Visited Countries

I found this neat website while I was surfing around in other people's blogs. It maps out all the countries (in red) that you have visited.

Still so many grey..... *sigh

click here to create your own visited countries map

I hate this

Don't you hate it when this happens... ?!?

I had just clicked on the Transfer button to pay my rent... and this is what I got instead ! Argh !

And it wont let me log back in either ! *sob...

How are you supposed to 'Select "Balances"' when you can't even log back into the system ?!?

It's funny how they put "CARE - VERY IMPORTANT" in bold capital letters on their error message. I think "WARNING - VERY IMPORTANT - YOU MIGHT HAVE JUST LOST YOUR LAST TRANSACTION" would be a bit more appropriate.

I wonder what kind of SLAs (Service Level Agreements) they would have for their IT people over in The Bank.

I know that if this happened to us during peak trading times (i.e. like now), most of my colleagues (and me) will probably be facing the firing squad the next day.

Grrrr.... stupid bank... @#$!!%

kids (other people's kids that is)

I spent Chinese New Year Eve playing mahjong and having dinner at the yummy (but slightly expensive) Sea Treasure Restaurant in Crows Nest. We were with my friend who had just given birth to a very cute baby girl. I spent most of my afternoon playing with her. Actually, I was just trying to wake her up. As her mummy didn't want her to sleep too much during the day, so that she could have a good night sleep during the night.

I guess the theory is that if the baby doesn't sleep during the day, then she would sleep probably a bit better throughout the night.

The only problem was that this kid was a sleepaholic. I was tickling her feet, bouncing her and carrying her around. But she would only just open one eye. Look at me. And fall back into a deep slumber.

She even managed to sleep through our session of mahjong. Amazing.

Nevertheless, it is always fun to play with someone elses kids. I've always liked kids, as the eldest in my family, I often had to take care of my younger cousins.

Although I like kids, the thought of having kids right now is a bit out of the question. For the moment, I'm content with playing and doing cool things with my friend's kids, and giving them back to their long-suffering parents, when it is time for their nappy change or if they start to scream.

I would love to be an aunty one day though. But I doubt that would ever happen any time soon.

I've got one brother who is afraid of the opposite sex and the other who wouldn't leave home without a condom in his wallet.

Happy Chinese New Year !!

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone !!!

Wishing you all a very posperous and healthy new year !!

Australia Day

Happy Australia Day Everyone ~~!!!!!!

It feels wrong having to work on the day after Australia Day. I'm so not mentally here. But I have no one else to blame but myself. I was too slow in submitting my annual leave form. Half my colleagues had already done so before me. Bastards.

I spent the afternoon of Australia Day finishing the cleanup of my old apartment and watching the Tennis during the night. I think I saw more of the Melbourne fireworks from the T.V. (during the game) than the Sydney fireworks (which I could see from my friend's apartment).

Oh.. the game. I was so excited. Baghdatis won !!!! It was probably the best comeback I had ever seen ! For the record, Baghdatis def. Nalbandian (3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.). I must admit Nalbandian was good. But Baghdatis kept me glued to my T.V. screen.

I really want to see Baghdatis play against Federer. Lets hope Federer makes it through to the finals.

Move In - Complete

I have finally moved everything from my old placed into my new place !

Believe me. It was no easy feat. The white goods turned out to be the nightmare of the whole ordeal. It took us about 30 minutes to get the fridge from the ground floor to the apartment (on the 3rd floor - no lift). And from the bottom floor of our split level apartment to the kitchen. The staircase was so narrow that my housemate's bf had to take out his power tool and undo the screws of the rail and take the whole staircase hand rail off. But still the guys, managed to take out a piece of the wall.

Oh well... but its nothing that a little bit of putty wont be able to fix. I just hope the Agent wont notice it on the next inspection.

Last night, I came out of my shower and counted 6 new bruises on my arms and legs. When I showed Pete, he said he would have to bubble-wrap me and put a fragile sticker on my forehead. Sigh. A simple... "Ok Dear.. I do all the moving and carrying of heavy stuff from now on", was all I was looking for.

We've also finished cleaning up our old place. I so regret having the cake\shaving cream fight we had during my housemate's birthday party. We gave up on the carpet, so will be getting professional carpet cleaners in to steam clean it.

I swear, that the next time we move, I will get removalists !!

Goodbye my server support guy

Just found out one of my colleagues past away last night. He was still on annual leave. Its sad realising that he wouldn't come back to work anymore. The last time I spoke to him was in December, before I went on my annual leave.

I've been blankly staring at this post for ages now. But I can't seem to be able to type anything.

Life can be such a bitch. His kids are still so young.

To my server support guy... My sincere condolences to you and your family.

You will be severely missed by all.

Why we shouldn't date people from the Internet..

Haha .. This is a classic case of why we shouldn't date people from the Internet.. !


"MARSEILLES, France -- Skirt-chasing playboy Daniel Anceneaux spent weeks talking with a sensual woman on the Internet before arranging a romantic rendezvous at a remote beach -- and discovering that his on-line sweetie of six months was his own mother!"

"I walked out on that dark beach thinking I was going to hook up with the girl of my dreams," the rattled bachelor later admitted.

"And there she was, wearing white shorts and a pink tank top, just like she'd said she would. "But when I got close, she turned around -- and we both got the shock of our lives. I mean, I didn't know what to say. All I could think was, 'Oh my God! it's Mama!' "


Back in the good old days of mIRC, I was hooked with Online chatting. However, I swore that I would never meet any of the people from the chatrooms I frequent. I thought I was pretty safe, as I was only logging into Singaporean channels (and I was in Australia). But as fate has it, the chance came for me to meet some of the people I chatted to every single day. But it didn't turn out to be what I had imagined. The only person who I was really close with, ended up to be the one that I wasn't able to communicate properly to. It was just too weird. This was someone I could talk to for hours non-stop online. But in reality, I could not even hold a full conversation with him.

It was the turning point in my Online Chatting phase.

Anyway, here is the link to the full article :

http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/news/wwn/20051209/113414040002.html

Enjoy !

Pluck Yew

Another important piece of information... (Sent to me from the Peter's Jokes Group).

Isn't history more fun when you know something about it?

Giving the Finger Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers.

Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous weapon was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew" or "pluck yew".

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, "See, we can still pluck yew!

"PLUCK YEW!"

Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodental fricative 'F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute are mistakenly thought to have something to do with an intimate encounter. It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird".

And yew thought yew knew everything...

Banking Sales

I decided to take a late lunch break yesterday afternoon to go to the Bank to deposit a refund cheque. I ignored the calls for hunger from my stomach and left my office around 2.30pm in an attempt to avoid the long queues. There was practically no queues when I arrived at the Bank.

But I was still stuck at the teller for about 25 mins.

The old lady at the teller made some comment about the gloomy weather, and I thinking she was just making some small talk so I replied "Yes, weather is horrible, I so wanted to call in sick today". She replied with something else and punched in my account number from the deposit slip and brought up the account details and asked me if I am the owner of the account.

I replied "Yes.." and she commented that I was a long way away from home. And asked me how long I had been in Sydney. I told her I was here working permanently. She asked me if I was renting and if I was interested in looking to buy a property in Sydney. I told her I had been, but gave up seriously looking for now.

She said my working phone number and mobile number was not on the system, and proceeded to ask for my current work phone number and mobile phone so that she can update my details on the system.

Then came the punch line.

"Since you are interested in the property market can I get someone to contact you in regards to this. They can explain the differences between the types of housing loans offered. How does this sound to you?"

I can't believe she used the 'How does this sound to you' line. That's the sales pitch line from Sales & Marketing 101 !!

All along my tummy had been quietly complaining and my eyes kept on looking down at the cheque she still held in her hand - but had yet to stamp and bank in to my account.

I replied that would be fine. And she asked me which number would it be best to contact me on. Dammit. She had both of my contact numbers. I told her my work line would be the best one - I hardly pickup my work line calls anyway. She stamped my cheque and gave my receipt back with a brochure outlining the financial loans available.

I was just being polite and replied to her one little weather question.

And that little weather question and landed me stranded at the bank teller for nearly half an hour.

So much for being polite.

I am pretty amazed though. That old lady shouldn't be working as a bank teller. She could easily be the leading Sales Rep of any retail or marketing company, and an expert in cold calling.

Soaking Wet

Could it be true ? Does drinking alcohol kill off your brain cells ?! Would drinking excessive alcohol start to kill of all your good brain cells ?!?

As I sit here (soaking wet) pondering this theory, I realise I could be exhibiting some of these symptoms.

My short-term memory is becoming damn short.

When Pete had left for work this morning he had reminded me to remember to take the umbrella he had put next to my shoes. It had been raining cats and dogs for the whole morning.

I got out of bed and doodled around the apartment for a bit until it was time for me to start off for the train station. I looked at the umbrella and thought... eek.. blue and white stripes.. but was still grateful that he had put it out for me. I realised I had forgotten my mobile, so I went back upstairs to get it. I walked back downstairs, put on my shoes, slipped my mobile into my handbag and closed the door.

Bang.

I turned around and saw that it was still pouring outside. And realised I was not holding a umbrella. dammit.

Opened my handbag.. No Keys....... %^&#*$?!!

So what else could I have done ? I could of stayed on the staircase and waited for the rain to stop, but I would of missed my train. Or make a run for the train station.

I made a run for it.

About 2 mins in, my clothes were already getting quite damp. I was soaking wet by the time I reached the train station.

Seeing how I pulled out of the 4km fun run for Australia Day with my friends yesterday, I truely see this as a bit a of a joke. The less I want to exercise, the more I end up having to do it.

Week One

We've just spent the first week living in Pete's newly rented apartment. He has nothing there. Correction - Apart from his beloved fish tank. There is nothing there.

No Fridge

No Washing Machine

No T.V.

No Microwave

No ADSL Speed Internet

Are there any other necessities in life ?!

My three necessities would be :

1) Fridge - No Fridge means that there is no...

• Icy cold beer - need I say more ?
• Icy cold water - a must-have during summer in Sydney
• Ice cubes - for Baileys & vodka drinks etc...
• Ice cream
• Milk - No milk = No Crunchy Nut Cereal
• No Cooking at home (although.. I think I can live without this)

2) Washing Machine - The apartment is no where near a dry cleaner. I can hand-wash some clothes, but jeans are out of the question. Therefore, this is one of my necessities . I think even with a dry cleaner downstairs, it would gradually become too expensive in the long-term. My boyfriend however, is one of those people who never sees the need to wash his jeans. And I mean 'never' ever. He thinks that his jeans get ruined if he washes them.

It's only the first week. I am still waiting to see how long his supply of undies\jocks is going to last him. If I find out he is turning them upside-down and 're-wearing' them. I'll burn them.

Under no condition would I be hand-washing those.

3) ADSL Speed Internet - No sure if this is a good thing or not. But living in a place without Broadband access is actually curing me of my addiction to World of Warcraft (WoW). But give me another week of this and I will seriously go mad.

I have Dialup Internet access. But using that just makes me more frustrated. I rather just forget I have access to the Online world.

Oh, and the T.V. Now that I think about it, it'll be nice with one, but with the Internet available, T.V. is no longer one of the top 3 items on my necessity list.

So for the past couple days, I will sit at the dining table (the only furniture available) and do my jigsaw puzzle. I haven't done one in years, but then what else can I do ?!

While he would sit on the floor (we have no sofa) staring at his fish tank.

Why are guys so obsessed about fish ?!

Bored Shitless

Shit.

Its a nice little versatile word isn't it ? It could possibly be used in a hundred different ways each with a different meaning. But the word 'shit' is now a slang and can also be used as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb.

For example:

• Are you shitting me? (Are you kidding me/Are you for real?)
• Who gives a shit? (Who cares?)
• You are so full of shit (accusation of someone who has lied) (statement: "He/She is full of shit")
• Holy shit! (wow!)
• Eat shit! (anger towards someone)
• Shit happens (is used when the work isn't going right)

The list goes on....

And lets not forget the Profanities associated with the word 'Shit'.

So what is the proper english word for 'To Shit' or to go 'Poo-Poo' or 'take a dump'?

Believe it or not, this was an actual question proposed to us by one of my bored colleagues. And me, being even more bored than him, actually went to google it.

The answer from WikiPedia - to shit.. is to defecate.

"Shit is a vernacular word in Modern English denoting feces, the byproduct of digestion. It is an old and native English word, but following the Norman Conquest, Norman, Anglo-Norman, French, and Latin terms for many common objects and bodily functions began to be seen as more distinguished than native words, and thereafter feces became the accepted English noun, to defecate became the accepted English verb, and shit was no longer used in polite company."

So, there it is. The next time someone asks you what is the proper english word for shit (as in the 'I need to go take a shit' meaning). You can tell them - it's defecate.

God, I am bored today...

I.T. Agony

For all the I.T. people out there.....

My favourite line of all time (which I think I hear the most often) would be :

You can fix it on your lunch hour. Right ?

Closely followed by ... *drum roll** .. (although this one is not on the bingo board) :

It's a Production System, you have to do it after 6pm.

-- Right. And my working hours would be ?!?

Monday Morning

I don't think there is anything worse than going back to work on a Monday morning after coming back from a holiday.

Two coffees later and I'm still as sleepy as ever.

The weather in Sydney does not help. Its so gloomy - a perfect day to sleep in.

It was a struggle getting out of bed today. I managed to sleep through all three alarms. Well, strictly speaking, I didn't sleep through all of them. I just woke up, turned them off and went back to sleep.

I still managed to get to work by 9am though !!

10.56am.... Its not even lunch time yet... argh !

2006 New Years Resolution

I've been asked about this many times now...

So for the record, I'm going to put this on my blog - least I forget.

Mine's pretty simple, only 3 basic guidelines :

• Drink less alcohol (try to keep it to only once a week)
• Do more exercise (more than twice a week ~ 1 hr per session)
• Spend less money (must not use more than 50% of monthly earnings)

Yeh... and pigs can fly......