In case those of you who follow this blog regularly start thinking that my life is all about the roses and rainbows, well, here’s a little dose of reality.

I’m not being pessimistic or depressive here. Just…practical. If there is anything I’ve learnt over the years of job hunts and trying to live life to the fullest, it is that things don’t always turn out the way you expect it to and sometimes, no, make that most of the time, it is for the best. We may not know it as such but still…

Anyway, I have always been blessed enough to find a job speedily in the past few years but it wasn’t always the case. In Australia, I received more rejections that the worrypot-pressure cooker in me could handle so I reluctantly gave up the idea of working there and came home. Two weeks later, I found a job teaching which lead me onto to good things…good things that I’m grateful for.

So, it would appear that God has a little similar lesson/idea in store for me. Since receiving my permit about two weeks ago, I started sending out resumes and applications. My first rejection came yesterday from Geneva. I had applied for a post as a production editor - something quite similar to what I had been doing last year prior to going back to academia.

There was no reason given; I have written back asking them why though (and naturally thanking them as well) but at least there is a silver lining to the email - they have my resume in their database and would contact me when/if there are any openings.

I guess I’ll just have to continue on and not give up so easily - the temptation is there though. In the meantime, I’m toying with a new idea for the shop (the one I closed off last year) and can take comfort in the fact that I can still earn some money online.

I just wish people back at home (no one specifically) - the media and those in it included - would stop pandering the idea that those of us who migrated abroad have it easy because it’s just not how things are. If anything, it’s harder for us but eventually, we all learn to adapt and cope…like I did.

So yes, here’s to days of lots of prayer(s) and more applications to send out!

Tonight, the main dish is roast pork with a simple salad. But really, that’s not what I want to talk about although I would put up the recipe and pics soon enough.

Yesterday, Chooks buzzed over a link (sorry, babe, I was busy tackling my ice cream!) regarding Justice Chin’s humiliating experience(s). Instantly, the (famous) words/idea pandered by Calvin’s dad to him whenever he was order to do some serious snow shovelling came to mind.

“It builds character.”

Hard work and effort has often been seen as the foundation of good character. Time and time again, we have been told that success is more sweat than shade (read: relaxation)and that good character encompasses moral attributes like determination and effort. Yet here we read of a man, no, make that a High Court judge, whining about what seems to be more like a motivation/team-building course. Heck, my five hour hike is more strenuous that him carrying an egg around for five days.

I share Chooks’ sentiments right to the T. And this had to come right after my semi-rant conversation with Mum and Nil about how most Malaysians are lacking in character.

Children today have maids to pick up after them, so they don’t bother even hanging up their clothes much or less help out with the house chores. Parents today have maids to do all the work for them so they spent most of their time doing other things like mahjong, shopping and treating the maid worse than the dog. We as a society don’t bother upholding our leaders to a strict moral code of conduct, allowing them to babble stupid nonsense like “women should enjoy being rape” or to subject their peers to vilification and sexist remarks. Sure we throw a fuss but after some hangat-hangat tahi ayam reporting in the papers, you find the same fella uttering the same shit again a week or two later. We as individuals don’t see even see the point in educating ourselves much or less improve our street-wisdom unless we get “burn” from our mistakes. I have lost count of the number of cons Malaysians get themselves in and seriously, it only happens to us!!!!!!!!!!! Are we all that stupid or just lazy?

Somehow over the years, Malaysians today have become lesser than what our parents used to be. We have learnt that whining is better than changing our perspective, that being lazy is better than being fit, that being an idiot is better than being diplomatic and so forth.

As for Justice Chin, well, here’s something for the man - since when did being a judge or a politician exempted him from some good old-fashioned hard work?

If only there was a way to strip politicians of their wealth and comforts for a week, heck, a day or two, and bring them down to the people’s level. And by the people, I mean people like the aunty who makes their coffee and the lady who washes the toilets or the guy who picks up the garbage. Perhaps then, they’ll understand the true meaning of DECENT hard work.

Mum and Dad often ask me if I keep up with the local news back home. Sometimes I wish I could lie and say that I do and I do everyday but I don’t. The situation back at home makes me sick. The people make me sick. The administration makes me sick. Reading about people who get conned, about judges who whine upside down, inside out and all the complaints about this and that just makes me so angry and come out wanting to bytch slap the country, its people and politicians.

Well, I suppose this is all part of the Malaysia Boleh scheme…

I know I said I would not talk about politics and such but I couldn’t resist having my say (that’s why I have this blog) after reading that the Malaysian government is giving out a rebate of RM625 to vehicle owners (with cars running on an engine capacity of 2,000cc) and political parties like MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) are calling for a complete abolishment of toll and road tax in Selangor.

From here,

State party chairman Datuk Ong Tee Keat said this would help ease the burden of the public as a result of the petrol and diesel price hikes.

He said the Selangor MCA exco had unanimously agreed to the two proposals after taking into account the sentiments and feelings of the people on the ground and their “level of discomfort” following the price increases.

“I am the Transport Minister but this does not mean that I cannot voice out the concerns of the grassroots. A minister can also be sensitive and in touch with the feelings of the grassroots,” he said yesterday after chairing the two-hour state exco meeting.

Sorry, Datuk Ong, but if you were a sensitive minister as you claim to be, you’d talk about making proactive changes to the public transportation system so it can be afforded by all NOT by abolishing tolls and road tax which only apply to those who can afford to pay it. Do you think your cleaning lady has enough money for a car much or less the toll or road tax????

…and here…

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said although the Government had announced that cash rebates could only be collected beginning July 1, it had decided to bring forward the date.

“This is because we want to ease the burden of the rakyat. Detailed information on the actual procedure will be announced soon,” he told reporters after chairing the first National Inflation Council meeting at his office here yesterday.

Pak Lah, as much as I have faith in you, I wish to say that this is not a long term solution to ease the burden of the rakyat. The rakyat needs better public transportation, something which you promised but have yet to execute.

Is this a solution or just another problem in the making?

I remember the whole carpool thing in the 80s which died down because of the boom; every Malaysian went crazy and bought him/herself a brand new car and many drive to town in single occupancy vehicles. Never mind that KL was only so big and parking was a huge problem…there is, of course, the traffic and pollution which hardly makes it a great town to walk around in.

When the fuel hike hit two years ago (and now), I thought (and still think) that one of the best things the Government could do was buck up the public transportation system with the taxes earned and subsidies saved.

Instead, we get idiots telling us that we should give car owners more rebates and less tolls. WHAT. THE. HELL. This is perhaps the equivalent of the French saying, un pansement sur un jambe de bois. Loosely translated? Rebates, abolishing tolls and road tax is the equivalent of putting plaster on a wooden leg.

*insertsarcasm* I think 31st October came early. Time to send out some Halloween invitations. *endsarcasm*

Really…talking about politics on the blogsphere has a way of, well, ruffling up feathers. After visiting heaps of blogs online - silently or otherwise - it has dawned on me that Malaysians are really an angry lot of people who just love to complain. Whether it’s with reason or not, well, that has left to be seen…

The funny thing is this: a lot of the ones doing the complaining are also the ones who can afford that extra bit of the cash or find better paying jobs. The cleaning lady, ah sums, sales assistants and farmers of Malaysia (plus a whole lot of other poor people) are busy trying to earn a living and deal with this as best as they can, which probably explains why you don’t see a lot of them on the Internet blogging about their lives.

Those of us who offer a different view on the situation are immediately shot down as 1) disconnected, 2) ignorant and 3) just plain old-fashioned “you don’t understand”. Never mind that my M’sian friends who are living abroad are not having an easy time with the fuel hikes and rising costs either…that’s the bloody misconception that most M’sians have - if you have a toe dipped on foreign soil, you’re swimming in gold. Pfft. Sorry to disappoint you but like every other Mat Salleh, we have to work hard (if not doubly so) for our moolah and even then, it’s not all roses and peaches…

I really don’t know what else to tell M’sians. I, like Edrei, believe that everyone is part of the problem and while being angry is allowed, being angry without a plan or any proactive action is just stupid. The whole hangat-hangat tahi ayam, y’know…

I wonder if there is an action group pushing the government to better public transport and etc…or are complaints just falling onto deaf ears?

Either way, it’s back to the usual stuff for me - Mum’s here for a visit and I’ve been busy. Won’t even be around next week. I’m going to blow at least a couple of hundreds just for travelling from Switzerland to France and vice-versa. *insertsarcasm* Yes, what to do? I’m living in comfort here, mah. *endsarcasm*

Hm…I wonder if overdosing on diet pills would help get rid of the additional “stuff” (being polite here) I’ve had to swallow of lately…

Since I got tagged by Chooks with a whole barrage of what-ifs…

In random order or importance or linkage, what if…

…the world was upside down?
…Malaysia was First-World country and Switzerland a developing country?
…oil, and other natural resources were to never run out?
…diamonds were free? Would we still hold onto the “diamonds are forever” motto at every wedding?
…people were colour blind?
…the world was really coloured different and we are all suffering from some visual disease?
…interracial relationships were the norm and same-race relationships were taboo?
…monogamy was frowned upon?
…magic really exist (but we are all Muggles)?
…there is no God?
…there is nothing after death, eg no heaven/hell? Would people still care how they live their lives?
…people could go to space in their cars?
…you could travel the universe in a blink of an eye?
…you could change the world and its people? What would you change?
…you could live forever? Would you want to?

I have considered many other more what-ifs that are on a personal level, too personal to share on this blog. Apologies. Over time, I have decided to live in the now instead of wondering if this was truly “it” for me. Sometimes too much wondering is bad for the soul.

Two years ago, my sentiment regarding the fuel hike was slightly, to say the least, different. I had anticipated this but I wasn’t happy nonetheless.

Since moving to Switzerland, I have had a chance to experience the “other” side which I thought was always fantastic. Y’know, the whole “the grass is greener on the other side” mentality. It isn’t in many ways.

Many Malaysians don’t know how good they have it…

Rising cost of living? Come to Switzerland where you pay, dollar to dollar, 30 to 90 CHF per kilo of meat, 10 to 30 CHF per kilo of vegetable/fruit and 20 to 40 CHF per kilo of dairy (milk, cheese or eggs). Eating out costs 16 CHF for two kebabs to 30 CHF for two pizzas and two drinks. Nil and I don’t patronized expensive restaurants because we can’t afford it. We barely eat out as it is because it’s cheaper eating at home. We do our groceries the smart way - buying when things are on sale.

Cheaper car? Sorry, but even though cars are cheaper here, the price of fuel, maintenance, parking, tax, and insurance aren’t. Even getting a Swiss driving licenses costs nearly 200 CHF. So we don’t own a car. We walk, or we take the public transport.

Sucky public transport? Okay, so Malaysian public transport sucks but it’s privatised and if it doesn’t make money (read: if people don’t use it), how is it going to improve on its services and networks? If the Government has to bail the companies out, then we’re back to square one - the whole “if it doesn’t work out, the Government will bail me” type of mentality.

High electricity rates? I have to pay for electricity, heating and water on top of my rental. That amounts up to nearly 1.5K CHF per month and it’s considered a rather low-average figure in Switzerland. I would have to pay more but we cut corners whenever we can. Have you looked at how you consume electricity? Nil and I switched to energy efficient light bulbs, refrigerator and stove top/oven. We don’t turn on the lights until it’s after 9pm because the sunsets only then. I know of people who complain about their rising electricity bill yet they go to bed in air-conditioned rooms where the unit runs at the lowest temp, maximum speed for at least eight hours or more, all year round; leave the lights on even though they aren’t in the room/house and so forth.

Unscrupulous hawker stall owners? Look, if you have to pay RM5 for a bowl of noodles with nothing, why are you still going to that hawker stall? If you can’t afford to eat out, cook at home. If you don’t know how to cook, learn.

Nevertheless, I still want to see what the Government is doing with all the saved subsidies. Ever considered pushing them to invest more time, energy and money into sustainable fuel?

In the meantime, please, Malaysians, don’t complain about how you’re suffering when you can still afford food on the table, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and toys to play with as well as other “miscellaneous” items like that shopping spree, luxury coffee, gifts and occasional bribe. The increases affects the poor and lower echelons of society more than it does you. Besides even though whining is allowed, after a while if that’s all you do, you’re nothing more than a whiner.

More here.

Take My Wings by Coco Wang

The human spirit is one of the greatest things God ever created in His indefinite wisdom. We possess all matter of character and personality, and capable of the most wicked of things to the greatest of them all - sacrifice and bold, unfeathered courage.

Inspired by the true stories of the survivors and victims of the recent earthquake that hit China, Coco Wang, one half of a Chinese animation and design company, came up with a series of comic strips retelling the same stories to the world through the Internet…

More here.

Since summer is fast approaching where I am and the sun is out more often (it still rains though, which is good for my plants) I was wondering…do you burn or tan? If you can, share a story about your worst episode in the sun…

I remember when I was around 20, I was crazy about tans, the opposite of heaps of others who were nuts about staying white and products with skin lightening properties. I would head off to the beach when I could and once there, I would just sunbathe till I got what I wanted…with sunblock in tow, of course.

But there was this one time that I forgot my sunblock and sun tanning oil. The silly me thought that it would still be okay to bask under the sun/semi-shade. And so I did…for four hours. I ended up with a badly burnt face, chest and shoulders - wearing clothes never felt more painful and horrid…

Needless to say, I learnt my lesson well and I discovered something - just because you’re dark or brown, it doesn’t mean that you won’t burn. You still will but at a slower rate…

So yes, back to you - do you burn or tan?