西崎崇子 - 3650 夜

Friday, March 20, 2009

Dilberto :-) by Scott Adams

Dilbert (yes, single name, nothing more, nothing less…), a single, destined-for-failure mild-mannered engineer who revolves his life around his demeaning workplace, co-workers, and subsequently, his own megalomaniacal pet dog Dogbert. Mismanagement and bureaucracy in the workplace became a way of life in Dilly’s 4x4 cube. His idiotic boss, aptly named the Pointy-Haired Boss (or PHB), notable for his micromanagement, massive incompetence, or being vague about ethics, but somehow manages to stay on top of games. Dogbert, perhaps the second cutest in the comics (after a Director), who has a disdain for all human beings, dreaming of one day to conquer to universe and, to a certain extent the comic had otherwise suggested, enslave all mankind. Often appeared as a con-man consultant to the PHB, he enjoys the opportunity of insulting people, giving bad (or sometimes, fatal) advises and then charges them an astronomical amount of fees. He thrives on taking advantage of the stupidity and susceptibility of everyone, most notably his co-pet, Ratbert.
Catbert (or, the ‘evil director of Human Resources’), or, in my opinion, the cutest mammal in the comic. Often works in tandem with the PHB, Catbert often comes up with ‘Random Policy Generators”, abusing workers, by doing things like banning the drink of coffee, the use of vacation or sick leave, or toilet use. Downsizing is perhaps Catbert’s greatest joy.
I’ve been following the weekly strips for 8 years now, when I was only 16, 17. There are no others like Dilbert, the satire that has embodied the futility in corporate world, and has amazingly featured on a number of covers of Fortune magazine.

The Measureable Self-Worth...

Nothing is good enough for me.

At least that was what I thought all these years. Since puberty.

I was never pretty enough, smart enough, tall enough, fair enough…but I was slim enough. Yeah, at least that was one thing I loved myself for!!!

I had serious acne breakout since my period, that would be, when I was 11, one of the earliest to have menses. Zillions of zits not only scarred my pretty face but also my self esteem as well. Before 11 I was the most popular girl in school (as a result of my mixed parentage), had a sea of admirers, but that all changed after 11…you could guess why…

God made me discover Roaccutane (a form of Vitamin A) only when I was 23. Ouch, and the thought of how much damage since puberty would only bring me to tears. Now that my face was clear, I had other concerns. What, you ask??

And then there was my weight. In high school I was the slimmest, always the envy of friends (some a.k.a frienemies…you know how it goes…) So tiny I weighed barely 100 lbs, maybe much less. But I was one of the tallest, so a slightly tall and slender figure was naturally the talk of the class. My flat-chest-ness came along with my figure. Wasn’t really proud of that though.

But, as you know how the story goes, all good things have to come to an end. I started putting on weight when I was 20, and gained a massive 20-25 lbs my worst days. Ooh, and then it suddenly hit me that you know what they say about it’s easy to gain weight, but not quite the other way round?? I never fully understood what it meant until then…Double ouch!!

Now, at age 24, I weigh around 110 lbs. Ok, that settled, some other issues arose. At least that’s what I thought.

Then I started pondering some other fancy ideas…what if I was fairer in skin tone, had whiter teeth, got rid of those discolored part of my lips and fine lines around my gorgeous eyes? Eh…yup! Getting rid of pimples and 20 lbs were not enough…I HAD TO turn into the early days of Joan Rivers...triple OUCH!!!

Then I wondered, what would happen if I’ve gotten fairer, had whiter teeth, and restored the natural color of my lips and the first sign of wrinkles around my dazzling eyes? I’d probably go for a tummy tuck, breast augmentation, lipo, and then slowly graduate to botox and other weirdly-named substances???

Yeah my first name’s Jocelyn. But no Wildenstein.

Or whatever that feline’s named.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Christmastide....

Christmas is one of the few times of the year I'd gain an extra few pounds :-) The meals, the meat, the veggies, the ice cream…YUMMY!!! But, like they say, putting on some lbs is easy, but to get rid of it is like trying to feed the whale (…???) So, I assume whale-feeding is no easy task…


X'mas morning I went to my cousin's church (which is probably the 3rd church-going session this year…) Not-bad atmosphere…and then, the first performance was so-so, with some kids trying (really) hard to act, and then 2nd one…Gosh I had no idea what it was!!! Anyway, then it was my cousin's turn. She's in the choir, performing at least 10 Carols. It was perhaps the only one that kept me awake. Wow, she can sing!!!


Christmas dinner, when we started the tradition years ago with an overstuffed and overpriced turkey, has never been the same. Perhaps for mom and my sister it's time to experiment, but for a hillbillie like me, I prefer to stay conservative. Eventually they came up with a roasted chicken with mom's secret recipe, grilled veggies, Chinese herbal soup, and some others. We overstuffed ourselves. Was 102 lbs in the morning and after just one meal, I was a healthy 106 lbs ($%*@#!*)


On the 26th, when I woke up in the morning they were already playing X'mas carols in one of the radio channels. So I took the opportunity to enjoy oldies that I never really bothered. Man, was it soothing! Elvis Presley's powerful vocals on 'Oh Come All Ye Faithful' was enough to wake the dead…yet so serene.


Never knew mom made 'Satay' better than some…with all homemade recipes, it's not just hard to replicate her recipes, it was quite impossible to even learn…Sad but true, mommy doesn't 'have' any secret recipes…she just throws in whatever she could find from the maze-like fridge. WOW…the meal on the 2nd day of X'mas was so mouth-watering I found myself begging her to make more…which I normally don't.


We left on the 4th day of Christmastide….Eh…because apparently someone needs to attend some (quoted) "not so important" function…Snap..there's still one more day left for the holidays


All I want for Christmas is a break!

God Will Show His Way...

Ahhhh…it's been a while,…WOW, what REAL work can do to a person :-) Hahaha…

Free & Easy has always been my way of life। Now to adjust to a more fast-paced corporate surrounding is a 180 Degrees change in virtually every part of my life. My new life, it seems, is (so far) more stimulating than my old, almost-monotonous lifestyle. Now that I've stepped up to the plate, I know there's no turning back.

The shipping industry, is seems, is vast, old, ever-expanding, and err…slow-moving. Take the Greek shipping empire for example. The Onasis family, & Paris Hilton's ex 'fiancés' (which were all conveniently shipping heirs), century-old money could just roll on for another century. Old money was hard to come by, but still bore fruits like those jerks who date 'the Hilton chain heir-head'. Century-old money is still a major GDP source for Greece, as modernization in that grandma industry is slow, so are the people's mentality. I work in a company that specializes software solutions for vessels, but the shipping trade is one of the last industries that embrace technology. Bummer!

It's still too early to tell if I'm cut out for this job, time will tell, and hopefully, God will show His way. Called a friend early last week, in her new job, she's distressed, hates almost everyone in her office & became more and more locked up in her own little world. That wasn't the girl I once knew. I now realize that if you don't like your job, there really isn't any point in staying. But hopefully, everything will work fine for me.