount of walking around before you actually buy something. This is especially the case with Sim Lim because the prices around can vary. For example, the hard drive I got was $129, but it was going at another shop for $155. So while it can be argued that the price in the market should be pretty much the same, the prices can also vary to some extent.

I hope that this post helps if you want to shop for IT stuff at Sim Lim Square. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.

I am swamped.

But I’m kinda happy. Ironic huh. I don’t know. One thing I will complain about though, is that this is only the 2nd week of school and already I’m gasping for air.

Well I can’t profess to be holding up perfectly well can I? I would be superhuman if I could. Or a liar. A very big liar.

So I’m just taking things one at a time. Though not exactly handling the pressure as well as I want to, I think I’m doing quite okay!

As I type this, there are several things waiting for me to handle. Which is why I’m here blogging, which is kinda why I’m so tired of everything, I guess. But at least there’s no class tomorrow! So I’ll be doing work.

Oh joy, I lead such a wonderful life.

Oh lookie, it’s gonna be Week 2 in about 2 hours’ time. Time passes so quickly doesn’t it? It’s almost shocking.

I realised I haven’t yet set goals or resolutions for the new semester. I’m wondering if I should, but considering I don’t really know what else to write about in this post, I think I shall.

(While I type this, I’m sitting outside at the dining table because Cabe’s playing hip hop and I absolutely can’t stand it. Hip hop, R&B, anything remotely similar to that, I can’t stand it.)

Actually y’know what, I think I’ll create a meme (that kinda shows how bored I am).

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This post was originally going to comprise of a list of things I want but cannot get. But after what’s happened in the last… about one hour, I’ve decided to change what I’m going to blog about.

I don’t profess to be an expert on technology. But all things considered I’m not an idiot either. Earlier I attempted to configure my Internet for some purposes and upon failing, I felt truly vulnerable. I still feel vulnerable.

I don’t exactly know what it is that has caused me to feel this way, but I guess it just shows me what I’m not good at. But what am I good at? What am I the go-to guy for? I haven’t answered that question yet.

Inadequacy is a scary thing. Jack of all trades, master of none.

Okay so I know I haven’t really been blogging since I set this place up and I’m sorry to those who check regularly to see if I’ve updated only to find I haven’t (namely Jesley Zheng). If there are more of you who do that, I’m sorry to you too.

Anyway, loads have happened since the last time I posted on the second day of school. Basically it’s 1.37AM on Sunday the 19th of October 2008 (yes I checked a calendar for that) and we’ve just been through our first week of school. Let’s recap.

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Hello! I know I should have done this yesterday but it was a long day and I got home late so I did the only reasonable thing to do. I came online for a while to chat and check email then I went to bed.

So.. I don’t exactly know how this whole thing works I guess I’ll just post as normally as I can. I haven’t quite figured out how to move all my LJ posts over here (though I did figure out I can actually do that) so that’ll be the next thing to come. Other things in the works include:

a) Personal portfolio (once I get down to actually doing it)
b) More pages (links, etc etc)
c) Website icon (like the LJ/Blogger/WP/BBC/CNA icons)

Okay, I know josh.nekokun.net doesn’t look as cool and exclusive as perhaps jotwein.com (kinda makes nekokun.net look like a free blog provider), but it’s good for now.

I can’t believe school’s started already. It’s only been 2 days but I’m beginning to get pretty sick of school.

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Hello there! Welcome to the inaugural post of josh.nekokun.net. For a while now I’ve been thinking of setting up my own site. Y’know, away from the Livejournal and Wordpress hosting etc. (Okay fine, this blog’s still hosted at Wordpress, but it’s got my own domain name!)

Enter nekokun.net.

This site was the brainchild of myself and my good friend James. (Check him out at jam.nekokun.net, though there’s nothing there yet) It was set up as a joint project and with the possibility of going into business together in future as nekokun photography. That of course, is still in the works.

So probably once I’ve gotten back to Singapore (to those who know, I’m in China) and gathered and made formal announcements and whatnot, I’ll start posting here fulltime. Till then, this is just a little note for those who have been informed.

Cheers!