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？