Oxymoron In The Tropics

 I blog less when ... - I'm busy with interesting things. - I'm overloaded with work. - I haven't got things to complain about. I'm all of the above right now but I decided to try and make a few blog posts.  

Last year, I heard about the case of a lady who was stopped at KLIA and not allowed to board a plane for Europe.  Despite having a valid passport and visas galore, she was not allowed to leave Malaysia because she was on the Immigration blacklist for not paying a student loan! I'd never heard of such a case before.  Well, maybe people don't talk about it... not exactly something you'd want others to know, right?  I thought Immigration blacklists were only for terrorists and bombmakers.  Obviously I don't travel much out of Malaysia.. heh heh. I wondered if I were on this black list... coming from Sabah with rampant identity theft, it's a legitimate concern!  So I went to the Immigration Dept (Counter 16) to ask.  Lucky for me, I am 'safe'! But just to make sure, I checked online as well at http://sspi2.imi.gov.my/.  Yep, I'm still 'safe'.  I also checked at the PTPTN website http://eform.ptptn.gov.my:8080/blacklist/login.cfm.  Yep, nobo...

It's 5.02 p.m. on Friday and I'm still at the office.  I have two letters to fax to schools (poor schools..!), calling them for meetings at the PPD.  I think by now, some of the teachers in schools absolutely dread seeing an email from me in their inbox. Well, while I sympathize with them, I feel so absolutely sorry for myself too.  I've got so much on my plate that it's tipping over ... but 'nuff said.  I don't want to dwell on negative things. Right now, I dream of white sandy beaches, shining turquoise waters and the heroine of the story would be soaking inside those waters, thinking of nothing but how warm the waters feel.  Actually, I am describing what my Friday would be like if my boss hadn't frozen all leave, forcing me to cancel my weekend in a beautiful resort just 45 minutes out of Kota Kinabalu.  Let me rephrase that... not cancel... POSTPONED.  I cannot wait.

I should be happy....I get requests to add friends almost every day. But how can I be happy when these requests come from Mawar Putih, Duitbah Dragon, Shmily Love, Mary Mz, Hellstrom, Freddie Mercury, Shadowrunner Daus, Friday Starz and the list goes on and on. I thought Freddie Mercury died a long time ago. I've tried squinting at the pictures but they are usually taken at odd angles (the current craze is to make your eyes look super big and your chin almost embedded into your neck) or of various body parts (e.g. one eye, half a forehead or a foot). I've also got requests from babies (well, the pictures are of babies... and the names are cutesy ones like BubbleBee or AngelPuff). Although I didn't think the babies actually typed out their requests. I usually don't bother with those who have 'killer' combinations of weird nicks and weirder pictures (a skull, an X, a burger, Spongebob etc). And of course, there are requests from people whose faces I don't know...

Hey, Luke, a song you may find interesting, considering your past and current 'adventures'...:) Well, at least, life isn't boring. "Strange Relationship" Do you love me? Or am I just another trip in this strange relationship? You push and pull me and I'm about to lose my mind Is this just a waste of time keep acting like you own me I keep running, watch me walking out that door I hear you behind me Gimme that strange relationship Never felt pleasure and pain like this Something so right but it feels so terribly wrong I keep holding on Gimme that strange relationship One of us gotta let go of this I keep pushing and you keep holding on I'm already gone Do you love me? We break up and back together And I swore to myself never Oh how you do me You strip me of my honor And I don't ever think I'm gonna Break free of these mind games All I'm trying to do is modify my plan 'Cause I can't contain you Gimme that strange relationship Never felt p...

What does woman power mean? I believe that it refers to a woman's courage and endurance, no matter what happens. A woman who has power is a woman who fights for what she wants. She is... ... the schoolgirl speaking up for a place on the debate team. ... the sweeper lady who is fighting to put food on the table for her children. ... the housewife who is battling to keep hearth and house together. ... the bank officer struggling to balance accounts in time for her to rush home and have dinner with her family ... every woman who has ever hungered for something and fought for it no matter how many times she gets beaten down. And all of a sudden, I thought of Jessica Rabbit. Jessica Rabbit, the quintessential sex-on-legs who KNEW what she looked like and yet accepted it and still got on with her life with her darling Roger. AND she was willing to fight for that life. I really liked that about her... And the part in the film when she's revealed for the first time can still produce ...

I've paid my dues - Time after time - I've done my sentence But committed no crime - And bad mistakes I've made a few I've had my share of sand kicked in my face - But I've come through We are the champions - my friends And we'll keep on fighting - till the end - We are the champions - We are the champions No time for losers 'Cause we are the champions - of the world - I've taken my bows And my curtain calls - You brought me fame and fortuen and everything that goes with it - I thank you all - But it's been no bed of roses No pleasure cruise - I consider it a challenge before the whole human race - And I ain't gonna lose - We are the champions - my friends And we'll keep on fighting - till the end - We are the champions - We are the champions No time for losers 'Cause we are the champions - of the world - Yeah... I know... overkill. But niiiiice overkill...

Took a look at my counter...and found out the top ten keywords that search engines respond to with my blog address. 1. Fail Meja 2. PTK 3. Manual Prosedur Kerja 4. PTK3 DG44 5. PTK DG44 6. Oxymoron Lesson Plans 7. Oxymoron Lesson Plan 8. Oxymoron Worksheet 9. Kursus PTK DG 44 10. PTK DG 44 and among the strangest were 'wishabi', 'oxymoron for bill gates' and 'riding a dead horse solutions'. ??? Maybe I should set up databases for PTK and oxymoron lesson plans. What do you guys think? And this post will probably increase the probability of the above list being maintained...heh heh heh.

A word of warning : The following is utterly sexist but because it made me laugh, I just had to put it into my blog. A new sign in the Bank Lobby reads: "Please note that this Bank is installing new Drive-through ATM machines enabling customers to withdraw cash without leaving their vehicles. Customers using this new facility are requested to use the procedures outlined below when accessing their accounts. After months of careful research, MALE & FEMALE Procedures have been developed. Please follow the appropriate steps for your gender." ******************************* MALE PROCEDURE: 1. Drive up to the cash machine. 2. Put down your car window. 3. Insert card into machine and enter PIN. 4. Enter amount of cash required and withdraw. 5. Retrieve card, cash and receipt. 6. Put window up. 7. Drive off. ******************************* FEMALE PROCEDURE: (Unfortunately, most of this part is the Truth!!!!) 1. Drive up to cash machine. 2. Reverse and back up the required ...

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions: Why did God make mothers? 1. She's the only one who knows where the sticky tape is. 2. Mostly to clean the house. 3. To help us out of there when we were getting born. How did God make mothers? 1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us. 2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring. 3. God made my Mum just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts. What ingredients are mothers made of ? 1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean. 2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think. Why did God give you your mother and not some other Mum? 1. We're related. 2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's Mums like me. What kind of little girl was your Mum? 1. My Mum has always been my Mum and none of that other stuff 2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be...

According to ancient wisdom, "When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount." However, in modern government more advanced strategies are often employed, such as: 1. Buying a stronger whip. 2. Changing riders. 3. Appointing a committee to study the horse. 4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses. 5. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included. 6. Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired. 7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse. 8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed. 9. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase dead horse's performance. 10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance. 11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of ...

Here's a lesson plan that won't be used in my class. Set Induction : 3D Picture of a Glock Question : What do you see here? What's a really hot issue about guns in schools nowadays? (Possible answers: Columbine, Virginia Tech, the inclusion of weapons in national service training...) Take the discussion where it may go but keep it within ethical/moral boundaries. Like I said, this is a lesson plan that WON'T be used in my class. Pre-Listening Activity : 1. Teacher hands out worksheet 2. Students brainstorm and fill in the blanks (one column - what's good about guns and another column - what's bad about guns) While-Listening Activity : 1. Listen to the song. 2. Note down ONE lyric or image that grabs your attention. After-Listening Activity : 1. Explain why the lyric or image is so fascinating to you. Give reasons. Homework : Write an essay that answers the question "Should Young People Learn About Guns?" Looks good, huh? ...

There are days when you want to zoom down the road, foot heavy on the gas and acoustic mayhem blasting on the cd player. I've got Offspring screaming out 'Original Prankster' and the wind whistling by...ah, what bliss...

There's one little thing about the WWW that drives me crazy...and that is how one little number or one little variation in the code can play havoc with the way your webpage displays. Once upon a time, I used to spend weeks just playing with the RGB codes.  Change one number and the colour would change.  It was like having your personal colour palette..just that it's in numbers and ABCs.  It got to the point when I'd look at a colour and go,"Hmmm, that's a CD0023..."  Yeah, sick, I know.  But I tend to get obsessive that way. Here's a good website to help pick out great colour matches.  Not only for webpages but for clothes as well...

Your results: You are Green Lantern Green Lantern 80% Wonder Woman 72% Iron Man 70% Catwoman 70% Spider-Man 70% Supergirl 67% Hulk 60% Robin 55% Superman 55% The Flash 50% Batman 45% Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination. Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Ah, the foot-in-mouth disease... I've had it so often, my immune system should be immune from it. Sadly, no-one seems to have created a vaccine for it. However friends consolingly tell me that it's okay, everyone suffers from it. BUT no-one suffers quite the same as the one who is going through it THIS-VERY-MOMENT and RIGHT-NOW. According to the powers-that-are (in certain professions), this disease is especially common among Sagittarians. The Chinese say that it is also the special purview of those born in the Year of the Monkey. Guess what? I'm a Sagittarian born in the Year of the Monkey. Talk about a double-whammy... Whenever I suffer an attack, I apologize profusely (and in the process, I seem to make things worse) and try to make amends. Then I go home and squirm some more. Sometimes I even wake up in the middle of the night to think about it. Squirm squirm squirm... Eeeeeuuuuuuuuuu.......

This sort of thing tickles my funny bone... 'cos sometimes they are so right and yet can be so wrong! I suppose if you really do your chart properly, it can be useful but it's sad if you take everything as gospel truth.

As a teacher, I have learned a long time ago not to mess with kids. But I cannot share in an open arena most of the stuff the kids do because I have a healthy respect for my well-being. Either that or I wait till the kids have left school and enough years have elapsed. However I CAN share forwards which contain the exact same spirit of my daily experiences at work. ---- A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small. The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible. The little girl said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah." The teacher asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?" The little girl replied, "Then you ask him". ---- A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom...

This is one of the better forwards I've ever received in quite a while.. Once upon a time a tortoise and a hare had an argument about who was faster. They decided to settle the argument with a race. They agreed on a route and started off the race. The hare shot ahead and ran briskly for some time. Then seeing that he was far ahead of the tortoise, he thought he'd sit under a tree for some time and relax before continuing the race. He sat under the tree and soon fell asleep. The tortoise plodding on overtook him and soon finished the race, emerging as the undisputed champ. The hare woke up and realized that he'd lost the race. The moral of the story is that slow and steady wins the race. This is the version of the story that we've all grown up with. But then recently, someone told me a more interesting version of this story. It continues. The hare was disappointed at losing the race and he did some Defect Prevention (Root Cause Analysis). He realized that he'd lo...