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Tuesday, 31 March 2009

the nod-and-smile

I was thinking about this last night...the nod-and-smile. You know, the gesture everyone makes to show that they're being attentive, interested in what you're saying, and maybe even flirtatious. However, how often do we use the nod-and-smile as a mask to hide our true intentions? For example...
In a business meeting:
John: So if you could just put through that Sandvine valuation adjustment and trace it back to the SRM, that'd be great.
Bob: *nods and smiles*
John: (This guy really knows his stuff and I can trust him to get this done promptly)
With a friend:
Sarah: And then they gave me flowers and a really nice big cake, it was the best birthday party ever!
Lucy: *nods and smiles*
Sarah: (I wish all my friends were such great listeners!)
On a date:
Richard: I really like hanging out with you. We should do this more often.
Ashley: *nods and smiles*
Richard: (She must be really into me!)
BUT!! Here's what Bob, Lucy, and Ashley are really thinking...
In a business meeting:
John: So if you could just put through that Sandvine valuation adjustment and trace it back to the SRM, that'd be great.
Bob: (What in the world is this douchebag talking about...I thought the Sandvine project was finished weeks ago, and I don't even know what SRM stands for...ok, calm down, just nod and smile and I'll figure this out)
With a friend:
Sarah: And then they gave me flowers and a really nice big cake, it was the best birthday party ever!
Lucy: (Birthday party? Is she still talking about that? I lost track ten minutes ago...no worries, I'll just nod and smile)
On a date:
Richard: I really like hanging out with you. We should do this more often.
Ashley: (I'm so focused on the spinach between his teeth that I can't hear anything he's saying...but just to be polite, I'll nod and smile)
-------------------------------------------
I really think that at least 67% of the time when people are nodding and smiling, they're actually not paying any attention. The people who actually are paying attention are those that ask questions, repeat what you say, and add in their own similar experiences. This is true even for me. If you're talking to me and I'm nodding and smiling, it means that
A) I can't hear you. I mean, literally. There's too much background noise or you're speaking too softly.
B) I have completely zoned out and am daydreaming as you speak. Sorry.
C) I have no idea what you're talking about and am frantically trying to figure it out.
So yeah, the next time someone nods and smiles at you, it's probably not a good sign...

Monday, 30 March 2009

work rant #39434

It's that time of the year again when people take great pains to file their income taxes. My dad's doing our family's taxes and he comes up with a $300 tax refund for me. I didn't think this was right because I got over $1,000 in tax refunds last year and my economic situation didn't change. So I told him that, and he mumbles something about some GST rebate or whatever.

Dad: Blahblahblah GST rebate blah...
Me: What? What is that?
Dad: Don't you know what a GST rebate is?
Me: I don't know what you're talking about...
Dad: How can you be an accountant and not know about this GST rebate?

AHHHHH I hate it when people tell me that!! It's like...ingrained in people's heads that accountants only do taxes. Well that is NOT TRUE AT ALL!!! Tax is a very small part of accounting! I do not do tax whatsoever! So everyone just please stop asking me tax questions. And when I'm working mad hours in winter, it's not because it's TAX season, it's because it's AUDIT season!!!! *dies*

Sorry...I get overemotional but DEAR LORD ever since I started working two busy seasons ago, people have been coming up to me, blabbing about taxes, and I'm just like...okay...do NOT know what you're talking about because I... am... in... AUDIT. I literally have ONE tax hour (out of the 100 required...that's like 2 weeks of work. See, it's a VERY small part of accounting!) and that was from photocopying stuff for the tax team. PHOTOCOPYING. That's all I know!

*breathes*

Anyway, as I promised,

Emily's guide to PATH etiquette:

1. Hold the door for the person behind you!!! >____< I can't stress this enough. Not holding doors only contributes to the crazy traffic congestion in the morning. And plus those doors are super heavy and very hard to pull back open for the weaker people out there! The worst is when the person in front of you just SLIPS through the door, thereby letting the door fall in your face. It's usually short people who do this... k, I have a bias against short people. Especially short middle-aged women. Sorry.

2. Stand right, walk left. I hate it when people stand on the left side of the escalator because LEFT = PASSING LANE! Unless you're British but we are not in Britain!! Please remember the people who are in a rush...

3. This one can't be helped for some people but if you can avoid using a rolley bag, please do!! I swear those things are hazardous. When I was in high school, there was ONE kid in my entire school who had a rolley backpack. In between classes when the halls were packed with people, there he would go with his rolley bag, with everyone behind me trying to dive out of his way to avoid tripping over his darn backpack! Well the same goes for the PATH... people trip on them.

Can you tell I'm angry right now? :)

Sunday, 29 March 2009

Currently
New Jack City, Pt. II
By Bow Wow
You Can Get It All
see related
Earth Hour

So there I was, home alone, trying to do my part for Earth Hour. I happily turn off all the lights, take out our emergency box of candles and start trying to light matches. I almost burned my house down The first two matches broke, third one got lit but the little red tip (the part that was lit) broke off the wooden part of the match and fell on the table (THANKFULLY it went out when it hit the table!!!!!!!), fourth one got lit but I almost set my hair on fire in the process, last one would not light, and then I gave up. This Earth Hour business is harder than it looks! But isn't that photo of Toronto's skyline gorgeous?

Emily's Guide to GO Train Etiquette

While I have no qualms with most people I see on the GO train, there are certain people with certain behaviours that irritate me so much!

1. When you're lining up to get on the train, don't push the person in front of you! It will not make them go any faster...in fact, they may fall down and cause a pile-up, which would further delay the 4 seconds it usually takes for you to get inside the train.

2. There is only so much space between your knees and those of the person in front of you when you're sitting down. Please refrain from completely stretching out your legs. I find that a lot of shorter women do this...k, just because you're short doesn't mean you're not invading other people's space.

3. If there is no one sitting in front of you, don't put your feet up on the seat. This is not the TTC (well, people shouldn't do that on the TTC either, but the TTC is dirty to begin with...).

4. If it's early in the morning and you absolutely have to talk on the phone, we would really appreciate it if you did so quietly because most of us are trying to sleep

Next post...I'll talk about PATH etiquette!!

Friday, 20 March 2009

Currently
Black Sweat/Beautiful, Loved and Blessed
By Prince
see related
hello world!

I am thinking of reverting back to my old blogging ways...do people still use this? I can practically hear the crickets. But no worries, I was never one to be afraid of being alone, even in this so-called blogosphere :P

I did spend a bit of time changing the colours of my Xanga! I kind of love the new theme remixer thing that we've got going here... Xanga has changed a lot since I started when I was...14? I have no idea, but it was super long ago! I might have had a different username too. I had the most ridiculous usernames way back when. Like my very first email address when I was 12 was banemzo@hotmail.com. Yes, for all you younger people out there (who are probably not reading this but that's not the point), I was the ripe old age of 12 when I got my FIRST email address! I have seen paparazzi photos of Maddox Jolie-Pitt with his very own swanky MacBook and he's like 5...damn. ANYWAY, how did I come up with banemzo? This girl in my class gave me the nickname of "Emzo" and I was eating a banana at the time. Therefore, banemzo :P And my very first AsianAvenue username was Jellibeen. Yes, I named myself after a candy that now comes in such Harry Potter-approved flavours as vomit and booger.

The new features of Xanga lead me to discuss the amazing world of toasters in the 21st century. I'm not exaggerating, I am incredibly anxious and excited to pick out a new toaster. We are in the midst of completely renovating the entire first floor of our house (new tiles, new furniture, the whole nine yards) and we want a new metal toaster to match our new metal fridge and stove. I was browsing through toasters with my mom at The Bay and WOW!!!! I had no idea toasters could be so fancy! The toaster we have right now is the classic 2-slot type with one lever. But what I saw in the store were toasters with four slots, 4792349238423 buttons that could perform wonderful magic functions, and I even saw one with an egg-maker attached to it. I've never really thought much about household appliances but this toaster revelation has got me thinking...what else am I missing out on in life?! I fear that I will turn Amish without realizing it...and I'm only 21!!

ETA You know you live in Canada when it's the first day of spring and people are dressed like this:

Tuesday, 10 July 2007

Currently Listening
Play
Hello
see related
"i'm real to the bone!" -- namie

You know that embarrassed feeling you get when you look in the mirror at the end of a long day and realize you've been walking around for who knows how long with a patch of mashed potato on your cheek? Yeah, it's quite humiliating. So I'm telling you all...when you see someone sporting something visually distracting that clearly is not intentional, you gotta TELL the person!! I always tell people when there's something wrong with them, even if they're strangers. But a helluva lot of people would rather keep the open secret to themselves, which I think is quite cruel

Btw...why is Kelly Rowland staring at me? I actually like Kelly, even if her music is pretty mediocre, but she's a little more likeable than Beyonce (I used to love Beyonce...but she's too overexposed). However, I did jump a bit when I logged into Xanga just now.

Monday, 18 June 2007

Johnny Depp promoting 'Pirates' in Japan

This is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time...I almost peed myself!!

I did my course selection this morning and of course my schedule is messed up, as usual. But you know what? I'm not gonna worry about it because I have a good legit excuse for getting an override. I swear, by the time I graduate, the undergrad coordinator for my program will be like my best friend from my having to call her every term for overrides...

I have my last frosh leader training session today...they're pretty boring, but I guess they're necessary. The last one I went to was the one for drug and alcohol awareness. Here's what I learned:

1. One standard bottle of wine has 5 drinks.
2. 7-year-olds like to sniff glue.

Regarding the second point, I totally knew someone in grade 2 who sniffed glue!! He was a really cute kid too...he sorta reminds me of Franklin (you know...the turtle). And I do mean that in the best way possible -- Franklin was a sweet, intelligent little turtle

By the way, does anyone remember DOUG?

I used to love this cartoon! I remember watching it every day after school at 4:00, when I was in elementary school. From the funky-coloured people to Doug's sexy sweater vests, that show was all kinds of fun.

Sunday, 17 June 2007

I'm a little peeved right now, so I'm gonna rant for a bit...

We all know that I love my home in RHill way more than Waterloo, for obvious reasons. However, one thing I love about living away from home is that I have freedom, which I truly relish after being brought up by extremely strict Asian parents. The problem is, I've noticed my mom calls me almost every day, and she always asks the same things:

1. Where are you?
2. What did you do today?
3. What are you going to do later?
4. Goodbye.

I don't know if the point of these daily conversations is really to check up on me, or if she's just bored? But it's always these same questions, every day...it makes me feel like I'm under some criminal interrogation. And I know she purposely calls really late on Fridays and Saturdays (to my rez phone, not my cell) to make sure I don't go out at night. This bugs me Yes, I do go out sometimes, but I study really hard too. And I don't wanna sound arrogant, but I think my marks are pretty good...

I guess I'm upset because my mom doesn't trust me at all to make decisions on my own., and she thinks that without her supervision, I'm gonna turn into some crazy rebel drunk without a future. But if you know me, you know I'm not like that at all!! And I'm turning 20 this year -- I'm no longer a teenager with a personality that can be molded like a chameleon -- so if I was really the type of person who would turn wild and crazy, I would've already done it years ago. Sighhh.

Monday, 04 June 2007

Currently Listening
Dignity
By Hilary Duff
Between You & Me
see related
i freakin love hilary duff

I haven't updated in over a month, but I thought I'd take some time out to tell you all...Hilary Duff's new album, Dignity, is amazinggggg!!! It's been on repeat for the last two days, and I have no intention of getting it off repeat any time soon Hilary is my idol! (no, I'm not 12)

I'm simultaneously going to two beach parties next next weekend -- my neighbour planned one that I wasn't going to go to, but then my friend from high school is planning her birthday party...at the same beach, same day! So I'm pretty excited for that...I can't remember the last time I went to a beach in Toronto

Okay...back to studying

Sunday, 22 April 2007

summer is the time for tennis

"He's not really outgoing...he just goes out a lot." -- my funny sister Vicki
In the last 48 hours, I have:
- gone on three walks around my neighbourhood
- played two rounds of tennis
- cut up a honeydew
I feel so accomplished!! The beautiful weather is making me all giddy and energetic I'm gonna play tennis again tomorrow, and of course take another walk. My goal is to be a "below average" tennis player by the end of the week (yes that's a goal...right now, I'm at "dreadful"). Summer is love
You know how some people like to stalk other people on Facebook? I'm a stalker too...but not of people, I stalk groups!! There's this group called "Don't fuck with me, I went to public school, bitch" and there are all these hilarious stories of public school. Here are my favourites:
"my school had a genius who decided that fruit flies are cute, and raised them in her locker.vryr nice person she is... fed them fruit everyday...so the flies began mass production, and the whole floor was infested with them... think we got a exterminator in the end."
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"Our school had dumb biology kids, where half dumped pig guts into the science sinks and the other half flushed them down the toilets, all on the second floor. The pipes broke, and pig guts and blood, as well as a bunch of crap from the toilets leaked into the cieling and began to drip on peoples note-books, hair, and various other things in class rooms below."
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"In 1998, my high school made the news when the gym teacher strip-searched most of the grade 9 boys’ gym class looking for $90. This incident also fell on the week when the family studies class had to carry around dolls to allow them to experience parenting. Then the TV news reporters came to get a story. When the story was televised you could see, what appeared to be, all these baby mommas & daddies in the background."

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"My old school didn't get new desks until my grade 12 year. We still had those weird desk/chair combinations with the hole in the top for a bottle of ink."

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I know not all public schools are that bad...I think my high school was pretty much a public school, with uniforms and religion class

I am BEYOND excited for school starting next week!! I think it's gonna be the best term yet, I can feel it! But at the same time, I'm also kinda sad that my work term is ending...isn't that strange? Just a few weeks ago, I was telling myself how I hated these long hours and here I am, sad to be leaving. I think it's the people I met at work that I'll miss a lot I love (almost) everyone I worked with, and it's a really fortunate thing too, cuz if I had to work the hours I worked with horrible people, I would've jumped off the 401 months ago!

Wednesday, 28 March 2007

Currently Listening
Too Close
By Next
see related
2 days to go...yeehaw!

My run at this client ends this Friday - YAY!!! I'm super psyched to go back to the office...it's gonna be all cleanup starting Monday. I have reached my limits with this one woman...she is totally driving me bonkers She doesn't respect me at all, and every time I talk to her, she looks like she wants to eat me. Well, lady, if it wasn't for my JOB, I wouldn't want to talk to you either. I've tried to be super nice to everyone because I know auditors aren't exactly the most likeable people, but this is getting ridiculous. She won't even give me anything unless my senior helps me ask for it...sighh she's at the top of my list of people I'd like to kick (actually...she's the only one)

SORRY if I haven't responded to Facebook wall posts, IMs, emails, etc etc...I've been sooo swamped with work, but that will all change starting Monday YEAHHH! It's a good thing I have an amazing team...they're the only thing keeping me sane right now. My coworker whom I carpool with has SUCH a wicked car...he has a DVD player in there so we watch Friends on the way to work and back Actually, no, I watch and he listens...I made the mistake of saying that to my dad this morning:

Dad: So your friend drives a sports car! How is the ride to work?
Me: I love it!! He has a DVD player so we watch Friends every day.
Dad: He watches while driving??
Me: (crap, I shouldn't have said that...)

No really, he is a good driver.

I'm not gonna lie...I am so hooked on Search for the Next Pussycat Doll My fav is Melissa R., the Filipino girl, she's so pretty! But I missed the episode last night...Sisely got kicked off. I didn't like her anyway I think Anastacia (the tall one with big curly hair) is so overrated...so she's a good dancer and has a nice body, but I don't think she's pretty. Although I don't see why PCD needs another member...they already have six and nobody knows any of them except for Nicole.

I finally picked my courses for spring...I was so worried about it that I made five schedules -- Plan A, B, C, D, and worst case scenario. I got my Plan C sched, which isn't too shabby, considering I have the WORST LUCK EVER with course selection. I always get stuck with late appointment times, and even though I start right when my enrolment time starts, good course times are always full by the time I start When I was doing it, my heart was beating so fast, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. By the time I finished, I was red in the face and shaking...course selection is the only thing that can get me riled up like that

If you could be anything you wanted, and money/status/whatever was not an issue, what would you be?

Here's mine:

- personal shopper (I'd do it for free!)
- pop star or actress (if I had the looks and talent)
- party planner (fun!)
- backup dancer for Justin Timberlake