loopholes and circles
As everyone hopefully knows, I attempted to hand in my resignation last night, along with 2 weeks’ notice, and was not only loudly told to finish up now, and gtfo of his restaurant, I was told all that at least 3 times in front of my peers and customers at work.
This was written up on the management diary/supervisor planner, including the fact that he’s told me to never come back, and next week’s roster’s pretty much written up without me on it anymore.
In protection of my interests, as well as the fact that he owes me 2 weeks’ pay (as per my notice), this weeks’ pay (since he’s fired me despite my intention to work it out) plus the 32.15 hours that he owes me in annual leave - all calculated at $750 per week or $19.73 per hour - I wrote up an email detailing the circumstances surrounding my resignation and therefore my termination of work last night which resulted from me giving my notice.
This email was then forwarded on to HQ and my boss, firstly to make sure i have more witnesses to my resignation than my current work place, since i don’t like putting people’s jobs on the line.
He then responded with this
Your failure to appear for work on Friday the 21/11/08 leads me to believe that you misunderstood our last conversation. At no point did i tell you your services were not required. This letter is to inform you that your roster is written up to and including the 21/12/08. Your resignation has regrettably been accepted and your last shift is set down to be Saturday the 6/12/08., as per your letter of resignation. Failure to appear for your next shift starting at 4pm on Saturrday the 22/11/08 will leed us to believe after the contents of your letter and your failure to appear on Friday the 21/11/08 that you have forfeited your position here thus forfeiting your two weeks pay. Please be aware that this may be with held from your accrued monies, as per the certified agreement.
While gleefully telling someone he’s never going to pay me out.
I am sorry, but I find it hard to misconstrue “finish up now”, “get the fuck out of my restaurant!” especially with the number of people there, the atmosphere and attitude he was using plus what was written in the management diary thereafter. Of course, he can always “delete” away the evidence on the management planner.
Further more, I was meant to be on a split shift today. I should have started at 11a.m, and Waife brought in my uniforms (so that I would be paid out) as a sign of acknowledgment that I have been fired. No one’s made a single voice of concern about why am I not working, until the email which he read at 8p.m.
Come on, no one’s stupid. it doesn’t take you 9 hours to realise that an employee hasn’t turned up to work. He attempted to call and intimidate me into not asking for my severance payout, of which i didn’t pick up as I was asleep.
He’s also voiced out to someone that he “didn’t know it would come to this! If i had known, I would have let her work out those fucking 2 weeks.” Sorry, it ain’t my fault you don’t know the laws of your land. Fact is, I did my research before I handed in my notice, going so far as to work out a new time table with my new employer so that I could fully work out those 2 weeks despite knowing my boss might be an ass to work for during those 2 weeks.
However, he told me to finish up, get out, don’t come back. With someone yelling at you while you are trying to talk and hand in your notice, and with him insisting that I have to leave, was I about to stay?
He’s now made it a hostile environment to me, so either ways, I am not returning.
aggravated2 weeks’
for people not in the know,
i handed in my 2 weeks’ notice tonight, both verbally and typed on a letter, last date of work was to be on 6th of December. He not only didn’t care to read it, he told me to just finish up tonight and go. Started calling everyone, “hey everybody, cheryl’s handed in her notice” and told me to get out of his restaurant.
so i walked.
i think i am entitled to a bunch of things this week, eh? lotsa karma rain please thanks.
aggravatedit all comes a full circle
Part of my waitressing job (and even into my management days) was to communicate with customers. I have always been a firmed believer of “listen to what they say, absorb what they have to show”, and so I have sat through stories of tears and happiness, of curiosity and of pure hate or love. I have always felt honored to be a part of someone’s life in such a way.
I mean, they didn’t have to, but they did. And in return, when they ask, I honestly shared about myself, my life and my opinions. I have seen marriages break up, have heard of reconciliations, of proposals, of pregnancies, miscarriages, births and deaths and together I shared with them my tears, my laughter and honest comfort.
Today, as I wandered through the mall, for the first time lost in wondering what can I possibly do, I heard a call. They were a group of regular customers with a new friend. They waved me over and we sat down to lunch, one of them even offered me a drink. And then they asked me how i was.
For some reason, I suddenly felt like tearing. these were the people I met due to my work. I was treated like an old friend, a stranger that isn’t a stranger anymore.
They noticed my reaction though, and suddenly asked if work was treating me well. The few moments that they have seen me through out the last couple of weeks seemed to have made them wondered if work was not treating me good… so i spilled the beans.
(not professional… but hey! they told me their sex lives!)
It is funny how they comforted me, and got all mad on my behalf. They waved their fists, swear in the weirdest way I have ever heard anyone sworn and then we started talking about our lives, just like friends do.
Of course, today brought its own surprises - the people who cared went beyond the boundaries of friends and regular customers. there were people whom I thought had rejoice and laugh at my downfall in glee, but whom (from what i have heard) turned out to be utterly disgusted….
Maybe, just maybe, I am not that bad after all ^_^v
apatheticFree To Fly
The thing about work politics is, they are everywhere. One can’t avoid them nor can one be out of circle it encompasses for too long. Furthermore, there is only so much one can win or lose that many times in it that one can still come out of it somewhat unscathed.
I have always told everyone, no one’s irreplaceable, not me, nor the even the boss himself. I don’t think people understood or will find it hard to understand even now.
Over the past couple of weeks, since my bosses have returned, Waife’s resignation have went from a slight shock to a huge over-drive of accusations, dramatic sense of betrayals on both sides, stupid dramas that erupted everywhere and loud yellings where it was entirely unnecessary.
On the bosses side, they have felt betrayed by Waife, that they have done so much for “us” both that it seemed entirely ungrateful that “we” are leaving them. They also felt that it was a complete prick act that Waife’s resigned when Big Boss was away. Upon asking him why he’s decided to leave, Big Boss left it to P.Boss to “listen on his behalf” all the reasons - upon which they learnt that he was also offered a job the moment he’s resigned, complete with a 20k p/a pay rise, that he’s not even responded to.
They immediately thought that the other franchise down the next suburb was trying to steal Waife away, and thus it all added to the current fire.
and as for Waife, He’s also felt complete betrayal for all that he’s done for the Big Boss on both the personal and professional level. The reasons for his resignation was an accumulation of events, really, over the past 6 months. There were few times P.Boss would stand up for him, but instead accuse him of a myriad of things that he’s not - things like how he’s not working as hard as he’s saying he’s doing; how he’s not all that into the business; how he just as irresponsible as others. Furthermore, when Waife advertised for more kitchen-hands because we are expecting to be short staffed come Christmas season (which is starting pretty much this week), P.Boss apparently turned away all the applicants.
And where do I stand in all this? For the closeness the two of us share, for the fact that we stay together, walk home together, spend our days off together…. I stand right in between.
We both discuss our various days at work at the end of the night, mostly complaining about each side of the business that we are on.
However, it is deemed that since he’s leaving, surely I must be leaving too. Funny that, I have been here for 3 years now, kind sirs. I have left before, for like 2 months. Both the leaving part back then, and the reason behind it, and the new jobs I trialled for left a bad taste in my mouth, which was why I went back.
The worst thing was the accusations they have hurled my way. Waife has mentioned to P.Boss that the final straw was hearing from 3 floor managers, the other 2 guys and me, how P.Boss have slandered him, that he’s decided to hand in his resignation. When Big Boss approached them 2 guys, they denied mentioning anything.
Have you thought of it, sir? You are asking 2 people who have always shirked responsibilities. While one has improved tremendously since his return, the other one have not only stayed stupid and full of shit, he has also went from half reliable to not reliable at all.
But of course, since they have denied it, it must be my fault. After all, I stay with Waife, I am close to Waife and the WHOLE COMPANY KNOWS WE TALK ABOUT OUR JOBS AT HOME! Hell, that’s a crime, you know.
It must be my fault, I drove Waife away from the business, causing Boss to lose his head chef, his most reliable chef that he could not even afford to offer the most basic courtesy of thanking him for supporting him every night. His best chef, that he couldn’t even afford a thank you for a good night. In fact, if anything goes wrong, the lauding goes to someone else and the blame rests entirely on Waife.
For someone who enjoys Waife’s maturity, Waife’s work ethics, speed, quality and reliability, Waife’s existence in the company since he’s the one that helps me when I needed it - have you ever considered, kind sirs, that it is not only your loss? I am losing my best peer, my best friend from this business.
However, no. In your immaturity, your need to find someone to blame that is not yourselves, your ineptitude to understand the severity of this situation and how it reflects upon your “management” skills, which is like a russian roulette of emotions, you have decided to blame me.
When I refused to divulge further why Waife has resigned, and suggested that you go speak to Waife personally yourself, it was not meant to belittle you. Unfortunately, I don’t have a dick, and my name is definitely not Waife. I can not speak for him, or on behalf of a person in their absence.
That is not a conflict of interest sir, although frankly, since the day we have lived together, there would have been a conflict of interest right from the start. This, however, is not a conflict of interest. Like any legal document, telling you why someone is resigning is equivalent to being “authorised” to tell you something that belongs to someone else. I don’t have that.
Yet because I am to blame, because there’s a “conflict of interest”, I have my “management responsibilities” removed from me. As of this week, I will be nothing more than a waitress. For legal reasons, he can not “demote” me per se, or even use those words. He can not pay me less either, for he has no good reasons.
The reality is, that is exactly what it is.
Frankly, I don’t mind the demotion. I don’t mind the loss of responsibilities, for I have always found them awkward and painful. I am glad too, that at least no one would be trying to make me look worse than I probably am in Boss’s eyes. I am glad that at least, I won’t be facing the kitchen for a while (I hope), because I sure miss serving customers.
The thing I am sad about is how quickly he has decided that all based on heresy. I am disappointed he has not asked Waife why he is resigning and actually listened to it. I am disappointed that he’s all out to accuse me of things, when I have shown beyond reasonable doubt my love for this business and my loyalty to it.
I will not force myself upon them though, why be a waitress with management shirt on when it’s the least conducive of all uniforms to be waiting in?
But also, J, because I know you will be reading this at some stage, don’t give me those sympathetic eyes. I am disappointed in you too, because you know you have mentioned those things. Even I have heard them. It’s ok though, I have more balls than you, and I am a bigger person than you - I will take this blame even if you can’t look me in the eye when I signed for new uniforms. Fact is, you have spread so much shit about Waife that you shouldn’t have, and you know it. The advice that you have given, how this company is small and things spread like wildfire, you should have practice it yourself.
You don’t know, do you? Waife, the other 2 and I now hang out regularly to play games. During which time, the things you’ve said about Waife spilled out. It wasn’t intentional, I can guarantee you that.
Yes you, J, you caused M to lose his head chef. Go suck on it.
apatheticA Fete
Actewagl popped by next door to “fix” the electricity. Unfortunately, that also equates them shutting down the electricity without prior notice. I think, somehow, that broke my internet. So for now, I am quite inaccessible (and really hot and bothered).
Now that I have calmed down a little, I have more time to answer your questions in a more “logical” manner.
How advanced is your diabetes
Frankly, she-who-told-me doesn’t really know. The blood tests were a year old, and also it was just a general blood test. All she knows at this point is 1) it’s genetic and 2) I do have diabetes. Since the queue for further blood tests, as well as to see a cardiologist, is approximately 2 months long, we won’t know in the mean time.
She did suggest that I start on a diabetic diet right now. Short of visiting a dietitian, I really have no clue what a diabetic diet consist of. My own Granny turned vegetarian upon the knowledge that she is a diabetic.
are you on any medication?
no. Firstly, since I appear to have allergies that I am unaware of, she is not too keen to start me on anything. Secondly, since, as per above, we don’t know how advanced I am, she does not want to “pre-emp” too much and then perhaps harm me more than she intends to.
are you going to go home?
no. what for? either ways i am still going to be diabetic o.o
If nothing’s conclusive, wth are you going crazy for?!?!
because I have seen my grandma at her worst? what’s wrong with you people!?!?
In all other perspectives though, looking at the “diabetic food pyramid” that I have found from various health boards, I have come to realise that it’s really no big difference from a good healthy meal recommendations anyways.
so perhaps this is God’s way of saying, “pull your fucking head in and treasure yourself”. heh.
Further down that same road, my mind’s been exploding with all kinds of “but I haven’t done …… yet”. There’s so many things I want to do, but I have been putting them off for various reasons, like money, or time, or school, or fear. Now, I know I ain’t on death bed yet but… really.
Every time I get scared of dying, I thought of the same things. So I guess I have to get my arse cracking eh?
I am going to get my private pilot license next year
yeah, screw death!
amusedwhat would fate do?
I walked the streets today in the rain, musing over the sounds being emitted by the cars, smelling the horrible fumes the emit, listening to random conversations, watching the facial expressions of two friends arguing between themselves.
When I came here a few years ago, I lived on boiled water, theorizing like my parents did that boiled water can only be better for you. More hygienic. As time passed, just a matter of months in fact, my utter discipline started crumbling as I allowed myself to feed of Sprite as much as I want.
The sprite here is different, compared to the ones in Singapore. They were more… tangy. The taste is alive: it burst on your lips, frolics playfully on the tip of your tongue then slowly sizzle off down the back of your palate.
A year ago, I visited the doctors for allergic reactions and my asthma. I was instead sent on rounds of blood tests and more tests. Some bad news were broken to me… but there were more results from the tests that never came back while I was still there.
I could have guessed, from the battery of tests they chucked me through. From the suggestions. From the fact that I am taking longer and longer to recover from one illness to another.. in fact, just from the amount of illness I have been finding myself in constantly. I have never been so constantly sick in my life.
I guess, I never wanted to hear it, never want to realize it.
Three weeks ago, Grandma was warded in the hospital. Diabetes is slowly but surely killing her this time. It’s been long in coming, but she sure has way outlived their “2 years left” prediction. She’s been fighting it for the last 12 years since then. I didn’t dare ask… how many of my Aunts might be diabetic?
Today, as I stare at the streets, watching, learning, hearing… I let the truth sink in.
Again, I visited the doctors’ for my asthma and pollen-induced allergies. This time, there’s no more tests, at least not right now. This time, I know.
“You’re a diabetic, and you’ve high blood pressure.”
Suddenly, everything’s no longer bright and colorful. Nothing’s funny anymore. It’s all gray. Gray as the crying skies, gray as the ugly fumes, gray as the public servants in their stupid suits.
Time to let Dad know.
depressedweek = Fail!
Tried to tidy up the desk, cat came and ran it all over. I give up, going to leave everything as it is. it looks damn artistic.
In all other news, I am watching Clannad, Toradora, Yokazura Quartet and extremely tired but insomniac since 3 am last night. Thank God Jayse is coming to Australia tomorrow.
I also bought lotto tickets for the first time in my life, for 5 weeks in a row. I think I fail in picking numbers too LOL, only 1 number matched anything that was in the winning “picks”. whatever, stupid computerized degenerate gambling shit. What happened to the good old days of turning a giant ball and dropping small numbered balls out? pssh.
So far, my most productive “gambling venture” has been the slots machines. won like 5 times my expenditure at one stage. I think I am just not made for gambling. years of watching my mum waste her whole life away on bad gambling habits and having a mental calculator on how much my “profits and losses” are, not to mention what… marginal costs and stupid economical shit that ran through my head —– they don’t make one a good gambler when you’re constantly seeing a minus sign.
typical thoughts during a “gambling venture”:
“I could be spending these 30 minutes reading my new book.”
“dropped $5 into the slots, won $20. spent $10 in this place for coffee and food, total profits = $5. not worth it. shitty coffee too.”
If truth be told, the only good place for Coffee nowadays, since starbucks’ up and abandon us, is delissio in Braddon.
The week past has been wonderful. *snerk* apparently *I* exploded a keg. someone didn’t finish the “keg-changing” tutorial, so i left the switch on when it’s meant to be on then off immediately. $160 and 50 liters of alcohol joined the sewage system.
And because I was drenched in alcohol and breathed in about 2 hours worth of alcohol, I went home sick as a dog for the first time due to “alcohol inhalation”. On top of the wonderfully pollen-laden atmosphere, I near killed myself had i not have anti-histamine well prepared.
That’s not to say the tears stopped. Despite the anti-histamine working on the sniffles, I still looked like I cried in a funeral, and sound like I just dropped my nuts. Then again, it’s that time of the year. I spent Friday wheezing around the kitchen, about to snap someone’s head off if they make me talk more than I have to.
What made it all so worthwhile though… Waking up with Meow in the nook of my armpits, purring and hugging me like a little baby, sound asleep. now, if my babies look like kitties…..
blahcontemplation
yet again, I wonder about the future. I am tempted to do a side diploma of sorts, towards something I can do a… hands on approach about things. There are plenty of restrictions though, seeing that I am not a resident here, and obviously money doesn’t drop from the skies.
But If i can… IF i can… sigh.
anyways, I signed up for Nanowrimo this year. 2 years after my original signed up. I think I wrote no more than a page’s worth the last time. I hope to do more this year, lol. I can come up with all kinds of excuses why I didn’t write it up, but the truth is I was too lazy to really care i guess.
What’s going to make it different this year?
The fact that I really have nothing else to do otherwise. Yes, leaving school essentially means NOTHING to do for the longest time. It’s scary to be faced with that, and job hunting sounds surreal. I have never really imagined my life without my studies, so… to really leave school and have no more exams to look forward to?
damn.
I don’t want to come away and live the rest of my life in a cubicle though. I have downloaded/bought some language tapes to start off/continue with (German, Spanish and Japanese came to mind). And somewhere along the line, I might go “finish” my first aid course. Some eons ago, I went for first aid classes. The last class was CPR. I was only, what, 17. I refused to be caught dead “kissing” a fucking dummy.
so I never turned up for it.
so 10 years on, I am trying to look for places where I can attend first aid classes. I am kind of lost, but i think I can only learn them at CIT or community evening colleges or something. made me wonder why the hell i was so stupid hahaha…
Don’t get me wrong though, I am looking forward to “growing up” finally. 6 years on, and life’s going to be moving elsewhere, in a sense.
contemplativefuck it
got tickets for dragonforce in Sydney. October 28th. for waife and me.
Waife never planned for a replacement for wednesday morning, also didn’t expect Baz to have a gambied leg just the week before we planned to go. Now with his resignation on the files, it is highly likely that he wouldn’t be looked kindly upon asking for time off. not to mention he’s have had 2 days off sick without medical certification.
yeah, act like a fucking brat. yeah he was sick, without documentary proof, anyone can look and act sick. just because you have great track record doesn’t really mean jack shit.
and so no more concert for me.
i was so fucking looking forward to this.
i hate this.
anticipating
some random updates.
The fire next door was quelled, about 1.5 - 2 hours after it started. we didn’t nose around to ask what happened, but it’s not hard to guess considering the amount of damage done to parts of the house. the insurance guys came around, as well as, i guess, the landlord. as of this moment, they are all gated up now but no one seems to be harmed.
i think a large part of me almost feared for my life, but i didn’t know what to do. i wanted to save my cat and my bunny, and it was the only thing that ran through my head, because i assumed, from the one glance, that it was our house.
Brisingr came out a few weeks ago, and i bought it and bought the TY beanie commemorative of it. I know, and understand many people who think that christopher paolini has about as much talent and originality as a piece of rock - particularly since his essential storyline is pretty much the same as half of the fantasy books out there.
but i like fantasies, and i like a “different” feel of personalities and names. and so, i still enjoy it. sucks though that i have hardly the time to read it.
I did find the time for some easy indulgence though. a little chat with Paingasm Mike’s friend pointed me in the right direction with regards to food, exercising and me. In the last year and abit, since i moved in with waife, it was like my brain and body, who were slightly starved in the year prior to that, suddenly realised they could eat. as a whole, i didn’t “know” how long this would last, and also, “I” wanted to enjoy as much food as i can since i can now.
so i ate and i ate.
So, it’s back to bento-ing for me. it’s a little hard to crack bad eating habits, but i am on… day 4 right now, so slowly, i should be able to ease myself back in. obviously, i am just “starting” back, so nothing’s quite as varied as they were growing to be previously. not to mention, it seems i have lost some of my bento equipments T_T
that’s not to say that i didn’t indulge, on a smaller scale.
as for what i would do after graduation, frankly i am not sure. alot of the jobs i want to do and am eligible for are “citizens only”. I kind of want out from hospitality, at the same time, with such a visa standing, where i am not sure of whether i would be approved or not, it’s also hard to find a full time job that would accept me.
furthermore, there’s lots of gray areas about some things, it seems pretty complicated. perhaps i will just stay put until my visa’s granted. ^_^
giddyup up and away!
Handed in my migration paperwork yesterday. heaved alot of sighs. one for the amount of money i am spending on it, two for the fact that i was utterly relieved. despite the fact that it’s at least 8 months before i get to hear any response on it, it is still a huge sense of relief.
one might ask, why leave singapore, why be part of Australia? why Australia anyways?
As i have said before, and I will say it again: I feel more comfortable here, and “at home” here, than i have ever felt back “home”. Other than family and friends, I hated many aspects of Singapore. this is not because I am high and mighty about myself, or gave up on Singapore. It’s like a relationship between a parent and a child.
There will always be love, but a close relationship can sometimes be hardly possible due to many factors.
I hated the kiasu-ism that digs deep into the corner of every aspect of our lives. From the stupids who won’t give up their seats to the elderly and pregnant on the bus/trains/queues, to those who were blatantly rich and yet were the first few people queuing up for a free cake (which they were entitled to because they were USING THEIR PLATINUM CARDS) - AND yet were not satisfied when they couldn’t obtain more than 1.
There’s still lots of good about Singapore though, and this is not a “bash Singapore” post. I am glad that I am moving on (or starting to) move on to the next stage of my life, and it will possibly involve Australia. ^^
ehm, what?
i have had my paypal account for years (this was before the time of easy address change), and another one after that for another few years. i have never listed myself as a charity organisation.
meanwhile, paypal suddenly emailed me and ask me to prove that i am a charity organisation. say, what? when did i ever mention i am a charity?
PLEASE, DONATE TO THE PANDA-ANIVYL FUNDS: WE SUPPORT MAD UNDERGRAD/POOR GAMERS!
yeah ok.
roly poly
winter + sick + ventolin = fat Ani.
As people who knows me from secondary would tell ya, i gain weight like there’s fats in the air and i absorb them via osmosis. I think i’ve gain like 20kg since I have moved in with Waife (ZOMG CHEF IN THE HOUSE!!!) and especially over the last 2 months when i couldn’t do anything but sit in cabs, house, work. lol.
that all said, i have started combating it. went to the gym saturday, and damn near walked myself to death. i don’t know how my lungs are going to take it yet, so i am going to take it slow ^^. will do gym again tomorrow night. might sign up for some boxing classes too.
soon. i will have a life. dammit!
meanwhile, that’s all i have for ideas. someone else throw in something!
thoughtfullolcat!
waife’s gone for fishing for 2 days.
I have the house to myself.
I took shower, Vagina sat outside the shower cubicle watching me as it’s her practice to lick the floors dry whenever someone’s done using the shower. I came out, big giant NAKED human totally covered with water. “VAGINA!! COME GIMME A HUG!!!!!”
and thus begin the chase, totally naked.
and it ends with Vagina totally covered in water, meowing pathetically in my arms.
poor cat.
the end.
yeah, i know, i am incredibly horrible, incorrigible, R-rated and whatever. LOL
the rabbit will be eaten alive
So, term break, I have been just sitting on my ass and reviewing my assignments, my past essays and text books. it’s amazing what has been going into my brains, what’s been retained and what not. With the crash of the American economy, the buzz going around the classrooms just before the break was “how will other countries be affected” and now WebCT’s discussion hovers over “which market will crash next, or will someone rise as the next leader”. Questions, questions, but answers will not be as easy.
Meanwhile, I have been doing some spring cleaning. The house is already in a disarray due to my inability to juggle my time with work and life. So i got myself a momiji. don’t know why, but I’ve always love momijis since young. We’ve had a whole display case worth when i was young (complete with a display case worth of my hello kitties, rofl), but when we moved around, and around, they got lost and are probably stuffed in one of those plastic boxes we’ve got back home in Singapore.
The above momiji that i bought was designed by Joanna Zhou. it’s not your traditional type of momiji i guess, but hey, no one would/could hate a nekomimi can they!?!? This momiji fits perfectly in and out of my home, by the way - and Meow absolutely loves her!
I saw the bunny eying her suspiciously though.
and here’s some shots from around the house, and the walk i took the other day
yeah this is my backyard lol, it’s so full of grass and weed, i need to get a gardener in soon or bunny might have issues.
that all said and done, despite the fact that summer’s obviously going to come early into canberra, neither of the pools near me are open. One’s closed for renovations, and the other is closed because it’s Canberra and spring has never been so fabulous. Oh wells.
chipperwhy being crazy is fun!
I know on some level i am like that sometimes, especially to irritate my mum ROFL oh man. wish i am still in school uniform it makes everything twice as fun!
<3
spring, not so spring!
Spring kinda pounce upon us a few weeks ago. to be specific, i suddenly found myself perspiring while trying to do a gentle walk to work. naturally, being in Canberra, I can be somewhat optimistic that the warmth will only last a few days before the cold comes back for another few more weeks than it’s bam! summer.
That said, I was still inspired for a walk today. we live near the city now, so everything is within reach. I still wanted to visit the suburb stores though, and took a nice 30 minutes walk to the shops in Ainslie. Flowers are mostly in full bloom now, and it turns out that those dead bushes in the front are rose bushes! Will take a whole load more pictures before i upload them all.
Sadly, I miss the Floriade Nightfest (mostly outdoor concerts, bands and movie stuff) as they ran mostly when work needed me the most. I guess some things just gotta give eh?
meanwhile, before I left for work (yes, I opened my trap and “volunteered” for a monday night. let’s just say, colleagues-wise, it’s the worst night for the whole week, guaranteed):
because I can
I forgot to upload picts from a sydney trip eons ago.
I might go for a “fishing trip” (read: where i get to scare their fishes away) with fellow colleagues over long weekend.
There, I will introduce the local wildlife in Jindabyne how to yodel, take pictures, and scream like there’s no tomorrow. Maybe bring home a croc or 2. everyone will learn to sing, dance and make merriment from biting each other. yeah!
p.s yeah, being insomniac is fun, especially when i behave like a drunkard. can you imagine if i ain’t allergic to alcohol!??! i would be damn damn eating this house out! w00h00
crankyif companies are living, breathing things…
I will strap Funcom and Optus to some planks and start stomping on them up and down.
Funcom: *sends attachment* LOOOOKKKK we’ve not been charging you, I’ve deactivated it, blah blah blah!
Bank: *sends statement* Retail code (some wtf numbers) Funcom, Globalcollect. 18.96
Me: yeah ok, that looks like I’ve been charged again, assholes.
Now, Optus…
Optus: How do you spell your username?
Me: A-N-I-V-Y-L
Optus: ok, so A-I-V-L?
Me: no.. it’s….
Optus: Ok, so, A-N-I-V-L?
me: NO!!!! *frustrated*
goes on FOUR. MORE. TIMES!
Optus: Nothing’s showing up! Is it spelt…
me: OMG ARE YOU LISTENING TO YOUR CUSTOMER *#@!$%$#@
2 mins later…
Me: reason why i am calling…. And i have done many tests already, the last one being 2 nights ago… blah blah…
Optus: Ok, let’s set you through some tests, and we will find out what’s wrong.
Me: *snapped* ok, i just said i did many tests already, the last one being 2 nights ago, and you’re making me go through tests again?
Optus: But…
Me: no buts! ok? so many tests, no one cared to keep a single record on file, no one cared to listen to the customer, not even you MR. MANAGER. no one’s called us back, WE’VE TO CALL YOU BACK OURSELVES!
Optus: but the record shows many calls we made to you!
Me: hell NO. we called you. all right? no more fucking tests. I have done customer service over the phone before, *I* don’t treat anyone like that, would you like to be treated like that? being pushed around like fucking donkey kong?
Optus: no…
Me: well then don’t. either that, or shut the fucking business down, coz you obviously don’t know how to help run a business. none of you do. stop making empty promises. *absolutely livid by then*
Today….
Internet is not only dropping out, it’s doing it like a 2 step dance. 2 minutes online, 5 minutes offline. GO OPTUS.
infuriatedWarhammer online - pass! (just a brief review)
Ever since Lineage II slowly withered away (aka people i know, and are respectable left or slowly left, and are replaced by douchebag), i have been hunting for something on a similar level of game play with a similar lot of people. WoW opened up a whole bunch of possibilities, coinciding with my increasing work and school load.
yet it wasn’t enough. Don’t ask me what I was looking for, I think i don’t even know it myself.
Age of Conan was a major and expensive (not to mention hugely irritating, lying, piece of shit) disappointment. And so, I was just a little wary when Warhammer’s date of release was announced. I didn’t purchase a copy for myself, but Waife did. And i took his copy and have been banging corners into it to find if i could possibly find what i was looking for.
Current I am only level 5, so please take into consideration when you are reading this. I haven’t gotten the chance to experience much of the game, and I am pretty sure it still has plenty to offer.
First off, let me just say this - for a product only this recently launched, it has been pretty smooth sailing. there were the usual “launch bugs” of sudden, unexpected game client crashes, not to mention some slight graphic bugs and “unknown commands”. The UI itself can be severely unresponsive: i am still waiting for my profanity filter to move its ass and allow me to read what Wrekked’s been trying to call me all week.
Beyond all those minor bugs though, the gameplay has been nothing short of awesome. Taking lessons from WoW (as most games nowadays seems to be doing), they have seperated servers into “core” (pve) and RvR (which is essentially open pvp). Like WoW, they have some races forming alliances with each other, the “Order” and the “Destruction” - and they fight each other. It’s pretty much open pvp zones through out if RvR is your chosen server.
the slightly different arc in all these is that races are paired against each other right from the start. So, Greenskins vs Dwarfs, Dark elves vs High Elves, Empire vs Chaos. as part of your “training” (or better yet, “story line”), every “chapter” of your life involves pvp-ing with the npcs of your paired opposing faction. There are also optional quests involving going into battleground-like (or arenas for L2 people) pvp areas.
From a healer’s perspective, this game is definitely alot more… coordination required. Every race has got their own healers. Most of the healer classes require damage output before one can throw up a heal (from what I have understood so far), not too dissimilar to building up rage before one can use a skill. Rune priests and something else (can’t remember which one) seems to be the only 2 classes that has been spared that problem.
Still, it is not just a plain “throw up a heal, then sit and disappear into background” kind of role anymore.
What is also interesting (and i am speaking from a WoW gamer’s viewpoint), is that they seem to have taken many of the add-ons WoW gamers, with some twists, used as good inputs into the game. For example, there’s quest helps, but not to the point where you are just blindly walking into the zone and picking up quests/quest items/quest npcs. There are links all over the place to help guide you smoothly into the game.
the guild system is interesting too. you can “gain xp” for the guild, which opens up things like guild calendar (ahem, add-on, ahem) that are useful to the development of the guild.
The ui itself has been pretty intuitive and ready for “customisation” - albeit it’s pretty bugged right now and hard to make things work. The basic layout is good enough though, and the graphics are smooth enough, and big enough, for basic, normal usage.
From what I can see and guess, they toned down the graphics so everyone can join in and play regardless of pc systems (to a degree i guess). Even then, it’s not overly shoddy, and is on a slightly better… standard than WoW, not quite L2 yet though, and definitely no where near the crazy graphic requirements of Age of Conan.
The only complaints I have at the moment is how ugly their elves are. Their elves looks no where near graceful, somewhat hawkish and gawky is more like it. The female elves looks no different from the male, some of the faces are quite.. man-ish. The best of all was, thankfully, similar to angelina jolie (dark elves), albeit the worst of all looks like a smashed up asian face, also from the dark elves.
Levelling wise, it’s not as casual friendly as WoW, even with the help of rested xp, an idea from WoW i guess, and huge amount of quests, it is not as quick to get from, say, level 1-10. In wow, i can probably accomplish 1-20 in about 2-4 hours. The levelling time probably isn’t too far from how Lineage 2 was, but it’s not as much of a grind, considering the quests and story line each has to fulfill.
Any questions? i will try and answer them ^^
*squee* nail art!
no, my internet’s not resolved yet. neither has anyone called me like they said they would. i am still pissed, but fuck ‘em. Shadow-chan, you’re right, bigpond is probably the “best” because the co. that owns that brand is also the main monopoly behind all the internet here. it’s way expensive though, we will see what happens tomorrow when i start screaming from the mountains. beyond that, it’s either back to AAPT (most of the time, if anything’s wrong with them, it’s just administrative issues, like changing bank details and not telling us) or go with iinet or something else that i know is somewhat reliable and provides some form of service.
If i just… wtf stare at more nail art, i am going to buy all of them. and then i will wear them, when it’s not work friendly, and snap all of them, and then cry.
better yet, i might just buy all the materials and start making them myself! *stares at more not-work-friendly nails*
i am going through another girlie period, stay tune
cheerfulyet another incorrigible and impossible list
things to get done before Christmas!
- police check paperwork from Singapore, for visa.
- book tickets for buses to Sydney for a) Dragonforce and b) Def Leppard! (would you believe it, 27 yrs old by end of this year and I haven’t went to a fucking concert before!) (p.p.s Joe Elliott is still hot)
- book myself a damn driving road knowledge class+test already. wtf, it’s been 9 months since i last “planned” it and still hasn’t got around to it.
- book a few swimming classes so people would stop turning me away from surfing classes.
- keep drooling @ the nissan micra, which is so cute that it wouldn’t hurt to cover it in hello kitty… really! (obviously it also suits my needs, i don’t travel much interstate, so this would work out fine)
- buy a snowboard while it’s the “sale” season.
- start saving up to go visit home or bring dad here (and really decide which i prefer) (and of course, save up so i can indulge on my shopping desires)
- visit the damn gym! and drink more water!
- buy less books, read those i’ve already bought !
- think of a good christmas present for myself. hrmmm
that should be it i think.
racism rears an ugly head
Malaysian official made some racist remarks, will be punished
“I urge the Chinese not to become like the Jewish in America, where it is not enough that they control the economy, but they also want to dominate politics,” Ahmad told a news conference late Monday in northern Penang state.
“Consider this a warning from the Malays,” Ahmad said. “The patience of the Malays has a limit. Do not push us against the wall, for we will be forced to turn back and push the Chinese for our own survival.”
Malaysia’s rich cultural and racial history reveals that not only Indians and Chinese were migrants to the country, but also that the Islamic faith was something that started into the country around the 11th century. Prior to that there were already the existence of Buddhism and Hinduism, two religions that obviously derived from China and India, respectively.
Malaysia’s history was ultimately quite intertwined with her neighbors: Singapore and Indonesia. With Malacca a part of the Portuguese at some point in history, the English ultimately took over and only ended the colonial times somewhere after World War II.
In essence, most of the current population are descendants of MIGRANTS. Considering the legalities of migration laws in Malaysia or within the region during the 5th to the 20th century (pretty much non-existent), One could hardly consider anyone an illegal immigrant or a squatter. Living conditions were poor back then, so it was similar through out anywhere that anyone lived, unless you were one of the subjects of the various “Empires”, most people start out and stay at being “coolies” or “squatters”.
I mean, even nowadays, there are still housing conditions out there in Malaysia that looks like technology missed them entirely.
To make such an irresponsible and uneducated comments like the above, I had hardly think that had come from a “modern” politician - but it did. If he had a look around the region as well as global politics at all, he would have realized people seek to overthrow/win elections because 1) they believe they can do a better job at governing or 2) they are not happy with the current conditions of governance or 3) because the current government is corrupted (and yes, all three pointers can be related to one another).
Using the racial card in such a irresponsible way has not only pointed out how out of touch he is with the local community, but how he is unwilling to change, learn from his mistakes or learn to be a better person. he has NO place in the government right now or in the future.
I mean, the global community isn’t blind or stupid. Read the AP article. People know the government has always played the racial card, offering benefits to Malays and less so to the other races. The local government is hardly qualified to rule, and at times present the worst judgment even a non-politician should not have made.
With their “protective” governance though, from my relatives’ perspective, they have inculcated generations that are now dependent on benefits: Jobs, scholarships, ranks and businesses that they hardly have to work for.
It’s time for a change, I say. Racism has no place in the modern society. People need to learn to earn their keep, and look out for everyone at the same time.
