Incoherent babbling

This week hasn't been too great class wise. Have been resorting to more incoherent babbling than usual! Wonder why though since I'm feeling pretty good with August on it's way. Maybe it's all the late night studying. Derailing my trains of thought. Hmm...

Doing the Masters online is a pretty novel affair. Taking 2 classes, one with 77 students and the other with 46, and they come from everywhere though the majority is Australia. It's actually quite fun (if you disregard the assignments). :)

Streamyx has been up and running for the second week now and already I can't imagine life without it. Streamyx (and Astro) are my two best friends. Life is just so much more fun with them around :)

With the help of students (or rather part-time workers since I paid them), I have distributed 2000 flyers around the neighbourhood. Am hoping this will help jumpstart some numbers for CreativeKids. Really too bad that no other classes are running except for mine. Might have to resort to hiring outside teachers if I want to get the place up and running.

It's Tuesday with 3 days to the weekend. Giving a talk at One Academy on Saturday. Yay! Talks there are fun to do. Lots of eye candy :) (slaps self for shallow, but true, remark).

Blushing and burping
 
Am finding it a tad difficult to concentrate at work when colleagues and students are cultivating the fancies of a group of female students who erm, find me 'cool' and have asked about my availability and weirdly my starsign in less than direct means. Tsk tsk... students nowadays... must stop my face turning red though, kinda hard to be stern and strict while blushing. One plus point is that I have higher than usual intakes for my department :) Hehe...
 
Had such a good lunch. Great 'nasi goreng cendawan' with a dessert of dried mangoes and chocolates. Sweet tooth very satisfied. Nyam...

On another note, have started a new blog as a study journal record for my masters. Those inclined are welcomed to drop by :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HL!
 
First up, a big birthday greeting to HL who celebrated his 25th birthday last Saturday :) And with that done, well, where's the cake?
 
..........
 
Had a good weekend back home, doing usual home stuff like eating and tv. Did somewhat of a bigger than usual pigging out session simply because from today onwards, I'll be majorly swamped. Outside of work, my Master program has started so homework and studying will have to take some priority. Am also giving a two-day talk at The One come the end of the month so there's also that to prepare for. Plus two new CreativeKids classes kicking off in August so that's another to do on my list. Not forgetting the current Creative Writing classes. I hope I'm not being too ambitious but if I get grumpy and more reserved than usual, you'll know why!
 
Have to postpone board meeting to maybe August or later, simply because of the above. Will have to settle the talk and the new classes first before I have a better measure of my time. But will be good to catch up with Jacq and Aimo. Let me know when you guys are free :)
 
.........
 
Had an orientation program for new students today. One of my Multimedia students didn't know how to spell 'multimedia'. How promising...

Board games, themeparks, and rabbits

Finally got my board games I ordered from Amazon. Arrived in mint condition and quickly took them out for some play action. Here's the verdict.

1. Vampire Hunter:
A unique game where you play in the dark. Game board comes with a built in light that switches from night to day revealing different things on the board. Basically when blue light is on, all blue toned images become invisible and vice versa with red. Takes 30 mins for first time set up and 10 mins to finish. Needless to say, stupidly designed game, albeit with a neat concept.

2. Roller Coaster Tycoon:
Looks exactly like the computer version. Fun game, objective being to 'buy' as many attractions and see who gets the most guests. Very cool, very fun. Although a tad quick. Game ends in less than an hour.

3. Nascar Pictionary
Your standard Pictionary but Nascar themed. Made the mistake of assuming that the theme extended only to the board design. Apparently, everything is Nascar themed so words such as 'brakes', 'harness', 'speed zone' are common. TOUGH!

Should be an interesting board meeting :)

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Genting was alright. Weather was gorgeous. The first time I go to Genting without a camera and they have this awesome weather and just amazing cloud formations. First time I've seen a rainbow ringed cloud. Really spectacular. Everything else is just the usual. Genting fails to excite after the 8th or so visit within 3 years.

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Woke up this morning to realise that Dominose is ill. Has an open wound which is badly infected. Very gross, very disgusting. He's now in the vet undergoing a minor surgery to clean the wound, suture, and undergo antibiotic treatment. Biscuit and myself to be blamed. Biscuit for biting him and me for not getting someone to come over when I was away. Paying the price of pet neglect. Sigh....

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Have a good day ahead everyone!

Holiday beckons!

Next week is the mid-semester break for the college so I can finally take leave! Academic staff can only go leave during semester breaks, a little sucky but we get 20 days annually. So am off for three days and going to go spend time in Genting come Monday! WOOHOO!!! Genting, here I come!



ps: Genting mega savings room rates mean one night only costs RM18. El cheapo!

On a student proposal...

Materials: semen, stone, toy, water

Construction: First, build a square platform as a base, then mix with water with semen and put into the base...

I should have asked him where he gets his supplies. Gawd...

The morning after...

Yawns... sleepy and cold on a slow moving Thursday evening. Reeling from the after effects of Wednesday TV night. Spent the entire evening/night glued to the TV. Here's what I watched:

6:30pm - Justice League
7:00pm - Playhouse Disney Channel
7:30pm - Just Shoot Me
8:00pm - The Amazing Race 5 Pilot
9:30pm - The Practice (midway)
10:00pm - CSI
11:00pm - Random channel surfing
11:30pm - Charmed

Finally got to bed at 12:30am... yawns... for me that's late. Am usually in bed by 11pm, except for Wed TV night of course. :)

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Love the weather of late. Beautiful crisp mornings. Nice cool evenings. Perfect! Times like this, I'm glad I'm able to take in the morning sun, rather than having to rush off at 6am to get to work like before.

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Masters kicking off soon. Getting a tad nervous. Also a little weird to be on the receiving end of e-learning :) Am so used being the one on the other side of the LMS, and now lecturing rather than studying. But am keen to start. Already making friends with a whole lot of Aussie folks. Unfortunately, I seem to be the baby of the bunch. Everyone else seems to be in late thirties onwards, very professional people with tonnes of experience. Daunting...

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Friday tomorrow! Hoorah!!!

Bringing out the Simon in you

Had another review class for the final semester Multimedia Design students this morning. Really would like to be supportive and encouraging but always end up emulating America's infamous critic. Among phrases I repeatedly use:

'That's just normal, where's the creative concept?'

'Speak in English, I can't understand you.'

'And when are you going to finish?'

'Did you start sketching yesterday?'

'How are you going to pass?'

Needless to say I'm not exactly the most popular lecturer around. Hehehe, not here to win a popularity contest however. So out with the niceties, in with the whip. *LASH*

In a similar vein, anyone out there in the Multimedia industry who will like to be an external moderator for my department? Give me a buzz, there's a small honorarium (money) but you must be a competent multimedia professional. Very little work one, no worries. Buzz me :)

Berbahasa

Selepas menimbangkan cadangan rakan kita Kotakkosong, saya memutuskan untuk menggunakan Bahasa Melayu untuk paparan 'blog' saya pada hari Isnin yang biru ini. *menguap*

Seperti yang biasa, hari Isnin sememangnya tidak dialu-alukan. Kalaulah dapat tidur 5-6 jam lagi, barulah kepuasan lebih berimpak. Malangnya, tiada apa yang dapat kita lakukan. Sedihnya.

Hujung minggu saya yang lalu hanya sederhana. Bergotong royong di pejabat pada hari Sabtu, mengosongkan bilik setor. Selepas itu, saya pergi menonton 'orang labah-labah kedua' pada malam hari. Tersangat bagus, penggunaan kesan-kesan istimewa dan cara lakonan sungguh menakjubkan! Tiada terasa pun betapa kelakarnya nama 'Tobey', pelakon utama tayangan itu.

Pada hari Ahad, saya membantu rakan saya memulakan kelas bimbingan matematiknya di 'Studio Budak-budak Kreatif'. Saya terpegun dengan kadar harge kelas itu. Pada RM35 sejam, dengan 4 jam seminggu, rakan saya mampu mengaut keuntungan yang bersamaan dengan apa yang diraut saya dengan hanya 11 murid! Bidang kerja ini sememangya mampu membawa untung! *bermimpi*

Sebelum DBP datang menyaman saya kerana merosakkan bahasa Melayu, baik saya menamatkan paparan ini untuk seketika. Semoga hari Isnin yang biru ini membawa kegembiraan kepada rakan-rakan sekalian!

(cubaan berbahasa saya sememangnya sedih....)

Oh Mandy...

Yawns... weekend was full and tiring. As per usual, had to clean the house on weekends and considering that the house is relatively large, and I'm doing it alone, it's quite an effort. Plus there's the garden to tend, house plants to take care, aquariums to clean, and rabbits to baby. Gosh... I have the utmost respect for mothers the world over.

Was also busy with designing logos for a competition. Very tough considering that the logo is for the Board of Engineers and I had no idea what to depict. Took the entire weekend and a week of sketching before that to come out with two mediocre work. Sigh... hope I win maybe consolation.

Also took time to distribute flyers. It's really amazing how humbling it can be. People give weird looks to people who distribute flyers. Must be what garbagemen and all those other jobs the general population relatively look down upon, be like. Was uncomfortable for awhile but couldn't be bothered after. The only thing that bothers me a lot though is the dogs. Argh... hate having a dog bounding towards you and you rushing to get the flyer in and buck out. Dogs terrify me (though I still love the nice ones).

And oh, had weird but strangely pleasant dream last night :) First up, met Donald Duck. So cute but weird meeting a blabbing incoherent duck in sailor uniform. AND I met WESTLIFE! Hahaha... not like I'm a fan but well, t'was interesting :)!

Bunny Battle Royale

Wombat is now in USJ with me :) Decided that I have enough space in the backyard to cope with three bunnies. They did try to fight a bit but they've all somewhat settled in their own spaces. Don't know why but from being good bunny friends, the three of them now are aggresively territorial. Maybe it's the hormones...

So glad it's a Friday. Has been a very lethargic and tiring week. Don't quite know why though, probably a mental event. What with evicting tenants and deciding on a Masters. Can't wait to sleep in tomorrow. Hoorah!

Tenant making it difficult, pleaded for me to reconsider. I will not. People who open unopened biscuit tins and take your biscuit are downright rude and annoying. So OUT they go. Giving a reminder letter to them today, very the harsh but what to do.

Anyone free this weekend to lend me a hand distributing more flyers? Dinner treat on me! :) Let me know yeah!

Getting seasick in choppy waters

It seems like change is the theme for this year! Getting a little nauseated with all the tumult but moving ever onwards.

First up, plan to do my Masters. Don't want to put it off anymore. Since I'm quite comfortable being in education, a Masters will definitely be useful. Planning to do a Masters in Online Education. Seems to be more relevant (and a little more fun) than an MBA.

Also evicted my ground floor tenant. A little scary in the sense that budget will be tighter but I don't plan to give up CreativeKids anytime soon. Instead hoping to double student numbers by year end. And AIMO! Where forth art thou? Back in USJ yet?

Anyways, tenant made a pretty emotional plea for continuing his tenancy. Apparently his wife is 7 months into term. Now, if I had known that, I wouldn't have wanted him renting in the first place. No place for a baby in my home. So notice has been given. Have to put my needs before sympathy. Plus I've had enough of pilfered food.

And oh, thanks Meng for the chang! Nyam... love them except for the Chinese one. Didn't quite fancy that but Rick liked it. Thanks!

Board games coming by end of month. Will let you guys know when the next board meeting is :)

It's a Friday! Oh joy!

Weeks seem to be zooming by very quickly lately. Possibly because days are much fuller. Unlike my previous job, where work comes in unpredictable bits, teaching in a college is somewhat more predictable, although very time consuming. There are always lesson plans to prepare, students to entertain, classes to go to, and papers to mark, and on top of that, being the Head of Department also means working with the part-timers and a lot of forms to fill and sign. And then at nights, there's CreativeKids :) Now, there's a real challenge!

Have a new student who the parent proudly mentioned as having completed one of those kiddy franchise language programs. Don't know how to break it to the mom though but her son is the slowest in the class. He can write well enough but seems to be unable to think on his own. Says a lot about franchise programs. Tsk tsk...

The boy is also a troublemaker. You could see everyone's eyes suddenly got bigger when I raised my voice, stood to full stature and sent someone to a corner. Muahahahahaha...

It's such a challenge though... you need to be both educating and entertaining. Very rewarding learning experience. Reinforces my decision that having kids is something you have to think twice over, and then twice over again. I think I'll just get a dog.

Am also considering taking up an MBA. Anyone keen? Hoping to get a buddy to get in the program with me :)

My room

Was cleaning up the house as usual on Sunday (managing a house is tough) so after 2 hours of sweeping, mopping and wiping (did I say tough?), and rubbing off pencil marks from my tables, decided to do my room (2 hours just for the ground floor). Remembered I had a wallpaper mural that I hadn't opened so well, decided to put it up and here's the result :)



Ah... bliss... now I can put on my Deep Space Nine Trekkie outfit, hit my Voyager comm badge, and play pretend. Some boys never grow up...

~

And oh, anyone seen these wizards?

Earth to erm, Earth

Am in a jolly good mood this morning :) Never underestimate the power of good nasi lemak! After years of crackers and soymilk for breakfast, having nasi lemak is so great! Wished I could do it daily, although my body probably wouldn't appreciate me for it!

Life has been tumultous but not all in a bad way. Lots to think about, lots of changes but keeping pace and staying focused. A parent dropped a note the other day saying how much her kids (she sent 2 of her sons for Creative Writing) loved the class and she wanted to thank me for inculcating a joy for learning in them. Never felt so pleased in such a long time :)

Work has been at a pretty upbeat pace. Semester slowly kicking in and assignments and exams are slowly looming. Am already building a reputation as a no nonsense, stern lecturer and already students are complaining. Although being the head of department as well, there really have no one to complain to but me! Muahahahahaha... lazy students are gonna die. No tolerance for late submissions and late classes. Muahahahahahahaha....

Hope everyone is doing good. When is Chun and Saw coming back anyways? Need kaki for 'board' meeting. :)

Watch the upswing!

Am in a better mood of late. Guess I have resolved some things in my life and there are some new events and people that's putting things in perspective. Good to be moving on.

So thrilled with the prospect of The Prisoner of Azkaban! Got my tickets already for Saturday night. Just can't wait :) Also looking forward to a family outing to Sunway Lagoon this Sunday. Gonna be fun fun fun! Although am breaking my bank just a wee bit, especially since I'm also planning a Genting escapade in July. Must always never forget to pamper oneself... wonder why my colleagues think I'm thrifty though. For someone with zero savings, thriftiness isn't in my vocabulary (well, it is, but you know what I mean).

Celebraring student number 12! Although not all have confirmed since some are still using their free trial classes, I'm just happy to have the warm response. Classes are quite fun and kids getting boisterous, probably because a guy with rabbits in his backyard can't be all that evil now, can he? :) Hope to be able to convert them all to paying students soon but in the meantime, finally reaping some profits from the ones who have finished the free May classes! Made just enough to pay off my Astro subscription and installation. Yay!

Hope all of you guys are well. Chun and Saw seems to be having a ball! Let's all meet for another 'board' meeting when everyone's back :)

Rabbit Run

Went down the hall last night to see two eyes staring back at me from the dark porch. Thinking it was a cat (who infuriates me by swishing at my outside fishies) I went out only to realise it was Dominose and Biscuit who have learnt to hop over the lower fenced grille and run outside. Took awhile and a lot of running and jumping to catch them and bring them back. Argh... need to get more wire mesh now.

Caught Shrek 2 last night. Outside of idiotic parents and their loud mouth kids (to be expected with any kiddie appeal movie), it was alright. Fun watch but nothing mind-blowing. Looking forward to Potter though, especially with Dementors, Hippogrifs, Boggarts and so much more! Fun fun fun...

Decided on a whim to indulge in an Astro subscription. Just feel like some material pampering and what's better than satellite tv? :) Needless to say, Enterprise has something to do with it. Looking at Streamyx as my next target.

Looking forward to the weekend as always. Has been a whirlwind week that I'm glad is ending. First week of classes as well at work, so quite an experience.

Greater Meaning

Am such a big fan of the Star Trek franchise. And have just been catching up on the Enterprise showing on Astro. Reluctant to bug my aunt on a Sunday night but too tempting to resist. Sigh, just listening to the opening theme gives me goosebumps. It's such a great notion of having humanity united towards seeking a greater meaning. And the star ships plain rock! Hai... what would I give to be able to work at NASA.

Just got back from a last minute roadshow to Muar yesterday evening. Really don't mind the roadshows. Get to go out, stay at a hotel, check out a new town, and get on average RM 100 in claims per day :) Don't mind it at all except for the fact that most of the roadshows we go to are to Chinese schools so Mandarin-ignorant me becomes really useless to have around.

Am still generally bummed out. Misspelled 'exercise' during evening English class yesterday. Hope credibility is still intact! One new student who was supposed to come didn't turn up though. Probably because the mom realised that Puchong is really quite a way from USJ and I doubt I'm that good as to warrant the time and expense. Looking forward to catching up with Aimo to make new plans for the drawing classes. Am very pleased that the studio is doing well, at least that's something to keep me occupied and sane before I mull myself into angry depressive Dan again.

Family and most of my extended family in Melaka will be coming up tomorrow morning for a cousin's wedding tomorrow night at Sunway. Should be fun, especially with everyone cramming into 3 houses in USJ, mine, my aunt's and my other cousins. Gonna be hectic but fun. 6 people per bathroom... interesting. Have to do some housecleaning tonight and stock up the fridge. Also going Ikea tomorrow... meeting Jin there probably. Anyone else wanna come? :)

Anyways, thanks guys for the support and consolation. I'm good and will be good especially with so many good friends about. Happy Friday now everyone and to Chun and Saw, have a GREAT trip to the US! :) Get as much rest as you can on the flight and drink lotsa fluids (avoid coffee, tea and alcohol). And don't forget to get me a postcard!

Mid-Week Crisis

This week has been pretty eventful in a lot of ways and am quite drained already. Having diarrhorea from suspect nasi lemak doesn't quite help. Tuition students probably wondering why I keep giving them breaks. Had to empty my stock of MooJooz to tide them over.

It's really amazing how we change as we get older. I can just remember how my problems and priorities used to be so overblown. Taking a bigger view of the world also helps that. Can't help feeling that small things like 2 cents petrol increase and etc. is so diminutive when there are wars fought, and riots, and bombs going off elsewhere in the world. Which is why I'm also very peeved with idiotic house owner who threw garbage bags full of leaves that MPSJ collected and left by the side of the road, everywhere. First of all, you don't own the side of the road, even if it flanks your house. And just think of all that hard work gone to waste?

Maybe am being a little edgy but darnit, even am mad with tenants who don't seem to grasp the subtleties of ownership. When I hit 20 students, (and I hope I do), groundfloor tenants will be given the boot. Just not feeling comfortable with them around. Have 11 students so far though so am pretty glad. At least financially things are better now.

New events really put a new spin on things. Guess I wasn't as accepting of the separation as I thought. And that I don't like, GRR.

Like soda gone flat

Life has been mighty quirky. You know how people say when things are going too well, get ready for a bump. Well, got my bump over the weekend. Nothing quite much to elaborate since not all of you know about this, but for those who do know, well, am going through a trial separation thingy from a loved one. Tough.

Other depressing bits of info will be the insanely anti-climactic and dull Survivor finale. This is the first finale where I called it quits midway and went to sleep. Plus American Idol has lost La Toya and kept incredibly annoyingly smirky Trias instead. Reality shows are only fun when they sway to your opinion, once they don't, appeal is lost fairly quickly.

Have to say that I'm somewhat messed up a bit but no worries, will definitely be alright as always. If there's anything experience has taught me is that you just got to roll with the punches and throw some in when you can :) Like that insanely melancholic song that starts off with... why does the sun go on shining? Well, it does... whacks lyricist.

Ah Monday...

Mosquitoes begone!

Bored? Check this out!

Viridian Room. Amazingly cool game, although insanely difficult. Give it a go :)

Monday Morning Blues
Took me 2 hours to get to work today... yawns. Though, that's about the time it takes to drive from Malacca anyways... hehe...

Weekend was quite alright... or in the words of Randy... aight. Mother's Day was fun, brought my mom clothes shopping and got her a dress. This is my 3rd dress that I got her, and the first one where she tried it first. I usually bring a girl friend to do the fitting for me! Hehe... my mom is notoriously unable to buy nice things for herself so I have to do it for her.

Other than that, satisfied my tv longing by watching repeats of Charmed, Monk, C.S.I., Buffy, Malcolm in the Middle, The Simpsons, and most importantly, Enterprise! Dan the incredibly huge trekkie fan has to catch Enterprise whenever possible. Having a late night Sunday timeslot makes it incredibly difficult though. Aimo, where are you?

Am also looking forward to the Survivor Finale this week :) I am liking this month more and more.

Bunnies in the Rain

It was raining last evening and I went out to check on the bunnies. Got a slight scare when I couldn't see them anywhere, not even in the cage (which is the dryest place around). Took out the flashlight and umbrella and found them huddling deep within a serai bush. Don't know whether to laugh at their lack of common sense or aww at the extreme cuteness of the scene. Anyways, took them to the cage and at least now they know how to get in the cage when it rains.

Except for Biscuit that is, who seems to enjoy sitting in the open under light drizzly showers. I really must have rabbits with some 'wild'ness in them. Don't see Wallaby (sob sob) or Wombat ever surviving being wet all the time. Then again, there are rabbits who can swim and there are those that live in swampy areas. Maybe Biscuit is one of those. Hmm...

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CreativeKids seems to slowly be picking up. I have 7 students already (excluding my 2 cousins) for Creative Writing. Hope to keep them through free May month and start earning some moolah! Also hope to maybe convert some to the Art classes. Looks like Dan has to do more flyer distribution. Anyone free to help? :)

All work weeks should start on a Wednesday!

Ah, what a blissful weekend. Even the horrendous traffic can not ruin it! Ah... May seems set to be a great month :)

Got back home on Saturday to see Wombat having fairly bad bite wounds on his body. Got real angry especially when I saw the meds the vet gave. Which idiot vet gives a rabbit medicine that is clearly labelled for cows and dogs? Small animals such as rabbits and hamsters do not do well with medicines designed for bigger ones. No wonder Wombat was somewhat down in the dumps. Brought him to a new vet, got 4 jabs and he's back to being himself. Dominose (the evil Wombat biter) and Biscuit (the evil mom biter) is now with me in USJ. They're running loose in my backyard, probably giving hungry cats nightmares.



Biscuit and Dominose.



Here's Biscuit, the nicer of the two.


On another note, petrol is up by 2 cents. Seeing the silly queues and virulent sms'es about filling up before the 1st of May, I'm as usual surprised and embarassed by typical Malaysian behaviour. Queuing in the middle of the night to fill up just so you save less than a ringgit? Someone please help explain.

NEWSFLASH!!!

Popular Bookstores has started their clearance sales from today till Sunday! Books as low as RM1!!! Great books as well, all areas, all topics. I got myself 90 books for a Ringgit each and a RM100 book for only RM10!!! Cheap cheap cheap! :)

Introducing Greymontaro!

Went to get rabbit food yesterday and as usual, everyone stares at the guy in the office suit buying 20kg of rabbit pellets. Anyways, saw an adorable hamster on sale (yes on sale) so decided to get it. So, let me introduce everyone to...



GREYMONTARO! (note, the above isn't him, just a similar breed).

So the studio now has a mammal mascot :) Let me tell you a bit more on Greymontaro. The reason he was on sale is because this hamster is erm, overweight. To put it not nicely, he's so darn fat that he can't even climb up the cage ramp to the 2nd level. Needless to say he's on a diet and on an exercise routine but right now, he's so darn cute! Like a sumo wrestiling hamster.

Also, Greymontaro has all the manners of Dominose. In other words, none. He's aggressive, attacks things and like to bite. Hope to get him toned down as the weeks go by. :)

Anyways, happy long weekend everyone! WOOHOO!!! Back to Melaka I go.

Early Morning Comedic Relief



So funny... :)

Snarling Traffic

Was walking across to Summit on the overhead crossing and decided to stop and 'enjoy' the view. Ah... I'm sure you guys can guess what I'm thinking :)

Feeling Antsy

What a weekend. Studio launch somewhat lacklustre, and felt more like a housewarming, but one where the guests brought the food! Haha... well, at least Survivor the board game was fun, as always. I must remember to bring up my Pokemon board game the next time for the next board game session :)

Am also adding the following board games to my collection. Just ordered them this morning:



In order, the games are Roller Coaster Tycoon (yes, from the PC game), Vampire Hunter (a cool night/day RPG thingy that you play in the dark), and Nascar Pictionary. Will only be getting them much much later but sure can't wait :)

Good to be back

First up, for those of you who are wondering about the sudden flood of pictures, well, just got introduced to a photo hosting site that allowed hot linking. So can finally put my trusty low res cheapo digicam to good use :)

Also, the following blog is somewhat opinionated. Have nothing against ulu areas, or its people, but the combination of events for the past 2 days made things somewhat annoying.

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Got back from Simpang Renggam last night. Am so happy to be back. Trip was originally slated for 2 days (woe) but thankfully, due to weak response and miscommunication, we were allowed to leave after 1 day. Yay!

To explain my joy, you have to understand how tiresome roadshows can get. But usually, the organisers treat you pretty well and it's organised in a short burst of activity. Now, this stupid school (name not mentioned), invited colleges during a carnival. Students were too preoccupied with all the events and food to be concerned with their future studies. I mean we all remember Canteen Day right? It's not like we bother with college roadshows then.



Anyways, to top the weak response, you have a school that seems to be populated by idiots (teachers including). You don't invite like 20-30 outside organisations to participate (including a Gen-2 booth) and then don't tell us where to park. Car situation was haphazard to put it nicely. Students seem unable to speak coherently and don't understand what a college is. When there is a big sign saying COLLEGE behind a booth, you don't ask, 'sini buat aper?'. As rudely as I could, I chased away everyone who is not in Form 5. Grr...

And then you should see the toilet. At least, show us the teacher's toilets but no, they directed us to filthy student ones where the toilet cubicle doors are metal grilles with top perforations. Talk about privacy. And there was no sink. Honestly, come on. And to top that of, we were expected to buy coupons (which cannot be refunded) for the food on sale. There wasn't even the usual complimentary mineral water bottle. Anyways, I paid by cash and when some silly ol' teachers threated the stalls to not sell their wares to me, I threatened back by walking away. I got my food, paid in cash and saw a horde of silly teachers fuming and probably cursing 7 generations of my family.

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Simpang Renggam is such an ulu place. After 30 mins of driving, I either ended up in a palm oil estate or en route to another town. Found the only decent looking hotel, and really, decent is being nice. At RM50 a night, well, you can't quite expect all too much. The towels provided were paper thin, the type our grandparents used to wash faces with. Soap was some goats milk thingy, ironically from Batu Berendam Melaka (my hometown). TV was a stunning 14 inch wonder, and beds made you itch. Looking at the lobby, I guess we should have kinda expected it.



And water is provided from this kitchen area, opposite the lobby. Drink water from those bottles? I don't think so.



Was so glad to be on the road again. Some places are just designed for the locals.

Caught this beautiful sky scape on the way back to KL. Pretty.



~~~~~

Woohoo! The book I won arrived! Great looking book as well :) Too bad they don't have a book on Star Trek space ships. Ah well, this will just have to do :)

Snapshots of my Workplace

(pardon the cheapo low res digicam)

1. The corridors in orange and black.



2. The sofa set in the staff room.



3. My desk!

Simpang Rengam Where Forth Art Thou?

I'm off to Simpang Rengam in Johor today for another college roadshow tomorrow. Wished these people would give more than a day's notice. Gah... got to postpone mailbox spamming till Thursday and Friday. Am looking for a map now, where on earth is Simpang Rengam?

Been a little on edge lately. Not to say I've always been patient (I'm not), but I don't usually get unnerved so easily. Just kinda peeved with people who:

1. Ask for an opinion then can't deal with it.
2. Wants everything their way.

Grr... ah well, enough of a mini-rant. Off I go again to Johor!

(ooo, won a coffee table book commemorating 100 years of flight, yay!)

Moving into Hyperdrive

First up, Ipoh was great! It's really a pleasant city, with very nice people, and superb food without the hefty price tag. Enjoyed the trip and would never thought I say this but would definitely love to go back. After numerous work trips to (ack) Penang, Ipoh is such a refreshing change. Work however was a different thing. Doing roadshows at Chinese Schools severely highlight my language handicap. Spent the day saying, 'tui' 'ke yi' and 'ten ee sia'. Sad. Thank goodness for the tauge chicken kuetiau... how I miss thee... and the heang pia's... ah....





Arrived back in USJ on Friday evening and rushed off to my final class at The One Academy. Pretty uneventful except when a student started crying because she couldn't understand the questions. I have no idea how someone with such limited English language understanding can get to final year. Gave in to her request for a dictionary, unfortunately, she still failed the course. Thank goodness I won't be there for that drama.

Spent the weekend doing last minute shopping and getting the studio in shape. Things seem settled now, just need to add a few decorative stuff and put up a sign and I'm good. Will be printing flyers later for distribution. ANYONE who wants to help out in the evenings will be forever remembered. Spamming mailboxes is boring solo work.

Also got my aquarium finally set up. Pretty... spent quite a bit on bulbs as well. Changed most of the bulbs in the house to the economical ones... though at the hefty price tag, I wonder how much savings it actually works out to. One of those bulbs = RM15+ as opposed to RM1.50 for the regular ones. However, they claim a lifespan of up to 4 years. Hmm... someone should do the math and let me know. Wonder if there's an online calculator for it. Hehe...



Also finally got my garden settled. After endless rainy evenings and postponement with Saw, decided to just get the grass cutter to do it with the weed whacker. 30 mins and he's all done. Will have probably taken 2-3 man hours instead. Garden is so bare tho... anyone with plants to contribute? :)

And oh, also watched Super Sapiens on Thursday... fun :)

Monsters unleashed? Really?

Caught the Scooby Doo sequel last night. Was kinda expecting a fair bit but movie didn't quite live up. It was like watching a big screen tv movie and it felt like the third part of a trilogy with the 2nd movie missing. Rather big jump from the first movie. In the first, they were kinda jaded and lacking the Mystery Inc. team spirit. And suddenly in the sequel, they're mega superstars with a kick-a** hq. Just felt like a jump of sorts.

No need to dwell on the premise and such as the movie will prob be out of screening come Thursday (which is why I decided to catch it on a week night). Pretty usual standard fare, ideal for kids, mildly entertaining. Monsters are pretty cool tho and definitely got laughs here and there. Just would have liked to be bowled over... ah well.

Going to Ipoh tomorrow afternoon... I have college roadshows at two SMJK's. Hope it'll be fun, although it'll be nice to be away from office. However, going with a colleague I don't know quite well and if the students from the Chinese medium schools don't speak English, I'm screwed. Lalalalala...

Bunny Battle Royale

Weekend in Melaka has been somewhat the usual. Took my obligatory Saturday nap but instead of the usual 2-3 hours, I woke up 5 and a half hours later. My sleep debt must be higher than I thought. Feels great tho... darnit... I so love napping.

.....

Brought bunnies together. Wombat initially staked dominance by chasing everyone about. For those who don't know, rabbit society always has to have an Alpha Rabbit, usually male. And they determine the alpha by the rabbit who can put down the heads of the other rabbits, whether by submission or force. Anyways, Wombat took an early lead in alpha domination by sheer size and since Dominose and Biscuit still recovering from travel stress. A few hours after however, saw ALL of them engaged in bunny wrestling. Sigh... Worried that they might injure themselves... Wombat also kinda got spooked and took refuge on the upper level of the cage. Gah...

After a few more hours of this rabbit silliness (Biscuit and Dominose took to actual wrestling, with Biscuit literally rolling Dominose about) and Wombat retreating, I got them all by force, forced down all their heads and put Wombat's head firmly on top of theirs. Held them in that pose for a minute or so and now, everyone's amicable again. Silly rabbits...

.....

I've deduced that Biscuit is the only normal rabbit (normal as in behaviour and temperament). Wombat reminds me of Garfield... fat, lazy and cat-like. He doesn't flinch at anything and allows you to rub and pet him without fear (very unlike most rabbits). Dominose is like a small dog. I have never in my life had a rabbit that attacks you. Put my hand in to pet Wombat and here comes Dominose darting towards you, takes a bite, and then retreats! GAWD... pyscho... took a broom to whack some sense into his bunny head and before I knew it, he was attacking the broom! Sigh...

Introducing Dominose and Biscuit

Snuck to the pet shop during lunch today and finally found one that had adult sized rabbits at a price I won't faint at. They had 2 left (both thankfully males), one almost all black with splotches of white (his nose is white), and the other in varying shades of brown. Was contemplating which one and then realised that if I do take one, the other will be left alone. Adult rabbits are notoriously hard to sell and the black one didn't look all too saleable. So decided to take both instead. All I hope now is that Wombat welcome them without too much trouble, especially also since these 2 are quite docile and smaller than Wombat.

So, black rabbit = Dominose, and brown rabbit = Biscuit. :) Welcome to the family!

ps: Rabbits will be in Melaka for the time being. USJ seems to be filled with cats. Have to figure that one out when the place is a bit more settled.

Minty Staleness in Your Mouth

Was munching on my Cloret mint from my trusty Cloret mint dispenser that I have in my bag. Was giving it some thought and realised that my Clorets seem to be lasting a long time! Very economical I thought. How wonderfully convenient I thought. Then think somemore and realised that I could count the number of times I've taken the mint and I have enough fingers to do the math. Hmm... so flipped the dispenser over and read:

MFG: 04092001
EXP: 04092002

'Ack'ing ensued.

Morpheus


Which Of The Greek Gods Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

You are worth exactly: $1,560,210.00.

So little? GAH!!!

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For...

It's a Friday! Whoopeedoo! Let's all do the dance for joy... all together now...

Met up with Chun and Saw last night for dinner. Vietnamese food is great! Anything with lots of vege, vinegar, and chilli echoes well with me. Nyam... Also managed to assemble one of my bookshelves last night. Took me an hour and a half but with only ONE mistake, I thought it was pretty good. I usually screw up 3 times at least and resort to hammer and nails. This time round managed to stick to the instructions for the most part. Woohoo!

Looking forward to the weekend. Days are going by fairly quickly now. Wonder why...

Bright and cheery, So orangey...

College is going through an aesthetic upgrade :) Plain beige walls are now being painted a bright orange with black accents! Ah... I love orange. So reminiscent of StudioKuning tho. Ah... if anyone didn't yet know, orange is probably my favourite colour. Thus all the logos I do has orange, and I get most anything in orange if given a choice. When I repaint my car, it'll be orange as well :)

And oh, I bought a 2nd hand bicycle yesterday. Decided that cycling to work would be quicker and more fun. And the bike's orange as well :) Didn't even test it, just bought it. RM 90 for a year old mountain bike in great condition. Sounds like a good deal to me. Hope no one steals it tho.

Need to go get a raincoat later, just in case. Hope they have an orange one. :)

Haven't done this in quite a while so here goes :)

Food Review: Spicy Oriental Chicken Salad (Starbucks) ~ RM 11.90

Rating: <> <> <> <> <

What can I say, I love good salads! Especially chicken ones. This salad has it all! Generous portions of tender juicy chicken breast, crunchy leafy lettuce and a tossing of the slightly bitter kind (pardon my gourmet inadequacies), and this great dressing of vinegar and chilli somewhat reminiscent of chicken rice chilli sauce but funkier. Great meal although could do with more vege. It is however somewhat spicy but oh so yummy! Garlic bread will probably go well with this, although none available to order. Lack of side dishes is my main gripe but the salad itself is delicious!

Food Review: Jumbo Hot Dog (Ikea) ~ RM 2.50

Rating: <> <> <> <>

Boiled hot dog in a bun. Simple pleasures :) What's great though is the unlimited supply of relish, onions, and mustard! NYAM! I love lots and lots and lots of onions and relish and bad breath withstanding, this is just a feel good simple meal :) NYAM!

Warning: Windows may showcase nudity

To anyone who's moving into a new house, first thing you should do is put up curtains. I say again, before anything else, make sure your windows (especially the ones looking out to the street) has curtains (or blinds or newspapers even). And do this ESPECIALLY before you undress for the shower. Nuff said.

(I don't see how I'm ever going to get any students from my neighbours.)

20 Car Trips, 12 Hours, One Exhausted Dan

I've moved! Woke up like any other day, then went to sleep in a brand new house in a brand new room and with my entire body aching. Sorry Saw for the disappearing act! Got so caught up that I didn't quite kept you informed. But it was either this weekend or next anyways.

First of all, not to say this is of any use, but to my irritating ex-neighbours who insist on taking up my parking space, sweeping leaves to where I park, and numerous evil eye exchanges, SEE YA! It is so frustrating to not have a place to park at home to the point where you hesitate going out in case your spot gets taken. FREEDOM!!! :) Gonna miss being near to Taipan tho and living in a home with friends. Renting out rooms to strangers takes a way some privacy but having the space helps give Creativekids a boost.

Have my room settled, TV plugged in to crystal clear reception. Next up, the rest of the house... GAH. Gonna take quite a bit of work. Will also be starting on the studio setting up. Anyone wants to come and help let me know :) Also, those wanting to teach, do bring over some of your artworks for display. Lots of bare walls to liven up. Come come help.

Gonna be welcoming first room tenant today, a TGIF chef and his wife, a pastry chef. And tomorrow, room tenant #2, an aerobics instructor :) talk about opposites. Lalalala....

ps: walked to work today, woohoo!

Putting a Price on Education

My prevailing optimism seems to be nose-diving these past few days. After giving out my 2nd exam, and my first subjective one to the One students, I've been going through academic hell and back with the results. Appaling is to put it nicely. If I had it my way, only 10% of the students will pass. What with the incredibly poor command of English (that has already been dumbed down), zero commitment, intense cheating, and probably downright stupidity, I have no idea how any of the students made it to final year. Now, most people would say, 'but they're designers, they don't need to know business management'. That's probably like saying designers are stupid ignorant folk who's only fascination is with colours and font-type.

I am beyond disgust at the way these colleges are bringing up their students. Taking money from the students and deluding them into skill-based superiority. The students have no vested interest to be better, their only concern is to pass (and being ONE, draw quick sketches). They are happy regurgitating old ideas and don't see any need to question, test, or challenge anything. If this applies to all other colleges in Malaysia, we might as well rename the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Population Cloning for Mental Degradation and Subjugative Control. GAH! You know, lecturers should NOT HAVE TO DUMB DOWN TO THE STUPIDITY LEVEL OF THE STUDENTS but students should strive to meet the pre-set bar! I am so incredibly pissed not because of the sheer pointlessness of giving them marks but the affect it has on the overall growth of society and country.

Needless to say, I can't fail them all. College admin has already told me to pace down to the students. I've already revised the syllabus twice. At its current level, a Form 5 student can take it and do well (probably better). Education is a misnomer. These students are not learning, heck, they're not even memorising. I actually don't know why they are there in the first place. Probably needed a justification to hang out at Sunway all the time.

Now, that's let out. I'm never accepting a lecturing position at the One again, though I doubt they'll want me after I land my wrath on the students tomorrow. There are a lot of things I can tolerate, like inefficient admin, greed, corruption even... but messing about with education is jeopardising our future. Can you imagine our kids (if) being under leaders like these? ARGH!!!

Goodbye my dear bunny...

On this day and hour, my dear bunny, Wallaby Wallace the Fourth has passed on leaving behind his brother, King Wombat. Wallaby had to be sadly put to sleep due to the worsening of his illness. Sob sob... he is sorely missed and dearly loved and hope he can now hop free and happily in the lush green fields of rabbit heaven. God bless...

2 Weeks to April

March seems to be the most interesting month of all this year. In this month, I've started a new job, signed a tenancy agreement for a house, planned and came up with CreativeKids and committed to the business model, met a new friend and we're now good buddies and it's only middle of the month still. Wonder what April will bring but life at least seems exciting now :) Can't imagine that just 3 months ago I was in a dead-end job, complaining and griping, and living a routine dull life. Change is exciting, not to mention highly addictive. It's like once you start something different, you just keep wanting more. :)

Can't wait for this weekend. Been awhile since I've had the opportunity to go home. Work and all. Will be good to spend a weekend in Melaka and catch up.

Oh Friday, Oh Friday, where forth did you go?
For though now you are here,
You were not days ago...
Come save us from Monday, malicious and sly,
Stay with us through tomorrows,
Never do say goodbye...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Two whole weeks have gone in new work place :) Time sure did whizzed by. Been having a pretty good time so far, probably due to me still not having a full work load. Slowly starting to realise what I got myself into. Managing the Multimedia major means being proficient in software such as Flash! Gawd... back to the computer then...

One interesting thing about this place is that it is very chinesed. And me speaking zero dialects and a handful of Mandarin words makes me stick out like a sore thumb. Haven't been called a banana for ages. Ah well... got to start learning Mandarin I guess. Maybe I'll take a class at the CreativeKids@Studio in USJ. Muahahahahaha!

Happy Friday everyone :) Enjoy the weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AH MENG!!!

First up, happy returns for the day Meng :) Someone turns 24 today! (Applause) No cracks needed about the age (since we're all of the same age anyways). Sorry for forgetting though, hope you can forgive me! (Bila makan?).

Work for me has been good so far. Finally got my desk settled and my computer moved from the central workstations to my desk. Yay... surfing in private! Woohoo... weird thing tho is that my PC has no CD-ROM drive. Ah well... LAUNCH @ Yahoo! it is then.

Gonna be moving out soon so gonna be real occupied. All of you guys on the Groups thingy, well, let's get it rolling! Don't want to bring out the whip just yet.

So once again, best birthday regards to meng meng :) Have a good Thursday everyone!

Cheerful Dan logging out.

Blardy Frigid on a Hot Saturday Afternoon

I have finally 'personalised' my computer and suddenly feel at home again. Getting a new computer is like a new house I think. You take some time to take stock, evaluate the potential, and then get right on making it look and feel like your previous home. Comfort is such a driving human ambition!

Anyways, I am at work this blistery cold Saturday... with the air conditioning at full blast and me tucked in my sweater. College has an open day event today so all staff out at full force. This is officially the end of my first week at work and things have been interesting. Here are some notable insights.

~ Big company environment: We all get a monthly ration of one ream of A4 paper, two rolls of toilet paper, and enough Milo, Nescafe, and Coffeemate for each day.

~ Working hours: I have a punchcard. It feels weird but at least I don't have to justify to anyone when I leave. Hoorah!

~ Working Saturdays: Only twice a month and occasionally for fairs and etc. Have to work next Sunday but there's immediate leave compensation and etc. And no one complains. Unlike previous company where everyone does. It's amazing what an understanding boss and good office morale can do. Everyone here is very cheerful :)

~ Having more colleagues than you can remember: It feels weird coming to work and seeing more than 3 familiar cars and 6 familiar faces.

So far, things have been interesting. No complaints and I have a feeling I will be pretty contented here for a while :) Largely also due to the fact that I can walk to work. I just cannot stress enough how liberating it is to be free from bad traffic snarls! WOOHOO!!!

2004: Change is in the Air

Seems I'm not contented with just a new job. Am also moving out from Saw's place. Thankful to Saw for putting me up the past year or so but it's time to move on :) Most of you who have gotten the (da da da dam) SMS'es (except Saw who had the verbal version) would know what's up with the move. In a nutshell, basically going to rent a house, and convert the halls into learning studios to give tuition and a host of after school activities such as arts and crafts. Quite a bit of the gang have shown interest but if anyone can commit at least an hour a week, have something to teach, and can do so in a fun way, buzz me :) If you don't know how to reach me then maybe I don't know you enough! Hehehe... or in other words, this is a friends thingy... so not looking at strangers joining. After all, I am living there.

Anyways, moving out in April to USJ 2. Which also means I can WALK to work from then on. Woohoo... such a bliss to move from 6am bleary morning drives to 8.30am walks to work. Sigh... bliss...

New job has been good so far though I really have done nothing these past 2 days. Not much work for me yet and being a semester break, office has been real quiet. Not to say I'm complaining but I hope when I get evaluated they remember that my slacking is not by intention. Hehe... only other drawback though is that this place seems to be a very Chinese environment. Not being able to speak any makes me stand out a fair bit. Hope to gradually blend in though. Fingers crossed.

Anyways, for the SMS'ed, don't forget our first meeting on the 13th. Check out the Yahoo Groups for details alrighty :)

....................................................

Announcement:

LIGHTOLOGY

Presented by The Japan Foundation, Kuala Lumpur & Toki Doki-Jido. "What's Lightology?" The theme is about 'light' and it shows the conflict between human's despair and hope. The premiere was in Tokyo, 2002. Many people appreciated it as a true contemporary art piece with the organic linkage of music, dance, audiovisuals and words. For premiere, we created various scenes together with many volunteer performers. The word "Lightology" was originally named by the director Naoyuki Asahina, with the meaning of "to think about light (=hope)."

Date: 20 - 21 March: 3.00pm 20 March: 8.30pm
Price: RM 35 (Adults) & RM 15 (JFKL members, students)

Hi again one and all... after a month long hiatus off work and a good 3 weeks from the blog, it's somewhat good to be back (and working). :) Office setup is till ongoing so until I get my own machine, this blog will be short and sweet. (just like the 10 min drive to work).

Short story is, moi am back! And with some of you receiving my sms'es, there's a lot of stuff I have planned for year 2004! :)

WOOHOO!

Woke up this morning, tuned in to Mix.FM, heard the horrendous traffic report, then snuggled back to sleep while laughing ever so contentedly. I am so relishing my month off work.

Got back from Cambodia last Friday. It was a great trip. Needless to say that the temples are breathtaking. Having two pretty good guides helped. Very fascinating and eye-opening, though having everything in US dollars make for a somewhat pricey event. Have photos with me so do drop by and visit moi to view them. (let's not consider putting them online considering i'm now using a dreadful dialup).

Have found a job and will be starting in March. Did some test drives and it takes me 5 minutes to get to work now :) Distance from home of 3km. WOOHOO! Dan will no longer be complaining of traffic. Hooray!

My desk is 80% cleared of my personal belongings.

My computer has been wiped clean of any traces of personal usage and work folders streamlined.

I should be getting my final paycheque today and will be surrendering my pc to replacement staff for file familiarisation.

Woohoo! Second last day of work and I'm already doing the dance of joy. :)

AND I'm going on a trip next week :) Heading for a short 3 day tour to Cambodia. Woohoo!

Back to work on an inauspicious Monday (according to Feng Shui). I'm bored and tired after a week long celebration with family and friends. Coming back to work after a long holiday is really such a bummer. Especially when there's only one other person in the office and everyone else is still away. Oh well...

WOOHOO!!! FRIDAY!!!

Last day of the work week and the 6th to last day of work in my current company. Bliss...

Going to be heading home to Melaka tomorrow for a week's vacation so to everyone, Happy Chinese New Year!

Oh... The Joys of Commuting to Work.

During the school holidays:

Time of departure: 7.00am
Time of arrival: 7.30am

Last week (the first week of school):

Time of departure: 6.50am
Time of arrival: 7.45 - 8.00am

This Monday:

Time of departure: 6.50am
Time of arrival: Freaking 8.35am

Yesterday:

Time of departure: 6.50am
Time of arrival: 8.00am

Today:
Time of departure: 6.30am
Time of arrival: 6.45am


*bangs head on wall*

Also, this has to be the funniest stuff ever on the web! HILARIOUS!!! Check it out >>>

If I could, I scream profanities right about now. 90 minutes of travelling for a distance of 15 km. That's an average of 10 kmp/h. I could have walked to work and be earlier. Grrrr.... Traffic is just ludicrous... don't see how much earlier I can leave than my current 650am... Cool cool cool...

On other things, my tutorship application met with no immediate success. Something about lack of funds or mismatch of needs. I think it has more to do with my company doing business with the university, so potential conflicts of interest maybe. Whatever it is, somewhat disappointing considering I had my heart set on working in education. Ah well...

First class at The One went very well. This must be the first time people clap after class, even AFTER I gave assignments! Hahaha... very rewarding... not to bask, but I like to think I did alright. But darnit, those kids should really learn to dress. Had this bunch of girls in super short pants sitting right in front. Wonder if that's on purpose? Hmm...

Also, my new year poem (few blogs down) won me a CD from Mix.FM. If I ever did win the GSC stuff (no news yet from them), this will be my second contest win for the new year, and it's only January. Cool...

Anyways, gonna be flooding the job market with my CV's. Wish me luck! Can't wait for Chinese New Year as well! :)

ps: If you see a rampaging Satria on the roads tomorrow morning, you'll know who it is. Muahahaha!

Yohoho... was on sick leave yesterday. Don't worry, wasn't too sick (uh hum). Needed a day off and had no more leave, so well, there's that. Irony is, I am a little under the weather TODAY. Can't quite take sick leave now since I conned one yesterday. Sigh... I hope no one uses the toilet much today. Never eat stale salads (especially when the dressing is dubious).

From www.gsc.com.my:

WINNERS
20 x Special prize
Limited edition LOTR: ROTK T-shirt
4 GSC Complimentary passes

My name is on the Winners List!!! Woohoo... outside of the fact that it could be someone else with the same name, and that GSC has not called with how to collect the prizes, let me naively be thrilled for the moment :)

Anyways, a little over a week before Chinese New Year. Hoorah! Did some CNY shopping yesterday and ended up with a large piece of artwork at a really good price. It was a Horse oriented piece, mass produced type, that had weakened resale value considering it's the Year of the Monkey coming up (though gawd knows who wants to hang monkeys on their walls). Since my mom, dad, and bro are Horses and Dad just loves Chinese art pieces, thought it was a good buy. Shopping can be fun. :)

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Yawns... back to work again after yet another blissfully long weekend. First day of school today as well and gawd, traffic was a killer. Sigh... hope things settle down after a few days.

Am excited with the prospect of the year. First up, by the end of this month, I'm leaving my current company! Woohoo... will be a big change seeing how the past 2 years of my life have been spent here. Also, this Friday will be my first real teaching class at The One Academy. Mighty nervous but thrilled. Gonna be an interesting year. :)

Made some resolutions as well, among them being more open with friends. Talked with some friends and in some ways it does help to limit interpersonal walls. Life is really too short to be too caught up with short sighted maladies.

Anyways, thanks for all the new year wishes and a great year to everyone! :) And to quote Batbabe, let's all wish for world peace!

An Ode to a Year's End
by Dan

I sit in quiet to think about,
This day one year ago,
To recollect the months gone by,
As the endless minutes flow,
I think about the joys and triumphs,
Of life's little precious gifts,
New babies, new mornings, new friends and old,
New dreams in mind they drift...
I cherish the moments of happiness,
And remember most peaceful times,
And bask in warmth of love and family,
And days of song and rhyme,
I treasure life and all its beauty,
Its colours bright and true,
Though bleak may be some days, some mornings,
The light will always burst through,
Amidst all this thanks, and gratitude,
I pause for a single breath,
To say a prayer and mark reflection,
For those that the year brought death,
It has been a time when wars were fought,
In the irony of global peace,
When tragedy and disasters struck,
And to many promised grief,
But through this all, the pain and loss,
The human spirit must prevail,
For life is ever eternal,
And goodwill we all must hail,
So as the year come to an end,
Let's bid a final adieu,
To the past distant but always remembered,
And welcome the coming new,
To one and all, to friend and foe,
I wish you happiness dear,
And the blessings of love and kindness,
A very happy new year.

I wonder why my alarm clock seem to ring ever so loud and ever so ominous on Monday mornings.

Oh what a blissful 4 day weekend. It was so much fun I've decided to take leave again this coming Friday. This will mean that I won't have very much leave days to spare for Chinese New Year but what the heck. I think anticipating and gearing for Chinese New Year is a heck more fun than the day itself. Granted I've had enough of paint and brooms but getting spruced up for the fesitivities and doing it as a family is very rewarding, aches and pains aside.

I think I'm a little pampered with 3 day work weeks. Gawd knows how I'll ever cope with normal work weeks come January 2004. And ack! School is reopening! With the NKVE out of whacks for another 7 months, it's going to be a grueling 3 weeks before I can kiss corporate life goodbye (at least for a while).

Job hunting is kinda stalling. Nothing really stands out and at this point, I'm just going to hinge my next working life episode on tutorship at my former university (whenever they reply). If that doesn't work out, I'm going to venture into something different. That's definitely decided. 20,000 + people died just overnight recently and that got me thinking that life is way too short to not take some chances.

On other news, boss is returning Wednesday and have sent in anticipation an email asking for reports. If he thinks the office is working on full steam when he's away, he is definitely intoxicated.

Looking forward to the new year! Woohoo! :)

Merry Christmas everyone!



May goodwill and peace prevail on earth.

(uh hum)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE SQUIDICIOUS, LANDLORDY, OWNER OF TOFFEE THE PUPPY, SAW!!!

(birthday song to follow)

(Saw to proceed to blow imaginary birthday cake)




:)

*YAWNS*

Sleepy Monday mornings are such a chore... zzz... type type... zzz...

~

Return of The King: Final Instalment of the LOTR Trilogy

Watched the movie last Friday night. Wasn't as hyped as I thought I would be, probably because I was mostly sleepy. Watching the endless stream of trailers before the movie didn't quite help either. Honestly, I was very intrigued with Prisoner of Azkaban and Torque, then ROTK. Some trailers can really just blow you away.

Anyways, movie was as expected :) Highly entertaining, great story telling. Granted there were some artistic licenses but a great movie nevertheless. Fitting ending for a superb epic. Although once again, I really could have done with less of Frodo's wide eyed drugged looks. Gandalf and his spotlight staff is a little more macho as well. But the hero of the movie for me is definitely Eowyn. Fuwah, that girl rocks!

I really wonder what would happen if the trilogy was undertaken by a Malaysian studio. We probably would have a rock song, Arwen will be played by Erra Fazira and Gollum would be someone from Scenario. Hmm...

~

A little belated but Happy Birthday Beng! :) Been somewhat of a hectic week or so for you but hope things have settled.

~

Decided at the last minute to take Friday off for an extended weekend. Got house painting to do. Every door, grill and gate is now orange, thanks to Dad's choice of colour. It's really a little erm, bright, but definitely won't have any problems giving people directions to my house now. Hahaha...

Enjoy the week ahead and a Merry Christmas in advance.

I have just sent off my gazillionth job application. Not to say I'm desperate, yet, but nothing has clicked so far. This might be of some interest to some of you but I've also applied for a tutorship position at our 'favourite' university. Felt like a change of pace and it's a good reason to do a Masters. Hmm...

Some good news though, you are now looking at the new part-time lecturer (contracted for 1 semester) at The One Academy. :) I won't tell you what subject I'm taking on, just that it's a minor and it's unexpected. Should be fun though.

Will be watching Return of The King tonight. All hail THX! I just hope I won't fall asleep (yawns) or have an achy back. (I am looking forward to see Eowyn take on a Nazgul). :)

On other news, newbies in the office is driving me nuts, especially a mutual friend of ours. You should never work with a coursemate you never liked AND be his superior. Been very nice so far but almost came to a shouting blow. I've honestly never felt the need to shout at someone so strongly. Some people don't seem to take hints very well.

Anyways, Christmas is coming, so's the New Year. Best to stay in the positive and bask in the glow of goodwill :) And may the Watermelon Monster go to Singapore this year. (hehehe).

Goodbye weekend, sob sob, till we meet again. Oh, Monday, it's you...

Welcome back Saw and Chun! I gathered Bali was great :) Tell us all about it once you've slept it off!

Had a great dream last night. I was on the Starship Enterprise (with a twist). Am not going to bore you non-trekkie fans with a dream narative, but let's just say it was great fun! :)

LOTR:ROTK this Wednesday. Probably catching a Friday show. Not much hype since everyone knows what it's about and it's bound to be visually pretty as before. Just need closure I guess! After Revolutions however, I'm sure this will be more entertaining.

WOOHOO!!! Survivor 7 Finale tonight! :) WOOHOO!!!

Facts of Joy - by Dan

#1 - IT'S A FRIDAY!!!

#2 - Boss is away! For 2 weeks!

#3 - It's tang yuan time! NYAM!!!

#4 - It's close enough to Chinese New Year that a mental countdown can be started!

#5 - I don't have to travel to Penang for work anymore!

#6 - IT'S A FRIDAY!!!

(happy weekend everyone)

I love the INTERNET!!! :)

This past week or so, I've:

~ Sent Christmas cards to my US cousins using Hallmark.com for USD 3 a card. That equates to RM 12, including a great card, personalised note and posting. If I were to buy a similar Hallmark card here, it will already set me back RM 12 minus the post. (plus with Hallmark.com, it'll get to them within 3 days :) )

~ Bought a book, Red Rabbit by Tom Clancy that I've been wanting to read for USD 0.75. Shipped it to aunt at marginal cost of USD 3 and she'll bring it down to me during Chinese New Year. RM 16 for a book? Woohoo...

~ Did the usual stuff of managing my online banking accounts, checking my online credit card applications and etc. Bliss...

~ Tried to buy ties from Amazon.com priced at USD ZERO. Only eligible for one tie per customer so wasn't worth it. (I tried to buy 50).

I wish Malaysia catch up with this trend. It's a hassle shopping online with Malaysian sites.

It's Tuesday and for the 2nd time this week, I'm at the office by 7.30am. Why you may ask? Two reasons really...

1. By leaving the house 20 mins earlier, I cut my travelling time by half. Instead of the usual 40 mins, it's only 20 mins to get to work. :) Of course the only drawback is the psychological barrier of waking up before 7, but it's only for 2 months and then I'm off to new shores (hopefully closer ones).

2. By reaching the office at 730'ish, I get to sneak into the nearby parking area free of charge since parking attendant guy comes in only at 745. Hehehe, this way, it saves me a long walk to the car and speeds up my going home time by 5 mins.

Weird part is, by the time everyone starts coming in the office, I feel like I've been here forever. Too bad I can't go home dramatically earlier as well.

Wah... Monday again...

Weekend was like living life in slow motion. If I wasn't sleeping, I'd be watching TV. And that's about it. Really took it easy. Did a lot of thinking however, so it wasn't a total waste! Hehe...

Spent 2 hours on Saturday talking to college kids at One Academy on online advertising. Very receptive crowd and my worries about not being able to talk so long was unfounded. Had to reduce my slides to two thirds otherwise I'll probably take 3 hours instead! Went generally well, I hope they call me back :)

Have a good week ahead.

Oh my gawd...


Power Rangers Movie!


What movie Do you Belong in?(many different outcomes!)
brought to you by Quizilla

Traffic is hell again. Ah well... looking forward to when GPS technology come to our shores.

Read a report yesterday about fuel lasting only 50 years or so. I would assume a lot of that will be reserved for the military and aviation so we're looking at consumer fuel for 3 decades or so? Kinda makes buying a car a pointless affair. Should save up for hybrid vehicles. Hmm...


You are Google. You are always on a quest for more
knowledge, a hunt for more connections. You are
intelligent and driven, and don't forget your
sense of fun from time to time (love those
holiday logos!) Just try not to let your quest
for knowledge get in the way of your friends...
take some time to just ... be.

If you don't get the reference, check yourself out
at http://www.google.com/


What Internet phenomenon are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Oh nooo.... back to work! wwwwaaaaahhh..... (kinda feels like Monday tho, minus the traffic)

Raya break was pretty decent. Went visiting a colleague and had good Malay food. Wished I had more open houses to visit tho. I need ketupat and rendang!

Also got myself Magic the Gathering: Battlegrounds for PC! WOOHOO! YAY! Took me quite a while to search for it and so darn thrilled to find it. SADLY, my stupid PC cannot play it. Darn 3D requirements. So went to shop to realise that notebooks can barely be upgraded. GAH! You know, it just never occured to me that notebooks come as is with little upgradability. I just assume with all the advances in technology, how hard can it be to upgrade a notebook? GAH!!! Sigh...

Anyways, so I sneaked into the office the 2nd day of Raya to play the game on my office machine. After clearing my mails and finishing the long installation, I was all ready to start when who walks into the empty office on a holiday but MY BOSS!!! ARGH!!! Ended up working for a couple of hours involuntarily and quickly left. SOB SOB... I want to play my game!!! :(

And oh, I ate a whole Chocolate Top Sundae Cone from McD. Whole meaning the with paper thingy that they put the cone in. Didn't realise it was there. Figured it out when I found myself chewing awfully long. I hope it's non-toxic. :)

First up, Selamat Hari Raya to all muslim friends :) And to all the rest, HOLIDAYS!!!

This week is so bad for working. Totally demoralised and just dreaming of ketupat and rendang. Gonna just be visiting one colleague tomorrow, no one else seems to be doing an open house thingy. Darn...

Weekend has been laidback. Did some crafts and some other stuff. Played Magic the Gathering on PC. Love the game! Watched lots of TV as well. Such a pig I tell you. Oink Oink!

Tis a rambling blog but it's a rambling type day... lalala... which mall should I visit for lunch today... hmm.... (boss isn't around)....

I've either been asked, been subjected to in a conversation, or listened to this one singularly grating topic: marriage all in this past week. Everything so far revolves around:

1. We are getting older and need to consider getting married so we can have kids by 30.

2. You can't buy that car! How are you going to fit your future children in?

3. Marriage is inevitable what... we all have to do it.

Since when is marriage inevitable? Death yes lar, maybe even the cancellation of Charmed, but marriage? You know, I'm not a big proponent of anything forced and although marriage is all good and pretty, it's not something you do because you have to. It should be something you do because you want to! I mean, the world has changed so much, what is inevitable is the fact that the institution or concept of marriage needs some changing too.

This is all personal obviously, but I feel that marriage is an option. You can be as happy dating, single, playing the field all the way to your deathbed I am sure. And let's not even go at how 'happy' marriages can sometimes be.

All I'm saying is, when you meet people like me, who really couldn't be bothered to choose a car for future children or starts saving vigorously for a wedding, take a breather to understand why. :) Please don't force down age-old propaganda that marriage will make your life complete, just like you have to work very hard when you are young to enjoy life when you are old. (Why can't we enjoy in moderation everyday?)

Imposing principles on others is something that I have a tough time with I guess. Within acceptable limits, and especially if you do not hurt or endanger anyone else, I truly believe we should be able to do as we please.

Marriage... bah humbug.

I'm giving a 2 hour talk at The One Academy on December 6th. My talk will be about 'Getting Your Message Across The Internet:
E-Learning Approaches to Online Advertising'. A little nervous and slowly prepping up presentation slides but should be an interesting experience. I hope they allow public members to sit in so I can force all you people reading this to come and ease my nervousness. What on earth do I know about online advertising? ARGH!

Matrix seems to be a divided topic, people either love it or hate it, get it or don't. Personally, I wished I had my money back. Effects and all is really nothing to blah over now, since it's really something expected than out of the norm. Story wise tho, well, I believe in communicating a clear message. I have no idea who they are trying to target. Only die hard fans willing to sift through the metaphors and analogies can probably surmise a version of the story. Since hardly any versions are alike, who's to say what the heck the original story was? Well, coming from someone who enjoys low brow brainless romance comedies, (hehe), I guess the Matrix isn't something I easily appreciate. Movies that works best for me are the ones who play me out exactly, with feel good all over. :)

Oh no... I'm a... VAMPIRE????


You are Form 9, Vampire: The Undying.

"And The Vampire was all that remained on
the blood drowned creation. She attempted to
regrow life from the dead. But as she was
about to give the breath of life, she was
consumed in the flame of The Phoenix and the
cycle began again."

Some examples of the Vampire Form are Hades (Greek)
and Isis (Egyptian).
The Vampire is associated with the concept of
death, the number 9, and the element of fire.
Her sign is the eclipsed moon.

As a member of Form 9, you are a very realistic
individual. You may be a little idealistic,
but you are very grounded and down to earth.
You realize that not everything lasts, but you
savor every minute of the good times. While
you may sometimes find yourself lonely, you
have strong ties with people that will never be
broken. Vampires are the best friends to have
because they are sensible.


Which Mythological Form Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Monday morning... bluergh.

Weekend was good. Went back home and just chilled. Relaxing... :)

Landlordy got me a new fan! Yay! Now I don't have to freeze every morning since new fan can oscillate. Old one was so twisted out of shape that it falls if I oscillate it. :) Yay!

I'm leaving current company at end of January. Quite a way to go still and office dynamics has changed. 3 new staff today. Lots of new faces. Changes! At least my last few weeks will be intriguing :) Boss has kindly extended an offer to return to the company whenever I like to. Mighty nice of him but I hope that's one offer I won't have to take up. Please please please let there be another job for me! :)

Feeling way better now. No more nausea and diarrhorea, yippee... but allergies all a flaring. Couldn't resist a junk food session last week. Sigh... darn food chemicals. Grr...

Happy work week everyone.

Woohoo... Friday. :)

Back to work after a 2 day hiatus, thanks to the public holiday on Wednesday and sick leave yesterday. Got hit with another dizzy spell (thanks to some inner ear imbalance). Gone now thankfully. Doc said that if it doesn't go away with meds, he'll need to do a brainscan. Spooky.

Today in the office is rearranging tables day. 3 new staff coming in on Monday so got to make room for them. Bluergh... it also looks like I'll be leaving end of December instead of mid-January. Long story that but I guess it'll be good to go. Job hunting still in process, not too much success yet.

Gonna spend this weekend making lamps for colleague who's going away and sis birthday present. Anyone wants to order one? :) Cheap cheap... let me know :)

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

Bluergh... I am unwell...

Stomach was crappy all through Monday so I took sick leave and spent the day finishing 'The Bear and The Dragon' by Tom Clancy. It's such a great book, and so compelling that I even forgot to take my nap. Hehe...

Thought all was well today until halfway through the journey to work I get overwhelmed by nausea. Thank goodness I don't eat breakfast until after I reach the office otherwise I'll be puking in the car. Bluergh... anyways, contemplating another sick leave but we'll see if this clears up.

I hope I'm not allergic to work! Muahahaha...

Let's say this together, FRIDAY! FRIDAY! FRIDAY!

Things sure are changing in the company. We have 3 new people coming in by mid-month. Lots of seating rearranging and transitions to do. And I will be passing on my workload slowly to the new staff. Changes man, and I'm somewhat excited with the prospect :)

Next 2-3 months will be somewhat different though. I'll probably be grounded to the office once new staff comes and I wonder how the dynamics of resigning staff and new staff will be like. I also wonder what my boss has told them about me and my reasons for leaving and what I should say should the new staff ask me? Hmm... will probably let it all glide. So Dan will be a grinning and a looking stupid until he leaves for CHINESE NEW YEAR for one LONG LONG BREAK! YAY!

Happy weekend everyone!

Woohoo! I am free! Free! Last day of work: January 20th 2004. YAY! Hooray!

(boss was so hyped about a new 'million' dollar proposal that he couldn't be bothered about my departure. works for me just fine.)

YAY!

(dan now available for employment. anyone out there wants me?)

Over the weekend:

1. Decided to resign from job. If I can't get another within my 3 months notice, so be it. HOLIDAY!

2. Had constant nightmares of boss. This is seriously neurotic. Decided to dream of the Charmed Ones instead... (bliss).

3. Craved food non-stop. Am (yet again) on a new diet. So far so good this time. Lost 3kg. For my sanity, don't mention food when you're with me.

4. Met an old friend. He said he suspect he's schizophrenic. He's been hearing voices. Darn my friends are weird.


And today:

1. Boss isn't here. Darn... gonna delay my notice giving ceremony. How am I supposed to reschedule the band? Sigh...

2. Contemplating dropping by Ikea during lunch. Need to get present for Dad. Calculating the time it will take. Hmm...

3. Can't wait for the weekend.

Woohoo... Friday :)

Well, thanks for the throwback everyone. It helps but like I said, this decision is mine. Being the stubborn, irritable, grumpy person I am, not to mention highly indecisive, I've kinda avoided committing to a decision but it's inevitable I guess. Although there are some concerns, mind is made up. To new shores I go.

But I'm going to play this safe and secure a job first. My work performance is sure as heck going to go down the drain but when you've set to leave, it's amazing how suddenly easy everything is. It feels mightily unfair and I'm really happier to give my notice now, but seeing how once you give your notice the boss treats you like dirt, well, I'm doing it only when I'm good and ready.

Lalalala... HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! Watching Freaky Friday tonight. :)

I'm in such a headache... argh...

Past week or so has been spent contemplating resignation. And when I thought I had finally decided, boss called me in for a heart to heart. He said he noticed me being dour (eww...) and unhappy so he wanted to know why. Although boss has alleviated some concerns and made some promises (sincerity to be doubted), I feel like I do not have adequate investment in interest and passion to continue. Plus the fact that I'll drop this for a new job without a second thought gives me an indication that my notice is due.

So for the moment, I think I've decided to resign. But the compelling worry is that I fail to secure another job before I go. Since I have to give a cruelly long notice of 3 months, this means if I were to submit my notice now, I will need to find another job by February next year.

This is one decision that I have to make alone I know but just hoping to feel out you guys for brickbats and opinions. Not wanting to be whiny, but needing some reinforcement, one way or another.

:)

ENTJ - "Field Marshall". The basic driving force and need is to lead. Tend to seek a position of responsibility and enjoys being an executive. 1.8% of total population.

Take Free Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Conscious self	Overall self

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test

Howdy...

It's been so long since I last blogged I almost forgot my password. Gah...

With so many people so busy and deprived of online access... blogging seems to be a little pointless. Simply because it is such a socially driven activity that without interaction, why even bother posting your thoughts right? Hmm... will probably be blogging on and off from now onwards...

A little lack lustre with work and with life in general. Life outside of work is fine, it's the 9 hours daily at the office that's a real morale killer. I'm sure (contrary to what everyone says) not all companies are the same, and I have to believe that some careers are worthwhile. It's looking for it that's tough. Hmm...

Long weekend coming up again. Let's all say YAY!

Acks... it's Monday.

Had a weekend spent at MVEC Megamall manning a booth during the Postgraduate Fair, supposedly the largest. It's really a no biggie and crowds were good but not massive. So not too much work, though throat is a little coarse from all the talking (and rendang). Glad it's over though.

Going to go up Penang again this weekend. Leaving Friday and back on Sunday. This time with family so shouldn't be too bad :) Let's hope rain stops and flood recedes by then.

It's been a little duller at work seeing how my yahoo kakis are all deprived of access. Hai...

The Story of The Boastful Elephant and The Slimy Green Frog

It was a clear sunny day in the lush green forest,
When a thump-thump suddenly thundered through,
It was the stomping of the Elephant, big and huge and gray,
And oh, he was a boastful one too...

And he thundered through the trees and the bushes and the grass,
And the birds went a shrieking skywards,
He thundered till he came to a pond with a frog,
A small slimy green creature with warts...

And the Elephant said,

'Oh you're so small, and ugly, and green, and slimy!'
'How I'm glad I'm not like you!'
'Because you're small, and ugly, and green, and slimy!'
'And oh, so icky too.'

And the Frog replied,

'Small may I be, and green that I am,'
'But ugly I disagree,'
'For though small and green and well, probably slimy'
'I could do things you have never seen.'

And the Elephant laughed.

'Ha ha HA! Ha ha HA! What can you do that I cannot?'
'For you're small and ugly, and oh green and slimy!'
'Whereas I'm big and strong, with a trunk that's long'
'I don't envy you but instead I pity!'

And the Frog shrank inside, his heart skipped a beat,
Disheartened though as he was,
He dismissed the boastful Elephant and sat quiet on his pond,
For he was content without an ego vast...

Amidst all the boasting, of the big gray elephant,
A fly came whistling by,
And the fly saw the huge ears, of the big gray elephant,
And thought, 'Shade from the sun! Oh my, oh my!'

So the fly whizzed round the Elephant, seeking promised shelter,
And in doing so caused much fear,
For the mighty Elephant could hear the loud whizzing,
And it was only the sound he could hear,

For the fly was too small and too fast to be seen,
And the Elephant was terrified!
And he thumped and he thumpered, with his ears flapping wild,
And the frog sat there mummified,

And the Frog wondered,

'Gawd this is strange, what a turn of events'
'I would laugh but it would be impolite,'
'Maybe I should help? Would the Elephant appreciate?'
'Maybe he'll see me in another light?'

So the Frog leapt in the air, with legs all aloft,
And streaked his tongue out like a whip,
With a split second dash, the fly met an end,
And the Frog had a decent midday treat,

But the Elephant had not noticed, so wild was his fear,
That he thump and thumpered so ever more,
And the Frog in midair, had to abide by the law,
Of gravity so down he soared,

From the safety of his pond, he landed on land,
In a bewildering looming shadow,
He briefly wondered, where the sun had gone,
But the Frog would see no tomorrow,

For under the feet of the big and gray Elephant,
Did the frog unfortunately land,
And after a minute, when silence echoed round,
Did the Elephant stopped his rant,

The Elephant said,

'Ah my might has prevailed! It is silent once again'
The threat must have scurried to cover!'
'For I'm big and strong, with a trunk that's long!'
'And no other can make me cower!'

And he stood in full boast, and looked at the pond,
At the spot where the Frog (now deceased) once sat,
'Oh Frog did you not see, how brave I was'
'OH FROG! Where are you now, you coward!'

And the Elephant said,

'Oh how rude was he, to leave me alone'
'A coward! But that is no surpise,'
'For he was small and ugly, and green and slimy,'
'And I'm a mighty Elephant, big and wise!'

So on a clear sunny day, in the lush green forest,
The boastful Elephant thump and thumpered through,
And the kind hearted Frog, laid splattered by the pond,
With nary a memory as the birds by flew.

Another colleague of mine has announced her resignation. That brings down the office staff by 40%. Gawd... we're out in JobStreet scouting about and hoping to be able to hire some people soon. Looks to me like everyone is joining my quitting bandwagon, except for me! Hahaha... I guess I'm still undecided and although some change will be good, there is also perks in seeing things through. Doors always kept open anyways.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I am officially not servicing my car at Proton Edar or any 'official' Proton centres anymore due to stupidity (theirs, not mine). Wanted to service the car yesterday, here's a quick dialogue snippet:

Proton: We're full until the 6th.
Me: (darn) Alright, I'll make an appointment for the 6th then.
Proton: Sure, leave your car number then come early to get your number otherwise you won't be able to get a service.
Me: Aren't I making an appointment already? Why do I need a number?
Proton: Our policy, first come first serve.
Me: If that's the case, why can't I just come early tomorrow?
Proton: Because you don't have an appointment.

(grr)

Me: Fine, anyways, how long will a 20k service take?
Proton: 20k is actually a big service, probably 2 hours. What's your mileage now?
Me: (duh) 20k.
Proton: You can actually wait until 21k since that's the actual mileage for a 20k service.
Me: Aren't you supposed to service it every 5000 km, irregardless of what it says in the meter? Since I did mine at 14,600, it's definitely due.
Proton: No, 20k service should be done at 21k.

(this guy is obviously confused. although we do service at the first 1000 km for new cars, the next service is at 5000 and every 5000 afterwards, so although in stupid math it may seem like 21, it's really actually 20)

Me: Fine, bye.

(proceeded to regular service centre for great service at a way cheaper cost PLUS it took them only 30 mins, AND they gave me back the extra engine oil).