Wednesday, July 30, 2003

My inner-self?

Went for my second interview at Denney & Denney today. It was a hellish day for me coz I didn't sleep a wink at all last night and the whole day my perception of the universe was warped to say the least. But on the other hand, the interview was good. I've got a good feeling about it. Azmi the interviewer who was my antagonizer the last time was very nice today - he must have been testing me the last time.

But today's interview is only profiling. I had to answer 93 questions about my preferences on the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) form. Amazingly, these are the results.

ENFJ
Warm, empathetic, responsive, and responsible. Highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivation of others. Find potential in everyone; want to help others fulfill their potential. May act as a catalyst for individual and group growth. Loyal, responsive to praise and criticism. Sociable, facilitate others in a group, and provide inspiring leadership.

ENTJ
Frank, decisive, assumes leadership readily. Quickly see illogical and inefficient procedures and policies, develop and implement comprehensive systems to solve organizational problems. Enjoy long-term planning and goal setting. Usually well informed, well read, enjoy expanding their knowledge and passing it on to others. Forceful in presenting their ideas.

Food for thought this. How accurate do you think this is? =P

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Show 'em attitude and you get called back

Interesting thing happened today, well not today, yesterday, seeing it's already 1am Tuesday. I got a call back from Denney & Denney asking me to go in for a second interview. I must say I was surprised. I thought that after my first 'heated; interview with them, they would have consigned my resume to the Shredder Hell. They probably had no one else to call, must have been the last resort. =P So I'm to go in on this Wednesday at 11.30am. Wonder what's going to happen THIS time?

Monday, July 28, 2003

Minimal lines + phenomenal stunt cost = Terminator 3

Sunday was a full day for me. Had brekkie with a friend - I almost took a rain check coz I couldn't wake up! The guy wanted to meet at 8am and I was up the previous night chatting with James until 3am. Well, needless to say I was late by half an hour, and he had to wait outside my gate. Haha. I must defend myself and say that I'm usually very punctual but due to unforseen circumstances *grin* I was late. Hee hee.

Later went to see T3 and I must say I was disappointed. The scene where the TX was driving that heavy loader and destruction reigned for a whole 15 minutes - all I thought was: "My gawd, what a waste of raw materials..." Seriously, all those props containing precious metal elements could have been used for want of better things than props in a Hollywood film that is a rehash of it's predecessors' glory days. Nothing can top T2. They should have stopped there. T3 is nothing but minimal lines and minimal acting skills. Nothing but impassioned faces from the two main casts. The ending was most unsatisfying. I left with a... disjointed feeling in my bones... like something left undone by my eyeballs.

But then that's my two cents worth.

Sunday, July 27, 2003

Change of destination, though not continent

Seems like I'm going to Perth instead of Melbourne now. We discussed this and that, and then this and that like forever, and finally settled on Perth. Yay for me! This time we will travel down south to Albany for some whale watching. Now, I'm looking for places to stay and go and all that. But we will definately go back to The Alderney on Hay. It's a great apartment. Or maybe we should try The Kingstone on Hay which just opened last August, coz it's ONE block nearer to the shopping strips!. =P

So Kim, expect to see me at your doorstep pretty soon. *grin*

Friday, July 25, 2003

Thank you Masrey a.k.a The One

I feel so relieved! Thanks to Masrey. He helped me solved my image posting problem. I was going loco. I was seriously starting to think that I must be the most incompetent computer user in the world; in spite of me programming my other site in html coding from scratch. THANK YOU MASREY!

Apparently the problem wasn't my codes, but the host. I signed up with geocities and geocities doesn't allow external links! It was as simple as that. And I was banging my head against the brick firewall all this time. Sheesh... *sigh*

Why won't the darn tag work?????!

Argh! It's driving me crazy! C.R.A.Z.Y... CRAZY! I can't get the image tags to work. I back-tracked, I copied, I debugged, everything, I did everything and STILL my images can't be posted here. WHY? I did it before. SO WHY CAN'T IT WORK NOW? ARRRRRRRGHHHH! WHY WHY WHY? *Feet stomping, jumping up and down* I even sign up a free website and all AND still it won't work. I've recheck my spellings and typing and STILL (!) IT WON'T WORK. Somebody, please HELP ME!

Thursday, July 24, 2003

Encased

Living in our own little sphere
We look but we do not see
The air around us doth but shimmer
Hiding acts of various devilries

My little sphere is not my world
Trapped in the cyclone's swirls
Slowly I try my fingers unfurl
To drawback at its stinging whorls

Estranged, isolated from the universe
I stand alone in my darkened space
Trying in vain to see what's worse
Surrounded by humanity or encased

Glimpses of companionship I see
Telling me to be all I can but be
To reach out for such camaraderie
Let live or let it but be

I try again, my fingers reach
For naught that I can see
Scared but determined to breach
Out of this spiral, be not lonely...

~ sharon l.y.teo ~

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

Missing au so much I'm going home

Kidding. Though not the going to au part. I'm going to Melbourne next month! I've been searching online for self-contained apartments that falls within our budget for so long that my eyes are crossed several times over. Gee what a sight. +_+ Tried to convince the family to go to Perth but they said they want to go somewhere they haven't been - Melbourne - but I've already been... It's a great place and all but not for family fun. Melbourne is for people in my age group - music, pubs, great cafes and bars, artsy fartsy places and all that. Don't think mom will enjoy that. Hmm.... what to do what to do. Maybe we should go to Blue Mountain, heard that it was beautiful and quiet, just the thing for mom and Lee Hoon. Though not for Lee Ling though. She wants to shop. We will only be there for a week, so I have to plan an itinerary now that satisfies everyone. Me I'm just happy to be there is all. Maybe I can swing by Perth and see Kim and Basem and then some. Hmm....Virgin Blue got great rates. AUD$399 for return tickets. Such a great temptation. Perth will always be special to me, however brief I was there, it IS home...

Tuesday, July 22, 2003

I'm sorry

What do you do when you've hurt someone you care about? I knew the consequences when I posted a certain blog broadcasting my frustration and anger at certain friends; I knew it was a double-edged sword yet I did it anyway. While I'm relieved that my 'broadcast' eased my frustration, I am horrified, now, that I've hurt their feelings. This is not something I wish on my friends, yet I did it anyway knowing that the possibility of such consequences existed and now I’m sorry for it. At that time, I thought my entry was justified as it was my blog, but nothing justifies hurting people you care about. I should have had it out with her at the moment of dissension, then I wouldn't feel so disgusted with myself now. I just had a talk with her over a paper cup of soya drink - I explained my part and she explained hers. We finally settled it, but I still feel saddened for my part. I'm sorry, and I hope that we put this pass us as a learning step to a stronger bond.

Wasteful habits

I went for my sister's company dinner at one of those opulent Chinese restaurants last Sunday. My gosh, some of our rich Chinese people are such extravagant and wasteful consumers. They ordered the best of everything - shark fins soup, two different type of abalone dish, giant shitake mushrooms measuring 5cm in diameter, tiger prawns, yam basket with cashew nuts, sea cucumber with pak choy in oyster sauce, crab sticks, friend rice with prawns, and lychee dessert. The bill came up to RM750.00. Everything was 'liao' - filing. We Chinese fill up on the multitude of dishes, while Malays consume more rice than 'fillings'. What appalled me the most were the leftovers. There were half a mound of fried rice and shitake mushrooms left and it was not doggy-bagged but rather thrown away, and how I know it was thrown away? Dirty plates and tissues were dumped into said plates when the waitresses came to clear our plates away for the desserts. Me and my sister just looked at each other... can't very well gainsay the boss lady when she had already given the silent directive.

So is it our innate culture to spend money needlessly so that you can 'save face' in front of your friends and subordinates? All such rich food in great quantity enough to feed an army. Heck the leftovers were enough for two adults and then some. This reminds me of Shu Qi the Empress Dowager of China who had 128 kind of dishes prepared for her daily dinner but she only ate a few of her favourite dishes. Nothing but a show of power; 'show' being the operative word.

Friday, July 18, 2003

Mother of OMG, the Jusco sale

Went to the One Day Only Jusco member sale at Midvalley today.

Ohhhmeeeegawdddssss, was it packed! I had to wade through throngs of grimy human bodies just to get to my target - the bed linen dept. There were soooo many people in every iota of space that it was impossible not to breathe each other's exhalations. Ewww! I debated earlier if I should subject myself to such torture, but the desire to own a 318-thread-count bed sheet won me over and started me on my quest. So I hailed a cab, knowing that that was the only time I'll get to sit for a long time, and commanded, "Midvalley, please."

5 hours later, I emerged with my sister, Lee Hoon, both with fistful of plastic bags filled with our hard-fought purchases. I went there for the bed linen, and came out with other stuff. Typical I know. Sigh. I can imagine Wei Yong rolling his eyes just about now. Hey but my other stuff included RM40 worth of SALMON! Oh sweet salmon... yummy, yummy, yummy, got a lovely feeling in my tummy... *GRIN* I so can't wait for tomorrow coz I'll be cooking it for dinner. Oohhh the anticipation is killing me.

My feet is tired, my hands hurt, and my back aches something fierce, but it was all worth it. Anything for salmon. =P

Interestingly enough, I saw Aaron lining up with his girlfriend at the Redemption counter. The first thought I had was "Omg, I look horrible" and ducked outta sight, and the second was, "Why the heck should I hide?" So I stayed in place but pretended not to see him. He probably saw me and did the same. Ours is a history best forgotten.


Thursday, July 17, 2003

Epigone

Shocking...I just got a whiff that my former boss has pissed off the MDC again. I have no idea what the transgression is this time but the last fiasco was enough to put her in a lot of people's blacklist. Then now this... That lady should learn to be more diplomatic instead of dogmatic and invective in her abjuration of other peoples's work. Maybe she's trying to push ahead and climb to the top in her own gauche way, or maybe she wants to be a pioneer of something-lib or whatever... she might even be lauded for it in the future coz who knows how the space-time continuum will fold, but at what cost? It'll be a Pyrrhic victory. Fame (or infamy) may come after death but what the heck for?

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Angelic posterior kickers

Ooh, went to watch 'Charlie's Angel: Full Throttle' with Lydia today at Midvalley. It was all about girl power, dude. Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz were very watchable. Throw in gorgeous girls, kick ass action sequence highlighting girl power, dynamic bodies (Madison's car) and gadgets, rejuvenate old angels and wham! you have a blockbuster. Those Angels really kicked butt, and they get to do it being beautiful and 'high-heeled'. Amazing how little they must weigh to be able to land from a full flip right side up and in stance on 4-inch stiletto heels. I want those boots! Of course I won't be able to wear them if I want to be vertical, but they are great for sitting pretty. =P Carrie Fisher a.k.a Princess Leah did a cameo, and the original Charlie's Angel Jacklyn Smith appeared in a halo to advised a confused Dylan, who was distraught over an avenging ex who is the head of the O'Grady mob. Isn't it nice that Drew Barrymore is the only one with the past flashbacks. Must have something to do with the fact that she's a producer. Haha. Ohhh.... the guys in the film are fine. Umm, um, ummmmm.... Especially the surfer guy. I bet every female (and male) watching must have been thinking lots of sexy thoughts about that hunk.

And Demi Moore... she looked really good for a 40+ year old. The old Hollywood path to the plastic surgeon's door must be quite worn out by now by these movie stars. Well, Marilyn Monroe did it, Clark Gable did it, so why not Demi? It's her body. Though I did think she was too much on the thin side. Imagine if the cameras add on 10 pounds, what do you think she looks like in real life? Life must be really lucrative being a stick figure with boobs, and long hair. Her ex, Bruce Willis did a cameo too. Too bad he played an old(er) man. Thought he was pretty hunky too. If the cosmetics dept's a psychic, then Bruce Willis will be ageing well like Sean Connery.

I would like to watch it again, since I laughed a lot, but the problem is I can't remember what I was laughing at. Must be because I didn't get much sleep last night. Kinda blurry. Drank lots of coffee though, even though I don't touch that stuff anymore.

Monday, July 14, 2003

The Children of Dune lives on

This latest installment of the Dune movie saga is good. Hallmark aired it last night at 9pm. I'm not talking about the plot or story line, but the sheer beauty of the music and visuals, and SFX; all meshing together to bring forth emotions in its viewers, is just amazing. We all know the story already, but the way it was brought together in a film makes it somehow... more evocative in a way, especially the ending where it was "time to settle accounts". THAT was the best part of the movie aesthetically of course. The lament was of joy of the birth, the executions of treasonists and the despair of expected death and pain. I watched those scenes over and over again, absorbing the lament and each time feeling the pull of the emotions emanating from the screen. I love Hallmark. =)

I just can't believe we'll have to wait a week to see the next installment. Sigh. Here's to patience, the only thing I have left.

Friday, July 11, 2003

Scratching like a monkey doused with flea powder

Bah. I am home on a Friday night when I was suppose to be out enjoying a cigar and red wine. Why? Coz I'm having an allergic reaction to something I ate for dinner and I have no idea what the hell is it that I'm reacting to, but I do have an idea though. I had a chicken cornish and salad. That's it. Yet now I'm scratching like a monkey, with the complexion of a Cardasian(I have a grey cast), AND a one-side-only-puffy under-eye!!! *WAIL* I have never had this kind of reaction before. The cornish's pastry did taste weird - it tasted slightly of soap. Maybe it WAS soap and I'm being poisoned! Maybe if I had gurgled, I bet there would have been bubbles coming out of my mouth! ARRRGH- *choke choke* bloop bloop bloop...

Excuse me, I'm gonna bathe again, and throw Johnson's Baby Powder all over myself, again. Maybe it'll help, for now.

Wednesday, July 09, 2003

omg,omg,omg,omg, OMG

I just did a random search on my name and found this! I wrote this article last year for the Perth Independent on Jarrah Honey and its antibacterial properties, and it got into LISWA!!! This is so cool!
Suddenly I feel so much better, however small this little personal victory is. =D
Amidst a maelstrom

It's been a weird week for me. First I had to ditch my plans to join TJJ's Open day, then gym instructors nagged me to start my weight loss programme (wish I didn't coz I'm so tired as it took TWO hours to complete on top of my aerokick session), then spent Sunday with my cousins and family whom I'm not seen for ages (it was most disjointed for me, I really felt out of place and just plain BAH coz I'm jobless; a state I'm not proud of), took the Nature's Tea and now I'm purging and cramping every 10 minutes, and then my sis suggested I go work in KFC! I wish I can just wish myself onto another plain and just be.

I wonder how death feels? Would it be calm and ended, or would it be River of Flame and Judgment Day? Bah... senseless thoughts indeed.

Tuesday, July 08, 2003

Holy cow! My cousin's an artistic genius!

I've just been made known to my no-longer-little cousin's comic site, and wotta site it is! It is not just the drawing style but the sheer artistry of the plot itself.. Hats off to Tze Ping a.k.a The Jaded. She is on her way to being one of the comic world's youngest and FEMALE mavens, methinks. She is going to go far, in whatever she puts her mind to.

I really enjoyed reading ALL her comics, and her comments at the bottom about her progress is helpful coz it helps me to understand what she's experimenting and her thought process. If you have the time and you're into comics, do have a look-see.


Wednesday, July 02, 2003

Living in our own little sphere,
We look but we do not see,
The air around us doth but shimmer
Hiding acts of various devilries.

-- Sharon

Below is the poem that has always kept me in line. It also helped me win a Poem Recital competition a long time ago...

The Cold Within

Six humans trapped by happenstance
In dark and bitter cold
Each one possessed a stick of wood--
Or so the story's told.

Their dying fire in need of logs,
But the first one held hers back,
For on the faces around the fire,
She noticed one was black.

The next one looking cross the way
Saw one not of his church,
And could not bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.

The third one sat in tattered clothes
He gave his coat a hitch,
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich?

The rich man just sat back and thought
Of wealth he had in store,
And how to keep all he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor.

The black man's face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from sight,
For he saw in his stick of wood
A chance to spite the white.

And the last man of this forlorn group
Did naught except for gain,
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.

Their logs held tight in death's stilled hands
Was proof of human sins;
They did not die from cold without--
They died from cold within.

-- James Patrick Kinney




Action equals reaction

Yesterday came back from my interview at D&D feeling most put out.. The interview lasted an hour and it started out okay, then leaning on the verge of hostility then settling on a tangent of antagonism. I had to fill out a form five pages deep with questions like Physical and Mental status, vision status, and etc. But I left the siblings section empty. Of course the interviewer noticed and asked, "Why didn't you fill out this part?" quite aggressively whilst thrusting the form in my face! I mean, what the-? I explained that I don't give out details about my family that lightly, after all, this is the FIRST interview. I do not see how details about my family will affect my application. The Interviewer then explained that they use such information when employees applied for leave in relation to their family like sick or dead family members and they will be able to gauge if the employee is telling the truth based on the number of siblings in the initial form; to which I replied I am not yet an employee and I don't see why I can't provide him with all the info he needs IF and WHEN he hires me. I will not make the same mistakes again. Last time I filled that part out, my mom was called up on her hp by some stupid marketing rookie asking her to buy something. Idiots! My family doesn't like it when their details are given out to strangers, and I have to respect that. They think I have no idea about some on their unethical back-alley dealings. Hmmph. If he thinks I'm about to provide him with a free calling list he can take his assumption and stuff it where the sun doesn't shine!

Oh and he wanted a copy of my IC! What the hell? I told him No and he asked why and what did I think he would do with it. I simply replied my copy of IC might be used to buy shares or something. Anything can be forged if bad people have the right 'tools'. To which he replied, I can cross it out, and the reason he wanted the copy is to determine if I'm legit or not. I wanted to flash my IC and my finger at him right there and then. Then the copywriter interjected that the interviewer was only making a point as she could see that I was clearly getting angry.

I don't know if I want to work at this place anymore. It seems nice and the copywriter said she enjoyed working there very much. Maybe the interviewer is testing me. I don't know. Oh well, we'll see two weeks from now then.