Being Friendly and Nicknames

A co-op student started her term in a big company. It was her first work experience, and she didn't quite like how she felt in the first few days. After a lifetime surrounded with friends, she felt the need to go out of her way to be friendly with all her new seniors.

First of all, she learnt all their names.
Then she started to communicate face-to-face, rather than via emails.
Then, feeling decidedly more comfortable, she started giving nicknames to her colleagues and call/email them by that nicknames. She felt they could be on a friendlier term when she did this.

Her colleagues, not knowing why she suddenly called them by shortened/different names, felt that she was being rude. It didn't help that one of the nickname she gave was actually the name the colleague was bullied with as a child (in another culture). So it seemed as if she was mocking them.

It is sufficient to say that her relationship with her colleagues did not improve, and they only talked on a need-to basis.

Lesson: Don't give people nicknames they don't approve of. Especially if those people are your colleagues (or seniors) at work place. (Exceptions apply to close friends -- they may know you mean no harm).

On the same note, don't people know that names are sacred? If his name is Matthew and he says, "you can call me Matt", then it's okay to call him Matt. On the other hand, if her name is Rebecca and she says, "my name is Rebecca [full stop]", then don't call her Becky. (And I know a "Steven" who doesn't want to be called "Steve" -- so don't assume).

Just ranting...

Jam Kehidupan - Remembering Abud

This song has been playing in my head ever since I heard the news about a good friend's passing due to an accident. It was unexpected. He was still very young.

In our teenage years, we sang this song together.

Jam kehidupan diputar sekali
Dan tak seorang pun tau kapan 'kan berhenti
Mungkin hari ini, mungkin esok, mungkin nanti
Cepat atau lambat, tak seorang tau
Bila waktunya 

Jam kehidupan diputar sekali
Dan tak seorang pun tau kapan 'kan berhenti
Sadarilah, kawan, hidup ini tak terulang
Sekarang waktunya yang kau miliki
S'karang waktunya 

Milikilah kasih Yesus
Yang menjadikan hidupmu berarti
Bekerjalah di ladang-Nya
Agar hidup tiada percuma

My friend had definitely done that in his life. He was a figure we love and respect, mostly because he loved God with all his heart.

I regret being so far away that I couldn't even attend his funeral. And while I know God's plan is the best and beyond my own understanding, let me grieve a while longer for my good friend. The tears will eventually dry and I will smile again. But for now, let me cry some more.

He is survived by his wife, a daughter, and a child in his wife's womb. May the Lord, the source of all comfort, strengthen and guide and embrace them in His love and faithfulness.

Abud, we will miss you, and we will see you in heaven one day.

Tax System Explained in Plain English

I got this story from Darwin. It's definitely an eye opener...

 Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100…

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this…
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do..

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80."

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men? The paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,"but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that’s right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!"

"That’s true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn’t get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

How true! ^_^

My New Journal

When going to the Mall the other day with my friend, I mentioned in the passing that I am looking for a new journal, just to write my thoughts down. There was none that I liked at the time, so I didn't buy any.

Since then, Chris and I have been going to stores looking for the "perfect journal" (or at least a "good enough journal"), but everything was either too expensive or just not good enough for the purpose I have in mind.

And today.. voila! My friend called me and gave me a brand new cute journal. Wowww... It's so cute, too! This is exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks, Jen!

On Lying..

Lifehacker shows up with an article titled "How to Be an Effective Liar".

One comment cracks me up..

When I was a kid, I learned pretty quickly that the best way to lie is to tell the truth, but embellish it so much that it won't be believed.  

"Did you have a party while your mother and I were gone?"  

"Oh yeah! You missed out. It started out fairly small, but by the end, E! News showed up and the Goodyear blimp did a couple of flyovers. Luckily, Martha Stewart got the ankle tracker off, so she came out and helped us clean up afterwards. I'll make sure we take pictures next time."

Hahaha.. ^_^

On Typing...

Does people realize that:
1. misspelling a word makes them look uneducated, and
2. using shorthand in emails makes them look 5
??

Emails are NOT telegrams! You cannot save money by typing less characters in your emails, people! (I can understand if it's in SMS).

Ugh! (Just have to vent...) >_<

Looking Forward to Vacation

After debating and thinking over about where to go for our vacation this year, Chris and I finally decided to go to Mexico. The place looks great, and the price is reasonable too, because we are going when people are coming back to work.

Ahhh.. I can't wait for January to be here...