Friday, October 21, 2005
Snippets of Manchester Life
So much for the lie in 'til noon, but it's nice to be back home and I celebrated with a little bit of retail therapy this afternoon. Awaiting me at the end of my usual bus ride into Manchester was the return of the Big Wheel in Exchange Square. I really should go take a ride this year after missing out last time. Then I noticed the brand spanking new Next store that had finally been revealed after all the hoardings had been removed and today happened to be its first day of business. Didn't go in though because I was a little overwhelmed and didn't want to risk spending too much money in there! I did walk up the brand new marble steps leading into the centre and noticed a crowd gathered outside the new Nike flagship store. Noseyed for a bit and found out that everyone was waiting to meet Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand. "Not interested." I thought, so I wandered on. All quite impressive stuff - nice to see that regeneration in Manchester after the IRA bombing is nearing completion.
After picking up my winter wardrobe from Primark for a tenth of the price it would have cost in Next, I got back onto the bus feeling rather satisfied and witnessed a little scene that made me feel that there was hope yet for humanity. A Jewish man was sitting down when he noticed that there was a Muslim lady and her husband who were struggling with a large bulky suitcase, so he gave up his seat and let her sit down. If only more people could be so gracious and tolerant, then this world would be a much nicer place.
Had more retail therapy in the evening with a trip to Ikea and had the obligatory Swedish meatballs for dinner. 50p for a piece of Apple cake and cream - it'd be rude not to!
Best buy for the day: Super super super soft blue scarf from Primark for £5. Just can't help but stroke it!
So much for the lie in 'til noon, but it's nice to be back home and I celebrated with a little bit of retail therapy this afternoon. Awaiting me at the end of my usual bus ride into Manchester was the return of the Big Wheel in Exchange Square. I really should go take a ride this year after missing out last time. Then I noticed the brand spanking new Next store that had finally been revealed after all the hoardings had been removed and today happened to be its first day of business. Didn't go in though because I was a little overwhelmed and didn't want to risk spending too much money in there! I did walk up the brand new marble steps leading into the centre and noticed a crowd gathered outside the new Nike flagship store. Noseyed for a bit and found out that everyone was waiting to meet Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand. "Not interested." I thought, so I wandered on. All quite impressive stuff - nice to see that regeneration in Manchester after the IRA bombing is nearing completion.
After picking up my winter wardrobe from Primark for a tenth of the price it would have cost in Next, I got back onto the bus feeling rather satisfied and witnessed a little scene that made me feel that there was hope yet for humanity. A Jewish man was sitting down when he noticed that there was a Muslim lady and her husband who were struggling with a large bulky suitcase, so he gave up his seat and let her sit down. If only more people could be so gracious and tolerant, then this world would be a much nicer place.
Had more retail therapy in the evening with a trip to Ikea and had the obligatory Swedish meatballs for dinner. 50p for a piece of Apple cake and cream - it'd be rude not to!
Best buy for the day: Super super super soft blue scarf from Primark for £5. Just can't help but stroke it!
Labels: shopping
Monday, October 17, 2005
My life at present...
Shop, plane tickets, arsy Chinese customers, zone.msn.com , ebay, name translations, eating and sleeping.
So the solo karaoke session this evening broke up the monotony somewhat.
Typical phone conversation (goes against everything I learned at Customer Service class, but the textbook stuff doesn't seem to apply in this case):
Em: Hello
Customer: (in Chinese) I want to ask about plane tickets.
Em: What do you want to know?
Cust: I want to know about plane tickets.
Em: Are you asking for prices or availability?
Cust: I am asking about plane tickets.
Em: (sigh) OK, where do you want to go?
Cust: Hong Kong
Em: When do you want to leave?
Cust: When is it cheap?
Em: November
Cust: Is there nothing in October?
Em: It is more expensive
Cust: How much is it?
Em: Which airline did you want to fly with?
Cust: Which one is cheaper?
Em: You can try Lufthansa, it's £450 return in November
Cust: That's expensive, do you have nothing cheaper? How about Cathay?
Em: Cathay is more expensive, it's £600
Cust: Why is it so expensive? I saw in the paper it is only £300
Em: You have to add airport tax to that price.
Cust: Oh, do you have anything cheaper?
Em: No
Cust: Is it cheaper in October?
Em (slaps forehead): No
Cust: How about Cathay?
Em (dying): No
Cust: Nothing for £300
Em: No
Cust: Okay I only wanted to ask about the plane tickets.
Em: ...
Cust: I'll get back to you. Did you say £400 in October?
Em: No, £450 in November.
Cust: Oh, thanks.
Em: Bye!
*click*
(Em bangs head on counter several times.....)
Yes, it will be cheaper if you jump into the Mersey and swim there. Don't forget to take a left when you hit Ireland and another left when you hit Africa....
So helpful am I!
Shop, plane tickets, arsy Chinese customers, zone.msn.com , ebay, name translations, eating and sleeping.
So the solo karaoke session this evening broke up the monotony somewhat.
Typical phone conversation (goes against everything I learned at Customer Service class, but the textbook stuff doesn't seem to apply in this case):
Em: Hello
Customer: (in Chinese) I want to ask about plane tickets.
Em: What do you want to know?
Cust: I want to know about plane tickets.
Em: Are you asking for prices or availability?
Cust: I am asking about plane tickets.
Em: (sigh) OK, where do you want to go?
Cust: Hong Kong
Em: When do you want to leave?
Cust: When is it cheap?
Em: November
Cust: Is there nothing in October?
Em: It is more expensive
Cust: How much is it?
Em: Which airline did you want to fly with?
Cust: Which one is cheaper?
Em: You can try Lufthansa, it's £450 return in November
Cust: That's expensive, do you have nothing cheaper? How about Cathay?
Em: Cathay is more expensive, it's £600
Cust: Why is it so expensive? I saw in the paper it is only £300
Em: You have to add airport tax to that price.
Cust: Oh, do you have anything cheaper?
Em: No
Cust: Is it cheaper in October?
Em (slaps forehead): No
Cust: How about Cathay?
Em (dying): No
Cust: Nothing for £300
Em: No
Cust: Okay I only wanted to ask about the plane tickets.
Em: ...
Cust: I'll get back to you. Did you say £400 in October?
Em: No, £450 in November.
Cust: Oh, thanks.
Em: Bye!
*click*
(Em bangs head on counter several times.....)
Yes, it will be cheaper if you jump into the Mersey and swim there. Don't forget to take a left when you hit Ireland and another left when you hit Africa....
So helpful am I!
Labels: life
Saturday, October 15, 2005
End of Week 1
Well, I have been away from the normal day job and back "home" in Liverpool, keeping an eye on everything for a week now. It is 13 days since my last day off and motivation and energy levels are starting to dwindle. Translation activity for TVBspace has been zero, as it's the last thing on my mind at the moment and I can sense it will be tough picking it up again once this 'task' is over. They can throw as many insults in my direction as they like, but I have only one pair of hands and 24 hours in a day. Five more days to go and I can sleep until noon...
Getting daily kitchen reports from my hubby - it's coming along well. Can't wait to get home and have a look. He's raving about the new hob complete with Wok burner... I just hope I can reach it! If not, someone else will have to do all the cooking! Hahaha!
Managed to catch a couple of films after work in the last couple of days thanks to my animation fanatic sis and a cinema 5 mins away from the shop. Went to see "Howl's Moving Castle" yesterday and the opening night showing of "Wallace and Gromit - Curse of the Were-Rabbit" today. Both excellent films, very different but a lot of fun and a chance to take my mind off things. Am slightly overdosed with rabbit puns from W&G, but it was so funny and riddled with adult jokes as is the norm in mainstream animated movies nowadays, coupled with some good old slapstick and the usual fab contraptions you come to expect from Aardman. The short film featuring the penguins from 'Madagascar' was excellent as well. All great stuff!
Y'know, when my folks aren't around, life in the parental home is reminiscent of living in a student house. Everyone has a PC in their own room, so after coming home and eating (when we actually eat at home), everyone retires to their own room and does their own thing. Every now and then you hear the bathroom door going and you kinda bump into your sibs in the kitchen or living room once in a while. When you can't even be bothered walking to the next room to ask your sib a question and use MSN instead, then you know that the world will never be the way it was before technology took over. I just hope I'm not around when we start evolving large padded fingers and our mouths and voiceboxes start to disappear.
Ah well, my nice warm bed calls....
Well, I have been away from the normal day job and back "home" in Liverpool, keeping an eye on everything for a week now. It is 13 days since my last day off and motivation and energy levels are starting to dwindle. Translation activity for TVBspace has been zero, as it's the last thing on my mind at the moment and I can sense it will be tough picking it up again once this 'task' is over. They can throw as many insults in my direction as they like, but I have only one pair of hands and 24 hours in a day. Five more days to go and I can sleep until noon...
Getting daily kitchen reports from my hubby - it's coming along well. Can't wait to get home and have a look. He's raving about the new hob complete with Wok burner... I just hope I can reach it! If not, someone else will have to do all the cooking! Hahaha!
Managed to catch a couple of films after work in the last couple of days thanks to my animation fanatic sis and a cinema 5 mins away from the shop. Went to see "Howl's Moving Castle" yesterday and the opening night showing of "Wallace and Gromit - Curse of the Were-Rabbit" today. Both excellent films, very different but a lot of fun and a chance to take my mind off things. Am slightly overdosed with rabbit puns from W&G, but it was so funny and riddled with adult jokes as is the norm in mainstream animated movies nowadays, coupled with some good old slapstick and the usual fab contraptions you come to expect from Aardman. The short film featuring the penguins from 'Madagascar' was excellent as well. All great stuff!
Y'know, when my folks aren't around, life in the parental home is reminiscent of living in a student house. Everyone has a PC in their own room, so after coming home and eating (when we actually eat at home), everyone retires to their own room and does their own thing. Every now and then you hear the bathroom door going and you kinda bump into your sibs in the kitchen or living room once in a while. When you can't even be bothered walking to the next room to ask your sib a question and use MSN instead, then you know that the world will never be the way it was before technology took over. I just hope I'm not around when we start evolving large padded fingers and our mouths and voiceboxes start to disappear.
Ah well, my nice warm bed calls....
Labels: life
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Fire Coming Out Of A Monkey's Head - Gorillaz
Once upon a time at the foot of a great mountain,
there was a town where the people known as Happyfolk lived.
Their very existence a mystery to the rest of the world.
Obscured, as it was, by great clouds.
Here they played out their peaceful lives,
innocent of the litany of excess and violence that was growing in the world below.
To live in harmony with the spirit of the mountain called Monkey was enough.
Then one day, Strangefolk arrived in the town.
They came in camouflage, hidden behind dark glasses, but no one noticed them.
They only saw shadows.
You see, without the truth of the eyes
the Happyfolk were blind...
Falling out of airplanes and hiding out in holes.
Waiting for the sunset to come, people going home.
Jump out from behind them and shoot them in the head.
Now everybody dancing, the dance of the dead,
the dance of the dead. the dance of the dead...
In time, the Strangefolk found their way into the higher reaches of the mountain,
and it was there that they found the Caves of Unimaginable Sincerity and Beauty.
By chance, they stumbled upon The Place Where All Good Souls Come to Rest.
The Strangefolk, they coveted the jewels in these caves above all things,
and soon they began to mine the mountain,
its rich seam fuelling the chaos of their own world.
Meanwhile, down in the town, the Happyfolk slept restlessly,
their dreams invaded by shadowy figures digging away at their souls.
Every day, people would wake and stare at the mountain.
Why was it bringing darkness into their lives?
And as the Strangefolk mined deeper and deeper into the mountain,
holes began to appear,
bringing with them a cold and bitter wind that chilled the very soul of the Monkey.
For the first time, the Happyfolk felt fearful,
for they knew that soon the Monkey would stir from its deep sleep.
Then there came a sound, distant first, that grew into a castrophony so immense,
that it could be heard far away in space.
There were no screams.
There was no time.
The mountain called Monkey had spoken.
There was only fire.
And then,
nothing...
Oh little town in USA, the time has come to see
there's nothing you believe you want
but where were you when it all came down on me?
Did you call me out?
Once upon a time at the foot of a great mountain,
there was a town where the people known as Happyfolk lived.
Their very existence a mystery to the rest of the world.
Obscured, as it was, by great clouds.
Here they played out their peaceful lives,
innocent of the litany of excess and violence that was growing in the world below.
To live in harmony with the spirit of the mountain called Monkey was enough.
Then one day, Strangefolk arrived in the town.
They came in camouflage, hidden behind dark glasses, but no one noticed them.
They only saw shadows.
You see, without the truth of the eyes
the Happyfolk were blind...
Falling out of airplanes and hiding out in holes.
Waiting for the sunset to come, people going home.
Jump out from behind them and shoot them in the head.
Now everybody dancing, the dance of the dead,
the dance of the dead. the dance of the dead...
In time, the Strangefolk found their way into the higher reaches of the mountain,
and it was there that they found the Caves of Unimaginable Sincerity and Beauty.
By chance, they stumbled upon The Place Where All Good Souls Come to Rest.
The Strangefolk, they coveted the jewels in these caves above all things,
and soon they began to mine the mountain,
its rich seam fuelling the chaos of their own world.
Meanwhile, down in the town, the Happyfolk slept restlessly,
their dreams invaded by shadowy figures digging away at their souls.
Every day, people would wake and stare at the mountain.
Why was it bringing darkness into their lives?
And as the Strangefolk mined deeper and deeper into the mountain,
holes began to appear,
bringing with them a cold and bitter wind that chilled the very soul of the Monkey.
For the first time, the Happyfolk felt fearful,
for they knew that soon the Monkey would stir from its deep sleep.
Then there came a sound, distant first, that grew into a castrophony so immense,
that it could be heard far away in space.
There were no screams.
There was no time.
The mountain called Monkey had spoken.
There was only fire.
And then,
nothing...
Oh little town in USA, the time has come to see
there's nothing you believe you want
but where were you when it all came down on me?
Did you call me out?
Labels: lyrics
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Demon Daze!
Being a Cantopop freak, I have rarely been stirred by Western pop music, but for some reason, I love Gorillaz. Still wouldn't pay £11 for a CD though, so when I took advantage of a CD Wow offer to get it for £3.75, I was well made up. The CD's been living in my CD player now for a week and I am showing no signs of getting bored just yet. Like mould in a rice cooker, it kinda grows on you and dunno why but some of the songs give me a warm fuzzy feeling. Fave tracks keep changing, but at the moment, it's 'November Has Come' (autumnal) and 'All Alone' (chipmunky).
Someone on the shoutbox called me a bitch yesterday for not updating. Found this rather amusing more than anything else and decided to live up to my name by not doing any more translating for now. Too busy doing other stuff such as preparing for my two weeks in my 'other job', reliving pre-SIM's memories by playing "Theme Hospital" and watching "Revolving Doors of Vengeance" and "Ten Brothers". (Except dopey here forgot to bring home tape 7, so gotta wait before we can carry on - Sorry Tony! Aargh..) Oh well, at least it's the final ep of "The Apprentice" on tomorrow, that will keep me occupied!
Also been dosing up on all the German Choccies we brought back... mmmmmm 39% cocoa solids, Cadbury Dairy Milk eat your heart out. Just can't compare!!
OK, back to my bloaty heads and slack tongues!
Being a Cantopop freak, I have rarely been stirred by Western pop music, but for some reason, I love Gorillaz. Still wouldn't pay £11 for a CD though, so when I took advantage of a CD Wow offer to get it for £3.75, I was well made up. The CD's been living in my CD player now for a week and I am showing no signs of getting bored just yet. Like mould in a rice cooker, it kinda grows on you and dunno why but some of the songs give me a warm fuzzy feeling. Fave tracks keep changing, but at the moment, it's 'November Has Come' (autumnal) and 'All Alone' (chipmunky).
Someone on the shoutbox called me a bitch yesterday for not updating. Found this rather amusing more than anything else and decided to live up to my name by not doing any more translating for now. Too busy doing other stuff such as preparing for my two weeks in my 'other job', reliving pre-SIM's memories by playing "Theme Hospital" and watching "Revolving Doors of Vengeance" and "Ten Brothers". (Except dopey here forgot to bring home tape 7, so gotta wait before we can carry on - Sorry Tony! Aargh..) Oh well, at least it's the final ep of "The Apprentice" on tomorrow, that will keep me occupied!
Also been dosing up on all the German Choccies we brought back... mmmmmm 39% cocoa solids, Cadbury Dairy Milk eat your heart out. Just can't compare!!
OK, back to my bloaty heads and slack tongues!