It is a personal belief of mine that something weird is happening on most weekends for they passed by so damn fucking fast even or especially when you are not doing anything.
On weekends, the clocks seemed to turn faster and the sun seemed to set faster (though this might be attributed to the fact that by the time I wake up, the sun is usually more than halfway through with its descent).
In comparison, the weekdays go by fast only on days when you are taking your off or your leave. For the rest of the time though, the weekdays seem to crawl past with the speed of a crippled tortoise.
I have read somewhere that the 7 days week were invented by either the Jews or the Babylonians.
Now this 7 days week would have been fine if 3.5 days are for weekdays and 3.5 days for weekends.
An 8 days week will be even better though, due to the fact that many of us (me included) are no great shakes in Mathematics and therefore have great difficulties in calculating fractions and decimals.
This is, I believe what happened to the guy who invented the 5 days work week. He must have been a fucking intelligent and charismatic guy (for how else could he have convinced others that a 5 days work week is acceptable) who believes in fairness and equality.
But though he might have been brilliant in a hell lot of things, his Achilles Heel was that he sucked -big time- at Maths . He had not understood that when 7 is divided by 2 the answer is not a freaking 5 and 2.
That is why most of us are slogging away 5 days a week and also why I shall curse this fucker for every single working day of my life.
That is... if I can ever find out who he is.
But as they say, for every bad thing in life that you encountered, there will always be a worse thing that can and will happen.
My current work actually requires me to work on alternate weekends which means that I am -gasp- actually working 11 days / 2 weeks or 5.5 days a week, which also means I am feeling extremely cheated and that I cannot in fairness, curse the guy who invented the 5 days week, for strictly speaking, he is not responsible for my current predicament.
Life is truly great when you don't even know who you can place the blame on when shit happens to you.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Political Correctness
There is something very different about the current world as compared to the world I was in as a school kid.
The world today place a hell lot of emphasis on not hurting people's feeling and political correctness. Whereas in the past, people tend to just say what they fucking want to say.
Stuff such as empathy and being sensitive to others are non-existent back then or maybe simply ignored. People who care about others too much are weak and stupid. The world is a cruel place and only those who can endure it can survive.
I remembered my primary six teacher calling us, or in particularly me and my good pal Zhongda, stupid. Our ears were twisted and pinched by the fat sadistic teacher on a almost daily basis, getting slapped was a common affair.
To be fair, I almost never do my homework but the main reason that I don't ever do them is that the ugly spinster of a teacher was a great believer in making wayward students write lines. If I have spent the time wasted on writing the thousands of lines on studying instead, I could probably have qualified for Mensa. (Strangely enough, I did quite well for my PSLE but after that it all went downhill)
The political correctness of the world today makes me wonder if that evil teacher is still teaching now. One thing is for sure though, if she is still teaching the way that she taught years ago, she would most probably have been sued and head-lined our national newspapers.
However, my main purpose of writing this post is not to rant about this malevolent teacher (though there is a hell lot to rant about) but is instead about how much the world has changed.
We are on the surface much nicer people now, so careful of not offending others through our words or behaviors. Though there is a saying that says 'a rose by any other name is still a rose', we have changed how we describe people. Nowadays, black people are called colored; fat people, big; short people, vertically challenged; and so on...
In my workplace, the 'managers' and 'supervisors' very rarely scold us and put us down. I was expecting a scolding after I took 3 days MC in the span of 2 weeks. What happened though was a gentle advice from the boss telling me that my MC rate is affecting my 'high' performance rating... just before he gave me more projects to do.
And it is not only the well-educated people who are getting more and more political correct. I was buying dinner at the hawker center when the hawker addressed me as 'Shuai Ge' (which means handsome guy)
I was quite flattered by the honesty of this hawker -when- I heard this same hawker addressed a really old auntie behind me as 'Da Jie' (which translates as big sister)
While it makes great business sense for the hawker to flatter any Tom, Dick and Harry who frequents his store, it also makes you doubt every compliment that comes your way.
P.S.
To those kids who like to call me uncle ah, you all got a lot to learn from this hawker. Call me Da Ge the next time.
To the only one person whom I called 'Da Jie' on a regular basis. When I call you 'Da Jie', I am definitely, absolutely and unquestionably -not- inferring that you are an auntie.
You are one of the nicest, friendliest and um... prettiest 'Da Jie' that I have ever seen. Hahahaha. Really.
The world today place a hell lot of emphasis on not hurting people's feeling and political correctness. Whereas in the past, people tend to just say what they fucking want to say.
Stuff such as empathy and being sensitive to others are non-existent back then or maybe simply ignored. People who care about others too much are weak and stupid. The world is a cruel place and only those who can endure it can survive.
I remembered my primary six teacher calling us, or in particularly me and my good pal Zhongda, stupid. Our ears were twisted and pinched by the fat sadistic teacher on a almost daily basis, getting slapped was a common affair.
To be fair, I almost never do my homework but the main reason that I don't ever do them is that the ugly spinster of a teacher was a great believer in making wayward students write lines. If I have spent the time wasted on writing the thousands of lines on studying instead, I could probably have qualified for Mensa. (Strangely enough, I did quite well for my PSLE but after that it all went downhill)
The political correctness of the world today makes me wonder if that evil teacher is still teaching now. One thing is for sure though, if she is still teaching the way that she taught years ago, she would most probably have been sued and head-lined our national newspapers.
However, my main purpose of writing this post is not to rant about this malevolent teacher (though there is a hell lot to rant about) but is instead about how much the world has changed.
We are on the surface much nicer people now, so careful of not offending others through our words or behaviors. Though there is a saying that says 'a rose by any other name is still a rose', we have changed how we describe people. Nowadays, black people are called colored; fat people, big; short people, vertically challenged; and so on...
In my workplace, the 'managers' and 'supervisors' very rarely scold us and put us down. I was expecting a scolding after I took 3 days MC in the span of 2 weeks. What happened though was a gentle advice from the boss telling me that my MC rate is affecting my 'high' performance rating... just before he gave me more projects to do.
And it is not only the well-educated people who are getting more and more political correct. I was buying dinner at the hawker center when the hawker addressed me as 'Shuai Ge' (which means handsome guy)
I was quite flattered by the honesty of this hawker -when- I heard this same hawker addressed a really old auntie behind me as 'Da Jie' (which translates as big sister)
While it makes great business sense for the hawker to flatter any Tom, Dick and Harry who frequents his store, it also makes you doubt every compliment that comes your way.
P.S.
To those kids who like to call me uncle ah, you all got a lot to learn from this hawker. Call me Da Ge the next time.
To the only one person whom I called 'Da Jie' on a regular basis. When I call you 'Da Jie', I am definitely, absolutely and unquestionably -not- inferring that you are an auntie.
You are one of the nicest, friendliest and um... prettiest 'Da Jie' that I have ever seen. Hahahaha. Really.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Driving Lessons
In this materialistic world that we live in, it is imperative for a guy to know how to drive.
As the world progresses, girls are no longer impressed by the hunting/foraging/chest thumping skills of guys. Proving yourself as the alpha male (also known as God's gift to the girls) is no longer as simple as just dragging the carcasses of the deer/stag/goat that you have hunted back to your stinking cave.
This could also be due to the fact that there are little wildlife (aside from the many stray cats) available in urban Singapore -and- I definitely do not think that the girls will be amused if you clobber a very cute cat and bring it home as dinner. (FYI, I am a cat lover myself and I will probably whack you if I see you clobbering a cat)
So what is it that attracts girls now?
Recent studies by Harvard (yeah, I am bullshitting you just to lend this post more credence) have shown that 95% of the girls are drawn to guys who chauffeur them around. There is, I believe, something about having a nice car that makes a girl go weak in her knees.
That is why I am now taking up driving lessons, even though the cost of buying and driving a car in Singapore is probably enough to feed a whole family in some other country for at least a lifetime.
What I did not expect is that the cost of learning how to drive is probably going to cost me an arm and a leg as well.
Just the cost of registering under Bukit Batok Driving Center costs me a whooping $80. A single practical lesson cost $60 (and I might need around 26-30 lessons). The practical test will cost about $130.
The amount of money needed is so fucking amazing that I wonder whether I am paying towards establishing an annual gratuity for the boss, management, clerk, instructors, cleaners of BBDC or for my driving lessons.
I am so going to get my driving license on the first try... for the sake of my manly pride and my thinning wallet.
P.S. My bro and his girlfriend passed in their first try... and their driving sucks big time. I don't think I will live it down if I fail =.=
As the world progresses, girls are no longer impressed by the hunting/foraging/chest thumping skills of guys. Proving yourself as the alpha male (also known as God's gift to the girls) is no longer as simple as just dragging the carcasses of the deer/stag/goat that you have hunted back to your stinking cave.
This could also be due to the fact that there are little wildlife (aside from the many stray cats) available in urban Singapore -and- I definitely do not think that the girls will be amused if you clobber a very cute cat and bring it home as dinner. (FYI, I am a cat lover myself and I will probably whack you if I see you clobbering a cat)
So what is it that attracts girls now?
Recent studies by Harvard (yeah, I am bullshitting you just to lend this post more credence) have shown that 95% of the girls are drawn to guys who chauffeur them around. There is, I believe, something about having a nice car that makes a girl go weak in her knees.
That is why I am now taking up driving lessons, even though the cost of buying and driving a car in Singapore is probably enough to feed a whole family in some other country for at least a lifetime.
What I did not expect is that the cost of learning how to drive is probably going to cost me an arm and a leg as well.
Just the cost of registering under Bukit Batok Driving Center costs me a whooping $80. A single practical lesson cost $60 (and I might need around 26-30 lessons). The practical test will cost about $130.
The amount of money needed is so fucking amazing that I wonder whether I am paying towards establishing an annual gratuity for the boss, management, clerk, instructors, cleaners of BBDC or for my driving lessons.
I am so going to get my driving license on the first try... for the sake of my manly pride and my thinning wallet.
P.S. My bro and his girlfriend passed in their first try... and their driving sucks big time. I don't think I will live it down if I fail =.=
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Religion, Housework and Me
So I am on leave today.
While most people tend to rest on their leave days, I being the hardworking person that I am, spent my very precious leave day on... housework.
Many of you might not know it, but housework is actually a test of endurance for the occupants of the house (for those of us without a maid anyways).
I believe that subconsciously, me and my siblings are actually competing to see who can tahan the increasing disgusting state that the house is degenerating to.
I was way ahead in the endurance department when I lost it, after stepping on something gooey in the kitchen (and this was after I swiped my arm over something slimy on the dinning table).
My elder bro had caved in and cleared out the fridge a week or two ago when he got appalled with its condition. My sis had cleaned up her room when her friends came over to play the previous week.
It was now my turn to do some cleaning up before the house got eaten up by fungus or something.
I am a great believer in reverse psychology so, yeah, I love doing housework very much... there is truly nothing as gratifying as trying to wipe away the stubborn greasy stain on the stove or scrubbing that shitty toilet bowl.
I've spent the better half of the day clearing up the mess in the living room, the dining room and scrubbing the very disgusting kitchen floor, though to be honest, it would not have taken soooo long if I had not made it a point to go through all the interesting magazines that were strewn all over the house.
After making the house a little bit more habitable, I remembered, or rather my neighbor who was walking past the house, reminded me that today is actually the lunar 15th.
Although I happen to be a truly pious free thinker, my IC and more importantly, my Dad had stated that I am a Buddhist. Not wanting to be disowned by Dad, I obediently lay out the fruits (that my bro had bought) on the altar.
As I were arranging the lychees (lychees were my late mum's favorite fruit) on the plate, I found myself wanting to believe in the existence of God (or Gods depending on which religion you believe in), and that there is actually an afterlife where you can again meet the loved ones that you have lost.
But if God exists, how do we know which one of them really exist? If Christ is real then can Buddha or Thor or Allah be real also? If the Bible says that non-believers in Christianity are going to hell and the Koran says the same thing for non-believers in Islam... are we all going to Hell?
Religion is a really hard thing to understand for it requires faith and not logical thinking. You either believe in it or you don't for it is not something that can be proved by looking at facts or evidences.
I think that most of us want to believe in a religion because it promises something beyond what your normal life span of maybe 70-80 years offers.
So, to play it safe, I am now a full time Buddhist, part time free thinker.
In fact, to ensure that I do not end up in some hell when I died, I may decide to believe in all of those religions that states that non-believer (in that particular religion) will burn in hell.
And to reflect my religion inclination, my blog address will change to something like this
Rileon-is-a-BuddhistChristianTaoistIslamicPaganHinduZoroastrianism
Freethinker.blogspot.com
or to keep it short...
Rileon-is-a-sibehreligiousman.blogspot.com
*Disclaimer: There is absolutely no disrespect for any religion in this blog. Contents should be taken as nonsensical ramblings of the blogger.
While most people tend to rest on their leave days, I being the hardworking person that I am, spent my very precious leave day on... housework.
Many of you might not know it, but housework is actually a test of endurance for the occupants of the house (for those of us without a maid anyways).
I believe that subconsciously, me and my siblings are actually competing to see who can tahan the increasing disgusting state that the house is degenerating to.
I was way ahead in the endurance department when I lost it, after stepping on something gooey in the kitchen (and this was after I swiped my arm over something slimy on the dinning table).
My elder bro had caved in and cleared out the fridge a week or two ago when he got appalled with its condition. My sis had cleaned up her room when her friends came over to play the previous week.
It was now my turn to do some cleaning up before the house got eaten up by fungus or something.
I am a great believer in reverse psychology so, yeah, I love doing housework very much... there is truly nothing as gratifying as trying to wipe away the stubborn greasy stain on the stove or scrubbing that shitty toilet bowl.
I've spent the better half of the day clearing up the mess in the living room, the dining room and scrubbing the very disgusting kitchen floor, though to be honest, it would not have taken soooo long if I had not made it a point to go through all the interesting magazines that were strewn all over the house.
After making the house a little bit more habitable, I remembered, or rather my neighbor who was walking past the house, reminded me that today is actually the lunar 15th.
Although I happen to be a truly pious free thinker, my IC and more importantly, my Dad had stated that I am a Buddhist. Not wanting to be disowned by Dad, I obediently lay out the fruits (that my bro had bought) on the altar.
As I were arranging the lychees (lychees were my late mum's favorite fruit) on the plate, I found myself wanting to believe in the existence of God (or Gods depending on which religion you believe in), and that there is actually an afterlife where you can again meet the loved ones that you have lost.
But if God exists, how do we know which one of them really exist? If Christ is real then can Buddha or Thor or Allah be real also? If the Bible says that non-believers in Christianity are going to hell and the Koran says the same thing for non-believers in Islam... are we all going to Hell?
Religion is a really hard thing to understand for it requires faith and not logical thinking. You either believe in it or you don't for it is not something that can be proved by looking at facts or evidences.
I think that most of us want to believe in a religion because it promises something beyond what your normal life span of maybe 70-80 years offers.
So, to play it safe, I am now a full time Buddhist, part time free thinker.
In fact, to ensure that I do not end up in some hell when I died, I may decide to believe in all of those religions that states that non-believer (in that particular religion) will burn in hell.
And to reflect my religion inclination, my blog address will change to something like this
Rileon-is-a-BuddhistChristianTaoistIslamicPaganHinduZoroastrianism
Freethinker.blogspot.com
or to keep it short...
Rileon-is-a-sibehreligiousman.blogspot.com
*Disclaimer: There is absolutely no disrespect for any religion in this blog. Contents should be taken as nonsensical ramblings of the blogger.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Men, The Superior Gender
As the superior gender, we males are twice as clever as the females. This is evident from the fact that we are born with two heads instead of one.
Unfortunately, nature seek equality between the two genders and thus, have given us males an insufficient amount of blood to fully supply both heads at the same time.
Having said that, a man can usually assess his situation and decide which head needed the blood the most. And for most of the time, the blood flow is directed to his thinking head.
However, Nature has connived to give the females (who are less clever because they only have half the number of heads as compare to the males) an unfair advantage in the battle of the sexes.
This advantage becomes obvious when you put a woman (especially an attractive and scantily dressed one) near to a guy. A woman will have this very dangerous ability to redirect a man's blood flow from his thinking head to his lower and smaller head.
*It should be noted that the effect of this dangerous ability is often in direct proportion to her attractiveness and her proximity to the guy.
In other words, girls make guys stupid.
This can also be taken to mean that men are stupider. For knowing the effects that girls have on us, we still willingly chase after them as we would rather be stupid then single.
So please. If there are any sweet young things reading this post, do drop me a message. I am single, desperate and utterly willing to be stupid. Just for you.
Damn, I am so proud to be a guy.
Unfortunately, nature seek equality between the two genders and thus, have given us males an insufficient amount of blood to fully supply both heads at the same time.
Having said that, a man can usually assess his situation and decide which head needed the blood the most. And for most of the time, the blood flow is directed to his thinking head.
However, Nature has connived to give the females (who are less clever because they only have half the number of heads as compare to the males) an unfair advantage in the battle of the sexes.
This advantage becomes obvious when you put a woman (especially an attractive and scantily dressed one) near to a guy. A woman will have this very dangerous ability to redirect a man's blood flow from his thinking head to his lower and smaller head.
*It should be noted that the effect of this dangerous ability is often in direct proportion to her attractiveness and her proximity to the guy.
In other words, girls make guys stupid.
This can also be taken to mean that men are stupider. For knowing the effects that girls have on us, we still willingly chase after them as we would rather be stupid then single.
So please. If there are any sweet young things reading this post, do drop me a message. I am single, desperate and utterly willing to be stupid. Just for you.
Damn, I am so proud to be a guy.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Truth of Life
Blogging is hard. Changing the music in the blog is easy. I am lazy. That's why the music in this blog change more then the post. Anyone knows how to put a playlist in a blog?
Monday, June 2, 2008
Healthy Lifestyle
There are a myriad of reasons as to why one would want to live healthily. The obvious ones being that a healthy lifestyle (aka a balanced diet + exercise + 8 hours of sleep) will lead to a better physique and complexion, which, will in turn do wonders to one's level of attractiveness.
Just imagine. Mark Lee with a clear, smooth complexion and a muscular build... ... ... ... ... ...
Not quite a good example. However it will still be a vast improvement.
And then, imagine... let's say Brad Pitt with a stickman's build and orange skin complexion...
For those of you who catches no ball, what I am trying to say here is that while one might be born ok looking, a bad complexion and a poor physique could still make one downright ugly. That is why I have been torturing myself by running, going to the gym and forcing myself to sleep early.
In short, the path to a healthy lifestyle is a path of tremendous pain and suffering.
Basically this is my plan for the next 3 months:
Every morning shift: Gym in the afternoon. Sleep around 1030pm
Every afternoon shift: Jog in the morning. Sleep around 1015pm
Dota: No Dota action after 930pm
Diet: Eat a lot... whenever I can.
My morning shift is from 7am to 3pm while my afternoon shift is from 1215pm to 730pm.
What happened:
First Gym Session: Injured my right arm while doing bicep curls =.=
First jog: Felt like dying after completing 6 rounds on the stadium tracks. Suspect that my timing is around 15 mins. Damn.
Sleep: Went to bed at around 1045pm last Thursday. Counted sheep until around 1 am. Woke up 530am for work.
Dota: Friend jio-ed me for Dota at around 10pm (I've forgotten on which day) saying that they need one more to play 5v5. I agreed even though I had planned to sleep around 1030pm. Proceed to spend 1 hour getting thrashed in Dota. Went to sleep at 11pm+ feeling damn pissed. Dota sucks... Big Time...
So in actual fact, nothing had happened according to plan and I am actually feeling less healthy than when I started.
However, contrary to popular belief, I am a man of iron will and discipline. I believe in finishing what I have started and that is why I will continue on this path of self destruction. In fact, I have so much determination that I had just forced myself to go for another gym session, focusing on chest exercises so as not to stress my right arm.
The result of this determination? Very painful neh nehs.
Life truly sucks.
Just imagine. Mark Lee with a clear, smooth complexion and a muscular build... ... ... ... ... ...
Not quite a good example. However it will still be a vast improvement.
And then, imagine... let's say Brad Pitt with a stickman's build and orange skin complexion...
For those of you who catches no ball, what I am trying to say here is that while one might be born ok looking, a bad complexion and a poor physique could still make one downright ugly. That is why I have been torturing myself by running, going to the gym and forcing myself to sleep early.
In short, the path to a healthy lifestyle is a path of tremendous pain and suffering.
Basically this is my plan for the next 3 months:
Every morning shift: Gym in the afternoon. Sleep around 1030pm
Every afternoon shift: Jog in the morning. Sleep around 1015pm
Dota: No Dota action after 930pm
Diet: Eat a lot... whenever I can.
My morning shift is from 7am to 3pm while my afternoon shift is from 1215pm to 730pm.
What happened:
First Gym Session: Injured my right arm while doing bicep curls =.=
First jog: Felt like dying after completing 6 rounds on the stadium tracks. Suspect that my timing is around 15 mins. Damn.
Sleep: Went to bed at around 1045pm last Thursday. Counted sheep until around 1 am. Woke up 530am for work.
Dota: Friend jio-ed me for Dota at around 10pm (I've forgotten on which day) saying that they need one more to play 5v5. I agreed even though I had planned to sleep around 1030pm. Proceed to spend 1 hour getting thrashed in Dota. Went to sleep at 11pm+ feeling damn pissed. Dota sucks... Big Time...
So in actual fact, nothing had happened according to plan and I am actually feeling less healthy than when I started.
However, contrary to popular belief, I am a man of iron will and discipline. I believe in finishing what I have started and that is why I will continue on this path of self destruction. In fact, I have so much determination that I had just forced myself to go for another gym session, focusing on chest exercises so as not to stress my right arm.
The result of this determination? Very painful neh nehs.
Life truly sucks.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The Dreaded Walk In Interview
Woke up early today to try my luck for a chance in working with the prestigious Singapore Airlines as a cabin crew.
If not for the fact that my current job sucks big time and with the kind encouragement from a friend (the sister of my good friend... she is working as an air stewardess in SIA) I would never have attempted this interview.
I know that I don't have the looks needed but well-meaning friends seemed to overlook the fact that I look more like Mark Lee then Christopher Lee. I personally think that my friends might have been blinded by my GREAT personality =.= (My neighbor was more truthful. When I messaged her to tell her I am going for an air steward interview, she immediately told me that I cannot make it. Whatever else her shortcomings might be, you can always count on the very 可爱的猪头 Xuan for the truth =.= )
Despite having outbreaks of acne and deep dark eye circles from my stressful 6 days week of working (the late nights spent on non-stop Dota action are not helping also...) I decided to go for IT.
Upon reaching the very nice Sheraton Tower Hotel at around 10 am, I proceeded up to the 2nd floor where lines upon lines of mostly beautiful people are queuing up. I immediately felt out of place (I have never felt comfortable wearing a shirt and a stupid tie. A tie is one of the most impractical and stupid thing ever invented!).
Feeling very awkward, I smsed a few of my friends to try to alleviate my nervousness. Their replies were mostly encouraging, except for my very nice neighbor who keeps giving double-edged encouragement. Thanks ah, very nice neighbor! Next time you forget bring money for cab fare ah... I will laugh at you from upstairs :P
To continue with the story, it is a long wait before I can pass my registration papers to the counter staff and while waiting, I talked with the guy standing in front of me who turned out to be the younger brother of one of my colleagues =.=
So as we continued waiting and making small talks and ogling the many pretty girls around, someone came and collected our registration papers before ushering us into a big room where corporate videos were being screened. We were brought into the room in groups of 10 and those in the same group have to sit in the same row.
We waited in boredom as the videos keep repeating themselves (why can't they put some nice movie out for us to watch while we are waiting? I wanna watch Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull!). Finally, after more than 1 hour of waiting, we were brought into the interview room for the first round of interviews.
There were 2 Malay girls (who looked like they were stewardess in the SIA) interviewing us and we were given a relatively simple task of introducing ourselves. The first 2 to speak gave fairly standard introductions and the whole thing went on smoothly but it's my colleague's brother who nailed the thing.
He (my colleague's brother) stood up and greeted both the interviewers and the rest of us and then proceeded to talk about himself, his passion, where he had traveled, how he got his bronze tan and etc...
All in all, it was a damn brilliant speech with good body posture, hand gestures and stuff. It didn't help that my turn was directly after his.
Still feeling stunned from his great speech, my mind was blank as I stood up and said, " Um...Hi, Good morning to you. My name is (insert my name). I am 24 this year and I am working in (insert workplace). Well, I like travelling and that's why I am trying for SIA. That's all, thank you."
I cursed myself as I sat down. Usually I could talk a lot of crap. I have no problems doing presentations in front of a crowd and usually my presentations are well received by the audience. I don't know whether its a lack of sleep, my self consciousness (from the fact that I know I don't look good) or its just that I am not suited for this job that causes me to flunk this simple introduction. However, what I do know is that I am hungry and without having to go for the 2nd round of the interviews, I can actually go for my breakfast and lunch now.
When the results came out, only 2 out of the 10 of us made it passed the first round. Naturally, I was not among the 2 but my colleague's brother was. After we congratulated those 2 whom have passed, I left the hotel and headed for home a bit dejected. That's one job struck off from my list of dream jobs (I will talk about my list some other day...)
Nevertheless, I've still got more than a year left in my current bond and this means I've still got plenty of time to look for that elusive dream job. Yeah, I planned to change job the moment I've landed any job in my dream jobs list and God (I know, I know, I am an atheist who should be promoting free thought, but if there really is a God up there... Any God will do...) please let me strike Toto so that I can pay off the 10k++ left in my bond and still have money left over to fool around.
Haiz... Life sux...
If not for the fact that my current job sucks big time and with the kind encouragement from a friend (the sister of my good friend... she is working as an air stewardess in SIA) I would never have attempted this interview.
I know that I don't have the looks needed but well-meaning friends seemed to overlook the fact that I look more like Mark Lee then Christopher Lee. I personally think that my friends might have been blinded by my GREAT personality =.= (My neighbor was more truthful. When I messaged her to tell her I am going for an air steward interview, she immediately told me that I cannot make it. Whatever else her shortcomings might be, you can always count on the very 可爱的猪头 Xuan for the truth =.= )
Despite having outbreaks of acne and deep dark eye circles from my stressful 6 days week of working (the late nights spent on non-stop Dota action are not helping also...) I decided to go for IT.
Upon reaching the very nice Sheraton Tower Hotel at around 10 am, I proceeded up to the 2nd floor where lines upon lines of mostly beautiful people are queuing up. I immediately felt out of place (I have never felt comfortable wearing a shirt and a stupid tie. A tie is one of the most impractical and stupid thing ever invented!).
Feeling very awkward, I smsed a few of my friends to try to alleviate my nervousness. Their replies were mostly encouraging, except for my very nice neighbor who keeps giving double-edged encouragement. Thanks ah, very nice neighbor! Next time you forget bring money for cab fare ah... I will laugh at you from upstairs :P
To continue with the story, it is a long wait before I can pass my registration papers to the counter staff and while waiting, I talked with the guy standing in front of me who turned out to be the younger brother of one of my colleagues =.=
So as we continued waiting and making small talks and ogling the many pretty girls around, someone came and collected our registration papers before ushering us into a big room where corporate videos were being screened. We were brought into the room in groups of 10 and those in the same group have to sit in the same row.
We waited in boredom as the videos keep repeating themselves (why can't they put some nice movie out for us to watch while we are waiting? I wanna watch Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull!). Finally, after more than 1 hour of waiting, we were brought into the interview room for the first round of interviews.
There were 2 Malay girls (who looked like they were stewardess in the SIA) interviewing us and we were given a relatively simple task of introducing ourselves. The first 2 to speak gave fairly standard introductions and the whole thing went on smoothly but it's my colleague's brother who nailed the thing.
He (my colleague's brother) stood up and greeted both the interviewers and the rest of us and then proceeded to talk about himself, his passion, where he had traveled, how he got his bronze tan and etc...
All in all, it was a damn brilliant speech with good body posture, hand gestures and stuff. It didn't help that my turn was directly after his.
Still feeling stunned from his great speech, my mind was blank as I stood up and said, " Um...Hi, Good morning to you. My name is (insert my name). I am 24 this year and I am working in (insert workplace). Well, I like travelling and that's why I am trying for SIA. That's all, thank you."
I cursed myself as I sat down. Usually I could talk a lot of crap. I have no problems doing presentations in front of a crowd and usually my presentations are well received by the audience. I don't know whether its a lack of sleep, my self consciousness (from the fact that I know I don't look good) or its just that I am not suited for this job that causes me to flunk this simple introduction. However, what I do know is that I am hungry and without having to go for the 2nd round of the interviews, I can actually go for my breakfast and lunch now.
When the results came out, only 2 out of the 10 of us made it passed the first round. Naturally, I was not among the 2 but my colleague's brother was. After we congratulated those 2 whom have passed, I left the hotel and headed for home a bit dejected. That's one job struck off from my list of dream jobs (I will talk about my list some other day...)
Nevertheless, I've still got more than a year left in my current bond and this means I've still got plenty of time to look for that elusive dream job. Yeah, I planned to change job the moment I've landed any job in my dream jobs list and God (I know, I know, I am an atheist who should be promoting free thought, but if there really is a God up there... Any God will do...) please let me strike Toto so that I can pay off the 10k++ left in my bond and still have money left over to fool around.
Haiz... Life sux...
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Two Paper Clips
I just re-affirmed one thing about myself today.
I am either:
a) A very gullible idiot.
or
b) An exceedingly kindhearted person.
As this is MY blog and I do have an obligation to put myself in the best possible light, I have to say option b.
I was on my way home from a long hot sticky and damn tiring day of work when I was approached by this teenager who was holding a cardboard clipped full of paper clips.
As this teenager is a guy and not some cute looking girl, I put on my most 'dao' expression and decided to act like I was in a hurry and just walk away.
However, before I could walk away, the teenager had began his sales pitch.
Teenager : "Hi there, I was wondering whether I could take up a moment of your time?"
Being a very nice and well mannered guy, I found myself replying against my own accord.
Me: "Ok sure... So what is this about?"
Teenager: "Would you be more comfortable speaking in english or mandarin?"
Me: "Either would be fine...?"
Teenager: "So are you local?"
Me: "Yah...?"
Teenager: "Oh ok, its just that you have this American accent when you talk..."
Wow, my English pronunciation has always been bad and this is the first time that someone mistook my bad English for an American accent. Either that or this teenager is using a standard compliment for every potential customer he meets...
Teenager: "So where are you studying right now?"
Me: "I am actually working right now..."
Teenager: "Oh... its just that you look very young..."
Hm... that would be two compliments in a span of maybe four sentences. I am flattered despite knowing that it is a standard sales pitch and felt obliged to continue listening to what he has to say.
Teenager: "Well, actually I am from this entrepreneur school and me and my classmates have to pass this graduation project which is to grow our $1 capital into $100 in 3 hours time..."
The teenager then points to a couple of his classmates who are in the area, one of them whom was accosting a rather pretty office lady.
My attention was immediately diverted by the pretty office lady as the teenager continues yada-ing.
Teenager pointing to his cardboard full of paper clips: "So if possible, can you help us buy some paper clips for whatever amount you are willing to pay? Our deadline to get the $100 is at 9pm..."
The mention of his project deadline brought my memories back to my polytechnic days when I was desperately trying to meet the deadline for my final year project. We had been given a total of 6 months for our project. I had procrastinated until the last week to do it and the days of sleepless nights trying (albeit futilely) to complete the project had seemed like hell to me...
I could totally emphasize with anyone who is trying his best to meet a deadline. Thus, I generously pulled out a ten dollars note.
Me: "So how many paper clips would $10 get me?"
Teenager holding out the cardboard to let me choose the paper clips : "As many as you like... but please don't take all of them."
After applying my astounding mathematical skills to calculate the worth of those paper clips (factoring in the cost price, inflation, effort, etc....) I happily took these 2 paper clips.
(Due to the misplacement of my phone's cable, the pictures of the paper clips cannot be shown)
Teenager: " Wow! Thanks!"
Me, before walking off: "Naw... Good luck in your graduation project!"
For some reason, this reminded me of an incident a few years back where I had just drawn $20 from the ATM and this old lady approached me asking for some money while stating that she had no money to go home. As she looked really old and pitiful, I gave her all the money I had drawn and watched her walked off happily...
I am either:
a) A very gullible idiot.
or
b) An exceedingly kindhearted person.
As this is MY blog and I do have an obligation to put myself in the best possible light, I have to say option b.
I was on my way home from a long hot sticky and damn tiring day of work when I was approached by this teenager who was holding a cardboard clipped full of paper clips.
As this teenager is a guy and not some cute looking girl, I put on my most 'dao' expression and decided to act like I was in a hurry and just walk away.
However, before I could walk away, the teenager had began his sales pitch.
Teenager : "Hi there, I was wondering whether I could take up a moment of your time?"
Being a very nice and well mannered guy, I found myself replying against my own accord.
Me: "Ok sure... So what is this about?"
Teenager: "Would you be more comfortable speaking in english or mandarin?"
Me: "Either would be fine...?"
Teenager: "So are you local?"
Me: "Yah...?"
Teenager: "Oh ok, its just that you have this American accent when you talk..."
Wow, my English pronunciation has always been bad and this is the first time that someone mistook my bad English for an American accent. Either that or this teenager is using a standard compliment for every potential customer he meets...
Teenager: "So where are you studying right now?"
Me: "I am actually working right now..."
Teenager: "Oh... its just that you look very young..."
Hm... that would be two compliments in a span of maybe four sentences. I am flattered despite knowing that it is a standard sales pitch and felt obliged to continue listening to what he has to say.
Teenager: "Well, actually I am from this entrepreneur school and me and my classmates have to pass this graduation project which is to grow our $1 capital into $100 in 3 hours time..."
The teenager then points to a couple of his classmates who are in the area, one of them whom was accosting a rather pretty office lady.
My attention was immediately diverted by the pretty office lady as the teenager continues yada-ing.
Teenager pointing to his cardboard full of paper clips: "So if possible, can you help us buy some paper clips for whatever amount you are willing to pay? Our deadline to get the $100 is at 9pm..."
The mention of his project deadline brought my memories back to my polytechnic days when I was desperately trying to meet the deadline for my final year project. We had been given a total of 6 months for our project. I had procrastinated until the last week to do it and the days of sleepless nights trying (albeit futilely) to complete the project had seemed like hell to me...
I could totally emphasize with anyone who is trying his best to meet a deadline. Thus, I generously pulled out a ten dollars note.
Me: "So how many paper clips would $10 get me?"
Teenager holding out the cardboard to let me choose the paper clips : "As many as you like... but please don't take all of them."
After applying my astounding mathematical skills to calculate the worth of those paper clips (factoring in the cost price, inflation, effort, etc....) I happily took these 2 paper clips.
(Due to the misplacement of my phone's cable, the pictures of the paper clips cannot be shown)
Teenager: " Wow! Thanks!"
Me, before walking off: "Naw... Good luck in your graduation project!"
For some reason, this reminded me of an incident a few years back where I had just drawn $20 from the ATM and this old lady approached me asking for some money while stating that she had no money to go home. As she looked really old and pitiful, I gave her all the money I had drawn and watched her walked off happily...
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Weird Day...
Today has been a weird day. And when I say weird, I meant the kind of weird that leans more towards being shitty. In fact it leaned so much towards shitty that it's more like a shitty day that leans towards being weird.
Yeah, I know I am not making much sense and yeah, I know I am full of shit, but today has been a really shitty day. And when I say shitty, I really meant it. Literally.
For those of you who are curious about the shit I am talking about... here is the gist of the story.
I was taking the train to Queenstown to work today. Yeah, I know some of you might be wondering about what is so strange with taking the train to work when thousands of other people are taking the train everyday for reasons as simple as being poor or as obscure as being a freaking green peace member who is obsessed with saving the environment. However, what is weird is not my train journey but what I saw while the train was moving from Bukit Batok towards Jurong East.
People who take the train regularly will know that the journey can be awfully boring, especially when it's like the 321241th time that you are taking that particular train at that particular timing everyday. This is especially so when there are no cute girls on the train.
So what happened is that I was looking out of the window at those nice nice stretch of grasslands underneath the mrt tracks when I saw this middle age man squatting under one of the mrt track.
Now, this in itself is already very weird as the place where he is squatting, is in the middle of exactly nowhere. Thus, out of curiosity, I strained my eyes to get a better look. The man was squatting with his trousers down, butt facing in my direction. At that exact moment when my eyes focused and gained perfect clarity on him(Yeah, my eyes are like camera lenses... it takes time for them to focus), I saw a string of slimy looking brownish stuff coming out from his butt. I curse my Lasik given good eyesight =.=
If this is the only thing that happened today, I would have shrugged it off and not bother to blog about it for I am a very lazy, um... I mean laidback person. After getting off at Queenstown, I went directly to the toilet inside the mrt as I have a urgent need to pee. While peeing in the very empty toilet, this weird guy suddenly came in and proceeded to pee at the latrine that was nearest to me.
Those of you who are guys will know that straight guys absolutely do not pee directly next to each other if they have a choice. This guy reminds me of the gay I knew in my training school and as if this is not enough to creep me out, that guy actually grinned at me while I was washing my hands. Being a paranoid kind of person, I decided to let him leave the toilet first before leaving myself to ensure that I am not being followed by him.
After leaving the toilet, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that weird fucker heading towards the opposite stairway from where I was heading. And so, after getting down from my side of the stairway, I headed over to the Kopitiam where I usually have my lunch. This was when I saw the weird fucker walked past me.
At this moment, I was rather alarmed and thoughts like, "How the fuck did this fucker get here", "Is this Fucker stalking me?", "Fuck, is this fucker from the CPIB? But I never did anything?!", "Damn, I hope I remember what I've learnt in my combat training so I can wack this fucker upside down" were running inside my head.
However, the weird guy just walk past me and disappeared somewhere out of sight. Feeling stupid and a little bit gu niang, I went on to have my lunch. I was running abit late after my lunch and as I was walking towards my workplace, the weird fucker appeared again out of nowhere in front of me. Fuck! Is this guy a ninja or what?
The weird fucker then approached me and introduced himself. Fuck! He is really stalking me!
Basically, this is what I recalled from the conversation...
Weird Fucker (From now on he will be known as WF) : "Hi, I am Lee... Can we exchange numbers?"
Well, if its a girl asking for my number... I will give it without a second thought... However, as this is a potentially gay fucker, I answered very coolly in a 'dao' manner.
Me: "No thanks, I would rather not."
WF: "Oh well... Do you stay around here?"
Me:"No, but I work here in -Confidential Info-"
WF:"Oh well, I am actually running a business in Well Being... yada yada yada (I've forgotten what he said)"
Me:"Huh? Well Being? What is that about?"
WF:"Well, basically our customers are young ladies who are interested to maintain a healthy and slim body and to increase their bust lines"
Basically I have no idea what he is talking about...
ME: " Uh huh...?"
WF:"So we are looking for young people like you to help us promote the business and yada yada.... "
I've forgotten most of what he said except the important key words such as young ladies, slim body and bust lines. And so, as it sounds like an interesting business, I took down his number and promised to call when I am free.
However, after some serious consideration, I've come to the conclusion that this is either:
1) A scam that targets innocent looking guys like me and probably involves me parting with a substantial sum of my money.
2) This guy is a gay fuck.
And thus decide against calling the WF.
And to top off this splendid day... I waited for 1.5 hours for my younger sister so that we can have dinner today. Damn... I am such a nice brother.
Yeah, I know I am not making much sense and yeah, I know I am full of shit, but today has been a really shitty day. And when I say shitty, I really meant it. Literally.
For those of you who are curious about the shit I am talking about... here is the gist of the story.
I was taking the train to Queenstown to work today. Yeah, I know some of you might be wondering about what is so strange with taking the train to work when thousands of other people are taking the train everyday for reasons as simple as being poor or as obscure as being a freaking green peace member who is obsessed with saving the environment. However, what is weird is not my train journey but what I saw while the train was moving from Bukit Batok towards Jurong East.
People who take the train regularly will know that the journey can be awfully boring, especially when it's like the 321241th time that you are taking that particular train at that particular timing everyday. This is especially so when there are no cute girls on the train.
So what happened is that I was looking out of the window at those nice nice stretch of grasslands underneath the mrt tracks when I saw this middle age man squatting under one of the mrt track.
Now, this in itself is already very weird as the place where he is squatting, is in the middle of exactly nowhere. Thus, out of curiosity, I strained my eyes to get a better look. The man was squatting with his trousers down, butt facing in my direction. At that exact moment when my eyes focused and gained perfect clarity on him(Yeah, my eyes are like camera lenses... it takes time for them to focus), I saw a string of slimy looking brownish stuff coming out from his butt. I curse my Lasik given good eyesight =.=
If this is the only thing that happened today, I would have shrugged it off and not bother to blog about it for I am a very lazy, um... I mean laidback person. After getting off at Queenstown, I went directly to the toilet inside the mrt as I have a urgent need to pee. While peeing in the very empty toilet, this weird guy suddenly came in and proceeded to pee at the latrine that was nearest to me.
Those of you who are guys will know that straight guys absolutely do not pee directly next to each other if they have a choice. This guy reminds me of the gay I knew in my training school and as if this is not enough to creep me out, that guy actually grinned at me while I was washing my hands. Being a paranoid kind of person, I decided to let him leave the toilet first before leaving myself to ensure that I am not being followed by him.
After leaving the toilet, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that weird fucker heading towards the opposite stairway from where I was heading. And so, after getting down from my side of the stairway, I headed over to the Kopitiam where I usually have my lunch. This was when I saw the weird fucker walked past me.
At this moment, I was rather alarmed and thoughts like, "How the fuck did this fucker get here", "Is this Fucker stalking me?", "Fuck, is this fucker from the CPIB? But I never did anything?!", "Damn, I hope I remember what I've learnt in my combat training so I can wack this fucker upside down" were running inside my head.
However, the weird guy just walk past me and disappeared somewhere out of sight. Feeling stupid and a little bit gu niang, I went on to have my lunch. I was running abit late after my lunch and as I was walking towards my workplace, the weird fucker appeared again out of nowhere in front of me. Fuck! Is this guy a ninja or what?
The weird fucker then approached me and introduced himself. Fuck! He is really stalking me!
Basically, this is what I recalled from the conversation...
Weird Fucker (From now on he will be known as WF) : "Hi, I am Lee... Can we exchange numbers?"
Well, if its a girl asking for my number... I will give it without a second thought... However, as this is a potentially gay fucker, I answered very coolly in a 'dao' manner.
Me: "No thanks, I would rather not."
WF: "Oh well... Do you stay around here?"
Me:"No, but I work here in -Confidential Info-"
WF:"Oh well, I am actually running a business in Well Being... yada yada yada (I've forgotten what he said)"
Me:"Huh? Well Being? What is that about?"
WF:"Well, basically our customers are young ladies who are interested to maintain a healthy and slim body and to increase their bust lines"
Basically I have no idea what he is talking about...
ME: " Uh huh...?"
WF:"So we are looking for young people like you to help us promote the business and yada yada.... "
I've forgotten most of what he said except the important key words such as young ladies, slim body and bust lines. And so, as it sounds like an interesting business, I took down his number and promised to call when I am free.
However, after some serious consideration, I've come to the conclusion that this is either:
1) A scam that targets innocent looking guys like me and probably involves me parting with a substantial sum of my money.
2) This guy is a gay fuck.
And thus decide against calling the WF.
And to top off this splendid day... I waited for 1.5 hours for my younger sister so that we can have dinner today. Damn... I am such a nice brother.
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