Recap

Ah... things are running a bit too smoothly for me - work, that is, but still waaaayyy too voluminous - especially after the lousy quarterly meetings mentioned two posts back. One good thing that really made my day (that day) was that the President (and others, in fact) is very pleased with my first-ever-self-compiled magazine. Thank goodness! - all I had was three perpetually-interrupted weeks to work on it. Frankly, if I had more time, I would be more satisfied with the outcome. The creative team that did this was not very... accommodating. Thus I have been seeking other services, demanding qualities of this and that like a snoot on steroids. If not for the budget constraints I have to work with, my choice vendor/supplier will be a few steps closer to early retirement.

Oh... something just bothered my mind: I have yet to receive my confirmation letter for my appointment - my probation period has lapsed almost a month ago - even though I have emailed the HR. Oh well, if there ain't gonna be that minor raise then I won't give a damn.

Back to the track. After that meeting, I know my boss had a difficult time. I can tell, even when being absent from it. So come Monday (the meeting was on a Saturday), I called him up to gather what we were supposed to discuss on - because our meeting hour was snatched by another big shot - and also to vent my exasperations. Sometimes, I do not know who really is my boss. Him? Him? Him?

It is no wonder that they (other than my direct boss) have mistaken me for someone else. I am me, take a closer look. Hello, I am NOT that fellow who left. Since I stepped in I have spent half the time trying to... hmm, turn his Shakespeare into The Archies, i.e. make his highly unnecessarily sophisticated procedures and protocols more digestible. And it's no a few hours' or a day's challenge - it's almost a week's toil just doing that for ONE friggin' category!

Also, I am only helping out the other board's concerns and what-nots because no one else wants to or can take charge of it. My other colleagues do not possess the experience to utter on behalf of such matters; one started really late in the organisation, the other never did, and the other one... he is mashed potato to me. And with an attitude that he has, he is tarnishing the standard of service as expected of a staff based in Central region. I am eschewing on how in God's name he made fulltime. When you offer too much grace to one person, you risk losing the respect you get from others.

So how can things go smoothly for me? I just do my thing and pretend to listen to them.

Okay. Enough bitching about others. I tend to digress.

My boss was shocked that I have that many tasks in the office. At least now he understands why I cannot fully commit to my real tasks. He told me he has requested for a revision on the employment in the office. All I hear after that from the office was: Don't pressure yourself too much.

What?! I do not, I repeat, I do not pressure myself in work matters. They, of minds too devolved to conceive how tangled up things are in the office and yet continue to expect so much to be done in so short a time, do.

That ain't the worst. Somebody is trying to induce willingness for outside-office-hours' involvements. I beg your pardon, for unlike you that you have eased alot of burdens and possibly feel that your life is starting to slow down and wish to satisfy some self-actualisation, count me out. Mine is just at beginning. I will absolutely not bring work home, be on your beck-and-call, nor allow anything to derail me from living the life as I see fit.

I love this job, but I do not necessarily like every task that comes along, or the people associated with it.

Kids... say the darnest things!

TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America.
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America?
CLASS: Maria.
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TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
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TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No,that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.

(I Love this kid)
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TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
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TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
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TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
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TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I.'
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
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TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.
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TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
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TEACHER: Clyde, your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE: No, sir. It's the same dog.
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TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher

(Drum roll: Ba-dup-bish!)

Screw it

Yesterday was the beginning of the third quarterly-meeting for my organisation's top brass, including my bosses - gee, I have two to answer to, or so I thought.

The earlier plan was that I meet up with my direct boss - the one whose department I am under - at half past three (afternoon of course). So I arrived at the hotel conference room and saw my boss at the end of the long table with the hoard from the other board. That board's boss said, "Eh Rick, where have you been? We can't start without you la!" Static. "You are the development officer what, who else can we turn to?" Sweat.

My boss retorted to him, "Sorry ah Mr. Justin Timberlake (sorry dude, I needed a quick pseudonym), I actually booked him for our board's meeting."

"Oh? Never mind la, queue up."

I could see the spiking discomfort on my boss's face. Tension.

So after about an hour - covering issues I consider highly trivial - I finally got to have a short meeting with my boss. Thank God he is the understanding sort. We can always communicate via phone call on one of this weekdays.

Just as I was about to leave - as I have planned so - another fellow came up to me and asked, "Hey Rick, what time will you be around tomorrow?"
"Er, I won't be around tomorrow."
"What? How can? You are the development officer, you HAVE to be around in the meeting!"
(Gee, can you all come up with a new line?)
"I have consulted Mr. Simon Cowell (our Human Resource officer); he said I need not be around."
"What? How can? You are the development officer, you HAVE to be around in the meeting!"
........
(I rest my case)

I ain't turning up. Glee.

So blessed am I...

Apologies for the long hiatus from blogging. My hands were heavily laden with tasks upon tasks, and... wait. Why am I even apologising? This is my blog after all. *Finger*

Other than being bogged down by work, there have been occasions when people induce my venomous words, acts and conspiracies - all in thought only - and the recurring rate can be alarming, even for my marked diplomacy. Oh, for the want of a lawless country, I'd be... never mind. All of you should thank God for the Angel in my life who has kept me fused to the social grid that so earned my inconformity. For a long time, I have chosen to stand out from the community rather than to blend in. I guess now having a balance between both extremes ain't too bad either. Otherwise I'd be a much difficult person than I already am to deal with. After much pondering and consulting what little God-given wisdom I have, I shall just let people be, hold my peace, roll my eyes and leave them to dwell in full glory of their bothersome pettiness and delirium. Really.

Let us shelf all that away for now.

I figure by now some of you might wonder: how is it like in my workplace? Well, it is a cosy lil' single-storey semi-detached house, with enough lawn for six cars. How bout that, eh? But I prefer to park outside. That way, I need not wait for others to move their cars when I need to leave. *Smug*

And heeeerrrreeee'sssss my cubicle:

Tight little spot, is it not?
I have mild claustrophobia, especially when I have to sit for long hours.

Then I went zip-zaping the place, i.e. move things around abit and voila! here is what it looks like now:
Well it still need some minor improvements. Those can wait. It is much more comfortable now. The phone was deliberately placed far from my desk; I need opportunities to turn away from the screen and move about for blood flow. That cork-board from IKEA, nice touch eh? I agree with you.

I also got two Fabian wall shelves from IKEA (currently function as a mat for my coveted laptop bag - I will come to that, later). Then I learnt why I have never seen any wall shelves installed in the office since I have known it ten years ago: old house, low-cost cement, all driven-in nails were only to hold framed photos. Drat. I planned to shelf books on them, quite a number of books too. A hardware shop-owner advised me: get a hammer-drill. Whhhaaaattt? Who can I borrow that from? I shall spare some thought on that when I have the time...

My mess, the way I like it. The cabinet is for my particular use. Nifty.

Okay. There are many reasons why people go ooh-ahh over my laptop bag - it is a Logitech KINETIK 15.4 Backpack. Whatever, I don't care. It is supposed to house a 15-inch machine but my 16-inch slides in effortlessly - there is still extra space! I guess it can very well cater for MacBook owners.

This bag means alot to me - because my Angel bought it for me. Thank you sweetie! *Smooch*. With its lifetime waranty, I may not need eye another for the next five years (I usually change bags every year). Its heavily padded straps provide superior comfort for the ergo-maniacs like myself. I said ERGO, as in ergonomic. Sheesh.

I just cannot ignore its cool zippers.

The detail of the Logitech logo on the exoshell.

Even for all the bag's splendid design, it has one major drawback: the exoshell gets scratched very easily.

Check out all the battle-scars it earned:

One thing's for sure: it will protect your beloved machine well - very well - for a bag with a RM300+ price tag. Apparently, when carrying your machine, it is supposed to balance well and stand, which does not happen often enough for me. I shall try taking out some peripherals next time. Heh.

If you are free...

This is a must watched! Get ready to laugh.

Ultraman Brothers!

This is one video I am so tickled over.

Blog Post Review

The Story and Struggle of Marriage

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Plainly beautiful

This is such a simple song and lacks the thrill I usually desire in a song. Yet I am hooked to it. No idea why.

Awesome

Just one of the very few videos that arrests my mind and hence my movements.

en garde...

This post is in response to Tim's post.

News, hearsays or stories that tell of victimised good Samaritans never fail to burst my anger bubble. Yeah. God tells us to love our neighbour and one another. But I am tapping on God's given wisdom and vigilance to not be at the victim's end, and "raise shields" at all times. Nothing is worth compromising one's own security. I always wish I have the license to carry a "neutraliser" to play Judge Dread and defend myself and my loved ones at any cost.


In all honesty, I often carry coins for mobile beggars just so that they will go away when they approach (I already have hygiene and odour issues among my friends, what more of strangers). What happens in survival camps then? Being covered in jungle dirt is one thing, but I definitely will not go hands-on with any of them unless a non-penetrable radioactive suit is provided.

Even as I look sadly on them, I cannot help asking where are the all the social organisations that boast about their charity? What is the government's initiative on the homeless, less-educated and deprived? I do not know about the rest of you, I deem those who are against or trying to stain the capitalist world, are just so blind, repulsively ungrateful and lazy ****ers to the core.

Call me a cynic, but if you ain't "fit", you will not "survive". I am just being realistic.