LFW

im not satisfied with my current salary, at the same time i feel undeserving of it. i need a new job.

back2school

so ive decided that im going to apply for uni starting next year (Sept 2011). looking at courses like marketing, management, or business admin. not even going to consider making another attempt at computer science. fuck that.

im looking at applying to HKU and Poly Tech, not keeping my hopes up for the former, but the latter should be assured acceptance so long as i dont fuck up the application process. im not looking forward to spending another 3 years of my life studying, but its necessary if i ever want to find employment in hong kong. lets just hope i dont laze out and miss the application deadline.

i would have liked to follow up on my previous "dream" to take a TEFL test and becoming an english teacher, but it looks like i'll have save that for some other time in the distant future, or maybe in the next life. after my somewhat impulsive decision to study comp sci (games tech) at NTU (and realizing what a fail choice it was), im going to try staying on the safe side and do something more mainstream. sadly, what i want to do and what i have to do cant always be the same thing. c'est le vie.

ACHOO

it came to my attention the other day that apparently, observing how a person sneezes can reveal his/her true personality. youre not really in control of yourself when you feel an urge to sneeze, and its often so spontaneous that you dont have time to consider how you want to sneeze. so you just sneeze in a way that is common and natural to yourself, pretty interesting. (unfortunately a sneeze cant really identify a persons morals, so you cant tell if a person is an evil mastermind, or an innocent angel, by the way they sneeze.) there are several "official" interpretations, if you want to see those you can check google, this is my blog after all so here are my thoughts (most of them are pretty exaggerated, but just to give a better idea):

first and foremost, there is the etiquette of sneezing. covering your mouth and/or turning your head to sneeze in an indirect area shows you have at least a minimal amount of courtesy and social hygiene. you dont go around sharing your germs with by passers simply because you dont care or dont know that its nasty. covering your mouth can also point out that you are a generally well organized person who plans ahead. similarly, not covering or redirecting your sneeze makes you an inconsiderate slob, or an idiot.

"enthusiastic sneeze"
big, loud, and possibly multiple sneezes. very open personality, not afraid to share your own opinion. sociable person, when not sneezing that is.

"sensitive sneeze"
tiny, quiet, even at times holding your nose as to keep minimal volume. this seems easy enough to read. youre obviously a polite, considerate, and modest person. possibly too modest, and too kind. not being able to say no. quiet personality and keeps to him/herself, whilst keeping the best interest of others before themselves.

"ninja sneeze"
never sneezes when visible by others. a little harder to interpret, since you never have a chance to see them sneeze. but what you can tell is that they may be very superficial characters. either that or extremely shy to the extent where they hold in their sneeze as not to draw attention to themselves. maybe even an extreme version of the "sensitive sneeze".

there are several other sneeze genres, but i think i covered the most common ones, and i dont want to extend this post anymore than it has already.

BONUS:
Gesundheit- you know, the thing some people say after a person sneezes, like bleh-shoe (bless you). its actually german for "healthiness". probably as in you wish healthiness upon the sneezer. and people often say bless you cause apparently when you sneeze, you release your sins. OR when you sneeze, evil spirits corrupt your soul by entering your mouth. superstitious stuff.

speed demon

in the past, whenever i saw/sat in a car going fast, i always thought to myself "why so fast?" maybe cause they were in a rush, or theyre just showing off their luxury cars, or they think driving fast makes you cool. only now do i realize, driving fast gives one hell of an adrenaline rush. apologies to all those people i misunderstood, driving fast is indeed lots of fun. its a shame it comes with a higher death risk.. especially in the hell driven traffic of mainland china. i should probably slow down more while driving.

video games ftw

one day while playing games with a friend (who was a non regular gamer), it came to my attention that they really sucked at puzzle solving. as i watched him helplessly trying to reach a higher ledge (guarded by mobs), i lost patience and told him "just shoot them with your ice and jump on top of them wtf" then they returned with a look of bewilderment, "wtf how would i know to do that??" it was so obvious to me, yet they could not figure it out. so i started thinking, could it be that video games actually make you smart? maybe that wasnt the best example (lol) but heres what i came up with:

1) for starters you would know how to set up a console. some adults dont even know how to turn on a vcr, let alone plugging them into av ports. learning this at a young age makes you smarter already.

2) common belief among non-gamers is that most (if not all) video games are about violence and killing stuff. probably due to the fact that the biggest hype games with the most media attention are games like Halo or Call of Duty. little do they know that there is a puzzle genre. not to mention action/adventure games have a fair share of puzzle solving. being able to solve these puzzles is an inherent ability among gamers and they will continue to develop as they play more games.

3) a lot of games require quick reflexes and fast thinking. its probably harder NOT to grow some kind of brain power while recognizing/learning patterns and developing reflexes.

lately people have developed a better understanding of gaming entertanment and are starting to appreciate its capabilities. but there are still some out there who remain ignorant and oblivious to the awesomeness that is video games.

so to those who associate immaturity with gamers, i ask you. would you rather your kid growing up with a little brain adrenaline every now and then, or sitting around the floor stacking lego blocks? i think id choose the former (though i do love them lego blocks).

brrbrphhfftttttttsss

in case youre wondering, the title is an onomatopoeia i made for farting. why you ask? because i feel like blogging about flatulence.

im sure many people know of the saying, "beans, beans, theyre good for your heart. the more you eat the more your fart." and so on, iv forgotten the last 2 lines. anyways, iv been curious about the legitimacy of this for quite some time now. do beans really make you fart? are they really good for your heart? or is it that beans are only good because they make you fart? lets find out!

after some quick browsing i found that beans do make you fart, as do many other consumables.. but beans a considerable amount more. long story short, beans have stuff (mostly sugars) that cant be fully ingested while in the small intestine, so most of it makes its way into the large intestine. this is where the majority of your bacteria hang out and to eat your left overs. the bacteria then breaks it down to a few gases (carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and METHANE) which continues down your digestive system and out your rectum. brrbrphhfftttttttsss. id also like to quickly add, eating with you mouth open causes you to ingest some air as well, which makes you fart more, not to mention its also a disgusting habit.

moving on! we've deduced that beans do make you fart, now are they good for your heart? why yes they are! they have protein, vitamin B, and all other kinds of goodies depending on what kind of bean you eat. im not gonna expand much about their nutrients cause its not that interesting.

now then, obviously by farting you are releasing waste, bacteria, whatever substance you dont need in our body. so in that sense, farting is indeed healthy. but how about the affects on your heart? summarizing a big long article i read, farts have a positive affect on your heart! hydrogen sulfide is the major cuplrit for smelly farts. this gas is somehow relevant to controlling your blood pressure and by releasing it your blood pressure is lowered. i wont go into details, because i dont know the details. so there you go.

in conclusion, everything about the saying is true. beans are good for you heart, they also tend to make you fart, and farting can also lead to a healthy heart!

and yes women do fart, theyre just more reluctant in doing so than men because its unsexy.

todays post was a bit long but i hope you enjoyed it!

incoming: meaningless blog

so after watching the snsd's genie music video several times, i think iv found out something new about myself. all these years i thought i preferred girls with longer hair, now im starting to think otherwise. i think iv realized that i prefer girls with short hair, not tomboy short hair, but a nice bob cut that ends just above the shoulders. it reveals the slender sexy look of the neck and shoulders, more so when looking from behind.

iv also figured out why i seem to have a kind of fetish towards ponytails or twintails.. while the girl still has long hair, they have a short hair look since the bulk of hair is tied back.

update: reading back this post is... i dont know how to describe it. i feel pathetic for some reason.

working again

for the last 3 days iv been working in china for a company called Jubilant Team International. Jubilant acts as an agent company to commune between certain shoe industries around the world and shoe production factories in china, pretty much acting as translators.

not including myself there are 7 people in the office and another 2 working in a seperate facility (the boss usually isnt around and is going around on business so its 6 of us at the office for the most part). its a small company, and a small office, but for a starter like me its not so bad i guess. besides, this way its easier to get associated with collegues and such. at the moment im acting as an assistant to a woman who is in charge of sorting order forms from the client and ensuring that everything is in order between the clients and associated factories, i suppose she would be the production manager, making me assistant production manager?

unfortunately though, these past few days have been extremely dull. im given little, if any, work to do and i spend alot of my time just browsing the net and doing nothing (hence the reason for my blogging today and yesterday). apparently its thanks to the timing in my arrival. all the order forms from our designated client (Sanuk) have just been arranged and theres little left for me to sort. additionally, this friday along with next week are holidays for the national china day. so i imagine more of the work will be given to us after the holidays are over, and hopefully i'll have more to do.

its great that i have a job now, though its a shame that i have to sacrifice my hong kong life for this. my gym contract will have to be cancelled, i wont be able to see my friends for ages, i'll have to live with pathetic internet at home, give up my independance (living with parents now rather than living alone), too much shit to list. i seriously hope things will pick up soon and that this will be worth my time.

PCC recap

so heres my final conclusion on working as a barista for PCC.. FYI its been about.. a month since iv resigned from working there, so yea this is a bit overdue lol.

to start off, working there part time as the lowest position is barely minimum wage, actually it probably was minimum wage ($27 p/hour). working 7am till 5pm for the most part, 9 hours + 1 hour lunch break, mondays to fridays.

now, what exactly am i doing there and how was it? the first few weeks i was just lobbying, going around clearing tables, helping customers on the floor, bringing drinks out to some people, basically doing everything outside the counter. it wasnt until about 2 weeks in that i was allowed to start doing behind the counter work. lobbying is probably the most dreadfully boring part of the job, for the most part im just standing around greeting customers, otherwise doing nothing.. its extremely tiring standing around (in proper posture, no slouching, arm crossing, etc) doing nothing.

so now its the start of week 3 and im allowed behind the counter. im making drinks, preparing food, doing all kinds of shit. theres alot more work to do, but thats a good thing. i find that the busier i am, the less aware of how many hours of work i have left.

at the end of those 3 months what have i learned? well im more educated about coffee, at least more so than i was before. people often say to me "oh so you must be pro at making coffee now." no, not really. im trained to use the machines at PCC shops, which are probably not the same models as whatever tiny coffee makers are found in regular households.

the best and worst: well lets see. the most fun i had was when i had to send takeout orders. i get to walk around outside and visit offices, see some pretty OL lol. all my coworkers at the shop were also very friendly, i'll probably find myself visiting them every now and then. the worst, well its easy to guess, throwing out the garbage (thankfully PCC isnt in charge of cleaning the toilets in the building). though the reason isnt so obvious. the garbage from PCC is mostly cups and plates, used cutlery and tissues. and the garbage hasnt been sitting around for hours so it doesnt have time to rot and stink (i probably throw out the garbage once every 3 hours). its annoying because the PCC shop is on the first floor and the garbage disposal area is in the underground level. since im carrying around garbage bags im not allowed to take customer lifts, escalators, anywhere there are likely to be people walking around. i have to take the cargo lift, which takes AGES to arrive. and theres only one lift for the whole building (24 or so floors). plus waiting in elevator room is damned hot.. god it was so annoying.. lets see, what else sucked. picking up after certain customers. youd think that a sophisticated office employee would be nice and tidy, well no. they leave newspapers sitting around in a mess, coffee rings all over the table, crumbs sitting around. goddamn. we give you trays for you to put your shit on them as to avoid a mess on the table, so use them goddamnit.

ahem, so thats all i have to say. overall, i wont say it was very fun, productive, or i hated it. well lets just say it was a new experience..

personal trainers from hell

went to the gym alone today (whereas i normally would go with a friend). and yet again i was ruthlessly attacked by personal trainers working at california gym. i must say im growing tired of their stubbornness.

iv been to the gym by myself a few times now, and EVERY time iv been approached by a different PT on each attempt to make me subscribe to a program. somehow every PT manages to notice something about me thats potentially dangerous and could leave my body permanently damaged if not fixed asap, or so they say. first it was my back, then my shoulders, then my arms, then my legs (each one being unbalanced or something..) wow i must have pretty unstable body proportions..

so there they are, the wolves in sheeps clothing, approaching me with the "its not about the money, my main concern is your own safety!" bullshit. sure health and safety is definitely important in gym, but "its not about the money"... really? yea so it doesnt really matter that it costs $1500 for a measly 3 hours (which apparently isnt enough to learn anything productive, so the minimum time recommended with a PT is 6 hours). if they find that im just saying nothx to everything then they even bring in backup and soon i end up surrounded by 3 PTs. ffs...

dont get me wrong, im sure theyre nice people, and probably not all of them are so stubborn in trying to eat my money. imo though, the majority of them are probably spawns of satan. damn them!

--- edit: well iv noticed that my blog has started turning into me rambling about random shit in my life that probably no one cares about, and its probably pretty boring to read. next time i'll blog something more interesting.. I PROMISE!

morning shift

hows work? iv learned just about everything i need to know for my position (assistant barista), i can pretty much make any drink on the menu now. starting to get used to it i guess. waking up is still tiring, standing around is still boring, but im complaining less about it now. until today that is.

iv started working morning shifts and have to continue to do so for i dont know how much longer (hopefully not long). my day starts at 5:30am waking up to my alarm and continually snoozing it for a further 30 minutes until finally getting out of bed at 6. i leave after 20 minutes and eat a bun from 7/11 on the way to work. well thats what i would normally do however... shock! 7/11 isnt open that early in the morning. what the hell, and i thought it was open 24/7.. so this morning i had no breakfast (i'll be better prepared tomorrow morning.. damn your lies 7/11!)

starting earlier means finishing earlier, so thinking of it that way its not all bad i suppose. the difference now is i arrive at the shop before opening time, so i have to help set up shop. and no 7/11 buns either :<

during lunch i took some photos on my phone of where i like to lounge about for an hour. i was going to post some pictures (wow pictures!) but this post is getting a bit long so maybe i'll post them tomorrow. for now its still a strictly words only blog. too bad :)

--- edit: the photos were uploaded to my facebook so i probably wont upload them again here. too bad again :)

after a week of work

tiring, exhausting, tedious, but at least im still learning something, and more importantly im getting paid (some people appreciate experience more, but i prefer money thanks lol). so yea, its pretty hectic work. fairly simple job, easy to do tasks and whatnot, but its just.. so.. much.. its like math homework, you know the formula, you know how to do it all, but there are so many questions to do..

part of the reason im so tired after work everyday is thanks to my extremely uncomfortable shoes. its tiring enough having to stand around for 10 hours without having wooden planks for soles. well at least today i got a new pair of shoes, pretty expensive, but damned comfortable. hopefully this week wont leave my feet dead.

so what exactly am i doing? im doing "FOH" work, lobbying, whatever (FOH being front of house). i walk around clearing and cleaning tables, tending to customers, and occasionally taking out the trash. thats not even half the responsibilities of a normal barista. iv yet to learn anything behind the counter, for instance actually making the coffee. that starts this week.. hai...

funny thing, after constantly greeting customers coming in and out of the shop, iv developed a strange habit. when i see a customer come in i greet them with a polite nod saying "hello, good morning/afternoon/evening!" and of course smiling all the while. now i find myself doing the same to anyone who makes eye contact with me, regardless of the fact im no longer on duty. its becoming a subconcious action. hahahahai..... im tired.

time for bed.

boring update post

found out yesterday my job as a barista had been confirmed, i'll be working in a shop located in wan chai, where exactly i dont know. tomorrow will be my 2nd interview session where i'll be given more details. the tuesday after is my PCC orientation, who knows what i'll learn or who i'll meet (blog on that later).

other than that, nothing else i want to blog about, kinda boring.. on a side note, word of advice to all my readers. if you dont like having blisters on your feet, dont play basketball (or any other sport for that matter) wearing sandals. stupid thing to do.. gah my feet hurt

present plan

thus far this is what i intend to do with my life for the next few months, perhaps years.

firstly i will get a job, any job. obviously i'll make an effort to apply a job that can offer good experience and of course a good salary, but i know with a weak work background like mine that it would be difficult. so iv set my standards lower and will work any paying job, like working in a coffee shop for instance.

what i want is to earn money at a reasonable pace so i can start a career in teaching english asap. TESOL is a well known course in hong kong that i intend to apply once i have enough money for the course. there are separate paths i can take to seek a teaching career, such as part time tutoring or applying to some jobs which dont require a certificate, but i think completing the course and getting a proper teaching certificate can ensure a definite career path in teaching. so thats what i'll be going for.

why teaching? through my teens iv always wondered what it would be like to teach, how would students react to a teacher with my personality (iv always imagined myself to be an awesome teacher and all my students would love me. hell yea). i think id also enjoy bossing around kids and having a superior position for once haha. not to mention most english teaching jobs have pretty decent pay.

add oil mike woohoo!

airplane safety procedures: paranoia or precaution

i spoke with my friend earlier today, hes going on a flight to Beijing and he mentioned he has a fear of flying. this reminded me of something i could never figure out for sure. why must ALL electronics be turned off during take off and landing?

mobile phones and laptops are switched off for obvious reasons, interference through wireless signals and whatnot. but what about mp3 players, portable consoles, those kind of things. i always thought it was to ensure that all passengers could stay alert and pay attention to flight attendants or any emergency situation which may arise. so why is it they allow people to sleep during take off and landing? that basically contradicts my little theory, so its most likely not the real reason.

i looked it up a bit more and found its because...
1) all devices apparently transmit radio waves. air control towers are built to receive even the slightest transmission, even a weak little ipod radio wave. its unlikely to cause any potentially dangerous interference, but even the slightest possibility that could put passengers lives at stake is taken into account i suppose. better safe than sorry.
2) not all flight attendants are given real training to differentiate a mobile phone or laptop from other electronics. i guess if youre not really a techy person then you could easily mistake a psp for a tiny laptop.. so as a precaution flight attendants are told to make sure ALL electronics are switched off.

well im glad i finally got that figured out. hope it was interesting, i found it interesting..

coffee anyone?

today i had my interview with PCC, Pacific Coffee. last week i submitted my application for any openings they may have in the company, be it working at the head office or making coffee in one of the stores. so the interview went well, though i wasnt exactly applying for a difficult position, unlike my first interview with Vtech (a story im not willing to share). it was fairly simple and it only lasted about 10 minutes, maybe even less.

strangely enough iv never made coffee before and i dont drink it at all. but its good to get to grips with a working lifestyle, having a schedule to keep is good i suppose rather than having absurd sleeping hours. im not particularly looking forward to doing a hard labour job as i understand it can be extremely tedious and more importantly, extremely boring. but at the end of the day im getting money and experience. long as theres some achievements then it cant be so bad.

i should hear back from PCC in a week, if not sooner. look forward to my first blog as a barista in the near future, where i will most likely be complaining about how boring the first day was.

curious note of the day: TNT (in terms of explosives) stands for Trinitrotoluene, a chemical compound with the formula C₆H₂(NO₂)₃CH₃ (courtesy of wikipedia). i always knew TNT was some form of explosive power used in dynamite and whatnot, but i never knew the actual acronym was for. why did i look this up? cause my blog address tntien reminded me of TNT... haha

"first" blog

not really my first blog, since iv made several blog pages in the past. but this will be the first to introduce my new blog site, "mikes blog". yes, very original. btw for the address tntien.blogspot, tntien is short for Tzu Nong Tien, my chinese given name (田子農).

unlike past blogs iv done, this will hopefully be more productive and less about random useless thoughts. i feel like iv been bumming around too much as of late (as pointed out by my father as well). blogging about more serious matters will hopefully be enough to stimulate my brain rather than rotting it away whilst doing whatever unproductive activity i usually do.

so look forward to my next blog! what will the topic be, who knows, hopefully it will be something interesting.