Saturday, November 22, 2008
Stress Test
My client has a set of stress-test questions. It had been translated from English to Indonesian. My client has been asking me to try it, free of charge. But I don’t like to be told what to do and I don’t like people telling me about me, so I didn’t. I said no, no, no, like Amy Winehouse (a beautiful album, BTW). One day I had too much time on my hands and I answered the questions, out of curiosity.
The result, my graph, was shocking. There was a band in the middle of the paper to indicate normal. Mine was all below normal, accept aggressiveness (???). One of the score points sat smack bang at the bottom. Then I listened to the counselor, who was very nice and had a kind face and voice. It took about half an hour, more or less. He talked to me the way the nurses talked to me when they know I’ve had all those surgeries. All the things that he said was actually an interpretation of what I thought about myself. Somehow it was turned around and it became an interpretation of how life had been treating me. Ck...ck...ck... Am I really that depressed? So I came normal and left feeling very sorry for myself. Poor little depressed me hehehe...
The result, my graph, was shocking. There was a band in the middle of the paper to indicate normal. Mine was all below normal, accept aggressiveness (???). One of the score points sat smack bang at the bottom. Then I listened to the counselor, who was very nice and had a kind face and voice. It took about half an hour, more or less. He talked to me the way the nurses talked to me when they know I’ve had all those surgeries. All the things that he said was actually an interpretation of what I thought about myself. Somehow it was turned around and it became an interpretation of how life had been treating me. Ck...ck...ck... Am I really that depressed? So I came normal and left feeling very sorry for myself. Poor little depressed me hehehe...
Council Clean-Up Day
I went downstairs this morning to throw the garbage out and found what I’ve been searching for since March... a bit old, but with straight back and perfect legs, standing on the footpath waiting just for me. I dropped the garbage and half dragged half carried it upstairs to my apartment before anyone else beat me to it. I went straight to the bathroom and I scrubbed away the dust and cobweb and a fresh bird poo on the seat. (Thank you, bird) Then I rolled it to the balcony and leave it to dry.
In case you haven’t guessed it, I was talking about an office chair with adjustable seat and back. For months I’ve had to be creative with the IKEA dining chair so I could work comfortably in front of the computer for hours. Suddenly somebody left an office chair front of the apartment building!
Later on I went out to go to the supermarket. On the way, I found stacks of empty milk crates. I was struck with an idea. I followed my ant instinct and carried two red crates back home. I scrubbed and dried them. Then I stacked them sideways and secured some parts where the two crates met, et voila! A very modern looking bookshelf!
Don’t you just love council clean-up day. That’s the day when people put things they no longer want or need by the side of the road. Most of the time the items are too broken to be used, but God has been kind today and has given me two things that I really need.
In case you haven’t guessed it, I was talking about an office chair with adjustable seat and back. For months I’ve had to be creative with the IKEA dining chair so I could work comfortably in front of the computer for hours. Suddenly somebody left an office chair front of the apartment building!
Later on I went out to go to the supermarket. On the way, I found stacks of empty milk crates. I was struck with an idea. I followed my ant instinct and carried two red crates back home. I scrubbed and dried them. Then I stacked them sideways and secured some parts where the two crates met, et voila! A very modern looking bookshelf!
Don’t you just love council clean-up day. That’s the day when people put things they no longer want or need by the side of the road. Most of the time the items are too broken to be used, but God has been kind today and has given me two things that I really need.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Power Failure
It was almost 10 when I arrived at the station. It was a beautiful clear night. The wind was gentle and the air was filled with the fragrance of the star jasmines from the side of the road. Unlike Jakarta, where the lights are on in every house every night to keep burglars away, here it’s mostly dark everywhere, except for the small lights here and there, and from the treet lamps. I was reminded of lights outs in my home town. Some people complained about power failures. Here people make a big fuss if there is a power failure. It would be on the front page of the newspaper and in the news on every channel. But we always had candles at home. And I always enjoyed the few hours without electricity. It was quiet. No hum from the fridge and the neon lights. No noise from the tv and radio. We left our rooms and gathered in the living room and watched the candle burn. We chatted with each other. We told stories. Sometimes I sang to fill the time. I was the only one amongst my sibling who sang (I wasn’t a good singer, but I didn’t care). After an hour or so, the power was back on. The living room was flooded with light and we had to squint to keep from going blind (or so it felt). Everybody cheered. We blew the candles happily, as if blowing birthday candles. Then the tv was turned on again. And the fridge hummed again. The group dispersed and everybody went back to doing their own things, by themselves.
I know that electricity is crucial for hospitals and people at home with life-saving electrical equipment. But maybe, those who can should turn the power off at their homes every once in a while and gather in the living room to chat and watch the candle burn. It’s just one of the best times you could have with your family.
I know that electricity is crucial for hospitals and people at home with life-saving electrical equipment. But maybe, those who can should turn the power off at their homes every once in a while and gather in the living room to chat and watch the candle burn. It’s just one of the best times you could have with your family.
Monday Class
Every Monday my classmates and I know we are going to face a very grumpy teacher. She’s actually a nice lady, our teacher. She’s very energetic and she teaches us with gusto. But she’s not patient enough for our silly mistakes or our excuses. And since most of the students are over thirty, and some never use a word processor in their lives, sparks always fly around the room as Ms Wong unleashes her inner tigress. To give you a yardstick, some of us type 10 letters per minute, with mistakes. So you can understand if Ms Wong is sometimes frustrated with us.
The situation got worse when her husband fell sick. She’s a brave lady and she continues teaching, but she got grumpier and grumpier every week. And there is one particular student who kept on being scolded. Her name is Flo. She runs and owns a company so there’s no doubt in my mind that she is a very competent person. She’s just hopeless at typing. She almost cried during one of the sessions. Ms Wong almost cried too because she was so frustrated.
Last week was particularly bad, and everybody got scolded for making the smallest mistakes. It was getting almost unbearable. So we talked to each other about it, and on Saturday we talked to another teacher. And during the weekend I kept thinking, how can we talk to Ms Wong about this? Nobody wanted to or dared to report her. Standing up to her was unthinkable. It’s like standing up to a tigress. I thought, if she’s still grumpy, I’ll just walk out of the class.
On Monday, Ms Wong was surprisingly nice. And some time during the lesson she apologised to us. She said, “I was under a lot of pressure to finish the book, and my husband is dying.” It’s pancreatic cancer, stadium four. I felt so sorry for her I had to look away. So we all tried to be nice to her that evening.
But as my friend said, a leopard cannot shed her spots. Ms Wong really tried. We could see it. You know, like when you are just starting to say nasty things then you remember that you have to be nice and you swallow your anger. That was her. Still, it was much better than last week. Unfortunately for poor Flo, her mistakes were beyond Ms Wong’s tolerance. In the beginning Ms Wong tried to be patient with her, but after a while it’s business as usual and sparks flew, unfortunately, at Flo, and almost exclusively at Flo. She left the class early.
The situation got worse when her husband fell sick. She’s a brave lady and she continues teaching, but she got grumpier and grumpier every week. And there is one particular student who kept on being scolded. Her name is Flo. She runs and owns a company so there’s no doubt in my mind that she is a very competent person. She’s just hopeless at typing. She almost cried during one of the sessions. Ms Wong almost cried too because she was so frustrated.
Last week was particularly bad, and everybody got scolded for making the smallest mistakes. It was getting almost unbearable. So we talked to each other about it, and on Saturday we talked to another teacher. And during the weekend I kept thinking, how can we talk to Ms Wong about this? Nobody wanted to or dared to report her. Standing up to her was unthinkable. It’s like standing up to a tigress. I thought, if she’s still grumpy, I’ll just walk out of the class.
On Monday, Ms Wong was surprisingly nice. And some time during the lesson she apologised to us. She said, “I was under a lot of pressure to finish the book, and my husband is dying.” It’s pancreatic cancer, stadium four. I felt so sorry for her I had to look away. So we all tried to be nice to her that evening.
But as my friend said, a leopard cannot shed her spots. Ms Wong really tried. We could see it. You know, like when you are just starting to say nasty things then you remember that you have to be nice and you swallow your anger. That was her. Still, it was much better than last week. Unfortunately for poor Flo, her mistakes were beyond Ms Wong’s tolerance. In the beginning Ms Wong tried to be patient with her, but after a while it’s business as usual and sparks flew, unfortunately, at Flo, and almost exclusively at Flo. She left the class early.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Perfect Match
What do you do if you had a left over lodeh and a left over korean BBQ squid? Put them both on a plate of rice and enjoy, of course ((((: Yum! I think I've just found a perfect match for nasi uduk, all the way from Korea.
One of the weirdest days of my life. I went to NAATI to cancel my test. I couldn’t cope with the note-taking. It would cost me money so I was trying to see if there was another way. I came in the morning but the PIC wasn’t available. Another staff talked to me and she was very friendly and she was positive they could work something out. When I returned in the afternoon, the PIC greeted me with a kungfu stance. Before she opened her mouth I could tell that she was just looking for somebody to vent her anger and frustration, whatever and whoever had originally caused it. So needless to say, my effort failed and I had to pay the penalty, and had to endure some very illogical rant from the PIC about the admin trouble that she had to go through because of me. Yeah, right. I was an administrator in a language school. Been there, done that.
I took the lift on my way out and met the kungfu lady again just outside the lift. She smiled a little. Maybe she regretted being so mean to a customer. Maybe she was afraid I would file a complaint. Anyway, NAATI, your staff sucks. Let me make that clearer, NAATI, YOUR STAFF SUCKS!!!
From there I went to the org to pick up some documents to be proofread. Surprise, surprise... It wasn’t there. Somebody had sent it to the wrong address. It took them half an hour to get to that conclusion. I left thinking, what a shitty day and started the long walk to my computer class in Central. But outside the org the wind was fresh and I felt a sense of well-being (???). I was alternately happy and upset, like a traffic light. Here was my train of thought: What a wonderful weather! Nasty bitch. I love the feel of the wind against my face and body. Stupid test. I feel great! They’d better deliver the file to me. Etc...etc...
There was another surprise when I arrived at the school. A friend returned to the class. He had been absent for over a month. His brother passed away and he went back to his home country to attend the funeral and stuff. I informed the teacher about this in writing, but apparently she forgot. She greeted my friend with,”Hello, where have you been? You went on a holiday, did you?”............long uncomfortable silence...................as us students looked at each other, not knowing what to say. We’ll just have to explain that later to her.
During the class, a person from the org called and said she would deliver the missing file to Central station. I had never met her. She told me she was Japanese, very tall, and she was wearing a white shirt and trousers. Her name is Hiroko. After class I rushed to the station to meet her. Just outside the station an Asian girl in white shirt and trousers smiled at me and said, “Excuse me...” Without thinking, I blurted out, “Hiroko?” She looked really surprised. “Yes!” and “Would you like to buy a chocolate bar? The money would be used to build a school in the Solomon Island.” Now I am surprised. I looked at her badge. Yes, her name was indeed Hiroko, but not the Hiroko I was looking for. I apologised and said I was in a hurry, and maybe next time. What are the odds that something like that could happen?
Anyway, in the end I found the right Hiroko, got the file, and went home. Yeeeah, some days are like this.
I took the lift on my way out and met the kungfu lady again just outside the lift. She smiled a little. Maybe she regretted being so mean to a customer. Maybe she was afraid I would file a complaint. Anyway, NAATI, your staff sucks. Let me make that clearer, NAATI, YOUR STAFF SUCKS!!!
From there I went to the org to pick up some documents to be proofread. Surprise, surprise... It wasn’t there. Somebody had sent it to the wrong address. It took them half an hour to get to that conclusion. I left thinking, what a shitty day and started the long walk to my computer class in Central. But outside the org the wind was fresh and I felt a sense of well-being (???). I was alternately happy and upset, like a traffic light. Here was my train of thought: What a wonderful weather! Nasty bitch. I love the feel of the wind against my face and body. Stupid test. I feel great! They’d better deliver the file to me. Etc...etc...
There was another surprise when I arrived at the school. A friend returned to the class. He had been absent for over a month. His brother passed away and he went back to his home country to attend the funeral and stuff. I informed the teacher about this in writing, but apparently she forgot. She greeted my friend with,”Hello, where have you been? You went on a holiday, did you?”............long uncomfortable silence...................as us students looked at each other, not knowing what to say. We’ll just have to explain that later to her.
During the class, a person from the org called and said she would deliver the missing file to Central station. I had never met her. She told me she was Japanese, very tall, and she was wearing a white shirt and trousers. Her name is Hiroko. After class I rushed to the station to meet her. Just outside the station an Asian girl in white shirt and trousers smiled at me and said, “Excuse me...” Without thinking, I blurted out, “Hiroko?” She looked really surprised. “Yes!” and “Would you like to buy a chocolate bar? The money would be used to build a school in the Solomon Island.” Now I am surprised. I looked at her badge. Yes, her name was indeed Hiroko, but not the Hiroko I was looking for. I apologised and said I was in a hurry, and maybe next time. What are the odds that something like that could happen?
Anyway, in the end I found the right Hiroko, got the file, and went home. Yeeeah, some days are like this.
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