We Get what we Give

This is a rant, so expect to see nastiness. Consider yourself warned.

There are people who, after failing to fulfil their role because of the choices they made, feel no qualm at taking away what the other have to supplement their inadequacy, at the cost of the other.

And to add insult to injury, they will try to justify their inadequacy by bringing you down to their level, as in, anything you have that's better than them is simply because you are lucky, not because of the choices and sacrifices you have made.

When will these people realise that it's okay for them to be inferior in some ways compared to others, that it's normal to not be superior in everything.

Seriously, live with it, it's a fact of life.

This is a rant, so treat it so. Ask no question for I am not going to elaborate beyond what's written here.






Found this unposted entry that I wrote a few months ago. It has served its purpose of being a reminder of what I felt when the incident happened, for I have no problem remembering the incident when I reread this. I think sufficient time has passed and I can post this now without anyone being the wiser.

When you are angry or upset, write down your feelings. This way you have an outlet for the negative energy and it helps you to calm down. When you are done expressing your feelings, take a deep breath and leave it for a day or two.

More often than not you will feel better the day after and be glad that you didn't succumb to the outburst of negative energy there and then in the heat of things.

We cannot take back our words, and words can hurt.

Team Name

The season for the annual departmental Olympic Games has started. I am not in the committee this year so it was a surprise when I found out that I am assigned to team F and the first event, badminton competition, will commence in two weeks' time.

Jeez, talk about abruptness!

Hey, I am not a committee this year so I can bitch and complain all I want, muahahahaa! Oooh, and trash-talk without worrying about being perceived as being unfair. =P

Heard that the committee consists of a grand total of two persons and the team assignment is supposedly by random. So they say, since no one saw it done, no announcement or notice beforehand and BAM! Competition in two weeks.

Anyway, my team is still in the stage of getting a team name, and consists of colleagues that I have never heard of, not to mention seen. Either the department has done a lousy job of introducing new employees, or my social circle is just pathetic. The later is veli the possible.

So, team name eh?

Well, I prefer team name that is funny and not so arrogant sounding. Since it's just a game, let's not be so serious and also we won't look so bad when we lose. =P

Imagine the jibes you'll get if your team was named The Winner and you lost, or No Mercy but being mercilessly defeated by The Merciful (true story!). People would rub it in until it became a permanent part of you...

Funny or silly team names? No problemo, pick and mix as you see fit!

Atomic Apples
Blue Boogies
Cool Cucumbers
Dreaming Doo-doos
Experiment E
Funny Fools
Formula F
Gassy Geeks
Hot Heels
Hot Potatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Sheer Dumb Luck


Game on!

Ass in Tiger's Hide

I am a worrier, I get anxious easily, and I'm not at all good at handling stress, so I stressed easily as well.

Much as I like to be like Tigger, honestly I am more like Eeyore. After all, I suffer from the occasional depression.


image source

In case you haven't heard this before, depression being a psychological illness is why I often joke about me being crazy.

The nature of my work involves a lot of ambiguities and changes, these induce stress. But it's okay, because like may things in life, we can choose how we react. So these stresses are treated as motivators and challenges, they keep the work interesting.

It's my choice to be like Tigger as much as possible, I guess in other words, I am an ass in tiger's hide.



image source

However there are also things in life that we have no control over. Much as I like to not let these things affect me, but when it involves uncertainty in the continuation of my job security, the tiger's hide came off in a jiffy and I am your worrier extraordinaire.

Of course I know worrying over something that I have no control of is a waste of energy, but I just can't help it. Being the sole bread winner for the family sucks.

But again that's a choice I made, to be the sole bread winner for the family so my children can grow up under the love and care of a full time mum. For this reason, the worrier has to be a warrior.

You know, Eeyore is adorable in its own way. Really.

because I can

It's either a serious entry about my family lifestyle, or a funny entry about the things His Royal Highness King Toddler Hsiang said, or this...


Ultra video quality, don't play play!

Probably doesn't mean anything to anybody but me.

It's a satisfying moment for me, to not have to always play game at the low video quality settings.

Finally.

And of course, the slacker will always choose to post an entry that requires the least amount of typing, hehehe. =P

Boleh-land (part deux)

Just want to have a follow up on this subject from the previous entry and share what little I found out.

Long story short, since Friday last week, damnable SmartTAG/Touch'n Go system at Lunas toll station messed up my card three times in a roll. For three consecutive working days, be it using SmartTAG or Touch'n Go lane, the craptastic system gave me error. So I have been a regular at the Touch'n Go office these three days to unblock my card.

Boleh!

These are the things I gathered from the various Touch'n Go employees encountered these few days. Mind you these are just things they said, which may or may not be true since you know, one of the employees said using Touch'n Go instead of SmartTAG in BKE can avoid the problem but I have proven that it didn't work, fooked up system still threw me the "kad tak sah" error (see comment in the previous entry).

1. eTiQa cards are more prone to error (yea, mine was an eTiQa card)


2. Lunas toll station is updating their system, saying current system is giving some cards error (see #1). Employee there said two or three more days till upgrade is complete

3. Employees at Kubang Semang and Penang Bridge offices are well aware of the problematic system, they simply choose to operate as it is and let the unlucky ones (like me) pay them daily visit to unblock the card until #2 is done (assuming #2 is really happening)

Boleh!

What I did in response to what I found out:

1. I have transferred the balance on my eTiQa card to a new card, at a cost of RM10


2. I am sceptical about this claim, really they are finally doing something about it? Hallelujah! And two or three days to update? Must be like a huge overhaul of both hardware and software *sarcasm*, or maybe just the efficiency of Boleh-land? Boleh! Nevertheless I will pray that it's true, if tomorrow it gave me error again with my new card, I am sticking to the cash lane for the remaining of this week and try again next week

3. Nothing I can do about their (Boleh!) attitude, so I got myself another Touch'n Go card from the Penang Bridge office today. So if they messed up my first card, I am sticking to cash lane until I reach the bridge to use this spare card. In that way I still get the RM5.60 discounted bridge toll instead of paying them RM7.00 for THEIR mistake (Boleh!). Since you know, not everyone finishes work at 5:00pm and even if they did, could instantly teleport themselves to the nearest TnG office to unblock their cards (TnG offices open until 5:00pm only)

Three days in a roll, yea I am damn suay! >_<

Again for good measure... Boleh!





On a totally unrelated note:

One of my random acts of kindness a while ago resulted in a free lunch today, takeaway McD delivered all the way to ulu place! Absolutely unexpected but felt really warm and fuzzy about the sweet gesture. Thanks Miss Hawaii!

McD & Me (2)

The trend continues.

Third in line in my queue today, the other queue had four in line.

Couples first in line turned out to be buying for a family of eight, with a daughter who simply couldn't decide between a fried chicken and a McChicken burger meal.

Young lady second in line knew what she wanted and made her order swift. Too bad the cashier ran out of small change and we waited for the RM1 bills to arrive.

By the time they served me, the other queue was serving the sixth customer.

April score board to-date:

McDonald's @ Tesco = 2
Slacker extraordinaire = 0


Hint: if you ever saw me in Tesco's McD and wanted to get your food fast, do not queue up in the same line with me!

Boleh-land

This is the second time the temperamental BKE SmartTAG system messed up my Touch'n Go card.

For those who have never experienced it, faulty SmartTAG system will block your Touch'n Go card, giving you the invalid card error (kad tak sah). Sometimes the blocked card can still be used in Touch'n Go lane, most of the time it no longer works for both SmartTAG and Touch'n Go lanes.

When you get this error, what you have to do is to feel vengeful and go cause a jam at the SmartTAG or Touch'n Go lane, and refuse to budge until someone approaches the jammed lane to sort you out.

Just kidding, please don't do that. =P

That's selfish and inconsiderate, and you would get a healthy dose of swearings and angry stares from the impatient drivers behind you. Since everybody knows that it's your fault the system messed up *sarcasm*.

What you should do when you get the invalid card error, is to use the cash lane for the time being until you get your card unblocked at any Touch'n Go office.

That's what I did last Friday, I went to the Touch'n Go office at Penang Bridge, and here's where the Boleh-land story evolved.

"Encik, problem di BKE SmartTAG, kad tak sah, boleh tolong unblock?"

"Nah, sudah siap." *returned Touch'n Go card*

"Terima kasih. Ini second time card kena block di BKE SmartTag loh."

"BKE SmartTAG memang sentiasa ada problem, guna Touch'n Go kat BKE."

"Sudah tahu BKE SmartTAG sentiasa ada problem, bila nak fix?"

"Guna Touch'n Go kat BKE, jangan guna tu SmartTAG." (didn't answer my question)

"I guna BKE tiap-tiap hari lar encik, that's why I beli SmartTAG. SmartTAG ada problem fix lar, ask people guna Touch'n Go mengapa nak ada itu SmartTAG?"

"..." *calls for next customer*

For those who don't understand Malay, the gist of the converstion is that the guy in the Touch'n Go office acknowledged that the SmartTAG system at BKE has problem, it's already known for a while. His suggestion to me when I told him it's already the second time I encountered this problem, is to use the Touch'n Go lane at BKE instead of the SmartTAG lane.

Yup, instead of fixing the problem, they want us to use the more time consuming alternative that totally defeats the purpose of having the SmartTAG system.

Boleh! >_<

鞋带，香蕉

今天的羽球打得有点纳闷
不知怎么的还没开始打就已经觉得累
半途那班高手的出现令我有点错愕
不满他们问都不问就抢去我们预定的一个羽球场
喂老大，邀你们的两个人玩双人赛不代表把场让给你们
好心让你们玩你们却来个反宾为主，真过分
你们人多声大我又胆小脸皮薄所以不敢赶你们走
你好也，真可恶！
没打到尽兴就不悦无趣的回家了
像我羽球师父说的：“我就是不爽！”
说到师父就想到今天他给苏打饼和我的组合取了个代号
我们一个是‘鞋带’，一个是‘香蕉’
不知道我是鞋带还是香蕉叻？

Leverage is Back!

It has been a long wait since August last year, but they are back, woohoo!

Tuesday 21:00 to 22:00 hours, channel AXN. Go watch.

And if you are the lucky ones who don't have early meetings/work or those who need only little sleep to stay fresh, then the new season of 24 is on 23:00 to 00:00 hours, same day, same channel. I will have to see if any friend on mine is going to own the new 24 and be ever so kind to lend me.

Leverage is like modern day Robin Hood, a dynamic team of five steals, cheats, cons, and generally outwits the bad and rich to help the good but poor. There are actions, gadgets, and humours. Seeing the bad and rich get their deserved punishments makes me warm and fuzzy inside.

Me likey. Me happy.

By the way I am not being paid to advertise this, though I wish I was. =P

McD & Me

Before the move to ulu place, my craving for McDonald's was usually satisfied at the McD restaurant either in Sunshine Square or Queensbay Mall. You know, a lunch out with colleagues capitalising on the 12 to 3 value meal discount.

After moving to ulu place which has no McD (yes, the horror!), I can only satisfy my McD craving in the weekend, and it's usually at either Sunrise Tower or Tesco.

Recently, over the course of several weeks, probably 6 or more, I noticed a curious thing.

Everytime I visit the McD in Tesco, no matter if I chose the shorter queue, I would always end up being at the "slow counter", those customers at the other queue would get their food and went on their merry ways long before I got mine.

It seems like whenever I go to McD in Tesco, I would always encounter one or more of the following:

(1) customer in front of me who orders large quantity of food, probably for a party somewhere

(2) customer in front of me who simply couldn't decide what s/he wants and takes ages deciding, just to change her/his mind after the order is keyed in

(3) customer in front of me who simply couldn't decide which toy to get with the Happy Meal

(4) customer in front of me who asks how much to "go large" after the regular meal is served and decides to have the large meal then

(5) cashier who is the slowest of them all

(6) cashier who simply wanders off doing something else when it's my turn

Oh McD in Tesco, why do you hate me so? =P

Just my luck I guess. >_<

Seriously, how difficult is it to decide what you want to get before it's your turn at the counter? And just how long does it take to say "Eating in/Take away, I like to have a regular/large <insert choice here> Meal please. Coke please. Nope that's all." Took me about 10 seconds everytime for the ordering part.

Indecisive people, meh! It's supposed to be fast food ler!

As for the McD in Sunrise, I haven't encountered the "always get slow counter" phenomenon so far, but I did get the "chicken and duck talk" phenomenon. I made my order in English and the cashier answered in Malay, asked what I wanted for drink in Malay, I answered in English, she asked if I wanted anything else in Malay, I answered again in English, she told me the cost in Malay. The kuai lo behind me hastily changed to the other queue which the cashier speaks English in reply to order made in English.

Shame on you Malay cashier girl, if the customer speaks in English, be courteous to use English ler! I am sure McD wouldn't put you at the counter if you couldn't speak English.

Everything above was real life experience.

What to do?

Took a lot longer than I anticipated to write this entry, since it's already 1st of April I like to wish everyone Happy April Fools' Day, indulge your inner child and be merry fooling or be fooled! =)

Okay, that done, let's have a change of mood and move on to the sombre entry I have spent some time to craft.
-----

Every year around this time, my company announces the performance review for the employees. So it's this time that we find out whether or not we have meet our expectation and more importantly, whether or not we get a rise (raise in American English).

Okay, so I am the slacker extraordinaire, but really that's not my attitude towards work. Honest.

I am all serious with work related stuff, I meet my due date, put in my best into my work, make sure my work is of good quality, I pay attention to the details, and go that extra mile to make sure my work is easily comprehensible for the others.

So it came as a shock that I am underperforming. =(

This is really a big deal, I have to perform better else I will lose my job! This is seriously not laughing matter.

I admit I am not the 'long hour' type who are in the office 07:00 to 19:00 hours. I usually call into the early meetings from home and then arrive office late morning to avoid peak hour traffic. And I try not to stay late in the office unless I absolutely have to, I want some semblance of work/life balance.

But anyway, this shouldn't be the reason why I am rated underperforming, since you know, I meet my due date and all that.

Have to say I am rather puzzled, is my own standard really not as high as I think it is and hence 'my best' and 'good quality' are really not up to scratch?

I just... refuse to believe that.

It's so happened that manager MunY has just written an entry on performance review with some handy pointers for underperforming people like me. I am doing most, if not all, of his 6 useful pointers leh.

After some serious thinking I came to this: I am not selling myself.

Problem is, while I have no qualm in admitting and even joking about my weaknesses, I don't feel comfortable telling people how swell I am. I am a quiet person who listen more than speak, and I don't like to be in the limelight.

There are those who are in love with their own voice, those who will speak up for the sake of speaking up in the presence of important high up people. There are those who will pour non-stop given half the chance, to show how knowledgable, how great and mighty they are.

Empty bucket makes the most noise?

Tough luck for me then, cause usually those who make the most noise get noticed, and as the saying: it's not what you know, but who you know that matters. Sad but true.

So, what to do?

Appreciate any suggestions you may have. Before you send them to me, please read the first paragraph at the top, especially those in red. Thanks!

Sombre matter, isn't it?