When the Titans join forces...

The English Titans of Pelangi have joined forces! Yup. All 4 Titans joined forces to push my freaking project closer towards the printing stage. I've been really weary handling the thing all by myself but I did 3/4 of the work anyway. SO. Just in case you don't know who the titans are.. here's a recap.

King Malcolm Mejin - the most powerful and wise of the lot.
Queen Grace - hates to admit it, but she is not as good as King Malcolm... loves idioms and vocabulary though.
King Mani -very  well-versed with the more Shakespearean & classic English
King Siew - very good in technical, grammatical rules.

As you can see, the titans have their unique strengths and abilities. Anyway, a bit about my project. This project I'm handling is a set of teacher's guides written for a specific series of books. There are 4 Levels, with 10 books for each level.

So anyway, since it was my first project, my manager has been actively involved in the whole process. And what she's sooo famously known for doing  is to get the whole team involved. EVEN Siew who is actually from the Academic textbooks unit got roped in! First, it was Mani... who looked at one of the Levels.. and then Malcolm, who actually started getting involved due to my absence. AND now... Siew! LOL, I've been constantly cross-checking with the other 3, while we take every opportunity to complain to each other in the process. It's nice to have them on my side :) But ultimately, whatever they have done, I'll be the last to proofread, since I know the project inside out.

Hopefully....... hopefully... with the help of the other 3 titans, this catastrophe of a project will end SOON. LOL. But well, we're the Titans! Nothing will faze us!

A holiday after the holidays

Just after 1 day of being back at work, I am on holiday again. And no, I will not enjoy this holiday. It's a holiday I must take. I sprained my ankle! And because my company has such beautiful but impractical flights of stairs without railings, I am thus forced to take leave.

Actually, there's no one to blame but me. I not only sprained my ankle but I fell as well. All in a matter of 5 mins. NO KIDDING. While walking back from lunch, I fell while coming down a tiny flight of stairs. Thank God I fell on my knees and not on my face. So, I got up, and continued walking. Then, the final stretch of the race, before I reached my destination, my feet suddenly twists itself silly. Great. This time, I was made almost immobile. I dragged my feet towards the building, and up the stairs and plunk myself onto the office chair.

I told mom about it and she brought me ointment, plaster, painkiller, and an extra pair of sandals. That helped me quite a bit, but I still was struggling to just make my way to the bathroom. UGH. I feel like an old woman. My 82 year old grandma can probably walk better and faster than me now.

So, I have 3 days of doctor-declared holiday... but I am so bored at home that I'd probably try to go back after just 1. We'll see.

Either way, I know I am safe in God's arms and that He will be carrying me all the way through :) Thank You Jesus!

Not worthy.

It's Chinese New Year again! Happy Chinese New Year! It's the time when people bum around, do nothing, eat all day and sleep all day. But most importantly.... we spend precious times with our precious loved ones! Which is priceless :))

Anyway, it's during this time when I even tolerate the sight of the dumbest movies. Like yesterday, I sat through 5 mins of the movie Wayne's World. It is 5 mins of my life I'd never get back.. BUT (believe it or not) I caught a glimpse of revelation!!

So. Was watching Wayne's World right? And although I have no idea what the movie was about (not that I'd bother to even find out), I was watching this part where Mike Myers and his friend met their favourite rock band. The lead singer invited them to stay and to hang out... and they suddenly fell on their knees and said "We're not worthy! We're not worthy! We suck! We suck!". I was pretty offended... I was thinking.. why are they bowing to mere humans?!

But then it dawned on me. Yeah, I often kowtow to mere humans myself. Maybe not physically, but perhaps I've done it verbally. As if I'm not worthy of being in their presence. To be breathing the same air as them. To be cramping their style. And YET... when it comes to GOD Most High, I treat Him like dirt, and sometimes even ignore or get upset with Him. WHERE'S THE SENSE IN THAT?! But nonetheless.. He has stoop to the lowest to carry me up, and He has been to the slums to clean me off and cloth me in righteousness.

He's not status conscious. He isn't snooty. My God has walked the dusty roads without sandals. He has slept in a mere fishing boat. He spent time with ones we'll label as "losers". He used those perfect hands to make furniture. He, in all His glory, was stripped bare, scourged, and nailed to the cross.. left to die. And who put Him there? ME. Because of my rebellion, because of my sins... He knew He had to do it. There wasn't any other way. God gave Himself for me.

If there's anyone whom I were to say "We're not worthy! We're not worthy! We suck! We suck!" It will be to Jesus. But I know He doesn't want me to. He doesn't need me to. That's cuz He has paid it all, done it all to make me WORTHY. And He will guide me and lead me... and comfort me enough to know that I DO NOT SUCK. So what if the world thinks I do? God doesn't. And His opinion reigns supreme!

:) What a beautiful way to start the year of the Rabbit.

It's oh so quiet....

I'm alone. Well, not literally.. but I'm 1 person away from being the only person on this floor. Most of the lights are switched off, most of the air conds are switched off.... There's no sound except of the noisy air cond and of my keyboard. So.Quiet. You can literally hear a pin (or in this case, a pen) drop.

The only other person here on the 2nd floor is Mr. Foo. He's the Genghis Khan of the company. A giant (literally) and a guy of many (LOUD) words. But even he hasn't said a thing. Not even one word. The truth is really stranger than fiction.Why? Because it's a SATURDAY. But it's a working day for me. For all of us at Pelangi, actually. But those who could take leave took leave, those who could take half day off took half day off... and that's why I'm the only idiot who is working for a full day. HAH. How nice. Mr. Foo's a different story though.. he's the HR manager. He probably has something really important to do otherwise he won't be here too.

I'm bored to tears. My usual lunch buddy, Malcolm, isn't here. I realized that somehow it feels weird walking the streets during lunchtime without him these days. Like something big (maybe about a guy who's 5' 6"?) is missing. I miss his bombastic words and colourful expressions, the out-of-this-world fantasies we build together during our lunch hour as a means to escape our harsh work reality (we like to think of it as part of our novel-writing collaboration.. lol), and the unmistakable 'Malcolm-ish' footsteps. Not forgetting the guy who sits right behind my desk, Mani. I miss his sudden outbursts of crazy punch lines that make it hard for me to keep a straight face for most of the day, his many gossips and stories about office politics, and the vocabulary challenges he throws at me. I miss them both terribly. It's a good thing they'll be here on Monday. I cannot imagine how my working days in Pelangi would be without the two buddies of mine.

SIGH. Either way, I'm still here alone and bored. Time to go back to reality. Hope that 5.30 will come... FAST.

The clash of the Titans

You might have heard of the movie. You might have watched it. But in case you haven't, do not fret! It has nothing to do with it anyway. But I'd give a very very quick preview on the movie. Just because.

The clash of the titans is about the clash between the Greek titans, who are Greek gods. The most powerful of the lot, though, are just three - Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. But then again...like I've mentioned, this has got nothing to do with Greek gods in anyway.

Most people in my company are Chinese speakers. Like serious Chinese language speakers. They don't (and I repeat.. DON'T) speak English. But, a lot of books are written in English. That's where people like me, come into the picture. I hve plenty of grouses about that.. but I'd leave that for another time.
So, since most of them speak Chinese, it does not come as a surprise that the English language speakers are the minority.Let me give you a clue. It's a single digit. And it's less than 5. It's only 4! And yes, that includes me. Ironically though, the 2 more formidable ones work closely with me.. we have the same superiors, sometimes we work together on the same project. So needless to say, 3 of us are pretty close knit (Come on.. they're all I've got!).

However, there's one thing we like to do. That is to challenge each other. The three English language Titans of Pelangi clash daily due to vocabulary and grammar. Here are the four Titans:

King Malcolm Mejin aka King Solomon - the most formidable of the lot. Is victorious 99% of the time. Is usually the peacemaker/deciding factor in King Mani and Queen Grace's battles (hence the nickname King Solomon) rather than a participant.

King Mani Rajan - Is constantly being challenged  Is victorious 90% of the time.

Queen Grace Koh - Is more formidable than King Mani, but not as good as King Malcolm (darn!). Is victorious 95% of the time, but is secretly training to become more formidable than King Malcolm.

King "Mr. Siew" (no idea what his full name is..LOL) -  Is well-known for highly technical skills. Is usually just the go-to guy. Since he is not of the same continent as the other 3, he is never involved in any of their battles.

There you have it. The English Language Titans of Pelangi Publishing Group. And honestly, I have to admit... I am loving the battles. Every one of them. Mani sits in the desk next to mine and I'm constantly testing him. Malcolm isn't on the same floor, but he's my good friend whom I spend every lunchtime with (we talk about other stuffs though). I love to challenge him and find out how much he really knows about the language. And when it comes to English, we're both (Malcolm and I) very defensive.. LOL. But I'm glad I have the other 2 guys.. they make my stay in boring Pelangi so fun. They never fail to keep me on my toes. :)

I foresee new battles tomorrow. Minus King Malcolm though. He'll be in the other Pelangi planet called Bangi. So it's just Mani and me then. And maybe, if we're really frustrated with the day's work... we'll rope in good ol' Mr. Siew for good measure.

When God takes over.

My job isn't difficult. But it isn't easy as well. It isn't intellectual. But it's not a job for the brainless.

That's why I need God. I realized that when I lean on Him for strength, I perform better than I would alone. When I let Him hold my hand, I fear nothing. And when I commit my plans to Him, they fall right into place.

When God takes over, everything is beautiful. After all, He's the Brain behind all we are, all we have and the place we're in.

Of languages and words.

I've been spending most of my time in the office these days. No surprise since my big boss is a slave driver.. heheheh.

I realized that since we're short handed, I have to double up as a Malay editor as well. "As a WHAT?" you might ask. Yes, a Malay language editor. I was writing some synopses in Malay today and realized that my command of the language isn't as bad as I thought it was. I could string sentence after sentence in Malay and still make sense. HAH! Not bad, huh! My Malay teachers would be so proud. I guess the very first time I was given a task in Malay, my superiors realized that my command of the language was pretty decent. That's why, from editing a book with just one sentence per page, I was gradually given the task of having to write Malay synopses. Not just ANY synopses. These synopses would be featured in the 2011 Catalogue. HAHA. Funny.

Anyway, I do enjoy my job. I guess I love languages, even Malay. I think they're treasures in need to of protection. I know of many endangered and extinct languages.. it's a shame, really. Even after staring at words all day long, I'm back here typing more words. I love words. It gives me the freedom to express myself.

I love languages. So much so that both the Malay and the English dictionaries have become my best friends at work. Pathetic, but true.