cartoon me

i stumbled across this really cool website by accident really. this is my self portrait. 

pinching business

the cube is pinching clients from the place that we both work.
  
i don't get why she is doing what she is.  she claims to be making 12K for just 3 day's work and often says, "I don't need to be doing this," so, pray tell, why is she travelling to a student's home just to teach 3 students for a mere 2K???  

worse, why is she pinching work???  ethically, i don't think what she is doing is right.  strangely enough, this person prays... an oxymoron, no?   

besides, did she not think that this piece of information would eventually make its way back to someone at the centre???

so much for her high horse talk --- seems that she's willing to stoop low to do this.  

two days ago, she dropped by the centre for a meeting with the owner at around noon and left the office around 2 in the afternoon. Stepping into the lift around 7 pm later in the day, I met her at the lift --- she was still in the building!!!  I asked her what she was doing still around and she claimed to be "counselling students about university admissions".  yeah rite!!!  she was listening in for gossip and was schmoozing the students so that she can later pinch them.

The Loner by Josephine Cox

i finished reading this book in the wee hours of this morning.  it is another one of my many bookcrossing finds.

Everything Nice by Ellen Shanman

and this, is my latest completed read.  i found this book in the bookcrossing zone in one utama unregistered and intend to register it soon. 

ken robinson on creativity in schools

i happened to stumble upon this great site while surfing and found a series of wonderful 21 minute lectures on a vast range of topics.  i particularly like this one by Ken Robinson on how schools are responsible for people unlearning creativity, that all children are born creative and that it is public education is responsible for making them unlearn creativity.

i found this lecture not only entertaining (full of English wit) but also points out the obvious --- really, what is it really this thing that we call "education"?

eat, pray, love by Elizabeth Gilbert

this is my latest just completed read.  truth be told, this is one book that i have heard a lot of hype about (oprah was raving about it), kept picking up a copy and browsing through it in bookstores but never really felt the urge to purchase it (it wasn't on my list of must reads).

so, how did i get around to reading the book?  well, i was talking about it with a colleague at work and i happened to mention that i thought that it was a lot of hype, that it was written from an american's perspective about "finding spirituality" when really it is nothing more than about the writer's mid-life crisis and realization that she wanted to get out of her present life.  it is about being able to slow down and accept things as they come rather than expecting things to happen as often is expected by western values.

so, this colleague of mine offered me the book to read as although she bought the book four months ago, she never got around to completing it (she only got as far as readubgting the first part of the three part book) as there were too many parts of the writer sobbing on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night.  that was when she offered it to me... it was kind of a challenge, sort of "see how far you can get before you give up on it".

although i never found the book as enlightenig as oprah, and perhaps half of the world, did, i did finish reading the book.  okay, it was readable but was there anything i found enlightening in it? sadly, no  :(

like i said before, it would be enlightening if you're an american indulging in way too much of me, me, me, i guess.

simply NOT nice

there is only one way to describe rusty's behavior towards plump girl today --- RUDE!!!

why do the students adore him???  the female students were dreamily telling me that he "has a nice car, it's 2.0" and that he has "his own company".  one even went on to say that "i can be with him because he is always busy doing something" = meaning that he would be a good provider.

okay, so can somebody please explain to me why the hell is he working as a part-time english teacher???  he even asked kadesh how much a full time teacher makes --- a sign that he is considering a full time position.

and oh, i'm sure he's always busy doing something --- he's busy shagging MEN!!!  oh, in case i haven't mentioned it before, we suspect that rusty's gay.

the girls are no doubt shallow but i wonder if they are aware that a teacher's salary isn't enough to pay for fancy wheels which cost 125k brand new.  when are they gonna realize that the fancy spanky wheels are courtesy of rusty's wealthy boyfriend???  yup, sorry girls... he's a taker! (how else would he be able to afford such wheels???)  :P

i don't know about you but rude is NOT hot in my books.

real men don't park cars in a shopping mall and then not know where they left them!  rusty took the girls to 1-utama one day and then got lost looking for his car.  a sure sign of not possessing a male brain, i'm afraid.

Latin American Movie Marathon

i was at the movies yesterday afternoon as well as today afternoon watching latin american movies.  out of the nine movies showing, i narrowed down my selection to three and watched one yesterday and the other two today.

of the three, i enjoyed la camara oscura, an argentinean movie, best.  i liked how the images were visually presented to evoke the emotions.  there were parts in the movie where animation was beautifully used to show the dream world of a child's imagination as she reads a book. this movie also uses still photography as art and imagination.

the story is simple.  it is about a child, gertrudis, who grew up into a woman feeling thinking that she is unattractive and ugly until one day, a photographer shows her her beauty and makes her feel beautiful.

the other two movies which i watched today was the pope's toilet (uruguay) and nonna's trip (mexico).

pluck

i went to see pluck last night and it was absolutely hilarious!!!

a spot of bother by Mark Haddon

this is what i'm currently reading at the moment. it's another one of my bookcrossing finds.  i've got another 100 pages to go.  talk about a dysfunctional family!  

ways i save $$$

1. i've been cooking at home and saving $$$ and have discovered that i really like broccolli after all!!!  :)

2. i re-use grocery bags as trash bags.

3. i get books free from bookcrossing!

4. i hardly ever pay full prices for books anymore.  instead, i shop for books at discounts at bookxcess and warehouse sales where i can buy the books at a fraction of the original retail prices.

5. i load up on essential items during sales.

6. i put my change in  a glass jar and when it is full, i have extra cash!!!  :)

7. i buy local fruits in season (my favourites are mangosteens and rambutans)!!!

8. i take my newspapers, plastics, cardboard boxes and tin cans to the recycling centre and make some cash $$$

9. i recycle A4 paper by printing on the other side

10. i make my credit card's cash back rewards programme work for me. 

11. i collect points when shopping in 1-utama.

12. i collect points with bonuslink when i shop at any of its retailers

12. i read free newspapers or i go online to read the news.

13. i use skype to talk long distance.

14. i make sure that all electrical appliances (except for the fridge) are switched off when i leave home.

15. i read books instead of watch movies (it takes longer to finish reading a book).

16. i go grocery shopping with a list.

17. i always make a point to compare prices and read the labels before i make a decision.

18. i carry my own shopping bags to avoid the extra charges for plastic bags over the weekends.

pink!

completed reads

i finished reading this book quite a while ago (somewhere last  month, i think) but forgot to update it.  it's a nice teen reading book (now, what was i doing with a teen book, you may ask??? hey, my reading repertoire is wide!!!).  this was another one of my bookcrossing finds in 1-utama.  

i also completed reading this book... and yes, it is another one of my bookcrossing finds!

the preacher

got into work this morning, said hey to the oz sheep who happened to be standing in my way in the office.

he asked me what Mc Donalds was like this morning (seeing that I was holding a Mc D's coffee cup in my hand) and when I said ok, he went on to say that the food there is isn't that great and on top of that is unhealthy and then, he walked out.

note that this comment came from someone who i hardly know and who, on top of that, has a pretty huge rear end himself. what a strange person this oz sheep is ...

This is what happened...

I was told today that Nat was told to leave yesterday morning itself. The decision took not only me but her by surprise.

It seems that Nat went to work on Monday morning prepared to teach when Post told her that she could leave yesterday morning.

What is Post trying to do? Isn't she aware that we are all judged by what we do? Does she not know how to treat people like human beings? So much for "looking out for the teachers" --- people believe more what you do rather than what you say...

Prior to this, Scotty was told to leave the company without saying goodbye or explaining his sudden departure to the kids. Perhaps Uncle was right in leaving the announcement of his departure till the very last minute...

I think people going is nothing personal --- it is just a part of life. Circumstances change, opportunities arise and people move. It is all just a fact of life. Post has to grow up and stop treating everyone else who is moving on as enemies of the state.

gone :(

went into the office this morning after a week away from the office, saw nat and she told me and another colleague of mine who had also just come back from a week's break that "oh, btw, today's my last day".

i was surprised as she handed in her notice in the middle of last month (after raya) and her last day should have been on october 13.  apparently, the dos decided to let her go earlier.  the dos, when announcing her leaving, was very clinical about it.

i hugged her goodbye before my class began for the day and i knew i was going to miss her.  she's like a kid sister to me.  why can't the centre hold onto staff???

so out with nat and shah, and in with three new faces, one of which is australian (and judging by his mannerisms today, seems to come packed with a lot of attitude).  it's his first day at work and he was already getting annoyed about minor things.  okay, the place isn't the most organized and some people seem to be fond of instructing others (or maybe it's just a lack of social interaction skills??? i don't know...) but surely he can keep his thoughts to himself on his very first day at work???

okay, so i'm guessing that the mat salleh sheep isn't gonna last that long... a month tops??? stay tuned...

completed reads

and here are two more books that i've finished reading:

this is another bookcrossing zone find.

this is another one of my many warehouse sales finds.  this book offers some pretty practical ways of getting along with people via the language that you use as well as the right body language.

back to the grind

after 9 blissful days of not having to wake up so early in the mornings, it's back to the grind tomorrow  :(  ... it's definitely something i'm not looking forward to but bills need to be paid  :(

sad

:(  :(  :(

it's too quiet
there's too much space
i'd rather have the space filled up
it's nice not having to do everything by myself
it's nice figuring things out with someone

it's nice...
... having someone to push the trolley full of mineral water
... having someone to decide if the pair of shoes is happening or not
... having someone to hold the shoe boxes in a shoe sale while i go scout for more
... having someone guard the shoes that i have selected way from other potentially crazy women shoppers while i go look at other shoe designs
... having someone to have breakfast with... and lunch... and tea... and dinner... and supper
... having someone open the door for me
... having someone to eat ice cream at night with
... having someone to walk with
... having someone to watch the world go by with
... having someone to share books with
... having someone to go shopping for happening toilet seats with
... having someone to shop for books with
... having someone to talk to about what's happening (or not happening) at work
... having someone hold my hand
... having someone to share a meal with
... having someone to have a laugh with
... having someone to bounce ideas with
... having someone to share a bottle of mineral water with
... having someone go to the mechanic with
... having someone to ride in cabs with when the car is in the workshop over the weekend
... having someone to share my thoughts with
... having someone to go to the bookcrossing zone with to select books
... having someone to help decide if a handbag is happening or not
... having someone pick a really nice and happening handbag in a colour that i would not normally select on my own