Wednesday, August 27, 2008

PONDERING

OK, not (much) interested in politics, and not interested in putting up any political posts in this blog, yes?

But I remember this quote which I found in a novel I read in the early 90s, I don't know why it stuck to mind. The novel is a periodic set in Japan during the shogunate years, and supposedly this quote is taken from the teachings of Zen (The Book of Zen) :-

"A Government is always for the benefit of the Governors at the expense of the Governed. Sages who observe this are ever beset by the question : Why is it that the most able to govern, is not always the most worthy?"

Hmm....

Last night's by-election results came as not much a surprise. But there are things that the vast majority may not know, that will happen in the near future and have tremendous effect on our lives. We at the office are just starting to feel the heat...

On another note, there's a massive traffic jam in KL today, as they've closed some roads for the Merdeka day Celebration rehearsal. Parked buses line the roadsides all the way from Dataran Merdeka right into Chow Kit. Some helicopters just flew by bearing flags and emitting coloured smoke. Good luck in getting all my staff to concentrate on their work today *sigh*.

Friday, August 22, 2008

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR STAFF IS A CROSS DRESSER?

Seriously, what to do if your staff is a cross dresser?

He does his work okay, keeps to schedules etc.

He's respectful of bosses, and makes friends easily with his peers, although the majority of his friends are female.

Always volunteers to do non-official work for the office, i.e to emcee an event.

Pleasant personality, humorous and ceria.

But occassionally, he turns up at work in a kebaya.

And lately, wearing more make-up than I do!

Well, we try to be as objective as possible, no prejudice la. Tapi udoh le awok tu koje gomen, sesekala koje jaga kaunter pulok tuuuu.... tak sesuwey langsung *isk*

I know people are more tolerant these days, but not here. Yelah, nanti hilang la pulak imej gomen yang selalu korang kutuk tu, singkat fikiran la, otak kampung la, mana boleh orang gomen tetiba jadik open-minded, kan? kan? :-P

Buat masa ni, ok ajelah because he is a good staff. But seeing as to how we are now under public scrutiny, I wonder what will happen if the Management gets a complaint from a dimwit joe about his 'sotong-ness'?

Cuma aku harap gosip pejabat tentang night-time activities mamat nih, semuenye pelesu belaka laaaa.....

Thursday, August 21, 2008

MERDEKA ACTIVITIES DAY

Today the whole office is one big childcare centre!

The library is holding a Merdeka Activities Day :
- fancy dress contest (the kid whose costume has the flag's motif, will win),
- colouring contest (the kid who uses red, white, blue and yellow colours, will win),
- drawing contest (the kid whose drawing includes a flag in the background, will win),
- Merdeka quiz (ok, ya gotta know ya history here),
- poetry reading contest (the kid who waves a small flag in one hand while reading his poetry, will win),
- Merdeka singing contest (the kid whose costume is draped with the flag, will win)

Thing is, it's the same events every year *sigh*. And so predictable, kinda like the current political scenario, isn't it?

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

BREATH





Unpleasant is when you are in the company of someone with bad breath.

Sufferance is when said person is intent on speaking directly to you.


Absolute torture is when you are in a car with three other people, two of whom have bad breath and both are enthusiastically discussing a topic and repeatedly asking for your opinion, to which you weakly smile and nod your head, trying to hold your breath until you start seeing stars during the whole two-and-a-half hour journey. That's what I had to endure on Monday, travelling (five hours!) to and from one of our branch offices.


With all due respect, halitosis really is a big booboo on the social front. It creates a bad first impression, no matter how pretty your curly-lashed eyes are and how sexy your curves may be. And really, can you get up-close-and-personal on the loveboat if your partner has bad breath?


We should really take good care of our oral hygiene. Yes of course, poor dental hygiene is not the only reason for halitosis. Certain medical conditions can also cause halitosis, such as chronic liver failure, bronchial infection or even some tummy problems. Oh, even fasting can cause halitosis, if you don't drink enough upon breaking fast. Those people are excused, but for the rest of us, we really should take care with daily brushings. See your dentist as and when you have any dental complaints, or at least every 6 months if your chops are problem-free.


Done?

OK, now go kiss someone!





Wednesday, August 13, 2008

MERDEKA !



Selamat Hari Merdeka!

It's going to be a pretty quiet Merdeka celebration this year, methinks. There was a recent announcement in the papers - no fireworks like usual-, kan?

Anyhow, it's pretty subdued in my office also. They've only started putting up flags today, and none the creatively, like in the past years. Just some normal-sized flags put outside our windows.

No giant flags flanking the sides of the building, like in 2006 (strong winds tore the flags in a few places, but no one bothered to replace the flags - I wonder how much they costed?).

No merdeka celebration ceremony officiated by the minister by attaching a small flag on a staff's car (cheap way to get your mugshot in the local papers lah!).

No 'Pertandingan Menghias Sempena Hari Merdeka' where each department is expected to thematize their front counter/waiting area (as if we don't have enough work already! Anyway, if the Pertandingan is won by the Library dept every year, what's the point? They don't deal with the public, they have ample time and no deadlines, and people with degrees in Creative Arts to do that job!)

Heck, not even distribution of free small flags to be mounted on our cars. Langkah berjimat-cermat, indeed!

But I think that's okay, it doesn't mean we are any less patriotic.

Frankly, I have never attached any flag to my car, or dressed up in clothes with our flag design, or even eaten a flag-decorated cake. Unpatriotic?

But I never fail to sing our national anthem or watched the raising of our flag in a ceremony, with a feeling of pride in my heart. And although I cannot divulge the confidentiality of my work (saya bukan SB atau apa-apa secret service okkay, cuma pegawai gomen cabuk je), I go home everyday with a clear conscience that my day's work does contribute to the betterment of our nation.

The Merdeka spirit resides in our hearts, and is reflected through our daily actions, our work, our lives, our sacrifices, our contributions to this beloved country called Malaysia.

What have you done for your country today?

Monday, August 11, 2008

Huh

Sometimes life seems..... pointless.

What for to wake up early in the morning?

Life? What life, anyway?

Friday, August 01, 2008

SLEEPWALKING



Have you ever woken up in the morning, feeling like you did something last night but you just don't remember what it was? Or worse, wake up in a place not where you went to sleep the night before? I'm talking about sleepwalking.


As far as I know, I don't sleepwalk. Well, so far no one has told me that I do, so oklah tu. Some friends have related their sleepwalking antics, some are funny, but some are pretty dangerous.


Lina once woke up with a toothbrush in her hand, and a slightly foamy mouth. Apparently during the night, she had gone to the bathroom, put toothpaste on her toothbrush and started to brush her teeth. But she didn't rinse her mouth before falling back to sleep, urgh!


At her school hostel once, Mai took her pillow and blanket and went to sit on the stairs outside her hostel. Luckily one of her roomates saw her empty bed and went looking for her, and guided her back to bed. She went to a 'sekolah agama', so it would've been havoc if some boys were to have found her first, in her caftan and with tusled hair, hugging her pillow on the stairs!


Faz once went to bed in a t-shirt and kain pelikat, then woke up naked and freezing in the middle of the night! Luckily he was in a room by himself. I really dunno what to think about this guy though, haha!


Why do people sleepwalk? No specific reason, but I think one of the triggers is stress or anxiety. Usually the sleepwalker does normal everyday things, but unconsciously. These normal things can turn deadly though. For example, Mai is worried because a couple of months back, she had tried to open her apartment's main door in her sleep. Had she succeeded, who knows what could've happened, as her apartment is on the 14th floor!


Well, if I ever sleepwalk, I hope I jump straight onto the treadmill, which is right now just gathering dust in my bedroom. At least I'll get some exercise hehe :-)