The Parasite On The Tick

Last Friday, my company, or rather, my division met up for a game of inter department bowling at Berjaya Times Square. It was quite fun with all the cheering and shouting that went on. There were roughly about 800 of us and it really struck me how big my company is. This is not full attendance and this is one of the several divisions of my bank.

Whenever I give my name card, people always gape at the title of my departments. It was only after a few months of being with the bank when I asked my then boss, "What department AM I in anyway?". Unfortunately, my timing for asking the question was in front of my partners who dissolved into giggles. My boss merely shook her head.

I'm in the Co-Brand & Innovation which is part of Marketing & Sales of Cards & Unsecured Business under the Consumer Banking Division. Confused yet? Yeah, I'm the little bug on the slightly bigger bug.

Downloads

Thanks to Kelvin, I now am able to watch what I downloaded from BitComet. Problem is, my broadband isn't fast enough and my downloads are slow and painful. And unfortunately, it seems that everyone is into Season 7 when I have only watched until Season 4. Hence, the download capabilities is greatly reduced with past episodes.

I will persevere...

Oil & Water

I've just been handed a project at work that involves something totally un-me. It's like asking me to eat green leafy veggies every day. And the bosses want it pronto.

But wait! I'm on long leave starting this Thursday! See how enthusiastic I am about this project...

Un-Happy Feet

Everyone said it was good. Some said it resembled Riverdance, and all went away tapping their feet happily exclaiming "Oh, that was so cuuuuute!". Me? I walked away in absolute disgust. Why?

Tell me, would it have taken the world to stop commercial fishing at the Artic if they had seen something as phenomenal as tap dancing penguins? Okay, so there AREN'T tap dancing penguins. But there ARE gorgeous and cute creatures out there in the real world that are going extinct this very moment.

The part when Mumble returned to his clan with the tracking device, I was absolutely sure he had brought annihilation to his entire clan especially when the humans tracked him down. I was half expecting the wreakage of their home with the bulldozing ship and all the penguins scattering in fright and confused anger.

I wonder how many who have watched this movie felt that in real life, the penguins would have died generations after generations until a mere handful would be left before any futile attempt is made to save them?

Let's try something closer to home. What if the movie were made of a cute looking shark, with lovely parents. Then suddenly the poor kid sees his mother with her fin sliced off and left to bleed to death. I wonder, will that stop people eating shark's fin? No, I don't have that faith in humans.

We are like a virus, a plaque that spreads and kills everything in our paths - Matrix. How absolutely true. What are we doing, as individuals, to change our paths of destruction?

Looooong Break Looming

It's finally December and Christmas is coming!!! I absolutely love Christmas and have always felt we've enjoyed several "white" Christmases despite the sweltering heat here in Malaysia. All I had to do was stare into the tv when they were showing one of those Christmassy movies, with a good thick snow outside the home, with snowflakes gently falling and the family cuddled up in front of the fireplace.

So much for my Hollywood Christmases but somehow it would be THE perfect Christmas when I'd be able to do that one day. First, I need to be in a really cold country. Secondly, I'd need to be in a home with a huge fireplace because in that weather, I doubt if my quadruple layering would permit me to sit still.

As kids, we'd usually spend our Christmases in Melaka. We'd decorate the trees with cotton wool, sing carols until midnight (or until our eyes shut). One year, my cousins and my siblings saved up every coin we had and pooled our resources together to buy everyone gifts. THAT was really fun as we planned this in surprise, from purchasing to wrapping to playing Santa past midnight. That was one of my best Christmases ever.

Anyways, I'm taking my holidays starting next Thursday until Jan. Phew! This is fantastic! I've never had so much leave EVER, even after working 7 years in my previous company. Banks do have a lot of benefits... :)

Weird

Before I sleep, there is one thing that I found weird today. Over the last 4 days, when I couldn't sleep from too much sleeping, my mind wondered and grasped whatever that would distract me from sleeping.

One of it was the thought that Jan should not be leaving her house gate open when she goes out, which she often does even when she's gone for a couple of hours. It crossed my mind that someone could be watching her patterns and could very well ambush her as soon as she reaches home. So I thought this weekend, I'd better just tell her to be careful since the PJ house is located in the areas with the highest rate of crime.

And today, she tells me she's been having nightmares about the EXACT same thing at the EXACT period of these few days. I swear I didn't read her blog nor did she tell me prior to this evening.

At least now she's never going to leave her gate open but this is a strange phenomenon.

Noticing Nonsense

Today must be a festival for the Indians because all my Indian neighbours have lit candles all over their garden.

Then it suddenly struck me, most major celebrations have some form of lights. Chinese have their lanterns and firecrackers, Malays and Indians have their lamp oils and Christmas lights.

Okay, going to stop noticing nonsense and go to sleep now.

Horrible Hosts

Both my parents and in-laws are fantastic hosts. When you stay with them, you are never in want or need. Both will feed you incessantly even though you've just had a meal or that their fridges are chock full of food.

When you put both sets of parents together, as how my parents have stayed with my in-laws recently, my parents were fed until they nearly burst out of their seams!

So it is absolutely a shocking and horrible fact that their offsprings, KS and I (well, more so I), are truly terrible hosts. I've always known it but the knowing of a fact is never as painful as it is when you are being faced with it.

KS has already gotten over last weekend's visit by my in-laws but I'm still recuperating from the embarrassment and lack of hosting skills we've shown onto them. They deserved so much more than our lack of attention to providing some even basic needs such as breakfast!

Ok, I won't go into details but the only way I know how to rectify this is to host more and more people at our home so that we know what to provide without being asked. Anyone care to be our experiments?

Bit Torrent

My colleague introduced this software to me and I finally figured out how to download Gilmore Girls. Unfortunately, when I play the file, it comes out as a sound file and not a visual file! I'm so frustrated! Even though I just uploaded the latest version of Winamp it refuses to play.

I'm still ill but at least I can stay up a bit longer now and had my first proper meal which I promptly purged after half an hour. The chocolate flavoured medicine the doctor gave may be a little mild but I'd rather it mild than have it clamp my entire passage like the last time around!

Stomach Flu

I've been sick like a dog the last 2 days. Only managed to consume about 3 glasses of warm water in the last 36 hours and yet I still manage to purge.

But it's great being able to stay at home without having to worry about getting an MC. I have 13 days leave to clear so this is one good way of clearing it! Well, not exactly.

Ok, my brain isn't functioning anymore and my fingers are curled. I'm going to sleep again.