Melting my heart

There was a program by Bill Cosby entitled 'Kids say the darnedest things'. I never watched it, didn't care but now I am a teacher and I deal with kids everyday. Now I'm not saying I am watching re-runs now but I was reminded of it when the kids in my class blurted out random comments or genuine thoughts.

---

M: I don't want you to go Mr. Chang, I'm going to miss you.
Me: That's sweet. It's nice to be miss.
M: Yeah, I will miss you, I miss you when I go home, I miss you at night and I miss you on the weekends too.

---

J: Mr. Chang, your my dad.
Me: I'm not your dad J, you have a dad.
J: Yeah, but your like my dad. You look after me.

God Defend New Zealand

I heard a very interesting conversation over the weekend. A guy was arguing why we should have Waitangi Day. His arguments were about patriotism, that we as New Zealanders are not patriotic enough and that we need something to associate ourselves with.

Now I was agreeing with him a little but I didn't get the chance to ask him, why New Zealanders aren't patriotic enough, what were his thoughts?

Here are some possible explanations that I have thought of:

1) Maori consider themselves Maori and not New Zealanders.
2) We associate ourselves with the Silver Fern far more than we associate ourselves with the New Zealand flag.
3) We put too much emphasis on Maori in New Zealand. How many of us know the National Anthem flawlessly? Ok, now how about the Maori version?
4) We have two versions of the National Anthem.
5) We have tall poppy syndrome. We rather associate ourselves with our "region" than with New Zealand because it might lump with the Jafa's or the hicks in the Tron.
6) We call ourselves Kiwis and not New Zealanders. Do you hear American's calling themselves Yanks or the English calling themselves Poms (yes, I know this one has a negative connotation)?
7) We haven't been in MANY wars.
8) We leave the country in droves because there are better opportunities elsewhere.

I am sure that there are more.
I know that I have not made arguments for patriotism in New Zealand.
However, I DO think that New Zealanders aren't patriotic enough.

I'm terrible

Sometimes I have to realise that the mentality of 5 year old's can be random at best.

So, only make jokes with the older kids.

Don't tell one student to tell another student to come see me because they are in "big" trouble.

Especially when it is not true.

Especially when the student told is 5 years old.

Because your going to make the 5 year old cry.

And you will feel really stink afterward.

Feinting

This is sometimes what I think my job is about. Feinting my emotions. I can't be the teacher that swears, the teacher them seems to get annoyed, the teacher who thinks that swear words and toilet jokes are all the rave.

I have to not laugh at things I find funny because it was rude or dangerous or stupid.

Sometimes though I just want to feint a sneak attack.

1d4+7+2d8

Ready or not, here I come!

Children are so funny, it is amazing how much they think they know and an instant just freeze up when asked a simple question. Words like naive and ignorance are not part of their vocabulary and even if they were would not associate those words to themselves. However, that is a little unfair as how often do people put negative connotations to themselves?

What I find amusing is how kids try to lie or hide things from you and think they do such a great job of it. Suddenly putting things behind their back when I come around the corner. Say thing is happening when 2 seconds ago I heard shouting and running.

Not here to say if I think kids are stupid, they are very intelligent in their own way, however, they would be a lot smarter if they could see their own fallibility and when they grow up we wouldn't have a society of people in denial.

How to save a dollar

So I went to my local cafe today to get a vanilla milkshake for $4. I figured that since it was only 4pm I could park outside without paying the parking meter, get my shake and go. So I go inside, order my shake, go back outside and you know what? There is a parking warden like 3 cars away from me.

I had to run to my car, move my car down and onto the other side of the road. Run back up to the cafe to get my shake, run back to my car before the parking warden got to it.

Moral of the story: This is how you save a dollar while creating infinite stress and work off the calories you gain from drinking a vanilla shake.

You Can't be Serious!

There are campaigns in New Zealand for Push play. Push play is a national campaign to get New Zealand families and their children to exercise more everyday. The program is in schools and is looking to be quite successful.

Now these types of campaigns will be the antithesis to games/toy campaigns which require indoor play. Usually I am fine with toys and games, children need multiple types of stimulation to further growth and this includes computer games and the like.

But this new sensation (which I only heard of 5 minutes before writing this post) is disguising me.
It is called the iTeddy. I thought it was a new Apple Inc product but I was sadly mistaken.

It is a teddy with a built in dvd/games/tv/music player so now the children won't have to bother their parents anymore! Every neglectful parents dream toy! No wonder it will be a hot sell.

iTeddy

Takes so freakin long to learn

Patience. Why does it take so long to learn. Because I am impatient?
How can you learn patience when you are an impatient person?

Am I not suppose to know all the answers in the world because I am a teacher?

Teaching kids takes a lot of patience especially when you have to discipline the children. You have to give them time out's, taking away play time, taking away enjoyable activities. It is hard going, to see them in distress but you know you are trying to make life easier for you and the other children, but also for the children at hand as well. Their better behaviour will learn to better learning for themselves.

I'm not sure if writing this out helps to reinforce my own learning, but it is really helpful to get it off my chest! Imagine when I have my own children!

Tag Your It!!!

Thanks Eric

First, the random rules
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

1) I have read 20 books this year, to know what they are, scroll down to the next post =)

2) I started working for real this year! At Makara Model School in Wellington. I have 8 kids 96 boys and 2 girls.) in my class because it is a rural school with the school pop at a huge count of 24!

3) I have moved houses twice this year, that's doubling the amount of times I have moved in my entire life. Now you math whizzes out there calculate how many times I've moved houses in my life time.

4) I'm really anti-stoopid

5) My favourite band is the Smashing Pumpkins. I saw them live this year which was a dream come true. Even though they are my favourite band, I just don't listen to them all the time. I don't have much of their merchandise (3 t-shirts), and I only own about 70% of their albums. However, I always fall back on them, and old favourites become new favourites all over again.

6) I am a book whore, I have so many books waiting on my bookshelf to be read and yet I neglect them and keep on buying new or 2nd hand books. I think I have a problem but no one seems to care..."what books did you buy?" they say, "where did you get them?" they ask. No sympathy for the afflicted.

So after my ramblings I get to tag 6 people!
Cleo
Megan
Medora
Jay
Maria
Jen

List of Books I've bedded with this year

I was thinking that this year I have read a lot of books. Even though the year has not ended I feel I have read the most books of any year. I felt like I should start recording books I have read.

My List of Whoring (In no order).

Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Fall of Kings by David Gemmell
Legend by David Gemmell
King Beyond the Gate by David Gemmell
Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
Dune by Frank Herbert
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Only you can save mankind by Terry Pratchett
The Darkness that comes Before by Scott Bakker
The Warrior-Prophet by Scott Bakker
The Thousandfold Though by Scott Bakker
Tuf's Voyaging by George R.R. Martin
Songs the Dead Men Sing by George R.R. Martin
The Hedge Knight (from Legends I) by George R.R. Martin
The Sworn Sword (from Legends II) by George R.R. Martin
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Shadow of a Torturer by Gene Wolfe
Devices and Desires by KJ Parker

Non-Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Dexter - Darkly Dreaming by Jeff Lindsay
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt

So on average about 2 books a month. There are at least 2 more books I need to read this year.
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Red Seas under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

From then on it's all gravy.

Foolishness

Is it more foolish to not know what is wrong and and continuing on?
Or is it more foolish to know what is wrong and do nothing about it?
Is it too foolish to know what is wrong but not have the bravery to right it?
Is it foolish to take advice from a fool?
Or is it foolish to even contemplate listening to a fool?
Even a fool would have some expertise....at least in foolishness no?

It could be anything

I got the fever about two days ago. It also came with bonus stomach cramps and a sore lower back, so I went to the doctors yesterday. I had to go to the city because there were no doctors near my area (Thorndon). I went to the first doctors and they said they were all booked out and that the earliest they could see me was next week, but try the one down the road. So I go to the one down the road and they say the same thing to me. I asked them if there was any place near by that would take in walk in's. The secretary talked to the doctor and she agreed to see me.

Now before this point I'm wondering to myself, 90% of people go to the doctors because they have just gotten sick. How do you book out the doctor for 3 days? Are these people psychic and know they are going to get sick a few days in advance?

I walk into the doctors office and she asks me random questions, gets me to take a urine sample, gives my tummy a bit of a feel, feels my glands, checks my temperature. "It could be anything, there are many things going about these days" said the doctor. I successfully prevent myself from rolling my eyes. She tells me to go take a blood test, gives me a prescription for some drugs and send me on my way.

So earlier in the post when I said I had the fever, I was lying...it could be anything ("rolls eyes").

2nd Life

Been at my job for 1 week now. I am enjoying it quite a lot and do think I have made the right choice when it comes to professions.

However I do see a lot of ignorance and stubbornness that really irks me.

Anyways, more later

p.s. I think I will be back on this blog.

Ramsay the never

I don't know why, but I love cooking. The prep work, the cooking and the eating. I don't always make great cook and I never cook anything complicated. Simple and tasty. When I am cooking, I would say that I am sort of in a trance, just moving and doing and enjoying the food change in front of my eyes. I'm not exactly sure when I first got into cooking, it can't have been more than 2 years ago, I have an inkling that it was when I first made Spaghetti Bolognese.

Anyways, I had my 2nd go (in about 2 years) at cooking Chicken Pasta in a creamy white wine sauce. The first time I made an absolute muck of it and therefore hadn't tried again. This time it would out quite well except when I simmered the sauce at too high a temperature and the fat separated!

I like sharing recipes so here it is.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
300g Boneless chicken
5-6 Cloves of Garlic
2 Tsp Olive Oil
250ml of Cream
180ml of White wine (any will do)
8g of Plain Flour
1 tsp of Salt
2 tsp of oregano (dried, if you use fresh then as much as you like!)

Prep work:
1) Cut chicken into small pieces
2) dice the garlic
3) whip the cream until it is thick

Cook work:
1) throw in whatever pasta you like to eat with it into a pot (add some olive oil and pinch of salt to water) until al dente
2) heat the oil, throw in garlic, just when it starts to brown throw in the chicken. Cook until the chicken has a nice brown colour (you don't have to move it too much)
3) put the cream/wine/salt/flour/oregano into the pan and simmer at a low heat.
4) once the sauce has be reduced to about 2/5 of the original content, then you are done (or until your desired thickness but thick and gooey is best).
5) drain pasta, add with chicken and your done!

Optional:
6) At the end of part 2, throw in some sliced mushrooms or diced courgettes!

Enjoy

Speaking of ch-ch-change

To get more readers to my blog I have to go out and find other like minded people. People who not necessarily share my views but are willing to put themselves out there. It is very easy to be bold on the internet, people type whatever rubbish they feel like. The one's I am after are ones that also put in intelligent thought behind the words.

Sometimes I'm a bit of a hypocrite. I write for myself mostly but I do want others to read and comment on it as well.

There is a website that I visit like 7 times a day. Fantasybookspot.com and recently they have been trying to urge some members into moving their blogs to FBS's blog. I am thinking about this quite a bit. Would it be a hindrance to the people who read my blog now or have me in their blogroll?

Yet the more I think about it, I keep telling myself why am I so sentimental about this website?

Get what we've always got

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Dont want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I cant trace time
- David Bowie

Change is simple yet so very hard. To make our diet better we can simply give up drinking fizzy drinks (simple yeah?). But most of us like drinking fizzy drinks and it is EVERYWHERE! The fact that a bottle of water costs more than twice the size in fizzy drink is ridiculous.

The thing that makes change hard is that it changes what is comfortable for us. We have done things so habitually that we don't think anything of it. Those people who are fat didn't wake up fat but gained 1 pound a week or two. Those that have had a much better income than 5 years ago, most likely had worked hard for 5 years and getting small constant pay rises rather than a quick job change.

However, there are many things that we do benefit from changing our routines. We get new insights from working at the different place. We stop eating dairy and found out just how much of it is in packaged food goods. We walk to work and save $3 a day, $15 a week or a whooping $720 a year.

Change is normally good, we can learn a lot from it. Don't try and ignore it or be afraid of it. If you want your life to be better than you have to change or stick to what you have always gotten.



This guy will bring huge changes. Not just because he could be the new president but because (and I don't like focusing on this, but too many Americans can't stop focusing on it) he might be the first ever black president.

Hopefully any changes that happen to the good old US of A is for the better.

Buying Anonymity

So I sat down on a long brown couch which looked very inviting and sunk deeply into it. I felt around with my hand, pushing the cushion here and there then poking at the couch cushion next to me. Feeling dissatisfied I got up and looked for another seat. I was looking for the green one-seater couch I had sat in before, and it wasn't long before I saw them. It wasn't in the most appetizing of spots but I was willing to tolerate it because of the comfortableness that the green couch offered. I opened up 'Last argument of Kings' (to the chapter I was at) and began to read, immersed in the world of Joe Abercrombie. Not before long my latte in a cup arrives to interrupt the dealings of Logan and his ponderings. I added two sugars, stirred, took a sip, and just stared out the window looking at nothing in particular. I looked back towards my book and thought "this is the life, if only I could have more moments like this."

Now it wasn't so much as being able to sit in a cafe, drink coffee and read my current book that made me all sentimental. What it doesn't tell you was that it was my day off work. I didn't have to think about anything else. There was nothing to worry about at home, there was no obligations at that particular point and time except for me to read my book and do whatever I felt like doing at that time. Sometimes it's about watching a movie with my girl, sometimes it's going out and having lunch with a good mate.

Perhaps that is why I would like to be rich (don't confuse this with being famous), it would create more days/chances I would have less obligations and therefore have more days where I feel sentimental.
I also want to have children, but that would create more obligations, conflicting with my need for sentimental days! Or is it that by having children I would create more sentimental days, but instead of having a read and a coffee, it would be my child running towards me when I come home from work and yelling "DADDY!"

Diagnosing Adulthood

The Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (as known as the DSM) is a book that helps diagnose mental illness' such as autism, schizophrenia etc...

The DSM helps mostly doctors to diagnose patients, but sometimes their diagnoses can be the different between the sane and the mentally disabled.

On Wikipedia is says:
The DSM-IV-TR states that, because it is produced for mental health specialists, its use by people without clinical training can lead to inappropriate application of its contents. Appropriate use of the diagnostic criteria is said to require extensive clinical training, and its contents “cannot simply be applied in a cookbook fashion” *** DSM-IV-TR = 4th edition text revised version.

This helps to prevent common people like you and me looking through the book, ticking off the requirements and think we or someone we know have some mental illness. However, I am thinking of a different thing for this blog. I have always wanted to know when do people become adults. I have a small criteria list and although it is not extensive, I think it is quite a good reflection.

You must meet this first requirement because under the law you will still be a child.
* Am over the age of 18

You must meet at least 1 of these critera
* Have bought a house before
* Lived away from home
* Have children

You must meet at least 1 of these criteria
* Have had a long term relationship
* Have a driver's license with no restrictions
* Have had sex before
* Have stopped maturing physically

Three or more of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a one-month period
* Can be objective even when involving oneself
* Independent, the ability to self rely.
* Moral understandings between right and wrong
* Ability to make decisions that you don't like
* Ability to say sorry, not necessarily because you mean it, but because it is the right thing to do
* Have an altruistic nature

-----

I will soon move out of the house soon, which will promote me from child to adult according to my guide. Hopefully I don't suck at it too much.

Tomodachi, Amico, Mate

I just watched on Boston Legal, Denny Crane turned down a potential wife because he was not willing to move to another state, because that would have meant leaving Alan. His love for a woman was not greater than his love for his friend, a man.

I've always viewed friendship as such a sacred bond. I treat my friends like family, sometimes perhaps even better than family. It could be because I am an only child, it could be because my family are quite different from me, they are immigrants (now citizens) living in New Zealand, whereas I am a citizen born in New Zealand.

There are many people out there that have many friends. I am not one of those people. I have few friends, but those few friends are very dear to me.

To my friends out there (you know who you are and that includes you sweetie!), I love you all very much.

Stupidity is a state, not an event.

/start rant

Fact 1: I am getting older
Fact 2: I like to think that I am getting wiser
Fact 3: I like to think that I am getting more patient

Why is it that I act like some young impatient idiot when it comes to stupid people. I am so positive that it is the thing I hate most in the world. Stupid people drive me crazy, I don't know why they are stupid...but they just are.

I always question why people are stupid. Are they like that cause they were born dumb (I don't believe this). Was it because the education system failed them? (possibly). Was it because their parents failed them? (probably). Is it because they don't know they are stupid and/or they do not actively go out to improve themselves. (definitely maybe).

To recap, I really despise stupid people. I don't want to talk to them, I don't want to work with them, I almost don't have the patience to help them improve themselves. Not saying I'm the smartest guy in the world and you should all worship my awesomeness but I'm just using a highlighter pen to highlight the important parts. (although I do do stupid things...but that doesn't make me stupid..hence the title...hint..hint.)

/end rant



Light comic relief.

If you're flawless, then you'll win my love

Appearances are everything. Girls take 2 hours before they get out of the house putting on make-up, trying different clothes, trying on shoes...the shoes don't match the clothes so they have to change clothes again. Sometimes the clothes then don't match the make-up so something has to change.

Men these days are becoming more like women, we try to take care of our skin, we use pimple remover, face cleanser, and decide whether 3, 4 or 5 blades will give us a closer cleaner shave. We even allow ourselves to wear pink dress shirts.

We do this to find the perfect job, perfect partner, perfect life. But is perfect really perfect? When is perfect...not perfect?

We always talk about the perfect partner, those that know why we are sad, what they need to do to perk us up. They know our favourite foods and the little things that make us happy. But do you really want someone that knows what you are thinking all the time, someone who finishes our sentences and knows what we are going to do before we do? Wouldn't that get annoying?

The word perfect is actually a contradictory statement in itself, as there can be no such thing. Again going with the partner theory, the is no "perfect" person, they will undoubtedly have some quirks or annoyances that you don't like, that perhaps they will never change. Then you argue that that is what makes them them; that they are perfect just the way they are. So to be perfect is to be imperfect.

Just like beauty, perfection is in the eye of the beholder. Or am I making up bullshit because perfection doesn't exist.

Secretly a woman

I think I am a compulsive buyer when it comes to books.
I try to read as much as I can, but what I do read is not nearly enough as I want to.
I find I am easily distracted and tend not to read when I get the chance.
Which makes compulsive buying of books so much the worser, because the "books I have bought but yet to read" pile is getting larger and larger.
At times like these I am glad I only mostly read fantasy.
Books I have bought in the last 2 weeks...

This is my Boomstick

When kids decide what they want; whether it be food, play or any other activity, sometimes it can take a very long time. I put it down to, children do not have a deep understanding of the activities that they do. They cannot fully appreciate one activity over the other and therefore take a long time to make a decision.

You ask a child, what's your favourite toy at home and most of the time they will not be able to answer you. You will have to ask them to tell you about ONE of their favourite toys.

When adults do this, does this mean they don't have a deep understanding? If they don't, then is it presumable that they are ignorant? or could it be that they have dull senses (the 5 senses). Sometimes when you ask someone, what their favourite music is, and they will answer...'oh i like all kinds of music' or 'as long as it sounds good, I don't mind'. I find it difficult to not have a favourite music artist or favourite movie/cuisine. And because I can decide my favourite's, I can also decide on what I don't like and thus being labeled as 'picky'.

Am I really picky? or do I need to open my senses to like a wider spectrum of things.

Jack of all trades, master of none? and is it really ofttimes better than master of one?

Cleanliness is Godliness

Things...anything...we love it. We want more of it, it fills our hearts, it satisfies us...but only for a short while before we want more!

We buy so many things, from cars to books to clothes we only wear once. We like to clutter our lives with things we want, things we don't want, things we need and especially things we don't need or want. Waste not, want not?

What is it that drives us to want more things? Why do we have to follow the latest fashion, knowing that next season our clothes will be obsolete and we won't want to wear them again? Why do we buy flash new cars only for them to depreciate quicker than petrol is going up. Why do we not cook more regularly? It tastes fantastic and costs so much less.

Would any of these things matter if it did not eat into our savings? Would these things matter if there was no such thing as carbon emissions? Should these things matter? It makes us happy, it makes people next to us happy and it certainly makes retailers happy.

HULK SMASH!!!

Morality is a funny thing. What is the right thing to do?
A lot of people have their own personal morals and they try to live by them. Personal morals are very subjective, it changes from person to person. One person can believe that someone who commits repeated crimes deserves to have another chance, to always see the good in a person. Others will might believe in second chances but once they mess up again, thats it, damnation.


During my psychology classes, I got taught that beliefs do not unnecessarily predict behaviour. To put more simply that just because you think something is true or right, does not necessarily mean you will do what you think is right.

Enchante's personal moral #5: Do not be vindictive.

But what if....WHAT IF....someone infuriates me so much that I want to send them anonymous abusive emails, send some death threats that I will never follow through with. I need justice from an outside source but it will never eventuate. I would like to serve my own justice and become a vigilante but in this circumstance it conflicts with moral #5.

ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!

For all the trolls

Without telling you who I am, this is who I am.

You are "Brian Griffin"!

The brain in your group, your politics are important to you - unless you have had too much to drink. You are fiercely loyal, almost to a fault since your friends are so screwed up. But hey, they're your friends and if you leave, who else is going to feed you?

Get a Life

While at work today, a light bulb hit me in the face. No not a real light bulb, but the ones that spark brilliant ideas (well brilliant for my standards). I only just realised that although my blog looks nice and tidy, most of my blogs are quite short.
Thats because of 2 reasons.
1) I'm too lazy
2) I don't have a patience to write for long periods

And apparently a picture is worth a thousand words. So today's blog is worth 1086 words and I'm going to start incorporating some pictures (when viable) to the blog.

Dennis Rodman Syndrome

There are many types of identity.
Work identity, dependable, comes in first in the morning, last to leave.
School identity, class clown, has potential to do very well if only he would commit to it.
Internet identity, whatever you are in real life you are the exact opposite here.

Identity is the make-up of what we are, who we are.
A topic I have read upon is personal identity, what is it that makes you, well.....you?
Are you you because you look a particular way. I know you are you because you have that crooked nose, that ungainly smile. If you suddenly have a face transplant...are you still you? I surely won't recognise you and it would take a great deal of convincing otherwise.
Or are you you because of what is in your mind. What you know is who you are, what you do and act upon is who you are. When you wake up in the morning, you don't have to open your eyes and check in the mirror to know you are you. You wake up and think...I need to do this today and why did I wake up so early...again.

Or do we have to be both. Do we have to look like ourselves and act like ourselves to be...us.

Are we still ourselves if we have Alzheimer's, Schizophrenia or bipolar?
Are we still ourselves if we have a horrible accident that disfigures us?
Are we still ourselves once we die?

Hippo in front of Campus

I had an idea for my blog today but as usual I did not note it down, and I have totally forgotten what it was about. I have had many distractions and somewhere in the chaos, I left my memory somewhere.

Memory is such a fragile thing. It is so important that we have memory. Without it, there would be no such thing as emotions and/or feelings. There can be no happiness and there cannot be sadness.

There are different types of memory. Those that make up who we are, we know our names our abilities, these are the things help to make up our identity.

Others such as muscle memory, which help us to do certain things with multiple exposures or after many practice sessions.

Of course there are other types of memories but I'm not a doctor and you did not come here for a lesson in how memory works.

While typing this blog out, I have actually remembered what I wanted to really blog about, but that will have to wait for tomorrow or perhaps another day. (p.s. this blog was a memory cue)

Don't take your memory for granted or you'll end up like Charlton Heston or HM (refer: http://ahsmail.uwaterloo.ca/kin356/ltm/declarative.htm) .

Remember to thank your memory before you go to bed tonight and any other night that you remember.

No such thing as a free lunch.

There are many ways companies try and entice us to buy there products. The most common of them all is sales. 20% off...50% off...one day only! Infomercials would use the classic line...and thats not all...if you call within the next 15 minutes we'll thrown in this hunk of junk...a $20 value...FREE! More recently with the failing economy, companies use the interest free lay-by to get sales.

Sometimes it's the small little details that people like, and what I like about when buying products is a 24 hour helpline. These are numbers you can ring at any time of the night and ask for help on your product. Now, let me ask you...when is this not a good thing?

New Zealand: 0800 2xx-xx6

After 3 automated questions, I get a person with an Indian accent. The line quality is really bad. The person on the end of the line asks all these questions that you know what you need to tell him before he asks the question. He doesn't fix your problem. You ring again, you get someone from Canada, who doesn't fix your problem. He gets his supervisor...he's from some other country.

Couldn't I just have told him my problem and he goes about the quickest way to fix my problem, and if he knew he couldn't do it, then he should have gotten someone who could have?

No...that would be too easy.

Reality 500km Ahead

Dreams. There are those that say that dreams have meaning. Perhaps they are our subconscious coming to life. Dreams are a place where they have the power to control, to bend our will to their liking.

Dreams can be very powerful, vivid. Nightmares are just unpleasant dreams. We can wake up screaming, drenched in sweat. So unpleasant was that dream, we perhaps refuse to go back to sleep and/or wake up our partner to confess the dealings we just had and for them to comfort us. Most of the time, the dreams or nightmares fade away very quickly unless we talk about them in great detail straight away.

However, when do dreams become reality? If I have a dream and I write it down for all to see? When it becomes a best selling book? or is it as simple as telling someone within earshot?

Maybe we should treat dreams like a favourite tv program with us as the main character or narrative.

Tune in next time, same Bat time, same Bat channel...same Bat dream?

Secret Shame

There are things people like to do. We like to go shopping with our friends, we eat out, we go and play sports. These things are all human nature and are considered normal.

There are other things that are part of everyday life that are considered normal, but because of how we go about doing them make them weird. It can be a daunting chore for most people but is considered enjoyable to you. It can be a time consuming task, and in this day and age where time is so precious why would you want to do it.

To me washing the dishes is a thankless chore, it is time consuming and really doesn't benefit us that much except to get dirty again, and yet we have to do it because of hygiene reasons. However one of my friends likes to wash the dishes because he said it relaxes him, he whistles when he does it and even volunteers to do my dishes.

Perhaps it isn't such a secret shame but to me it's filthy!

Magic Mix

"A friend in need is a friend indeed. "
- Placebo

Friends are normally made by a common interest. We go to school together, we work together. In this day and age, we are more likely to make friends outside of these interests, e.g. our hobbies, the gym, cooking classes. More than not, we probably won't have that much in common except for how we meet but...opposites attract right?

Are friendships better made when you don't have that something in common? When it is an act of selflessness or altruism? Wouldn't you feel very grateful that someone disadvantages themselves to help you out? Would you not feel compelled to better of those people, even if it is trivial like lending you a food processor when your blender is broken?

"A friend is someone you can use over and over and over and over and over..."
- Ancient coffee mug quote

Short Fat and Dumb

I was thinking that if I ever get the chance to choose a flatmate, I would definitely choose someone from overseas than choose someone from the local populace.

Local people are to me uncultured, demanding, inpatient and arrogant. Whereas people from overseas are having overseas experience (possible not the first time). Having learnt from other cultures their eyes are open to different perspectives. If you tell them something, they will stop and think about it before agreeing disagreeing or having no opinion to the matter.

People from overseas also have a high chance of speaking another language. Not only do they learn something from your culture, but you get to learn something from theirs. You can swap languages, music and probably most importantly, food.

Next time you get to choose a flatmate, choose the one with the cute accent.

Our own worst enemy

Being sick is horrible. You don't feel like yourself. You feel drained. You don't want to do much.

Thank Allah we have medicine to make life bearable.

I got to thinking however, there are many diseases and illness that are a natural progression. But how many illness are cause by us humans because of our ever expanding technology?

An example would be swimming pools. Public swimming pools are a great place, it is clean and fun. To keep it clean they need to put chlorine into the pool, but this can cause skin welts and rashes. So to combat this, we put on vaseline and wash with aqueous cream.
Another would be side effects to drugs e.g. the pill makes woman fat etc

How many other illnesses are caused by our need to have a better life, a more comfortable life.

No Thank You Mouthful

I think that there are many foods and drinks out there that taste horrible. Utterly revolting, and yet we force these products down our throats.

In foods, it can be anything from mushrooms to crocodile meat. In liquid refreshments, I am mostly talking about alcohol but include drinks like spirulina.

There are foods which at the beginning taste horrible, but because we expose ourselves to them often we get desensitized to the bad taste and eventually it tastes good.
Alcohol is a prime example. Making a big assumption, I think that the first time anybody ever has alcohol, it tastes horrible to them. However, it is accepted by society to drink, and so we almost force ourselves to like it.

Is forcing ourselves to eat/drink something we don't like, so we become desensitized to it a form of masochism?

Compelled to help.

Why do some people feel the need to correct other people's mistakes or when they "think" being are making a mistake. Sometimes it not even a mistake but perhaps giving advice on a "better" way to do something.

Is your way of doing things just better than other people and that is why you have to correct other people. Is it because you always want to be right?

Am I writing this because I am speaking for the masses who are afraid to change. The who feel that "their way" is a comfortable way of doing it. Yes, it isn't the best way to do things, but it is a familiar way, a relaxed way and thus we feel annoyed, even angered when other people try to correct our ways.

Relief and Relax

Often, relief is describe by people as the best feeling in the world. When you having been holding on for 30 mins and then let it go, it feels fantastic. If you have a itch and you scratch it, it feels better than a massage. However, relief is always preceded by a bad or unwanted situation. To feel this "best feeling" in the world, you have to suffer....interesting (no pain no gain?).

The power of relaxing is a powerful thing indeed. Smokers use cigarette's to help relax and calm them. Alcohol is used to steady the nerves. However, I was thinking about just a day off after you have worked your butt off for the last week or two. Just sitting down and relaxing, doing nothing, wasting the day can feel so good. Relaxing is an essential part of everyone's lives. Too many of us suffer from burnout and we need to actually take care of ourselves and treat ourselves to good times.

So do it...DO IT NOW!

No Deal, No Deal, No Deal

Gosh, stupidity is everywhere. It surrounds me like a fog. It tries to suffocate me. It even tries to convert me when I am at my weakest. Stupidity makes me angry, it makes be laugh out loud, it even dismays me. I am at eternal war with it. Death to stupidity!

Game shows are great, they give such good family entertainment value. The ones that are the successful are ones that have audience interaction and when audiences are willing the contestant to win big. Deal or No Deal, is one such game show.

The beauty of this game (from the eyes of the producer) is: in general peoples maths skills are extremely bad, they are greedy, they are willing to take risks. The common saying is..."I came here with nothing."

One lady, went on the show. She said she wanted to get $20K, the moment came around and she was offered $22K with 4 still on the board (100K, 20K, $50, $250). Statistically speaking, she should have left, because the risk of loss is great and she was already offered more than the second biggest number on the table. This lady left with 50 bucks.
Another lady, left with 50 cents after being offered 20K with 5 still on the board (200K, 5K, $250, $100, 50 cents).

Education is important kiddies. Now if you try a little harder in maths (at school), maybe you'll walk away with 20K next time on Deal or No Deal, instead of letting half the southern hemisphere know your a dumbass.

Self Destruction

In our day and age we have so much information at our disposal. We have the internet, books, the library, advertisements and education. So why do so many people, take drugs, smoke, and drink excessively?

Excluding being addicted to the substances, I am going to try and explain this through a psychological point.

People do what they do, because they are instantly rewarded for doing so. Depending on what physical state/mood, they are either positively reinforced (rewarded) by feeling joy/ecstasy and satisfaction, or they are negatively reinforced by having stress removed or elation of withdrawal symptoms (negatively in the sense removal).

When you think about it like that, it is no wonder people who do that sort of thing do so. Advertisements and warnings about cancer, lung disease, brain damage have little effect, because instant gratification is much more powerful than delayed negative reinforcement (not having disease etc).

However, wouldn't it be possible that because we have so much information, we know we are not only doing ourselves harm, but the people around us, our friends and families. We can't plead ignorance. We continue to brutalize our own bodies , and punish that which sustains us.

(is that really me talking?)
Current Mood: Spaced Out

Missing You 2: Logic vs Heart

My girl found a job in Wellington and has been there for 2 weeks now. I would be lying if I said that I don't miss her. The thing is, I don't really show it and express it that much (at least not as much as she wants).

Those that know me, know me as a very logical person. Everything that I do, I do logically. Now that is to say that I am not without emotion, in Star Trek terms I'm probably a Half-Vulcan, I think logically yet I have emotions and can evoke them.

Last year, a fellow blogger called RK Singh commented on my Missing You post. He said "Missing is not a physical entity but it is to be felt in your heart."

Now, since I show little emotion about missing my girl because my logic overrides it, am I a heartless bastard? Or is it that I do miss her but because I don't show it enough, I am just a bastard?

I am here to rectify the situation.
Sweetie, I miss you.



To pieces even.

Genuinely fake people.

Why are people fake? I mean, why are people different when they are around different people?
An easy answer would be to be popular, to please people, to not displease people.

But seriously? really?

I can accept that answer when people are still in their teens, maybe even early 20's while still an undergrad where peer pressure is a big deal and we haven't learnt to stand on our own two feet. But when people are 20+ have a degree and/or have a focus in life, why are these people fake, what are the benefits?

Perhaps it's because we live in a PC world where it is frowned upon when you speak your mind. To be other than what you are? Are we a society that claim we want individuality yet secretly discriminate against those who refuse to be assimilated?

If so....well fuck me.

Good...Great....Legend...

What is the mark of a good man? There are many things you can do in your life to make yourself a good man/woman. There have been many great New Zealanders, Ernest Rutherford the "father" of nuclear physics; Kate Shepard, gave woman the vote in 1891.

In May 29 1953, a man named Edmund Hillary was the first man to successfully scale Mt Everest and climbed down to tell the tale. He was later knighted by the then newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June the 6th, only 8 days after he climbed Everest. In 1957 he helped to found Scott Base in Antarctica. However, arguably his most notable achievement was founding the Himalayan Trust, which in turn helped build numerous schools, hospitals and roads in the Sherpa region of Nepal. In New Zealand we honored him in 1992 by putting him on the $5 note, the only ever living (at that time) New Zealander to be presented on our money.

If we thought he was a Legend, the Nepalese thought he was a living god. Fathers tell their son's the story of Sir Ed, not only of his achievements but his selfless contributions to the Sherpa people. Sherpa's have followed in his footsteps by climbing to the top of the world. On the 50th anniversary of the first ever ascent the Nepalese Government conferred honorary citizenship upon Hillary at a special Golden Jubilee celebration in Kathmandu. He was the first foreign national to receive such an honour from the Nepalese government.

I stood dumbfounded at the TV when I first heard the news and constantly had goosebumps. I was so sad to hear that he had passed away. NZ citizens are debating how best to honour him. Of course everyone wants an extra holiday but is that really the best way to remember him? By slacking off?

"In some ways I believe I epitomise the average New Zealander. I have modest abilities, I combine these with a good deal of determination and I rather like to succeed."
- Sir Edmund Hillary

I would rather hope, we rename something significant after him and make sure that our children and their children are taught who he was and what he did.

Farewell Sir Ed, we are definitely worse off without you.