Holding a humbling job

Don't get me wrong, my job does not suck. It just has humbled me.. in a good way. All my years of being an undergraduate, there was never a daunting task for me.. well, there were a few, but not to the point where I went "Whoa". Since I was studying language, and my proficiency was better than average, I had no problems coping with assignments, even when it came to writing my thesis (since I was under the very best advisor).
Why has this job humbled me then? Is it that tough? No, actually it isn't tough. All I have to do is read, summarize, extract info, and search for relevant materials. But come to think of it, when you job requires you to read and it exposes you to the geniuses in the field with ever so bombastic vocabulary and jargon.. sometimes I just go "Huh?" and feel stupid when I have to read the article more than once in order to truly understand. It's the very-vunerable-me against the language giants.. who do you think will win? But then again, I have learnt a lot, not only about plagiarism.. but I have widen my vocabulary as well! I would underline whatever words I have never seen before and go look it up in the dictionary. And I got so used to it that now, I keep a notebook just for the new words I learnt. :) Good habit, in my opinion. Oh yeah, and have you heard? I now officially love idomatic expressions too! LOL.
Another part of my job that is humbling is my boss. In case you're wondering, she's not mean to me.. she does not criticize me.. in fact, she makes me feel appreciated and also expresses it, so I'm not humbled in that way. It is being in her company that has humbled me. Imagine, being in the company of a person who speaks close to perfect English, and who is probably analyzing everything you say (she's a discourse analyst and a linguist..lol). So yeah, when I'm with her, I'll have to think whether what I say make sense to her grammatically, semantically, and pragmatically (after all, she is a linguist). Sounds like a tiresome task (which actually isn't), but it has improved my usage of the language and my pronunciation a lot more. Dr. Ummul, however, is still fun to be with and talk to :)
There you have it, my job as a research assistant. Who would have thought it would change my life for the better! :) I couldn't ask for more. (especially not for a raise, since my boss' grant is limited..hahaha)

Such irony

Ok, so you guys know that I'm a research assistant, right? I've been helping my boss get as much info and articles about plagiarism and the pedagogical implications of it. One of the ways people plagiarize is by ordering ready written papers from sites such as schoolsucks.com
So! I felt inspired enough to take a look around the much talked about site and see what's so cool about it. I went there and in the box which said "Search for papers" I typed in "plagiarism" just for fun! Several topics came back to me... and I couldn't believe my eyes.. a site which helps students plagiarize, are offering papers about "plagiarism". Here are the topics:

1. The Problem of Unintentional Plagiarism
2. Ethics of Plagiarism and Preventing Plagiarism
3. Plagiarism, a Lie of Mind
4. Ethical Considerations in Academic Plagiarism


Ironic, I know. It's almost laughable how those people can write these papers without feeling any shame at all.

I'm on Raya break- for almost 2 weeks! Happy? Not exactly. Wasn't very pleased.. Since I started working and started being productive, I realized I can't sit still anymore. I have to do something, I cannot stand being bored. Which is weird really, because after I graduated, I spent 2 months doing nothing.. until I landed this current job of mine.
I wonder if that's how people become lazy, they start slacking, and then when the laziness sets in and becomes part of them, they just want to do nothing. I thought I was that type of person too, I guess I was really wrong. There comes a point when Facebook becomes boring, I can't sit still in front of the tv, and staring into space becomes detestable. So, I started bringing my personal thumbdrive to work to copy the files from the thumbdrive at work so that I could do my work at home. And when my friends found out about it, their first reaction was "Dr. Ummul put you up to this??? Poor you." The thing is, she didn't! I guess she was pretty surprised that I did my work at home too.. a little too surprised. All she could say was "Good." LOL! But really, now I'd rather work than to do nothing. I'm not being hard on myself, I guess when I do get focused, I'm really serious about it.. and I perform best when I'm in that mode. It took me quite awhile to build up the momentum (1 whole month, in fact!) so I don't intend on slowing down.

Seriously, who would have thought that Grace will be so happy to do her work without being paid for her Overtime?? LOL! Oh yeah, and in the topic of 'working'... I found this in my boss' office...

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could’ve done.

I guess I'm the Nobody in this story now. But then again Nobody is perfect. ;) Cheers!

Pointless censorship

People just love fresh new songs with crazy ideas.. and then, Katy Perry came along. In case you don't know who she is, let me tell you that she's just a lady who sings about how she kissed a girl, and liked it.
So, here in Malaysia, we're not that open to admit that we kissed a girl, at least not if you are a girl yourself. Perhaps just to your close friends, but not to the world. Anyway, so the whole song is about how Katy kissed a girl and liked it... and I guess it's a controversial thing. This is how Malaysian radio decided to deal with it. They changed the song title from "I kissed a girl" to only "I kissed" (I'll be freaking mad if I were Katy Perry) and then, they blocked out the word "girl".. here's how they did it:

Chorus:
I kissed a **** and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a **** just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it

Not that it's wrong or anything, it's just that it is plain pointless. Everyone knows that the word is "girl".. everyone is singing the word "girl"... why block it out and spoil the song? Even the radio deejays are talking about the song and mentioning that the only girl Katy Perry is allowed to kiss (according to her bf) is Elizabeth Shue. Come on, if it was THAT controversial, surely the deejays are not even suppose to talk about it?? And if it was that offensive, why not just ban the song? Why let it go on air, waste money, resources and time blocking out the harmless word "girl", making the song more unbearable to listen to as it already is? Oh btw, the next time you wanna block out words in the song, just block out the whole "Disturbia" song.. just like its name, it's disturbing the heck out of me.

Just my two cents.

Dedicated to RPK

The problem with not living in the capital city of Malaysia, is that all the cool and important stuff happens there. This includes the vigil for Raja Petra Kamaruddin. I missed the vigil, which happened yesterday, but I was there in spirit. A little late posting this now, but oh well. In case you aren't aware, RPK is the editor of the blog Malaysia Today. You can find the link at the right hand side under "Delicious Reads".
I respect RPK more than any public figure ever known. He does not speak or write with an ulterior motive. He does not promise us anything he can't carry out. He speaks his mind, even if that means getting caught under the ISA. He proved that unlike some wussies who only try to please the crowd and say things to get themselves in favor of the people of Malaysia, he does not care who he offends, he is the upholder of truth and justice.
Let me ask you this, how many of us are really like that? How many of us are willing to risk our lives just to uphold justice? I know I won't. I'd rather keep my mouth shut and mind my own business. This amazing man, however, is willing to go on a hunger strike while being locked up, because he does not want to eat food bought by the people's money. Forget about the other idiotic hypocrites who are empty vessels, we need people like RPK to save this nation! I really hope they'll release him soon.. stay strong Pete, we need you!


Here's a candle for RPK.. not a real one, but I guess it's the best I can do for now :)

When I grow up..

I am not an overachiever. I don't intend to be an overachiever. I don't dream of becoming a millionaire, a rock star, an inventor, a CEO, a big shot. Do I even have big dreams? I don't know. What I know is that I strive to be happy. Yes, happy. The very essence of life. I strive to be the best person I can be, to treat others with respect, to be a good person. That's what I intend to be, or try my best to be.

The problem with the society today is that they are too achievement/goal orientated.. "I wanna buy a condo in 2 years, I wanna be a millionaire by the time I'm 35, I wanna own a Ferari when I'm 30.." Where's the fun in that? For me, the fun in life is to expect the unexpected. To have pleasant surprises. If everything goes according to plan as you would have expected.. isn't that a party pooper? Sure, they say that if you don't plan, you won't get anything done. But I prefer to take life one step at a time. Plan one step at a time and then just relax, take time to look around you.. the cloudy sky, sparkling stars, shining sun. The most beautiful things in life are indeed free!

Some people slog all their lives to make money and buy expensive things. The problem is, they don't even have the time to enjoy those things they have bought. Worse still, they don't have time to spend with their families, friends and those close to them. Work work work is all they know! What's the point really. Is that what life is all about? A life of career? I am always telling others, there is no such thing as a perfect job, but then again, it'll depend on what you priority is. More money? Or more free time? You choose. For me, it's the latter of course. And it has to be a job which I love. It'll be cool if it's all of those, but if not, I guess it's ok :)

So when I grow up, I wanna be happy. Yes, I'm happy now, and well, I wanna continue being the happy, sunshiney self that I am, rather than a grouchy scrooge who leads a miserable lonely life. LOL! Once again, the caffeine has overpowered me.

The antics of an everyday Malaysian

Please not that these are not placed in a specific order:

1. We never really buy parking coupons, most of us just illegally park our car in front of the bank (for example), and then while waiting for our turn, we crowd around the door, watching out for that one guy who will come and give us the “golden ticket”.. and when he does come, everyone will rush out of the bank, and sit in their cars (that constitutes waiting, and not parking). And they whine when they get a ticket, as if they have been wrongfully convicted. I’m wondering, would you rather spend 60 cents or get a ticket that would cost you 200 bucks?

2. The staff at the supermarkets are always busy putting things back where they belong. The shoppers have the “Let them do their job” attitude, and so you can find things in the most unlikely places… a pack of onions next to the candies, a pack of diapers next to a loaf of bread, the insect repellent next to the coffee.. anything is possible. So don’t fret if you forgot to pick up something on the way to the cashier, it just might appear somewhere along the way.

3. As long as you’re a mamak stall opened at night, with a big screened television, you will never run out of business. Whether it’s just hanging out, talking about nothing in particular, or watching a football match on the big screened television, Malaysians love going to the mamak stalls. So don’t worry about your little, humble mamak stall, as long as your have teh tarik, roti canai and a big screened television, you should be expecting some customers.

4. Language is our forte. Apparently those who speak Malaysians can speak a bit of every language.. consider this guy having a meal at a mamak stall telling his friends:

“That fella so kiasu.. I never expected him to be like that. He wanna cheat other people, let him cheat, but I’m his good friend, you know.. how can. I so geram lah. *calls the waiter* Ah-neh, teh tarik satu lagi!”

In two sentences, you have a mixture of Chinese (kiasu), English, Malay(geram; teh tarik satu lagi). I rest my case.

5. Malaysians love their food. We are always talking about food. So, even if two people have nothing at all in common, food is always a good topic to build rapport. Whether it’s places to eat, specific food, recipes, how to cook a certain dish, a Malaysian being Malaysian… regardless of age, occupation, and gender, will always be interested in talking about food. When providing supper.. the first thing people always ask me is “Where did you buy this?” And then this will follow:

A: You know, there’s really good thosei at (the name of the restaurant)

B: Har? Where is that?
A: Oh near Danga Mall

C: No lah, that’s not so nice.. the one at (the name of the restaurant) is nicer. It’s at Taman Perling.

So this conversation will last for at least the next 10 minutes before moving on to another topic of conversation. To Malaysians, talking about food is like a greeting, it breaks the ice… we are not ashamed to say that we’re crazy about our food.

6. The funny thing about Malaysia is that if there is a traffic jam on the roads, we know that it is most probably not caused by the accident itself, but by the drivers who slow down their cars to take a peek of what happened. Imagine, one after another, cars driving at 20 km/h to “investigate”… a traffic congestion is a sure thing. And in Malaysia, when there is an accident, loads of people would be crowding round the victim, sucking up all the air that he/she needs to at least live, and yet nobody does anything to help.

Note: This might not represent all Malaysians, but it is based on my observation thus far (including my own antics). And it solely for entertain purposes, so don’t take it too seriously. Relek lah brudder!