Building an App

It took me quite a while to do what I did today: I built a local app to auto-generate individualised learner assessment reports.

You see, I had been doing this rather manually thus far, and it’s quite a laborious process - downloading the class list from the trainer’s portal, generating individual reports by extracting each learner’s name and identity number, and saving them as individual files for submission. And my learners are organised into different batches. Each programme run can have up to 5 batches, with each batch having a different number of learners. Added to that, different programmes have their own report templates. And because I’m usually not in any rush when I do my training preparations, and given my attention to detail, I had been quite happy to do it manually. I wanted to make sure the font was correct, the font size was right, and the formatting and layout were all consistent. It was tedious, but I was quite happy to live with it. 

But since I will be teaching about using AI to improve work processes, I thought it would be good to have a real example that I could showcase. So I decided to challenge myself to use AI to develop an app to automate my report generation. And it was quite a journey. I spent quite a few hours developing the prompt, ensuring the data source was clean, making sure the data fields in the reports were correct, and ensuring that the format of the reports across all programmes was consistent. I also ran quite a few trials to ensure the data extraction was accurate and that the individualised files were saved according to the required naming protocol. And voilà! I eventually got the app running on my laptop!

What makes me particularly happy is that I now have an example to showcase during my lesson - not just using AI to generate content, but actually using it to solve a real work problem, figuring things out along the way, and eventually getting something that works.

So proud of myself!

Grateful 8 & 9 Jun: Calmer

Of late, I had felt troubled over some issues, and this was made worse by the Vesak event on Sunday. I was also frustrated by the lack of confirmation for my training, especially since it is only 2 weeks away. Over the last 2 days, I had largely spent time with friends and simply taken things easy through window shopping and going for my walks. As these 2 days come to an end, I find myself feeling much calmer. So, on this note, let me give thanks for: 

• Confirmation of Training. On Sunday night, I decided to send an email to the training company. It was probably the third time I had followed up with them. It was unusual for them not to confirm the engagement so close to the training dates. On my part, I needed time to prepare. And this uncertainty created quite a bit of discomfort for me. I definitely did not want to invest significant time and energy in preparation if I was not eventually scheduled to deliver the programme. This morning, I finally received their confirmation. Although some admin details are still pending, the confirmation at least allows me to begin reviewing my content. I am thankful because it allows me to focus my energy purposefully on the preparation. It also means that I will have some training income next month. 

• Catching Up. I chose not to spend too much time worrying about the training and instead invested my energy in getting out of the house and spending time with friends. After trying to review the content yesterday morning, I decided to stop as it would have been a waste of time if the training was not confirmed. So, I met D for a late lunch yesterday. It was a nice meet up indeed. And last night, PY asked to meet for breakfast today, and I readily agreed. There is no point getting flustered by the lack of confirmation. The energy is better invested meeting up with friends. It was not the food itself that mattered, but the connection. Moments like these are meaningful as time spent with friends is time well spent. I am grateful to both D and PY for making the time to meet up. 

• A Calmer Mind. My mind had been somewhat unsettled lately. I suspect some relationship-related issues that had been weighing on me found their way into my dream. So, I am grateful that I have felt more composed over the past 2 days. Part of this came from making a deliberate decision to set these thoughts aside and not dwell on them excessively. It is not easy, but I am trying and will continue to try. Perhaps this is my way of practising what I wanted to focus on this year: embracing vulnerability with courage while extending some self-compassion to myself. I am grateful for this awareness. 

These 2 days passed by quickly. I feel much calmer now, thanks to friends, a little window shopping, and the confirmation of the training. The uncertainty has lifted somewhat, and I can move forward with greater clarity about how I can plan the days ahead.

Grateful 3 & 4 Jun: Anchor

I have often gravitate towards significant events, meaningful encounters, or important lessons in my gratitude journals and have not paid enough attention to the simple things that quietly support my day-to-day life. So, in this post, let me give thanks for: 

• Sunshine. It's been bright and sunny these past 2 days. Rather than complaining about the heat, let me give thanks for the sunshine that brightens my day and allows me to go about my daily routines, whether it is heading to the coffee shop for my kopi-o kosong, doing my exercises around the estate, or simply enjoying a walk outdoors. It is such a simple thing, yet it brings a sense of ease and freedom that I often take for granted.

• Friends. These past 2 days, many people have checked in on me, and this evening, I met my ex-colleague turned friend D for dinner. So let me give thanks for them. These seemingly small gestures keep me connected and remind me that, even though I enjoy solitude, I am not alone. They reassure me that there are people who think of me, care about me, and remain part of my life. 

• Home. My home provides me with a comfortable space to rest, escape from the heat, work, and simply be myself. It is more than just a place to live. Reflecting on the past 3 decades, it has been the backdrop to countless moments shared with my parents, past partners, and my dog. It is also a place where my siblings and their families, relatives, friends, and colleagues have gathered. In many ways, it quietly holds the story of my life. 

So yes, these are things that feature so naturally in my daily life that I rarely stop to notice them. Yet they form the foundation upon which so much else rests. And I am deeply grateful to these people and things that is such an integral part of my life.

tea with bee

it had been a long while and yesterday, we managed to find some time together. had send mum to my brother's place in the morning and i had the afternoon to myself after telling mum i needed to bring the dog down to pee. and for the first time after so many months (i've lost count how long since he came over), bee was able to come over without fear of making mum haywire. 

managed to laze around for an hour or two doing all the daily little stuffs (including giving sapphie a bath) before heading out for high tea at a local hotel. 

yumz...

:-)

eggs overload

was on course these 2 days and bee send me to the training centre.

we took the chance to have breakfast together and this morning, we saw this couple...

between the two of them, they ordered no less than 20 half boiled eggs!

wow wow wow....

everyone was staring at them!

lol!

worshippers

bee has two facebook profiles. and on one of them, he regularly posts his selfies, and short status updates. now because he has the tendency to just accept friends, his profile has hundreds (or thousands) of friends. and whenever he post anything, he will have easily hundreds of people complimenting how good he looks, addressing him by endearing names like dear, lovely, etc. i think he enjoys the attention. seriously, much as he denies it.

anyway, i have always let him be although once a while initially, i did raise my discomfort about having people openly cruising him. anyway, he continued doing so and i have since let him be. and so today, as we were laughing about it, i challenged him to post a picture of a toilet bowlful of shit. i can almost imagined people liking it and making comments on it. my hypothesis is that people are so mesmerised about him, or fantasize about him that they will even worship the shit he post (literally).

initially he refused to. but after a while, he agreed and posted what i got from the internet for him - a big toilet bowlful of shit. he agreed to leave it till tomorrow morning. it would be a simple social experiment between us. and guess what!?! within a few minutes, people actually commented! haha! let's see what we can "harvest" from his hordes of admirers by tomorrow morning!

haha!

bee's birthday

today is bee's birthday.

and as per the last couple of years, there was no dinners nor celebrations as we had wanted to keep it low profile. got him a pair of sunglasses last month in advance and that was it. of cos, we went out for a quick drink last evening and that was it.

simple and sweet.

ur bee in bkk?

"hey, is your bee in bangkok?" 

"i saw him shopping at boots with a bear..."

well, that was how a text came in from a friend. i simply said yup, he is there with his boss to help run an event. but frankly, i didn't feel good about it. then again, there is nothing i can do. he assured me it is work. and i must give him the space to also do some leisure activities outside work.

calls from bee

given my highly negative reactions to his departure, he had made the efforts to call me this time round. let's see if he continues to do so.

blah blah

woke up feeling blah. whenever he goes overseas, he gives me this huge blahness. things i don't like about when he goes overseas...

• always tell me at the last moments, sometimes as late as a few hours before trip
• constantly non-contactable when overseas, often will not answer calls, no replies to missed calls, no smses, no replies
• refusing to share flight details and who he's going with
• always happen on holidays in mid-week and stretching over the weekend

he is a huge part of my life and that his physical closeness is a huge support to me. you can say i am insecure, etc but his lack of pro-activeness in informing me and keeping in contact when such trips occur is not helping, and for that matter, making the whole tensions worst.

wtf.

mum & voices

i was feeling rather down and pissed after bee's call about the last minute arrangement to go overseas (yes, bangkok again) when mum called me. it was about 5.15pm and she asked if i am heading home yet and claimed she was hungry.

naturally, i packed up quickly and got home in no time. 

and once i reached home, she seemed unhappy and asked me why i came home so late. i was a little surprised by this question. i usually knock off about 5.45-6pm and would arrive home 6-ish but it was not even close to 6pm when i reach home. i simply told her i had not knocked off and she said something like this...

someone told me your office worked half-day today. 
so how come you are not home yet.

this feedback got me all flustered. once again, there is the "someone" that tells her about me. i asked who this someone was, and she said she did not know, but insisted that this someone is telling her the truth. but as i demanded to know who this someone was, she changed her lines and simply said she was merely asking if my office practices half-day work today given that tomorrow is deepavali.

i was so totally pissed off. both bee's last minute overseas trip and mum's behaviour spoiled my day thoroughly. i was in no mood to make dinner and brought her out instead. and as i did so, i reflected on the incident. and it struck me, could she be hearing voices in her head? 

i don't know. i just want to sleep now.

taken leave

it will be deepavali in singapore. it will be a public holiday and becos it occurs in the middle of the week, many of my colleagues had taken opportunity to go an extended break by taking leave since last friday. for me, i have decided to take leave this thursday and friday instead. thought i could spend some time to catch up with myself and perhaps with bee. have applied for this this morning but now, i am wondering if i should cancel my leave. 

bee called me this afternoon to tell me he needs to head overseas to assist in an event. once again it is a last minute thing. i can forever not understand how he always get activated last minute. events are planned way ahead and he should have been informed ahead of time. also, i always notice these "events" always happen when there is a holiday middle of the week and he would be required to be there from the start of the public holiday till the following monday.

it has happened again and again and again.

not in the mood for any leave now.

damned.

rewrite - the movie

bee bought tickets for the movie "dracula - the untold story" last evening but in the end we decided to change the tickets to "the rewrite" instead. he had read about the review of dracula and it didn't come across as anything fantastic. and as for me, i don't fancy anything dracula actually... and i was not very much in the mood for anything less than easy and light after mum's reaction to my outing. 

and so, he chose the show "rewrite". the posters indicated it would be a comedy and since i wanted something light, he thought it fitted my criteria. well, we didn't know what to expect when we walked in to the hall early and waited. actually, we both felt tired. it had been a while since we watched any midnight shows. all too soon, the show started and we realised we were the only ones who had booked the show! haha...

the show was about how an academy-winning scriptwriter of days gone had to accept the job of a university lecturer as he couldn't get any jobs, his experiences as he taught he students about writing scripts for a movie and how through the process, discovered himself a little more. simple show, but to me really flat. the acting was hardly competent and the storyline, boring. we contemplated walking out halfway during the show but decided to stay on since we were the only ones. 

but yeah, it was still a break from home.

:-)

"this is where i leave you"

went for the midnight show with bee last night. it's been a long while since we went for any shows and he booked tickets for this show on friday after reading the synopsis. he did a search for reviews of the show last evening at the cinema and oooo, apparently, the ratings were bad, very very bad. one even gave it a 1 star out of 10 stars! we wanted to make a request for a change of shows but could not find any nice ones. in the end, we decided to just head in and that we would leave halfway if it was really as bad as the reviews described.

but we were pleasantly surprised. it was actually a very heartwarming movie. very competent acting by all and a very interesting storyline. and amidst all the chaos, there were lots of whacky moments. i thought it brought out very nicely the dynamics between family members, and all the issues and challenges families face rather well. and i was rather taken aback by the very interesting twist towards the end of the movie. then again, the way relationships were handled was probably what one could expect of an american family rather than an asian family. in asian families, relationships would probably break down when faced with some of the issues played out.

then again, i could be wrong. it all depends on the maturity of the individuals.

but yeah, we enjoyed the show very much.

ps: i also noted interestingly that there were no minorities (such as african-americans or asian-americans (as what one would expect in all hollywood productions) in the show although there was an increased treatment/ coverage on gays/ lesbians. perhaps gays/ lesbians are now considered the "new" minority? hmmm...

reflecting 2014 (so far)

i started off this year by outlining some broad guidelines to how i wanted to live this year and with the desire to want to make this year a fulfilling year. more than 8 months have passed since. so where am i? how much have i being able to conduct my life according to these broad guidelines? reflecting, i wouldn't say it is a fulfilling year per se for all aspects. and for some, it was beyond what i could control. nonetheless, i think i have fared reasonably ok. i will continue to remind myself about my aims in the months ahead. here's my reflections about 2014 thus far...

personal life

i wanted to continue better managing my priorities better and have meaningful self-time. i think have fared fairly well this area. giving myself the space to watch shows, tan at swimming pools, evening exercises, read some books, etc. and this was in part due to my mum's general improvement in her health and mental state. she was less agitated and i was able to find some better time for myself without causing too much anxiety to her. i supposed her increased forgetfulness also helped. heh... i rate myself 7/10 in this area.

health 

i will be healthy. so i wanted. technically speaking, i had been healthy this year in terms of frequency of flu i experienced. otherwise, i suffered another bout of kidney stones. so i would say, within my controls, i was able to maintain my health. so, yeah... 6/10 for this.

mum 

i told myself i wanted to look after & provide for her to my best abilities. i give myself 9.5/10 for this. and i gave this score in view of her very stable health and mental states over the year. and i deduct the 0.5 points for the fact that i had over the span of the year, also lost my cool (at least in my head) a couple of times. i need to continue to work on my patience.

bee

i wanted to work with him to see how best we can make our time together meaningful. we had somehow come to a common routine of meeting up at least once a week. but as in all relationships, i guess we can make this better. 7/10 for this.

sapphie 

i wanted to give her love & good quality time. i rate myself 8.5/10 for this. i have given her all the attention i needed and can spare. and her growing older and weaker made me realise that her time with me is also fast reducing. i think i will probably lose her in a year or two from now. grand old dame for a dog to be able to live up till then too. heh...

siblings 

told myself i wanted no expectations other than keep them informed of mum's health. i have achieved this fully. no expectations and no tensions. so, for this area - 10/10! 

work 

i wanted to strengthen my team and deepen our professional relationship. for me, a person who loves to coach my staff and assume i can be dispensable, i would love to say i achieve 10/10 in this area. but things were out of my hand. circumstance has it that the change in management saw a huge diminished scope for what my team and all the new projects i had planned at the start of the year got cancelled overnight. this naturally reduced the opportunities and scope where i could develop my staff in. nonetheless, within my abilities, i have made the conscious efforts to increase the opportunities for my staff to undertake more developmental work. and as she did so, coach her and deepen her knowledge. for all that, i rate myself 8/10.

friends 

again, not much expectations in this other that to continue to engage my friends. i am happy to note that i have been able to do this. nonetheless, i also note that i had focus on a small group of friends and have not expand my efforts to a larger group of not-so-close friends. so for this, 8/10.

bloggers

i wanted to continue to blog. the numbers and hopefully, quality of reflections, speak for itself. 10/10.

well, as usual, looking at the trends, generally those goals framed with little or no expectations tend to have fared much better. kinda expected right? so, nett nett, and adding up the scores, i got 74/100 or 7.4/10. is that good (enough)? i supposed it's alright. but, yeah, i could have fared better.

heh heh... let's see whether i can improve this score to at least an 8/10 by the end of this year.

:-)

fortune telling

there is a particular website that allows one to predict the life of a person based on his birth date, and time. and when i used my birth details, and compare with what it says about me, it seemed to fit quite accurately.

things about my character, my life, about my career, etc. it was spot on about things like i know lots of things (talented), gets along well with people, that i will work overseas in my 30s, change career a few times when in my 40s, etc... it also says i get along very well with people born in the years of the horse (bee), dragon (james, my nephew), tiger (my niece) and cow (my second sis), etc. 

and here's the interesting bits. when i look into what it says about my future. it says have an illness that will be with me through my life and that will be the eventual cause of my demise. it also says i can expect to live up to 80 years of age and i will die during the forth lunar month. translating that to gregorian calendar, it means my death date is anytime between 6 may to 3 jun 2046. and oh, it also says i will have 2 "sons" to bid me farewell during my funeral.

hmmm... 

(about the 2 sons, lets see if my brother bears another son, haha - cos if i use my brother's birth details, it says he will have 3 kids - and i know my brother is trying for a third one)

leakages

i noted a rather worrisome sight today. the wall in the utility room that i had painted over over the last weekend has begun to show signs of mould again, and the stains are rather bad. and as per last week, it extended from the ceiling all the way to the floor. not only that, my maid told me that the kitchen floor seemed wet and she suspected that water is flowing out of the kitchen cabinet. 

i made an investigation and found that the interior of the kitchen cabinet below the sink is flooded with water. and by the look of wood that had totally warped, the pool of water must have been there for a considerable amount of time. but i half suspect that the leak is not from the sink. if it was, the mould wouldn't have appeared on the upper parts of the cabinet as well as the walls of the utility room. it could possibly be due to a hidden water pipe that runs from some water source to my kitchen sink, or worst still, from my neighbour above.

i spoke with a dear sistar (thomas is gonna kill me for this post, but well, i am so sure he'll forgive me), and he suggested that i seek the advice of my management agent. he gave some pointers about how this issue could be approached and i do really appreciate him for this. frankly, without his inputs, i would have really freaked out and get all stressed up. also, bee had also contacted a contractor to do a check. it would be a good opportunity to also do some renovation of my kitchen.

:-)

unsociable

for whatever reasons, i am just not in a sociable mood these days.

don't feel like talking, don't feel like interacting, don't feel like anything. just wanna get into myself and find my own space. it was the same at work, and it was the same with people around me, except with my mum, where i have to act normal. in this state, i don't mind people fussing over me, but don't expect me to respond. i will be very unresponsive or at best neutral in my response.

i supposed it is one of those times where i just want to be alone - which is actually not difficult cos in this state, i can be in crowded places, but i feel very alone.

afternote:

actually, when i think about it, it is not difficult to understand why i feel this way. at work, there are all sorts of weird dynamics and unsaid tensions, with the departure of my chief. and personally, i am under the stress of wanting to look for a job, having to go through the interviews, having to keep such stories to myself, and at the same time worried that with the ongoing changes, it might affect my current balance established between my work and my home. 

and at home, things seemed pretty routine although i must add that the "routineness" of this routine is somewhat unnatural cos there are many a times where smiles and relax moods are faked and you know why. and as for the people closest to me, including bee, i find it so laborious to share these details. so i keep it inside me, or at most i blog. hmmm, perhaps that is why i have so many blog posts this month!

whatever the case, it didn't change this fact - i feel lost. very lost. 

disrespectful behaviours

bee send me a couple of pictures that he downloaded from facebook. they were all pictures that depict caricatures of people. and every single picture tried to depict some form of views that are either political satires, controversial, or for that matter, utterly disrespectful.

i must say i am perfectly fine with those that depict political satires like for example, 4 gods carrying various symbols that represent the local political parties (lightning rod, hammer, etc) hovering over a mass of people that had been drawn such that altogether, the form the shape of the singapore island. for that matter, i thought the artist was rather creative. and i was kinda surprised to also see pictures depicting current issues that are not commonly discussed or a tat controversial such as gangsters, massacre, gay-sex, teacher-student sex, etc. the artist was clearly trying to make a statement of sorts. and if his motive was to shock and awe and raise people's awareness of such issues, i thought he did it pretty well.

but i am terribly irked and upset when i see some others that depict scenes that i thought was a tat insensitive and disrespectful. these included scenes such as a muslim woman with her headscarf and wearing nothing but her underwear, or a school teacher being nailed to the classroom wall, not unlike the crucifixion of jesus christ. i thought these had crossed the line of respect, and specifically, respect for the different religions that we celebrate here. of cos, i am not suggesting that the person cannot draw these scenes. but having done it, it would surely occur to the artist that this is perhaps a little controversial and thus should, in all logic and common sense, restrict his audience-ship. freedom of speech must come with some form of self-restraint and respect.

i am curious to see how people react to this. my gut instinct have never been wrong so far. whenever i feel uncomfortable about some things, someone would eventually make a report to the police. and when that happens, the media will pick it up, publish it in a manner that seemed objective but as usual, not. and it will then result in some hue and cry by people at large...

really very tired of such developments.

guardians of the universe

went for the show guardians of the universe with bee earlier.

it was an enjoyable show indeed although i must say i walked in not knowing what to expect. i had seen the trailer before and it didn't come across as nice given the characters that seemed so disjointed (they do not seemed to fit each other) considering they comprised characters like a treelike creature similar to that seen in the lord of the ring, a female version of jim carry's mask but certainly without the sense of humour, a muscled person who half-reminded me of the devil-character (cannot recall the name of the character), a raccoon similar to the rat master from ninja turtle and finally, a man who, when wearing his mask, looked like a japanese animae character or c3po from star wars.

so yeah, that was my first impression of these characters. but of cos, what kept me glued to the show was the songs and the storyline. songs from the 70s/ 80s always have this effect on me - i sing along with them. haha... and the storyline was simple enough with minimal twists, but with a lot of cranky jokes.

it was a good brainless show and i enjoyed it.

picture form schmoesknow.com