Parting

A colleague is going to leave my work place by the end of this week. And because I'll be on leave from tomorrow till Friday, today's the last day I'll get to see him at work.

Ever since I've been here, quite a few has left. But none had any impact on me because I'm new and I've never really worked with them before.

But this particular colleague. He was the one to bring me around the office and to introduce me to everyone. He helped me in so many ways that if not for him, I will be like a lost sheep out in the wild. He made my first experience at work easy. He is always ever ready to provide me with answers. Even when he doesn't have any, he'll make an effort to find out. He's helped me do my share of work when my hands were too tied up.

And now he's leaving.

Bought him a farewell gift and a card. Just a little token of appreciation.

I really appreciate all the help and guidance he's provided me. Because of him, I now make it a point to make "newbies" at work feel at home, because he made me feel that way. So now I've made a vow to do the same kindness to those who need them. Those like me.

Hanley, thank you so much for everything. I know I've thanked you in the card, but that does not even remotely reflect the gratitude I have for you.

Thank you for all the help at work.

Thank you for wasting my time talking about everything under the sun. Not that I'm complaining. :P

Thank you for, once again, introducing me to the world of the INTERNETS! Oh, and also to Bushism.

Thank you for all the jokes you've cracked about Jeff Dunham and Walter and Homer and TeleTubbies and what-not. Look at all the amount of crap we've talked about and laughed over!

Thank you for introducing me to MEE SOTONG at Esplanade!!! And also for the unforgettable memory of seeing you close to tears. Ngek ngek ngek!

Thank you for making my "cheap labour" a pleasant one.

And Ong Hanley, if ever you're reading this, I hope this is not the last time I'll be seeing you.

Good luck in your CLP! Yes, luck is ALL you need because the rest, you've taken care of.

I'm definitely going to miss your presence at work. Now I'll have to get used to the empty space next to me and to have to suffer the ramblings of your GOOD FRIEND alone.

Crap, I hate you for leaving. :( And also for making me feel all sentimental. Grrr...

Work

When I was still studying, I always envied people who are already working. They have a LIFE after work. They don't have to study or pretend to be studying after work. They can stay out the whole night having fun without having to be accountable to their parents simply because they don't need to study.

But now that I'm working...

WTF I WANT TO GO BACK TO MY COLLEGE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life at work is not as glam as I thought it would be. Sure, I don't have to study after work, but what difference does it make when I'm practically "studying" from 9-6?! Hell, I don't even study half as much when I was studying!

So what if I've got all the time in the world after work to party or whatever it is people do for fun? By the time I'm home, I'm too exhausted to even lift my eyelids.

Ok-lah, admittedly it's my own fault. I'm too much of a weakling. I have no stamina whatsoever. Which is why I envy people who can work 9-6, AND THEN go out for dinner, hang out, go clubbing, teh-tarik session, go back home at probably 4 a.m., and STILL go to work the next day, functioning pretty well!

Right now, I wouldn't mind having to study and not to work. I won't even mind spending 4 hours of every single day purely on studying alone.

Despite everything, work has been pleasant so far. I'm only complaining because I don't have any more time to simply idle around. Plus of course it's my nature to be lazy. The people here are fantabulous. They're super helpful and super nice. Although there are a few who are quite temperamental and some who are just outrightly weird, they are still better as compared to the society out there.

I've yet to receive any scoldings, and I don't think I can maintain this status for long. LOL!

I've never been scolded before, so the first time is going to be hard. And painful. But hey, like a family friend once said, "as long as you've never been scolded, you will never grow up".

True, in a sense.

But still, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I guess I didn't make a wrong choice when I chose this firm to do my chambering. Fine, I didn't choose per se. Dad chose, and I jut followed. But I have no regrets. :)

Valentine's Day

A day before Valentine's Day, I was feeling quite emo. I felt like Valentine's Day is just another day because both of us couldn't figure out what to give the other. I felt like there is nothing special about Valentine's Day.

Not knowing what to do, I wrote a poem for the BF and made a card by drawing our portrait as the front cover.

I didn't manage to take any picture of the end result, since I stayed up late until 2.00 a.m. to finish the card. But I do have the poem with me.

My Valentine

Valentine’s Day is here
The day of romance and love
But here I am pondering
What purpose does it serve

I see lavish gifts everywhere
From shops to little stalls
But none of them caught my eyes
When I walked through malls

How can I look for something
That is worth as much as you?
When I know fairly well that
I cannot afford your value

What does a gift represent
The thought, the love, or the price?
If it’s the thought and love that counts
Then why do they not suffice?

My love for you has never changed
Except that it has grown
If all year round I love you more
What then does Valentine’s Day hold?

If it’s a day to celebrate love
We’ve been celebrating all year round
If it’s a day to show we care
The care we’ve shared would’ve made us drown

But yet come Valentine’s Day
We expect a little more than usual
Flowers, gifts, surprises
Most which can’t last past April

We feel disappointed and hurt
Thinking that our other doesn’t care enough
But more often than not we fail to see
That Valentine’s Day is a bluff

So what if our other showers us with gifts
And make us feel loved on this very day?
How does this one day measure up
To the other 364 days left unsaid?

It hurts so much to hear you say
That no effort was put in or made
Just because no gift emerged
Does not mean my part has not been played

So here I am writing you this
To show you how sorry I am
For making you feel that I don’t care enough
For not coming up with a Valentine plan

I wish I can make things better
Oh how I wish I can
But no matter how hard I try
I am still left with a blank

I hope this can make a difference
As the first poem I’ve penned for you
Happy Valentine’s Day to you my dear

And Happy Valentine to me too

Come Valentine's Day. Things worked out especially well. The BF sent me a bouquet of "bears" (instead of flowers, because I claim that flowers cannot last :P), and we had a BBQ + steamboat session at his place with his family.

It turned out to be quite fun, albeit a lack of romance.

I'm not complaining. I enjoyed every bit of it.

But still... The lack of romance makes me feel like it's incomplete.

Soo... I'm trying to come up with something to compensate for that lack.

Still in the process of contemplating.

Wish me luck!

Nursery Rhymes

Remember how your parents taught you nursery rhymes when you were a little kid? Or maybe your teacher back then made you learn them?

Most of us had gone through that experience. But really, did we bother to actually understand what the nursery rhymes are all about?

Not me.

Not until recently.

Now, I realize how most of the popular nursery rhymes are really, really morbid and depressing.

Let's talk about a few that I can think of right now.

Jack and Jill

"Jack and Jill

Went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down

And broke his crown

And Jill came tumbling after"

Poor Jack and Jill have to actually climb up a hill just to fetch a pail of water. Like that's not bad enough, Jack had to fall and BROKE his crown (ouch!) and Jill came falling down too.

Humpty Dumpty

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king's horses and all the king's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again!"

So what, the egg is dead?

Rock-a-bye Baby

"Rock a bye baby on the tree top,

When the wind blows the cradle will rock,

When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,

And down will come baby, cradle and all."

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Dead baby.

Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe

"There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.

She had so many children, she didn't know what to do.

She gave them some broth,

Without any bread,

Whipped them all soundly, and sent them to bed."

Nevermind the fact that the whole family lives in a shoe. Nevermind the fact that she had so many children. Nevermind the fact that the old woman couldn't afford any bread. But whipping her so-many-children soundly before sending them to bed? What, being hungry is not enough?

Little Jack Horner

"Little Jack Horner sat in a corner,

Eating his Christmas pie.

He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum

And said, "What a good boy am I!""

Okay-lah, given that this is not as morbid. But putting your thumb into your Christmas pie and saying you're a good boy... Come again? What's so good about playing with your food?

Right... Those are but a few, and already they sound pretty sad. There are a lot more out there, but at this point of time I'm feeling kinda lazy. :P

So parents and parents-to-be, be careful what you teach your child!

Holiday!

Taking leave tomorrow, so no work until next Tuesday because Monday is a public holiday!

YAY!!!

Took leave for BF's convocation. I'm so going to have problem with what to wear. >_<

But I'm happy! Happy happy happy! No work for 4 days! Weeeeeeeeee!!!

And right now, I'm waiting for dad to pick me up from work. He's late. Again. I wanna go home ASAP!!! Away from work!!!

Holiday holiday holiday!!

See how excited I am? :D

Alrighty. Going to call dad to make him come. I'll be back on Tuesday! Chao!

Facebook

After abandoning my Facebook for what seems like an eternity, I finally logged in a few days ago, and have been logging in frequently ever since.

Before this, I didn't see any point in dealing with Facebook or Friendster. I found it a waste of time. Why bother uploading pictures to show the whole world? Why bother updating your profile when seriously, how many people out there actually read it?

Why bother?

But now, I begin to see that there is more than that to online social networks. It is about keeping in touch with friends. It is about finding out about long lost friends. It is about FINDING friends.

I admit I have been quite a snob in keeping in touch with friends. Which resulted in me not having many close friends now.

Ok-lah, there are a few, but the problem is... THEY ARE NOT IN PENANG!!!

My bestest best friend, JOANNE LOH, is still in the UK!!! Damn I hate her for not wanting to come back. Spotty, that will make the two of us!

And my other bestest best friend, POTATO WONG PEI PEI, is in KL.

I hate you both. :(

And all my other close friends are in KL.

In miserable Penang, there is only BF. Thank God for BF. But then again, if it's not because of him, I wouldn't be back in Penang now.

So, back to the topic.

Facebook had helped me connect to friends from my past. Although that does not change the fact that I still have no close friends here, at least now I know what's going on in their lives, and in some really weird and twisted way, I am able to connect to and with them.

I should really start to drag my ass out to get-togethers and gatherings. Really.

The Norm

What is normal? What makes something normal and thus, acceptable? Where did the concept of right or wrong come from? What about the space between right and wrong?

As a child, we have been instilled with supposedly good moral values ranging from simple ones like killing is bad and saving lives is good. But what if we kill to put an end to the other person's pain and suffering with his consent? What if the life we saved happens to belong to someone who does not even deserve it in the first place?

What is right or wrong depends largely, if not entirely, on the society we live in. What was once thought acceptable (and even encouraged) might not be so now. Women with bound feet. Husband having the right to "rape" his wife. These are but a few.

But there will always be that group of people who will not be as accepting of change as the rest. They hold on too tightly to what they believe is right. And who are we to stop them from such beliefs they held on so dearly ever since they were capable of having their own thoughts?

We have no right to change them. But that does not mean that we have to agree with them. Just because they think that something is right doesn't make it right. Like who are we to question their beliefs, in return, who are they to impose on us what they believe in?

Growing up in an Asian society, change is not something that is encouraged, especially by the older generations. This is because most changes are regarded as bad. But is that really the case?

Can a change be bad if it makes that person happy? Who is in a better position to know whether a person is happy or not? The person himself, the people around him, or worse, strangers?

Nobody can be sure of what the future holds. You can have the best plans laid out, but who can be sure that that plan will be executed the way you want it to? Even if it is executed perfectly, who can guarantee the outcome it will bring?

Live for the moment. If someone decides their own life, that someone will be solely responsible for his life. If it turns out to be wrong, he has no one else to blame but himself. Only then will he learn.

What is normal vary greatly in different places. What is normal is always changing. All we can do is to accept the fact that it's happening. With such acknowledgement, not only will we make others happy, we will also make ourselves happy.