bye bye year 2008

cross out --> "XXX" 366 days off the calender in this year..

there goes another complete end again..

basically, i'm not exactly sure how i'm feeling at this moment..really no idea..

i guess just gonna accept past things as they were & let it be..learning lessons from them

try to improve to become a better person as each day passes..

and be brave living day after day even with unexpected encounters in store for us..

while anticipating to spend our daily lives in a fun & more meaningful way..

am gonna spend my last day of the year & perhaps new year day in the cinema..

not a very exciting way to celebrate but yea, oh well..it's alryte..

as long as i can end the final day nicely & usher in the 1st day of new year happily..

before i end this post for the year, just wanna take this opportunity to give thanks to God for everything that i have & experienced..

on 1 note..consider yourself blessed when you have the chance to bless others & continue to be a blessing to those around you..

& of course i really feel the need to extend my gratitude to all my family & friends who've alwez been there to encourage & support me the whole way throughout the year..

arigatou-gozaimashita minna-san..

look forward to a brighter, hopeful & great year ahead along with y'all..

best of luck =)

keep living the fullest out of your life..

c ya around then..next year.. ^^

my current status

warning: sorry another long post..read only if concerned..

At the workplace ~

without getting nagged at all in between of work, no shortage that requires me to pay out of my own pocket & to end each work day happily, while manage to gain entertainment during work.. ;)

For studies ~

I really don’t know or maybe not so certain..
Don’t dare to think about it & have no idea what to expect for it

Truthfully, I have fear inside of me
I’m afraid to hear any announcement which may shock me again about some drastic changes for the course..

To not get any news, it brings about anticipation..
When there’s slight response, it carries forth worries..

Gosh..how? how should I react to it? can someone tell me please..

From the day I escaped from my own misery of being lonely studying something which I less preferred, I surely enjoyed every moment of getting the opportunity to study something else which I really have interest in along with my great pals..

No doubt, all those which I have learnt..i really came to like what I’m studying..i’m definitely sure of it now after we’ve a real idea of what we’re to learn, also especially that we had just a small class, for this time round, I guess I finally get to know and remember each & every classmate’s name in this big uni..makes us feel more interactive with each other & closer too..like a family..enjoying one another’s presence in class, making fun every minute in class..it’s been a happy time & it’s simple to gather everyone together at one point..‘cooking something up’ once in a while..

All these I’ve been glad about..up until the very last day..
Yes, the very last day when we finished our exams & they announced their move of making changes..

After all that which I’ve come across, it was a day filled with ups & downs..

From getting excited about exam’s over to the point where my mood just shattered for the rest of the day..i can’t hide it because I can’t take it that I’m going back to the same old times when I really didn’t feel enthusiastic about..living each day with such emotion was just ‘killing’ me silently..

For them to tell me that they’re making changes such that I’ll need to go thru the previous things once again, I knew what’s gonna happen as I’ve already experienced it beforehand..

Heck..it’s really tough & how come my uni life has to be full of hurdles..it seems as though every semester for me, there has been something that gets me into my anxious mode..

if us, the minority (just the poor little 24 kitties) in the class, is already the majority, put out ways to voice out our viewpoint of the re-structuring plan, and yet it’s not gonna make any difference..how then by my own words would I be able to persuade them to provide us with what we deserve, a rightful education..

well, I can’t afford to turn back anyways..

imagine, what can I tell my parents, when they’ve tried hard to get me the chance to finally study what I desire..i am just grateful for it & appreciate their efforts..what else can I say?

yet, now everything’s a mess & turned upside-down..am I suppose to tell them what’s happening? Am I ought to make them worry for me even more? For now, i can only deal with it myself..hoping everything’s gonna get settled justly..

worse come to worst..if we still can’t cause any influence to the “Board of Authorities”, who seem to be right in all their ways & know “what-should-be-best” for us & most importantly beneficial to THEM..

then there’s nothing else which we can do except to accept it & I’ll just have to keep quiet and study..speak no more..end of story.

well, let’s look on the bright side, they got us mentally prepared quite early, at least for people like me, I would already know exactly what’s lying ahead if they’re sticking to the changes they made solely by themselves, without even consulting us students, who, apparently are the ones most affected in this course of study..because those who make the changes are not the ones learning it after all..unfortunately, our future is in their hands..it seems..

maybe they think we’re of no importance as they think that they’re the only ones who knows what should fit into our course map better..which method would turn out to be most useful..

perhaps the meeting, as quoted by mr. panda, is just a means to inform us of what’s going on..or maybe said by ‘sir’ lorence long, that the impact was so intense, we didn’t get to organize our minds in time to voice out what we think at that point of time..

or will it be like what our friends suspect, wondering that whether the next upcoming meeting would be a discussion, meeting (with genuine 2-way communication) or just another announcement where whatever we voiced out had been rejected..that they had refused our suggestion..or it’s been revised, taking into our consideration in the process?

Meanwhile, nobody knows what’s the outcome likely to be..

For me, I just wanna keep everything aside, wish not to have any thoughts about it, let everything be done based on His will, as we know we’ve tried our best..then whatever it is, we shall leave the rest unto Him & commit everything into His hands..God knows what should be best for us..even though humans may not carry them out more appropriately, despite having the right sense of mind to figure things out wisely..

Sorry to mention those things above..just that I feel somewhat unreasonable to waste the next half of the course, which is most crucial for the majoring into the specific scope of studies in uni, learning something which seems rather not-so-relevant to our “course”..according to what the course name implies..

somebody save me please, otherwise..i guess I just want to have the faith that if He can take us to it, He can bring us through it..

*fingers crossed.. >_<

err...

*this was actually written some time ago but a friend (you know who you are..haha) suggested to post this up..

p/s: long & wordy but it's what i thought about & feel that time..just my point of view..you may not agree with me..

well, read only if u have enough patience..

I am just an ordinary person, not a very important person or whatsoever..i am just 1 of those people in the millions & billions of humans out there in the world trying to live life. I am just no special person nor would I actually make much difference if the world existed without me, I am just a small potato on this planet earth.

20 years into being that 1 out of god-knows exactly how many people staying on earth, life is considered short enough. This is for the fact that, within the first few years of entering into LIFE, one would basically have no idea or memory at all to know & remember what they did. Then, slowly you start to connect to the world, still without much worry & need to care about anything.

As life moves on further, education comes into sight & we begin to develop thinking. People would regard someone that they are stupid if they can’t think. However, it is also the ability to think when troubles set in. Life just gets more & more complicated thereafter. Sometimes I wonder if I can continue to be young & naïve, carefree & just happy-go-lucky, easy life, as simple as that.

Well, sad to say, it’s not likely to be possible to happen. Therefore, face the truth and welcome the reality of life. This could be the reason why I’m here being emo over certain things. From the past 1 & ½ year, I struggled over the part of life essential for survival in this advanced, competitive 21st century, university life. Hence, I wonder if the decision I made following my heart is wrong after all.

What have become & happen as of now? I no longer know or want to know. All of these are just confusion all over. My life is messed up I admit for someone like me who is perfectionist. If I could start over my life, I’ll make it real perfect to my own standard satisfactory point or quality level. Nevertheless, this is not meant to be as this is the only way we learn in life, through experience.

I didn’t see it coming or expect it beyond my imaginations and thoughts that it would be this tough to go through all of these ordeals. Are my ‘stubborn’ decisions made right in the first place?

Now I doubt it, maybe it’s all wrong the whole way. Yet, why did I still insist to choose that path which seemingly leads to an uncertain direction. Should I at this point give up or not is the question, or do I persevere through it just because I’ve come this far?

Am I now, after all the circumstances laid in front of me, willing to let go & accept whatever’s prepared for me, considering I took this chance myself, in the process, involving arguments, stress, extra money, effort, time, thoughts, hurting relationships with my family, and finally came out with such conclusion in the end, that they still support me to do what I desire?

For myself, I’ve really gone thru a lot to come to this point, due to various trials & tribulations that came my way previously, again & again, asking if it’s all worth it, should I keep hanging on or give up. Yet, chances opened up & I can finally study what I’m interested of.

I’m just too tired, way too exhausted to think & go thru this mental stress anymore. SERIOUSLY. Okay, I’ll now just state that I’m stupid & can’t give you an answer whether who’s right & who’s wrong. It’s really difficult to get to achieve a balance between 2 sides & therefore justice & fairness are always not served appropriately and attained.

I’m confused, maybe I’m just too biased & over-react because of what I’ve gone through. I just want to ask, if there is someone out there who has experienced exactly the same thing as I did, will he be able to show & tell me whether how I respond to the situation is rational. I need a reference as a guide. I really do need a moral check, probably. As again, how to judge whether it will be correct or wrong?

Would the person react the same way as I do or there could be a different approach in dealing and handling with this situation? Maybe I should carry away my feelings & emotions out of the case & think more rationally. If this is so, I reckon I should just be neutral, quiet down, listen, think, but do not take any action regardless of what I think or what the outcome may be, & just accept it no matter what happens. If action is to be taken, would it be worth it or it’s just a waste of time. Will it really make a difference?

I don’t want to know, as getting sunken in this kind of situation for the second time, twice, is enough to extract all the energy inside of me to fight but yet, a conscience that whispers, would you really give in without putting up a battle, after all that in the past 1 year? Would you raise the white flag, surrender & let something you can or maybe cannot control take over & conquer the rest of your future without giving it a try?

Just like the old saying goes, rather die trying than live giving in. Would you actually start calming down for a second, think properly, accept things as they are, and instead, use & generate that excess power available for a different cause?

Is there anybody who could give me an answer that scores a perfect 100% which would make my life rather a smooth sail from now on? I guess this is where I need to rely on my BIG God. I think I would need to communicate & consult with Him if there’s no one else who could solve that problem for me.

I need to know what to do, yet I have not found the answer, which is what is troubling me now. *sigh..I wish I can just forget everything, have fun & maybe stay & study in a kindergarten for the rest of my life. No worries but fun fun fun & play all day, no need to care, just live as a kid.

What should I do? (".)

If u ever wonder what is it like to become a food science student ?!

Yes, we do deal with food & experimenting with them but apparently that doesn’t make us better cooks..well, coz we’re not trained as chefs in the world of culinary arts or touch any hospitality course stuff..

Studying food science is fun & first I think on 1 point, you should at least love & have passion or interest about food..well, most people would come to enjoy food, after all, we eat to live & some may even live to eat..

ironically, I had some eating problems when I was still a kid…feeding me was difficult enough..now don’t ask me why I just don’t like to eat rice or anything..

mind u, it oso gave me a bad experience being fed food forcefully..as I will usually take 1 hour at least to finish my meal.. (I suppose even many young children nowadays have this common problem)

however, that problem is solved now since I took medication when I was a kid which helps to aid in my appetite for food..now that I can eat, sleep and live well, it’s a great thing to be able to enjoy tasty & delicious food..haha..食得是福 & this saying is so true..cos there are those who would have to avoid eating certain foods for health’s sake

be grateful if you have food on d table..think about those who goes through hunger & famine in those remote places all over the world..therefore, appreciate food plz…

Oh well, let’s have a review of what we did & how the knowledge part of food science influenced our daily lives:

1. Despite learning what’s going on in foods, we still end up eating those food which we know that it’s not so good for us

2. This may help a bit..when we start to pay more attention to food labels on tin cans and food package (which we used to ignore most of the time

3. Wondering what kind of possible microorganisms which may invade inside the food & intimidate other people with it while they’re eating..


4. Frequently check out what’s in the refrigerator (in d lab) & making use of extra ingredients to prepare food with our ‘own’ recipe after we complete the proper experiments


5. Begin to talk about anything related to food we see at the groceries section whenever we visit supermarkets, evaluate the features & characteristics of the food


6. Being emphasized over & over with certain things that surely a food science student will somehow know what is HACCP, intrinsic & extrinsic factors at some point


7. Be introduced to specific scientific names of microorganisms which invade food (eg. Salmonella, Clostridium spp., or Campylobacter jejuni, which gives me an impression that this bacteria go camping on your food, but I suppose u rather not want this to happen, cos you’re gonna suffer for their pleasure)


8. Start discussing about sensory attributes (colour, flavour, texture, aroma, & quality) of the food in front of us when we eat at restaurants & ½ way get interrupted by friends who wanna eat & enjoy their food in peace


9. Tasting a variety of milks & trying (many many) pieces of butter cakes to differentiate how it’s flavour & texture is affected by altering the formulated ingredients..up till the point where we decide to stop eating cakes for a while


10. Stare at friends who like to cam-whore & pose with food while waiting for food to be cooked in the lab (i.e. baking time)


11. Enjoy drinking home-made fresh soybean milk when there’s excess of soya beans leftover from experiment of food fermentation


12. Play with oven-mitts & the wooden spatula or forks & knives (not this la, just kidding)..when there is nothing better to do when waiting in the food science kitchen cum sensory evaluation lab up on the 5th floor of the building


13. Tend to avoid contact with certain foods probably for about 1 week after fed-up tasting or looking at a particular food in experiment until after we’re done with d lab report

14. Some common actions: Switch on-switch off stove, set timer, open & close oven doors, cutting, chopping, slicing, blanching vege, baking food…

15. Feel fun as it's the only lab session where we can get to eat, try, taste & play with food

All this being mentioned, everything sounds great & it is indeed somewhat enjoyable but all will retain as memories now..waiting for more to come? I wish & can only hope for the best..guess I’d better stop before I think further & my even small lil’ hope seems to fade away..& start to go being speechless or hopeless..

hohoho

hi,

it's christmas eve..time flies..it's almost the end of the year dy, just a few days or simply a week away now..by the way, "season's greetings" ..minna-san~~

christmas has always been considered a season where people experience warmth through family gatherings & blessings with gifts and presents.. ;)

here, it feels as if there's something still lacking or missing..probably i wish we could have a white christmas where there would be real snow & christmas dinners which are common traditions in western countries..

well, perhaps oso with not many friends around who had left to return to their respective hometowns or plans for celebration and on top of that, still spending hours for working time..couldn't really feel the christmas spirit this year

a variety of elements make up the bits & pieces of celebration in this season, anyway, even though one may not carry out the usual practices like christmas shopping, setting up decorations, having christmas parties, etc..i believe it does not take much except for just needing to keep in mind the main purpose & reason behind this meaningful festive season to keep up with the spirit..afterall, it's a season where most start to enjoy their holidays with their family, friends and loved ones..it's meant to be a happy moment to begin with.. =P

now that christmas is approaching, it signifies that the year is ending as well..naturally, things will also come to turn out fine as we learn to give thanks over the pleasant memories we create throughout the year, what we have & cherish up till now (",)

thus, i wanna wish everyone to have a happy, joyful christmas that's filled with love, hope & peace.. ^^

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year !!!

hehe lol..cheers..xoxo ~~ =)

my friday..

you may see my current updates revolves around movies all the time..

well, with almost everyday spent in cinema working by shifts, i can't help talking about them ryte..so i can't run away from the topic of movies..

hmm, going well going well..

i've just watched 2 & 1/2 movies yesterday..

why 2 & 1/2?

erm, it's because i was stationed somewhere at a cinema to take care of the 3D glasses, so thinking i haven't really watched "Bolt" fully, i took the opportunity to watch it while at work, in 3D animation..since we're the ones in charge of making sure the customers return them after the movie and there would be no lost or missing glasses at the end of the show..hahaha

then, after completing work, i stayed around with my brother to watch another show which is "IP Man"..
i just thought it could have a better English movie name instead of directly translating from the Chinese name 葉問.. & there would be a slightly better ending..

this cantonese movie is actually not bad, rich with its legendary kung-fu action-packed elements, depicting the story of a person (the famous Bruce Lee's master) with his renowned type of martial arts aka 詠春拳 & not forgetting a tinge of humour here & there..

next, i hang out with my bunch of friends from church because it was outing this week..
& their plan was watching movie..lol..

but apparently, they even bought tickets for me & my bro..*sigh..
irony..when one is working in a cinema, even though considering our staff pass may not be valid for that particular new show or within certain showing times (still i'm not sure about that coz i haven't got any yet for the month..) but i guess the last thing that person wanna do would be forking out money to watch movies in the same cinema..

& not to mention, i was tired of continuously working night shift from the previous night, then go back to work by the next morning..so truthfully, i suppose i dozed off a bit during half-way of the movie 'Beverly Hills chihuahua' & we actually missed the first part already, while waiting for other friends to arrive..

well, the good thing is i can always go watch it again if i want to..hehe..so, no worries..

hmm, i also catch some parts of "yes man" ..gotta catch up with that movie soon..heard, it's kinda funny & a hilarious comedy..no harm watching when i need a break..

oh yea, after watching 2 & 1/2 movies, i decided it's enough for the day & thought i'd leave the rest & just go back home to rest..

after leaving from the cinema through the exit, i noticed that there's a small crowd in Sunway Pyramid the old wing foyer where there's stage for events or functions..

so, out of curiosity, just went down to have a peek on who's there in Pyramid..

hmm, realised it was Ella Koon, a HK celebrity who featured as a cast in several of TVB dramas..& she had her new album released, alongside with being a spokesperson promoting for some kind of product..

security wasn't as strict & i rather managed to see her in quite a close distance..when the crowd went up on stage to get her signature on posters and had the chance to take a picture with her (who occasionally puts up cute pose as well..lol)

ella koon with her new album

hmm, the autograph & photograph session only lasted a short while..

not long after that, i also then got home & that's how my day ended..

p/s: 'yes man' is telling of a guy (jim carrey) who was persuaded to say yes all the time, no matter what it is or regardless of what kind of favour people ask from him..i guess in real life, i can't be like him & say "yes" to everything..in fact, its quite impossible for anyone to do that..but well, it can surely be done in movies..

"yes!!!", gonna watch 'yes man'..soon..heh..

have a great day ahead..peeps.. ^^

"big-head prawn"

it was 2am..when i was happily walking home with bro & another friend after work..

lalala..jollying here & there..midway-thru..i realised, that i actually forgot to sign out from work after cleaning up everything at the candy bar upon closing time..lol

& i cant even go back since all the shutters for entrance into the cinema were closed..neither could i enter thru the cinema doors from outside..haha

luckily the friend of mine had another staff's contact with him..who happens to still be in the cinema..hehe..then asked him to do a favour to let the manager on duty know about it..

hmm, have no idea what time i would have signed out then..cos the manager's the one writing it..as always..but this time..i wasn't there to let him sign it..haha

well, will find out 2mr morning when i go SIGN IN for work..which i usually remember everytime i go in for work..

coincident or what..just received a call from another 2 work-mates who were with me & bro at candy bar station as well..apparently they also forgot to sign out from work..haha, trying to ask whether i'm still at workplace so that i can help them out with signing out stuff..but i got home already by the time they called..

i'm not the only one..haha..maybe we got too carried away leaving home from work & thus forgot to sign out..wonder if what will happen if we realise only the next day..

well, i guess will get scolded by manager..lol..anyway, ryte now, the manager must be thinking 1 night, 3 employees didn't sign out for work at the same time..

no big deal about this i guess..just that we get paid for the hours, so everything has to be done in a proper manner..to make sure we don't cheat extra time or something..but normally i suppose employees there usually would still have it in mind to remember signing out before leaving..

*p/s: i spot a lot of new movies up showing now..even as many as a few of them premiering altogether on the same day..hehe *sneaky smile from heart..

in 8 hours time i'll go to work..again...*sigh..
my motivation now: money & free movies..

til then..cheers~~ =)

what's up lately..

my workplace currently, the cinema is where people seek for entertainment..

After having entertained the customers, I’d love to take a break sometimes by watching movies inside..hehe..

the difference between me & customer is I watch new movies for free & get paid for the hour..even before we get our complimentary staff passes..

(shh…anyway, most of the time, it’s rather hard to get in if I was stationed at the ticket box or candy bar)

*sob sob..

Thus, my favourite post would be at the normal floor area where

when movie starts..

we check the screen’s alignment, whether the subtitles are out properly, check if there are any “illegal seaters”

when movie’s almost finishing..

unload audience from the cinema and scan through if any customers left any belongings behind..

most importantly, it does not require dealing much with customers & no handling money selling tickets means we won’t have to pay for any shortage in sales or stock wise if in candy bar

The rest of the time in between loading & unloading customers?

We randomly go in & watch any movies we like of course..

Well, however, there are still downsides to it..

various movies have similar seating time for loading customers in

Have to really make sure everything in the particular cinemas run smooth upon starting of show..

as such, we can’t stay & concentrate to watch a movie from the beginning at one point in time..

we have to go this way & that way through the theatres all the time..so can’t get to really watch 1 particular movie completely, end up the movie’s watched half way thru or in parts, here & there..

*unlike some other staff who just leave everything else & go in to watch movies even when they should be doing checking or unloading >_<

maybe I should learn to be like them as well, since if you know someone’s going to do it, then can just relax & watch ryte? But I’m one of the most obedient one working there ok..

another thing would be have to constantly watch out for time for unloading customers in different cinemas, make sure walkie-talkie’s in much more silent mode & look out for the manager’s presence.. o.O”

hmm, let’s c..keeping track of the progress for my “sneak-in & watch free movie during work-time” plan:

actually, it’s quite poor, seems like I’ve only watched endings for most movies, since that’s the time we kinda wait til the movie’s really ending & we go unload the customers..

Movies of which their endings I’ve watched before I watch the whole thing & sadly, not only once..

the day the earth stood still
transporter 3
wild child
twilight
& even some kind of malay movies
..etc

Movies which I have watched in parts:

Bolt in 3D animation
The day the earth stood still
What else..erm, can’t remember..

Movies I have watched so far:

Madagascar 2 ‘Escape to Africa’
(this movie, I’ve actually watched the 2nd half initially before continue with the 1st half.. only then there’s once I really watch the whole movie again from beginning till end..)

Rab Ne Bana De Jodi (which means "Tuhan telah tentukan Jodoh" in simple language, luckily it has got subtitles provided, if not, i would really have hard time understanding it..)

(I realized for this movie it’s also the same situation as for Madagascar 2..lol)

Well, funny that I’ve watched a Hindi movie instead of other English movies first..

it’s a new movie with longer showing time than other movies & which received good response from ticket sales

Truthfully, it’s actually quite interesting to watch..haha..

The actor sounds familiar..don’t play play.. Shah rukh khan..he’s named ‘datuk’ in m’sia..lol & he’s the only bollywood actor I know from young & now he’s in this movie..playing 2 roles with opposing characters..

My impression for hindi movies last time when I ever watch them with the maid at home on tv while I was a kid is where several elements tend to be a must in those movies:

1. There would be a lot singing & dancing..the ‘ke leh fe’ would come out from nowhere & start joining the cast (most of the time, main actor & actress) on the grassy fields or some other settings, then disappear again.. Or basically, I guess in today’s term it would be like watching a musical..

2. There would surely be love & romance in the show, most likely the actor & actress would have to go through a lot of hardships, difficulties or rejection from parents before they finally get blessing for the marriage..etc

3. Fighting would also be involved (mostly added with punching sound effects..those “ish-ish-ish” kind..)

4. The main actor would turn out to be the hero for the actress in the end Well, for this movie, the storyline is quite fun..

With shah rukh khan acting 2 characters: 1 the geeky kind & the other outgoing type

i have no idea how long ever since I’ve last watched hindi movies already..haha

Nowadays, these bollywood movies I think have improved much in quality

Points 1 & 2 remained in the movie except no rejection of love from parents, not as much of musicals from what I expect of & the settings for them are rather nice..

The movie has some parts of comedy as well, quite peaceful, no really fighting scenes & for this movie, the actor tried to be a “hero” (not practically a real hero saving someone’s life) but someone whose character he try to imitate from movies he watched together with the actress ‘in the movie’, whom he thought would keep her happy & laughing

Hmm, I suppose u have to watch the movie to know & understand more..not fun to tell the storyline here.. be better explained through watching the movie yourself..lol

I haven’t watched “Igor” yet but seems like the film’s breakdown or something if not mistaken..*sigh

Well, hope within my working times, I can still get to watch in full several movies including those now-showing in cinema like ‘bolt’, ‘yes man’ (new movie..hehe)

with the exception of movies in the malay language..which I watched some in parts & don’t think I could continue to watch them..i welcome any good movies really, as long as I can get to watch them freely..

yay, there are a few new upcoming movies which poster I saw that I’m interested in & look forward to:

well, in real life, i personally won't like mouse nor rats, pests or rodents..
b'coz they make troubles alone & nothing beneficial..
(who would like them anyway ryte?)
but ain't this fella look kinda cute?
so plz don't discriminate it yea, it's just a lil mouse in cartoon & which seems to have 'big dreams'
(well, i don't really know if it's true & haven't watched it yet, just that the poster says so..)
hmm, its ears so huge as though when they're flap over, can cover its whole face..cute..

can't wait for it..hee
squeekadee.. =) tata

good-day in..bad-day out

On a seemingly fine weather & bright sunny Saturday afternoon, “happie 3 frenz” who are actually ‘enjoying summer holidays’ decided last minute to take the day off & go visit Monash uni campus for some kind of open day.

mind you, we are not these 'happy tree friends' ok..& we're not having this sort of 'break'..
this cartoon was 1st introduced to me by my bro,
seems very cute, but it tricked me & my feelings by the initial impression..
really, it's better off be censored from kids coz it's promoting violence..*sigh

Open day..hmm, it signifies to me as if this is at least for 1 day of the year, the entrance at uni is finally freely wide open & welcomed to anybody who wants to find out more about the sch, simply for the fact, with strict security guarding on semester days, except for authorized personnel, staff & students, the rest of the public are not allowed to enter unless with student card ID or specified permission.

To be more accurate, I guess open day is meant to cater for visitors & guests in providing information, explaining details & give a brief idea on what the courses offered which are available, what they are all about to those who desires to continue their studies in the uni.

Of course, these 3 nothing-better-to-do people had previously enrolled in already, thinking of changing course then?

Quite likely, even though I think they prefer sticking to their own course & wouldn’t feel like switching to another one since they had first selected upon admission to uni. Well, on 2nd thought, don’t think it’s necessary to consider coz it seems as though the course is automatically changing itself anyway. Well, just kidding, what are they doing there then? Hmm, out of curiosity I guess. Who are the 3, u wonder?

These 3 consist of a black-&-white pet panda, a highly-respected elder (a grandfather this year), & someone who’s writing this out. It was actually the pet’s suggestion to make this trip back to uni. “Its” intention was to ‘kacau open day’..lol, actually is try to sneak in & pretend as someone new to try gain latest news regarding some complicated stuff going on with some sort of course. However, guessed his plan failed a little as he accidentally bumped into the course coordinator or rather the lecturer-in-charge who’s been teaching him the whole semester not long ago & has a great ability especially in recognizing faces, who happens to live nearby the pet’s house as well.

The pet reached first & attended a talk on ‘a career in food industry’ by Nestle. The grandfather arrived mid-way through the talk presentation while the last person was happily in dreamland at home, comfortably tugged in bed to pay sleep debt for deprivation of rest from the past few days, despite being interested to listen to what Nestle has to say about that related topic.

Well, anyway, so right, in the afternoon, the 3 met up in the cafeteria & saw the lecturer who was mentioned having a short chit-chat with the Nestle guy. Not sure why, but guess the 3 of us tend to avoid contact with them, trying to make our day peaceful. After the grandfather finished lunch (free food was provided for open day), we proceeded to Building 3 Level 5 or where the Food Science Sensory & Testing Lab is, also known as ‘our kitchen’.

Something happening there? Yea, but the event was not so happening I heard. Well, we were there for 1 purpose. We found out there’s this ‘discover the science behind jam & candy making’ thing going on. As students of the particular course, we were intrigued to check out what’s in store there. Actually, I’ve heard of this plan some time before open day started & asked if I could help but didn’t promise anything. It was about making lollipops for openday..lol..lol..lollipops!

Well, we walked up the flight of stairs till we reached that familiar location (this time, lab coat’s not required), to find out the sessions were over. However, the lab technician who used to prepare stuff for our lab experiments for us was still there & we searched around for him. Quickly enough, he was found..hehe, at the lab where he usually plays his music & illegally use the computer to have msn conversations while at work. After the exercise, we went in for the treat to “tea-time”..lol.

Hmm, they had crackers there & baguette bread too actually, but we just took the crackers, spread the jam & eat them. 2 kinds were made – orange marmalade & pineapple jam, after they were put in those glass jars, honestly they looked authentic as if they were those being sold at the supermarkets. Actually, they were prepared by another lecturer who had previously taught us as well, but he had this serious look & we wouldn’t connect or communicate with him too much (especially after some unpleasant experience of interviewing him).

To tell the truth, they tasted quite nice & delicious, real fruity taste & no preservatives as well. The lab technician told us he was famous for making his own home-made jam..lol. Too bad we didn’t take a few home, keep some for own consumption or even sell them. The lab technician la..greedy..cos we opened the fridge & say so many jars of them inside..& he said “eh, don’t kacau my jam ok, I want take them home, spent many hours cooking them & a lot of effort to make them”.. so ok loh. He added “the lecturer said: if sell, RM5 per jar, give to us, RM10 per can please… =.=”

pic 1. orange marmalade
*p/s: only for illustration purposes, actual product may vary
sorry, we just remembered to eat but forgot to take pictures of the ones we had in the lab..anyway, this is the most similar i can find..even the jars were alike..except the zest of orange was thicker..could have tasted even better if it was less bitter & a little sweeter..

i reackon if we take the marmalade & can package it nicely like this,
we can sell it after we learn how to make them too..

marmalade..reminds me of something..yes, this teddy..

if not mistaken, i think this fella..

paddington bear kinda loves marmalade for his bread or sandwich

maybe we can sell em' to this guy here..
seems like it's rich & got a lot of cash money to pay for it..hehe


until it becomes like this..not a penny left..lol..
as we rob him of all his money & empty his wallet, from..
persuading it into buying his favourite orange marmalade which i think he's addicted of..

the pineapple jam looks almost like the orange marmalade in pic 1, in terms of colour, only without the orange peel..

There was another item displayed. It was none other than ‘the candies’, got 1-piece-information prepared there some more, which looks exactly like our notes showing crystallization of hard candies from what we learnt. At 1st glance, they didn’t look like lollipops to me o.O” or whatever kind of candies i've seen before… Since they were not commercially made & neither were them experts or professional in making candies/lollipops, alright then, still acceptable la. Heard that they melt the candies & they get hardened almost immediately when cooled down, so fast that they ‘tak sempat’ to shape it to a proper looking lollipop. Fine then, since we never made them in our practicals & for things we didn’t experience, it’s hard to judge its difficulty unless u tried it before & then only u’ll know it.

this appeared in our lecture notes several times,
& also in the extra information piece provided for the open day..
but what we saw looked nothing like it..the candies were rather different..lol

The end result is they ended up in random shapes of candies, weird looking, an easier way to describe is like ‘paramecium or amoeba kind of shape’, some of them (the ‘considered better tasting & more flavourful ones’) with ‘satay sticks’ poked inside them. Funny, this is the first time I c such candies in my life. What’s more interesting is they even attempt to make us do the usual ‘sensory evaluation’..haha, how?

Well, they insert artificial colourings inside the candies, to make it colourful. The twist is, the colour does not correspond to the flavour it’s supposed to taste like..lol & I was told not to discriminate them, just because of the colour, & then try to guess the real flavour the candy has. Imagine this, blue colour candies have strawberry flavour or green coloured ones having coffee taste. This was what we experienced & they purposely did that.. =S

we were considered courageous & brave enough to give face & eat them. Based on what we heard from another lab personnel is that when visitors who came beforehand were offered for free tasting, they refused to try.

Well, we know it’s safe to eat them,

1st because we know clearly what those scientist do in the lab should be safe

somehow we can expect what is really going on inside;

we have always been guinea pigs for our own experiments, even more risky & hazardous ones,

we are young & adventurous..haha..

lastly & most importantly, I’m still very much alive HERE

eeks..

Hmm, at least the candies still had some flavour inside them (I was thinking if they put in natural flavourings coz they had this small demonstration of difference between natural & synthetic colourings on a piece of paper, but we noticed a lot of those little bottles [variety of colours & flavourings] in the fridge, so yea, it was just simple candies like u always find in the market place), just that it didn’t have a distinctive shape to them. Anyway, we should still appreciate & give credits to those who contributed time & effort to make them, in spite of us not able to eat them all in the end, cos it was sweet & we couldn’t bear to finish the whole thing.

Basically, the highlights of the day..were only the 2 parts I mentioned in our trip to the open day, & probably why we were there, regardless of all the range of programmes set out for open day, coz there were from other schools, not much related to us & we don’t need to consider other things since we’re already mid-way thru our course already.

Going back to the ‘kitchen’ again makes me reminisce of the fun times we had doing the experiments & cooking inside, oh yea, to update some of the FST people, they finally fixed 1 monitor & placed 1 keyboard on the sensory evaluation desk & just that 1, is it for open day purpose, maybe..or perhaps they’re gonna start putting them up anyway..i'm not sure..

Well, the future for ‘food science & tech’ is really uncertain at the moment, how it’s going to turn out, nobody can give a definite answer currently..simple question such as if we’re ever gonna need to step foot in the ‘kitchen’ again? seriously, I really don’t know.. but I do hope so..

& how come we never get to make candies ourselves in the lab? We can also learn to make jam as well, yet, we’re not getting opportunity to do it. With the lecturer’s expertise in the area of ‘freezing & crystallization’, I wish I can learn how to make ice-cream..

my ideal ice cream should be nice, smooth, creamy, accompanied with wafer pieces
& topped with a cherry..so heavenly..
ice creams..anyone?

I like ice-cream, it’s refreshing to eat, they’re nice & it makes up my day sometimes, when I feel a lil’ down..there was once when my church was giving out free wall’s mini ice-cream to first-time friends & newcomers, the pastor said: we’re giving out free ice-creams today & he simply asked, ice-cream makes people (fill in the blank)……. & the crowd responded “happy!!!”, all at once, anonymously..lol..haha..despite it was the 1st time pastor asked that question..maybe there’s some truth in it from this quote..

probably, it’s just like eating chocolates can make people release hormones which make them cheerful or “sweet sugary stuff” makes people go hyper.. just some food for thought..well, food affects your mood, isn’t that true? At least it’s been scientifically proven from what I understand of..

no doubt, to many..this is something lovely & which is devilishly tempting..

whatever it is..**salute to the person who discovered ice-cream..
ice-cream works..it did make a difference to the world..at least it put laughter on kids & even adults who normally frown more easily than just simply smile..adults are frequently stressing themselves out over the reality of life, just ain’t living life to the fullest & most often, when they smile, you c them just trying too hard in it, how long does it take that you actually see a sincere smile from the heart? So, remember to take a break & let life go easy once in a while, people.. =)

Food can be fun & satisfaction always comes with food in daily life..of course, we must still be cautious & more health conscious..as suzz mentioned: Good health & life are not to be taken granted for, 100% agree to that..you are what you eat..bet you would have heard that somewhere..

i think it’s important to eat nutritious food according to a balance diet & consume moderately..many guidelines are out there like the food pyramid which one can follow to keep to a right way of eating in life..so take care, beware & watch what you eat, afterall, health comes before wealth & more can only be achieved when you have good health..surely, everyone would want to live a long, good life & be able to spend precious quality time with loved ones..ryte?

Hmm, guess I’ll just leave that aside off my mind & relax myself a bit..but for now, surely I’ll still continue to enjoy food & cherish valuable fellowships over a meal..

thank God for artistic & skillful chefs who are creative in inventing brilliant recipes, continuous provision for good food, that i'm fortunate enough to not be part of the world which experience famine or long-term hunger & of course great companionship..

well, the day ended with rain which poured heavily like cats & dogs..
*sorry lorence for making u becoming a ‘chicken in the soup’, being soaked wet while getting the car to fetch us inside the campus..i need get a brand new umbrella, actually it’s been a bit faulty since I don’t-know-when & I got rid of it later on..but guess we can’t live without one in this country..

More like I hope everyday is a sunny day, makes our mood brighter..on more realistic side, I just don’t like it to rain during the day when we’re most likely out somewhere, prefer staying nice & dry throughout the day..somewhat, I don’t mind it when the sky is cloudy (the prior signal or phenomena just before it rains) throughout the day, when the scorching hot sun would be hiding & there’s cool breeze blowing and if it is raining only at nights when I slip in to bed or whenever I’m not going out..makes me feel more ‘homey’ to stay in the house..lol

out of sudden, i come to realize, winnie the pooh seems always to be hugging his "hunny pot" a lot & can't let go of it whereas paddington would not be willing to give up on marmalade..

now just 1 question here: do bears actually like sticky stuff or just basically sweet foods?

That’s for the day out..have a nice day, yo!! ~cheers..tata

Things i thought interesting from work

Apparently the job of selling movie tickets at the counter or selling snacks at the cashier point is put up a game face & entertain the customers who pay to seek for entertainment as movie audiences

1 moment you have to greet the customers nicely..the next moment thinking how much time left before work finishes & can go back home..

*sometimes just repeating the same thing to ask customer can be tiring I wish I have a job that doesn’t require me to talk..

especially now that I’m losing my voice, I can’t really communicate with my fellow co-workers or even speak to customers..a ‘quiet’ one could make me peaceful enough..

Standing behind the counters, you can clearly c the flow of people that come rushing in especially during bz hours

(as in the eyes of employers & managers, it signifies gaining high profit, breaking blockbuster office tickets sales, reaching demand targets, or simply in other words, it means business, achieving lots of business and more business, and this hit just comes non-stop all the time)

..for us, employees, it means work, work & more work..

My first day of work was with my bro (2-in-1) handling a single ticket counter & dealing with customers, yet we still have NO IDEA or even have time to find out

what movies are actually on show,

which ones premiering,

which are about to be up,

the name in the listings which correspond to which movie..etc,

we were left there straight away, a bit confused of what’s going on at an instant especially if various kinds of voucher coupons or booked tickets come thru, needing to make sure we don’t key in the wrong things or make any silly careless mistakes..haha..so, we learnt, this job requires considerable degree of alertness..lack of sleep could mean greater risk of vulnerable faults..

I’m having sufficient sleep-time, considering my day-time is still left unoccupied..but sadly, I now wake up at night & have my free time in the morning to sleep to charge up in order to go to work from the evening till night..i wish I could reverse it even though I’m taking night shifts..feels unhealthy & kinda weird to stay up when nobody’s awake this time..everyone’s supposed to be sleeping peacefully at midnight hours..

my life’s turning upside-down again..whenever it comes to holidays..it’s always the same pattern as well..not feeling too comfortable about it the longer it is, because you get used to it very quickly..almost immediately after 1 or 2 nites..but fast enough, you know, day time is set aside for work & night is meant for rest at the end of the day..well, I can’t do anything now unless I change my work time to day but for now guess I’m still gonna have to behave as nocturnal..at least what I can do now is try harder to adjust the sleeping time better..

Anyway, this is my second part-time job I’ve done. My one & only previous experience was involved with donuts. Thus, every day I would be talking about donuts to customers, thinking about donuts, scooping donuts into the packaging boxes, smell the aroma of donuts, sometimes eat donuts, except at least the good thing is don’t fell like as a donut.

Now, the F & B part of this film & movie industry makes use of a lot of corn. The cinema sells freshly cooked corn-in-cup, popcorns in caramel flavour, & even the chips (like Twisties), is also made from corn. This time round, there’s lots of corn, corn & corn..lol..but no harm, I like to eat popcorn, especially those covered with caramel, & now I can pop in free popcorns, & get to pick those richly covered ones, once in a while at work..hehe..

The first welcoming sight upon entering the code-sealed door is the ‘popcorn machine’ (I shall call it the popping alley, since along that alley is where the machine starts popping popcorns out)..haha

I’ve never tried working on that machine to make popcorns, but basic thing is that you just have to put the ingredients in & the machine will start making it..maybe just check on the temperature & stuff like that, so have yet to find out how it really functions & maybe steal some freshly made caramel popcorn to eat..lol .. *ahaha..not good for the throat though.. no doubt I’ve observed that customers usually start eating them non-stop even before they go in to watch the show.. think I’m only saying this since I’m having sore throat currently.. should really abstain from eating them ..even though I guess it somehow makes people addicted of it up until the point where it’s finished or they finally just had enough of it..is it the corn or the pop or the caramel, I wonder..

Popcorns, popcorns..corns that pop, true enough for how its name is derived from there..what I’m curious is how & who discovered this devilish-ly delicious popcorns which serve as a perfect snack for movies..did 1 day that person just happened to heat up the corn & accidentally let it pop? Hmm, apparently this popcorn came about through the ‘explosion’ of the kernel & gets puffed up when heated..cute description..well, to know the answer is ez enough, nowadays, u just have to wiki it up & u’ll find the whole story about it..whatever it is, it’s still an all-time favourite snack among movie-lovers..

I realized..when a person is sick, the more he or she will crave for something & the greater the craving will be for food that he or she can’t eat the moment the person’s sick..well, that’s me actually..but I’ll be fine soon enough..but who knows maybe after the sore throat recovers, there will no longer be such strong cravings or desire or temptation over foods that should be avoided when sick..haha, perhaps that’s just part & parcel of learning how to practice self-control in overcoming illness & re-gaining health for the sake of better well-being in daily life..*sore throat..go away plz..shoo shoo >_<

night life

Hmm, let’s c..few days after I got back from S’pore, I went for “window shopping”, yeah~~..no, more like looking at the front window for that little piece of paper or notice that states ‘now hiring’/’vacancies available now’. Simple reason, I started my job hunting mission then.

So, how well did the ‘summer holidays’ part-time work plan fare?
Where to find me exactly? Ok, it’s easy, take the escalator up (from opposite of baskin robbins) in Sunway Pyramid, p.s: you’re on the ryte direction if u lift your heads high and get to c the ‘sceneric cloudy sky view with a movie clipboard & movie pass painting’. Follow this track & you get to 2 places:

1. Cinema (directly ahead of you in front),
2. Arcade games centre on your right after reaching from escalator

yes, as some of u may have already known, i'm currently working at tgv..mostly night shifts..have thought of finding another part-time job to fill in for day-time..but seems to be unsuccessful & didn't go as planned..since there's no reply from the few i asked of & i'll be going back in january, quite unlikely they'll hire someone who ain't gonna stay long enough for work..but will i still stick to night shifts for work in TGV..

somehow, i prefer GSC better..i don't know y..i just feel their cinema is of higher quality..in terms of..hmm..everything? maybe it's not so, but i don't really need to care actually..well, since it's convenient enough for me to go to Sunway Pyramid which is just a walking distance away from home..i don't mind really..ryte now, my goal is just to earn $$$ as much as i can..i'm just a student & with 3 months to spare without studying..what do u expect me to do to kill time..at least working can give me some kind of experience & not to mention extra money..hehe..

Hmm, if you’re lucky, you might spot me fast enough behind some counters selling movie tickets (“Ticket Box”). Ironically, I’m more probably the one who’s buying tickets instead of standing behind those counters fixed with computers inside the transparent screens on top.

Or else, I might be somewhere at the “candy bar” selling popcorn or drinks & snacks.

Otherwise, I could be roaming around the cinema (mentioned as the “Floor” area) doing checking of tickets upon customers entering the cinema or shining some torchlights at illegal seaters (paid for tickets allocated for different seating locations), & chasing them out of the cinema..no, jk.. just away, back to their original places, maybe also switch on & off lights near or end movie showing time..check if there's anything missing or left by customer..but 1 thing is weird..this cinema has no "lost & found counter"..*sigh

It was officially my 1st day of work (the same day as results were released via sms), & if not mistakenly remembered, it was a Thursday. I sent in the application form on Tuesday together with my brother & in late afternoon, bro got a call requesting us to go for interview the next day, explain the details, confirming information & everything..immediately, job offered, hah, and that was really fortunate as we got such prompt reply to enter for work.
p/s: i was wondering whether i was applying for the ryte job when i read on top of the form which has it written:(Customer Relations Officer [CRO] ..don’t be fooled, it sounds nice only, but actually it’s cheap labour)..& just normal thing the employees do..nothing special..

We’re not supposed or expected to sell tickets or handle cash on the 1st day but due to shortage of staff, they quickly run us through a brief training of how to operate at the counters. There we were, then began selling tickets. Of course, a try at something new was rather fun, we never did anything like that & since it did not require any professional skills, it took a short while to learn about what it’s all about, as it is not as complicated as it looks. Just imagine, standing or sitting there, clicking a few buttons with the mouse, interact with customers, & u send them in the theatres right away.

Standard procedure
(which in fact, is even found listed on the counter tables),
let’s c if I can remember them:

Greet customers, say hello (with a smile & eye contact) -->
Ask them which movie they would like to watch, this includes:

what time,
how many person,
allow them to choose seats which are available,
explain how far or near is it from the main screen
..blah blah blah..
if you have bought tickets before (I’m sure u have), you would know what I’m talking about.
Repeat order
(basically the 5W’s & 1 How)
Which movie
What kind of seats (couple or normal) or tickets (standard or students or kids)
Where are the seating locations
When is the show-time for that particular movie
well, except for Who you’re watching with & Why are u watching that movie la..
which sounds ridiculous to ask ryte
seems like I’ve added another W ques (which)..but it does make sense..so I’ll just leave it as it is
& How (you watch the movie).. clearly you wanna skip this ques..if not, you wouldn’t expect someone to watch using other than eyes & ears ryte? What else would be involved except the senses of sight & sound in a movie..if u have any reasonable suggestions, u come & tell me please..

I personally don’t wanna get into trouble or end up with a red & bruised eye or nose the next day, from a ‘sendiri-cari-pasal’ case..

Unless, of course you can double-check tickets for How many person that is..

hmm..have no idea how to end this properly but guess that's just about what's involved in the job i've experienced so far..will update more soon..

MIA

I’ll most likely be missing in action starting night-time to midnights from now on. Yeap, I know what some of you are thinking about, as usual, I would be nocturnal, most active at night, go out & hunt for food (blood)..but now no (don’t misunderstand or get mistaken, it’s also not like I always do that ever since last time, okay), sorry, for a different reason. *sigh, I miss chatting at night on msn with friends la, everytime I come home, it’s already very late (or should I say rather early in the wee hours of morning after midnight or so)..but what to do, I have more serious work to do at nights. Well, mystery will be revealed soon anyway, hang on please, thank you.