Disappointment

I met up with Ann (the one whom I lent money to with no money back gurantee). She seems to be doing well. But from the way she talks about how she handles things, it's clear that she still doesn't think things through carefully and rationally.

Sad to say, a lot of things she tells me don't seem to add up. Even sadder is that I realise I question almost everything she says - basically I do not trust her anymore. I can't be a friend to someone and yet not trust her.

It's not because of the money she claimed she returned but which I'm sure she didn't. What I can't accept is how she gives lame and untrue excuses just to cover up her irresponsible behaviour. Lies after lies. I have had enough...

Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong Colleague

Argh! I was at the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up being dumped work that was not in my purview. Argh!!! Why are some people so awful?! And why am I so dumb as to agree to help this awful person out??!!

Consumerism

I spent the day with David at the IT Mall. I'm still thinking whether I should get the Fujitsu external hard disk so I can back-up all my data... I'm terribly worried that my notebook is going to crash given my bad track record with IT products.

Heh it's terrible that straight after 'Buy Nothing Day', the evil consumerist tendency kicks in almost immediately. Can't beat David though - he bought a couple of PC games, 1 CD, and a Creative Zen MP3 player :P I bought only a Don Moen CD :)

Technorati Tags: Consumerism, Shopping

Buy Nothing Day

It's Buy Nothing Day today! Buy Nothing Day, started in 1993 by the founders of Adbusters, is now an international event celebrated in over 55 countries. It's a day when you challenge yourself to switch off from shopping and tune into life. This year the message is simple, shop less - live more! The challenge is to try simple living for a day, spend time with family and friends, rather than spend money on them.

Buy Nothing Day also exposes the environmental and ethical consequences of consumerism. The developed countries - only 20% of the world population are consuming over 80% of the earth's natural resources, causing a disproportionate level of environmental damage and unfair distribution of wealth. The idea is to make people stop and think about what and how much they buy effect the environment and developing countries.

So here are some tips on "How to buy Nothing"...

1. Make a budget and stick to it.
2. Leave the money at home.
3. Avoid plastic.
4. Avoid unnecessary upgrades.
5. Avoid shopping malls altogether, if possible.

Technorati Tags: consumerism

How to prank a Telemarketer

I thought this is really funny even though it's a little mean...

Thanksgiving Dinner

I just came back from a great Thanksgiving Dinner :) The company's wonderful. Food's excellent. And I don't have to work tomorrow. So I'm in a jolly good mood.

Thanksgiving

My Top 3 SMS Pet Peeves

1. TEXTING IN CAPS! IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I'M BEING SHOUTED AT AND I FEEL LIKE SHOUTING BACK!

2. SMS lingo / text-speak! I can take a few abbreviations here and there but that's about it. I mean, how on earth would I know what these mean - 'L8', 'L8R', 'NEtng 2 +', 'ata2ud', 'GR8', 'BBS', 'BRB', 'LMAO', 'WRU'?!?!?

3. People who mass sms! Look here, sms-ing is already inpersonal enough; a mass sms only makes me feel like I just HAPPEN to be 1 of the MANY people in a LIST. Yes, maybe I'm being difficult... But if you really want to mass-sms, please just drop the "Hi guys!" at the start of the message so that I won't know I'm just 1 of the 50 or so people you are mass-texting.

Technorati Tags: sms, irritation

A Gentleman

It's hard to find a gentleman these days. Or maybe it's just tough to find one in my circle of guy friends... I mean, they are great people but they are not necessarily gentlemanly. At least to me, there's a difference.

Take my 2 friends, PK and Jerry. Now, Jerry's a nice sort of fellow - easy-going, helpful, patient - a typical Mr. Nice-Guy but he's definitely not the most gentlemanly guy around. For example, when someone opens the door for all of us, Jerry would happily brush past the girls and walk ahead, whereas PK would usually take a step back to let the girls pass first. Now, it's NOT like I expect guys to do this sort of thing. I DON'T. But it's nice to see a guy behaving so gentlemanly :) Quite refreshing really.

Today when I was out with PK and another friend Ed, it started pouring and we had to cross the road. Ed dashed across the road on his own without waiting for me or turning around to see if I was ok. PK, on the other hand, escorted me across. Once again, it's never something I expect from a guy. I do not think any less of Ed but I am definitely impressed by PK.

But of course, exhibiting gentlemanly behaviour alone is not enough. It's well and great if these chivalrous acts are manifestations of a fine character within. But it's always possible that a guy behaves gentlemanly e.g. opens car doors, gives up his seat, sends a girl back after a date, etc, but is actually a jerk. Any sane woman would definitely prefer a nice, decent guy who may not be chivalrous to a guy who is chivalrous but whose character is questionable. In PK's case, I'm impressed not just because he behaves like a gentleman but also because he is a truly nice chap.

Top Ten Chapter Titles In O.J. Simpson's New Book

10. "People On My To-Kill List"

9. "Tuesdays With Robert Blake"

8. "The Murder Weapon: Is It Hidden In Your Town?"

7. "101 Alibis For All Occasions"

6. "Guitar Lessons, Ballroom Dancing And Other Things I've Taken A Stab At"

5. "How I Killed Pat Morita"

4. "My Confession: I Love Pop-Tarts"

3. "Things I Want To Do Before I Go To Hell"

2. "It's Not Like I'm Blaming It On The Jews"

1. "If Murdering Two People Is A Crime, Then Call Me Guilty!"

What are Friends for? (Part 2)

What are Friends for? (Part 1)

When my friend Ann applied for the job that required her to sign a 3 year contract, she also had to find a surety. Should Ann be unable to pay the liquidated damages resulting from a breach of the contract, then the surety will have to take responsibility for the payment. Well, Ann approached a good friend of ours, Beatrice, who agreed to be her surety. When Ann was dismissed, she had to make the 1st payment of $15K and the rest of the damages was to be paid in installments. So here's where friends come in...

Nag you to pay up or else pay up for you

Unfortunately, Ann defaulted on the monthly payments. Beatrice eventually received notification informing her that she, as the surety, would have to pay the money that Ann defaulted. Beatrice got worried and questioned Ann about it. Ann made excuses like "Oh I didn't know the cheques bounced". And this didn't happen only once. So Beatrice lived in fear of having to pay the money that Ann was not responsible enough to pay up. I found out from Beatrice later that even before this, Ann had frequently borrowed money from Beatrice over the years and she had never returned the loans. Whatever it is, Ann and Beatrice more or less fell out and they are no longer on talking terms. And oh, it's definitely much more difficult trying to arrange group dinners these days due to the fall out.

Be mentally prepared there's no money back guarantee

I still sms Ann occasionally. She hasn't paid back the money I lent her. In fact, the last time I spoke to her, I felt rather disturbed because she claimed that she had paid me back partially by crediting the money into my bank account. Honestly I don't think so. I remembered that about 2 years ago, she claimed that she would use her year end bonus to pay me a few hundred bucks but the money was never credited. At that time, I thought she was already having a hard time financially so I didn't bug her. I still don't... I'm mentally prepared not to get the money back. I'm not angry with her. But I guess this is 1 of those things that happened that made me question how well I know people I thought I know...

* Note: all names have been changed to protect the identities of individuals involved in this scandal uh story

Vicious dogs = Vicious owners?!

People with vicious dogs may be vicious too -study

People who own vicious dogs such as pit bulls have significantly more criminal convictions -- including crimes against children -- than owners of licensed, gentler dogs such as beagles, researchers reported on Thursday.

A study of 355 dog owners in Ohio showed that every owner of a high-risk breed known for aggression had at least one brush with the law, from traffic citations to serious criminal convictions.

And 30 percent of people who owned an aggressive breed of dog and who also had been cited at least once for failure to register it had at least five criminal convictions or traffic citations.

This compared to 1 percent of owners of low-risk, licensed dogs such as poodles, beagles or collies, the researchers reported in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Hmm... what does it say about the owner of the dog that ripped off a boy's face?

A MUM of four sobbed as she was jailed for a dog attack in which a child had his face ripped apart.

Toni Badcock, 30, had hung her head throughout the hearing at Peterborough Crown Court which heard how four-year-old George Brown needed 200 stitches in his face and would be scarred for life.

She had been in charge of partner Michael Feehily's powerful American bulldog Buddy when it savaged George near his Huntingdon home in August. Badcock, of Thongsley, Huntingdon, had also been in charge of Buddy when it attacked a group of children - including George - in May.

Judge Neil McKittrick told Badcock the original attack should have been a "wake up call" to her and Mr Feehily.

He said: "I have come to the conclusion this was a tragedy waiting to happen. It is a telling feature that you were unable properly to control this powerful dog, with the result that George received these grievous injuries."

Judge McKittrick also expressed concerns that a powerful dog like Buddy had been
re-homed by the Wood Green Animal Shelters with Mr Feehily on a housing estate
where children lived.

High Cholesterol

I just got back my medical report - my cholesterol level is extremely high :( My colleagues were rather surprised because they associate high cholesterol with being fat. For me, weight is not a problem (and I hope it never will be). I suspect my awful cholesterol level is the result of my diet, specifically the eggs. I love eggs, especially half-boiled eggs. I can eat half-boiled eggs in the middle of the night when I get hungry while working late. Now, it looks like I really have to restrain myself.

What are Friends for? (Part 1)

A few years, ago my friend Ann applied for a job that required her to sign a contract. Very unfortunately (for her as well as for a number of other people), Ann was dismissed. I must add that it came as a shock to me because it was quite a rare occurence in that particular profession. Ann had to pay damages of over $30K - she was given a month to make the 1st payment of $15K (the rest to be paid in installments). So, that's where friends come in:

Lend you Money and then Help you borrow more Money

Ann couldn't afford the 1st payment. Not even $1K. She asked me for help. I wasn't able to cough up the full $15K at 1 go (yes, Paradoxical Mind is very poor). Mistake 1: I asked her if she had sought help from my 2 of our friends Colin and David. She said she hadn't and asked me if I could approach them on her behalf since I was closer to them. Mistake 2: yours truly actually agreed. Yah I know. Unwise move. So I found myself having to ask friends if they mind lending money to another friend. Colin and David being the nice fellows they are agreed to help. So, 3 of us managed to settle the 1st $15K for her. (As for the rest of the damages she had to pay, read my next post)

Help you collect money you borrowed

Colin was overseas at that time. So he asked his mum to write a cheque on his behalf. On the day Ann was supposed to collect the cheque, she called me, saying that she couldn't take time off from work (she had a new job by then) and asked me to collect the cheque for her. I agreed to (yah I'm a pushover). I did tell her that it might appear rather rude that she didn't collect the cheque herself. I don't know how Colin's mum would feel but I wouldn't blame her if she's not too happy. After all, if I'm generous enough to lend you a sizeable sum of money, I won't expect you to grovel and whine about how you are indebted to me (in fact all these would make me uncomfortable), but the least you can do is turn up and collect it personally. Ann insisted that she really couldn't make it. So yours truly, Paradoxical Mind, had to go collect money from a stranger. Ann did call Colin to thank him and promised to return the money within a year. That was however 1 of the last calls Colin would receive from Ann in a long long time...

Double up as loanshark willingly

Colin never pushed Ann to pay back the long-overdue loan, at least not until his mother became critically ill and he needed cash urgently. He called Ann - no response. He sms-ed - no response. He e-mailed - no response. Colin enlisted me to be his personal loanshark / debt collector of sorts. I was feeling bad because I was the one who helped Ann ask Colin for help in the 1st place. So I called her mobile, I sms-ed, called her home - basically did what I could short of going to her house to hang a bloody pig's head on the gate or splash paint on the doors (what loansharks traditionally do).

It was about 2 weeks later that I finally received an sms from her - she claimed that she didn't know I had changed my handphone number and so couldn't get back to me earlier. Uh I can find loopholes in that excuse but I didn't say anything. I don't know why. Ah well, maybe I know... I've never been the confrontational sort. Anyway, I told her that Colin needed cash urgently and reminded her that she had actually promised to pay Colin 2 years ago. She promised to write Colin a cheque. She did. But, the cheque bounced and left Colin fuming. Colin had to wait for more than a week for another cheque to be written. I suspect that she had borrowed the money from her boyfriend in order to pay Colin...

And oh, if you remember, other than Colin, another fellow David also contributed to Ann's $15K. Yah he seems to be pretty much forgotten in this post. That's because he's pretty much forgotten by Ann. She hasn't returned him the money yet. Has she returned me the money? I'll leave it to another post...

* Note: all names have been changed to protect the identities of individuals involved in this scandal uh story

How I live my life

By way of an introduction, I’ve decided to post one of those rather frivilous quizzes. Fairly accurate this time, I must say.

How You Live Your Life

You seem to be straight forward, but you keep a lot inside. You tend to avoid confrontation and stay away from sticky situations. You tend to have one best friend you hang with, as opposed to many aquaintences. You tend to dream big, but you worry that your dreams aren't attainable.