more random shots

... government offices must consume a lot of tea leaves, sugar and milk. but you know that already, don't you. it appears though that some have started to have 'minum' (i.e. tea breaks) at 9.30 in the morning.. oh sorry, was that still breakfast? i had read the newspaper from cover to cover and probably memorized the entire Carta Organisasi on the wall and the officer was still at 'minum, lah'. on the other hand, it could well be the case that the officer was in fact in a bona fide meeting and the guard outside only said "minum, lah" because it's almost an irrebuttable presumption that if an officer was not found in his room/cubicle, he would be in the pantry having tea.

... and, speaking of government offices.. wonder what the interior of the new government offices in the new federal administrative capital look like. some of the facades are nothing short of impressive, e.g. that of the federal treasury. would they have retained the tacky yellow leather sofas, polystyrene organization charts and crackly radios playing strains of Ella (not Fitzgerald)?

... anyway, won't have to deal with government offices so much anymore for a while, so i should stop griping. and anyway, CHRISTMAS IS COMING SOON!!

random shots

... the office moneyplant is home. the 2-dollar Ikea plant in a beige Ikea vase which has thrived on plain water, fluorescent light and dust from files for three years, and has since grown into a forest in its own right, is home.

... I used to loathe britpop when it was overplayed on Trent FM every morning. now, after resurrecting my BBC Top of the Pops 1998 CDs on the car speakers, I'm actually missing the stuff.

... I know it's way too early, but CHRISTMAS IS COMING SOON! now, if only the weather was chilly, the days were getting shorter and there was a chance of snow...

... I volunteered to play for Christmas. I'm not even sure I remember the feeling of how my fingers should be positioned on the piano.

crossing the line

It's not exactly in line with the local culture to stop for pedestrians to cross the street. However, on the odd occasion, one does fall into a lapse from the local mindset, and decide to help the poor laptop-lugging pedestrian get to the other side in once piece.

Which leads to some interesting observations in respect of the subjects of this kind gesture...

Regular Joe

Your average nice person would probably offer a smile or wave thank-you as they cross. He would at least be considerate enough not to make your hair turn grey while sauntering across at 0.1 km/h. You drive off feeling you've done a good deed for the day.

Road to Perdition

You stop. They get off the conversation on their handphones momentarily to give you the "Yeah, that's what you ought to do, I have the irrevocable right to cross this road unobstructed" look, and then recommence the tête-à-tête while taking an eternity to cross.

The Jackass Jaywalker

In the mornings, streams of vehicles pour into the bowels of the 30-storey office building where I work, while pedestrians are forced to wait at the sides until the traffic lights turn red. As I was in a kind mood that morning (and wasn't running late for once), I decided to stop for the bloke to cross.

Observation: The Jackass Jaywalker will take a few ages to swagger across all of 5 metres of tarmac. But there's more.. the catwalk act also comes with a wink and a sleazy smile.

The Eternally Grateful

Wouldn't say this is a usual occurrence. I've only encountered an Eternally Grateful once. Many many moons ago, I was in Mom's car cruising along Jalan Pahang when we noticed from a distance that an old lady was trying to cross the dual-carriageway near the hospital. Mom stopped for the old lady to cross.

Ah Poh was so touched with the gesture that she stopped in front of our car and started uttering strings of praise and verses of thanks in Chinese while earnestly patting the bonnet.

This was followed by a castigation of the rest of the younger generation in general - all those lazy good-for-nothings who no longer respect or care for their elders. She wrapped up the emotional address with words of praise yet again for a rare gem amongst young punks who wouldn't give two hoots about old Granny trying to cross the busy road.

I guess it was supposed to be a feel-good moment.

But it was so strange.

The Stunned Strider, a.k.a. The Paranoid Pedestrian

They can't believe a car has stopped for them. In fact, although they seem to be looking straight at you, they don't realize the fact that the automobile that was earlier heading towards their path is now absolutely stationary.

So there you are, waving your hands madly through the windscreen and/or tooting your horn as politely as possible in an effort to say..

"Yo man, I've just stopped. For you. You may cross now. Yeah, seriously. Cross. Please."

.. while your eyelids tremble and you start sneezing all of a sudden - a sign that the other motorists in the line of traffic building up behind you are cursing at you..

*Pic above taken on Hollywood Blvd from somewhere near Grauman's Chinese Theatre, July 2004.

and the sorting hat says..

You are a RAVENCLAW! As a Ravenclaw and as an NFP, you are imaginative, idea-oriented, and value intelligence. You may be a non-conformist, and are probably good at seeing new ways of doing things. You are insightful and perceptive, and as an empathic person who highly values harmony, you usually try to avoid conflict. Of course, you may enjoy participating in heated debates - but only as long as they remain on an intellectual level and not a personal level. In general, you are open-minded and curious, and set high standards for yourself.

Hogwarts Sorting Hat: Based on Myers-Briggs Personality Typing
brought to you by Quizilla

/note/ apparently "NFP" is a reference to iNtuitive, Feeling and Perceiving (see e.g. this site and this other site)

/rambling/ look out, world! here comes the curious non-conformist!

cold cape cod clams, 'gainst their wish, do it ...

Random howler from the Science Joke Archive:

Chemical engineers do it in packed beds.
Chemists do it in test tubes.
Chemists do it in the fume hood.
Chemists do it periodically on the table.
Chemists do it reactively.
Chemists like to experiment.
Electrochemists have greater potential.
Polymer chemists do it in chains.
Toxicologists do it till they're half-dead.

and there are unbelievably long lists on how physicists and mathematicians do it.. (sorry, i chose chemistry only because it was a favourite subject in college..)