Recently I got a really sweet deal from a laptop roadshow that includes 3GB RAM, 60GB HD space, original Windows Vista, MS Office, and other goodies. It was time for my 3-year old S2020 to move on to a slower-paced life back in Malaysia, as some of the buttons on the keyboard had just died.

I’d like to bring to light a certain ‘feature’ to new users of Windows Vista. Whenever you plug in an external memory device (e.g. thumbdrive, CD-RW, DVD-RW, memory stick, etc), you will most probably encounter a dialog box telling you that your device contains a ‘bad’ file or something and gives you the option to ‘Scan and fix (Recommended)’ or to ‘Continue without scanning’. Here’s what you do: DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT click on ‘Scan and fix’!!

I had plugged in my digicam to transfer some rare-to-happen family photos of my Dad while he was in Malaysia. Thinking of the scan and fix feature to be something like a virus scan, I only realized the horrible truth when I discovered that all my pictures were gone when I then clicked to transfer them to the hard drive. There was only some sort of rudimentary file left on the digicam’s memory card. A quick research online through forums and support websites turned into a night-long frantic search for the missing files.

It seems I wasn’t the only one to have a problem like this. However the only responses these people got from tech support were that they could try downloading a few file recovery programs like Recuva (which this person tried with no success, and so did I), and to make sure that you never unplug your devices without ‘Safely Removing Hardware’, as the sudden cut-off will create corrupt files that triggers this ‘Scan and Fix’ dialog box. It’s the big difference between Windows XP and Windows Vista, because most of the time it’s ok to just yank out your external device, on Vista, it’s a HUGE no-no!

However, I have to note that some people have no problems with this feature, and never lose any files after the scan. Weird, huh? I’ll just choose to stick with clicking ‘Continue without scanning’ in the future.

Here are some helpful links from my research for a little bit more detailed explanation.

People, people! It’s alright, the kangaroos didn’t wolfnap me, I’ve just been away sorting out my life. You see, I did arrive in Perth, but I moved to Adelaide two weeks later. In between that time frame was a muddle of being late for uni registration, visits to the Immigration Department, wondering what I was gonna do with life, twice postponed uni registration, deciding to withdraw from uni, and buying a one-way ticket to Adelaide.

Why all this madness, you ask? Well, as close friends and family know, I moved in with WiKKiD, my boyfriend. I switched back to a Tourist Visa for now, and depending on my luck, I’d try getting some work experience here or I’d have to apply for another course for a year’s study soon.

So yeah, that’s me for now. I had one of the most awesome birthdays I’ve had here too. WiKKiD took me down to his parents shack down by the river and we incorporated drinking game rules to table tennis, darts, Uno, movies, and practically anything that’ll give us the excuse to drink. I was so drunk the entire time I spent there I would wake up in the middle of the night to laugh! It was great

I’ve been preoccupied a lot since I got here, but I promise to start taking and posting more photos here soon! Until then, I’ll catch you later, mate.

My flight tomorrow is at 9:40am, KLIA, estimated time of arrival at 3pm local time. W00t!

Just Google it, damnit! D’oh!

Gah! Packing is horrendous. Seeing as shipping stuff over is expensive-ish… I have to figure out the essential things I might need, while being limited to 20KGs in allowed baggage weight.

It’s even harder knowing that you’re moving to another country for good. What memories are you gonna take with you, and what are you not? Are you going to leave them behind, or thrash them?

Packing, is horrendous.

Peoples, due to my Aussie visa not being through yet, I’ve confirmed a flight on the 31st of July instead, because the airlines gave me a cutoff deadline at 1pm today to issue my previous seat.

I do love my YouTube, and though I don’t have many of my own videos, you guys should definately check out my favorites. It’s growing with fun shizzle

Prior to my Some Funnies post, I’d installed a Wordpress plug-in called Anarchy Media Player which enables Wordpress users to show audio and video links in their appropriate players on one’s website.

I particularly like the easy buttons that show up on the Rich Text Editor — great for n00bs and jaded coders alike. But yeah, it’s awesome, get it if you’re into all this multimedia madness!

I don’t know how or why, but inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention & Rehabilitation Center in the Phillippines all decided to get together to dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” Seriously, WTF mate? ^^

And I wanna go with a theme here, so here’s the Indian version of Thriller:

Ok, and lastly (bet Malaysians would have seen this coming), the 2004 Malaysian Idol ‘Michael Jackson’ LMAO

My aunt and uncle were down in KL recently, staying over at our other apartment unit a minute’s walk away. Endless chatter into the wee hours of the morning is normal when it comes to this family, and I particularly like it when discussions about ghosts, fairies and such arise — and it always happens, as the stories told are what actually happened to my aunt and my mom. I love paranormal talk!

While she was over, Auntie Girlie passed me a little Nazar bead attached to a pin. Apparently there’s a little stall in the Mont Kiara fleamarkets that sell these in all sizes and decorative style. A Nazar or Evil Eye Stone, is an amulet from ancient mythology that protects against the evil eye. They originate from Turkey. I’ve never owned one before, but I’ve seen palm-sized ones watching over the front entrances of some of my relatives’ homes. Do I believe in it? I don’t know, but I do know that it’s bloody cool to have one.

More about Nazars here, and Evil Eyes here.

On the Aussie-bound front, there’s still no news from the visa department. I went for my medical on Monday — peed into the obligatory tiny cup and had doctors grope me and stick their hands down my pants (hernia check) with a smile on their faces. Maybe someone’s trying to be funny with me. I never had a breast exam on my first medical for my first trip to Australia, and I could pee into a kidney-shaped pan too, so I didn’t have to aim! But anyway, I’m fit like a champ

I had two preventive fillings on the sides of two teeth at the dentist today, no scaling was needed as my teeth were still in tip-top shape and didn’t need to remove my wisdom teeth that recently grew out over the months of work stress. So I guess I also have great teeth? W00t for Wolfy!