A romantic proposal

How romantic is that??

Sadly, it didn't lead to anything...

(Note: It's a joke. And it's from an anonymous source...no revealing please! Same principle as in the rabbit-killer post...any potentially dangerous comments will be deleted!)

Wait, there's more. J (a guy) wanted to join the girls shopping.

(click to enlarge)

So that's his trick...he wants to share changing rooms!!

Soooo busted! Hahaha... (he said that himself by the way...after we said "Aha! That's why...")

Photo October Day 20: Buttons

I wonder...are these exclusively Asian? Hmm...

The "abang angkat" syndrome

Previously

B: Your brother not here ah? (referring to J)


Today

(as I walked in)
F: J's little sister is here...

(later)
B: Your brother not here yet?
Me: Huh? This one? (referring to J)
B: No la...this one not here already...that one la. (referring to P)


Tidak pernah pun aku "mengangkat" sesiapa sebagai abangku...tetapi orang lain telah pun melakukan proses "angkat-mengangkat" ini untukku...

Or maybe I just have too many brothers, I can't keep track any more...

Photo October Day 19: Click

Click~ click~ click~

The day I received a warning from admin

This morning as I was hard at work, a message suddenly popped up on my screen.


*Gasp* How did they know that I was just looking at something else?

Seconds later a second message arrived: "Office hour don't Skype so much~!!!"

Oh, no! Don't block my Skype!! *horrified*

Then a third... "Hahaha~!!!"

Okay, it was my friend fooling with me...talk about playing at work! >:D

(unfortunately I didn't take screenshots of all the messages...I initially wanted to, but then I thought it would be a bother...and now I wish I had :P )

Photo October Day 18: Name

The name of the hotel where I went to a seminar yesterday!


The car park attendant told me that I should get my parking ticket stamped inside. So when I got to the registration table, I asked them for the stamp. They pointed me to a table in the middle of the floor (there were two or three meeting/conference rooms on the same floor) where there was a stamp and inking pad, for a 5-ringgit flat rate.

I was thinking, if they charge RM5 for a whole day, how much do they charge per hour?? But later the seminar people gave us parking coupons for free parking. ^_^

So then I thought...if I ever have to park somewhere around here for the whole day, I could come upstairs and get the stamp myself...right? :P

Photo October Day 17: Call

Who do you call? (Ghostbusters! lol)

Well, not in this case.


Nope, I don't make a lot of calls. :P Face-to-face is better!

The journey: Year 5

November 2007: Grenoble


Grenoble is really close to Lyon...but somehow it took me more than two years before I finally went there for a visit! There's a cable car going up to the fortress (at least I think it was a fortress...it's called Bastille)

December 2007: Prague (Czech Republic)

I managed to plan a trip to Prague with a senior, a batchmate and some juniors.


I loved Prague. Maybe because we went there during Christmas. (but it was really cold there!) I still can't get the lovely pastry put of my head... :s

February 2008: Metz


The town for mechanical engineering. :P For years, there were no girls from our scholarship programme there...

February 2008: Luxembourg


This is frankly the lousiest country/city I've ever visited. There is nothing there! lol Thankfully it was nearby...just a short train ride from Metz.

April 2008: Amsterdam (Holland)

Finally, in 2008, I managed to go to Amsterdam with Hidayah. We had wanted to go there since 2005, when some of our batchmates went (and we didn't, for our own reasons). We absolutely wanted to see the tulips, so we had to go in April, and for two years, our time just didn't suit each other...

windmills in Zaanse Schans

Recap:
Nov 2007: Grenoble
Dec 2007: Prague
Feb 2008: Metz
Feb 2008: Luxembourg
April 2008: Amsterdam

Banana mania 2

Which is, by the way, totally unrelated to the first instalment.

I've wanted to write this for a long time (years, actually, when I look back at my drafts). But it was quite hard to fit all the different arguments into one continuous post. But recent events made me think that I really shouldn't put it off any longer...

So this post will be divided into three parts. Because there are different ways the "banana" word is used...

Part 1: The insult

For those not in the know, "banana" is (or used to be; see part two) a derogatory term used to refer to Chinese Malaysians who do not speak or read/write Chinese. By the way, the term "Chinese" here is vague...some take it to mean "not a single Chinese dialect", and some to mean exclusively Mandarin.

(There is a similar derogatory term for Indian Malaysians in the same situation: coconuts. And what I say here applies the same way to them!)

From what I have heard all these years (well, the term has been around since before my childhood, so what do you expect?), the term "banana" was originally used for those who refused to use their mother tongue, instead favouring English. I expect that was when the British were here, and some people detested those who tried to, in their eyes, "suck up" to the British. (or maybe they were just jealous that they couldn't. Sour grapes, anyone?) But maybe there were other reasons...I wouldn't know.

Nowadays the meaning has changed...taking on the one explained above.

But I still don't understand why people feel the need to insult those who do not speak Chinese. So these people (the insulters) can speak (and write) Chinese. Does that make them any better than people who can't? Most of these people can only speak it because of an "accident" in their upbringing. (they used the language at home, or they were sent to a Chinese-medium school) So if someone wasn't "lucky" enough to get to learn it, should you make fun of them?

Though that doesn't mean that people who made the extra effort to learn the language should lord it over others. Good for you if you took the initiative, but leave it to others to decide what they want to do. After all, who are you to decide what language others should know?

Part 2: The self-confessed bananas

This one makes me want to tear my hair out. (Luckily I manage to stop myself, otherwise I wouldn't have much hair left) I can't count the times I have wanted to scream: What's this with self-confessed bananas?

Lately a lot of people are referring to themselves as bananas. I've had lots of friends who have done that...and once when a friend mentioned on Facebook that she was a banana (I've forgotten her exact words), I replied to her, "Just because you don't speak a language, you shouldn't call yourself a fruit! You are still a human being!"

And she replied to me, "But do you know what they call those who don't speak Chinese..." (something along those lines), thinking that I did not know the term. -_-

Yes, I know what they call them! But that doesn't mean that you should embrace an insult that people use on you! Laugh it off by all means, but do not use it on yourself, do not apologise for something that mundane, that wasn't even your fault and that does not hurt anyone in any way!

But then, the worst was still what I encountered in Penang...where the term "banana" actually seems to encompass all those who were not Chinese-educated (even if they are able to speak Mandarin really well). And these same people call themselves bananas without any prompting. -_-

For goodness' sake, have some self-respect!!!

Part 3: The draft

I drafted this some time back, but preferred not to post it until I was sure that it wouldn't lead to some sort of volcanic eruption. I believe that I have mentioned my senior several times on this blog, but never about this. So here's the story of Sifu Jon and his banana mania. Unfortunately, over the months after I wrote the draft, I have realised that the banana mania extends further, much further than to just my senior.

As you can probably see after reading so far into this post, I am strongly against the usage of bananas (or coconuts) to refer to people who do not speak or read/write in a certain language. And the very first day at work, barely an hour into meeting him, Sifu Jon called me a banana. -_-

I could have told him off...but somehow that isn't the way to treat someone you've just met. So I didn't. Also, he was calling us bananas, including himself. (referring to those who were not Chinese-educated) So I could tell that he didn't mean it as an insult...

And another day, he again used the term banana, referring to another girl to say that she wasn't Chinese-ed. But at that time she was actually reading some Chinese words for us... *bangs head on wall*

Then, in the months that followed...the word "banana" cropped up very often. (with everyone, not just my senior) But unfortunately, very seldom does it refer to a fruit...

I will leave my hair alone. I will leave my hair alone. I will leave my hair alone... *bangs head on wall instead*

Photo October Day 16: Hate

I hate you! I hate you!

Take that!

Ow! Ow! Let me go!



Don't worry...they're actually good friends. That was just a little play-acting! :P


Really...hate? What do you expect me to take a photo of? Let's not hate...it just turns back on you anyway. You spoil your own life more than the life of the person you're hating!

(unless if it's a cockroach)