Question: The Monty Hall Problem

Have any of you watched the movie 21? This quiz is actually taken from the movie and I find it intriguing enough to be shared around. Do give it a try and let me know your answer. :)

Now, imagine yourself as a participant on a game show where you are presented with three doors in front of you. Let us call them Door A, Door B and Door C.

Behind one of these three doors is a brand new car while the rest are goats. You are required to guess the door that has the car behind it - unless you prefer a goat instead. :P

Sounds easy, right? Assuming that you pick Door A and the host - who knows what is behind the doors - intentionally opens Door C which sits a goat.

Good news, eh? Well, instead of revealing another door for you, the host offers you an opportunity to either stick with your initial choice or switch to Door B.

What say you? Stick or switch? And why?

As a reminder, please do not be a smart alec and browse through Google or Wikipedia for the answer. I just need your honest opinion. :)

My name is...

I actually wanted to compose this entry as the second episode of Let's Talk About Work but I figured that any entry that has anything to do with my company name should be excluded from the series after all.

In my line of work, I usually address myself by my surname whenever I greet customer calls that reached my desk.

Me: Thank you for calling Dell, my name is Tan.

Sure, I am not the only Tan in the company but the logic behind this decision is to restrict myself from getting too friendly or comfortable with my customers. After all, there are company ethical policies to abide by.

In case you were wondering, yeah I do have some weird moments when I need to call certain customers with the same surname as I do.

Me: Good day, Mr. Tan. This is Tan calling from Dell.

Unfortunately, the same trick does not work for India customers. First of all, their slang is different and hence, most of them are not able to pronounce Tan as we do.

Me: Thank you for calling Dell, my name is Tan.
India customer: Sorry, what is your good name again?
Me: My name is Tan. Tango, Alpha, November. Tan.
India customer: Thang?
Me: =.=" Yes, my name is Thang.

Alas, this did not last long as well for India is such a big and vast country that they actually have a number of regions with different slangs.

Me: Thank you for calling Dell, my name is Thang.
India customer: Thang?
Me: Yes, how can I help you?
India customer: Is it Dan?
Me: *thinks for a while* You can call me Daniel. =.="

-sigh-

It was good for a year or two until recently when I received an India customer's email.

From: NALAWADE.XXXXXXXX@xxxxxxxx.com
Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2009 5:12 AM
To: XX, XXX; xxx_support_xxxxx@dell.com
Cc: XXXXXXXXSERVERADMIN@xxxxxxxx.com
Subject: RE: [WARNING - ENCRYPTED ATTACHMENT NOT VIRUS SCANNED]

Dear Danyl,

Danyl WTF?! Is the name Daniel so uncommon that they cannot even get it right? Fine, fine, Daniel is never my Christian name or whatsoever so it should not be any issue for me...

... until 2 days ago.

Me: Thank you for calling Dell, my name is Daniel.
India customer: My name is Danial. Can I have your good name?
Me: Sure, it is Daniel.
India customer: Yes, I am Danial. What is yours?
Me: Daniel.
India customer: Yes, tell me.
Me: *facepalm*

And I went...

Money REALLY No Enough

Keep in mind that this is neither a rant nor blame post. This entry actually leans more towards getting feedback from the guys out there on a certain issue that is currently weighing down my shoulders. Of course, constructive opinions from the fairer sex are always welcomed as well. :)

So I was out at the bank yesterday to settle a few transactions and the amount of expenditures involved got me literally stunned for a moment there. In just a short span of 2 hours, my wallet was RM4605.15 lighter due to various loans & outstanding bills.

I am not the type of person who goes around chasing after wealth but damn, RM4605.15 is indeed an amount that is not easy to part with, especially since it concerns a number that is even much more than my monthly salary WTF?!

With this predicament clouding over my mind, I find it unfathomable how my colleagues and friends are able to afford a trip or two to some exotic countries or some cool gadgets that they toyed around for 2 months before dumping it aside for something new.

Where in the heaven did they milk their cash from? Is there some special cheat code that I need to shout out loud to get the sky to rain gold on my bed?

-sigh-

Here I am, still staring at my old list of necessities. It has been 2 years since I crossed over the boundary of slavery, into the stinky working society (that rhymes!) and I have yet to be able to put a tick to the Proposal Ring. Scroll down a little lower and there are still the Wedding and the House to ponder about. What about the Computer since mine has broken down a few months ago? In what order should I arrange their priorities?

This current dilemma of mine occasionally reminds me of an old song by Michael Finally Knows How To Fuc Rock; The Actor.

I'm not an actor I'm not a star
And I don't even have my own car~

Oh wait, I actually have a car. :P

Sometimes, I really do wonder which smart alec was the one who coined the term gentleman in the past. Look, I am a carefree guy with youthful intentions at heart and money should be the last thing for me to worry about. There are so many things that I want to do, locations to visit before I finally settle down and surrender myself to the gnawing jaw of age. Unfortunately, reality bites... and sucks too.

As I mentioned earlier, show me the money does not work and the list needs to be attended to sooner rather than later. I have tried to minimize my spending but I cannot help feeling something is wrong with my plan since those around me do not seem to have any problem splurging away.

No, I am not jealous. I am just curious for any shortcuts that I might have missed. Hmm... doesn't kill to try:

show me the money
show me the money
SHOW ME THE MONEY
*2 minutes ticked by but still no gold from the sky*


Cheated by the cheat code that does not work! :(

So, the question is, how do you guys - and girls - control your expenditures to the point that you have the heart to actually spend those hard-earned savings on things that are not related to your future needs? Let us see...

13% car loan
10% food
10% miscellaneous
10% father's allowance
10% savings plan premium
8% insurance premium
6.5% trust fund premium
5% Internet bill
2% motorcycle fuel
2% eletricity bill
2% flat maintenance
1% telephone bill

Take into account the remaining few deductions such as tax, SOCSO plus EPF and all that I have left is so puny that I do not even need a calculator to keep track of. Ah~ how pathetic it is to admit that the day to wed my sweetheart seems so distant away and owning a house is not something that I even dare to dream of. :'(

From what I read in local forums, a wedding event requires a budget of ±RM40,000. Gosh, I guess I am lucky after all to have friends like you all! A friend in need is a friend indeed, no?

For those of you who are so thick-skulled, *cough cough* bigger wedding ang pao *cough cough* :D

And dear 靖璇, this entry is not dedicated to you so there is nothing for you to feel bad about OK? ;)