Thursday, March 29, 2007

A visit to Assunta

Gurl got into a little accident recently, and the root cause probably came down to me, being a blogger / blog-reader. The story was something like this: she was looking for a miniSD card, and I, having read ShaolinTiger's recent purchase of an LCD monitor, suggested that we visit this computer shop in SS2.

In the end, not only was the shop closed, she missed a step while coming down on the staircase and twisted her ankle. So there you go, reading blogs can be hazardous to the people around you too.

Her GP recommended that we went to a proper hospital to get an x-ray, since she (the GP) could not determine if there was a fracture, and the pain was really getting to Gurl. So we went on to Assunta Hospital, one of the more 'reputable' medical centers around the area.

Fancy doing a wheelie?

I dunno why but I always had the impression that Assunta was one of those old, run-down hospitals with century-old equipment. But was I in for a surprise when I got there. The building looked spanking new, the lobby was clean and modern, and even the wheelchairs were pretty new as well.

They even have a Starbucks outlet and 7-11 store. Talk about globalization, even hospitals cannot escape it.

Another way of spending your time waiting.

I saw this sign in the x-ray department.

"If you are pregnant, or probably pregnant, please inform the reception staff and radiographer before the x-ray examination."

The thing is, how would someone know if she's probably pregnant? And what would the hospital staff do about it? Give her a pregnancy test? If so, now you know where to get a free pregnancy test, without having to look suspicious.

This nurse must have missed the 'no handphones' sign directly next to her.

In the end, Gurl got a splint, but was lucky enough to have escaped any fractures. That would be the only consolation, I guess, from having to walk using crutches for the next few days or so.



Sexy leg yo!

I can't say the treatment procedure was very efficient though, it being a private hospital. We were there for nearly 2 and a half hours, with barely a handful of other patients. For making us pay RM250, the least they could do was to speed up the process.

As for Gurl, she'll probably recover in a few weeks time, which is a good thing. In the meantime though, I'll be putting up a disabled person sign at the back of my car :)

thought completed at 8:00 PM | 4 comments

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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Maggi = fast food?

I was tucking into a bowl of my favourite instant noodles when a thought came to my mind.

As most of us would know, having instant noodles for meals isn't a very healthy habit. Other than not having a complete set of required nutrients, most brands also contain MSG (commonly known as Ajinomoto), which is also a bad thing for our bodies despite the heavenly taste it gives.

So why is it that when the health ministry is thinking of banning fast food advertisements, instant noodles are not included in the list?



You won't see this anymore on TV...

Instant noodles, fast food, they even have a common adjective in front. Pardon my logic if you don't see the connection here.

This particular brand for instance has been hogging quite some advertising airtime.



Even Kennysia's into the craze.

KFC may be bad for your blood pressure, McDonalds may give you a heart attack, but instant noodles are perfectly ok?

Or it could be due to the fact that instant noodles have become sort of a cultural thing for us Malaysians. Kids like it, adults adore it, cash-strapped students live on it. I guess noodles must have been part of our lives since day 1.

As I slurped down the last of the noodles, completely satisfied, I thought it would be a good idea to leave instant noodles out of the ad-banning campaign after all ;)

thought completed at 1:11 PM | 4 comments

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Monday, March 19, 2007

Scam artists need improve engrish

I came across this ad one day when walking back home.

Solve your $$ problem!

Not surprising, considering how many get-rich-quick / pyramid / ponzi schemes that are growing like mushrooms out there. Now if only I know what mushrooms ate for meals, I'd use that analogy to describe the desperate victims of these 'companies'.

At least other ads used better english (though some had worse). We no talk what business to do. We talk business partner!

Stupid (insert befitting nationality here) scams.

thought completed at 8:53 PM | 1 comments

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Saturday, March 17, 2007

SPM wunderkids

Results for SPM examinations were released just recently. Nowadays it's not surprising at all to see adolescents take on 15 to 18 subjects AND attempting a straight-A score. Compared to, say 10 years ago, these double-digit figures would be heavenly numbers.

I just don't get it though, why students nowadays would want to sacrifice extra time and effort just to get an extra couple 1A's. You gotta wonder when you see these new-age wonderkids, what do they have to prove by taking so many subjects?

Is it because...

A) They have nothing better to do.

B) They believe they're a superb race who's going to conquer the world some day.

C) Mommy and daddy forced them to be the best or else they would be disowned.

D) They're writing a book about their success stories and need some outstanding results to back it up??

Well all of the reasons above are just crappy. If you're all alone and bored all day, why not pick up some healthy activities, like for example, blogging?

And the girl who's going to publish a book to share her success principles? Bleargh...I don't know whether her money-crazy parents had any influence on her decisions, but this lady gives me the impression that she has one hell of an ego.

And I hate people will big-ass egoes, especially those larger than mine.

thought completed at 1:09 PM | 5 comments

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Monday, March 12, 2007

Ad for engineers

Well well it's the time of the year again when graduate engineers fresh out of universities/colleges throng the streets of employment hoping to find their dream job. Again Company X will be looking for suitable candidates to fulfil the empty positions available.

Now, let's take a look at the job positions up for offer...

Assembly Engineer

Successful candidates will be responsible for day-to-day assembly operations, which include, but are not limited to: assembly at the cafeteria, assembly at the company gym, assembly at the auditorium pretending to be listening to the talks. Laziness will be an added advantage. Engineers who have more than 20 years experience (about to retire) are encouraged to apply.

Probe Engineer

Main job function is to perform probing into matters that may interest other company employees. Candidates must possess good interpersonal skills and excellent logic deduction so as to be able to confirm any gossip around the work area. Preferably multi-lingual with a good sense of hearing. Women candidates only.

Test Engineer

Successful candidates will, upon confirmation, have the responsibility of testing the limits of their colleagues before they snap. Candidates are expected to be skillful in annoying, disturbing and bugging the hell out of people. No experience needed. Those who are currently in the sales line will be given preference.

R&D Engineer

Candidates must be able to display creativity and continuous innovation in design work. Engineering experience is not required. On job training will be provided. Excellent benefits. (There is no R&D department per se, this is just a mask to hire cafeteria chefs. And yes they get to eat the leftovers.)

Failure Analysis Engineer

Job scope is to analyze one's own failures and concoct reasonable albeit fictitious excuses to be presented to upper management. Candidates must have a thick face and able to take up the challenge of being eaten alive by managers. Fresh graduates with a CPGA of below 2.0 are encouraged to apply.

So, anyone looking for a job? Feel free to pass your resume to me.

Note: Only candidates with the above requirements will be considered.

thought completed at 9:39 PM | 6 comments

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Monday, March 05, 2007

Revelations

I had a few revelations today. Well maybe not the I-found-my-saviour sort, but no less earth-shattering to me at least.

I have two small lumps in my lower arm - the doctor said they were 'lipo marks'

Rest assured that I have not undergone any corrective surgery to make myself look better.

I went to the hospital because my wrist was nagging me again, and I found two small lumps forming on my lower arm. Scared they could be connected, and even worse, that the lumps could be malignant, I decided to see an orthopaedic specialist. Prior to that, I thought orthopaedic specialists only referred to those that make your teeth look better.

Fortunately, the lumps were benign, apparently a result of fat hardening under the skin. Didn't realize I had so much fat to begin with. A sign that I should watch the diet perhaps?

My lump...my lump my lump my lump...My lovely lipo lumps.

I should have been a doctor

All it took was 5 minutes, some touching on the lumps, a bit of explaining and a few lines written on a piece of paper. The bloody doctor/hospital charged me 100 bucks for it! I regret not considering medicine as a career path...darn.

My only hope now is that company policy covers the cost of seeing a specialist.

Taking medical leave is no holiday - unless you're faking it

I had to look up the directories, make an appointment, inform my boss, get a GP's referral letter, AND miss my work for the day. And SJMC's parking area sucks.

End of today's revelations. More to come later...

thought completed at 10:11 PM | 1 comments

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Thursday, March 01, 2007

Notebook vs Desktop

I'm considering requesting a personal notebook from my boss for work purposes, due to certain circumstances that warrants this need. Before that, I had make up my mind whether it was really a wise choice to own a notebook instead of a desktop.

Pros and cons of owning a notebook:

• I can attend conference calls and share whatever I want to via netmeeting - Skype with a distant US friend or picture sharing with a foreign buddy, yay.
• Increased productivity as a new notebook would definitely perform better than a standard Pentium4 desk-fossil - increased pleasure in surfing and reading blogs!
• I could work from home (not that I'm planning to, anyway).

Despite all the above...

• I will have to lug it to and back from work everyday - it would not look good if the boss saw me carrying my notebook bag when I'm walking to my cubicle at 11am pretending I just arrived from...the director's office?
• I cannot put messenger status to "Away" since I would have to shut it down when it's time to go home - a blow to my chances of sneaking back early in case the boss scrutinizes the "Offline" list to catch the early leavers.
• And of course, the process of bringing the laptop to and from work would mean a larger chance of my data being stolen - think of the e-books and downloaded TV serials that I'd lose!

Hmm...it's a tough choice indeed.

thought completed at 12:40 AM | 2 comments

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