Take Care of your Knee!

Hi. I'm bouncing back but not as high as before. I still cough and I can still do voice-over for trailers, the one that sounds like a 7-foot tall man who's been smoking since childhood? It's all very much the same, except that I'm not really doing any voice-overs, I'm not a 7-foot tall man, and I haven't been smoking since childhood. But it'd be very interesting to do voice-overs though. The rest...well, moderate fever out. Super influenza (sounds like a new model of Mazda or Toyota) also out. Maybe a sniff or two every once in a while. Praise be to Allah.

I'm also wrapping my lower leg tight, from the shin and around the back of my lower leg (calf/betis) because it's unbelievably sore down the left. Any of these muscles ring any bells? (Evertor, plantar, flexor, plantar flexor, whatever.) The unusual walking posture must have induced extra tension beyond the original tolerance. I've always had the impression that my thigh muscles would get in trouble first because of ligament loss. In spite of that, the trouble is seen in the opposite side.

Probably and almost apparently, my thigh muscles are already strong (maybe a contributing factor of being bow-legged, lol) and that my lower leg is not as strong. Wait. How can the upper leg develop stronger muscles relative to the lower, or perhaps, how come the overall development of muscles is not proportional (since thighs appear to be more massive and I really don't know exactly which has more muscles or which one is supposed to be stronger), even though the movements and exercises are executed by the leg as one? Is there any physical habit that doesn't make them proportional? Sounds scary.

The most noticeable aftermath of losing an ACL is the sway effect. Don't you always allow both your knees slide to the back and into a locking position when you stand straight? And then you feel like there's a stopper that would prevent your knees to slide back further? Can you feel the stopping force from within? And even if you push backward, there would be no further movement available? (You can stand now and try) Well, imagine if that force is gone. It feels like it's going to sway to and fro but it's not really doing it. It's really scary.

Some of you did try to stand and lock the knee backward, ha? :)

Standing Back

I'm getting sick again. Some people say the best advice is the one you give to others. So I'm going to drink tons of water. :)

In the mean time, I'm truly sorry if I have wronged or hurt you/anyone in the past. Also for any special cases of dispute - I apologize. Let's resolve it together if you claim unjustness or I haven't been fair. Please claim your 'makan' or treat the soonest if I've ever promised you one or two. Claim them all. If I'm holding your OS 9 copy, all the other software in my possession are yours to claim in case I wouldn't be able to return it in time. If you don't like them, I have a slew of hardware you can choose from. If you're still monitoring your CPU activity, I hope by now you'd be able to notice the trend when the laptop goes "puff" and avoid the same load or activities in the future. If it doesn't work, then sorry but you have to upgrade/buy a new laptop. Thanks for all the Houses. I'll keep the stars with me if you don't mind. They remind me of the good moments I've had and also the bad, both simple and complicated. They empower me and hurt me at the same time.

The feeling of pain is actually not too bad if you've had a couple of double doses. But of course, it's nowhere close to death and that's what I'm reminded of right now. OK. I should rest now.

Utility Package

To maximize my cell phone [also portable music player], I have uploaded 125 songs into it. It can go up to 400 but I guess I'm going to leave the space for incoming photos and videos.












It was made possible by the following: upgrade the original 64MB to a 1,000MB storage. Now Phone, Music, Photos, Videos, Data Storage, all rolled into one. Next: Internet?

Battery Life

Have you ever wondered how you can extend your laptop's battery life? Do we let the battery discharge to 0% every time? Should we immediately charge before it goes to zero? Is it good to always have the power plugged in? Your charging/discharging behavior plays a vital role.

I have done my own research on how to approximately delay the deterioration of laptop's battery life. It's not as rigorous as testing it with lab equipment and verifying all the numbers and the average down the third decimal points, but enough to convince myself that certain practice would defer the projected deterioration 6-month to a year later.

GROUND RULES
This is not to overwrite the fact that, given the same capacity/juice, battery life is ALWAYS in decreasing mode. In other words, it is impossible to have a battery that lasts 3 hours before, and run 4 afterwards (unless you exchange it to a higher capacity/more juice battery.) The efforts we're looking at is simply to slow down the deterioration and not to stop it. Keep in mind that average battery life is about 2 to 3 years. If you have used up a battery for that long, and retain about an hour of battery life at the end of it - that's typical.

Here it goes.

I normally wouldn't want to leave the battery lower than 40% for too long. Every once in a while (once or twice a month), I deliberately unplug and drain it to 0% to re-calibrate its reading. Battery works better at lower temperature. Say if you need to leave your battery for a vacation, discharge it and store it in the refrigerator.

With battery life down to about 45 minutes after 3 years of use, I recently acquired NuPower 65-Watt-Hour as an upgrade. It gives me a solid 3-hour run. Have you ever experienced your battery status report to be deceiving? (battery says 2 hours left but your unit blacks out after an hour). Well, this one doesn't. When it says it's going to go 3 hours, it really does last for 3 hours. Sometimes 3.5 depending on aggregate activities and continuity.

Happy upgrading and preserving battery life!

Performance Upgrade

Hey, man! I'm also a Mac.

A Mac ad spoof with euphemism and cliche

Yassir & Diana

Finally, I grabbed hold of a copy. Yassir & Diana wedding at Tmn Melawati (Sat Aug 19). Congratulations!



Looks like I need a good shaving. And haircut. oh! that's what i'm a do today.

Your Nephew

Even Ridhwan is very up. I should learn from him. :)

Another Long Line

KL suddenly turned into the worst city in the world. One heavy downpour and you could see the worst sections of the town; traffic behavior, haphazard sewerage and infrastructures, improvised road connections, unconsolidated construction activities. All these were being pointed to us in the last couple of days. And I got stuck again for about an hour and a half.

Update A
The last two-day training has been very enlightening. It's about some sort of troubleshooting and investigation skills. Always appreciate the knowledge and practice it. Share it. Except that I can't for this one. It's licensed and copyrighted. (Wishing I had some patented ideas of my own... hm... )

Update B
Several key movers left. It's truly a challenge at this moment in time. Now you realize that management isn't the only one who can drop the bombs.

Update C
The lower portion of my back rocks! No, that's what it's really doing. I hope it's not anything serious. Maybe side effect of the operation like Taufiq said.

The Long Line

Terrible traffic jam yesterday. It took Zul and I 3 hours to get home! It subsided as soon as I reached Sg Besi (which was not as soon as I thought), but you wouldn't believe how long the traffic jam going into KL was on the opposite side of the road. Since the moment I departed, which was from Jalan Tun Razak near U.S. Embassy, until I exited the KL-Seremban highway via UPM, the cars heading to KL were still lining up!

By the way, a study at Yale University reported that men who are married to gorgeous women are so afraid of losing them, the worry is giving them a lot of stress. It continued on to say that men who married less attractive women would live 12 years longer.

(Now how did you statistically outline who is gorgeous and who is not? Men statistically die earlier anyway, so take a pick.)

Sharp Pain

I've always had back pain. The one I felt earlier today was entirely different.

Accompanied by left butt numbness, lower back jolts, shoulder tingles, and higher thigh cramps -- these sensations were nowhere close to familiar. Somehow, it felt more nervous than merely muscle fatigue or sores.

Timelessness. I'm sorry.

Simulation City

Did you know that the newer Bangi is shuttle-cock shaped?

By the way, the pin is marking SKBBB (SRK Bandar Baru Bangi, Jln 2), my primary school for 6 years.

Panoramic View...

Family (Home)








Work (Office)








Health (Outdoor)








I'm sure you know what's missing (it's part of family-home.)

By the way, stitches are all open. Therapy session done. I just need to work out my left muscles more diligently.

And I'm gonna have to see the company Chairman tomorrow about the injury and loss time. Wish me luck.

Banged up a little

Hey, I'm back to normal state. Thanks to anyone who's helped. It has certainly been an eye-opener, knowing which is which, and who's significant.

The day passed in a mixed fashion. It was a bit out of control but manageable. I've learned a great deal about where I stand in remote situations - it's not as easily predictable as I thought it would. Now, I'd like to share a story (using my own language which would make it not as accurate and sophisticated as the original...) Do you remember the story of two buckets?

A farmer carries a pail on each side of a bar over his shoulder to transfer water from a well to his garden through a small path everyday. One of the buckets has got a little crack at the bottom so it cannot carry as much as the other one, which is in perfect condition. The cracked bucket struggles everyday to retain every drop, whereas the perfect bucket always manages to deliver every drop.

One day the cracked bucket has come to its limit and apologized to the farmer. "I'm sorry I cannot function as much as I could in the old days. It looks like I'm dripping much of water and failing to deliver water like the other bucket."

Then the farmer says, "Look. I understand your situation. That's why I have planted seeds on your side of the path. Notice that there are beatiful flowers now blooming, watered from each of your drip."

Your flaw doesn't necessarily have to be your overall weakness. Sometimes, it is in fact the actual strength that empowers everyone.

Don't throw everything away just because you're banged up a little. (And a crack pot is sometimes better than a perfect pot.)

iTry

I've begun the conspiracy to put together my photo collection. Theoretically, that is.

I am deeply inspired by Alex's Xantory photo presentation, but couldn't quite emulate the graphical post-it style. Maybe I'll play with iWeb again later.

Quotable quote: Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off NOW.

A Slower Bite

It hasn't been an impressive day. The very beginning already seemed like a stump. It took a couple of hours to actually patch it right again. And then you just hope it's all going to go away.

I'm going to start with the feelings of getting old again. 'You have many great years ahead of you! Stop being such a pathetic idiot.' Well, what if I don't? To start off, I've already experienced a wee bit of what it's like not being able to accomodate my basic needs during the hospitalization. What it's like not being able to move my body from the waist down. I've also tasted what it's like to depend on a walking stick. I know some of you may have experienced a greater extent of any of the above, but then again, I think a little exposure still qualifies in providing a little gist on the overall grand scheme of things. The only questions are for how long, and how do you move from that point forward?

A sudden pang of realization also hit me as soon as I finished the cup of breakfast tea. I liked it, and I still do! No, no, it's not the Arthur Dent type of "I LIKE TEA!!! Heart of Gold, please compute and produce one". But it's more like I'm beginning to prefer hot beverages even more. Not to say that I won't do cold drinks at all, but the proportion seems to have changed quite a bit. Quite a lot actually. Perhaps it used to be 20-80. Now it's more like 80-20. 20% when I'm totally unbelievably exhausted or when I need to temporarily shower down the body heat. But other times, I totally prefer the tasty and delicate heat of fragrant beverage slowly sipping down my tongue, its dissemination to the throat and later down the esophagus. I'm lying if I could feel it in the esophagus. OK, so at the very beginning of esophagus. Then it doesn't feel anything until it gets to the stomach and to the very end.

The actual events for the day - we all went to Sg. Jeluk wedding ceremony, then I hitched K.Ngah, Abg Ngah, and Ridhwan to Yassir & Diana's wedding (hey, congratulations to you two) at Tmn. Melawati before changing one of Kelisa's tyres (unexplainable horizontal puncture) on our way back. We had it replaced right away at Lee Auto. Alya had shopped for her so-called "Prom Night" but only queens, well, princesses, would be present, for there would be no kings or princes. It's all great for everybody. Everyone's happy. All getting married and having fun and all, while,

I reflected quietly on the deep sorrow. An inevitable worry. A habitual misery in being miserable. It felt as if nothing much has gone quite the way I wanted. The reason for this is exactly because nothing much has gone the way I wanted. Well, you don't always get what you want, don't you? Shouldn't you be happy with whatever you have? I certainly should and have been. But I am absolutely certain of a few missing puzzles in my life. There's an equation here and there just being ready to be solved, but not yet solved. I don't feel like I have offered a lot. I found myself admiring what others have, and not being able to see what I have. Do I have anything? Hey, folks, do you see anything you like in me that you want for yourself? Because I can show you. If you are interested in Macs, I can teach you what I know. Perhaps, how to solve the Rubik cube, or maybe, how to sing or recite, or, or, walk like a cowboy. Whatever you wanna know? I'll show you what I know. Maybe not much, but I'd like to share it.

















Maybe that's it. I actually ran out of dear friends in actuality. Don't patronize me with this virtuality, OK? (This is only time I would want to deliberately be grumpy a bit.) You enjoy a laugh or two, and then, OK, bye bye. What is that? But maybe it is as simple as that. You just enjoy a moment or two. Be happy about it. But then, where is the continuity? And then what? Or maybe that's where I am wrong. If I don't dig in what others are interested, how are they going be interested in what my interest would be.

I think I am quite miserable. I'd embrace Ridhwan and feel happy a bit. He's a vibrant little boy. I on the other hand am quite dull and pathetic. During the event at Tmn Melawati today, it has dawned on me how lives are passing by and around while I'm staying nearly absolutely still. What do you think people talk about during these events? All the progress in your life? Work? Family? Kids? What be of mine? What be of yours? I could almost hear a person in a corner, also not too occupied, going, "Sore loser. You don't have anybody next to you. You know nobody around. Nothing to talk about. Just a quiet smile, enjoying the food a bit. And that's it." Someone like me. In the corner. I glanced around a couple of minutes searching for the figure, waited again for a while, and realized that the person was me. I was sitting at a corner.

OK. Back to HHGTG. Better read about someone else's life than mine.

Simple AppleScripting

Say you'd like to rename many, many files quickly. For instance, IMG_1025, 1026,... to series of EVENTX_1025, EVENTX_1026,... and so on.

Follow the steps in http://www.apple.com/pro/tips/applescript.html to enable your AppleScript utility in the menu bar.

Use Finder Scripts > Trim File Names. Enter IMG_ in the query box and click Trim Start.






















Then use Finder Scripts > Add to File Names. Enter EVENTX_ in the query box and click Prefix.

Voila.

Breaking around the corner

Physio ended well. I'm going to walk normally again soon. I'm almost walking normally now but not with the same old flair. It's like one of those walks where one leg is approximately 65% heavier than the other one, which in my case, left is to right. I'm already bow-legged. Better hope it doesn't get worse.

Arifah turns 2. I miss my little niece.

I'm sure a lot of people are aware of the situation already, but try and digest this Point of View. It's nicely put.



By the way, someone has asked me to show the walking stick. There. Now, on to my list of demand... (followed by a failing maniacal laughter that succeeds only to scare little cats of the ledges on some urban houses, which upon closer inspection are found to be not so metropolitical, where cute little kittens normally jump to their feet to maniacal laughters but only when they are lazily sprawling on the ledges hoping to avoid such rare but quite probable occurence.) The Blue Book explains why I was writing this way. I know, I know. it's not as good.

The insight to sentence twister, Douglas Adams way.

General Talk

Even the slightest hint of feminism would turn me off – because you don’t know what you’re arguing about. Male chauvinism also falls almost on the same line. You did not choose to be a woman, and you did not choose to be a man, now what the heck are you so proud of?? (also in the same vicinity of argument are those who are proud of their races, skin color, etc2.) Why can’t we all accept the fact that the differences are for good reasons, and search for common qualities instead of equality? (I guess this has been the dilemma since day one.)

The World at a Glance (just one, because the second would cause an infestation of first a mild pain and then an escalation to a severe shock further inflicted by the bolts out of the blue...)

Toyota is poised to overtake GM. Not a surprise. Watanabe said more things need to be done. The top-of-chart reliability is still not enough? I remember driving a Corolla over 6000 miles in 2003 summer roadtrip without any single check on its condition. Saved a lot on gas too.

Dell recall laptops. Bold move. I must applaud the accountability & corporate responsibility. More out-sourcing to India. More jobs flying out the window? I wouldn't assume founder nation's labor market too expensive with embedded healthcare.

Cease-fire in middle east effective immediately. Yeah, it's about time. How many lives lost in the process? Wonder how war is not mass genocide especially if the ones getting bombed are peacekeepers, women and children. Geneva convention. Erm, what's that?

Heatwave hitting eastern US. 30 C going up? Or down. Already tense with heat, electricity and utility is record high. Energy crisis. Leaking pipeline (minus 400kbd). Homeland security. Who can sleep almost equally well at night?

Jobs on being accountable

I saw the return of Steve Jobs to Apple in 1997 Boston MacWorld and found myself absolutely agreeing with his approach. Steve was right about being accountable for your own mess. Excerpt from his keynote:

"Thank you, Bill.

If we want to move forward, to see Apple healthy and prospering again, we have to let go off a few things here. We have to let go of this notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose. We have to embrace the notion that for Apple to win, Apple has to do a really good job.

And if others are going to help us, that’s great! Cause we need all the help we can get. And if we screw up and we don’t do a good job, it’s not somebody else’s fault. It’s our fault. So I think that’s a very important perspective."

As mentioned in the Purification of the Heart, the pursuit of repentance and redemption involves looking inward and not outward.

Hitchhiking remarks

Paragraphs like these in HHGTG had made me, at the very least, chuckle:

1) It is also the only explanation for sudden grasp of hypertechnology involved in building millions of lethal white robots (simplified.) These had really struck terror into the hearts of everyone who had encountered them--in most cases, however, the terror was extremely short-lived, as was the person experiencing the terror.

2) "Er, hello?" he (Arthur Dent) said.

He cleared his throat and said it again, more loudly and without the "er." At some distance down the corridor it seemed suddenly as if somebody started to beat on a bass drum.

He listened to it for a few seconds and realized that it was just his heart beating.

He listened to it for a few seconds more and realized that it wasn't his heart, it was somebody down the corridor beating on a bass drum.

Nevertheless, I just went to see the doctor and physiotherapist for the follow-up. I really can't describe the mixed feeling I had while walking out of the center (well, limping out of the center actually). It's a mix of just about everything. The 38mA jumping across the knee. The appointment. The wait. The bill. The worry. The piling stuff in the office. The process. The knee. The confusion. The loved ones. I have written 544 words in 4 paragraphs about it but decided not to post them here. You wouldn't want to read such nonsense.

By the way, the snapped ligament is ACL, and not MCL. The same as Intan's, yes?

The Gathering

By the way, apart from visiting Alya yesterday, we made a quick trip to a wedding at TTDI community center. CB & Ashbi had the chance to try out some food, Dad had the chance to reunite with old friend, and I had to chance to greet En. Hussin and Pn. Salmah since it's been a while from last time I met them, find out how Syawal was doing 'cause I've never met the groom, reunite with high-school friend Syamsul, and talked to long-time-no-news friend Opeh.

Samm's family situation compared to mine is quite unique because now they're considered family-friend even though we're not realistically close. Dad and his mom were high-school mates. So were Samm and I. Shahril his brother is my senior and fellow comrade on the 23rd floor. Any time from now I could be his subordinate because he's doing really good. His wife Zalina, also my senior, also works on the same floor. Also doing really well. Somehow we know of each other but have not spent enough time together as family-friends. Perhaps we should.

The Operation

I was briefly describing to Alya what happened before the knee operation when I suddenly realized how rare the experience was, so I have decided to ink part the story here.

ENTER
Since I was already fasting, the orthopaedic surgeon could perform the surgery immediately. He was very confident that the ligament snapped. About an hour of preparation later, I was on a wheelchair on the way to the theater. The operation theater. (Why is it a theater?) Mom had arrived about 15 minutes earlier and we had a chance to talk for a while. She seemed partly shocked and fully worried of course but she had to brush it aside while answering a call from Alya who was complaining and crying about her difficult SPM trial exam (it had to be on the exact moment I was about to be surgically admitted). We never had the chance to say anything at the last minute because she was on the phone. Afterall, it's just my knee and not my heart or my brain or anything (unless my brain has enjoyed quite a vacation down there on the knees) . Besides, you know your mom's plate is always full if she takes care of 8 children. Perhaps Alya needed mom the most at the time.

INTERMISSION
I was partially nervous and numb. That's right. My brain was numb. I didn't know what to think. What's going to happen to my knee? What sort of surgery is this? How long would I not be able to walk? Oh Lord, this is a test to my health, right? It was cold too. Stunningly cold. I remember this fact. Before anything at all, I had to strip down to my underwear and wear the bare-back robe. I was already uncomfortable and they made me wear a garment that exposed my back. Nice. No wonder it's unbelievably cold in there (it's like three air-conditioning machine in operation at the same time).

Then one of the nurses shaved around my knee. Yeah, I've got some hair down there. It's not a surprise. But before she did, she asked for confirmation first, "It's your left knee, right?" to which I replied yes. It's a good thing she asked. I hope the doctor would do the same before the surgery. You don't want to hear your doctor going, "Hm, I forgot which leg it is. It's your left, right?" "... Right." Then you wouldn't be able to think straight throughout the entire operation, given if you're allowed to stay conscious.

The anaesthetic expert then punctured a needle into my back to paralyze my body from the waist down. It hurt a lot when she inserted it in but I know it's for good measure during the surgery. I lied down for a while before the numbness started coming. She tested her work by asking me to lift my legs. I tried. No muscle moved except the ones above my eyebrows. "The anaesthetic is working! But why am I still awake?" I wondered. Oh. The doctor wanted to show me the injured part from the video. Yes, indeed. The expert was going to shove a camera into my left knee. Cool. YouTube wouldn't want a copy, but House M.D. could probably use one.

I was literally shaking and shivering while they were cutting open my knee. One of the nurses noticed this and put more blanket on my upper body. The surgery went on for about 40 minutes and as promised, I had the chance to see the torn part, its white tissue-like leftovers swirling around, the red mushy blood-liquid mixture courtesy of the break, and the face of my crescent-shaped meniscus from the bone front. I could even see how my patella (kneecap) looked like. It was all very interesting but not all that comforting.

EXIT
Long story short, the anaesthetic expert had to leave to pick up her child. So did two of the nurses. The doctor and the rest of the nurses transferred me to the ward where one of the nurses misjudged my height while sliding me to the bed causing my head to accidentally bang on the bed's top steel-rail. The Head of the Ward nurse couldn't stop apologizing while the young nurses were giggling on something that must've been amusing. I hope it wasn't anything too distracting that had caused the incident.

Mom came by again and this time with Dad, some clothes, and a pair of sandal. I called my supervisor to inform him of the situation and he seemed to be cool about it. All in a day's work - never thought I'd end up here. The day closed in and I suddenly felt very tired and lonely. Picture: zoomed-in version of knee wrapped in bandage, ice-pack, and blanket. It hurt like crazy as soon as the anaesthetic wore off.

Alhamdulillah, I felt that my leg was OK for the moment and wondered what's ahead for tomorrow.

Surviving

I woke up with a mildly relaxed sensation on left joints. It didn't hurt as much as yesterday and the day before yesterday. I hope my knee is improving but I'm not sure of that yet. It's either that or I had swallowed a painkiller a little too late last night.

I recently got myself a walking stick. Yey. I am now officially a miserable old man. And I like it. You wouldn't reject a man just because he's a cripple, would you? Hey ho... where's the remote. Hey, shut up! I'm watching TV here.

Director?

More details here.

I agree with Ihsan on this one - it's a form of entertainment.

Careful steps

Depending on crutches to walk, I still can't move about as freely as I want to. Every left-foot step is performed with care - don't want to snap anymore of strands or wires in the left knee.

Knee, in my humble opinion, is the most fragile spot on a human body. It is perhaps second only to the back (vertebrae) when it comes to body parts that we should care the most. Well, maybe I'm talking more of the physical sense of everything. The rest would also require attention but in a softer way (drink enough water, sleep well, consume less saturated fat/oil, sugar, salt, avoid smoking, drinking, etc2.)

Right before the surgery, about the only thing that came to mind was, "Lord gave me life, health, wealth, youth, and time - how well have I spent mine? Maybe now is a test for my health, for I haven't used it enough on His path?"

You know He's going to judge every second of what everyone does with all the five above. Don't wait any longer. Start now. (then what am I doing writing blogs? well, it's a reminder for myself at the very least...)

Blogging

The zdhelix/3dhelix of utulsa.server as you know it will expire in less than a year. Perhaps I need to revamp it to a new era. Can't depend on the good ol' server no more. That's why I'm here.

The Return

my left knee on ice...
Aug 4 - I lost my footing. A few friends carried me off the court.
Aug 5/6 - Limping.
Aug 7 - I went to see a panel doctor. Dr. Soo referred me to any orthopedic surgeon. Then I underwent a knee surgery. One of the ligaments snapped.
Aug 8 - I returned home. On wheelchair. Then crutches.

k750i

After a long haul of research on reviews, (including phoning a few friends about phones, duh) I finally decided to buy a k750i to replace the outdated but still stylish 2-year-old v600.

(Did you know you can record video longer than 10 secs by pushing and holding "0" button while in the video mode?)

Hello Sony Ericsson.
Bye Moto.

Lessons

After a full year in the workforce, I would like to reveal a few things that were never taught in school. A bit more than a year has passed by since graduation, and it has been more than a year since the last time I was 21 (which happens whenever you turn 22), sometimes I still wonder about what I should be doing. Nobody figures out what they want to do when they're in early twenties. If you do, I'll be your biggest fan.

• Be realistic. Don't frequently set too high of goals because they will just disappoint you often, and never set them too easy either, because achieving them then won't feel a thing.
• Never let go of your dream. You MUST do what you love so that work will not feel like a burden at all. Don't just settle for something that you can live with. Think of something that excites you. Something that keeps you going. Keep on chasing your dream. If not - then you must love what you do.
• Be flexible. Always. They never teach you in school how to convince 40-year olds and 50-year olds of your project plan (well if you join the professional workforce today, this would be the case approximately 90% of the time.) Occasionally, hang out with this group and not just your peers. Learn the trades. Try and push yourself in a maturity boat.
• Keep an open mind. Sometimes you get irritated because the thing in real world is very far different than school or college. Things don't turn out according to plan and there will always be a glitch. Wait a minute. Isn't college also like that? Life is always like that. But here's the difference: the stake is now ultimately higher. Other people could lose their jobs and you could lose your source of income too. You'd be surprised the extent that people would go to in order to save their own skins (security motive). Everybody does it. No exception. There's a simple trick to accommodate this uncomfortable situation but not as nearly as simple to do. You will always get mad at something you don't understand (another universal truth besides the debatable "everybody lies" from House M.D.) so the key is to try and understand the things you are mad at and the things you would most likely complain about. It is the first step going in the right direction.
• Work hard. This is the only key to lead a successful life. Wrong. Only working smart leads you to a successful life. Working hard will leave you exhausted and you become grumpy when you don’t get what you want (happens to many bosses who were promoted based on their indefinite motivation to work extremely hard to get where they are). Be careful every step of the way and always put wit in front of your intuition. Be honest and just enough of honesty before people would manipulate it (another arguable issue of white lie but I don’t want to go deeper into this here and now)
• Be nice. If nobody likes you, no one respects you. If no one respects you, it is much more difficult to demand anything from anybody. Be a giver and you'll receive a lot.
• Less talk. More action. In some occasions, maybe talking would be of help but please remember the difference between talking and communicating. You want more of the latter. And not just any communication -- it has to be effective communication. Talking and communication don’t help. Period. Make sure whatever you do yield the best return (this is also where working smart comes into play.)