Say ‘Good night!’ and Go

The days have been sweltering hot! My room is like a sauna and I can’t bear to lie in bed in front of the laptop. Even with the fan on, my legs get all sweaty and I feel horrible. I don’t have a shower because I know I’ll end up being sweaty while I’m having my shower. It’s THAT bad! Even now, in the wee hours of the morning, conditions aren’t comfortable.

Note to self, today is 1st nephew’s 13th birthday. Wow, he’s officially a teenager now.

I’ve been checking out Facebook lately. I don’t remember when I exactly joined. I do recall checking it out last year, but it wasn’t accepting registrations from people on this side of the world. Anyways, I made a total of 12 friends. But it you took away the eight I already know, then I just made four friends. One is a politician who actually knows my brother-in-law. I don’t expect to be sending him messages after the initial “you don’t know me but you might know my brother-in-law”.

Upgraded my Streamyx to the 1Mbps package @ RM77 a month. We get to keep the modem. I feared that my Tertiary package was expiring and I needed to choose a package that enabled me to keep my modem. Well, my Dad went to the TMpoint branch to find out more and when he came back, he had already upgraded.

That’s all from me for now. Bye all!

Just after lunch on a Saturday afternoon, I went to have my passport and driving license photos taken. They would be ready the next day. They turned out all right when I went to get them and then it was a short walk to the immigration dept at Wisma Persekutuan. Took the stairs to the first floor and got my number - 1032. The number being attended to then was 1030. Just about a minute after 1031 was called, my number was called to the same counter - 6. Surely it was a mistake, because the man holding 1031 was still at the counter. Anyways, I just went to the counter and the immigration officer told me to take a seat. At another counter, 1033 was called.

Hmmm, did I just miss my turn? I went back to the counter and another officer figured that the officer at counter 6 must have inadvertantly hit the button twice. So I waited for 1031 to be done while 1034 and the rest of the sequence went to counter 7. Soon, I was called to counter 6 and I gave my ID, the form, and my old passport. That’s when he asked for the photocopy of my ID. Eh? I didn’t know I had to bring that along. Left the stuff there and went across the road to get my ID photocopied. I’m sure plenty of people have forgotten about that too. Took me less than 10 minutes to get it done and I raced back to the dept. Someone was being attended to and I waited. When I spotted a window of opportunity, I decided to slip the photocopy to the immigration officer. I didn’t want to wait and have him think I wasn’t coming back or forget about me. Then I waited. I think it took an hour before it was my turn again.

I informed the immigration officer that one of the details on my ID was wrong (I am not a Hindu). Then he started having problems with the system. Every time he hit the Esc key, he would get an error message. He asked a passing oficcer and she told him to try the ‘Enter’ key. I guess that worked. And then he got another error. No matter how many times he entered the new number, my previous passport number would be displayed. But he persevered through that and the slow system. He told me I could change my name if I wanted, but I still couldn’t change it to the name I preferred (first name and surname). In the end, it became ‘First Name’ ‘Surname’ ‘Father’s First Name and Surname’. So it looks like I have both a female name and a male name. I guess I’ll have to get married to have that settled.

He asked me for my ‘race’ and I told him I was of Chinese-Indian parentage, so he decided to put me in the ‘Lain-lain’ (Other) category. Yay, I am officially an ‘Other’.

Got my thumbs scanned (more than once due to the dodgy system), and then I left my thumb-print on the form I submitted. I paid the RM300 and got my receipt. I was to return the next day (after 2pm) to retrieve my new passport. I thanked the officer by name (he had his name tag) and left.

The next day, I felt a little lazy after lunch, so I dawdled. Then it rained heavily. It finally stopped around 3.30pm. The sun shone brightly and soon all signs that it had rained barely 40mins ago were gone. Reached the immigration office around 4:05pm and my number was 2039. 2031 was currently being attended to and I waited for my turn. I think about 30-40 mins had passed before it was my turn. I bid the officer a good afternoon (it was him again, different counter) and he seemed to remember me. He retrieved my passport from a bundle in a tray, and then hit it against the edge of the counter. Hmmm…maybe it’s something like slapping a newborn baby’s behind? I signed the form I had submitted the day before and then signed my new passport. I thanked the officer again and left.

Where am I going? Nowhere! I need a passport to verify my ID before I can submit (what I hope are worthy) photos to a stock photography site. I just hope that my trusty point-and-shoot camera can pass muster at the site. All I can say is that if a photo is accepted, I will get US$0.25 per download. IF there are parties interested in my photos. I guess I’ll have to keep my fingers, toes and eyes crossed.

So I got back and showed Dad my passport. I told him I could run away now. I could go find someone in NZ, marry him and they would not have to worry about me any more. Ha, if only it were that simple! Life is so unlike a romance novel. My life, at least.

All right then. Time for me to sleep. Take care! Hope I didn’t bore you to tears with this entry.

Whoa! Been away for some time and today.com has changed! I’m liking it…

 Yes, I am still alive. I haven’t updated because there hasn’t been anything new  to talk about. I am still jobless. Got rejected from a resort for being too highly-qualified (with my IT degree), eventhough I made it clear that I was more interested in a Customer Service-type position. I guess being Employee of the Year ‘95 (Most Guest Compliments) doesn’t count for anything these days.

I know the job situation is dire right now. Imagine, the government is telling their sponsored students overseas to remain where they are and find jobs there after graduation. They do not want them coming back here to fight for the limited positions available. What hope is there for an average student like me who has a degree from a little-known (then) university college? And I didn’t even mention the F that tarnished the last phase of my final year project (which wasn’t even my doing!) .  Suffice to say, I dare not apply for an IT job.

 Went to the photo studio to get my passport photo done. No, I am not going anywhere. There’s this photography site that sells photos that have been submitted by their members and the only way I can start selling my photos is to verify my identification using a passport scan. That’s RM300 for a 32-page passport. My last passport expired in 2003. In that passport, I only had two immigration stamps (besides the stamps from the Malaysian Immigration Dept) from two countries - the US and Canada. I doubt if I’ll get any stamps in this new passport. But hopefully, it may mean getting some money for my photos (if they are good enough). I think it’s $0.25 per photo purchased. And I will only get a cheque if the amount has reached $100, I think. It’s my only hope of an income right now. I’ve tried Adsense and Amazon and they both haven’t earned me anything (nobody clicks and nobody buys).

 The only reason I’m planning to sell my photos is because my three submitted photos at Interfacelift have been downloaded more than 31,000 times since June 2006. Okay, perhaps the fact that they were free had something to do with it. I’m not counting money I haven’t got yet. It might take me years to earn enough to get a cheque. *sigh*

During the orientation at the training centre for that second scheme, a speaker mentioned that it might be easier for us to apply for jobs overseas, such  as Australia. But with a degree like mine? I don’t think so. I checked with the New Zealand immigration website and my qualification isn’t recognized. I only have a three-year degree and it’s from an unrecognized uni. Without experience to strengthen my qualification, I don’t meet the requirements to apply for that work permit/visa. So it doesn’t matter if IT is in the Skill Shortage List. And if I got a job offer from a NZ employer, they would have to prove to the NZ govt that the position cannot be filled by a New Zealander.

And it’s just my luck that the NZ govt has made an agreement with the Thai govt to allow Thai workers in NZ to work on vineyards. I could stomp grapes.

 I chatted with him again last night since my last post about the whole drama thing. We talked like we used to, and he got me laughing and smiling again. This time, I wasn’t the loyal puppy begging for attention. When I saw him log on to YM, I simply made myself visible. I didn’t attempt to initiate contact like I used to. He said that he wanted to say ‘hi’ and see how I was doing. I am glad that we are still friends. He made a bad decision (using ‘grandkids’ in that letter) and didn’t realize that my feelings (which I tried to control) would snowball into something I couldn’t handle. Thank goodness there weren’t any bunnies to boil. 

I also told him that I didn’t take down his parents address. I had just checked it out online last year. And he explained that it had changed and the address was no longer in use. He didn’t sound freaked out or angry, and I suppose it was also due to my not being angry or argumentative. Or maybe he was just being patient.

It’s late. Time for bed. I hope you’re happy I updated, Steve.

p/s: How many blogs on Today are there? How come my blog is listed among the popular blogs on today.com? Hmmm…