Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Recorder Blues

Just earlier today, I was trying to find and work my lecture recorder again. Poor thing has not seen the light since my last lecture in May. The following is a conversation that took place, in my frustration.

Me/ L-bert

Me: I'm trying to persuade my recorder to turn 'on'

L-bert: rub it

Me: should show it some porn, wtf.

L-bert: rub it and lick it

Me: i'll try hitting. maybe this sick recorder is SM.

Oh my goodness, what have I become. So in the end all it needs is a big fat green battery, stuffed up its back. The End.

I need a break. Like I seriously need a break. The last week has been crazy hectic, classes with Freshers Fayre, shopping, Ikea, Manchester, London. Everyday has been draining. This week is more taxing still. Someone tell me when to stop.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Week 0-1

This is now Uni's official Week One of the spanking new academic year! It is the beginning of new courseworks, and also the dawn of my busy-ness...

Week 0: Student Assistant @ International Welcome Week 2009

Team Phil was in charged of keeping Lincoln Hall & Sherwood Hall standing till the end of the week. Tough job. Phil's flat caused a fire alarm when a student placed a tin can in the microwave, while the rest of us are drowning in a stampede of students, ton-heavy luggage, and never ending questions.

Jolie, myself, and Estella. Estella was my roomie for the week, and she was such a darling! Don't know how I'd pass my days without her company, retaining my sanity throughout. I have to point out though, that these freshers are so lucky to have females student helpers who wake up 10 minutes earlier to put on our 'face', just so that our dark eye circles dont' give away how miserable uni life can be. HUA HUA HUA!

Equipments Checklist:

Bright Yellow Polo Tee
Midnight Black Hoodie
Name Tag
Walkie-Talkie
Big Ass Smile

...and I'm ready to take on the day!

Team Phil!
Sam, Momo, BIG BOSS PHIL, myself, Estella, Alan, Zoe, Jawad, Eric
Helen and Tashya.

Best team in the house me thinks. Somehow I have the impression that we did plenty of OT, aside from what we were supposed to do. By the time it ended, every other team was absolutely lively, camwhoring, and socialising. But Team Phil was playing it cool, chilling on the sofa, enjoying the fresher-less atmosphere. I think our team was especially knackered.

Phil has been an awesome Senior to our team, being especially patient, and also making sure everyone is well taken care of, in terms of sleep and food. It was my pleasure to have worked with him. Everyone else on the team was also fantastic, the International Office have chosen well. They're all super capable, reliable, responsible individuals whom I have grown to be very fond of.

The Big Boys: Momo and Alan, towering over myself and Helen.
Helen is another amazing girl that I have grown a liking for, she's so funny sometimes, and yet she's so sensible. My source for logic and sense throughout the programme. Love her to bits!

We learnt, so much from each other, about courses, experiences, and also our backgrounds. Sam & Tashya is local to UK, and has been to the M'sia and China Campus respectively. Momo is from Jordan (exotic!), Phil is Singaporean+N'Zealander (messed up?!), Eric is from Kenya, Alan from Trinidad, Jawad from Kenya, Estella and Zoe from China, and Helen is from HongKong. A recipe for perfection, a team who beat last years efficiency record by 1 full hour!

And of course, let's not forget the perks of the job: ISB Club Night at Oceana + meeting new freshers. I was pleasantly surprised to see freshers coming up to me to say hi, share a few moves on the dancefloor, and actually bothered to have a decent conversation that did not involve asking for directions. My best moment? While I escaped to the Ladies for a breather, away from the International Student Bureau Help Desk, a fresher who just entered the toilet actually came up to thank me, for actually helping her solve her problem. She didn't have to, but she did, and I felt motivated. Some students are just rotten spoilt, being so rude and all.

My principle: I work for neither gratitude, nor attitude.
If you do not wish to thank me, that's fine. I will not hold it against you, because I'm supposed to do it as part of my job. If there's one thing I do not deserve, it would be your nasty attitude. I'm not hired to be your venting machine, and I do not have to hang around to absorb your negativity.

I'd be lying if I said the job was a piece of cake. However, my dear people, it was definitely worth my while. Sure, I had good meals, great pay, and even better company. At the end of the day, I made a difference to someone, and my colleagues made a difference to me.

I've met up with Helen for dimsum, and frequently bump into Alan and Chidi around Dunkirk, meeting Philip this weekend in London for yumchar. There are already blossoming friendships with other members of the ISB, such as Ankur, with whom I had fun helping at Freshers Fayre. Since our "legendary" Welcome Programme, I've been seeing Zoe, Dany, Melanie and Deniz ,as well plenty of freshers who remembered me. I am feeling extremely blessed to know them all, and uni is starting to feel like home when you bump into familiar faces frequently enough =)

I seem to be starting on the right foot there.

More on Week 1 and moving forward in the next post.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Stupid people

When you think you've seen it all, you really haven't. If you think someone's giving away money for nothing in return, think again.

You'll probably find me quite the retard, however it still never fails to amaze me, how ANNOYING people can be. It's like you discover a whole new level of stupidity each time, only it gets worse each time.

Annoying people is stemmed from stupidity. Like, you would really expect someone of this age to be at least minimally sensible, or at least be able to take orders. But no. People going to university these days, are not what they use to be in the good old days. They often leave me wondering, how is it possible to get here at all ?

I'm stumped, I really am. But only with the few bad apples. Most of the other apples are nearly ripe for picking. And my only consolation is that I'm with good company. Thanks you guys.

Friday, September 11, 2009

busy bee

I've got no internet connection available at home at the moment. Don't ask why. Losing my marbles due to Internet-less syndrome. Please don't tell Big Bird.

Quick updates:

TESCO DEAL!

If you spend > £50 on your first online transaction at Tesco.co.uk, Tesco will knock £10 off your bill! All you need is the code: XX4GZF. Simple as that!

Perfect opportunity for you to order & stock up on the heavy stuff you don't want to carry, eg: Milk, Rice, Pasta, Canned food! My house ordered 6 kilos of pasta and 10 litres of milk, among others =.=" We will never die of starvation!

The fine print: Offer valid for deliveries on or before 13th September 2009 ONLY. HURRY! Does not apply to alcohol, infant formulas, blah, blah, but normal groceries are unaffected!

I've just got my deliveries yesterday, and it's the real deal. No catch involved.

I've been working, and will be working some more for the rest of next week. Hence this girl will be missing for quite awhile. Enjoy the peacefulness while you still can. My internet-less days have driven me to resort to newspapers, sudoku, and stupid thinking. The latest theory I'm enthused about: I work, I earn, I spend. Don't work, don't earn, won't spend. Yeah, so totally rocket science, I know.

Am extremely delighted to have met quite a number of really OLD friends over summer, like friends from 10 years ago (I'm so disgustingly OLD). The last I saw them was when they were pre-puberty, or having puberty. So nostalgic. Hahaha... I'm gonna max out my railcard this year for sure!

Funny how during summer, when everyone is supposedly gone, I still met SO MANY old and new people, also still drinking once a month minimum. Damn my liver is losing its lifespan. Must hold back with the drinking.

My new Trent Barton FRIO Record: 19 holes in 1! Try to break that =P I challenge you.

Looking for HOME SHOPPING KAKI! Ikea, Wilko, M&S, Hyperama anyone?! Call me, call me!

Okay, gotta go collect my cheque. Pa, Mee, I'm not dead don't worry. Growing fatter by the way.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Ramadhan not an excuse for leniency

Is it just me? Or is every other Malaysian news sounding ridiculously absurd?

I DO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH:

"Be lenient, it’s Ramadan, says salesgirl who stole undies"

(click to go to TheStar.com article)
Before anyone judges me for being a racist or a religion discriminator, hear me out. You'll actually find me PRO-religion, somewhat.

Introduction:
Muslim young lady, has a decent job, no disabilities, or malnutrition. She stole multiple undergarments, among other clothes, that came up to nearly RM500 in retail price.

My argument:
One sentence sums it up.

For someone who commits such crimes, which I'm pretty sure are AGAINST the teachings of the religion, that person DOES NOT DESERVE to escape her crimes with the excuse of using a holy religious practice.

There are no excuses for lenient treatment. She is...
X elderly. She's 21 years old by the way.
X disabilities.
X unemployed.
X starving, else she would've stolen food.
X retarded. As a salesperson, she should know that theft is a crime.

Isn't it obvious that she did it out of PURE GREED, conveniently blamed it on peer influence, and then tried to manipulate the court to be lenient to her in the spirit of the holy month. How resourceful indeed.

In the news article, she claimed to be remorseful, and is willing to change. I say, BULLSHIT. She has not taken responsibility for her own actions, and that is why she blamed someone else for her wrongdoings. And for trying to escape her time in jail, she has also avoided punishment for her actions. She has gained the highest disrespect from me. Scum of the society, scum of her religion.

Not only has she embarrassed herself, but also others who share her religion. I have not gone through the Quran, but I'm positive that they do not encourage theft. Just because it's a holy occasion does not change the fact that it is STILL a crime, against religious teachings.

Shall we release all prisoners on Hari Raya then, just because they say "Maaf zahir dan batin"? The answer is no. Those who went against the religion, does not deserve to be saved by the religion. Only this will maintain the purity of the values of what the religion stands for. Hate people who make a fool out of their own religion.