That first kiss...

...will be the kiss by which all others in your life will be judged and found wanting.

I got a good one...

For the women out there who complain, and complain... and complain...

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"Excuse me Miss, would you care for some cheese with your whine?"

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helping your fellow man...

I was going home from the Commonwealth a few days ago and I was grumpy because it was a very cold day. I know that I need a warmer coat for this silly season and am looking for one. I might end up getting this overcoat from SATCH if (and most probably when) I get sufficiently irritated with the cold weather.

On the tram ride home from the CBD I saw this mummy with two bored wailing kids, a pram and her shopping. I was wondering to myself how did she ever get around the city with all her baggage, let alone get on the tram. She was trying to calm her little girl down and watch her inquisitive son. All while asking where she was and for someone to let her know when it was her stop.

This being the evening tram home, the tram was packed with people (assuming professionals) going home from work. And, most people were trying their very best to just ignore her. We finally pull around to her stop and no one would even help her carry her shopping bags or move her pram off the tram.

I thought to myself, "Geez..." and shoved my way to her and helped her carry her pram off the tram while everyone was just idle. It was a fantastic moment when you come to realize that the modern society is very desensitized, almost insensitive to their fellow man's need for assistance. Everyone wants to mind their own business (MYOB ?) and not get involved.

The best bit was when I got off lifting her pram with me from the tram, the moron of a tram driver closed the doors and pulled away. I was standing there thinking, "Thank you blaaaaaardy Yarra Trams, blaaaaaaaaaaardy fantastic customer service there", as I watched the tram leave without me.

What is the fate of the world, if the good people of the world sit idle and do nothing?

I want to be like the people of Sparta where there is a strong code of ethics bound by their personal honour. A strong emphasis was placed on carrying out acts great or small because it was the right thing to do. A classic example would be as Xenophon wrote about the Spartans as he observed them during an Olympic game...



An elderly man was trying to find a place to sit and observe the Olympic Games, as he went to each section. All the other Greeks laughed as he tried to make his way through. Some ignored him. Upon entering the Spartan section all the Spartans stood and offered the elderly man their seats. Suddenly the entire stadium applauded. All the Greeks knew what was the right thing to do, but the Spartans were the only ones who did it.

Ever wondered how your little mouse pointer moves around your monitor?

http://www.1-click.jp/

Spending the lunch hour in the city...

I would never have expected this but... having lunch in the city is a pain.

You would expect after so many odd years studying and playing in the city, I would know where to go and what to eat.

I remember a few good cheap eats in China Town along Little Bourke St. There are also plenty of quaint, little cafes hidden in the alleys and laneways between Bourke St and Little Collins St.

I tend to be unusually lazy these few days because of winter and complain of the cold outside. I would just grab a sushi roll and a strong latte from stores in the food courts below. The further~est I have ventured is a quick run across the street to grab a large Boost juice.

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By the way, the cafe that is Blahniks in the Galleria serves the best coffee in Melbourne. At least, that is in my opinion...

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I need to be a little more adventurous...

a place for everything... and everything in it's place

I decided to join Winni, Phi and so on at LAVISH @ the Watermark on the Docklands yesterday.
It has been an age since I had been there.

I have a need for a proper work/life balance.
Last year I believe I had overdid the whole job thing and had burnt out.
I should slow it down once in a while and take the time to go chill out more often.

am not unemployed anymore PART 2

I have given my problem a lot of thought...

Is the problem with me being ever impatient?
Or, is it that I am just being a drama queen?

I had a one of those short in-the-hallways chat with an older (and wiser) colleague at work.
She had asked how I was coping and if I had any issues with the job.
I was appreciative that someone cared...

I then told her that the job was very boring and mundane, and had asked if the job would get more interesting.
She then laughed at me... apparently this happens to just about everyone who just starts out at Commonwealth Bank.
I advised to tough it out for a few weeks and then to re-evaluate things.
I was told to wait for the IT guys to sort out my login problems and for the floor management to source me some proper desk space.
The job will then get progressively difficult/interesting as the team will then properly begin some training with me on the procedures.

She told me, that from her experience, this is considered a nice and safe place to work.
The pay and benefits are reasonable and the fact that there is job security at banks.
She had alluded that the team manager is a very nice guy and looks after everyone in the team.
And, the team is good, friendly and you have a good mix of personalities from the car nuts and the older office ladies.
Wish we had some cute girls on the floor to give fresh scenery at times...

She said to stay and try to fit in...
And, after a period you will then be able to move up the ranks.

am not unemployed anymore

^_^

Well... It's a little more like the feeling of ambivalence.

I never thought I would find a job I did not like.

I went to an agency as recommended by some friends.
They said there was an opening where he worked but it would be more clerical work (eg. keeps records or accounts) and banking.
I thought it would be a nice change from working in the IT industry, considering my previous experience.

I called up the job placement agency and was told to come in for an informal chat.
They told me it was a nice placement at the Commonwealth Bank.
I thought to myself, " I like where this informal chat is heading".
The job description said I would be participating as part of a team.
This suited me fine as I would then be able to annoy people with my inexperience and they would cover for me for the first few weeks.
The job title read that I would perform the duties of a loan conveyancing officer.
I thought WOW... this should be novel and interesting.

What is this conveyancing business anyway?
I decided to shut up about it during the interview and google ^o^' it later.
Apparently, it is a term given to the legal process of buying and/or selling property. A dictionary later, I came up with the explanation that it means, "The legal process of transferring the ownership of a property from one person to another."

Anyways...
I was told to show up bright and early last Monday in a nice business suit.
Since, I am the new guy there, it has been mostly general office boy duties.
I pick up and sort the mail every morning and do a ton of filing after.
We then get a nice lunch break and, considering that I am in the city, it has been interesting.
I then come back and collect more mail, post them and then do more filing.
After all this filing I get to, again, collect more mail and post them.
This is very boring and monotonous.
I don't feel like I am learning very much; which was the reason why I accepted this position anyway.

...bordering on the annoyance.

...show up in a nice business suit

It is nice to be a highly paid office boy or, at the least, I am probably the best dressed...

^_^'