The RubeTube

This past month has been the busiest and most eventful one in recent memory (for me). It's rather ironic, therefore, that I have not posted a single meaningful update about my personal life in nearly two months. (With the lone exception of my birthday post, which was even one day overdue!)

Perhaps it's because this past month has been so overwhelming that I've lost the time and energy (but not the interest) to blog. So I'm planning to make up for it since I have quite a bit of free time on my hands now. Here's a brief rundown of what's been going on in my life:

1. I went on a Boracay vacation with Andreé. Just a 3-day, 2-night getaway, which also coincided with our second anniversary last August 13. We both had a blast! Everything was perfect!
   
2. I joined the 2007 Rubik's Cube Philippines Open (RCPO 2007). This was the first-ever official Rubik's Cube competition held in the Philippines, held last August 25, and I felt tremendously honored to be part of history. I did well for myself, I think: 17th (out of 28) in the 3x3x3 category, and 8th (out of 17) in the 2x2x2 category. Not bad at all! And now I have my own personal records page with the World Cube Association. Cool, huh?
   
3. I've resigned from HP. Yes, I'm no longer an HP employee. My last working day was last Friday, August 31. I lasted exactly one year at HP; quite interesting, doncha think? My last few weeks at HP were also very eventful and memorable (and busy).
   
4. I'll be joining Microsoft. Some of you already know this, but for the benefit of those who don't, yes, I'm joining Microsoft. I'll be working at their headquarters in Redmond, WA as a Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) starting October 1. I'm very busy with my preparations (with my move and all) and I'll be flying to the U.S. on September 27.
   

A lot of shocking and surprising developments, huh? I'll write more about those events in the next few posts. It should be much easier to write now that I've regained some of my momentum again.

Labels: Andree, Boracay, contests, HP, Microsoft, Philippines, RCPO 2007, Rubik's cube, vacation, work

(This will be a long story, I promise.)

My work laptop died last night. Well, not completely. It could only boot Windows part of the way; it goes up to the black boot-up screen with the Windows XP logo and the animating bars, but then the hard disk just stops reading all of a sudden while the bars just keep scrolling along. None of the three supposedly-safe modes worked either; at some point I get in the boot-up process, a BSOD flashes briefly and causes my laptop to restart.

After all that, I gave up on trying to get Windows to boot and focused instead on getting my important files (work-related files, downloads, Outlook data, and some personal stuff) to a safe location, and repairing my Windows installation. I had hunch that my Windows installation just got corrupted but the rest of my files were still intact; this hunch would later prove to be correct. The easiest way would've been to call the help desk and get my laptop repaired, but that's for wimps. I figured I could solve this on my own.

Step 1 was to backup my files to my external hard disk; I needed to do this just in case everything is wiped out in the process of reinstalling Windows. I had to find a way to get my files directly to the external hard disk because my personal laptop didn't have enough space. As you can probably imagine, I tried many methods to get this done:

1. I already had a burned CD of Ubuntu Linux 6.06 (Dapper Drake). From the Live CD, it could read from my laptop's hard disk (the files were still intact). Although writing to NTFS (my external hard disk's file system) from Linux was still risky, I didn't have much of a choice. I did some research and found NTFS-3G, a stable read/write driver for NTFS partitions. However, I couldn't get it installed properly even if I added the proper apt-get repository.
2. I installed Samba on Ubuntu so I could set up a file share on my mounted laptop hard disk. I tried the best I could, but I wasn't able to find the file share from my personal laptop, even if my work laptop could be seen in the Windows workgroup.
3. I set up the IIS default FTP web site on my personal laptop to have a home directory directly on the external hard disk. After disabling the firewalls (and unplugging the Internet connection), it worked! But only for a while. I got some weird write-speed issues after a few gigs were copied over.
4. Finally, I decided to download the latest version of Ubuntu, 7.04 Feisty Fawn, which had NTFS-3G in it's Ubuntu universal repository. I had to download it overnight and burn the image to disk, but it worked! I got it installed properly and both drives were mounted successfully. All of my important files were safely copied over to the external hard disk.
   

After I felt confident that my files were safe, I went about reinstalling Windows. I had a Windows XP Pro with SP2 CD lying around at home. But as you can guess, it wasn't so simple:

1. I put the CD in the tray and restarted my laptop. My heart stopped for a few moments when I got to the part where I'm supposed to pick an installation to repair, but Windows told me it couldn't find any hard disks! W. T. F. I soon realized that my laptop had a SATA hard disk and the Windows CD didn't have any SATA drivers for it.
2. I downloaded the SATA driver from the HP website but for some stupid reason, it would only extract to a floppy disk! Last time I checked, most laptops don't have floppy drives anymore so I had to extract to a "virtual floppy disk"; I'd heard of virtual CD/DVDs before, but a virtual floppy disk???
   
3. At the start of Windows setup, you can press F6 to provide setup with third-party drivers for your hard disk. Unfortunately, it could only read those drivers from a floppy disk. W. T. F.
4. Using the instructions detailed here, I used nLite to create an installation CD with the SATA driver included. But just when I thought there was light at the end of the tunnel, Windows still couldn't detect the hard disk.
   

In the end, I just decided to give up, while I still had my sanity (and my files!) intact. Even if I had somehow managed to repair Windows, I still couldn't know for sure if it would finally boot. I called the help desk, somehow managed to explain my situation to an Indian call center agent, and had someone get on my case. I still went to the office, but I spent the rest of my day extremely unproductive. I got very little sleep (two hours, while Feisty Fawn was downloading) and spent half a day acting like a hacker.

If you managed to read through this whole blog entry, then I'll have spared you some trouble if you ever experience this exact same problem. Two words: reformat, reinstall. (Or possibly: use Ubuntu.)

Labels: :(, HP, laptops, work

With help from a timely 20-percent-off-on-all-items sale at Powerbooks, I was able to get myself a copy (the last one!) of one of the hottest business/management books today: The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't by Robert Sutton. I found out about The No Asshole Rule from Guy Kawasaki's blog. There's also an "Asshole Rating Self-Exam (ARSE)" that you can take to find out how much of an asshole you are; I scored a 4, which makes me a non-asshole.

I haven't finished reading the whole book, but so far, it's been worth every penny. The book tackles the problem of assholes in the workplace, and discusses their damaging effects and ways to mitigate their impact. I love how the author is unafraid to use the word "asshole"; I agree with him that there simply is no better word to label those jerks who make the world a drearier place to live in.

One of the best sections I've read so far is the one listing the factors that contribute to your organization's "Total Cost of Assholes", or TCA. The argument is that tolerating the presence of assholes will end up costing your organization a lot, even if the asshole is always one of the top performers. Here are some of the ways that an asshole can kick your ass:

• Damage to victims and witnesses: distraction from tasks, loss of motivation, absenteeism
• Damage to the asshole him/herself: humiliation, job loss, long-term career damage
• Consequences for management: time spent "cooling out" victims, time spent replacing departed assholes

While I was reading the book, I couldn't help but feel tremendously fortunate to be working at such an asshole-free environment like the one at HP. Let me repeat that: no one at HP is an asshole! Surely, there have been some cases of "temporary assholes", but I haven't met any "certified assholes" so far. If there are any certified assholes at all among us, then they are most definitely first-class assholes to be able to hide their asshole-ness behind a sweet, non-asshole exterior. I'm proud to say that we are very efficient at weeding out assholes and making sure they don't infest our workplace.

But if there are no assholes at HP, then why did I buy the book? Aside from the in-your-face title and eye-catching cover, I just wanted to find out if I was an asshole myself. So am I one? You tell me. (Am I being one right now?)

(P.S. If you work for an asshole-infested organization, it's probably not a good idea to let your officemates know you're reading The No Asshole Rule... or this blog entry, for that matter. They may not easily realize it or admit it, but deep down inside, assholes just know they're assholes.)

Labels: assholes, books, HP, management, work

A couple of months ago, some of our managers engaged in a "Biggest Loser"-like contest. The goal? To lose the most weight after a fixed period of time. (To make things fair, they measured the percentage loss instead of just the raw difference.) The pot was huge; each manager put in a hefty 2,000 bucks, winner takes all.

Not to be outdone, us subordinates got into our own little contest: two months, 16 contestants, 500 bucks each, winner takes all, runner-up loses nothing (as a consolation). Do the math; that's a huge potential pay-off! And instead of measuring the percentage change in weight, we used the percentage change in body fat index as our metric; after all, muscle weighs more than fat which would put the already-fit people at a disadvantage.

(If you're wondering how we measure body fat index, we use those 5-peso machines at Mercury Drug which measures your height, weight, body fat index, and even blood pressure! Those machines are pretty inaccurate in my opinion, but they're the easiest way.)

It's been almost three weeks since our initial weigh-in and I've only recently started getting into it. My regimen is simple, almost too simple: 30-45 minutes of exercise in the morning for three times a week (mostly consisting of light jogging/walking), a "stricter" diet (only by my standards) of more fruit and fiber and less fried and fatty foods, lesser food intake (especially at night). I'm not in the company's limited-slots fitness program which entitles us to a month's access to Gold's Gym, but I'll try to get in next month.

And as an extra measure, because I'm absolutely crazy, I take the stairs up and down everyday at our office building. Unfortunately (or fortunately), HP is at the 7th floor (and also at the 14th, but thankfully I'm not located there). I have a technique to psych myself up for the stair-climbing task. I have to take 6 flights of stairs to get to the 7th. 6 flights is just 2 sets of 3 flights. One can easily climb 3 flights of stairs, right? So when I get to the 4th floor (which is pretty easy), I just say to myself, "One more time!" and convince myself that I just have to climb 3 more flights, which is again pretty easy, right?

It takes less than 2 minutes to get to the 7th floor. I try to maintain a constant, healthy pace; no cheat by slowing down! And I do all that with a 7-pound laptop on my back! After two weeks of climbing stairs, I've gotten really used to it and can do up to 3 sets up and down a day (not continuously, of course!) without getting my body wasted. But the question is: does it help? Or am I just working out my thighs?

(By the way, I started with a whopping 30.3% body fat... and 15-20% is normal for guys. Ick.)

Labels: Biggest Loser, contests, health, HP, work

("Attaboy" is the term popularized by Dilbert author Scott Adams that refers to an award given by a company to recognize one of their employee's achievements. Don't underestimate the power of an attaboy.)

Last Tuesday, I received my very first attaboy, in the form of an HP eAward. eAwards are given out monthly to individuals for their outstanding work, and I finally got my turn this month. This is the text on the print-out:

Labels: :), awards, HP, work

Since my Dad hasn't been at home for a week now, I have had the privilege of being the lone person in the household with a driver's license. In short, the family car is at my disposal. I pay for the gas, of course.

I had to take a call at around midnight earlier tonight and I decided to take it at the office where I don't have to bother with using a calling card. Fortunately, I could bring the car to work so I had the flexibility of going home late.

And everyone knows its such a pleasure to drive at midnight, when nothing can stop you on the road. I was able to get home in a mere 20 minutes, from Ortigas to the gate of our house in Sun Valley, Parañaque. It sounds like I drove very fast, but the trip was only 16 kilometers, which means that I averaged a very pedestrian 48 kph.

(Also of note: It was the first time in my four month at HP that I stayed in the office until past midnight. It may sound like a terrible deal to you, but actually I've been quite lucky so far. Many HP-ers experience their first "midnighter" by their first month on the job, including those not on a morning shift. That shouldn't scare you from applying with us though.)

Labels: driving, HP, work

This is what I've been working my ass off for the past week. It was shown at our quarterly HP Philippines coffee talk yesterday. It was one of five presentations (all videos) done by new-hires from July to September, and our video won the new-hires presentation contest! The theme given to us was "Halloween before Christmas". Watch it, rate it, comment on it.



Now I can get back to my real job!

Labels: :D, Christmas, Halloween, HP, videos, work

In my two-plus months here at HP, I have learned to avoid touching anything metallic, be it a door handle or a cubicle divider.

Carpeted floors. Zzzt.

Labels: habits, HP, office, work

Buking ang blog ko. Haha! Eugene kasi eh. Hehe.

P.S. 100th post!

Labels: friends, HP, work

Some highlights from the two-day offsite at Eagle Point, Batangas from October 20-21:

• Not getting any sleep the night before in attempting to (and eventually failing to) finish our new-hire presentation
• Getting probably an hour of sleep on the bus
• Travelling by boat to Sepoc beach for lunch and games
• Participating in the rebus-solving game and the hellish sack race (ten people in one sack, hopping downhill and then back uphill on the beach)
• Celebrating with the Orange team for our hard-fought overall victory
• Wading all terrified through the water back to the boat because it couldn't land near the beach
• Thinking of ways to cover up our failure in finishing the presentation but never got to execute our plans because of the organizers' fault
• Acting as a literal briefcase (i.e., wearing Wackey briefs over shorts) in the "Deal or No Deal" game
• Not being able to finish a can of San Mig Light due to an allergic reaction which made it hard to breathe
• Playing an hour of table tennis to shrug off the alcohol's effects
• Staying up all night hanging out with the Supplier Portal team and videoke after 5 AM
• Finally managed to get two hours of sleep
• Made it home dreadfully tired, but safe and sound

Labels: :D, HP, offsite, work

To compensate for yesterday's early bird experience, I came into the office today at 1 PM, which is the latest I've ever reported to work as an HP-er.

(Actually I just waited for the Smart BRO contractors to come in the morning and fix our antenna but they never come. Lousy service.)

Labels: HP, rant, Smart BRO, work

Barely made it to the office for a 9 AM phone conference/presentation. It's the earliest I've ever reported to work in my one-and-a-half-months tenure at HP. I'm used to coming in at around ten.

On the plus side, our customer was very impressed with my work.

Labels: HP, work

As I was going for my toothbrush break (more on this later), I passed by RJ Mendizabal sitting in the lobby. He was waiting for his interviewer, Eugene Teves, who was under Simon as well, like me. We chatted a bit, catching up on things. While we were talking, Simon passed us by and greeted us both; turns out that Simon was RJ's previous interviewer. Assuming all goes well with his interviews and he accepts HP's offer, it seems like we'll both end up in the same group (Supply Chain Management).

It was not too long ago that I was in the same situation: sitting in the HP lobby waiting for my interviewer. Good luck, RJ!

Labels: friends, HP

Why? Because it's freakin' cold out there, that's why. I can't imagine how my officemates can stand this arctic office climate.

Feeling warm and cozy here in my own private little corner of the pantry.

Labels: HP, office, work

The RubeTube was offline these past few days because of this weekend's offsite (an "offsite" is defined as any event that happens outside the office and usually refers to a recreational outing). It was the first offsite of Simon's new organization, the Supply Chain Management group, which has three teams under it: Supplier Portal (my team), SAP XI, and STAR.

The offsite was staged from my teammate GM's house in Tagaytay. Some people (including me) arrived on Thursday night but most arrived on Friday morning. The whole of Friday was dedicated to teambuilding, planning, and recreational activities (videoke, poker, Cranium, card tricks) in the evening. Interestingly enough, I won all three Texas Hold 'Em games we played by a huge margin, which never happened when I was playing with the DISCS faculty. I think the "bet 1700" technique totally messed up my opponents' minds. The food we had was absolutely terrific even though we had chicken for almost every meal, but cooked in different ways. Kudos to the cooking committee for a job well done!

On Saturday, around half of the group had to go home in the morning but the rest went for a trip to Punta Fuego. We had lunch there after which we went to the beach, played some frisbee, and then relaxed in the afternoon with a dip in the infinity pool. Now I am terribly afraid of the water but I reluctantly gave into the pressure, seeing that I was the only one staying away from the water. In the end, it wasn't so bad and I was somewhat pleased to note that I wasn't the only one who didn't know how to swim. We sure had a lot of fun taking underwater pictures; will post some of them when I get a copy.

We had dinner back in Tagaytay on Saturday night and went back to Manila afterwards. Got home at 1 AM on Sunday and promptly dropped off to sleep.

Too many things happened for me to describe the whole experience in detail, but I just want to say that after the offsite, I feel very much a part of the team and the HP organization. I'm happy that I'm not just "the new guy" anymore.

Labels: :), friends, HP, offsite, work

Today marks one month and two days since I started with HP (last September 1). Just one more month, and I'll have been employed longer than at my previous two jobs!

Here are my accompishments and personal highlights for my first month:

• Nearly finished memorizing all the names and faces of the team
• Officially a Nescafé coffee machine addict
  
• Starred and made a fool out of myself in our new-hire presentation
• Finished the required online training, in record time!
• Won a 100-peso Starbucks gift certificate from an icebreaker contest during an HP training session
  
• Increased my knowledge of Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS) and IIS a thousandfold by doing some sys-ad work and development using the WSS SDK
• Hacked out a method to enable the fingerprint reader on my nc6320 (bypassing the Novell login) and gained a noticeable increase in coolness level for making it work
  
• Now 50 percent less clueless with HP acronyms!
  
• Currently acting as SPOC (Single Point of Contact), room reserver, meeting organizer, and de facto leader for the September new-hire group for our offsite presentation
• Currently communicating with a British HP project manager and slowly learning to understand the British accent
  

Not bad. I had expected to accomplish more in my first month at HP, but like Simon told me "Be careful what you wish for." Well, it's definitely been more interesting and productive here than the first month at my last job (unless not getting paid and working in a "war room" counts as "interesting").

Labels: HP, work

If you haven't heard already, typhoon "Milenyo" (international codename "Xangsane") is currently hammering Metro Manila. It's really scary outside right now. Classes have been suspended in all levels and government offices are officially closed. I eagerly checked my HP email this morning for any announcements and...

Walang pasok!!! Gosh, I never thought there'd come a time that I'd say that as part of the workforce.

I sure am glad I don't have any pressuring deadlines. At least I don't even have to work from home. Now I can comfortably watch Game 2 of the UAAP Men's Basketball Finals on TV. Hope it's no less exciting than Game 1.

Addendum: D'oh! Power blackout started half an hour ago (running on laptop batteries now). Just when I thought I could stay at home, watch TV, and play some PC games. At least the basketball game was pushed to Saturday; thanks to Ma'am Didith for the info.

Labels: :D, current events, HP, Philippines, typhoon, weather, work

This blog entry was written on my wicked office-issued laptop, the HP Compaq nc6320.


This Vista-ready machine has an Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB of RAM, a DVD-writer, a not-so-cool Intel 945GM Express integrated graphics card, 15-inch non-widescreen LCD display, and integrated fingerprint scanner (which I can't configure to work with Novell NetWare). This baby is amazingly fast. I've been busy souping it up for my needs the past few hours but now I'm finally ready to rock the HP world.

(Now that I don't have to bring my personal laptop to work everyday, does this mean the end of my back pains?)

Labels: HP, laptops, work

Now I personally understand why Dilbert is so popular among white-collar workers. This comic strip represents a typical scenario at our office.


Chairs. You can't have enough of them.

Labels: comics, Dilbert, HP, humor, office, work

There's a whole set of pages at the internal HP website whose sole purpose is to help HP employees decipher acronyms (no sample usage though). I can't understand half the acronyms my colleagues are using around me. But I've been assured that I'm sure to pick up the "HP lingo" over time.

"COB" is the latest acronym I've learned. It wasn't on the online glossary so I had to ask Jessie about it. "COB" isn't an HP-specific term and it stands for "Close Of Business", or the time when business usually shuts down for the day, which roughly translates to "5 PM".

Is "5 PM" really that hard to say?

P.S. "COB" stands for a lot of other things too.

Labels: acronyms, HP, work