Archive for December, 2004
Eve.
Posted on December 31, 2004, by soph, under Hanging Out.
It is 11.32am on New Year’s Eve. There are only two of us in the office, the two recently-employed who are not entitled to take leave yet. I wouldn’t have taken mine anyway, it’s only half-day today and I plan to be outta here in less than an hour.
I thought it would be an okay day to try and park inside the office compound for once, because so many people are on leave. Besides, that’s what the security guard told me to do yesterday. So I did. It was a different guard on duty today, but he didn’t ask me to park along the road, he gestured toward some empty lots. Lots which I may add are only conducive for entering and incredibly tricky to get out of (at least for a driver like yours truly). Maybe it’s a china-man company trick to keep the staff in the office for as long as possible.
Anyway, all went well for the first 3 hours. My colleague and I even took a drive to a nearby coffee shop because she wanted breakfast. Then an extremely irate woman comes into the office and it turns out I’ve parked in the lot of the editor of Female, another publication under Blu Inc Media. No worries, I’ll just move my car. But I think the guard got into trouble because she was, “sangat marah” (very angry), and I suspect, at him. After all, I’m new and I was just doing what the guards told me to do.
I wonder how long I can use that excuse.
Apparently, plans are underway for us to move. I don’t want to be too optimistic because these “plans” might not happen for months, if not years. You know how it is with things like this. But I think it’s ridiculous that the staff are expected to run the risk of a summons every single day. And they don’t even allow us to claim it back. Like it’s our fault that we have to park illegally along the road. My colleagues are not happy. They want to boycott coming to work until we move. But it’s just idle chatter. Like anyone is going to do that. Maybe in Australia we would, but not here.
Well to look on the bright side, at least we have one toilet all to Marie Claire. Apparently, the other 6 publications only have one toilet to share. And I am very grateful indeed.
Moving on to issues bigger than my selfish little world, I can’t believe over 100,000 people are dead as a result of the tsunamis. The fact that this had never happened before probably contributed to much of the death toll. Few would have thought it was possible, and therefore few bothered to run as fast as they should have. This disaster may have been the closest to home yet, but I feel strangely detached from it all. It sounds like another Hollywood blockbuster ala Armageddon or Deep Impact.
I don’t feel like the New Year has come, but for uncountable thousands, the heralding of 2005 will be a passage of time they will never forget. And while I give thanks for the year past and the year to come, I can only hope and wish they can do the same.
To 2005. May there be more hope, more faith, more love.
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The correct answer versus the right one.
Posted on December 30, 2004, by soph, under Hanging Out.
According to the results of my little blogpoll, 8 out of 13 people think a guy is only ready to date when he can pay his own way. That is, of course, the “right” answer to give. But let’s face it. How many people you know wait until they’re financially independent before they start dating? I think I know exactly none. And how many guy friends or friends’ boyfriends do you know who are still dependent on their parents to pay the bills? Too many.
Personally, I think it should be when the guy understands safe sex. Whether or not he practises is not the issue. The issue is he should know what could happen and be responsible for his actions. But of course few would choose that answer. I mean, it has the word “sex” in it.
The question was taken from the board game “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”. It poses questions to the opposite sex whose answers you have to guess. Points are awarded for correct guesses. The aim is to see how well you understand men or women.
I played that game with Yuchun’s cell group once. Besides the fact that there were way too many people (so we could never agree on an answer), I got the distinct feeling people were trying to give the “correct” answers, as opposed of course to the “true” answers.
For example, this question was posed to a guy: Would you sleep with a woman if a) she turns you on; b) you like her; c) you love her?
We all know the morally correct answer. But let’s be honest. Men will sleep with anything that turns them on. Okay, most men. And the least likely answer is c). If they slept with only the women they loved, there would be nowhere near as much prostitution and adultery in this world.
So if you ever get the chance to play that game, try to be honest. It has the potential to be really fun.
And by the way, to the question on when men are ready to date, everyone thought I would say “when he can pay his own way” too. A few girls thought I would say “when he has his own set of wheels”. Nobody, including Yuchun, thought I would say “when he understands safe sex”. I definitely shocked the room. And I’m almost insulted that they thought I would pick the wheels.
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Day Two - What Happened in Day One.
Posted on December 28, 2004, by soph, under Career.
It is my second day at work. Life in Marie Claire has been well, interesting. But good.
Many guys would consider this their dream job. I think I have 3 male colleagues, but I only caught a glimpse of one yesterday and met two others today. This is, after all, a women’s magazine, and one which organizes women’s marches at that. The thing about having a practically all-female work environment is that it could go both ways: it could be girl talk heaven, or it could be cat fight hell. Needless to say, I’m hoping for the former. So far, everyone’s been lovely.
Contrary to popular assumption, I will not be distributing free cosmetics anytime soon. Products are returned to the companies after photoshoots, and thus far, there has been no mention of using yours truly as a guinea pig. Which is good. I can live in jeans everyday if I want to, and am in the midst of transforming my corner into a cosy nook. Due to the fact that half the office is on leave (including the person who takes care of stationery and HR, and the IT person), I am a little far from settled. I haven’t even signed an offer letter. But I have already brought in my own big mug and a pair of slippers (which I forgot to change out of when I was taken round the entire office just now). And cleaned my desk thoroughly.
I have been given three beauty columns to handle for the March 2005 issue. Nothing major, pretty straightforward eye-candy stuff. The photoshoots will be interesting, as will my attempt to learn and write a column on how to apply lipstick. Well, at least it’s not mascara or anything like that. I am no longer allowed to skip the beauty sections of magazines. In fact, I plan to read just the beauty sections of foreign mags later. I have a feeling I might be bored then.
Now for the downside - there is no parking in this place. At least, not for anyone who’s not an editor or manager or something. And I mean absolutely no parking. Staff park along the road or pretty much anywhere as near to the office as they can. Which would be okay if not for the little issue of a yellow line. I’ve been told the police come “in seasons” or usually “at the end of the month”. When they do appear, everyone runs for their car to move it. Or if you’ve parked a little way off and you can’t see the police coming, you get a ticket. Like I did. Yes, on my first day. I reckon this should go under claims.
I hope the police don’t come again today. Can someone tell me where Menara MPPJ is? I need to appeal my fine.
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Praying at work
Posted on December 27, 2004, by soph, under God.
Taped to the divider of my colleague’s desk:
A Prayer for the Stressed!
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I cannot accept,
and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill today because they pissed me off.
And also, help me to be careful of the toes I step on
today as they may be connected to the ass that I may have to kiss tomorrow.
Help me to always give 100% at work…
12% on Monday
23% on Tuesday
40% on Wednesday
20% on Thursday
5% on Fridays
And help me to remember…
When I’m having a really bad day,
and it seems that people are trying to piss me off,
that it takes 42 muscles to frown and
only 4 to extend my middle finger and tell them to bite me!
Amen
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Christmas in Singapore
Posted on December 27, 2004, by soph, under Travels.
There are definite plusses to being the only girl on a road trip. I get the front seat everywhere we go, a bedroom all to myself, plenty of strong young men to carry my stuff except I brought a smaller bag than all but Yuchun (who takes the cake with only a Crumpler bag to tide him through 3 days). And then there’s the conversation. Conversation I hadn’t heard since my high school days. Conversation I thoroughly enjoyed.
It’s been one of the best Christmas-es ever. After a Nokia launch party with plenty of half naked women dancing while another lip syncs, the thrill of getting all dressed up just for the event is quickly superseded by the thrill of seeing Jon walking around the Meridien hotel lobby in his tie-dye pyjama pants. And that was just the beginning.
I did wonder if I would be able to stay awake to accompany Yuchun during the drive down to Johor Bahru, but I needn’t have worried. The noise levels coming from the back seat erm… male bonding between Jon, Alex and Chad would have kept anyone awake. Well, except me that is.
So there we were, lost in JB at 3am because we’d unknowingly taken the wrong exit. It was a good thing Greg was still awake and waiting for us. And he has a really nice bed.
Going into Singapore on Christmas Eve is nothing short of a severe test of patience, augmented by all those Singaporean drivers trying to be Malaysian - aggressive but without the courtesy and class. Sorry all you people in Singapore I didn’t see, but in my defence I was there a grand total of 38 hours.
Having said that, finally seeing Diane, sharing a mega girl talk with her, Dawn and Kaye, watching Gideon devour 6 1/4 roti pratas and 9 otak-otaks, riding the free buggy in Suntec, getting stared at by all the Singaporeans while on the free buggy in Suntec, splitting seriously yummy warm chocolate cake with June, taking a photo with the Fockers, … was just the best.
Jon, Yuchun and I also spent Christmas day pretending we were on The Amazing Race. Fine, so I was slightly more enthusiastic than they were. I thought trying to figure out the transport system in a foreign land and catching multiple trains while lugging my luggage was fun. Not that I would want to do it for a living or anything like that, but at least the novelty lasted the whole time we were there. As did the novelty of singing Phantom of the Opera songs everywhere we went. In public. Loud.
Anyway, I’m back now, happy that my bumming days ended with the biggest bang. I write this today from my new desk on my first day of work at Marie Claire. So far, I’ve just been catching up on emails and blogs. And recalling the road trip of the year. I think Yuchun’s going to put up pics soon, so check here for photos, including those of a major accident just out of JB. People, just don’t take buses if you can help it.
In the meantime, here is my favourite vacay excerpt, taken from the first time Jon is meeting Dawn:
Dawn (who was flipping through a mag): Nah, you say got nothing to do in Singapore. Here’s a list of 10 things you can do in Singapore at night. (shows the mag to Yuchun and Jon who is sitting next to her. Top on the list is “hitting the clubs”.)
Jon: Hit the clubs. Ya, I’ll hit the clubs. (makes fist thumping motion.)
Dawn (with a totally serious face): Is it you think you’re very funny?
Jon (after a sizeable pause): Err… ya.
Merry Christmas everyone.
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A New Kind of Christian?
Posted on December 21, 2004, by soph, under God.
What do you believe in?
Yuchun asked. And honestly, I could not answer. Because I do not know. I know who I believe in, but I don’t know what I believe in anymore. And believe me, there is a difference.
A New Kind of Christian by Brian D. McLaren poses some really, really interesting questions. It is a critique of Christianity as we believe it, and a deconstruction of modernity. It questions, among other things, why we think the way we do about Christianity and about religion in general, why everyone parrots the same unhelpful but religiously right-sounding things, why we even are able to instantly recognize what we “should” and “should not” say, and why are more and more people feeling that church is no longer relevant.
Reading it, for me, is like attending a cultural studies lecture. There is a lot to take in, and a lot to think about. I love it, not just because I love all this critiquing and deconstructing, but because it stirs something within me. It brings up questions that I’ve been asking, and that I believe a lot of people are asking today. I do not read it for answers, but for the thoughts it stimulates, and the assurance that someone out there is asking the same questions, and sharing his struggles on it.
The church is not providing answers, but it is not their fault. It struck me that maybe, just maybe the reason the Pharisees were so stuck in their legalism and outward piety was not because they wanted to make their own lives - and everyone else’s - complicated and miserable, it was because legalism and piety were all they knew. They had been told what was the “right” thing to do, and they were trying damn hard to do it as best they could.
The same applies for the church today. It is not their fault that they cannot provide answers to a people who have crossed over into the 21st century, to Gen X-ers and Y-ers who have made it their life’s mission to stop listening to what others say, and seek the truth for themselves. It is not their fault that Christianity - unlike Christ - is a product of the culture and the times because it is only inevitable. But like the Pharisees, it is their fault if they are not willing to get off their high horse, listen and entertain the notion that maybe, just maybe something has changed. A lot of the time people don’t want answers to their questions, they only want to be heard. Because in this age of cynicism and scepticism, they’re not going to believe your answers anyway. They have to find out for themselves.
Like I must now do.
Work does weird things to you. It makes you varying degrees of cynical, tough, materialistic, weary, apathetic… It wears you down to the point that you don’t care anymore because isn’t this how the world works anyway? I start work come Monday. But I do not harbour great Christian dreams of “making a difference” in my workplace. Because I am going there to learn about the real world. I want to venture out myself, and see what it does to me. And if in the process I put a smile on someone’s face or make someone’s day just that little bit better, then it is good and well. If it brings me further along this journey of seeking and questioning, then it is even better.
To you who are not afraid to share your doubts and struggles, thanks for making me unafraid too. I do not know if I truly understand what you guys feel, but I want to listen.
I do not know what I believe in anymore, but I know Who I believe in, and that for me, for now, is enough.
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Sophia Mei Ming Goh B.A. (Media & Comm.) (Melb)
Posted on December 16, 2004, by soph, under Learning Curve.
After an eventful few days, I can now officially put letters behind my name. (Is that how you do it?) It seems the admin mishaps of Monday were only the beginning. I have since had the privilege of being the subject of one of the biggest stuff-ups a university can make - I was awarded the wrong degree last night.
While collecting my transcripts this morning, I was informed upon enquiry that the Bachelor of Arts certificate I was presented with in full regalia, is actually a completely different degree from the Bachelor of Arts (Media & Communications). I didn’t exactly think it was the end of the world, but the horrified faces of the Student Administration department only served to accentuate the severity of this mistake. But it was not without its merits. Instead of being placed number 69 in the order to receive my degree, I was placed fourth in the Bachelor queue, after the two dozen or so PhDs and Masters graduands, and before half the hall could fall asleep.
Fortunately for everyone involved, my ceremony lasted a grand total of 60 minutes, largely due to the fact that faculties such as Arts, Law, Education, Food Science and well, Arts (Media & Communications) were largely composed of local students, who only graduate in April 2005. You have no idea how happy I was. I’d resigned myself to sitting there for two hours, and suddenly I’m freed an hour early. Not that it mattered to my brother (who fell asleep twice), and the unidentified academic on the stage (who fell asleep during the Associate Professor’s address).
I am however, dumbfounded that they pronounced my name wrongly when presenting me with my certificate. I thought they could and would pronounce every name exactly right. I mean, you can pronounce Supaporn Sornampon, Dusida Pipatanasern and Thararut Chittichanon but you can’t pronounce Sophia? Even Yuchun Ngian was pronounced correctly during his graduation. And to think just before the ceremony, David was telling me how these people amazingly somehow manage to get every name.
No biggie, all that matters as far as I’m concerned is I’ve donned that gown with the lovely blue hood, taken a dozen pictures, and got on and off that stage without tripping. And I remembered to bow when I should have (one PhD student from Hong Kong forgot and the presenter looked distinctly displeased).
Thanks all of you who came by. Really appreciate the detour. And thanks y’all who couldn’t make it but sent SMSes instead. Will put up pictures when I get home. My parents got me the little graduation bear. I love it and have christened it Humphrey Bartholomew Rupert Charles. Just because I will never name a person that. And my brother can’t pronounce Bartholomew.
Needless to say, my parents are over the moon. There’s something about that gown that makes every parent extra happy for the preceding and proceding several days. I have numerous spontaneous shots of myself in the gown, taken by my dad who was wonderfully enthusiastic, both over my graduation, and his new digital camera. The graduation ceremony, like the wedding dinner, is not so much for us graduands, as much as it is for our parents and loved ones.
Today, after running to and fro between Student Administration and the Arts Faculty, because some paperwork had been inadvertently held up and it was just faster for me to get it and deliver it in person, I have my academic transcripts. My days in Melbourne University are officially over. Well, there is some alumni thingy, but yea, like I said, me and Melbourne University… officially over.
Even though I know nothing about the real working world, I’ve been assured by the Arts faculty International Advisors that incompetent admin is very much a part of it. As they joked while getting me the required paperwork for my transcript today, “This (bureaucracy and endless waiting) is part of our training for what the working world will be like, so we send you into the real world equipped.”
They were just a few of the lovely people I am so going to miss.
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Invitation.
Posted on December 13, 2004, by soph, under Learning Curve.
I arrived this morning to a Melbourne that is 16 degrees in summer. Bec, if you’re reading this, I’m wearing your jackets.
Thanks to the usual uni admin stuff-up, I finally confirmed my graduation date and time, got my tickets, and paid for my graduation gown this afternoon. If anyone wants to pop by, I’m donning my black gown and beautiful blue hood (stewart blue they call it) this Wednesday evening 7.30pm. I should be on South Lawn or somewhere relatively near to it at approximately 6.30pm. The weather forecast is rain. If it gets too dark, I’ll get my brother to dance a little jig every 5 minutes so look out for a small hopping figure.
Will blog again tomorrow. Am meeting some friends for dinner so I have exactly 11 minutes to get ready.
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The search is over.
Posted on December 11, 2004, by soph, under Career.
With just one day to go before I take off for Melbourne, I am relieved and excited that I am now the Beauty Editorial Assistant in Marie Claire - extremely ironic for a person who does not even wear makeup. But with assisting in photoshoots as one of my job descriptions, it should be interesting with lots to learn.
I’ve actually known for a couple of days now, but I’ve just been too busy getting the most out of every second I have left. I start work on the rather odd date of 27th December, which leaves me with just a little over 2 weeks, and much too little time.
I’ll be back in KL come Friday night, which reminds me - Winnie, are you coming back on the afternoon flight? And barring all natural and unnatural disasters, I should be in Singapore for a couple days around Christmas too.
I can’t believe I’m graduating in 4 days’ time. Well, at least I should be. I haven’t received any letter or anything yet. Everybody pray I don’t trip on stage or anything like that. Even if it means I will be fondly remembered for many, many graduations to come.
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Noises in the house.
Posted on December 7, 2004, by soph, under Family.
Main Entry: ca·coph·o·ny
Pronunciation: -nE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -nies
: harsh or discordant sound : DISSONANCE
Main Entry: dis·so·nance
Pronunciation: ‘di-s&-n&n(t)s
Function: noun
: a mingling of discordant sounds; especially : a clashing or unresolved musical interval or chord
My sister’s friend came to stay over for the weekend. She described our house as “chaotic”. I beg to differ. It is far worse.
I have been grudgingly roused from sleep before 9 every morning for the past few days. To say that I am displeased would be putting it somewhat mildly. The reasons for the untimely awakening? Where shall I even begin?
Well, let’s start with my brother. He’s 11 years old, very cute and sweet for the first time I remember, and the earliest riser I know. He is so going to regret all this missed sleep when he hits high school. But by 7am, he is up and about. By 8am he’s had his breakfast, maybe even watched a DVD, and just before 9, he’s ready to practise the piano. Now I love music, but at 9am, it better be one heck of a tune, so his really, really loud attempts at ”Jingle Bells”, complete with wrong notes, are just immoral.
Then there’s my grandma. Again, really early riser - as are most elderly people. Again, totally love her. But I’m not sure I’m too pleased about her new hobby - making quilts. I’m sure there’s a good time to have the sewing machine on loud and clear, but 9am is definitely not it.
Just after 9, it’s the workers renovating my neighbour’s house. And they have not one, but two different types of drills. I’m not exaggerating, we have to shout to be heard when we’re in the kitchen.
Now put all three of the above together, plus my brother shouting (because that’s what he does endlessly), my mum shouting (because that’s her ”normal” tone of voice), and my sisters and I shouting (because we want to be heard), and you tell me if you think “chaotic” is a sufficient description for it all.
I am so not getting enough sleep.
