Sigh, has been extremely busy for the past 3 weeks.  Whoever said that life being a teacher is a breeze should have their head reexamined.

As a puny lecturer on the lowest rung, ahem… we have to:

1. Entertain our students.  If students are happy , equivalent to happy customer, happy customer pays my salary, so says my newly appointed senior academic department head.

2. Make learning fun and interesting, even if you have to lecture 7 hours non-stop.

3. Score more than 3 points out of five, or risk being haul in and interrogated by a mean looking director of studies who resembles a bit like Margaret Thatcher.

4. Organize energy bursting activities so that I can differentiate myself from other lecturers in order to convince those who hold my balls to give me my bonus by end of the year.

5. Ensure 75% of my students passed their exams, or risked being hauled in again by the school board comprising of single unmarried aunties way passing their expiry dates.

Sigh.. the list goes on and on.

Yup, teachers and lecturers are underpaid. It’s a thankless job.

“ nato kong…nato kong..popi…popi..may all my students pass their exams so I can fulfill my 75% quota. I burn more candles and offer virtual flowers and curry chicken..can ah? “

“Sir, you have to pass us. You have your 75% quota, remember..”

“You are in the teaching profession because you believe in changing lives” so reminded my academic headmistress.

“You are in education line not because of money, but you believe you can make a difference..”  So drilled my director of studies every single time she sees me.

Any perks being a lecturer? Well if you consider the following as perks:

1. Go home on the dot.

2. Get to be a sadistic teacher, to release all those penned up stress.

3. Fail pretty girls so they have to re-sit my papers all over again. Am I allowed to do that?

Then again, guess I will have to stick to this job for the time being.

Big Papa

Last week, my little boy went cranky the whole night and woe is upon me and big mama.  The little one would just keep on crying and crying for no apparent reasons. So we have a long sleepless night and we wait and wait for the clock to speed up time to be morning.

So off we go to Lam Wah Ee hospital to see our familiar family pediatrician.

“Oh, you boy is a new patient. Have to register first wan ah. Today machine number go kaput, so take this as your number ok. When I call, you come. You no come, I call next number and you wait summore loh..ok?”

“Now we are serving number 17. You wait ah. One computer only mah..wait ah. Please wait.”

So we waited 45mins. If you though that was the end of a long wait, the mother of all “wait” awaits us again.

” Your son file has not been sent over yet. Please wait”

So I went back to see the “crazy looked” receptionist again.

” Wait lah.  Want to see Dr, wait loh. Your file I sent over already. See that lady , she now go and bring your file over.”

So with one hand holding back the other from ahemm…delivering sucker punch to the receptionist, I walked back to Dr’s waiting area.

30 minutes past with both my little ones getting extremely edgy.

” How many more to go?” I tested my luck.

” 11 more. 1 more hour. Wait ya. Be patient. The doctor will be with you in a short while.”

So, it was 3 hours later before we get to see the doctor and it took him less than 7  minutes to be precise to diagnosed the little one to have colic.  If you think, that it was the end of  the waiting game, there is one more to go. Yup, waiting in line to pay bill and again to get the medication.

So we spent 4 hour in the hospital just to see the doctor for 7 minutes!  Please be patient, the doctor will see you in 4 hours time.

The best part of the visit was seeing this sign plastered all over the hospital.

Hmm…so to the management of Lam Wah Ee, you may want to consider the following marketing tag line …

We smile because we want you to wait for 4 hours and we care and thus we want you to spend more time in the hospital and we serve you by making you wait. Please be patient ah..the doctor will be with you.

Big papa

Yes, this is my birthday month. I am reminded that I am getting old and my belly is still growing.

So I received a birthday promotion letter from Parkson. Most of the time, I would simply ignore this type of letters.  So my current Home Minister cum my Finance Manager picked it up and begin her usual summary briefing ala the parliamentary way. The promotion seems to good to be true. Anyway take a look at the letter.

So whats my rant?

My Finance Minister says that with all the PARKSON voucher she accumulated helping for her colleagues (quite a significant amount too), spending RM 200 to entitled to RM 40 voucher is a good deal.  Buying presents for my nephew coming birthday, clothes for my Emily and new baby ought raked up RM200 easily. With the vouchers and the promo, we got to save some cash. Not bad.  That’s why the wife is the Finance Minister.

So the wife spend hours picking up the goods while I have to chase my daughter around. Burnt a few kilos though.

So off we go the cashier to make payments and then we make our way to claim the RM 40 voucher.  To cut the story short, we were told, “Soli, today Voucher Day plomotion ahh.. no RM 40 voucher. But you got RM 10 voucher loh…” The wife went ballistic. She did what she was trained best by her current employer, complain….

“You no wan the RM 10 voucher is it, we give you RM 3 free parking since you got Parkson card mah.  today voucher day, soli”

Yup..the wife hit the roof . Seriously no one should mess with a pregnant lady when she is fuming mad.

Well, I guess like you and me, I am sure you missed out the fine prints of their terms and conditions. But what piss me off was there was no signage to indicate that the day is “voucher day”.

” Got mah, near the entrance. u didnt see meh?”

KNS. Like eveyone pays attention to all the signs at the main entrance.

So Mr. Parkson here are my question.
1. No budget to do promotion ah?
2. No money to print more voucher day promotion banner ah?
3. Want to do promotion, why so many conditions wan? Might as well add conditions like cannot use on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Labor Day, (Filll in the McDonald radio advertisement promo)
4. Why your cashiers all say “dunno” wan? No training budget ah? Coz all go for voucher promotion budget?

Moral of the story? Er….shop at Jusco, Giant, Tesco instead?

Big Papa