Let it go....

A few days ago, while in my processing class learning how to make canned sardines, my Professor claimed to be able to judge people by the first look. ("That's how long I've been in this industry", he says)

"May, you are determined and strong. And you," he pointed to a friend of May, "are a very naughty girl." (Don't get me wrong, what he really meant is 'mischevious'). When she objected, Professor listens to her tone of voice (which sounded kinda young-ish to me) and said "I'm right, am I?"

"And you," he pointed at me, "Like to wait for orders."

Hmmmm...that made me wondering until  the next few days. Am I a conformist? Or just lazy? Or both? Do I really look like that when all I am, is just a quiet, no-confrontation kind of girl?

Maybe I am, you say?

Then I remembered my school life. Yes, I had straight As, but I was never the 'follow orders' type. Instead, I was more of a non-conformist--getting late to class, dressing as bad as I want to, keeping nails a tad too long, not wearing name tags in school assembly, not finishing my homework in time...(that explains why my report card was never 'clean' every year).

As a matter of fact, I gotta confess: I'm skipping my Analytical Chemistry class right now. Why? Hah...

Well, today, I got up late, (as usual), not knowing that I have to ride with my sister together to school because my car's going to the workshop (again). The problem is: I woke up at 7. She GOES to school at 7. Really, that early! So, I decided not to fuss myself up with all the unnecessary stress; I know my dad like to force me to 'act fast' by starting the engine while I'm dressing, so that I could 'speed up'. (I think he got this idea from an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, because he only did that days AFTER the episode was aired). What happened? Every time he speeds up, I'm even slower. I know it;s bad, but if I speed up, I get really stressed and confused, and consequently more clumsy, which can lead me to a split milk, upside down shirt, or leaving the iron on.

Then after sending my sis, dad said he wanted some breakfast. I looked at my watch and said OK, 20 minutes before class. But while I ate, I kept thinking that I might be late after all, and I don't want to, especially when my Chem Professor looks and talks like my mom. We finished our meal quickly, and I went to the hall just in time--to find out that my lecture hall has changed just for today. Okay, my fault for not knowing this earlier, but it's not like I'm gonna stick around the lecture hall outside my faculty just to keep up with the change of venues! Do you?

I glanced at my phone, there was a message. "Do you know the lecture hall has been changed to B~005?" Oh, goody. Now, you only tell me.I don't know which room is B005, since every faculty has either A, B, C labelled on it, and lecture halls denoted by number. I asked my friend where she is now. She said "It's near Hall C. We are entering in now." Duh...

I flagged a shuttle bus and went to the Hall C that I know--miles away from the Hall C that she mentioned. I only knew it as that wrong thing when I described her that place and she said "Where are you now, really? I meant Hall C, our Faculty!"

Double duh...

Okay, one thing about me is that I hate getting to school or classes late. It disrupt everyone's attention, the teacher will hate me and I will look rather silly. So, glancing at my watch, 20 minutes had passed since the start of it, so I decided to skip my current agenda (finding the class which I will get lost the 2nd time anyway), and make a beeline for the library shuttle. I have better things to do, really, like searching for thesis for my assignment. (Pardon my skewed priorities; I put Microbiology first than Analytical Chemistry)

Well, one more thing before I leave: How come you always bump with your friends every time you try to skip classes? And when I'm not skipping classes, they aren't there and I was left wandering like a lost cause. You see, today I skipped my class, and on the way to the library, I bumped into THREE friends of mine TWICE who kept saying "Don't you have a class?" They never bothered talking to me before! Okay, and now, the word's gonna spread that I intentionally skip class and went 'lounging' in the library. (That's not true anyway, but well, people...they tend to look it negatively.) Hahah.

Three cheers for skipping classes! And being in the library 'lounging' with my absstracts and thesis.


Okay, a lighter note:

This is one thing that I found on the internet, done by a guy named Chuck. About food spoilage (which is incidentally, my assignment right now.)

FOOD SPOILAGE TABLE

 

THE GAG TEST

Anything that makes you gag is spoiled (except for leftovers from what you cooked for yourself last night).

EGGS

When something starts pecking its way out of the shell, the egg is probably past its prime.

DAIRY PRODUCTS

Milk is spoiled when it starts to look like yogurt. Yogurt is spoiled when it starts to look like cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is spoiled when it starts to look like regular cheese. Regular cheese is nothing but spoiled milk anyway and can't get any more spoiled than it is already.

MAYONNAISE

If it makes you violently ill after you eat it, then the mayonnaise is spoiled.

FROZEN FOODS

Frozen foods that have become an integral part of the defrosting problem in your freezer compartment will probably be spoiled - (or wrecked anyway) by the time you pry them out with a kitchen knife.

MEAT

If opening the refrigerator door causes stray animals from a three-block radius to congregate outside your house, the meat is spoiled. If opening the refrigerator door causes stray animals from a three-block radius to leave the neighborhood, the meat is really spoiled.

LETTUCE

Bibb lettuce is spoiled when you can't get it off the bottom of the vegetable crisper without Comet.

CANNED GOODS

Any canned goods that have become the size or shape of a basketball should be disposed of. Carefully.

CARROTS

A carrot with which you can tie a clove hitch is not fresh.

WINE

It should not taste like salad dressing.

POTATOES

Fresh potatoes do not have roots, branches, or dense, leafy undergrowth.

CHIP DIP

If you can take it out of its container and bounce it on the floor, it has gone bad.

GENERAL RULE OF THUMB:

Most food cannot be kept longer than the average life span of a hamster. Keep a hamster in your refrigerator to gauge this.

  Haha! don't need to be a scientist to know that~! Thanks, Chuck!

---

Play free games, earn tickets, get cool prizes! Join Live Search Club.   Join Live Search Club!

Writing is a gift

"Writing is a gift," my co-worker, Mrs Sofia said to me on my last day of work.

"Is it really?" I asked. All I know that my gift of speed typing and keyboard shortcuts are extremely useful to me especially in chasing translation deadlines, but apart form that, writing is something that I've lost touch on a long time age.

"I love people who write," Mrs Sofia said. "When I read a book, it amazes me how the writers can put and arrange all these words beautifully, something that I could never do. All those simple words, how they arrange it...sometimes even the simplest things can conjure up a feeling of happiness and sorrow. Like we feel it. Like we were really there."

"Well, I used to write," I said to her. Not to brag or anything. Just the fact that I used to write as a hobby. I liked Language classes the most--I could write up a story in any of my spoken language. Oh, yeah, and sometimes I won a prize for writing. But, writing for me, is an old pastime Done and dusted like Britney Spears. Haha. I told Mrs that I did not write anymore. "I stopped writing after my final masterpiece went down with my crashed computer."

"Oh, why? It is a good thing to write. My son writes. you see his blog?" I nodded. Unlike normal sucidal, obscene blogs we used to see, his blog was more on world issues in places that no newspaper would care to write. His last blog was on ethnic cleansing in a far-rural land in Indonesia or something. Includes pictures. I wonder why no-one ever knew--or why it as never in the news?

"Everyone who has the gift to write should keep writing. Because not all has." She said that, and it kept me thinking. Why did I leave such a hobby? Such a good hobby too? At that time, I decided (with my Asst.Principal, i think) that if I were to graduate high school with straight A's I need to lose "time consuming hobbies". I lose it. And I got the best straight A's for school in years. But what happens? All my short stories and comic abilities seems to wane....

My brother? see his blog at www.resha3x.blogspot.com and you'll see, from scanned pictures, to photoshop pictures....to 3D babes! that is hot (paris fav word)! And I'm still stuck in pen and paper.

I think I'm gonna start writing again. I'm planning of opening another blog, that I will use to ONLY post my short stories. And in line with that, I shall be doing my New_Semester_resolutions:

1. Try and actually BUY books this time.
2. Diet by using money to buy books instead of food (I mean, too much food)
3. Also keep designing and sewing clothes.
4. Read more about cooking. And try to think of the Final Yr Project from now.
5. Stop daydreaming. (but only do that when I'm listening to music)
6. Stop daydreaming by putting all the thoughts on pen and paper (making it into short stories)
7. Quit being a vegetable and start learning to play guitar.
8. Learn to be a competent driver, AT LEAST good enough to go on a road trip out of state (my ultimate dream)
   

---

Make every IM count. Download Windows Live Messenger and join the i'm Initiative now. It's free.?? Make it count!

The Himegoto of all himegotos—should you sympathize the suicidal?

I’m supposed to go to the mall, but well, the mother of all late-goers just need to postpone it for a gastrointestinal mishap…until the heavy rain came and we're all stuck here indefinitely. Yes, hungry and bored.

Anyway, back to the title—himegoto means ‘secret’ in Japanese. What secret?

A forthnight ago my most favourite cool single-parent uncle came to our house for a few days. He bought along grandma, and of course his kids (Danish, Nadia and Zana, I think) because - it’s his turn to take care of the kids. Hm, anyway, I didn’t get along with kids, especially when Zana was too extrovert to my liking (thus she fits with my sister), and the rest of them are too quiet. Did I tell you Nadia looks exactly like Miranda Cosgrove (the little girl in Drake and Josh)? My sis the no.1 fan of D&J thinks so anyway.

Back to my uncle. Well, he never told us why he got divorced, or why the kids seems to be down every time the holidays came and they had to spend time at their mom’s house (All those visitation rights stuff that I don’t understand). And when I asked my mom (I was 10 then), she said that they were down because their mom is ill all the time so it’s not really fun to be around her. What I didn’t know is that she put the term ill in a different meaning…I mean, uncle’s wife is REALLY ill…mentally. She’s a bit on the psychotic side (term that my brother used). They say she acted in a strange way everytime, all the time. And the kids…are really traumatized everytime it’s auntie’s turn to take care of the kids. Uncle used to trick them into going on a joyride or something, or on a visit to a relative house (turns out uncle is using our house as a ‘transit’ before getting them all to auntie’s house) and the kids would later found out that they were actually going to their mom’s house, they would be crying, kicking and screaming…and all that. And I don’t need to tell you the other weird things that happen when uncle visits her house…uncle said that as long as she doesn’t do ‘anything weird’ to the kids, he’ll put up with that and not trying to take full custody.
I’m kinda puzzled how uncle got hooked up with her. First of all, he was the gentlemen of all gentlemens, not that good-looking, but one look at him you’ll know he’s your next-door nice guy type. The type that opens the door for you. Sort of. And miss auntie? Well, she is weird in the weird factor…her colleagues know that, her family probably does too. All sorts of weird obsessive behavior. So, uncle, with all his country-boy charm, could easily snag a Miss World or two, but how come he’s stuck with her?

That mystery is solved with my brother, who on the third day of their visit, managed to become ‘the cool brother he never had’ to Danish (not the pastry dear, stop the saliva) and my bro just went form the dude who played videogames all day to the dude that holds the hands of the kid while going on a shopping trip with him. Wow, and he weaved into uncle’s heart who even let him participate in the ‘adults only’ discussion—in my family the adults don’t mix with the kids—and not even one member of my five siblings has never been invited to ‘the coffee table discussion’ before although most of us are above 18. Anyway, back to the discussion…

If you are obsessed with a guy who is so popular and well-liked that you’ll hardly get a chance to get him in a normal flirt session, what should you do?

Well, try and jump a building.

I’m serious. That’s what she did.

She wanted to jump a building, after claiming that it is because my uncle rejected his advances.

Well, Mr gentleman did the right thing; coax her to come down. But he promised to marry her too.

And it goes downhill from there.

To uncle or Zana (the eldest), if you read this, I didn’t mean to hurt anybody’s feelings. What’s done is done. But it gives me a good lesson: Don’t sacrifice your happiness for the ultimate happiness of others. Well, not all the time. Definitely not in this case anyway. Because you may lead to other people’s sadness and suffering.

Should you pity the suicidal ? Lesson #1: NEVER. Just send them to the psychiatrist.

Lalala..I'm a babysitter cum translator!

Things you need to know when dealing with kids

• Don't be surprised with the multitude of kid's playthings this 21^st century. They even have fully functional toy vacuum cleaner—which makes the SAME annoying whirrr sound like the original ones! (I hope they don't make toy lawnmowers in the future)
• If they squeal loudly, that means they're happy. If they squeal REALLY LOUD then that means you need to start wearing soundproof headphones. Cuz they are REALLY loud.
• If they offer you to help them open a pack of chocolates, don't take it right away. They'd most probably tried to open it using their teeth and they'd be looties(saliva) all over.
• Babies suck thumbs. Real bad. So don't play with their hands. Looties, remember?
• Don't use kiddie scissors to cut anything. It will cut NOTHING.
• And to mention that, do not give REAL scissors either to kids. They'll cut ANYTHING with it.
•  If a baby gurgles and makes 'whoa' sounds by itself, he may be trying to pass out his poops (in other words, prepare for smelly diapers hereafter!)
• If you don't want the kids to follow you to lunch, install a kiddie game in your computer. THEN leave for lunch.
• On second thought, DON'T install anything to your computer. They'll start bashing each other for it
• If you wanna make the kids quiet, NEVER buy them sweets. They'll sugar-crash with the extra energy—In 5 minutes they'll be running all over the room like miniature Roadrunners. And crash on EVERYTHING (Beep, beep!)
• If you stay still while working on a computer, they'll think you've really become a statue and poke you around (and climb your chair, and stare at your screen until they're cross-eyed...)
• Even if you let them draw in Microsoft Paint, they will STILL draw on the walls. (It's a kid thing. Scientists still don't understand either).

---

Change is good. See what's different about Windows Live Hotmail. Check it out!

Sorry Miss Sofia, again

Ps. Happy wedding to my friend/lab partner 'Achik' for her marriage—today! I sent her a wedding wish, and she hadn't replied since. (maybe she's busy with her husband ;-) wink, wink!)

            Okay, back to business, that is, I have no business at all—I mean, work.

            It goes like this, ms Sofia (I found out the real spelling of her name is Sophie, and Sofia is my OTHER coworker), she wanted me to get a replacement for her other permanent worker, who'd been off to Cambodia for a family vacation. So I get her my sister. And she wanted her for one thing—three projects are due Monday, and it was already Wednesday—and she's off for her family vacation too, on Friday. She said one thing—if you didn't finish by Friday, then you'll be working in MY house (read:empty house) and sleep there until you finish them. I give mis Sofia my keys, she said. And you'll be working until that Sunday morning. (Ohhhman!!! My sis had planned her date on that day!)

            I didn't tell my sister about that, I just said that ms Sophie had offered her a job, that's all. So she happily went there on Thursday, unknowingly that ms Sophie had her a huge file of untranslated science fair pamphlets, and she had to finish it by tomorrow. But she happily did it anyway. Then came the meddling kids…

            Ms Sophie has three kids, all girl, and the newborn makes four. But she's no big deal, just a blob of Mohawk-haired kid who gurgles at my Microsoft Dancer LE everytime I start my computer.  The three kids are one problem after another—they seem to crave our attention—by keep running in our room, talking to us about everything, showing her CT Scan X rays, drawing us pictures, throwing wet clothes, reading loudly about scab and hygiene from a magazine, reenacting 'cat vs dog in front of my house', and playing with the toy vacuum cleaner (do you know the vacuum cleaner toy woks like the real thing? It even makes the same unearthly loud noise!)….well, I bet the permanent worker was glad she left for Cambodia and left her workload to my sister. Cuz we all suffer right there. Even my co-worker ms Sofia, the usually nice mum of ten, did 'break out'—a little. Sometimes she just left early, rather leave and continue it later at night after bedtime then doing it with the kids!

            I really had to say that I became really tolerant to kids by now. Do you know they like to climb up my chair? All three of them! And I learned to ignored it by now. I learned to ignore everybody by wearing huge headset and putting it on maximum while singing to Yui and SiLC. And Bowling For Soup. Sometimes I pretend I was listening to something even when I'm not plugging in the headset. Cuz I don't wanna hear all these "Lookie-lookie! I punched a hole in our floating-thingy!"

            Anyway, back to Friday's story. Those kids are actually on a holiday, so they took a day off, all of them, and they've been messing with us since MORNING (they use to do it after 5, when all of them had finished their classes). We were all on the edge. I mean, the workers (the kids are on the edge of my seat though, the kept climbing the edge of my seat and say "look mum! I can climb"). And they keep saying things like "two more hours till holiday, one more hour till holiday, dad's coming home and we're leaving soon….". Kept me stressed up, but I finally finished up two HUGE files due Monday. So does my sister. And we gladly told boss about it. You know, she was overjoyed, ready for holiday. Or so I think. Then I think she had thought that there was two days left before Monday , so she gave both of us two more jobs due Monday! She thinks that she might be doing us some use, since the other mis Sofia hadn't finish her job yet, and she's gonna be the one sleeping in her house tonight (and tomorrow, probably). I would have done my job anyway, cuz I was prepared to sleep there. But those kids….then they came along and say that their dad is home and will be leaving after lunch, and they kept packing…I thought that I'd be left out in an empty house…and I felt that it was inappropriate to stay when I had finished my job. Especially in my boss' house, and if something goes missing…. So I called dad and forced him to pick me up. Oh wait, that was my sister's. My plan is to call dad and he'd be picking me up after work, which is the time that the meddling kid's dad would be finishing this work too(supposedly). But as we found out he was already home, my sis called dad and pestering him to COME IMMEDIATELY to pick us up.i was shocked when he came TEN minutes later (he usually comes ONE HOUR after calling). We left, and when we were downstairs we bumped with boss. She was dumbfounded. "Why are you going home?"

            "I thought you were gonna go out." I said, but clearly she's not going anywhere. She's still in lunch break, and her husband's sleeping on the couch and won't probably be up until late afternoon (like most dad's). but it is too late now, isn't it?

            "Why leave so soon? We are still here," she said.

            "Uh…we don't wanna trouble you with the preparation." I said.

            "Yeah, we gotta go, thanks…" my sister said.

            We just left like a bunch of rats from a sinking ship. It's clear that everyone is dumbfounded, from the boss herself, to the maid. We just left! Like that! And yes, we have two jobs untouched. What can we do? She gave us the job a couple of minutes late after we called dad. Really!

 

            We were feeling guilty, my sis and I. I wanted to call, but I don't know what to say or to ask for forgiveness. I bet she's in her vacation, with her computer, finishing her jobs by Monday beside a pool, with her kids running around her splashing water all over, and the infant on her lap, crying cuz it's past feeding time….oh man! So guilty. I know she deserved the holiday so much. Just that we were so stressed out that we misunderstood everything. I don't know what to do, or how to face her on Monday…

---

Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! Try it!

What date is it?

Dad went on this conference-thingy out of state. I felt chills as mom told me he got a whole chalet to himself. Oh, this is the one I was talking abut these past weeks—the phone calls, the part where dad refused to let mom go—by the way, she didn’t want to because of my sis and bro high school and junior high midterms.

And i'm as always, working oh-so hard to get my paycheck. I worked on Saturdays when my coworkers take a leave 'to take care of family matters'--and I keep having problems with my translation--I got sick a few days ago, and I accidentally translated part of the text for a Motorola manual to Indonesian. Well, my other co-worker (also named Sophie, like my boss), keep having major headaches trying to clean up my mess. And both of my projects--including the current one now--are way due(including my library books. Lucky only four days due!)

And, I'm more demotivated to work now. Why? cuz mom told me not to use any of the pay money--which will amount to 2000++. She wanted me to buy this new car (which I really liked) and guess when--on my third year! I've been promising my friends that I'll get a car by second year, cuz mom is thinking to buy herself a car, and give hers to me. As soon as she knows how much I'll be paid, she said that I'll work until THIRD year to get the maximum money for the MAXIMUM down payment. Oh, come on! I can't wait that long. I have ADD already!
Where can I get that handphone I wanted! I don't want cheap ones--I want one with organisers and document viewer and Internet--cuz I'm the type who wants to get organized--BADLY.
I need that handphone! I already wanted them after my first year in Uni. That time I got my first paycheck, and I had to use it to buy this laptop or I'll die of boredom cuz dad's PC crashed.

Oh, that picture? That's the boss' little kid. The first time I got my job six months ago, she's still a newborn. But Ms Tubby Cheeks here is huge enough to gurgle and laugh at my animated dancers in Windows Media Player. The first time I saw her after six months, I almost didn't recognize her--I thought she was a boy because she had that David Beckham Mohawk thing going on (how does she keep her hair up every day? it seems like it's all gelled up!)

I want my handphone! My plan--to work on selected low-money projects that after two months--I'll have enough money to buy only a handphone. Or get so many projects that I'll save enough money to buy a handphone and a second-rate student budget car NOW.

And if I don't have a car? Ah, big deal. I'll just annoy my dad by going with him everyday. Then
the detective is back on the job!

get urself a new hand phone!

Uhhh....
 
I'm obsessed with two things now:

1. a flip-top hand phone with an organizer
2. a teddy bear craft kit

As always, i went home-straight to bed, and didn't wake up untuil 1 am, and then sleep at 2 am while my bro plays SIMs on his PC.
But, there is something different last night. Dad was REALLY< REALLY pissed off with me.
You know the problem about my hand phone, right?
Yesterday, when it was well close to dusk, I was typing my translation when all of a sudden the phone lights up--I picked it up--then it goes dead. After repeated switching ons, I decided that maybe someone did call me, and the handphone switched off (as it always do). So I went downstairs to look outside, if dad had arrived and called me. I found nothing, except the boss' kids and another co-worker's kids playing together in front of the house. Okay, so nobody' there. So I continued my typing again. until 6.30....one of the boss' kids went in and said: your dad's waiting. So I went downstairs, and there was dad, with that kinda face that reminds you of Saddam (not the best comparison). Anyway, he was so pissed off that the first thing he said was "Throw that dreaded hand phone away!" (an remember, he used to own it until I took it away). He was sooo pissed off that he nags like a mother (even my mom is not like that)...and he didn't even answer ANYTHING i said. Oh, the silent treatment, eh, two can play that game...
 
Anyway, it turns out that he'd been waiting there for half and hour, and (according to my investigation) as he turned to find a parking space, that's when I came downstairs and look for dad. Then what happened? Dad turned back his car and parked right in front of the house. the maid was so puzzled by that she thought that he was a suspicious guy trying to pick on the young kids playing in front of the house. SO she frantically let them in, and went inside. Dad thought she was going to fetch me, and waited another 15 minutes.
Then he found out that the fetching never happened, and the maid was afraid of him, so he called the house and ask for me (why didn't he do that in the first place?)
 
ANyway, I wanted  a new phone now. More than ever. I wish I could just ask for an early paycheck! But i realized that if i wanna buy REAL, non-breaking, fully-functional hand phones, I need to wait until my second paycheck (that means well until semester three, which is when I'm so busy that I cant go anywhere anyway). So...i'll just have to wait.
 
Throw that old hand phone away? No way! There's proof of dad's .... in there. hahahaha...wanna destroy the evidence now, dad?
 
ANd the teddy bear thing? Oh, I watched the final episode of Cardcaptor Sakura, and I was completely inspired by the DIY-bear themed final three episodes. So I searched it on the internet and found that DIY teddy bears really exist!
Now i need to buy some fur ...and a lot of time!
 
 

---

Get news, entertainment and everything you care about at Live.com. Check it out!