Status: ✅ Kuala Lumpur represents a new adventure for me, and a new project. The goals were simple: update/clean the systems, upgrade the internet connection, give pseudo-voip capability and try to get them on the VPN. Before leaving the states I had to make sure several things were in order. First, I needed to order the rotuer I was going to bring out with me. Next, I needed to make sure KL had arranged the appropriate DSL upgrades, and last: pretest the connection. Before leaving L.A. I had the opportunity to test the new router and have it connect to the VPN. All is good to go.

I slowly glance out of the 15th-storey window of my hotel and take in the aura of the Petronas Towers. The sky is slightly overcast, and the weather is perfect here in Kuala Lumpur, but the perfection doesn’t end there. Before leaving Korea, I probably shortened my life with stress. My flight left at 11:35 a.m., so I planned to catch the 8:30 a.m. bus to the airport. The ride takes about 45 minutes, which would leave me plenty of time to find my gate. One of my close friends passed away a few months ago, and I have brought some of his ashes with me. As a promise to his mother, I am leaving a pinch in the ground at each place I visit. After leaving the hotel, I had to buy batteries and find a suitable place. …

My last day in Korea. Wow. I am still not sure what to think. Seoul had so much happening, but few obvious tourist attractions. People were kind and formal in a way I was still trying to understand, and the history felt deeper than I could grasp in one visit. Korea had been a personal adventure, although not a typical one. Thinking back over the last week, I was beginning to realise that perhaps Korea wasn’t only about exploring another culture, but also about exploring myself.

Korea, Korea, Korea. It is raining again, but Korea has been filled with many bright moments. I have been here for several days now and am finally becoming used to the climate, the people, and especially the food. On my first day, I decided to get lost; this is seemingly a tradition in every city I enter. So, with a subway map in hand, but no map of the city, I jumped on the subway, rode for 45 minutes, got off, and wandered around. One thing I didn’t realise is that, in Korea, if you want to get lost — or even if you don’t — you get lost. I stayed mainly near the major streets because I needed to meet Amara at some point and couldn’t spend three hours looking for a subway station. I ate some bread, a moped …

Trouble seems to surround me when I drink Hennessy. I’ll upload the pictures as soon as I get them off my computer, but let me tell you: it will be a while before I drink that again. Most of you know how rarely I drink, or at least how often I try not to. On Saturday we lounged around and eventually headed to Los Angeles and Hollywood. My friend Todd, the tallest of our group, had a connection at a new and up-and-coming club called Vanguard. We first got dressed up and went for sushi. Pav bought a bottle of Hennessy, which we finished quickly at the table. Hennessy and sushi? I don’t recommend it. After dinner we went to the club, where Todd whispered the name of someone who worked there, and we …

Status: ✅ Currently our ERP setup is a nightmare, both in stability, features and especially administration. A new solution is in order. After collecting goals/requirements we have begun researching, and even started testing some platforms. The “other half” of the IT department and I installed and tested Compiere today on a spare (albeit low performance) rackmount. For those of you (most) who don’t know, Compiere is an ERP solution that ties together all the faucets of a company under one hood. We are impressed with Compiere, but installation is a bit on the complicated side.

Today we wandered through the hills above Santa Barbara, exploring a maze of valleys before reaching the top of one. As we looked over the city, we talked about the “good old days.” A concrete pillar stood nearby. After climbing onto it, Ben said, “I bet I could throw the football to Pav.” Both Ben and Pav had played football in high school, while I had been learning how to use Red Hat Linux 5.2.

I am keenly aware that I am getting less sleep — tomorrow night, in particular, is going to be painful. Tonight will most likely be the last night I sleep in the United States for quite a while. What an adventure. After briefly reading my last entry, I realise just how tired I was. In fact, my browser died halfway through writing about my day… We woke up, and luckily my packages arrived, including my airline ticket from Seoul to Kuala Lumpur. I’m very lucky! We ate some mac and cheese for breakfast and discussed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Many people are afraid when life becomes uncertain; I am embracing the uncertainty that will shape my life in the near future. My previous journeys have all been documented in some form of journal — this journey will be no different. Let me rewind and share the last few days. I am no longer in Portland. That city has given me so much insight into the real world, along with experiences, compassion, tolerance, and hope (no pun intended). The time has come, however, to start another adventure. I’m nearly done with my education at Portland State and feel confident that I am prepared for the next stage in my life. The weekend I left Portland was hectic, naturally, but relaxing at the same time.

Status: ✅ Toes, aka the Temporary Order Entry System, is a, get this, a temporary ordering system to buy some more time while the full ERP is designed and implemented. Because we grew so quickly, orders needed to be put in a temporary zone, then moved somewhere else (apologies for being vague, you can understand why). Myself and a co-worker hacked up a temporary holding zone for the orders. It allows New Invoices, to View Invoices, whatever is In Queue, Voided and Search. The order entry page is auto-loads prices and things from the database, so totals are pulled out of the database and added up automatically. We ultimately entered well over 1500 invoices into TOES before the ERP was implemented, and besides a …