Mario Wednesday, Nov 25 2009 

tim's a geek TIMSUN 12:25 am

As a little update to my last post, I turned up for work on Monday only to be told that the data for WWF doesn’t actually come in until next week, thus freeing me up until next Tuesday. Most people would use this time to study for exams. I had alternate plans.


Yes, that’s right. I played old-school Super Nintendo. Don’t judge me.

The sad part is that I think my reflexes have gone backwards, as the same levels I had no problem with as a child have no become substantially harder. The main difference is that instead of my frustration manifesting in a barely self-restrained attempt at chucking the controller at the TV, I resort to mentally cursing the system.

My Super Mario World cartridge wasn’t working earlier. I found myself blowing on it out of reflex.

YES I WILL START STUDYING SOON

 

When you don’t properly think out life decisions Sunday, Nov 22 2009 

tim is a terrible student TIMSUN 1:11 am

So, remember how I have a job?

I also have exams. Specifically one on Wednesday for a class during which I was usually asleep, or not there.

Which means I only have two full days (Sunday, and half of the Monday and Tuesday respectively) to study for it.

Uh.

 

Success Tuesday, Nov 17 2009 

tim is a grown-up TIMSUN 7:06 pm

I suppose good things come in spades, because today was the same day I had my first ever job interview and snagged my first ever job.

The interview wasn’t actually as hard as I thought it would be; in fact, it consisted of a bunch of pretty simple tasks – introduce yourself, group debate, one-on-one interrogation, simulated job situation, pretty easy stuff. The difficult part was trying to do all of this in a relaxed, composed, and efficient manner, which was kind of hard when your hands are shaking from the nerves.

But I guess I must have impressed someone, because I got offered the job. Woo!

I must admit, I always get a bit taken aback when people say I am above average at things. I mean, I know I’m sort of funny, I’m more or less easy to get along with, and I’m polite when I need to; but whenever people say I’m really adept at any of those things, it feels a little odd. Keeping that in mind, you can imagine how strange it was trying to talk yourself up.

I also found that people take you exponentially more serious when you’re dressed all business-like; a man in the elevator thought I worked on the top floor. Hee.

 

Oshtrayan Wednesday, Nov 4 2009 

tim is bored TIMSUN 11:43 pm

Recently, I have decided to attempt to learn how to speak with an Australian accent. Now, I know what you are all thinking; if you have ever spoken to me in real life you would know that I have the most bizarre speaking voice in the world which is odd and strange and instantly recognisable and is basically synonymous with my name. It’s this weird Filipino-American mix that makes me sounds stilted and nasal and all sorts of out-of-place things. I don’t even know why I have it, seeing as I was born and grew up here. Maybe it has something to do with my parents actually knowing out to speak English. I don’t know.

When I announced this during lunch at uni once, the general reaction was that of dismay and discouragement. “Why are you trying to do that? You sound fine. That’s a stupid idea.”

But bear with me. I have my reasons.

These include; silly carried-over insecurity from the junior years of high school when boarder-generated anti-American sentiment was at its highest, a perception that people would hang up on me less often if I worked at a call centre which ended up being a stupid reason because I was unceremoniously rejected before I even got to the interview stage, not wanting to be mistaken for an international student again, a desire to say “bogan” and “bloody” with the right accent because let’s face it, they just don’t sound right when I say them, and most importantly, boredom.

As a result I have been repeating everything everyone says, ever. Apparently, this is very offputting.

I also sit around repeating various text that I see around me. Apparently, this makes me look psycho.

I think the worst part is that I’m not even getting close to sounding anywhere close to the accent I want. Most of the time people can’t even tell that I’m trying.

 

Addendum Tuesday, Nov 3 2009 

tim talks "feelings" TIMSUN 2:16 am

On a side note, am I the only one that thinks debate for the most part is pointless? If neither party are willing to back down or consider the other point of view, as the case is usually, all you’ve got is two people yelling at each other; essentially a circle jerk about how much you know.

Nine times out of ten I’ll just back out of opinionated discussions unless I happen to be really passionate about whatever the subject is (read; music, assholes, general lack of tolerance and compassion for other humans) – there’s really no point in mindlessly arguing over a stalemate, and I’d rather save myself the stress, thanks.

 

Career? Tuesday, Nov 3 2009 

tim is a terrible student TIMSUN 2:08 am

I thought I was pretty sure what I wanted to do in the future. “I want to help people,” I said, “I want to make the world get along better,” and I thought I could do that with politics or working with an NGO or something.

But there’s two things standing in my way.

The first is my crippling laziness, which consequently results in me never getting anything done, ever. The irony is that laziness itself it what keeps me from doing anything about my laziness.

The second is the pathetic amount I know about current affairs. For all my ambition and aims, I actually know seemingly know next to nothing about politics, or relations, or what the hell is actually going on in this world. Even when I sit around and read the newspaper or actually study from my politics textbook, it doesn’t seem anywhere close to what other people – people in my tute, people in my class, hell, complete randoms on the Internet WHO ARE MY AGE AND CAN SPIT OUT PARAGRAPH AFTER PARAGRAPH OF POLITICS OPINION COMPLETE WITH HEAVY JARGON – know.

I wonder if this makes my opinion somehow less valid, if this makes me “stupid”, and unsuitable for any job other than the inevitable language teaching / interpreting that comes about as a sort of booby prize for having taken International Studies? I don’t even know what to think anymore, whether to be disappointed in myself, or envious of others knowledge, or perhaps assume that no-one actually knows anything and are really just talking out of their ass and thus resent them?

It’s okay to be (sorta) angsty (at least by my standards) on here ’cause no-one reads this anyway unless you’re weird and put me on RSS feed (yes, that’s right, I’m talking to you).