Nothing's new

The past month, especially the past one week, has been tough. New people joining would usually mean something good, especially in your department because then, you're eased of some workload. But when that person is an absolute bimbo, life sucks when you're the one training them. What more when your superior is in a land far, far away. Frustration creeps up on you, and before you know it, you lash out at almost everybody. Let's see how far this goes.

Music: Bridging emotions

I was listening to this song when I suddenly felt that I would probably never see you face to face again.


我有今日

歌手：側田 | 作曲：側田 (On Your Mark)
填詞：林夕 | 編曲：側田 (On Your Mark)

Hate myself for loving you so much
Oh I hate myself for falling back in love
Never been good at words I wanna say
I sing my love for you
I'll just let the music make sweet love to you

曾經　和你因工作一起遠飛
但我還未知心中有你
仍為了別個她魄散魂離
因她　無法得到因此心已死
我便自卑　不敢抖氣　已經苦得想死
遑論有天居然愛你

＊直到一天　共你相見
被我知你從上次開始接觸　便已就似觸電
猶如得到　星光的加冕　我沒被討厭
多得有你　我終於有這天＊

多麼憎我太慢才識你
我更加不想勉強地去親你
是你喜歡我　當然都愛你　和她不敢去比
仍舊答謝你　有你的眷戀　令我也有了生氣

多麼憎我試著迷戀你
我怕想擁抱你也為了出氣
願我拋開過去一心愛你　忘掉她的氣味
若我敢再記起　對不起了你

如果　和你一早得到好結果
沒法明白單戀的痛楚
難道我樂意得到折磨
而不過　從我跟她苦戀的最初
縱沒成果　顛倒的我　滿足比傷心多
難道愛辛苦方似我

REPEAT＊

多麼憎我太慢才識你
我更加不想勉強地去親你
是你喜歡我　當然都愛你　和她不敢再比
仍舊答謝你　有你的眷戀　令我也有了生氣

oh　終於得到了被愛
oh　無論興不興奮當天已不在
願你終於變了一生最愛　連我悲觀也改
沒有舊人存在　放心給你愛

做人或者　不必要得到最想
如為快樂設想　就祝福我倆

Fortunately pampared

Looking at the changes in the world, you'd have to acknowledge how fortunate kids are these days. I'm referring to those currently aged below 15 years old. With the technology advancement, and the increase in the "wealth" of parents (inclusive of credit cards), kids are getting almost everything they want, not everything they need. "Pampered" is what some would call them; "Fortunate" may also be a word that comes to mind. These days, you'd see small children with iPhones in their hands. Yeah, it may not be theirs, but some parents purchase such gadgets primarily for their kids to use - I know one person who did that. What happened to the days where things like gasing, kite flying, hopscotch, marbles, and getah, which used to keep children occupied? I miss those days.

Atwhay away ayday

Atwhay away adsay ayday itway ashay eenbay. Irstfay, akingway upway ithway away edray, oresay eyeway. Hentay amecay ethay istakesmay. Andway ethay ostmay epressingday artpay amecay enwhay eway ereway oldtay ofway ethay esignationray ofway away ellowfay olleaguecay. Iway inkthay omesay eoplepay areway akingtay itway eallyray ardhay.

Osay, atwhay away ifferenceday away ayday akesmay.

Reprise: Appealing...but is it really?

The HTC Desire was finally launched in Malaysia on 27th May 2010, and will be available exclusively via Maxis for one month. The RRP is RM2,199, while the promotional price is RM1,499 with a 12 month contract of a Maxis Rate Plan + Data Plan. The offer was so tempting that I dragged my family to a Maxis Centre with me today to find out more, and also to get my hands on one. After asking two questions, I decided that I don't want to sign up for the offer because it wouldn't be worth it for me (it'll probably be worth it for the peeps who are already signed up for a Value Plus Rate Plan). The answers that I got for the two questions I asked were negative:

1. The RM10 rebate on the Data Plan, which is included in the Maxis Android offer, will only be applicable for the 12-month contract period. After the contract period is over, the subscriber will have to pay the normal Data Plan rates.

2. If the data usage exceeds the limit for the Data Plan, the subscriber will have to pay additional charges on top of the Rate-Plan-plus-Data-Plan charges for the additional data used. In other words, the additional usage will not piggy back on the Rate Plan.

These were enough for me to stay away from the offer since my phone usage (for calls, texts, and MMS) hardly exceeds RM20 per month.

Oh, and another thing, I found out through a blog (Malaysia Mobile Tech News), that since one has to sign up for the contract (which, apparently, is only on the Data Plan), there is no flexibility of changing the Data Plan within the contract period.

Well, I can wait.

Appealing...but is it really?

When Maxis tweeted the below, I thought, "Wow! This sounds good, will wait till the HTC Desire is out in Malaysia and get this offer!"

Maxis to offer WIDEST range of android phones starting May 1!Go to:http://bit.ly/aM5DjX for more infoless than a minute ago via webMaxis Mobile
maxiscomms

Then, I remembered that the line I'm using is a supplementary line. So, that got me into calculating if it was really worth it (for me) to opt out of the supplementary plan and sign up for this offer.

Basically, these are the current figures of my current line:
- Monthly fixed charge: RM10.00
- Average monthly usage: RM10.00
That would be a total of RM20.00
And, for comparison, I'll add in a Data Plan. I'll choose the 500MB one, which is priced at RM58.00
Inclusive of the Data Plan, my monthly cost would be RM78.00, if I'm gonna stick with the supplementary line.
The phone, my choice for the purpose of this analysis, is the HTC Legend, which retails at RM1,999.00.

If I were to opt for the Android offer by Maxis, I will have to sign up as a new principal line holder as the Rate Plan choices are only applicable to principal lines.
As I don't call or text much, I'd go with the Value Plus 50 Rate Plan, which would bring my monthly usage charges to RM50.00.
There is a rebate of RM10.00 on the chosen Data Plan. So, by including the same Data Plan per above, the total monthly cost would be RM98.00.
The offer price by Maxis for the HTC Legend is RM1,399.00.

A summary of the above, inclusive of calculations:
Note: The offer calls for a 12-month contract, hence the calculations have been accounted for for a 12-months period, being the short-term projection. I've included another 12 months for a long-term projection (2 years).
All amounts are in Malaysian Ringgit (RM).

Current Plan			Android Offer
Calls	Data		Calls	Data
20.00	58.00		50.00	58.00
Per month	78.00		Per month	98.00
12 months	936.00		12 months	1,176.00
Phone (RRP)	1,999.00		Phone (Offer)	1,399.00
ST projection	2,935.00		ST projection	2,575.00
Next 12 months	936.00		Next 12 months	1,176.00
LT projection	3,871.00		LT projection	3,751.00

Another note for the above calculations:
My next-12-months figure is calculated on the basis that I opt out of the Value Plus 50 Rate Plan and revert back to my old plan - I don't make many calls or text many people anyways - and this would mean that I'll be paying an extra RM30.00 for the monthly charges. Total monthly usage charges = RM40.00.

Looks like after two years I'd still be better off with going for the offer.

Hold on, a few more calculations, just as a check.

How much I'd save by signing up for a 12-month contract on the offer:

1st 12 months	360.00
End of 2nd year	-240.00
End of 3rd year	-240.00
	-120.00

So, after the middle of the third year, it'll be much more expensive for me to have opted for the offer, unless, of course, I switch back my line to be a supplementary line again right after the contract period ends (opportunity costs not taken into account). But switching the line one too many times is kinda troublesome (another part of me, being a kiam siap Malaysian, thinks otherwise).

Verdict: Will wait to see if Maxis will include the HTC Desire in the offer, when it has arrived in Malaysia, and the price before making a decision.

Multitasking

No, I'm not gonna post about the new feature in the Apple iPhone OS 4. What's on my mind is more on the ability of humans to multitask. Although some of us usually comment that we can't multitask, in essence, we ARE multitasking without even knowing it. Yes, not all of us can type a message and listen to another person talk at the same time, or talk to someone over the phone while cutting our toenails - people who are able to do this are already super-multitasking, in my opinion. But when you think about our body functions, we're definitely multitasking. Our digestive system works at the same time that our heart pumps, and at that exact moment, gas exchange occurs in our alveoli (no, I was not good in the Bio-related science topics; had to Google this word). If you're like me, brain having difficulty co-ordinating multiple tasks, no worries, we're all still multitasking. :)

Fantasies

When you feel that your work is starting to get to you, you may start to fantasise. And when you're vocal about almost everything, you'll manage to pull in a few others to join you in the fantasy. Ah, yes, the joy of dreaming of having something that you cannot own at the moment. Such pleasure it brings just talking about it, no, make that, just THINKING about it. But when all has been said, or dreamt, reality sets in and the slogging continues. Life, as it is. How comforting.

Reporting and Performance

A few nights ago, my sister asked me what type of job I'd look for (for the record, I'm a Financial Accounting graduate). I told her non-accounting related, well, at least not keeping accounting records.

My stand is this:
Financial Accounting (in a commercial business sense) requires one to keep accounting records of a business, and this involves past records/historical data. If you are dealing with historical stuff, how can your performance be rated? Is there even a KPI for how well one keeps past records? Of course there's the occasional advice that you can provide from the extensive list of accounting standards, but these also mostly relates to how you handle the past records, which nobody would really look at apart from the blasted, nosy auditors, and perhaps your 'successor'. So, since your performance can't be rated, how can you get a pay rise, a promotion, a pat on the back from the boss, some form of recognition? Heck, nobody's gonna say "Well done, you did a good job in handling all the past records (which nobody really care about anymore, since we're looking at what will happen in the future)".

Expectations

Just yesterday, my superior and I had a conversation during lunch hour on the expectations of life. How one should have their own expectations in life. Needless to say, with me being ignorant towards lots of things, I have the least expectations on how I would lead my life. I may have one or two, okay, maybe a few, but I draw the line at expecting too much out of anything. Things never go the way one plans it to be. When one dreams, no, wants something to happen, the opposite usually happens. That's the way the Earth revolves (counter-clockwise if seen from the North Pole). So I guess we'll have to live with it.

Another thing brought up, also on expectations, is when one is in a relationship. As my superior told me, having too much of an expectation in a relationship can lead to the dissatisfaction of one party, or both parties. What would make it worse is the expectations of outsiders (relatives, friends) of the relationship you are in. She has gone through it in her relationship, and I have witnessed many of these 'expectations' from my side of the family. Stuff like, "Eh, where's your other half? Not coming ah?" An uncle once replied to this, on behalf of a cousin, with a "Must be the overdose of family gatherings." That was a good one. :D People should learn to keep their noses out of other's business.

On a side note, I just received information on the child I'm sponsoring. I expect him to do well in life, and love his family. ;)

Can't sleep

Listening to: 東方神起 - You only love
via FoxyTunes

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It's been a week and I have been waking up earlier and earlier, even before the alarm goes off. Not sure if it's stress related, insomnia, or perhaps due to the ageing process. Although I definitely lack sleep, I'm not sleepy during the day. I highly doubt that it's a good thing but we were taught that most changes are good. Hope it's true, in such a case(?)

On the bright side, am gonna be watching MACC 1st EGM New Year Edition. Hope it'll be a good laugh :)

Sen-less

It's amazing! I went out today, without bringing anything but myself. No money, handphone, ID, ATM/debit card. Even though I didn't vring anything, I managed to go watch a movie, and also have popcorn. Har har. This is not an advertisement of any sort, neither am I some big shot. I was just rushed out of the house and didn't manage to dump anything into my pockets. Thank goodness for siblings with money. :D

Straying away, The Proposal is a really good movie, extremely hilarious with a good looking actor.

Gender issues

I just received this e-mail and found it hilarious!

Hi there Mystery Shoppers,

We are looking for FREELANCE or FULLTIME staff to assist us in our DRUM CIRCLE PLAYSHOP and CORPORATE WARGAME events. You MUST be:

a) Male or Female
b) VERY outgoing type, NOT shy and Fun type
c) Very friendly type and can communicate well
d) Able to travel outstation for events
d) If you can play music or instruments, so much the BETTER
e) State whether you can work weekdays/weekends

Ignorance

Listening to: HowL & J - Perhaps Love (사랑인가요)
via FoxyTunes

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I got really angry listening to my colleague today. She announced that she will be getting a puppy soon. What made me mad was when another colleague asked her who will take care of it when she's at work. Her reply, "Just put it in the cage la." I wanted to tell her off but that wouldn't be such a good thing so early in the day. Why keep a pet if you're just gonna lock it up in the cage most of the day? As much as you'd like it to be your companion, you will have to be one to it too, not let it be your prisoner!

Ridiculous number

It's not a good idea to put your mobile phone in your handbag, and wedge the bag between yourself and a chair. I did that and ended up calling a ridiculous number: *****ppp***pppppp*p*ppp*ppp***pppp*ppppp*pppp9990990000*9*p009p**ppp9p68p

Just my luck...

Listening to: 이정식 - I Know (Saxophone Inst)
via FoxyTunes

----------------

...to find something and not be able to get it. The company I'm working in was running a contest on the website and the prize for the weekend was a RM50 Jusco voucher. As an employee of the company, I'm not allowed to participate.

I was just showing my sister some images on the website and I happened to chance upon a winning "ticket"!

I now want to scream because I can't join and neither can my immediate family members.

 

*sigh* There goes 50 bucks down the drain. The contest just ended 30 minutes ago. AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am Rojak

Listening to: Steven Curtis Chapman - Cinderella
via FoxyTunes

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Just yesterday, during dinner, my cousin's daughter asked me what rojak is (she was referring to the food). My brother answered her with "Y-O-U". True she was, with her parents & grandparents being of different races. This brought me to realise that I too was of "mixed blood", although when people asked me if I was pure Chinese, I'd always say yes (because both my parents are classified as Chinese).

A few days ago, my family and I went to a relative's house for a CNY lunch. I had always thought that she was my mother's (first) cousin. Only when I got there and saw a few pictures did her brother tell me that my mother's grandmother and their grandmother were sisters, making them my mother's second cousins. I also found out that my great grandmother's mother was the Siamese gunslinger, who is so famously known in our family. From the picture I saw in the house, my great grandmother & great grandaunt were wearing kebaya & sarong, the traditional Baba Nyonya clothing. My mum said that they were Baba Nyonya's, which meant that their father was from a Baba Nyonya family. This is my mother's father's side of the family.

My mother's mother was from a Baba Nyonya family. I always liked listening to my mother, aunts & uncles when they told us stories of when they were young, when my grandparents were still around, when my grandmother & her sisters would play mahjong and scold those around them in Malay/Hokkien when they lost in the game.

I would have loved to meet my grandparents but unfortunately there's no way of doing that.

My father's side is very simple. My ancestors from his side of the family are purely Chinese from China.

So, the mixed blood that I have in my veins are those of Chinese, Baba Nyonya & Siamese.

The worth of hardwork

Listening to: 911 - New Groove Generation
via FoxyTunes

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It's almost 2 a.m. and I've just finished part of the work I brought back home to do during the long weekend. But that's less than half of what I wanted to accomplish during the holidays. Just as I'm about to finish, I wonder if doing this is worth it. Is it worth it to be absorbed in my work and ignore everything else? Is it worth it to try to be so hardworking to the point that my loved ones are disappointed (and sometimes angry) at me? And most of the time, it doesn't look like anyone's gonna appreciate it. Like Andrew told us, "Why want to be so hardworking? Got employee of the year award meh?" True, there's no award nor consolation for working so hard. But considering that there's so much to do, even without ad-hoc tasks popping up, I don't see how it's possible to finish anything. And it doesn't help that my computer & I are both slow. Until I manage to clear the mess on my table, I cannot stop doing whatever I am doing now, although I won't be able to bring that accomplishment to the grave.

On the other hand, I also wonder why some people tend to want a job so badly and when they do get a not-that-bad one, they go all out to show their dissatisfaction. Is it in the nature of people to always want more than what they already have?

End of the year blues

Listening to: Gary Farr - You Are Too Beautiful
via SKY.fm (Solo Piano)

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Just a few days ago, Jessica, my colleague was talking to me about how fast the year is coming to an end, i.e. we were getting older. Some of us fear the ageing process. In her case it was because she's afraid her relatives will start badgering her about when she'll tie the knot. I remember my cousin going through that (even when she didn't have a better half back then). The pressure by relatives when one reaches the marrying age.

In my case, I don't have that fear. I mean, I do fear getting older, but for some other reason. I don't think it necessary to be married. I'm fine with being a spinster (or some people like to say old maid). I get to do what I want without having to worry about another person or that person worrying about me.

Anyways, my fear of getting older is that I can't live up to the standards set for the people at that particular age. Allow me to elaborate. As a kid, in kindergarten, we are excused for doing most things, because we are too young to know the difference of right and wrong, and this is the time when we learn new things. Moving on to the schooling age (primary / secondary), we know most of the rights and wrongs but we are considered not matured enough to do certain stuff. Fair enough. Then comes the age between being a teen and an adult. Although considered matured, we can still act crazy. Then comes the age of late twenties and thirties. We'll probably be considered to have known much more than most of the young'uns, the age where we'll have to teach more than be taught, the age where we must be able to make decisions. Then comes the forties and above. The age where we're considered to have gone through all the "asam garam kehidupan".

For me, I'll probably be stuck having the mentality of the-age-between-being-a-teen-and-an-adult. I may grow older by the year but I can never grow up. That's what worries me.

This also reminds me of a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip I read recently:

Mush

Listening to: George Winston - Hummingbird
via FoxyTunes

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With December having 4 public holidays, my brain has been nothing but mush. But there's still so much to do before the year ends. Doubt that I can get much done.

Have been thinking nonsensical thoughts, such as:

"If I miss the third shuttlecock with my rubber chicken, does Buford have to jump over the chokecherry bush before or after the girls finish peeling their tangerines?"
Disney Channel - Phineas and Ferb (Ep: Got Game) [it took me about 10 times after watching the advertisement to finally get it]

It's fun thinking about things like that. Makes life less boring.