Monday, January 19, 2009

Where are you from?

"Where are you from?"

I think this question is normal for the immigrants in Britain, whose look and whose English accent are different from natives. I have worked across the England, from London, Cambridge area, Norfolk, mid land to Yorkshire and Dorset. In London, most people don't care or don't have time to ask that question in first instance. But I was normally introduced with it especially in small towns where I also experienced a couple of people would stare at me as an alien in the town centre.

Ok, what I am trying to say is that I am a British citizen. I am a British tax payer. My pay slip shows PAYE (Pay as you earn) is over £1000 every month. I enjoy British breakfast. Fish and chip is my fav as well. (one time, someone from Norfolk asked me what kind of food I eat). I can drive in most parts of London very well while I have no more confidence to drive in Yangon. England has been my home.

But that question "Where are you from?" desperately reminds me my old country Burma (Myanmar) . In fact, I was raised in Burma. I was educated in Burma. I learnt medicine from Burmese patients in my early career as a doctor. What have I returned to them? What have I paid back to my old country? Are my old teachers still alive. Have I helped the world's poorest elderly from my home town in Burma? These are questions which come to my mind once someone asks me "Where are you from?".

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Samsung U600 : user friendly or not?

Nowadays, with the advances in technology, incredible electronic devices are available in the market. Sometime, some people including me find it difficult to cope with those stuffs. A couple of days ago, I bought Samsung U600 from Car Phoneware house. It is stunning in look. Very thin and light. Black and Gold colour. 3.2 mega px camera phone with many advanced features. Moreover, it is not locked to any line, so working with any SIM cards.

My problem started on Day 1. It has 4 touch buttons in addition to normal press buttons. These are quite sensitive even though there are 3 levels of sensitivity you can choose. So whenever I opened this slide phone, part of my finger was on one touch button. As a result, recent call list came up. With a further subtle movement, my phone had already been ringing the last contact I made a call. It happened several times in my 48 hours use. When I tried to stop it, I had to unlock first by pressing the middle circular button. So just after 48 hours of use, you may check below. I broke it into pieces simply. I have no time to go back to shop to return or to exchange. Anyway, now I am in piece of mind. :)