I feel like I got abducted by aliens today. I was made to sit down in a chair as various implements held me down, and they told me to stare into the light. Talk about disturbing~
And in other news, I just finished reading Special A, yet another pointlessly dodgy shojo manga. I think the reason why I have such dodgy perceptions of perfect romances is that they all occur in school, High school to be specific. That's why according to their standards I'm now an old maid past her prime with no possibility of a perfectly dodgy manga style romance.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
I Close My Eyes and Fly Out of My Mind
The past 2 days have brought to me yet a new range of experience from temp-ing at the shop. Things like:-
1) Learning how to use the cash register/nets machine/credit card machine;
2) How to get locked out of the shop because I can't open the shutters;
3) Jamming up the cash register till it makes a high pitched whine of agony;
4) Learning how to open the shutters properly;
5) Learning how to make the cash register stop whining;
6) How to disguise the face that I've dropped a customer's credit card into the dustbin by accident;
7) Learning that customers always come in at the most inappropriate time of the most inappropriate song;
8) Learning that Snuff by Chuck Palahnuik is damn dodgy, but also really good (finished it in one day there);
9) Learning that old soft rock is really the best most neutral music to play in a shop;
10) Learning that no Yong Tau Foo on earth can compare to Lau Pa Sat's Koh Kee Hakka Yong Tau Foo;
11) Learning that Subway at HV is stingy;
12) Citibank is a real bank. It is not Standard Chartered;
13) Learning that credit cards can be used for Nets too;
14) Learning that the reverse is not true. ATM cards don't work with the credit card machine;
15) Learning that ATM cards really look like credit cards if you're not paying attention;
16) AMEX is a pain in the ass because you need to key in a code on the card;
17) Customers have a tendency to forget and leave their cards behind;
18) The 3rd level female toilet of Holland Avenue Shopping Centre is really really cold for some reason;
19) The ang mohs are either very friendly or very rude. There are no 'average' normal ones;
20) The satsifaction one gets from not giving a mean customer a new piece of item is quite high.
I have also learned that (outside of my working life):-
1) Byatt's Posession is woefully dull and a massive disappointment (t0 me anyway, I bet there are people who read this blog that have enjoyed it). I feel it's an exercise in intellectual wankery that has no appeal whatsoever with terribly dull and unremarkable characters. It is remarkably Victorian without the wit of Austen (no probability of zombies too) or the drama/tragedy of Hardy. The last book I gave up reading was Le Carre's The Naive and Sentimental Lover around 2005/6-ish;
2) The Sims 3 is not like The Sims 2. I am midly upset/disappointed that I cannot be a control freak and control everyone in the town;
3) Shinshi Doumei Cross is really not bad for a manga. At least it kept my mind occupied for the past 3 nights;
4) My hand eye leg coordination is really bad. I just came back from playing Guitar Hero with Steph and JH and I died doing the drums. I did managed to survive something on Medium till 68% ish on the drums though. Ended up leaving it on Beginner so I could slack and enjoy myself;
5) My sleep cycle has gone to crap now, I am getting mild insomnia and waking up tired.
Kay, I think I better sleep now.
1) Learning how to use the cash register/nets machine/credit card machine;
2) How to get locked out of the shop because I can't open the shutters;
3) Jamming up the cash register till it makes a high pitched whine of agony;
4) Learning how to open the shutters properly;
5) Learning how to make the cash register stop whining;
6) How to disguise the face that I've dropped a customer's credit card into the dustbin by accident;
7) Learning that customers always come in at the most inappropriate time of the most inappropriate song;
8) Learning that Snuff by Chuck Palahnuik is damn dodgy, but also really good (finished it in one day there);
9) Learning that old soft rock is really the best most neutral music to play in a shop;
10) Learning that no Yong Tau Foo on earth can compare to Lau Pa Sat's Koh Kee Hakka Yong Tau Foo;
11) Learning that Subway at HV is stingy;
12) Citibank is a real bank. It is not Standard Chartered;
13) Learning that credit cards can be used for Nets too;
14) Learning that the reverse is not true. ATM cards don't work with the credit card machine;
15) Learning that ATM cards really look like credit cards if you're not paying attention;
16) AMEX is a pain in the ass because you need to key in a code on the card;
17) Customers have a tendency to forget and leave their cards behind;
18) The 3rd level female toilet of Holland Avenue Shopping Centre is really really cold for some reason;
19) The ang mohs are either very friendly or very rude. There are no 'average' normal ones;
20) The satsifaction one gets from not giving a mean customer a new piece of item is quite high.
I have also learned that (outside of my working life):-
1) Byatt's Posession is woefully dull and a massive disappointment (t0 me anyway, I bet there are people who read this blog that have enjoyed it). I feel it's an exercise in intellectual wankery that has no appeal whatsoever with terribly dull and unremarkable characters. It is remarkably Victorian without the wit of Austen (no probability of zombies too) or the drama/tragedy of Hardy. The last book I gave up reading was Le Carre's The Naive and Sentimental Lover around 2005/6-ish;
2) The Sims 3 is not like The Sims 2. I am midly upset/disappointed that I cannot be a control freak and control everyone in the town;
3) Shinshi Doumei Cross is really not bad for a manga. At least it kept my mind occupied for the past 3 nights;
4) My hand eye leg coordination is really bad. I just came back from playing Guitar Hero with Steph and JH and I died doing the drums. I did managed to survive something on Medium till 68% ish on the drums though. Ended up leaving it on Beginner so I could slack and enjoy myself;
5) My sleep cycle has gone to crap now, I am getting mild insomnia and waking up tired.
Kay, I think I better sleep now.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Echo & The Bunnymen
I came back home today from Social Night with Zhikai to encounter a smoked out kitchen (well as smoked out as a open air kitchen can be). My first thought when I entered the kitchen was 'eh burnt rice smell, some lucky dog is eating claypot rice!' and 'MMMMMMM CLAYPOT RICE'. Then I realised there were plumes of smoke rising from the stove. Big big plumes.
I went over and discovered a small fire had erupted on the stove, presumably because it had been lit for a long time. Luckily the larger than normal fire went away when I turned off the gas valve. I was then faced with the dilemna of what to do next, because there was also a melted plastic colander on top of the lid covering the wok. I ended up removing the cover with a pair of tongs and removing the pan of glutinous rice inside. The top layer of the rice had turned black. I covered it with a cover to keep out the insects.
I sincerely hope I do not see that rice again for breakfast tomorrow.
I went over and discovered a small fire had erupted on the stove, presumably because it had been lit for a long time. Luckily the larger than normal fire went away when I turned off the gas valve. I was then faced with the dilemna of what to do next, because there was also a melted plastic colander on top of the lid covering the wok. I ended up removing the cover with a pair of tongs and removing the pan of glutinous rice inside. The top layer of the rice had turned black. I covered it with a cover to keep out the insects.
I sincerely hope I do not see that rice again for breakfast tomorrow.
A Forest
So far over this past week selling feminine wares in a little fair in Marina Square (I sense some assonance in that last sentence) I have learned that I am far too honest and nice to be a good salesperson. I have absolutely zero interest in trying to pressure customers into buying something they might regret later, in essence I treat them the same way I'd like to be treated, which really defeats the purpose of sales. There are even times I feel like telling the customers "oh actually xxx has better stuff for this purpose" and I get worried when I see women approach the laptop bags which have no padding at all (I imagine them just dumping their naked laptops inside without any protection). I do however get a kick, a rise in pleasure, for the knowledge at having sold something. We even have little games where we attempt to outsell the earlier shift/try to sell a bag that has proven hard to sell.
There have been a few interesting customers too, like the 2 weird old men who came on the first day and asked a lot of questions. Then there are those people who like to pretend they are very clever and that 'they have never heard of our brand' and 'they used to live in australia/go there often/have an uncle ten times removed in australia and thus are the leading authority on australian brands'. There was also a woman who loved the acessory bag so much but had no money (she was leaving to go back to HK) and ended up giving us her USD10 in addition to the rest of her SGD to buy the bag. There was also another woman who came with her brother and they bought 2 bags from us and he paid for one :D (I almost referred to him as her boyfriend, so good thing I didn't). There were also the weird swarm of foreigners of an Asian origin (for some reason I think they're from the Indochina region) who came to our shop and inexplicaby started posing for pictures with the sign and goods even though they bought nothing. They weren't even teenagers, but middle aged men and women, plus the odd elderly grandma or two.
Anyway one more day of the fair left, then I have 2 full days of working at the shop proper next week and another fair in early July. Let's see if anything else weird happens.
There have been a few interesting customers too, like the 2 weird old men who came on the first day and asked a lot of questions. Then there are those people who like to pretend they are very clever and that 'they have never heard of our brand' and 'they used to live in australia/go there often/have an uncle ten times removed in australia and thus are the leading authority on australian brands'. There was also a woman who loved the acessory bag so much but had no money (she was leaving to go back to HK) and ended up giving us her USD10 in addition to the rest of her SGD to buy the bag. There was also another woman who came with her brother and they bought 2 bags from us and he paid for one :D (I almost referred to him as her boyfriend, so good thing I didn't). There were also the weird swarm of foreigners of an Asian origin (for some reason I think they're from the Indochina region) who came to our shop and inexplicaby started posing for pictures with the sign and goods even though they bought nothing. They weren't even teenagers, but middle aged men and women, plus the odd elderly grandma or two.
Anyway one more day of the fair left, then I have 2 full days of working at the shop proper next week and another fair in early July. Let's see if anything else weird happens.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
2 Jobs in 2 Days
Yesterday I ended my 3 weeks employment with M/s P-. For lunch B- and Andrew brought Rachael and me to 5 Star Chicken Rice in River Valley. Then we went to Laurent's in Robertson Quay for 'tea' where I ordered an Ice Chocolate which turned out to be an epic bad idea (it was like half milk half chocolate. I'm lactose intolerant. Imagine).
I actually felt a bit sad leaving M/s P- yesterday despite the fact that I felt so eager leave just as the week had begun. I felt sad thinking about the good memories that I had, like being complimented on my research skills by Andrew on the 3rd day and the feeling of bashfulness mixed with delight as he went around telling this to everyone. Then later when I brought up a point during a meeting with the client, he went around telling everyone how impressed he and the client was with me. It just felt so good to feel that someone thought highly of me. Then there were the random talk cock sessions with him and Rachael which were really enjoyable too.
I would daresay I'll also miss my direct boss too, Miss S- who was stuck at home on maternity leave most of the time. How she'd sneak back to the office to 'get air con' and surprise me everytime she appeared, and how afraid I was of her, not knowing what she would do next. Pity that she wasn't physically around most of the time for my duration at work though.
So thus with a vaguely heavy heart I left the office, and joined Mrs Nat Lim to sell handbags in Marina Square (please do not come visit me, in fact please stay far away from Marina Square till 21st June). I started work today. It felt a bit like 3 years ago again, talking to Mrs Lim and all. Faint memories of the past also came back to me, but I'm a bit too tired to dwell on them now.
Anyway today was fairly interesting. I seem to attract strange old men (lookinag at handbags?!) who like asking lots of questions. There was also a baby in pram that I played with by imitating her actions while the other clerk was promoting the diaper bag to her parents. She kept laughing when playing with me. Awwww.
Then Mrs Lim's relatives also came along and I played with the 2 kids, Sarah and David. It later transpired that David is Matthew, my younger cousin's friend and classmate. He described Matthew as 'the crazy one'. I laughed. Really cute kids. They accompanied me to get stock from the storeroom which is most masochistically located about 100m+ away. Factor in crowds and going to get stock is a bit of a painful affair. Also for some reason when I started running today my right knee started hurting from the impact with the ground too, so boo ):
Oh and David also started teaching me Chinese. Pri 1 Chinese. I couldn't recognise the words. I epic fail.
I actually felt a bit sad leaving M/s P- yesterday despite the fact that I felt so eager leave just as the week had begun. I felt sad thinking about the good memories that I had, like being complimented on my research skills by Andrew on the 3rd day and the feeling of bashfulness mixed with delight as he went around telling this to everyone. Then later when I brought up a point during a meeting with the client, he went around telling everyone how impressed he and the client was with me. It just felt so good to feel that someone thought highly of me. Then there were the random talk cock sessions with him and Rachael which were really enjoyable too.
I would daresay I'll also miss my direct boss too, Miss S- who was stuck at home on maternity leave most of the time. How she'd sneak back to the office to 'get air con' and surprise me everytime she appeared, and how afraid I was of her, not knowing what she would do next. Pity that she wasn't physically around most of the time for my duration at work though.
So thus with a vaguely heavy heart I left the office, and joined Mrs Nat Lim to sell handbags in Marina Square (please do not come visit me, in fact please stay far away from Marina Square till 21st June). I started work today. It felt a bit like 3 years ago again, talking to Mrs Lim and all. Faint memories of the past also came back to me, but I'm a bit too tired to dwell on them now.
Anyway today was fairly interesting. I seem to attract strange old men (lookinag at handbags?!) who like asking lots of questions. There was also a baby in pram that I played with by imitating her actions while the other clerk was promoting the diaper bag to her parents. She kept laughing when playing with me. Awwww.
Then Mrs Lim's relatives also came along and I played with the 2 kids, Sarah and David. It later transpired that David is Matthew, my younger cousin's friend and classmate. He described Matthew as 'the crazy one'. I laughed. Really cute kids. They accompanied me to get stock from the storeroom which is most masochistically located about 100m+ away. Factor in crowds and going to get stock is a bit of a painful affair. Also for some reason when I started running today my right knee started hurting from the impact with the ground too, so boo ):
Oh and David also started teaching me Chinese. Pri 1 Chinese. I couldn't recognise the words. I epic fail.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Life
I feel very tired again today, more tired than I have felt in a long time. On the trip home today two old men, white haired and skin liver-spotted boarded the train at Outram. No one gave up their seats for them because the 'priority' seats were already taken by elderly people (but not as old as them). They were ignored for the rest of the trip. I wanted to ask someone to give up their seat, but there was no one near me to ask. I started to feel a bit sick to the stomach at the thought, and overwhelmingly tired for watching something like this happen again so shortly after Tuesday's experience.
But Tuesday was different. I should have done something, said snarky things like "congragulations! who's the father?"/"wow, how many months are you?"/"when's the delivery date?" to the young woman occupying the piority seat, making two old people stand right in front of her. Shame her to hell. Or take a picture and send it to stomp, letting the hammer of mass unsolicited judgment smash her completely. But I didn't.
Frankly I am very tired of people.
I went home today and slept like the dead.
But Tuesday was different. I should have done something, said snarky things like "congragulations! who's the father?"/"wow, how many months are you?"/"when's the delivery date?" to the young woman occupying the piority seat, making two old people stand right in front of her. Shame her to hell. Or take a picture and send it to stomp, letting the hammer of mass unsolicited judgment smash her completely. But I didn't.
Frankly I am very tired of people.
I went home today and slept like the dead.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Amazon Fail
I actually had a proper post. But I ran out of the anger fueling it. Too tiring to stay angry. So here is a placeholder.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Now, where was I?
I watched the most awesome movie (or film as a person I once knew well used to call good movies) on Saturday night with Nick, Wesley, YH and uh, Lorna. It was Memento. I could rave on and on about the excellent cinematography, script and general awesome mindfuckery, but I shan't because doing so would ruin the movie. It's another Siddhartha-can't-be-conveyed-in-words thing, except enlightenment is replaced by being awesomely mindfucked and blown away. That and I won't be kissing anyone on the forehead to relay this knowledge.
On Sunday I met up with some of the class people for lunch at Greenwood, followed by Ice Cream. Then I met up with Daryl who came a bit late with JLC. We went to Prince Coffee House where we were treated with the usual Hainanese hospitality (read: non-existant) and talked about all manner of random things. Then I rushed back for dinner with YH and my family.
Good weekend, minus the checkup which shot puffs of air into my eyes :D
On Sunday I met up with some of the class people for lunch at Greenwood, followed by Ice Cream. Then I met up with Daryl who came a bit late with JLC. We went to Prince Coffee House where we were treated with the usual Hainanese hospitality (read: non-existant) and talked about all manner of random things. Then I rushed back for dinner with YH and my family.
Good weekend, minus the checkup which shot puffs of air into my eyes :D
Friday, June 05, 2009
A Mix of Sun and Cloud
Today is a rather screwed up day for me.
I got dropped off today at Outram MRT station because my dad was bring my brother and maid to Tiong Bahru. This was a change from the past week++ when I got dropped at stations like Bishan, Braddell and Toa Payoh on the red line because it was on the way to my mothers work place. As a result while fiddling away with my ipod, I distractly followed the guy that was running down the stairs and into the train bound for Joo Koon, all the while thinking I was on the train bound for Pasir Ris. This is despite the fact that I had looked at the sign and saw "Joo Koon" and then processed it mentally as "correct" before boarding, all the while aware that I was headed for work at Raffles Place/Tanjong Pagar and not going home.
When I boarded the train and the doors closed, my first thought was "eh how come I'm so lucky that the train is so empty today?". Then it became "wtf why so empty... this is highly suspicious at this time of the day" to "omg wait didn't the sign say "Joo Koon"?" and finally "I'm on the wrong train right -____-". This was subsequently confirmed by the announcement merrily saying that the next stop was Tiong Bahru.
Then later was Rachael and I were trying to get a cab to take us to NUS Law Faculty, there were no cabs around, so we ended up calling the cab companies. Right after the lady told me the information about the cab coming our way, I got another call trying to confirm a medical appointment and promptly forgot everything about the cab details. Within a minute a white Mercedes cab pulled up next to us with an "on call" sign flashing, but I thought it wasn't ours because SMRT cabs usually have the SMRT sign at the side and this one didn't. All I really remembered was that the cab had a '4' in the licence plate. Finally after a while Rachael went to the cab and asked, and it turned out to be ours -______- all because I forgot our cab number.
On another note, I managed to read Ibsen's The Doll House on Project Gutenburg today in between work. I shall attempt The Pillars of Society next week, then maybe move on to the other stuff on Project Gutenburg. I completely forgot it's existance till last night.
I got dropped off today at Outram MRT station because my dad was bring my brother and maid to Tiong Bahru. This was a change from the past week++ when I got dropped at stations like Bishan, Braddell and Toa Payoh on the red line because it was on the way to my mothers work place. As a result while fiddling away with my ipod, I distractly followed the guy that was running down the stairs and into the train bound for Joo Koon, all the while thinking I was on the train bound for Pasir Ris. This is despite the fact that I had looked at the sign and saw "Joo Koon" and then processed it mentally as "correct" before boarding, all the while aware that I was headed for work at Raffles Place/Tanjong Pagar and not going home.
When I boarded the train and the doors closed, my first thought was "eh how come I'm so lucky that the train is so empty today?". Then it became "wtf why so empty... this is highly suspicious at this time of the day" to "omg wait didn't the sign say "Joo Koon"?" and finally "I'm on the wrong train right -____-". This was subsequently confirmed by the announcement merrily saying that the next stop was Tiong Bahru.
Then later was Rachael and I were trying to get a cab to take us to NUS Law Faculty, there were no cabs around, so we ended up calling the cab companies. Right after the lady told me the information about the cab coming our way, I got another call trying to confirm a medical appointment and promptly forgot everything about the cab details. Within a minute a white Mercedes cab pulled up next to us with an "on call" sign flashing, but I thought it wasn't ours because SMRT cabs usually have the SMRT sign at the side and this one didn't. All I really remembered was that the cab had a '4' in the licence plate. Finally after a while Rachael went to the cab and asked, and it turned out to be ours -______- all because I forgot our cab number.
On another note, I managed to read Ibsen's The Doll House on Project Gutenburg today in between work. I shall attempt The Pillars of Society next week, then maybe move on to the other stuff on Project Gutenburg. I completely forgot it's existance till last night.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Currently Reading: Eeeee Eee Eeee by Tao Lin
I keep forgetting to blog about the books I've read. So here is a summary of books I've read, with the most memorable lines of some.
Books I read:
Ha Jin - Waiting
Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness
Thomas Hardy - Jude the Obscure
Jhumpa Lahiri - Interpreter of Maladies (this will definitely be in my Top 10 list of 2009)
'He cupped his hands around his mouth, and then he whispered, "It means loving someone you don't know"' (In reference to being asked what "sexy" means, the character is a little boy whose dad ran off with someone 'sexy')
Tao Lin - Eeeee Eee Eeee (currently reading this now, but will be done soon)
'"No I'm not. I liked Braveheart, starring Mel Gibson." Andrew grinned. Shit-eating grin, he thought. Mark did not respond. He was a graduate student, Andew knew, from Singapore, where in the army one night they screened Braveheart in an auditorium, then lectured on patriotism, citing scenes from Braveheart.'
On another note, the protagonist keeps obsessing about Jhumpa Laghiri, rather amusing.
Mohsin Hamid - The Reluctant Fundamentalist
"The owner had been a legendary figure in the local A&R scene; when he removed his sunglasses, his eyes contained the sort of cosmic openness one associates with prolonged exposure to LSD."
Michael Chabon - The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
"So Cleveland could not be stopped from bringing Happy up from one of her basement hiding places and mating her to Teddy's three pit bulls, which, when introduced to Happy in the Bellwether's dining room, showed a great deal of alarcity in mounting the distant heights of her vagina."
ie: bringing Happy, a bitch in heat, to meet 3 pit bulls. I died when I read this bit.
Books I read:
Ha Jin - Waiting
Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness
Thomas Hardy - Jude the Obscure
Jhumpa Lahiri - Interpreter of Maladies (this will definitely be in my Top 10 list of 2009)
'He cupped his hands around his mouth, and then he whispered, "It means loving someone you don't know"' (In reference to being asked what "sexy" means, the character is a little boy whose dad ran off with someone 'sexy')
Tao Lin - Eeeee Eee Eeee (currently reading this now, but will be done soon)
'"No I'm not. I liked Braveheart, starring Mel Gibson." Andrew grinned. Shit-eating grin, he thought. Mark did not respond. He was a graduate student, Andew knew, from Singapore, where in the army one night they screened Braveheart in an auditorium, then lectured on patriotism, citing scenes from Braveheart.'
On another note, the protagonist keeps obsessing about Jhumpa Laghiri, rather amusing.
Mohsin Hamid - The Reluctant Fundamentalist
"The owner had been a legendary figure in the local A&R scene; when he removed his sunglasses, his eyes contained the sort of cosmic openness one associates with prolonged exposure to LSD."
Michael Chabon - The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
"So Cleveland could not be stopped from bringing Happy up from one of her basement hiding places and mating her to Teddy's three pit bulls, which, when introduced to Happy in the Bellwether's dining room, showed a great deal of alarcity in mounting the distant heights of her vagina."
ie: bringing Happy, a bitch in heat, to meet 3 pit bulls. I died when I read this bit.
Monday, June 01, 2009
(Avec Paolo Nutini)
Today at work they decided to have an impromptu tea party. I didn't order anything, so they handed me an extra desset, durian ice kachang. I hate durian. I had to eat the durian ice kachang in order to not look like a indifferent unappreciative bitch. Meanwhile the other intern, Rachael, who also got handed an ice kachang got a normal one. I found out only after that she is a huge durian fan.
Fail.
-----
I also met Yihang on the bus home today. We didn't see each other when I got on the bus because he was playing with his DS and I was smsing my mother. As I stood next to him, looking at him and wondering whether it was the same guy, I took out my phone and started to dial his number just as he turned around and voila! It was Yihang.
My life is so interesting right?
Fail.
-----
I also met Yihang on the bus home today. We didn't see each other when I got on the bus because he was playing with his DS and I was smsing my mother. As I stood next to him, looking at him and wondering whether it was the same guy, I took out my phone and started to dial his number just as he turned around and voila! It was Yihang.
My life is so interesting right?
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