My brilliant life in pictures Blur ting thinks that I’m a brilliant blogger. She said, An animal lover, Mooiness is also a party animal (on weekends only) who blogs brilliantly about the night life in Australia and his admiration for babes. Why thank you very much! Erm yeah I always have a problem with such high praise. I only hope that I don’t suck from hereon. Heh. But yeah she’s right on all counts. I have a pet staffordshire-terrier cross called “Snoop” whom I love running and playing with. I’m a caffeine … fueled clubber … who likes partying with the ladies. ---You might also be interested in these :Got a new job!Brilliant Coca-Cola AdsCats are funnyMore of my chio-bu friend…Langkawi Update Here comes the Tsun Her name is Tsun and she presents the weather. The puns just write themselves. Angela Tsun is a UNSW graduate in communications, was a presenter for The Weather Channel for 4 years, did a stint on the short-lived Ralph TV and the requisite Ralph photo shoot, and has now landed herself in Perth a couple of months ago as the weather person for Channel Nine Perth. When I first heard about her and her name, I had thought, “What lucky Chinese bastard got to marry this girl?!” Then I found out that her father is half-Chinese, thus making her a quart Asian hottie. Here comes the Tsun | PerthNow Therefore, she’s the perfect woman for the Asian Anglophile who has traditional parents who wants him to marry a nice Asian girl. Because hey, part-Asian is still Asian. Heh. But too bad so sad, she isn’t available last I read. Never mind. If her father can snag a blonde hottie who presumably is where Angela gets her good looks from (I mean look at her!), there’s hope for the rest of you lot yet. Then again, her father being half-Chinese probably means he’s got that dark hunky Eurasian look which probably tipped things in his favour. Oh well, back to dreaming about it then you guys. Click on the image to get the bigger version. Go on, you know you want to. ---You might also be interested in these :No related posts Being Chinese and watching the Chinese Olympics Watching the Chinese Olympics during the past 2 weeks, and especially the opening and closing ceremonies where Chinese art and culture were represented so impressively, I can’t help but feel a tinge of pride of being Chinese. Even though I’m two generations removed from my Chinese roots (born in Malaysia, transplated to Australia), culturally I’m Chinese even though by nationality, I’m Australian. Like I’m sure how an Irish, Greek or Italian Australian would feel when something special happens in their motherlands, so it was that I felt pride by association. But of course, lest we forget there are still many problems within and outside of China. The issue of Tibet, the enormous gap between the rich and sophisticated urbanites and the poor and disenfranchised in the city slums and rural areas; cultural suppression of ethic minorities; indirect Chinese sponsorship of African dictatorships in exchange for steady supplies of raw materials and fuel. So yeah, China has put on a great show for us during the past 16 days. But when the factories open tomorrow, and the roads clogged with vehicles and the air becomes murky with pollution again, let’s hope that China can create a clean and harmonious environment in and around itself, metaphorically and literally, without having to resort to a show to distract us from the reality. ---You might also be interested in these :Two singing girls, both made in ChinaBargaining: Chinese vs. IndianLondon blastsYou speaka da Chinese?Getting in touch with our Chinese selves One Punch Can Kill The above two ads are part of the Western Australian Government’s awareness campaign about the new laws against “one punch deaths”. One punch deaths are so called because the victim dies from falling and hitting their heads as the result of a punch. In the ads, a common scenario is depicted: 3 friends out clubbing and drinking, and as they are walking at the end of the night, a stranger bumps into one of them. What happens next will change the course of two person’s lives. Why is this special law needed? Attorney General Jim McGinty said that under the new law, it did not matter whether the death was foreseeable or whether the attacker actually intended to kill. ???If the victim dies, the attacker can be held accountable for that death and be liable for up to 10 years??? imprisonment,??? Mr McGinty said. ???There have been several high profile one-punch cases in WA where attackers have been acquitted of manslaughter because it could not be proved that they could have foreseen their actions would cause their victims to die. ???The victims??? families have been rightfully outraged that the people they hold responsible for their loved ones??? deaths have not been convicted of a crime. ???This new offence reinforces community expectations that violent attacks, such as a blow to the head, are unacceptable. When people die as a result of such attacks, their attackers will now be held accountable for the full consequences of their violence.??? Campaign to warn on new ???one punch??? laws. : thewest.com.au As a person who goes out a lot, hanging around bars and clubs and boozed up people, I can confirm that what the TV ads show is very real. The ad campaign will also see posters and coasters displayed in drinking venues (in the toilets too I hope). I think it’s tax payers’ money well-spent because it can potentially save more from reduced hospitalisation, prosecution and incarceration. Yeah there will still be people who will be too drunk on the night to remember or care about this new law but they will be the minority. And if they kill someone, at least now they won’t get off that easily. ---You might also be interested in these :“House” & Difficult DecisionsGun violence and psycho killersDogs mauled girl to death but I still blame the parentsWithout wheelsSuicide/Love Being the good neutral friend phre3a @ stock.xchng Being the good neutral friend takes effort. Picture these dilemmas: There’s a gathering, a dinner or a house party, clubbing, going out. Everyone knows each other except some of the people in the group aren’t told about it. Over the week, you strive to not talk about the gathering to those who aren’t going. But they ask you what you are doing on the weekend. Do you lie or tell the truth? Me: Lying would just make a bigger mess of things, so I’d just tell the truth but I’d employ some tact and try not to sound too excited about it. You know friend A for a long time. Then you meet friend B, a long time friend of friend A. Friend B and you click very well and you end up seeing each other more than friend A. Do you feel guilty about it, and do you try to split your time between the two equally, or try to involve both friend A and friend B in whatever plans you might have? Me: if I know friend B no longer enjoys friend A’s company then I’d try to split my time equally. Forced company is not good company. And if you are fair about it, then the problem between friend A and friend B isn’t really yours to worry about. You hear friend A make a small complain about friend B. It’s something really petty and it’s probably nothing. Do you tell friend B anyway? And do you care that friend A will know that you were the one who told friend B? Me: I’d shut up about it. I won’t even add my two cents into it. I’ll just listen and let them vent. If friend B is also bitching about friend A, then I’d subtly ask them individually this question, “why are you still friends?” Although it takes effort, being the good neutral friend is a good long term strategy I think. When one doesn’t lie, is fair and is discreet, then I think one would earn other people’s trust. And trust is a very good foundation to build a long lasting friendship on. ---You might also be interested in these :Bros before HosAsian guys and blondesHow would you ditch a friend’s invite?Mom returns and then?Degrees of Friends Mother of All Swag Last week I had blogged about my approval of the new Mother energy drink. The next morning, I received a nice email from the PR rep handling the product. I replied with a “Hell yeah! Send me some free stuff!” A week later, a non-descript box landed on my doorstep. It felt heavy and I could hear the clanking of metallic cans. Awesome. Inside it were 9 cans of Mother, a letter with a crushed can of the old Mother, and a mysterious looking piece of brown plastic. What was it? This! Bullsballs.com! Balls to drink Mother? I has them! Oh and this is how big a 500mL can looks in my hands. Yes I’ve got small hands, but it’s still a big 500mL can of caffeine and sugary, artificial fruit juice goodness! Yeaaaah boyyyyy! Yeah I know - I’m doing exactly what the PR company had wanted me to do. Send me some free stuff, watch me blog it, and get some cheap publicity and advertising. But hey, I got free merchandise too so it’s a win-win situation. Besides, I wouldn’t say I like drinking the stuff if I didn’t. And yeah, Converse and Adidas? I like your stuff too. And so, being the good corporate shill that I am, I interrupt this post with some words from our sponsor. Personally, they should have just sent me some of that old Mother instead of crushing them. But hey, this is the price of progress! Thanks again Stuart! ---You might also be interested in these :Mother of all Energy DrinksInstant Noodles and MomI blame the parentsThe charm is working, yes?No rest for the wicked Two singing girls, both made in China This made news headlines and I can see why. The real story isn’t that the girl lip-synced but rather, she lip-synced to the voice and song of another girl. Personally I don’t see the fuss. I mean, we already know that the Chinese government mandated that factories closed and cars banned from the roads in Beijing so that the image of the Olympics is nothing but perfect. This thing with the two singing girls, like the grand opening ceremony and the use of CGI to enhance the televising of the fireworks, was orchestrated and tweaked to project the best image possible for China. They manipulated all that so why not the girls too? Silencing the star in red - News - Olympics - smh.com.au Though I must agree with the sentiment of one of the commenters in the Gizmodo post about this story: But there’s one thing you gotta ask yourself - how come in a nation of 1.3 billion people they couldn’t find a girl that looked “cute” and “sings good”. Come on you can’t tell me that combination doesn’t exist among that many people. Olympics: Little Girl Substituted By Cuter Little Girl In Olympic Opening Ceremony Surely China, which now includes the territories of Macau and Hong Kong, which have produced hundreds of hottie singers and actresses from its own entertainment industry, shouldn’t have had the problem of doing the above? But I can understand why people feel the need to talk about it. I saw how the local tabloid TV beat it up. To some, this supports their notion that “made in China” means low quality and that since the Chinese are good at making counterfeit goods and general fakery, why should we be surprised? Besides the slight xenophobic tones and racism of how some choose to interpret this event, I think that only some Chinese netizens, who’ve felt that the other girl was wronged and was robbed of her rightful limelight, and this post at Jezebel grasped the real problem with it and that is, Is it appropriate to tell a little girl that she isn’t pretty enough to represent her country? Opening Ceremonies: The Kid Stays Out Of The Picture ---You might also be interested in these :Being Chinese and watching the Chinese Olympicsthose rumours">Dawn Yang confronts those rumoursJeff Ooi says, “If Dawn Yang ain’t hot, who is?”I heart Dawn YangMisquoted / Dawn Yang Being alone in a nightclub Last night, my friends had prior engagements earlier in the night and will only be going to the clubs late at around 2am, and I wasn’t sure I’d be in the mood to wait till then. Yet I was antsy and bored at home. I thought I’d popped a caffeine pill, listen to some dance music and have a party by myself in my room and not go out at all. So, there I was tweaking on a caffeine high, listening to the music blaring through my headphones and surfing the net looking at anything and everything. Pretty soon, in a span of about an hour I had bought stuff off Amazon, Think Geek, the Apple store and the iTunes store. Yeah, on this night boredom plus caffeine made me buy stuff. All of a sudden at around 11:30pm I felt this intense urge to just get out of the house and be around people. I had changed my mind and it didn’t matter that I’d be alone. I know I will know at least one person at The Deen, Sam the bartender so I quickly changed and hopped into my car. Half an hour later, I was amidst the loud music and party-goers. I saw Sam, chatted with her for a while and quickly bought two drinks from her. I downed the Jager bomb and nursed my Jack and Coke for the next half hour. I was buzzing, smiling and people watching. Seeing pretty girls was invigorating. Although, there’s something about being alone in a sea of people that can make one depressed. I saw a couple making out in the queue earlier and that made me wished I was there with someone. Then out on the dance floor, I saw this girl with tears in her eyes lose it completely and was yelling at her boyfriend without caring who was looking at them. And I thought, “Ok, sometimes being with someone is not necessarily better than being alone.” I was there for close to 2 hours by myself being entertained by the house music and the spectacle of other people. 2am came along quickly to my delight. I had managed to kill time in a most pleasurable way and I was elated. The Deen was closing so I hopped to The Rise where I was suppose to meet up with Simon, Lydia and Kayo. And my night continued and began anew. I didn’t get home till about 5am. I was so glad that I didn’t stay home after all. ---You might also be interested in these :I got too excitedUnpleasant experiences in a nightclubCheap thrills at a nightclubAmbar NightclubSaturday night’s clubbing at Library Don’t get “court” Spotted outside my local K-Mart. I can see how this grammatical error could have been made. The train of thought probably went like this: Yeah, you’d get caught, then you’d go to court … so yeah, don’t get court! Spell-check won’t have picked it up either since it’s spelt correctly. And I guess in this context, people can understand it anyway. But still. Heheh. ---You might also be interested in these :Don’t be so horny, ok?Clever “don’t drink and drive” adDon’t call it a podcast #2 - Fan MailHow a prominent blogger deals with a random fanCamera-free at future dance events Mother of all Energy Drinks TV ad for Mother, v1.0 I first tried Mother, the energy drink by Coca-Cola Amatil for the Australian market at Two Tribes Music Festival 2006. I had liked it but it appears that I was in the minority. A lot of people thought it tasted too medicinal and it was pulled from the market after a year or so. It was recently relaunched with the tag line, “New - Tastes Nothing Like The Old One!” and with the ad below parodying how serious and how sorry they are for botching it up in the first place. TV ad for Mother, v2.0 My colleagues Phil and Sam, who is now in Melbourne have this tradition called “3 o’clock Red Bull” which is exactly what it means. Like Wednesday is the hump of the working week, 3 o’clock is the hump of the working day. Sometimes you just need that little push to get over it. Today Phil had wanted to try the new Mother, and that prompted me to get one too because I didn’t sleep well last night. Off to the supermarket I went - $3 for a 500mL can! Bargain! After my first few gulps of the new fruity flavoured Mother (apple and lemon FTW!), I felt the buzz slowly built up. There was a warm tingling sensation in my limbs. Had I been in a dark nightclub with loud music playing I would have been jumping up and down. As it was, I just sat in my desk arms and fingers fidgeting, and legs shaking away. Good for energy! I said to Phil, “This is good buzz.” He agreed. I was physically trying to talk slower and I think I succeeded but my fingers were typing at a crazy speed, but with no errors though. Good for concentration! I felt the buzz and tingles for a good two hours as I gulped the drink away. This was expected as I was drinking the equivalent of two cans of Redbull. Sweet! I could feel my heart racing so this is probably not a good drink to be drinking a lot of on a daily basis. But still … sweet! If they sell this in the clubs, it’d definitely do well. It’s now my new favourite party drink. Yay! p.s. Any Coke reps out there reading this? Send me a case of this stuff! ---You might also be interested in these :Mother of All SwagInstant Noodles and MomI blame the parentsThe charm is working, yes?No rest for the wicked Girls are like M&Ms Girls are like M&Ms and you don’t open up a pack just to eat the red ones, or the yellow ones alone. You eat all of them! So to speak, heh. The only way we can stop racism is to have more inter-racial babies. You can’t be racist to a mixed person. It’s too hard. Check out Kevjumba’s other videos too - he’s very the amusing. ---You might also be interested in these :Pretty girlsWhy I like Asian girlsThe way I workWhy I like white girlsOff to Penang, again Real Life Barney Stinson One of my favourite shows on TV is “How I Met Your Mother“. The show spins a comedy around the relationship issues of a group of friends in their early 30s where two of them are married and the other three are single. The dynamics of their discussions are always fun because everyone has a different point of view due to their personalities and circumstances. So apart from the married couple, one’s the straight-guy (as in follow the rules, have morals etc.), one’s a woman with all that that entails, and the other is the sleazoid player. And he’s called “Barney Stinson” and is played by Neil Patrick Harris. He’s my favourite character on the show because he utters lines like these: Because we just hooked up last night. I can’t call the girl the next day, I have to wait at least like…forever, Oh Snap! Nevergonnacallher. This better be good. I’m about to enter Nirvana. By the way I should get you Nirvana’s phone number, she gives a great massage. Say whaaaat? You invited me up to your apartment to play Battleship. Is that not an international recognized term for sex? There are only two reasons to date a girl you???ve already dated: Breast implants. This girl is blinding you with her shiny hair and boob-shaped boobs. Look around Lily, you are in the heart of bachelor country. And as a woman you are an illegal immigrant here. Now you can try to apply for a sex visa but that only last 12 hours. Fourteen if you qualify for multiple entry. Wherever girls want to get back at their ex-boyfriends we???ll be there. Wherever women deal with their daddy issues through promiscuity and binge drinking, we will be there. Wherever a bachelorette party drives through the city in a limo sticking their heads out of the windows yelling ???What???s up New York?.??? We will be what is up New York. Bringing a date to a wedding is like taking a deer carcass on a hunting trip. The only reason to wait a month for sex is if she???s 17 years, 11 months old. Sources: How I Met Your Mother : Watercooler : TV : Entertainment : Sympatico / MSN TV.com Forums - Favorite Barneyisms (comment 35) Channel Guide Magazine ?? How I Met Your Mother: ???The Goat??? Recap Other Barneyisms in the show include the “Bro Code” (one of which is that one should never make eye contact in a “devil’s three way”), and the “Lemon Law” (you are allowed to cut a date short within 5 minutes of the date if it sucks). For more hilarity, check out Barney Stinson’s blog. The other night I met this guy who immediately reminded me of Barney. How I know? Because he mentioned a get together like so, “it’s the birthday party of the girl that I’m banging”. Heh. In a way, I wish I could be more like this guy, more like Barney. I wished I could be more thick-skinned when it comes to women, and base it all around “going for the percentage”. Though as funny as Barney and this guy is, and as true as some of their theories about women and relationships are, I can’t because I don’t see the point of being a player. I don’t feel the need to try and score every time that I go out, and I am not afraid that my “skills” will fade away if I don’t use it. Though the guy and I did agree on one thing: older girls are easier because they know what they want, and if you’ve got what they want, it’s a sure thing if you play it right; there’s less mind games and it’s less of a mind-fuck. Well, usually anyway. ---You might also be interested in these :When blogging crashes into real life“The Simpsons” in real lifeBlogging ParadigmMy life as a sitcomBlogging personalities are “real” iPhone 3G in the house Yesterday, less than 2 weeks after I had placed a raincheck on an iPhone 3G at Optus World in West Perth, I received a call from them telling me that my phone has arrived in the shop. I was very pleasantly surprised because I had anticipated a 3-week wait. When I got to the shop, I told them about that. And the woman serving me said, “Yeah we just had a big shipment.” Then she corrected herself, “Ok when I said ‘big’, I meant 4.” Heheh. On the train ride home, I soon realised the one big benefit that I had wanted from the phone. Whilst surfing the net, my stop had arrived quicker than it has felt in the past. Killed time? Hell yeah. When I got home, I played with the iPod side of things. No complains here, it’s an iPod touch. Sweet! Pretty soon I was dragging and dropping songs from my computer onto the phone. And then I started ripping CDs too. I ripped CDs that I thought would be enjoyable for my daily commute. Before long, I was digging out dusty old CDs that had been lying in my stacks, neglected in the past but ready to be enjoyed once more. I can see my hard disk space been eaten up very quickly if I keep up with the ripping. It’s got a little bit too addictive at one point that I had to pull myself away from the computer. It felt like I had wanted to cram in as much stuff as I could. The touch screen is awesome to use but I still have to get used to the virtual keyboard. Typing in a text message is kinda awkward. It made me feel like I have fat fingers when my hands are tiny. And I can see it being a problem whilst being intoxicated in a bar or club. So I’m thinking that I will probably use my Nokia 6280 on the weekends and the iPhone during the working week. Best of both worlds! Woo! The last time I was so happy with a gadget was when I got my Xbox 360. Cliched vanity shot for any blogger who has an iPhone ---You might also be interested in these :iPhone fanboiWhen two houses collideIn Blinkymummy’s houseCramping my lifestyleMy house the construction site You can love the cupcake and not the baker In case you don’t get the metaphor, I found this picture of cupcakes with cherries on top. Get it now? (athena1970 @ flickr) Tonight on “Two and A Half Men”, Charlie used the cupcake as a metaphor for sex, You can enjoy the cupcake without getting involved with the baker. As funny as that is, and as much I want to follow that principle, I just can’t. But as Woody Allen playing Boris had quipped in “Love and Death“, Sonja: Oh don’t, Boris, please. Sex without love is an empty experience. Boris: Yes, but as empty experiences go, it’s one of the best. Heh. I’m also in agreement with another one of Woody Allen’s lines, this one from “Annie Hall“, Hey, don’t knock masturbation. It’s sex with someone I love. I try not to love myself too much but yeah lately? It’s all I’ve got. ---You might also be interested in these :Three hags and a fagReintroductionLove / Being AloneSuicide/LovePick up techniques that ALWAYS work Hed Kandi Capitol July 2008 be awesome Hed Kandi came back to Capitol last night with DJs Jack McCord and Steve Divine, who were supported by locals Rob Sharp and Damir. The night built up slowly starting from progressive and then moving to a fantastic back and forth switching of hard house and hard trance. Woo, now that’s what I’m talking about! I had a great workout. Yay! The night was almost marred by a very brutal brawl which saw all eight bouncers of the venue in the fray and someone’s face being cut open by broken glass. There was blood and scores of terrified party-goers running away from the epicentre. It’s a bit bad but the first thing that I thought was: Fuck, the cops are gonna come and stop the party! Luckily, that didn’t happen. Heh. Well, geesus I really don’t understand all these macho aggressive types who start trouble in nightclubs. I really don’t. They pay good money to come see an event and they hurt themselves and others and get kicked out in the process. Is that value for money? Is that fun? I think not. And if it was over a girl, it’s even more stupid. Anyways, thankfully it was a short interlude and my overall experience of the night was still excellent. Most people were friendly and smiling, and the pretty ladies were out in force. So yeah the night? It be awesome. Two random thoughts occured to me during the night: If more people were on ecstasy, I think there’d be less ugly incidences like what happened. Anyone on ecstasy would be too lovey dovey and euphoric to care about anything else but the music and dancing. Alcohol makes some people terribly aggressive and violent and it’s scary. And yet one substance is legal, and the other isn’t. Hmm. When one needs to cross a crowded night club, it is best to walk behind the smoking hot blonde in the tight little black dress and heels who parts the crowd like Moses parted the Red Sea. ---You might also be interested in these :Virus: Infectious BeatsPretty girlsThe week that wasSomewhere in between lah….Going to Summadayze Perth 2008 Bert and Ernie gangsta raps (via commenter BigZapfer via MusicFIX) The title says it all - Bert and Ernie gangsta raps to M.O.P.’s Ante Up, thanks to clever Youtuber, stianhafstad who mashed this up. The syncing is freaking awesome. Just in time for the weekend too! ---You might also be interested in these :K-Fed raps about MySpace to Bush & CheneyMy babelicious blog readers “Do you have to go out every weekend?” shooters at Bellini Room, St James Powerhouse, Singapore I was talking to Blinkymummy on the weekend when she mentioned that she was concerned for me. She felt that I sounded depressed and different based on some of my recent posts and our conversations. I had told her not to worry and that it was nothing of the sort, but I did admit to being more tired and stressed since I’ve started the new job. I’ve mentioned this previously and that is despite the occasional weekend shift work and increased tiredness now, I would still go out and have myself a manic weekend. Which had prompted both BM and my mother to ask me the same question, Must you go out every weekend? Can’t you stay at home and rest? To that I answered, it is because of the tiredness and the mental stress from work that I feel compelled to let loose on the weekend. Especially now with my new job where I’m handling a higher volume of queries and complaints. On any given week, I’m bound to deal with at least 3 or 4 difficult customers. It takes only one to stuff up my entire day. And on some days like today, I’d dealt with two such customers. I try hard not to take it personally, or let it affect me. But it’s an effort. It’s an effort to try and relax and forget about it once I get home. Despite me going back to a comfortable home, to my family and my dog, and me being a happy person most of the time, it’s an effort nonetheless. And anything that takes effort is exhausting. It’s enough to give me a headache. How bloody ironic. So yeah, I indulge and I imbibe on the weekends. Although I understand that my weekend escapades are taking its own toll on my body and mind, I only live once, and youth is fleeting. I’ll find more sedate forms of recreation later. Hopefully much later. downing a submarine at Zouk, KL ---You might also be interested in these :Everybody loves SnoopFat is flavourRedbull overdoseOverheard tonightI need all the cushioning that I can get Being cold and single The freezing temperatures made me ache for body warmth. It made me count the money in my wallet and contemplate going to a brothel. But I fought the urge and drove home as quick as I can, lest I succumb mid-journey. Nissan Skyline for the win! I got home but it was too cold to have a cold shower. So I had some porn instead. Porn is good. Porn saved me half an hour for $180. Yay porn! Being cold and single? That’s the exact picture that I’ve just painted. ---You might also be interested in these :Cold shoulder-ed and new opening?Overheard at the ClubWinter is the timeI’m a blog whore?!Heated keyboards? iPhone fanboi Well that was quick. 1 day after I felt like getting one, I decided to have a day to think about it. I always do for major purchases. This way, I make sure that I’m not getting it on impulse and that I give it some time to research my options. I scoured blogs and searched for objective and Australian-relevant reviews. It was kinda hard because there are so many gushing fanbois out there - I swear I could feel the stickiness of their spontaneous jizz just from reading their posts. I was already sold on the features - I like the fact that I’m getting an iPod, mobile internet and a mobile phone in one package, but I have no idea about which company I wanted to sign up with. Luckily for me, one of my daily reads the Sydney Morning Herald had an excellent review of the bewildering number of plans from three telcos (Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone) for the iPhone 3G. In this aspect, Australia is really spoilt for choice and we’ve still got one more telco company, 3 Mobile desperately trying to petition Apple to allow them to sell the phones. Review: iPhone plans - iPhone Insider - Digital Life - smh.com.au Telstra had the worst offers and Vodafone is par with Optus, depending on your needs. I was already an Optus customer and I was interested in staying on my current plan, and it became a no-brainer. It was near the end of my existing 24-month contract and I was always going to upgrade my phone at zero cost anyway. I only had to add $7 per month on my current plan over 24 months to get the iPhone. And I’d justified it to myself thus: that’s a bloody cheap way to get an iPod touch at the same time. So, 4 days after I felt like getting one, I did. But the store ran out of stock and they’ve given me a raincheck - I was told that some of those who had wanted one on launch day last Friday are ahead of me. Oh well. Now I just gotta wait. In the mean time, I went and got this from Rush Faster: Griffin Nu Form 3G iPhone Shell. It will arrive in 2 weeks. Hopefully I’ll get my iPhone by then too. Colour me iPhone fanboi. ---You might also be interested in these :iPhone 3G in the houseiPod in bed with the ZuneHalo 3 - Hype and TrailersAlcohol impairs your judgement Tech Support is not your Fairy Godmother (via Cafepress) On the way home from work today, I contemplated about whether or not I should be blogging this. Blogging about one’s work is always a tricky proposition. You’d jeapordise not only your current job but also any future employment opportunities. But I feel that what happened to me today was so surreal and bizarre that I can’t really be faulted for it. So here goes … Me: Hi, this is Marcus. How can I help you? Customer: Yes, I want to query about an invoice. Me: Ok, what’s the invoice number? Customer: 123456. Me: Ok let’s see. Yup, that’s an invoice from April and it has been paid for. Customer: I know it’s been paid for. What I want to know is why did I pay for something that I didn’t use? Me: I’m sorry. I don’t quite understand your question. Customer: I didn’t use it so why was I invoiced? Me: I’m sorry but it doesn’t work like that. When you create an account with us, you are paying for it up front. It doesn’t matter if you choose to use it or not. Customer: Who created this account for me? Me: I’m assuming that it would be yourself or someone on your behalf. We don’t manually create accounts unless instructed. Customer: Well I didn’t create this and I didn’t use it. Me: *getting more and more exasperated* Let me check our records. It appears that this account was created 2 years ago and you have been paying for it until now. Customer: *getting agitated now* But I haven’t been using it! Why did I get an invoice?! Me: The system is automatic. It invoices everyone who has an account with us. Customer: This is not right. Me: Unfortunately because it has been more than 30 days since the invoice date, we can’t offer you a refund. Was there a reason why you paid for something that you didn’t intend to use? You could have chosen to let it lapse. Customer: *ignoring my question* This is ridiculous. I want to speak to someone else. Me: There’s only me at the moment. I can leave a message for one of our accounts person to call you back tomorrow? Customer: Yes, that would be good. Me: ok-thanks-bye-click! Why anyone would automatically pay an invoice, and for something that they don’t intend on using, and THEN complain about it 3 months later is quite bewildering. But now that I got that off my chest, I feel better. And tomorrow I’d have to repeat the story to our accounts person. Oh what fun it would be. ---You might also be interested in these :Tech Support Hell: 10 types of difficult customersBe nice to the tech supportBad customer support pisses me offWordpress is not slow, I amTech support call from hell Alcohol impairs your judgement I happily woke up early and showed up at the office around 10am this morning. I sat down, checked my emails, looked through my notes from last week about things to do this week and fired off a couple of instant messages and emails. As I logged into the phone system, my colleague Phil looked up from his computer nonchalantly and asked, What are you doing at work today, Marcus? Then it hit me. It’s my FREAKING DAY OFF! ARGH! And I blame the alcohol on Saturday night. Let me count the ways: 3 bottles of Tooheys Extra Dry 1 bottle of Corona 3 tequila shots 1 Slippery Nipple 1 Jack and Coke That will do, pig. That will do. And whilst feeling restless waiting for the bus and train back home today (again with the kids!), I thought it would be much more bearable if I can kill the time by surfing the Internet with an iPhone. I’m so tempted to get one now. Alcohol impairs your judgement, oh yes it does. It made me go to work on my day off, and then because I suddenly had nothing to do all day, it also convinced me that my life is empty and that I needed the Jesus phone. But it’s delicious and I can’t help it. ---You might also be interested in these :Clever “don’t drink and drive” adiPhone fanboiHoliday withdrawal symptoms (actually, alcohol)Memo from The Single GuyDrink up! Previously, on Lost: What? (via a comment on MetaFilter) Lost. What? What? What? ---You might also be interested in these :Best friends eh?FIFA World Cup 2006 - Australia vs. ItalyMatrimonial charm reduxLondon blastsBeauty transcends race “I’m not here to make friends” (via fourfour via MetaFilter) What’s the number one phrase used in ALL reality TV shows? Come back tomorrow for something similar. ---You might also be interested in these :Low-maintenance friendsHow would you ditch a friend’s invite?Can we be friends?dodgeball.comGreat friends all over the place Kids on board Due to the generosity of my boss in Melbourne, my colleague and I will have 10am starts every day for the rest of this month. It means I get to take the later train and avoid the morning rush. And that’s sweet. Or it would have been if it wasn’t also school holidays right now. I never realise how annoying teenagers speak these days. Every sentence ends and sounds like a question, and the word “like” is used like, a little too much? And man, the swearing. Did we use to swear so much? “Fucken” is used by teenagers as the universal adjective more and more. The language is so coarse that it hurts your ears if you listen to it too much. Fucken this, and fucken that. “Aw yeah, it was fucken good mate. You should have seen his fucken face. It was fucken awesome.” It’s like the word has lost, like it’s shock value? Mind you, there are some interesting sights though. Like for example, the bogan moms with their mullet-haired babies; the prissy girls in their tartan coats holding handphones fancier than mine, being watched over by their equally prissy and high-maintenance looking of a mother; emo punk goths scaring the little old ladies sitting across of them; and tweens dressed as their favourite Bratz dolls making grown men squirm uncomfortably in their seats. And since I love people watching, all of this is like just fucken rocks?! If only it wasn’t like so fucken noisy? That would have been even better, yeah? ---You might also be interested in these :Alcohol impairs your judgementModern Australia: Multi-cultural and multi-faithWassup?!How we talkMen are dense Death by Bullying In the news today was a story about the 2005 suicide of a female ambulance officer who’d endured 6 years of workplace bullying. She was 38, and married with a 3 year old daughter. She could not even leave her car at work because the tyres were let down, her toilet at work was urinated “all over” and she was constantly ridiculed by fellow officers in front of patients, her mother-in-law, Carolynn Hodder, has told the inquiry in a written submission. She believed her death was the culmination of sustained victimisation by colleagues since she started at Cowra in 1999. She said the bullying went up the line to management and was ignored. Christine Hodder had lodged two formal complaints, one in 2001 and another a few months before she died, about bullying and harassment by several officers and had twice been on stress leave. Bullying caused woman’s suicide, inquiry told - National - smh.com.au The bullying was despicable. But what intrigued me more was why had she stayed on in such a vile and toxic workplace for six whole years? Was there really no other choices of employment? Being the husband, wouldn’t it have broken his heart to see his wife in such pain and stress on a daily basis? Why didn’t he encourage her to leave? Or maybe he had tried but she wouldn’t budge? Did she want to make a stand against the bullies? But surely he could have tried even harder then? If I was placed in such a situation, there’s a limit to my making a stand. I’d first tolerate and then I’d endure. Then I’d make formal complaints. I’d tolerate some more, and maybe suffer retaliation for making a formal complaint. After that, if no actions were taken I’d leave. This is not war, you don’t get a medal for being brave or standing your ground against all odds. In fact, it’s stupid. Why would you want to continue working for a company which doesn’t value your morale? Christine had made two complains to senior management, and had gone on stress leave twice. I wonder what it was that made her think it was going to be worthwhile to persist. And when she finally decided to leave, why leave in such a final fashion? In this story, her co-workers are the worst offenders. That’s obvious. But what of the husband? Why didn’t he pull her away from such avoidable misery? And what about Christine herself who facilitated her own bullying by staying, and who thought in the end that there was only either the job or death? As tragic as it was, Christine’s death was very much avoidable. And because it wasn’t, all parties are culpable including the victim herself. ---You might also be interested in these :Tragic BaliJI bomb maker killed / Jordan bombings345 killed in pilgrim stampedeWhen it rains it poursChildish innocence Being bored at a club is teh sux Last night was an unusually lousy night out for me. The first stop for the night was at my favourite Saturday haunt, The Deen. We saw our favourite bartender Sam who waved and blew kisses at us when she saw us. That put us on a good start. But somehow, the music didn’t do it for me and neither did the pretty girls. Next up was Metro City, a predominantly Asian club and a place that plays R&B - two things that I’ve since moved away from. Unless I’m in an Asian city, I don’t like walking into a place that makes you forget that you are in Australia and where the sprinkling of white folks makes them look like expats or tourists. Which I guess is a little bit ironic to feel since most of the friends that I go out clubbing with are Asian. Hmm, I’m kinda conflicted that way. Still some friends were going and I had fun seeing them, and bumping into and saying hello to other people whom I know from around places. But no amount of alcohol and not even a little something recreational on the side was gonna lift me into the mood that I wanted to be in. My mind was already made up about the night, and the power of the mind was going to be stronger than those of chemicals this time round. If you can imagine being drunk and high but bored, and surrounded by other people who seem to be having more fun than you are, that was me last night. And it was teh sux. To cap off the night very well I thought was the long lonely walk to the carpark in the freezing cold (3°C last night!) at 3am while my friends were still happily partying inside. But today is another day and I can’t complain. And, waking up to the comfort food that is my mother’s porridge didn’t hurt. I wonder if he had more fun than me last night ---You might also be interested in these :dodgeball.comIn a Strip ClubBoredom as a sign that our lives are meaninglessPersonal blogs and how I write mineTo my female friends who have boyfriends Fred with the chipmunk voice This is Fred. Fred’s got a Youtube channel. Fred makes videos and then turns up the pitch of his voice so he sounds like a whiny little 6 year old. Fred talks about his alcoholic mother and friends who bully him. You wouldn’t think it is funny, but it is. The voice makes the difference. Having said that, the recommended daily dosage is two per day. Anything more than that, and your ears will hate you. But apparently, other people have higher tolerance of his voice because he’s even got a corporate sponsor. Check him out weaving the product placement into the video above. Clever. Ah, celebrity and instant fame in the Youtube age. I’m not sure I like it. But hey, at least I was entertained for a little while there. ---You might also be interested in these :The Movie Trailer VoiceI asked for itMid-Autumn Festival at my parents’ houseBlogging responsiblyHard-core Islamists don’t get the irony Recollecting the 80s A while back I realise I have a lot of my favourite 80s music on cassette tapes, along with a player to play them, stuck in storage. I also know that the tapes in those cassettes will eventually deteriorate and get mouldy, and thus unusable. And probably before that even happens, I will have to throw them out to make space. In a bid to save the music of my youth, I started searching and snapping up “Best of” CDs whenever and wherever I find them. Big music stores which carry a large range are great, but Amazon is even better. Holding these CDs in my hands brings me back. I’m an unabashed child of the 80s, and I loved it very much. ---You might also be interested in these :No related posts Being an anti-social bastard cafe-ole @ stock.xchng I’d happily take a big detour, or walk around the block to avoid bumping into someone. And then I bump into them anyway. “Oh hi, what a coincidence.” Wow, what a liar. I’d stand in the stairwell if I know that if I walk out a minute or two sooner, I might have to make small talk with someone that I bump into the building occasionally. You know what, I really don’t want to know what’s up with you. I only ask because yeah, I got nothing else to say to you. Man, I hate that. I’d pretend to stare out the window of the bus or train if I see in my peripheral vision someone whom I want to avoid eye contact with, just in case they recognise me and force me into small talk when I just want to sit and day dream away on my trip home or to work. It’s ok, we don’t have to talk. Really. I stifle my natural smile and look stern, in case random people think it’s an invitation to make small talk about the weather or “oh, I didn’t know you take this bus/train too.” Yeah I do, and silence is golden. Unless I’m in a social situation, I don’t like making small talk. Speed-dating is not a social situation. It’s fake and forced. Stop suggesting that idea to me. I sound like I’m an anti-social bastard, and that is true. I have to be in the mood or I have to know you well and like spending time with you, or both, to be able to make small talk and let it mean something more than just you know, small talk. I think you deserve more than just empty words. Everyone does really. I don’t want your empty words, and I’m sure you don’t want mine. So yeah that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. ---You might also be interested in these :Brutally short answers to men’s relationship problemsHow would you ditch a friend’s invite?Degrees of Friends“Open book” / Two-facedEvents leading up to the Australian anti-terrorist raids Moments Before Cup Chicks If you have spent enough time on the Internet during the past two years, you would have heard or read the term “2 girls 1 cup” being thrown around a lot. For the sake of your sanity and your stomach, do not, DO NOT, attempt to search for the pictures or videos. If you really must know, “2 girls 1 cup” refers to a porn (this was porn, really?!?) clip showing 2 girls, 1 cup and body waste of the #2 kind. Oh yeah and there’s vomit involved. Both the body waste and the vomit are most probably fake but geesus, it’s very realistic. To get an idea about how people react when watching it, you can search for “2girls1cup reactions” on Youtube. Anyways, College Humor imagines what it must have been like before the clip was shot and if the porn actresses did not realise what they have signed up for. Safe for the stomach but the language is not safe for work. See more funny videos at CollegeHumor ---You might also be interested in these :Honoury gal pal and getting a girlfriendNeil Strauss’ “The Game”That was my SundayBoy meets girl: moments that suckHot Chicks with Douchebags - radio interview