Resolutions

Today is the last day of 2005. Hard to believe that we’re already ½ way into the decade. It seems like it was only yesterday when everyone was preparing for “millinium” and freaking out because we all didn’t know if the world was going to end or not. Every year that goes by, is one less year I have to live. And as morbid as that may sound, it’s the truth. Every year that goes by is also a time for me to reflect on what has happened thus in my life. As I think back to all of the events of 2005, I can’t help but give out a small sigh of relief. So much has happened..it has been a major roller coaster ride. Life is very much like that, so why would I think 2005 would be any different? I know other people have had far more horrific events happen in their life than I have. I am very blessed to still have all my body parts and all my family members. I have a lot to be thankful for.

One of the big talks of every new year, is the idea of new years resolutions. I can remember sitting down and thinking long and hard at what I wanted to do for the new year. New year resolutions to me, are not only about “what I WON’T do” and to include “what are things I WILL DO.” Even though it’s great to have resolutions for ourselves, a few years ago, I stopped making them. I stopped making them because it seemed like every year I ended up not meeting the resolution requirements, and it only defeated the purpose.

I don’t have any resolutions for 2006. Not any major ones worth even breathing about. I know what I want to accomplish for the next year. Would that fall into the category of “resolution?” I do not know. But what I DO know, is that there are many things I want to complete, do, and experience in 2006. A lot of the ideas I have, revolve around strengthening my relationship with my partner, finally being able to experience some normalcy in our relationship, and to hopefully find ways to cope with what ever stressors come my way. I don’t think they’re out of reach ideas, more like, ideas that I know I can achieve. And if I don’t achieve these ideas, I’ll be okay with it.

My mum bought me a book for Christmas titled Learning to Balance Your Life 6 Powers that Restore Your Energy and Spirit. Inside my mum wrote “it is important to have balance and to be able to handle the ups and downs of life. I think this journal will help you.” The book has a lot of reading, and after every section, there is a “homework” session. The 6 powers mentioned are; will power, spiritual power, emotional power, social power, and physical power, and mental power. Also included in the first chaper is about the power of balance. All of these topics will hopefully help bring an insight to finding some true balance on my life. I’m not a big believer in books like this, but I thought I would give it a chance. My mum worries about me, and I think because of my breakdown during the immigration process, it gave my mum a scare. She knows what type of person I am, and knows that I find it hard to handle the ups and downs of life. I know she’s just looking out for my best interest. So I’m looking forward to reading the book and doing the exercises…and hopefully I will be able to find ways to accomplish resolutions for 2006.

-current mood-DREADING the weather..supposed to be 42 today (107 F).

Holiday Bowl

Today (8pm PST) my alumni university football team is playing in the holiday bowl. When I was living at home, I watched college football religiously. I didn’t watch all of the games, but any game that was televised that had the University of Oregon Ducks playing, I was there. And of course, every year, the “civil war” game (the two state university teams..i.e. Oregon State and University of Oregon) was always a fun game to watch. All of my family members are Oregon State alumni. I myself, am the lone University of Oregon alumni. So after every game, one or the other is celebrating, and of course rubbing it in..about how their team beat the other team.

This is the second time I’ve been in Australia during the college football season, and unfortunately haven’t been able to watch any of it on tv. We get Fox Sports and ESPN but they don’t televise all of the games..just the important ones. But nevertheless, I’ve been keeping up on the games and the Oregon Ducks. I miss watching the games, but there isn’t a whole lot I can do. So I guess I have to make due with just reading about it on the internet.

The Oregon Ducks will be playing the Oklahoma Sooners in the Holiday Bowl. I know I shouldn’t be complaining, but I was hoping, that because the Oregon Ducks were ranked 6th this season, that they’d have a better bowl bid. The only team that the Ducks lost to, were the USC Trojans..the number one team in the nation. But I guess this will be somewhat of a preview of what is to come, because I believe the Oregon Ducks will be playing against Oklahoma next season. I think it’s anybody’s game. Even though the Ducks are ranked and Oklahoma isn’t, that doesn’t mean much. I know the Ducks have had a few injuries. But they still managed to pull off the 6th ranking this season. I will be anxiously waiting to read the results later on tonight.

-current mood-ANNOYED, because I'm having "issues" with downloading songs onto my Ipod.

Accents

Deciphering accents isn’t something I had to worry about in the states. Pretty much everyone I talked to and dealt with, all spoke with US accents. There were times I had hispanic clients, but they were still able to explain themselves in a way that I could still understand. Even people from the South, that I would talk to, I could still understand them. It seemed like the accents that were visible, were all very easily to comprehend.

Since being here in Australia, there have been a number of occasions where I haven’t been able to understand someone. Most of the time, I’ll nod my head and make it seem like I understand what they’re saying. But there have been many times where I can’t do that. I try to pass off as understanding them. I don’t like to ask people to repeat themselves. It makes me feel like I’m not paying attention. When very well, I AM paying attention, I just can’t quite understand what they are saying.

For instance today….I was yet again, walking from one place to the next, and someone stopped me. Some gentlemen of Asian decent wanted to look at a certain tv. The screen had the “snowy” background and they wanted to know if they could test it out. I was unfamiliar with t.v.s and wasn’t too sure what to do. I asked around, and they said that for some reason, it wasn’t hooked up and that no one would be able to take a look at it till tomorrow. I tried to relay this information to them, but it was hard for me to understand their questions. I managed to finally understand that they would come back tomorrow, and that hopefully there would be someone who had fixed the t.v.

It’s amazing at how many different times I have had to say “sorry, what did you say?” when someone asks me something. Sometimes I even have to ask the manager I work with to repeat herself. She’s a doll, and is very friendly. I think she’s from some middle European country. But sometimes I have to ask her to repeat herself, and she has to do the same with me. But I don’t know what I sound like. I wish I did. But I guess to some people, they have a hard time understanding me.

Here in Australia, there are SOOO many people who have such strong accents. In truth, I tend to have the hardest time understanding are the Asian people. And what makes it worse, is that because I’m Asian, they assume that I understand them. Sometimes they’ll go off talking in their own language, and expect me to understand. I could go into more detail about THAT, but I’ll save that for another time and place. But there are so many people who don’t speak in broken English and it just makes my job even harder. I try to be civil and cordial, but sometimes I get a little annoyed. Is that bad of me??? I don’t really know how else to handle it, or how to handle it professionally. I try my best, and just hope that the other person doesn’t get offended if I keep saying “what, what?” when I can’t understand them.

-current mood-MY BODY IS SORE, did a lot of heavy lifting today.

“It’s just shopping…not an emergency room”

I thought by now, being a few days after Christmas, the shops would be less busy. Working in retail, I get the experience (wouldn’t say fortunate) of working with the public. Usually I am in the back room, away from the public so I don’t really have to answer questions. I prefer it that way. I don’t know the way around the store, and I’m usually just filling stock. I do sometimes have to go on the floor, and converse with customers. I try to avoid it at all times, but sometimes, if I’m walking from one place to another, someone will stop me to ask a question.

Today, I was walking from the footwear department to the home entertainment department (I work in home ent.) and an older woman stopped me. She wanted to know where these certain sandals were. I couldn’t really just say “I don’t know…” So I said “your guess is good as mine, I’m not familiar with this area.” I don’t think she cared. She wanted me to find them, and at that moment. We looked around for a couple of minutes, and then I said “I don’t think we have them.” She said “well, I came here specificially to get these sandals and you don’t have them. Is there a way we can get them?” I didn’t know, so I ended up asking a woman at lay-by for some assistance. She said that yesterday, a woman had asked for the same shoes, but our store didn’t order them. So there were none. So the customer wanted us to ring other stores to have it sent to this store. Come to find out, we can’t have other stores send items to this store unless it’s over 20.00. The item was 12.00. The woman at lay-by was much more helpful and much more willing to help. When the customer realized I wasn’t from that department, I think she felt kind of dumb. I kept trying to help out, but every time I gave her an answer, it didn’t seem like it was good enough for this woman. ANY WONDER why I hate working with customers!!

So I was busy working later on, and T (I’ll say) was walking beside me. She’s usually a real “harsh” with her tone and her personality. She’s got a stern look, and always seems like she’s out to get someone. She’s in charge of accounting, and so I know that today must have been a busy day for her. She asked how I was doing, at the same time, I asked how she was doing. She said that she was so ready to go home. She proceeded to tell me that she couldn’t stand customers on hot days. It was as if the cranky mood was put on full blast, with most of the customers. If someone didn’t get help right away, they’d get out of joint. She then said “it’s just shopping. I swear people think this is the emergency room, and if they don’t get help right away, then they’ll die. I said “tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter..” She just rolled her eyes and said “oh great, another eventful day we’ll have tomorrow.”

I guess the moral of the story is…I know we’re all consumers. So if you’re in a store, and the store doesn’t have what you want, or the store or an employee has done something to tick you off..just take a deep breath. Don’t get your knickers in a twist, and realize that they too are humans. Just because you may be a customer and that most of the time you’re “always” right..that we don’t deserve to be abused and treated rudely. Granted, there are some rude workers, but we try our best to accommodate to your needs. So don’t think that your sh*t doesn’t stink, because mate, it DOES. At the end of the day, we’re all the same, so don’t treat us differently just because we’re working in retail.

-current mood-MY FINGERS ARE BLOODY SORE..opening safers for cds is hard on the ol' fingers, especially if they don't want to open.

Ipod Nano

Yesterday my partner and I webcammed with my family for Christmas. Since Christmas is a day later in the states, it works out perfectly for me. On the day where I’m usually relaxing and enjoying the nice weather, I’m able to meet up with my parents after they’ve had their Christmas lunch. It was a quiet Christmas there this year, my aunt and uncle who live about 2 minutes away from my parents, were in Florida with their daughter and brother in law. This year, it was just my parents and two siblings. I spent 3 hours on the webcam talking to each of them. I couldn’t believe the conversation had lasted that long. That’s a LONG time to be sitting and typing constantly.

But my partner and I opened up our gifts from my family in front of the webcam, so that they could watch us. They had already opened up the pressies we had given them. I didn’t think they would have done it already, since last year, we both waited. But nonetheless, they had already opened up our pressies. A box came on Thursday I believe, that had some of our gifts in it. On the customs form, my dad had written “Ipod” on it. And they had insured the package. My partner’s mouth dropped when she read the customs form. Her mouth dropped, because it’s been an ongoing joke between her and my mum. My partner’s wanted an Ipod for a few years now (since them came out). But she hasn’t really been able to afford one. I had talked about how I liked them, but never really thought much of them. Don’t get me wrong, I think they’re very cool gadgets, but I was quite happy using my minidisc player I’d gotten about 3-4 years ago.

When we opened up the box last week, to put the pressies under the tree, I had suspected that I had gotten an Ipod. I assumed it would have been an Ipod shuffle. I hadn’t made any indication that I had wanted an Ipod. We knew that it was for me though, because the”special gift” had been addressed to me. The box was so small, that I assumed it was the Ipod shuffle. I open the box, and it was an Ipod Nano…a black one. I was completely shocked. I asked my family if it was, what the box had said, and they said yes. I opened up the little box, and looked at the Nano. I couldn’t believe how SMALL it was. The adverts were not wrong in showing just how small the Nano is. I knew it was thin, but I just thought the person in the commercial had big hands. I was pretty wrapped and over the moon that I’d gotten one. My brother got me a special cover for the Nano, for when I go jogging, I can wear it on my arm.

So yesterday and today, I’ve been busy playing with my little gadget. Even though I don’t have a high output USB, it still works. I’m thinking one of the first things I’ll buy, are some new USBs so that the trasferring is super quick. Plus, I’ll be able to charge it a lot quicker. For some reason, when I tried to turn it on this morning, it wouldn’t turn on. I must have done something wrong, because when I plugged it into the computer, it was fully charged. But I am having quite a blast trying to figure out all out. I’m hoping to buy a car charger for the Ipod. I’ll have to figure out whether the car charger can work even though I got the Ipod in the states.

So what sort of songs do you recommend putting on the Ipod? Readers, this is your task…leave a comment, of some of your favorite songs. I have heaps of songs I want to put on, but I’m sure I’ll have room for some of your suggestions!!!

-current mood-NOT TIRED, even though I got up at 5:45 this morning.

Boxing Day

Today is Boxing Day. Many people, when I tell them about Boxing Day, they ask me what is the purpose behind this holiday. When I first heard about Boxing Day, I too, had no idea what it meant or why it existed. Boxing Day isn’t a holiday celebrated in the states. It is a holiday predominately celebrated within the commonwealth nations. Though I have read that it is somewhat celebrated in the states. When I first heard about Boxing Day, I was to assume, it had to do with all the boxes left over from Christmas…and somehow the leftover boxes incorporated into sales or something of that nature. I don’t know whether that is entirely true, but I did some research on the internet, and came up with these ideas. *NOTE, I am just copying and pasting the information from the following website…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_Day.

Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a public holiday observed in many Commonwealth countries on 26 December. In many European countries it is also a holiday, called St Stephen's Day or the Second Day of Christmas. Depending on its origin, it may have traditionally been strictly defined as the first weekday after Christmas [1]. However over the past few decades, Boxing Day has been almost universally accepted as the 26th December [2], although its associated public holiday may fall on a different day.

In Commonwealth countries, any fixed-date holidays falling on Saturday or Sunday are often observed on the next weekday, so if Boxing Day falls on a Saturday then Monday 28 December is a public holiday; while, if Christmas Day is a Saturday then both Monday 27 December and Tuesday 28 December will be public holidays. In the government holiday listings of the United Kingdom for 2004, the bank holiday in lieu of Boxing Day was observed on Monday 27 December, before the holiday in lieu of Christmas Day on Tuesday 28 December.

Origins
There is much dispute over the true origins of Boxing Day. The more common stories include:
· Centuries ago, merchants would present their servants food and fruits as a form of Yuletide tip. Naturally, the gifts of food and fruit were packed in boxes, hence the name "Boxing Day".
· In feudal times, Christmas was a reason for a gathering of extended families. All the serfs would gather their families in the manor of their lord, which makes it easier for the lord of the estate to hand out annual stipends to the serfs. After all the Christmas parties on December 25th,the lord of the estate would give practical goods such as cloth, grains, and tools to the serfs who lived on his land, and one family would get a box full of such goods the day after Christmas. Under this explanation, there was nothing voluntary about this transaction; the lord of the manor was obligated to supply these goods. Because of the boxes being given out, hence the day was called Boxing Day.
· In Britain many years ago, it was common practice for the servants to carry boxes to their employers when they arrive for their day's work on the day after Christmas (26th December). Their employers would then put coins in the boxes as special end-of-year gifts. This can be compared with the modern day concept of Christmas bonuses. Because the servants carried boxes for the coins, hence the name Boxing Day.
· In churches, it was tradition to open the church's donation box on Christmas day, and the money in the donation box were to be distributed to the poorer or lower class citizens on the next day. In this case, the "box" in "Boxing Day" comes from that one gigantic lockbox the donations were left in.

The theories above, irrespective of the specifics, all seem to indicate that the original tradition that lead to what we know know as Boxing Day may have been to maintain society's class structure. It was a one-way gift-giving practice, where gifts flowed from a higher class of society to the lower classes (the serfs, the poorer people, etc). An exchange of gifts would indicate equality between the giver and the receiver, which is what Boxing Day may originally have been intended to fight against.

Alternatively, some have proposed that "Boxing Day" may have been when all the Christmas decorations went back in their boxes to await next year's festivities. This seems less likely, however, when we consider the known age of the term "Boxing Day", which exceeds the modern decorating obsession by several centuries.

Commonwealth observance
Boxing Day in the UK is traditionally a day for sporting activity, originally fox hunting, but in modern times football and horseracing.

In Canada, Boxing Day is also observed as a public holiday, and is a day when stores sell their excess Christmas inventory at significantly reduced prices. Boxing Day has become so important for retailers that they often extend it into a "Boxing Week". This occurs similarly in Australia and New Zealand.

In Australia, the cricket test match starting on December 26 is called the Boxing Day Test Match, and is played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before the largest crowd of the summer. In Sydney, the annual Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race, one of the biggest and most prestigious ocean racing events in the world, begins on this day, as the yachts depart Sydney Harbour before many thousands of spectators around the harbour and in spectator boats.
In South Africa, the 26th is also observed as a public holiday. Although officially the day is known as the Day of Goodwill, it is also often referred to as Boxing Day by local English speakers. It is common for a cricket test match, played against a visiting international team, to start on this day.

European observance
In Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden, the 26th is known as the Second day of Christmas ("der zweite Weihnachtsfeiertag" in Germany, Annandag Jul — "the day after Christmas" — in Sweden) and is also a public holiday. In Ireland, the holiday is known as St Stephen's Day, or Wren's Day; in Austria it is called Stefanita which also means "St. Stephen's Day"; in Wales, it is known as Gŵyl San Steffan (St. Stephen's Holiday). In Catalonia, this day is known as Sant Esteve, Catalan for St. Stephen. A practice known as Hunt the Wren is still practiced by some in the Isle of Man, where people thrash out wrens from hedgerows. Traditionally they were killed and their feathers presented to households for good luck.

North American observance
In the United States (although not officially named there and not formally observed) and Canada, Boxing Day is the day when many retail stores sell their products at discounted rates. This results in huge lineups at stores such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Sears and other stores. The products are in limited quantity and sometimes, although illegal, stores use bait and switch techniques. The reason why stores have these sales is to clear out old inventory for the next year. Most products have a mail-in rebate to be used, a tactic used by manufacturers to clear their inventory.

I am sure that you’d be able to do your own research if you wanted to. But for those who don’t care to, and just are interested in the “holiday” of Boxing Day, hopefully this small article has given you a better idea. For me, it’s just a day to relax, and of course to look over all the exciting Christmas pressies that I’ve received.

Happy Boxing Day!!

-current mood-HAPPY, going to webcam with my family soon.

Merry Christmas

It’s 12:04am, Christmas morning. I thought I would post right now, because I know I’m not going to have any time once I get up. Merry Christmas to everyone reading this. I do doubt though, that many will be reading this, actually on Christmas day. But then again, you never know.

My partner and I are heading off around 11:30 to her mum’s place. We’re not having Christmas tea till at least 6:30-7:00 but I guess there is a lot of preparation. I thought to myself, that because we were not hosting Christmas dinner, that we wouldn’t have to do anything. Boy was I wrong!! ::laughing half-heartedly:: I’m sure my partner’s mum will keep us quite busy. Lots to do, as there always is during this time of the year.

Should be for an interesting day…my partner’s dad and partner is coming for Christmas dinner. We didn’t think they were going to. We also didn’t think “step-mummy” would be coming because she had made plans with her own family. But I guess she is, which, as sad as it is to say..not real happy. I don’t care much for the woman myself and neither does my partner or her sisters. But we have to be civil, and we will. But my partner’s dad doesn’t know that mum (here I’m referring to my partner’s mum, not my own) is going to be selling the house after the new year. And well, mum had the kitchen totally re-done. He didn’t know this, so we’ll have to wait, holding our breath to see how he reacts. I don’t quite know how he’ll react. Even though he signed the house over to mum earlier this year, he has no idea that she had plans of selling. But there is no point in keeping the house, because she lives over across the city, with her partner.

Bit nervous about Christmas dinner. Last year was a bit stressful (both parents had new partners, and there was a lot of tension in the air.) and this year shouldn’t be as stressful, but there still will be some tension in the air. Will try to make due on this day..it’s supposed to be filled with happiness and joy. And I still will be happy and try to put on a happy face. But a part of me, just in general will be sad. We were watching the Carols by Candlelight on tv tonight, and I cried a bit, listening to the music. Even though I’m happy to be here with my partner, I miss my family heaps. I miss them the most, this time of year. Maybe it’s because it’s the time when families come together and everyone seems to be in a festive mood. I hate to sound like the grinch, but a part of me just can’t help but get sad and lonely. But enough of the sad stuff.

Merry Christmas to everyone!! To all my close friends (esp. Rainey, thinking of you gurl!), I wish you a happy and joyous day. Please be safe, where ever you are..and have safe travels if you have to commute somewhere. You all have a very special place in my heart and I will be thinking about you on this day. I hope that if times are rough for you right now, you’ll get through this holiday season. And I hope that you get everything you wanted, maybe even more. To people I don’t know personally…still have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

-current mood-SAD, in a happy sentimental sort of way.