FAT!!! (Part Deux)

Ahhhh!! I'm really fat!! So fat that when I wear some shirts, I look like George Clooney wearing his batsuit. Argh!!!

Solutions to the fat problem:
1. Eat normal portions when I travel (in other words, eat only 50% of what I normally eat when I travel).
2. Run at least twice a week (no excuses!)
3. Try the hoola hoop (saw it at Punggol CC yesterday). I am told that it would help one reduce one's waistline. According to Jun Ming, it is easily available, but I think I'm blind ....
4. Wear darker clothing. Darker clothing makes a person look less fat than he really is.

Solution number one will be tough. With so much good food right in front of me, it is hard to resist the temptation to take just one more bite. I reckon I must've tried half the fancy restaurants in KL. My colleagues who travel with me also tend to order a lot, which does not help my waist trimming the slightest bit.

Solution number two really depends. In some places such as Brisbane in Australia, I am quite inspired to exercise three times a week, as the air is fresh, and the environment pleasant to run in. For other places like Hong Kong, Calcutta and Kuala Lumpur, it is a bad idea to run outside unless you do not mind getting lung cancer. In these places, the hotel gym plays a huge role in my inspiration to run.

Some gyms like the gym in Excelsior Hotel in Hong Kong and the Sheraton Sonar Bangla Hotel in Calcutta is very nice and conducive for exercising -- I exercised almost once every two days in these locations. Others like the hotel I lived at in KL, and another hotel I lived at in Calcutta (I cannot name them for obvious reasons) were far less inspiring. I never paid these gyms a second visit, and grew fatter in the subsequent weeks.

Solution number three sounds interesting. If only I can figure out how to get the hoop to stay around my waist ....

Solution number four is something I will be practicing whenever I go out. Don't be surprised to see a man in black.

I hope the air is fresh in Stuttgart.

"You are going to Germany ..... tonight."

This morning, I went to work happily, thinking it was going to be an uneventful day. Little would I have known that I would be packing my bags right now, planning to go to some place across the world!

At about 12:30pm today, my manager told me that I might have to go to Germany. Germany? I thought to myself. Last week, I had been told that I had to go to India, so I went to the Indian High Commission to apply for a visa. That did not happen eventually. Later, I was told I might be going to Australia, but that did not happen too. So I thought, maybe Germany will not happen too. Besides, my manager did not yet know where in Germany I was supposed to go, so it seemed even less likely to me that I would be heading there at all.

In any case, I went ahead to make arrangements to retrieve my passport (which was in the process of obtaining a visa from the Indian embassy). I also confirmed that it was ok for Malaysians to travel to Germany without a visa. Having done all that, I spent the rest of the day awaiting the final decision (which I still thought was highly unlikely). Then at 5:00pm, my manager came back to me.

"Looks like you're going to Germany after all."
"Ok, when?"
"Tonight. I want you to go ahead and get back your passport, and then make arrangements to fly to Germany."
"Tonight??? Ok, so which part of Germany am I going to?"
"Stuttgart. Now, let us see what flight you can get ... ahhhh 11:20pm on Air France! You can leave tonight." (at least I know where I'm going to now :P)
"Who am I meeting over there?"
"We are still trying to arrange that."
"Errr ... ok. Looks like I will have a lot of things to do in the next few hours -- get back my passport, book my flight, book my hotel, and pack my bags."
"Just go home and pack your bags now. I will help you with the flight booking and we'll try to see if you can pick up the ticket at the airport."

I must confess I was a little panicked, seeing that there was not much time left between then and the flight departure time. Still, I think I am becoming quite an expert in packing. Just give me one hour, and I am ready to leave the country for several months.

That was what I did. By 7:30PM, I had finished packing. Now I have some time left until I have to go to the airport. I am still waiting for my manager to let me know what the flight arrangements are.

Now, I do look forward to the prospect of going to Germany. However, I wish I had a little more time than 3 hours to prepare for it. I guess that is why I love this job.

Sad future for Information Technology professionals

Gone are the days when calling yourself an IT professional was hip. In fact, it looks like the situation is not going to get any better. I've observed this trend for quite a while, and the article Programming Jobs Losing Luster in US confirms that it is an irreversible trend.

Changes in the last few years have meant that IT professionals must posess multi-faceted skills. It is no longer enough to be just a pure techie -- one must be able to face customers, to manage projects, and to have deep understanding of business proceses. Most importantly, one has to be able to adapt to one's environment, and quickly.

A good time for all of us IT professionals to re-evaluate our career objectives.

The best Batman I've ever seen

Before I continue, I must confess that I was initially rather reluctant to watch Batman Begins. Part of this reluctance stems from my experience with the earlier Batman releases, all of which had rather cheesy storylines. For example, Batman and Robin had that combination of action and comedy that seemed more appropriate for Jackie Chan movies. Poison Ivy and the Iceman hardly seemed like a serious threat at all -- they were more comical than diabolical. What's more, Batman's motives are unknown -- we are presented with a crime fighter with a very generic personality.

Contrast that with Batman Begins. Gotham City is rotten to the core -- senior government officials fratenize with crime lords, and most of the police force have been paid off. The rich indulge themselves in luxurious and sensual pursuits, while the poor and homeless see no hope in the future. Crime is rampant, and even the "good" police are helpless to apprehend criminals when the entire system seems to be working against their efforts. In comparison, Gotham city in the earlier versions of Batman seemed like a colourful and cheery place to live in.

Bruce Wayne himself is a character who is tortured by his own personal demons. As a kid, he watches his parents getting gunned down by a petty thief. As an adult, he wanders around the world, getting himself involved with unsavoury elements, picking fights with small-time criminals, before finally landing himself in a Chinese prison. Little wonder why he is so messed-up. He is rescued by a mysterious character from a secret society known as the League of Shadows, a society dedicated to "restoring the balance in the world", by destroying cities that have become too corrupted. He is taught the art of combat, and becomes one of their best students. Alas, Bruce disagrees with the methods of the League of Shadows, and he breaks with them. When he returns to Gotham City, he finds that he has to confront: 1) the city's crime lord, and 2) a secret conspiracy against Gotham city.

One of my previous gripes about Batman was that his costume had always seemed a little cheesy. That certainly didn't cross my mind in Batman Begins. Costume-wise, Batman has improved by leaps and bounds. There is none of that cheesy-looking underwear anymore. Batman is now clothed totally in black. Plus, he has the charisma and screen presence that one would expect from him.

Despite what everyone else says, I found myself liking Batman Begins. In my opinion, it is most definitely the best Batman of the entire series so far, and every bit as good as Spiderman. Perhaps, my expectations had been tremendously lowered by all the previous releases of Batman? If the same directors are going to produce the next version of Batman, I am certainly looking forward to it.