Junkgirl™

Why Snowboard in Japan?

If there is one place on earth to snowboard or ski, it’ll have to be Japan. I doubt there will be anywhere else on earth with that level of service and courtesy. I first tried snowboarding at Mt Buller in Victora, Australia. Not because it is any good but just because that is the closest snowboard/ski resort to where I am located. Being an amateur, I immediately fell getting off from the chairlift and instead of assisting amateurs like me by slowing or stopping the chairlifts to enable me to move away safely, all I heard from the female attendant was “get out of the way”. If I knew how to get out of there with my board strapped on one feet, I most probably would not have fell. The chairlifts which wasn’t stopped continue its way, hitting me rather hard on the head from behind. I managed to drag myself to the side to avoid another coming chairlift. Without any assistance at all, I would probably have been sent to the hospital with head injuries if i didn’t. Snowboarding or skiing in Australia is nothing but expensive and crap. Visitors spend their hard-earned money which pays the staff wages and yet the staff thinks they are doing the visitors a favour. Ever since that experience, I told myself never to snowboard in Australia again. If I can hand out flyers saying ‘Snowboarding and skiing in Australia sucks. Do not go’, I would. Anyone who flies all the way here for the snow is either out of their mind or has been living under a rock.

In Japan, Niseko to be exact, there are usually two attendants at the lifts. One in the control booth and the other tidying the snow in the area. If they notice that you are an amateur, they tend to give you a hand or slow the lift down. The attendants would try to hold my arm as I was getting on and off the lift, to help me gain my balance. The few times that I fell as soon as I was getting off the chairlift, the lift was stopped for me. And if I wasn’t getting up and away immediately, the attendant would come out from the control booth asking “Daijoubu desu ka” checking that I was alright. I also find that if you indicate ‘slow down’ with a hand signal to them when you are close to alighting the chairlift, they tend to slow it down for you. This way, everyone is able to learn how to get on and off the chairlift. There is nothing more you can ask for, snowboarding in Japan.

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The Philippine Tarsier

is, sadly, endangered mainly due to extensive slash and burn farming which is a result of the human species over-breeding. The human population is exploding with mostly good for nothing beings who blow themselves up or go on a shooting rampage because they have nothing better to do. There should be a balance. Instead of taking more space and resources from nature, maybe human breeding should be curbed. As if there isn’t enough human beings on the planet.

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Chinese Toddler Hit-and-Run – My View

Lots of people are saying lots of things. Lack of empathy. Jingshen kongxu or spiritual vacuum. Etcetera. Etcetera. Everything but the useless parents. This accident was ultimately the parents fault. That is my point of view. Humans breed but fail to consider the fact that they can no longer give birth to a pack of screaming babies and let them grow up just by running around chasing after chickens in the farm at the back of the house, like in their grandfather’s days. Why was the toddler being let to run around in such an unsafe environment? None of this would have happened if the parents kept an eye on the toddler. Busy running the business is not a reason. They could have tied the child to a pole or something. Anything to keep the child safe, away from harm and death. Otherwise, if they were not even capable to keep an eye on their own child, don’t have a child.

I also totally agree with the following reason extracted from CNN. No good Samaritans deserve to get into trouble for their good deeds.

Other observers blame the incident on a breakdown in public trust. A joint survey by three universities in Beijing revealed that the root cause of people’s reluctance to help others in need is a lack of trust among residents. Only about 8% surveyed said they still strongly trust other people.
Should an elderly person in need be helped? Over 60% of the respondents said “yes”, but more than 84% also believed it is too risky; recently in China, there have been several cases of individuals who faked injuries only to sue those who come to their aid.
In 2006, an old woman in the eastern city of Nanjing was injured after rough jostling at a bus stop. Peng Yu, a young man and fellow passenger, offered help and even took her to the hospital. Later, however, the old woman and her family sued him in court, which eventually ruled that Peng Yu should pay 40% of the medical costs.
Similar cases have happened in recent years.
“There must be something wrong when it is considered risky to be a Good Samaritan,” China Daily wrote in an editorial this week. “Apathy and distrust are the last things a harmonious society needs. It is imperative that we find a way to protect Good Samaritans from being wronged.”
Peking University’s Xia Xueluan calls this the “interpersonal trust crisis”. He explains: “This kind of crisis is highly contagious and could deteriorate due to lack of legal support. As a netizen puts it, it’s not that the good people can no longer be found in our society. It’s that nobody can afford to do good deeds—the price can be too high.”
Days after Yueyue’s tragic accident, millions of China’s micro-bloggers are still pouring out their anger and frustration.
“After Peng Yu’s case, if you were the first to find Yueyue after the accident, would you rescue her?” Netizen Yi Jingge wrote.
That is a question many in China are now asking themselves.

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How much does one know?

You won’t know how much you know until you know how much others don’t know – Linda L.

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Returning to Melbourne

2 weeks, 4 quakes and 11 goreng pisang later, it is back to reality…
Extremely sleepy and waiting at Coffee Bean

Sounds like it’s going to be a flight full of Aussies

One thing i observed is that sometimes the attitude of the Chinese can be rather rude especially towards the non-Chinese. This probably leads to a reactive attitude from the other party. The non-Chinese that we encountered during this trip have all been rather nice from the officers at the Immigration to the airport staff, because we did not treat them as ‘underling’. There was a mature-aged woman waiting to board at the airport and only passengers with seats row 29 to 40 are allowed to board first. This is a system to avoid delays so that the front row people would not hold up passengers seated towards the back. She asked why and was whinging and sighing with “haiyohs and aiyahs” towards the ground staff. Sometimes it is not that there isn’t a system, but it is more having to put up with people like this woman when we are all trying to come up and function according to a system. When the rest of us are finally allowed to board, she let out another “haiyah” and gave the ground staff nearest to her a disgusted look. What is the rush auntie? And she had to hold hold half the flight up with me behind her, when she had to pull out some papers from her carry-on luggage before she instructed the cabin crew to put it up in the compartment. She could have pulled it out while we were all waiting for our turn to board instead of ‘haiyoh-ing and aiyah-ing“. This is the sort of Chinese that thinks everyone is beneath her. Noticed lots of not-so-humble Chinese Malaysians. My finding is that generally, if you are nice to begin with, you will normally get a nice reaction. No one is going to be nice to you if you start off nasty.

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Not clever but smart

Not being arrogant but can’t help feeling this way when you are around incompetent people or a bunch of people…

Got to work at the new location early in the morning. First one there as usual. Disarmed the alarm and walked in. Put on some make, put on the kettle and got ready to start the day. The second person to get there wasn’t in today so there are no lights in the work area that can be seen from the foyer.. Didn’t turn on the lights in the foyer just because I don’t. It’s early and there won’t be any visitors. It can be turned on when more people get in at 9. Heard the bell rang. Was getting ready. There shouldn’t be anyone at this hour to interrupt me. Whoever it is can wait. I just carry on. All staff should have keys to get in. I didn’t get there early to answer the bell. After I’m done, walked to the kitchen to make coffee. Opened the door to have a look at who may have been ringing the bell. There were 5 employees waiting at the foyer. They didn’t know whether they had to disarm the alarm or whether there was someone in already since the lights in the second person’s office wasn’t on to indicate someone has arrived. I heard lots of remarks as they walked in. “Have been ringing the bell many times…no lights were on…”. I became unpleased and more unpleased by the second. Yeah…it’s my fault that I am trying to conserve energy for the company that early in the morning. It’s my fault that I am know how to disarm the alarm without any prior demonstration and people don’t. It’s my fault that people are incompetent. If it was me, I would have just key in the code and press off. It doesn’t matter if anyone has already disarmed it or not.

I am not taking this. I don’t mind if I am at fault and got told off. But to get told off for that person’s own dumbness. I’ve already been nice and only bore a long face and remain silent for the rest of the day. Except for work-related conversations. The first day I was there, I figured out how to disarm the alarm on my own. There was no bell for me to ring. No one for me to ask. How can I not feel smart and competent putting myself in these sort of situations? Don’t like me? So be it. I’m self-reliant. People need me more than I need people. Think I can easily be treaded on. I only have one song for people…

Always believed in this…it doesn’t matter whether one is a top student or the most intelligent person alive…if one is not smart in everyday things, they don’t deserve my respect. How do you create a shortcut to a folder on your computer? How do you cancel a print job? How do you add a folder to Favourites in Windows Explorer so that you don’t have to go searching for the folder? How do you save a document without using the mouse? It’s pathetic how people spend years Face-booking or Twittering and they don’t know something so basic and they jeer at those who don’t know Facebook. Wonder who’s the idiot now. The only person that deserves my respect is…myself, of course. It’s alright to be dumb but not telling people off for one’s own dumbness.

Think I’m better off living on another planet. A human-less planet. Just filled with animals.

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Perfect side-parking

by an excellent side-parker. It is only when there are people other than yourself in the car and they think they can park so well that they have to give instructions on how to park and messes up your focus and then when the parking doesn’t turn out well, they think you can’t side-park. Well, I could if people would just zip it and let me park in peace.

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Thank you WSPA

and all WSPA supporters

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Woman and her dog in Brazil landslide

There are “Yes and No’ comments and comments going on about the woman losing the dog. It all comes down to one question – Is it okay too if it was a human baby instead of a dog?

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Festive seasons

Unfortunately, I am around this year. It’s already a pain to be around family members on normal days but especially so during festive seasons. You get invited over for meals which you loathe to go but can’t really turn down. Can’t even have a quiet meal away from noises. Sometimes I just wish I am in a land far, far away from everyone. And it is so annoying when they tell you “Come to get-togethers more often”. They think you’re strange and anti-social if you don’t participate in these meaningless activities. Can’t help thinking, yeah…you people have nothing to do but I have. I have schedules and I don’t just sit around all day, waiting to make noises. And there is nothing to chat about. Just fake conversations. Not like anyone takes in what i tell them about. Just because they like things doesn’t mean I am going to like it too. I am not like them. They can’t have a quiet one. It’s talk and talk and talk. Noises and noises and noises. This thing about respect…it isn’t about generations. Only those who respect me, who never thought i was insignificant deserves my respect. These so-called get-together are a waste of my time. I have my own plans. Things that i feel are more meaningful than making noises with a bunch of people i don’t feel like mingling with. Maybe have roast turkey, some garlic bread and wine. Just a quiet Christmas. Commoners just don’t get it.

I wonder if i can go away during the Chinese New Year.

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And the point of asking is…?

As i was grabbing the bag containing my purchases after paying at an Asian grocery, I heard the lady behind me asking the cashier a question, as she was paying for her mangoes. She asked “Are these sweet?” I thought to myself…what is her point of asking. Is the cashier going to tell her “No, they aren’t. They are sour.”

Some people just have to talk. Have to say something. Some people…

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Namewee makes a fool of himself

Mr You-think-you-are-so-cool, you are doing nothing but embarrassing yourself, your people and your country. Your verbal assault doesn’t even come close to a bee’s sting. Is that all you can say? Suck banana? How are you any different from the people you think you are criticizing. I don’t even get the point you are trying to get across, if there is one. If you can’t be more be more articulate or give more constructive criticism, then please keep your trap shut. The least you can do is to get the names right. It’s Siti Nurhaliza, not Siti Nurhariza.

If this is the generation you represent, the country is going to be doomed. People should stop pointing fingers at the other races and the government. They should take a good, hard look at their sons and daughters instead. If Namewee gets deported from the country, I’ll be the first to pop a bottle of champagne. One less person to ridicule the country and cause more tensions. We don’t need you, Mr You-think-you-are-so-cool. You do more damage than good.

A little note i left for Ming Zhi on his burogu…