perceptions

how much of ourselves do we reveal online? what kinds of digital footprints do we leave behind?

i ask these questions as i see how people portray themselves on facebook --- is there no worry how what they have posted on facebook will be perceived by the world?

see... the question is this, it certainly isn't possible to have one "persona", if i may even use that word, to fit all occasions. the persona that you present for your friends, may not be the persona that you present to your family, and certainly is not the persona that you want your future employers to see. but for many people, they seem to not be aware that they have all sorts of audiences accessing their pages at different times and under different contexts.

it is one thing to be writing under a pseudonym, it is another when you use your real life name and post pics of yourself on your web pages. just how much about you do you really want to share with the world (many of whom you may not know).

remember, one rule of thumb is this --- do not write or post anything that you would not want to see printed on the headlines of tomorrow's newspapers (got that one from Oprah).

while silly pics of you may seem "cute" to people who know you, your future employers may not view them the same way. and remember this --- what you post today and may have forgotten about in the next few years to come, may be viewed many years later and may have an effect on how others perceive you then because you really just don't know who is going to view them.

very much like the way we dress when we go out, our web pages and what we post on them are representative of us. we are judged by what we post on our web pages.

so...how would you like the world to perceive you?

The Summons by John Grisham

just started this one today, and yes, it is yet another of my bookcrossing find!!! :)

canvas bag

a strange thing happened while i was in ikea yesterday.

there i was, looking through four huge boxes of toilet brushes (i was looking for a baby blue one --- there were lots of dark blue and green ones) and was going around it digging for a baby blue one (it has to be baby blue...).

a few people joined me in my search when i realized that a woman was kind of following me around. i was muttering to myself, "i need a baby blue one..." when i turned around and was face to face with this woman.

she then asked me where in ikea i got my shopping bag... yup, the woman had fallen in love with my canvas spanking new shopping bag and thought that i got it in ikea.

i was quite surprised by the question. okay, so it was a happening bag but would you go up to a stranger and ask them where they got it??? i told her that i had purchased it elsewhere, she apologized and went away.

it was a strange incident though. hmmm... should i have offered to sell it to her and make some money on the spot???

Big City Eyes by Delia Ephron

yup, i've finished reading the last one and started reading this one yesterday (it's also another bookcrossing find).

love to save

hey, have you heard about digi's pledge to donate RM150, 000 in 30 days to a variety of charity organizations?

all you've got to do to participate is to sign up and digi will donate RM5 for each individual donation and you even get to choose where you'd like the donation to go to (there is a list to choose from) --- an absolutely fantastic idea if you ask me.

the program's called "love to save" and to date, they have given away RM96, 650. there's still a lot more cash to give away folks! i just voted for spca --- what can i say --- i simply have a soft spot for animals.

just click here or on the banner below, do your bit for charity and be rewarded with feeling good knowing that you've helped out a charity organization of your choice :)

spelling bee

i happened to be in sunway pyramid on sunday and came across the spell-it-right challenge (sponsored by RHB and NST) that was going on there.

i saw all these school kids, all of whom looked extremely geeky (complete with the thick glasses) seated on the stage waiting for their turn.

thing is this --- so a kid can spell 'cacophony', ' coalesced' and 'pistachios', so what??? what does it all really mean??? does it mean that the child is a good user of language or really just has great memory???

to me, spelling is something that will come with time and with lots of reading --- isn't reading really what's important? once the reading habit is in place, the spelling will follow.

besides, why do we subject our young kids to such extreme stress???

blanking out from the world

a student of ours had an episode in class a few days ago --- there was a moment when she blanked out from the world.

according to her classmate, she was at one moment doing her work and in the next, her classmate heard a thud and saw that her head had hit the table. her eyes were opened but she she was checked out. when she came around, she remembered nothing of what had happened earlier.

the doctors checked her but they came back with nothing. what gives???

father's day :( :( :(

it is yet another father's day, ayah... how i miss you so... i just want you to know that not a day passes by when i don't think of you. i love you dearly... you will always be in my thoughts.

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

this is what i'm reading at the moment... i've been meaning to purchase this book for eons but seem to be putting it off. i happened to chance upon it at the bookcrossing zone in 1-utama earlier today i expect this book to be entertaining...

bookcrossing is in malaysia!!! :) :) :)

i am an extremely happy bunny... no make that an extremely ecstatic bunny --- i happened to come across a bookcrossing "hotspot" while in 1-utama today. MPH has sponsored a space in 1-utama called the living room where there is a bookcase filled with bookcrossing books!!! finally... after such a long wait, bookcrossing has finally made it to malaysian shores. thumbs up MPH!!! it's certainly a great way to cultivate the reading habit among malaysians.

i first came across bookcrossing when i caught a bookcrossing book in my office (it originated from the uk). i like the idea of a travelling book and the world as one big library where people can share their books freely with others.
i caught sophie kinsella's remember me? just now in the living room. the timing is great as i have just finished reading the turtle nest by chandani lokuge today (i started reading it yesterday).

The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner

my current read...it's a collection of short stories. i am proud to say that i have read all of Jennifer Weiner's books thus far.

educating malaysians

i was in the jusco supermarket last weekend to pick up a few things when i witnessed a scene at the checkout. there was this chinese woman in the next line who told the cashier off for packing all her stuff into one bag. she accused jusco of being "stingy" with their plastic bags and insisted on being given more plastic bags.

one tends to wonder where this woman has been --- in today's day and age, when people are more aware of environmental issues and are trying to do whatever they can to recycle and reuse stuff, there are still those (like this woman) who insist on getting "her money's worth" (whatever that means as she'd probably be throwing those plastic bags out the second she gets home, anyway).

me? i try to do my bit to help mother nature --- i bring my own shopping bag when i go do my shopping. do you?

klutz

i keep walking into furniture --- something to do with my lankiness and my desire to move quickly from point A to point B that i fail to see the obstacles immediately in front of me, i think. i now have a nasty bruise on my right thigh thanks to walking into the edge of a table yet again!!! :(

different worlds

my mother and i come from two different worlds. am i the result of education? is this why i see things differently from her? or am i simply the result of being part of a different generation?

my mother sees marriage as something that happens for life no matter how good or bad the marriage may be. i, on the other hand, believe in giving your best shot in your marriage and if things don't work out, at least, you know you tried to make it work before walking away from it. i don't think it is wrong to walk away from a marriage in order to become a happier person. i don't think that one should stay in a marriage "for thier children's sake" as i believe that two unhappy parents who never see eye to eye do not make ideal role models for their kids.

am i wrong in believing in seeking personal happiness? is it wrong to want to be happy? isn't happiness what we all seek in life?

just me and my book

i spent the afternoon reading a book in starbucks while sipping a mango passionfruit frappucino...ah, such bliss...

nosing around on a friday afternoon

i nosed around the curve after work today. i didn't realize just how many food outlets are now opened there. i've always been going there for the sunday market and to some of the other retail outlets. the last time i had food there was eons ago when they had only food outlets on the ground floor. now, there are food outlets on the first floor.

i had lunch in one of the food outlets on the first floor today. food was mediocre, but it was a nice change. besides, it was a friday afternoon and i wanted to do something in the afternoon.

mind set

why do some students resist learning??? i've a student from saudi arabia who seems to be resisting almost everything that is asked of him to do in class. my other students are saudis too and they are pretty good at getting things done when instructed to do so in class but not this one student.

he goes mia often and when he does turn up for class, he tends to disrupt it. you know, i sometimes cannot help but wish that he stayed in bed --- life would be a lot easier for me if he didn't turn up for class.

he is simply not motivated to learn and we're talking about a government sponsored student here. he is thinking of continuing his studies in one of the local universities but i don't see how he is going to survive with so little english proficiency which leads me to the next question --- what makes people want to leave their countries and study in another country where not only is the language completely different from their native language, but the writing system as well? if you were to ask me, learning anything at a higher level is difficult enough in a language that you know well, let alone trying to do it in a foreign language! don't get me wrong, i am aware that it is do-able but why complicate matters and make it more difficult than it already is??? the people whom you will be competing against already have one problem less --- they know and use the language well.

one must be highly motivated to master a foreign language in order to be able to pursue higher education in the foreign language. i simply don't see how this student is going to survive in university when he can barely string a sentence in my proficiency class. besides, i see his avoidance of doing work in my class as a sign that he is going to avoid doing work in any other class in his discipline of study. i don't think he is going to go far without a drastic change in mind set.

untruths

why do people tell untruths? do they not realize that the truth will eventually surface over time? i'd rather not divulge any personal information about myself rather than tell untruths that the others around me would later discover.

things are beginning to make sense now. this american woman at work said that "No man wants to get married." the strange part about it was that she also told me that she had a husband. so was i not to infer from that that at least one man married her?

today, i was told by a third party that she is not married and that the "husband" that she was referring to is really a "husband-to-be". ahhh....now things are beginning to make sense...

i was also told that she only met the man in malaysia which means that she has known her "husband-to-be" less than three months since she only arrived in malaysia in late april this year.

word gets around. people around you are listening to everything you say and do and they start to wonder if you are sending out mixed messages. it would have been better had she not mentioned anything specific about her relationship with that man (not that anyone was interested in her affairs). see how telling untruths is really a waste of time???

irony

i used to work for this organization that required that i wear black to work everyday. i have since left that organization but now when i go shopping for clothes, i tend to find myself purchasing black clothes. is it out of habit after all those years of having to wear black to work? who knows... it is a nice colour and it doesn't show any stains should i spill anything on it!

thing is, now, i have a choice of whether or not to wear black to work. it no longer is a required dress code for me now but rather a choice that i make should i decide to dress in black for the day.