Archive for 2010

The million dollar question

September 20, 2010

Something short from me before my raging womanly curse flares up with a vengance again.

This is too funny not to share.

Today in class I touched on commodities and gave some examples such as “petroleum, natural gas, rice, sugar” etc.

As I summed up what I talked about in class, I asked the class if they had any questions.

One boy, with this really serious yet innocent look on his face raised his hand and asked “Miss, is natural gas….like….farts?”

The whole class erupted in laughter and I stood there in disbelief. I mean, he didn’t at all look like he was being sarcastic or a smartass. He truly seemed like he didn’t know what natural gas was. And if indeed he was being a complete smartass, he deserved an Emmy award!

At that precise moment, I was not sure whether to laugh or cry! Here was a boy in his early 20s and had no clue what natural gas is? 

Part of me wanted to be a complete smartass and say something like “Oh yes, you should fart in jars and sell em. You would make a killing!” but judging by the look on his face, I simply exclaimed “No that’s not natural gas!” to which the entire class erupted in laughter once again.

“Then what is natural gas?” he asked.

“The contents in those Petronas or Shell gas cylinders are a form natural gas,” I explained.

As soon as I finished that sentence and in my efforts to refrain from turning his question into a 15-minute comedy skit, I finished off class by saying “Okay, that’s it for today. I will see you on Wednesday.”

HELLO WORLD!

September 17, 2010

I’m not sure why but I have this intense urge to blog today after disapprearing for the “Blogsphere” for quite some time. (Granted my previous turd post was a copy-paste from my Facebook Notes. *hangs head in shame*)

Currently, I’m typing this at work. Oh yes, a little update on my life now.

I resigned my job as a reporter with the local daily for a job as a *drumroll please* lecturer (or instructor or teacher, however you want to see it but I’m still finding it weird calling myself a “lecturer”) in a local institution of higher learning. 

The hours are golden compared to my previous job and the pay is better. In fact, quite a lot better in my humble opinion.

I sincerely miss my job as a reporter. To be exact, I miss the writing part the most. At times, when I think back at the hours and amount of stress that came with it, I’m glad I took this current job. More often than not, I still find myself missing my co-workers who have become good friends even though I’ve known them for under a year.

However, I am not saying my current job is completely stress-free. It’s just a different type of stress altogether and working in an environment that lacks some comprehensive facilities can be quite challenging at times. Furthermore, the working culture here is completely different than my previous workplace. Students are ok in general although there are bound to be problematic ones in each class.

When I think about my job now, I sometimes giggle to myself in that a sarcastic goofball such as myself is doing my part to corrupt shape the minds of the leaders of tomorrow.

I have been told I’m quite the hard-ass. Allow me to illustrate.

During one of my first class, I set some rules.

“I only ask that all of you follow these simple rules. One, when I talk, you breathe. Why? Because if I’m talking and you’re talking at the same time that means you’re not listening to what I’m saying. When you don’t listen to what I say, you’re not following the lesson, therefore you miss out on some important points. So I strongly recommend that why I talk, all you do is JUST breathe. (At this point, students are all wide-eyed probably thinking “Oh shit, we’re going to die.”)

“Two, do not be late for class. Before I proceed, does anyone want to inform me of some strange disease of not being able to wake up at a time earlier than 11am?

“Three, I will email you notes prior to class (since there is a lack of teaching tools e.g projector & laptop). All I ask is you read the notes prior and bring them to class. Can you do that? (Students start nodding). If you do not have notes with you during lectures, I suggest you run back to your dorms and get them because I will most likely not let you enter the hall. Unless you want to take a risk and try it anyway? *smirk*”

Needless to say I was being a complete smartass. Whether or not the students got it is another matter. I remember seeing some giggling at the back while some looked completely terrified. Trust me, I’m not at all that mean in class. I try to make it as interesting as possible.

I am teaching (lecturing?) 3 subjects; Politics, Public Relations and Southeast Asia Affairs. Not too boring thankfully.

Okay, I think I’ve rambled enough for now. Going to pack my things and go home.

HELLO WEEKEND!

Turd for thought

August 27, 2010

So I’m sure everyone heard about Indonesian group Bendera’s demonstration at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta a couple days ago.

Now aside from it being such a primitive uncivilized form of demonstration on the group’s part, am I the only one who finds the humor that these people actually went to THAT extent to show insult to Malaysia?

When I first heard of the story yesterday morning, the first thing that I asked myself was “Did they all decide to poop in bags and bring it with them for the demonstration? Or did someone had an urge to do number 2 during the demonstration, hence it was just by chance they HAPPEN to have shit in hand (literally)?”

And then another thought crossed my mind. When I saw the news it wasn’t just one person flinging crap and smearing it, it was a FEW people. So the thing that crossed my mind was “Was it their own shit? Or was it somebody else’s?”

Because what a coincidence it would be that 3 Bendera people (that were also arrested) had the urge to take a dump during the demonstration.

Seriously, I wouldn’t even look at my poop after I’m done on the toilet, what more to say holding it in my BARE hands and smearing it across any surface.

And while I’m on this point, why the fark would I want to grab a wad of someone else’s shit???

This group calls themselves Benteng Demokrasi Rakyat, yet they use such primitive ways to show discontent. Democracy? Huh? More like Demo-shitty, as in a shitty demonstration (literally).

Okay, perhaps these people were very passionate about what they were fighting for and in the heat of the (fart) moment , they decided to chuck some chocolate cake around.

I guess that makes sense….NOT.

So here’s a turd..ummm food for thought.

The next time you’re not happy about something, fling some butt nuggets around.

Thank you for your attention.

-The End-

Prized possession

May 28, 2010

Guess what I picked up earlier this week???

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My thesis is finally binded after one year of submitting it to the university. It cost me a hefty RM80 per copy and I had to do six copies because FOUR were for the university (I initially thought 3) and I had to bear all the cost!

Hmmmph.

When I got there, the staff told me “Oh what a coincidence. They just arrived YESTERDAY.”

Of which I was very sceptical but that’s beside the point.

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My point is this;

She handed me a copy to look at and left for a couple minutes. As I held and laid my eyes on it for the very first time, I said “wow” outloud.

Wow not because I think I’m so great but wow because of how similar it looked like to a book.

Wow because I felt it was worth the money I spent.  *chuckle*

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Look, it has my name on the side too!

Wow because exactly one year ago I was told that I might not make it to graduation in time.

Wow because exactly two years ago I cried tears of disappointment for not being able to graduate.

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Wow because this thesis is the epitome of my blood, sweat and tears. Blood from papercuts, sweat from lugging all those books to and from the libray and tears from…well I already explained that many times in this blog.

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Wow because I can finally close this chapter of my life.

Cheese anyone?

April 18, 2010

(Disclaimer: I think I am in one of those babbling sarcastic narcisistic self-contradictory mood. You have been warned.)

I cannot help myself.

This is probably one of the cheesiest songs ever but it’s OH SO ADORABLE and damn catchy.

I finally did a search for the music video on YouTube and after having watched it,  I still like the song (even though the music video is even cheesier than the song).

But…there’s a but.

The singer, Jason Castro (although pretty goodlooking and was a contestant in American Idol which I also just found out) has long dreadlocks. Now that’s all fine and dandy BUT (again), it is LONG. Like really long, like longer than my hair kinda long which is pretty long if you’ve seen me in person.

(Yes I know I’m doing that whole babbling thing.)

(I digress!)

ANYWAY.

So not only does he have long LONG hair, I bet if after some treatment and straightening thingy majig, he will look like a girl. I am serious.

I don’t think I’m that vain of a person but seriously, I don’t think I can handle dating a guy who could probably look ‘prettier’ than I am (as a girl). Seriously.

Okay I know I’m being vain. But I can’t help myself.

Turn tables around. Can a (straight) guy handle dating a girl that looks…oh well more macho than him? Say with a muscular body and deep voice and a visible Adam’s apple?

See, I thought so. 

I shall let you judge for yourself.

I still like the song though. Gonna make Rob dance with me to that song when he eventually comes to visit. Heh. 😀

Another milestone

April 15, 2010

I haven’t written anything substantial in the past 6-7 months that I have been working.

As many of you (especially people who know me personally) are aware, I have been working as a journalist aka reporter with the Borneo Post.

My first day on the job, I wanted to quit. The second day I planned to quit at the end of the week. Eventually I was determined to finish a month and at least get paid so that I could have some spending money for a while.

When I finished my first month (and got paid), the plan was to quit before my probationary period ended because I could give 24 hours notice during that time.

Why you ask? Well, I am a person who values some structure in her life and I’m sure you know that there are not set hours when it comes to being a reporter. On the first day, I was assigned to cover a function with another reporter until 9.30pm. I have to say, I was not a happy camper back then.

Some days I started work at 2pm, other days I have to be at a place at 8am while the night before I worked until 11pm.

Eventually I received a letter notifying me that the probational 3 month period was over and even though I was not given a raise (I was promised a raise after probation during my interview), I stayed. I was in no hurry to leave. That was December last year.

Although there were a couple of times that certain people in the office pissed me off to no conceivable end, I held on. I was as patient as I could be, even though the temptation to walk out of the office forever kept nudging at me.

I have to honestly say that one of the two things that made me stay were a few people in the office. These people made the office fun and the thought of leaving them for no logical reason seemed to be unfathomable. I actually looked forward to going into the office. We had even more fun out of the office. 😀

This past year or so (2009 and part of 2008) was one of the the years that I wish to forget, but it has made such an impact on me that it’s hard to erase it from my memory. The hurt, disappointment, anger, and devastation was just undescribable. Ironically, some of my thoughts can be read here, here and here. Oh and more here and here. 😛

I became quite a sceptic. It was hard to trust people and let my guard down. As days passed in the office, I realised that I had quite a lot in common with some of them. As cliche as it sounds, “time heals all wounds” found its way through the wall I have made around me.

These people accepted me, understood me (to a certain extent, because frankly I can be WAY too weird sometimes) and let me into their lives without any ulterior motives (or so it feels that way. See, I’m still a sceptic at times).

Most of all, I felt comfortable with them. I was comfortable to be who I really am with these people. It was like a breathing a breath of fresh air (yes, cliche again I know) as compared to some issues I went through.

The other thing that I enjoy was the writing. I truly enjoyed writing stories/ reports/ articles as stressful as it could be at times.

I knew I always loved writing but the past 7 months have shown me what I could really do with writing. I was amazed at how I could come up with a story in a matter of hours and read by thousands of people the next day. I felt accomplished, I felt contented.

The job has also opened my eyes and given me the experience of meeting so many different people from all walks of life.

When I do street polls, I have to go up to total strangers and asked if they want to be interview. Many times they are reluctant because their pictures and name will have to be published so I would have to convince them in a way. I think the thing that I have gained the most from working as a reporter is knowing no shame.

Yes, that’s right. I now know no shame. :blush:

I think the best experience was the trip to Thailand. Although I’ve been there before, it was a totally different experience. The press were put up in really posh hotels, hotels that I know I would never stay in and paid for myself because the rate was simply too expensive. I would have never eaten all that good food, the gormet meals.

Now I have left this job, the experience and the people whom I have grown so fond of that has made a mark in my life. People whom I can call friends.

I am thankful to have met these people and relieved that I have gotten an opportunity of a lifetime to write for a newspaper.

On my very last few minutes in the office, I left MY mark by pranking a few people.

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I was so happy. (Photo credit to Georgette Tan.)

From the bottom of my heart, I thank each and everyone of you for making a good start out of 2010. You know who you are!

P/S: Most importantly, the one person who has been supportive, understanding and accepted me throughout my hardships is Rob. I love you honey and thank you for always being there for me. 😡

Sorta kinda back

March 9, 2010

Apologies for lack of update but I really can’t be arsed to post anything after a long day at work. 😛

Anyway, this is just a quick note to say: I’M HEADING TO BANGKOK!

Will be leaving for KL tomorrow night, and take the first flight out to Bangkok on Thai Airways the next day (Wednesday). After a day at Bangkok, I’ll be heading towards Pattaya.

After 4 years, I’m going to be back in both cities again. Feels surreal somehow.

The best part about all of it is that it’s all FREE, courtesy of LG Electronics. 😀

Yes, that means I am covering an event for LG in Bangkok. I think it’s a new product launch or something like that. Regardless, I don’t think I am able to release any more details even if I did know what it was all about. :P 

I’ll be back in Kuching on the midnight Saturday, of which I am glad to be getting Sunday and Monday as my replacement off days. Then I go back to work on Tuesday and once again get my off days on Wednesday and Thursday. I like how well that all works out. 😀

Will try to update more frequently and thanks to the two or three readers that constantly come back to check. You know who you are! 🙂

P/S: I love you Robbie 😡

*Insert title*

February 4, 2010

I’ve been busy with work and there are many times I wanna blog but after spending the whole day writing, I can’t be arsed to write anything when I get home.

And when I actually get to writing a post, I end up deleting it because it has no substance or just sounds very lame.

I enjoy the writing part of my job and I think now I can say that I’m used to the hours.

Today I finished writing an article that I’m quite proud of. My goal was to write something that will touch the hearts of people who read it. I showed it to Rob and he liked it a lot. He showed it to his mom and she teared up (I was told).

So with that, I emailed it to the ‘boss’ and we shall see if it gets published. I’m not aiming for a front-pager or anything but I just hope that it touches some people. It’s a sad story but in the end a lesson can be learned from it. 🙂

I had my first experience of being a paparazzi of sorts a few days ago. I’m sure many have read about the 14 year-old student who got bashed up in school but 4 strangers in the local newspaper. If you have no idea about it, refer here.

Anyway I was assigned to do a follow up on that story the day the report was published. Trying my luck with another fellow colleague, we drove to the school where the boy was beaten up to see if we could speak to the principal. Little did we know that when we arrived, several other reporters were already there waiting.

In fact, one reporter told me that a couple of them managed to get into the school undetected but was later ‘escorted out’ by security guards and since then security was tight in the front entrance of the school.

So there we were, about 10 of us, waiting outside the school under the drizzling rain for something to happen. Eventually a VIP showed up at the school and we later found out that there was an investigation going on in the school at that very moment we were outside.

It was later learned that the boy and the father was at the school being interviewed by education officers, so we waited and waited until they came out of the school. Upon seeing us, the father sped off in his car. However, we managed to stop the VIP for some information and comments.

Anyway, my report on that is here. There is another story but it’s not in the website so if you’re interested to read up and have the newspaper, look it up on Wednesday’s (Feb 3) edition.

I pretty much rambled on from north to south, east to west so I’m going to end here for now.

Maybe I will update again in another two months.

Hah! Hope not. 😛

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