I never like Rogers services since the very first beginning; but unfortunately I am one of their customers. For those who don’t know, Rogers is the biggest (and only?) GSM operator in Canada. There is another GSM operator, Fido; but Rogers bought them a couple of years ago. So… I don’t have any other choice.

Yesterday, I called Rogers customer care because my caller id doesn’t show up.

• First, I dialled Rogers customer care number (1-888-ROGERS1).
• There was an automatic answering machine, “Welcome to Rogers… blah, blah…. How can I help you?”
• I answered “Talk to representative”.
• The machine asked another question, “What kind of help do you need?”
• I answered “Technical support.”
• …
• I felt very stupid talking to an answering machine….
• …
• A couple of minutes later, a real human being was on the line, “Thank you for calling Rogers technical support. My name is …. May I have your phone number, please?”
• Okay… I gave her my phone number.
• Then she asked another question, “For verification purposes, may I have your date of birth and postal code, please?”
• Okay… I gave her my date of birth and postal code. I am not sure why they need that information. She doesn’t even know what my problem was.
• …
• A moment later….
• …
• I explained that I am having a problem with caller id.
• She asked me, “What kind of phone do you have?"
• I said, “Nokia N95 8GB”.
• Then… she said, “Sorry sir, technical support for Nokia N95 8GB is handled by another department. It is considered a PDA. Let me transfer you to the right representative.”
• …
• Oh my God…. I was very sure this has nothing to do with my phone. I was very sure it is a problem with the network… somewhere.
• …
• Waiting for another representative….
• …
• Still waiting…
• …
• After 15 minutes…
• …
• Someone answered my call.
• …
• After explaining my problem again, the representative asked me to remove the battery and reboot my phone. Oh boy… I was really sure there was nothing wrong with my phone.

Anyway… Rogers customer care just drove me crazy.

This is actually an old story from New York Times, Trying to Live on 500K in New York City. It’s been a while since I read the article, but then forgot to post it on my blog.

So… imagine a banker at Wall Street with salary of $500K / year. Can he/she afford to live in New York City? Here is the breakdown:

• Take-home pay after tax is $293,000.
• Mortgage payment for modest-three bedroom apartment, which was purchased for $1.5 million: $8,000 / month or $96,000 / year. According to the story, $1.5 million apartment is not the top of the market at all.
• Maintenance fee for the apartment: $8,000 / month or $96,000 / year.
• Many executive has cars and drivers which can cost at minimum $75,000 / year.
• Private school for two children: $64,000 / year.
• Cost for grocery: $425 / 10 days or $15,000 / year.

If we sum up all of the costs above, we’ll get $346,000…. Those still costs don’t include clothing, vacation, etc. So, how can this executive live with salary of $500K / year.

That’s why; don’t be surprised if you see many Wall Street executives receive million of dollars salary. Interestingly, they might even have enough saving for rainy days. Once they got laid-off from their firms… (guess what will happen).

Some of you may have heard that Nortel, once the biggest company in Canada, filed bankruptcy protection yesterday.
Some analysts have predicted about this possibility for quite some time. For me, I just couldn’t believe that the biggest company in Canada about 8 years ago is worth nothing now. It’s just totally crazy.

Honestly, I didn’t know much about Nortel before I came to Canada. I knew it is a big telecommunication company; but that’s about it. When I came to Canada, I met some new friends and many of them used to work for Nortel.
There is a story about a friend of my friend who used to be a millionaire during Internet bubble because he owned Nortel stock. After Internet bubble, he basically owned nothing.

A success story of (once) the biggest Canadian company is now over. I feel so sorry to Nortel employees who have to live in uncertainty for the next couple of weeks (months). Good luck to all of you… I wish I could do something better.

Bonus Links

• Nortel at Wikipedia
• Nortel Files for Bankruptcy (Business Week)
• Nortel’s Road to Bankruptcy (Business Week)

I’ve been getting questions from my friends and family about how to migrate to Canada. Many of them want to migrate to Canada to have “a better life”.

First of all, when they ask me this question, I always ask back

“Are you sure you want to migrate to Canada?”

Then I will also ask

“Are you ready to live in Canada?”

Most of them think that life in Canada is great. They can get easy money. Blah… blah…. well, you know all those BS.

If they answer “yes” to those questions, then I’ll point them to CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) web site. Everything they need to know is available there, including requirements and application forms.
Just open your browser and read the information. My job is done.

Well… actually not yet.

After this point, they will realize that the immigration process is so long and complicated. Some of them will come back to me, “Is there an easier way to migrate to Canada?”, “Do you know any agents who can help me?” Oh boy… don’t they even read the link that I sent them?

There is, of course, no easier way to migrate to Canada. Well, they can come as refugees; but they won’t be able to come back to their home country. Agent or other immigration representatives will not help that much either. It is written in CIC web site:

You do not need to hire an immigration representative. It is up to you. The Government of Canada treats everyone equally, whether they use the services of a representative or not.

Come on people… Do some research… You won’t survive in Canada if you want everything to be “easy”.
Life is indeed “hard” in Canada (well, I guess everywhere is the same).

It sounds crazy; but I have received several voice calls from +1-888-556-5140 the last 3 days. They said that they are from ICT Group and hired by my bank. They are offering credit card protection services, for example if we lost our wallet when we’re traveling.

On the first call, they explained about their protection services for about 2-3 minutes. I said that I am not interested. They keep telling me about their services. I said again that I am not interested. Surprisingly, they keep telling me about the advantages of having their services. Oh boy…

The next day, they called again (not the same person though). I am just tired with them already. So I asked them, “How do I know if you are really ICT?” They said that they have been hired by my bank. Then, I repeated my question, “How do I know if you are really hired by my bank? How do I know if you are not trying to steal my identity?” Finally, they gave me a number to call. I believe it is VISA call center number.

Today, they called me again. I just ignored the call. A couple of hours later, they called me again. Oh boy… don’t they have someone else to call?

This is a follow-up to my previous posting, Layoff Everywhere. I have compiled five signs that might help to determine whether you will be laid-off soon or not.

1. Your company’s stock price has dropped more than 90% since October last year.
2. Management keeps saying “The fundamental of our company is still great. We expect to have an excellent growth next year.”
3. Your company started to have all-hands meeting every week; but you have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.
4. Everybody at your office plays Solitaire or checks their Facebook everyday. It is a good sign that your company doesn’t have projects any more.
5. Your coffee machine is broken and nobody cares to fix it.

If you are experiencing those signs above, prepare your RESUME right now!!!

I have been asked several times about tuition fee at Indonesian universities. It’s not an easy answer. When I pursued my bachelor degree at the University of Gadjah Mada (UGM), I paid ~$20 / semester for my tuition fee. Yes, it was 20 bucks (not 20 thousands).

Well, it’s true that I studied at the university about 15 years ago. However, I believe the current tuition fee is still below $250 / semester (anyone from UGM to confirm?)

Why is it so cheap? Firstly, UGM is a public university. Private universities usually charge much higher tuition fees. Secondly, Yogyakarta, the city where UGM is located, is an inexpensive city to live.

Just to give you an overview, here is a list of my spending when I was living in Yogyakarta (again, it was 15 years ago):

• Room rental: $10 / month
• Food: $20 / month
• Transportation: $5 / month
• Entertainment: $5 / month
• Miscellaneous: $10 / month

Of course, the costs are 3-4 times more expensive now; but still they are quite cheap. Just for comparison, I can easily spend $20 for a dinner in Vancouver.

What is the relation between "the richest man in the world" and "the inventor of blue energy"? Both of them are from Indonesia. No… no… I’m just kidding. I’ll come back to this topic later.

Let’s start with another story first. Every day, each time I read news about my home country, Indonesia, I feel sad. The country is facing a lot of problems, politically and economically. The government has recently raised the fuel price, which makes many people unhappy.

The story continues…. Two "crazy" Indonesians have tried to make fun of the problems in the country.

The first person is Achmad Zaini. He claimed to have ~2,000 billion USD, which should be enough to develop the country for the next 36 years. If his claim were true, he is 30 times richer than Warren Buffett (the current richest man the world according to Forbes).

The second person is Joko Suprapto. He claimed to have technology that turns sea water into fuel. Wow… amazing, isn’t it? Even Indonesian president, SBY, has visited him and gave full support to his research. Unfortunately, it is just too good to be true.

Oh boy…. what’s next?

Recently, there was someone left a comment on my old posting, Three Reasons Why I don’t Like Living in Vancouver. He said that it’s better for me to leave the city. It doesn’t need people like me. In a way, the comment is correct. If I don’t like the city, why am I living here in the first place? The reason why I live in Vancouver was because I got a job in a big company back in 2005. That’s why, I decided to relocate from Singapore to Vancouver, Canada.

After living here for about 2 years; I realized that I hardly survive here (as I mentioned in my previous posting). The housing price is not affordable. There was a statement from RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) recently about housing’s affordability in Metro Vancouver:

RBC released its latest housing affordability index the day after a major report by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities warned that the unaffordability of housing is becoming an economic issue for Canadian cities, and Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan said too many families here are having to choose between buying food or making the mortgage.

This one is more even interesting:

By the bank’s measure, it would take 75 per cent of Metro Vancouver’s median income of $60,000 to afford an average two-storey home, which carried a $619,892 price tag.

Is it only me who feels very hard living in Vancouver? I copied some comments from Vancouver Sun readers below.

Housing costs have more than doubled in the past 7 years, with no end in sight. At this rate, it’s almost impossible for a young couple to afford a detached single family home and have any sort of life. (KarenL)

YVR is out of reach for people making less than $100K per year. Even for a family with $150K per year income it’s almost impossible to buy a house… (POLLO)

I’m a new physician, netted about 300k last year and still, I’m not prepared to buy a home in Vancouver. It is all the greedy investors who snatch up all the homes that drive up the prices. (JIM)

Why didn’t I leave Vancouver then? There was an unfortunate that I had 2 years contract with my company. If I leave the company before 2 years; then I had to pay some amount of money.

What’s my next plan after 2 years? I have a plan in my mind already; but couldn’t disclose it now. I need to prepare everything first; because I don’t want to make the wrong decision.

I keep asking myself this question, why I don’t like living in Vancouver. I’ll try to give five three reasons here. I know many of you, especially the ones who love Vancouver, will not agree with me.

1. The living cost is damn expensive. As an example, take a look at the Canadian housing price chart here. Vancouver housing price is twice more expensive than Toronto and 2.5 times more expensive than Montreal. Do people in Vancouver receive more salary than other Canadian cities? Check Canada Salary Wizard from CanadaVisa.com and you will find the answer.
2. It is a city for retirement. There is nothing wrong with this except that we cannot put a high expectation on our career, especially in the high-tech industry. There are only a few high-tech companies in Vancouver. This is a problem for me because I make my living from the high-tech industry.
3. Health system is bad. I am not sure whether this is a problem all across Canada or only in British Columbia. From my experience, the waiting time to see a doctor in Vancouver can take weeks or even months. Last time, I had a dermatofibroma and it took me 3 months to make an appointment for the surgery. Before that, I met 5 other doctors and none of them were able to cure my disease. No kidding… 5 doctors in Greater Vancouver area!
   Another problem is the concept of family doctor. Here, we can only see our family doctor. We cannot go to another doctor without recommendation from our family doctor. How about a new immigrant? It is getting interesting because most of the good doctors here do not accept new patients any more.

Why am I still staying in Vancouver now? When you have a family, you have a big responsibility. Believe me, relocation is not as easy as when you are single.