Herald Sun Shmerald Sun.

Allow me a moment to be outraged at a Herald Sun headline again.

BONUS HUMBLE PIE

the headline cleverly screams. See how the first letter of each word make up the word BHP?

First issue with this: a CEO forgoing $7 million in profit has nothing to do with being humble.

I'm not going to look in the dictionary, but to me, humble means being understated, not going around telling people you have loads of money or whatever just because you do.

Second issue: if we take the phrase as a whole - that is, 'humble pie' as it's supposed to be used in context - it still makes no sense.

Is not the phrase 'eating humble pie' used when somebody makes an error, and is forced to apologise or atone for such an error? To me, the headline implies that Marius Kloppers has made a grave error in judgement, and is now atoning for it.

They further somehow make the link from his salary and bonus - which is a minute amount, when compared to the profits of BHP - to super funds taking a hit. What.

If anything, the man should be lauded, rather than made out to be in the wrong for making so much money.

I'm not sure whether the Herald Sun is supposed to be left wing or right wing, and it never really struck me as being particularly left or right (not that I ever bothered to really look into it), but I think it's fairly obvious that even if it's not left wing, it's definitely anti-right. Most of their stuff can be summarised as reading:

"How dare he make so much money when so many of us don't? Why don't all of us make millions of dollars? What did he ever do to deserve higher pay than us? It's not like he does anything anyway. Where's our free money?"

I don't really know what my point is, but it just really annoys me.

Word of the Day: Humble

Sometimes...

...I wish I didn't suck so much at life.

Despite that, I'm not actually feeling all that down about anything really.

It's been a pretty good week, all in all. Been having good times, spending too much money, moving firewood, so on and so forth.

But yeah, it's just always something at the back of my mind, which I think I've canvassed enough here. It's just really annoying. So much so, that sometimes I lose concentration at inopportune moments, such as when I'm driving, and end up doing something stupid like going over a roundabout instead of around. At least it wasn't a cat or something. That'd be really bad.

Then, after I do that something stupid, I berate myself, and tell myself to concentrate. Don't know why I've started doing that. It's just plain weird.

It always gets kind of like this during holidays for me. I think it's mostly to do with having lots of free time to think about random things that make me somewhat unhappy.

To finish on a random note, I need more business shirts. Actually, just shirts in general. But I am too poor/frugal to pay a lot for them.

In sum, woe is me.

Word of the Day: Frugal

Full size awesomeness.

Macbooks are awesome.

Provided you have money. They're a bit of a luxury good for me at the moment. I'm typing from my dad's new Macbook Air, and it's a dream machine. Small, compact, yet it feels solid. It's a beautiful machine, screen-wise and build-wise.

After using this, and my iPhone, I've come to realise that processor power blah blah blah means diddly squat. It's all about how the operating system utilised. Hence, this computer whizzes along. Start up time is like, ten seconds. No joke.

Battery life is excellent. But you probably know that already, since it's a Macbook.

It doesn't seem like an 11 inch notebook. Like, I've just forgotten how small it really is. Not only the screen size, but the keyboard as well. It's full size, which I've never seen on a netbook. The best I've seen on one of those toys is 90% full size. An annoying thing is the missing delete key, which makes the keyboard exactly the same as the wireless one that comes with the iMac.

Also, the fun factor. Two finger swipe, three finger swipe, etc. It's awesome fun.

Again, they've lived up to the mantra of people wanting to use their computers, not hating them.

Anyway, I'm supposed to be running down the battery on this thing for my dad, which is proving extremely difficult to do. It's twitched one per cent since about 15 minutes ago.

I was thinking of getting one, but a) they're a tad expensive for me, and b) I just ordered a new battery for my laptop. Oh, did I mention that I'm only considering getting one because the battery on Bumblebee died? Sad, but true.

Word of the Day: Mantra

Le Horse

Apologies for last night. Andrew was in quite a bad mood. Bad mood real life Andrew = bad mood blogging Andrew. Yes, I do occasionally feel emotion. There's your revelation for the day.

Today, my mother won 500-odd dollars on the Cup. She boxed three correct horses and put 10 buck on them. For those of you that don't understand horsing parlance (don't worry, I only re-learned it today), it's like a trifecta, but the horsies can come in any order. If that's still confusing, you should probably stick with your chosen profession, and not take up horse-race-betting as a career any time soon, and just be happy in the knowledge that my mother won bucketloads (relatively).

She's quite lucky on Cup Day. She never gambles apart from then. She won 90 bucks at the slot machines last Cup Day, and she only put in about 10 bucks as well.

As for me, I won approximately 10 bucks or something. As in, I put in 45, and got back about 10 dollars. And that was already well done by me. Stupid So You Think decided to be a dud, so I only won minimal amounts. My mother couldn't even be bothered counting. She just threw me fifty. Cheers.

I knew I should've put money on the French horse.

I'll leave you with the song that I'm currently listening to. A Hawaiian masterpiece.

Oh, and this one. Sort of French-ish, which kind of relates to the horse. His name is Americain, by the way.

Very soothing music all around.

Word of the Day: Boxed

I can't lie

Despite my gloating, I am still a massive social failure.

End of French tute, Zara was there, probably should've spoken to her for a bit. Because, you know, that's what decent people do. Instead, I walk off after saying hi. I have no idea why. Maybe because, deep down (or not so deep down, as the case may be), I am still a shy person. Practice makes perfect, and all that. I will atone for this foolishness.

Moving on. What's really irking me right now is people that aren't paying me money that they owe me. It's not that it's a truly massive sum, but it is rightfully mine, and I feel as though those people are being rude, more than anything. I don't think I'm stingy with money by any stretch of the imagination. But normal human behaviour would dictate that, after someone's already bought the 21st present, and you voluntarily said that you would chip in money, without the prompting of said person, that you would pay up rather soonish, because this person has already forked out money and has gone to the trouble of physically looking for a present and buying it.

That'd be normal, right (well, for me anyway)?

Apparently not. Two of the people that have yet to pay me haven't responded to three of my Facebook messages. I know they go on there, through various channels.

What's more, one of them told the birthday boy, Kanji, what we (and I use that term in the loosest sense possible) were getting him for his birthday, before he'd actually opened it. How someone can be so presumptuous is beyond me.

These two are Meng's friends. So lesson learnt. If I haven't spoken to them personally, or Meng gives me the money beforehand, I'm not doing anything in the future. Meng has already paid for one of them, because apparently they have financial difficulties. I have a few issue with believing that:

1. They go to other parties, where they actually turn up. Well-dressed, too, I might add. Now, if that's poverty, I wouldn't mind being in poverty myself.

2. I never asked them to chip in. Ever. Even if I did, they didn't have to say yes. But that's a null point. I didn't ask them, and one of them I didn't know wanted to chip in until Meng told me when I got to the party.

Which brings me to another point. A lot of this mess is actually Meng's fault. If he were better organised, and actually thought about these things beforehand, none of this would've happened.

But as I said, lesson learnt. Apparently he's going to ask one of them for the money, presumably soonish, so that I don't have to. Nobody wants me to do that, because it'll just end up being me verbally bashing him, and perhaps even physically.

He better not reply with "It's just $25." And nobody else better say that to me. Because they will cop it big time.

I got asked by Meng whether a friendship was worth $25. I told him that I no longer consider such a person my friend, because friends don't do this, and that he should also ask him the same question. I'm sick of people making it out like I'm in the wrong for asking people for money when they owe me.

To summarise, there's not many things I dislike more than borrowing money off people, but having to ask people to pay me back is worse.

On a happier note, it is almost the end of Monday. Well, that's not really happy. But I'm trying to end these things on a positive note. So I'll leave you with this video, which reminds me of summer.

I can't lie, you're on my mind, stuck inside my head.

Sigh.

Word of the Day: Jerks

Seven times three times a million

Hmm. That downing (it's like a combination between turning and down) point seems to be creeping up on me again. All the good stuff that's happened at the start of this week seems to be slowly evaporating. Like the last of the winter snow disappearing on the first day of spring sunshine. Except not in that kind of positive way. How apt that winter is ending soon.

Anyhow. My expected two interviews has now turned into a definite one. Which is a bit of a downer, as I thought that my 82% on the aptitude test was pretty good. Meng got 88, and he got a call, but I didn't. 82%. That means that, statistically, I am better than 82% of the people working in accounting and finance at analysing stuff and whatnot. And it still does not seem to be good enough. Still, I'm holding out hope that they'll give me a call on Monday.

Also, I have a lot of work due, I want to buy stuff but I've been forbidden from spending too much money, and I have a lot of twenty-firsts that I want to go to, but I can't because I'm a failure, so I'm going to have to pick a few. So here's the list:

1. James. Fo sho. It's been on my radar for a while, and he's in my top five friends. And I'm making a speech. Look out for it. (Also, the dinner should be really nice. Not that that influences my decision or anything).

2. Eugene's. Probably just going to go for an hour or so, due to my massive workload.

3. Rui's. This one, I actually want to go to (not that I don't want to go to the others), but it's quite a bit of money, and I have a vendetta against China Bar. But it's not so much those two reasons as me having a mountain of work to do.

4. Timothy's. Probably not. I don't really know him that well, and yeah. Work.

5. Ben Niles. Most likely, but still in the process of working out the logistics.

6. Linda's. Probably not. I'm fairly sure she doesn't want to talk to me anymore, and she's inviting me just to humour me. We haven't talked for about...I don't even know how long now. It's kind of sad. You know, you're getting along with someone, and, for some reason or another, it just dies.

And I think that's just about all of the one's on my list right now. I'm expecting at least about five more in the near future. I love how August/September/October always try and bankrupt me. Well, it won't work this time. I'm making money from different revenue streams. Except I still have to get a Father's Day present. And birthday presents for my parents. And presents for my imaginary girlfriend.

I seriously don't know how people with more friends than me (and I think that's just about everybody, especially with respect to Facebook friends) would cope in my situation. Probably just not go to any.

My birthday's awesome. It's during the holidays. See, that's how good a friend I am.

Word of the Day: Twenty-firsts

A proverb charges money to do what an amateur verb does for free

Just to add to what I wrote up late last night, my good friends also have a certain amount of intelligence. Which ties in with making me laugh, because, in my opinion, to be verbally funny requires a very high level of intelligence.

Anyway, I'm going to articulate another thought that I've had for a long time.

See, people always quote these proverbs. Things like "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind," or "Money can't buy you happiness." I dislike it when people quote these kind of sayings to me. Proverbs like these are just dumb. They can't be proven, and are way too general and extreme.

Let's take the latter proverb, for example. See, I would say that, while money in and of itself doesn't make you happy, it certainly goes a long way to making you happy. Case in point being the guy on the street without a dollar in his pocket. Ask him how happy he is. However, I believe the guy who has millions of dollars in the bank account wouldn't be too happy either if he had nobody to love, and nobody to love him. I believe that a more appropriate saying would be something like "Money isn't the end all and be all in life, but it's certainly good to have, amongst other things, such as friends, love, and fun." But of course, this doesn't fit neatly into a few words, so generalisations and blanket terms must be used.

Also, other ones which are more wishful thinking than actual observations, and their subsequent application when something happens that actually fits the saying. Things like "What goes around comes back around." I wish that were the case too. Unfortunately, from observation, most of the time it isn't. I see people who are complete jerks scoring good jobs, girls, and unconditional adoration from 90% of the world. And then, there are times when they get their come-uppance, and you think "They had that coming." But that's just us fitting that isolated incident into this neat little proverb.

Yes, I realise that I may be over-analysing. But the people who quote these things to me started it. They treat these things as their own personal little bible, like they are correct and incontrovertible in every instance.

There are sayings that actually make sense, and can actually be found to exist in this world of ours, and they are pure gold. My favourite is one that my dad quotes sometimes, and is Chinese. It goes something along the lines of (rough translation coming up):

Firstly, you have to help yourself. Then other people can help you. Then the heavens can help you.

It's absolutely beautiful in Chinese. It's summarise in six characters, three of which are repeated. Say what you like about Chinese, about how hard it is, and confusing, or whatever, but it can be a very poetic language.

This proverb I find to be true. You can see it in everyday life. You have to pull your own weight, do your own work, try your best, before other people can help you, and before luck can go your way. I'm not saying it's always the case, but how many people do you see winning the lottery, and have never done any hard work in their life? A few more that are observable and that I like are:

No bird soars to high if he soars with his own wings

William Blake, I believe that was.

And one to finish off from Chris Martin. Obviously not a proverb, but still. This one applies to me, but it may not apply to you. I like to believe that it touches a spot deep within everybody, because I like to believe that most people have hearts, and feel love sometimes. Possibly one of my all-time favourite quotes. And yes, I have quoted it numerous times.

It's weird that whatever else is on your mind, whether it's the downfall of global economics or terrible environmental troubles, the thing that always gets you most is when you fancy someone.

Word of the Day: Proverb

Chad's Stone

Retail therapy is so detrimental in so many ways, yet it provides so much lift for a short amount of time.

I'm serious. It can make you forget almost all your problems.

It's not like I went of a psycho, compulsive, uncontrolled, extremely money-draining splurge on all things branded. I just bought an on-sale pair of jeans from Mossimo. I don't even remember the last time I bought something for myself. I'm fairly sure that most of my money is spent on other people.

It's not something I mind. It's weird. Like, I don't mind spending a lot of money on somebody if they mean something to me, but I'm very loathe to spend money on myself. I'm fine with buying expensive jewelery for others. I like seeing the smile on their face, amongst other things. But myself, I usually wait for the sales, or shop around a bit.

I'm also quite a snob. I don't like buying just anything. It has to be good. That, mixed with an almost unqualified refusal to pay for overpriced goods, is generally not a good mix.

But yes. I bought a pair of jeans. And now I am quite happy. Hopefully this will carry me until Chen's shindig, which will carry me til past Christmas. Goodo.

Word of the Day: Retail

Friday morning, rain is falling

Watch this clip, and understand:



Back to my original point! Today's dreary weather (it's not raining, but it's trying to) proves that there is something fundamentally wrong with uni on Fridays. (Remember last time I was moaning about how it was raining at uni - on a Friday?)

In other news, I found out that I have exactly 10 dollars in my wallet. I also have about 120 dollars in debt to my parents. I could withdraw money from the bank, but I have this strange - some would say irrational - aversion to withdrawing money from the bank. So I'll wait it out until tomorrow. Just got a message from Kathy asking me to work two shifts instead of my usual one, which is akin to asking "Do you want $100 instead of $50?" I don't know what you would do. But I said yes.

Word of the day: Cashless