Patience is Virtue

Today I forgot my locker key… again! Lucky for me, I did have my swipe card this time. Actually I wanted to hook the locker key back to my card this morning…

(I’ve just came bk from locker area changing shoes… lemme continue…)

…buthen I decided to put it in my pocket since it’s quite a fuss to unhook and hook my badge and other keys every time I need it. It was when I just passed the security gate, my mind bothered me. I checked my pocket for my locker key and couldn’t find it. Actually I was really early and could’ve made it bk and here again just in time, but I was lazy so I decided to get shoe wrap from security since TJ is long gone to save me this time.

Me: Err… excuse me, sorry but I forgot my locker key…

Woman guard glanced at my card, rolled her eyes and looked away.

Me: (??) Excuse me; I forgot my locker key, so I can’t get my safety shoes.

Woman guard mumbles something NOT in my direction as if she’s talking to the air.

Me: (What the…) Excuse me; I forgot my locker key, so I can’t get my (stupid) safety shoes. Erm, may I get shoe wrap please?

Woman guard glances at my card again and mumbles, a bit louder than the first time, something again in a frustrated tone as if I’m invisible and she’s searching for me in another direction.

Seriously, she needs some basic manners such as looking at the direction of the person she’s talking to even if not in the eyes. Well, how am I supposed to catch what she says if she directs her kiamsiap and annoyed decibels in another direction?!

Me: (being very patient) Pardon me?

Woman guard repeated what she did. She glanced at my card, my trainee card, again and this time I got what she was trying to tell me. I’m a trainee but still a solid human ok… She finally saw that I caught her meaning.

Woman guard: You got your clean (safety) shoes already. So we can’t give you shoe wrap.
Me: (patience is virtue) But I forgot my locker keys so I cant get them. May I please have the shoe wrap?
Woman guard: No

?!? I was very tempted to walk in the clean area with my sandals, and if anyone asked I’d just say I didn’t know wat to do because they had this very ‘helpful’ guard. I mean if I’m not entitled to shoe wrap because I’m a trainee, at least tell me wat to do… I am a stupid TRAINEE after all and dunno wat to do in situation like this.

Me: So I can’t get shoe wrap? (not sure wat to say since we usually DO get new shoe wrap) ... So how can I enter the clean area?

This time I practically stuck my ears to her lips and followed wherever her face decided to turn. Aniwei, the conversation repeated and went on like that until I was practically begging and finally got the message that she asked me to get used show wrap from the rubbish bin. I had this surprised look on my face, and she had this satisfied thin smile on hers. And this was one time she was actually looking at me as if waiting for my reaction. Nevertheless, I still thanked her politely (and sincerely) and went off to scruff up some cleaner used shoe wrap from the bin in front of so many other employees esp the group of technicians who were sitting there. Must've looked like a beggar digging for food. I honestly admit that there’s some embarrassment, but it won’t kill me.

I could feel her surprised stare behind me (since I did exactly what she said instead of getting new ones) as her plan to humiliate me did not work that well. I even took my time to choose better ones. Yeah, I could feel stares from others as well. That’s because, we usually get to get new ones. Well what to do? It is my fault I forgot my key. And it is what she ‘advised’ me to do. Actually I was tempted to ask the other man guard who was nearby but was too occupied (giving out shoe wrap!) with another staff to notice his partner’s attitude problem. Also, I could’ve easily gone to the main entrance and get new ones. But I felt it is disrespect to her if I asked her and not follow what she said.

Yeah, despite being disrespect to the end by her, I still decided to respect her. This world needs lots of love and respect man. Yeah, speaking to her and her look-away replies did fire up my nerve but I decided to let it die. Love could make enemies your friends anytime. But if it’s my dignity is one thing she wanted to rip off me, its one she definitely won’t get. And if she’s still on duty when I walk out for lunch later, I’m still going to smile at her because I am no longer annoyed by her but thank her for the precious lesson of patience.

And maybe God knows how comfortable I am with this used shoe wrap, that my key did turn up in the end, which is why I went to change into my safety shoes just now. The key was in my pocket which I checked this morning but must have missed. And just now, somehow I was 'told' to check my pockets again, despite already being in the clean area.

I can choose to think “Aiyah, if got this key wont have to go through all that crap” or I can settle with “Had it not been for the ‘missing’ key, I wouldn’t earn and learn such valuable experience”. And I chose the latter. :) Everything that happens, has something you can 'earn' out of it, but usually we let our anger burn them all.

Besides this morning’s ‘excitement’, I’ve been quite bored recently. Entertained myself with ‘Lost’ episodes I DLed but it has already ran out since I only DLed till the middle of Season 2, and I got restless with the ‘hanging’ story. Other times, I spend them doing the even more boring Weekly report.

Last few days I saw this dog/ puppy in a bloody pool in the middle of the road. I immediately looked the other way (have a thing for bloody gross stuff). Lunch time, it was still there, the pool now dried into a red patch. And it was still there the next morning, looking like minced meat. Urgghh…. simply recalling about it now turns my stomach upside down. It was only yesterday evening when I was going home that I notice it was no longer there. Poor pup… What a day to die… Pray for it…

Yesterday, I got to know that Ms. Suhaila (she’s the E-Mach lec rite?) is gonna be my UTP SV. En. Zaihar e-mailed me abt it. Very thankful and happy that I got her since DWoof or should I call him DWolf tried to make me believe I got Awan, the evil master of grueling viva. Seriously, I think he is dying of boredom in Siemens, since he pulls his tricks every other second or isit every single second? But thanks to him, I learnt to not trust a single word of his. And his lies are beginning to sound really stupid. But his desperation for trust has not worn out.

Anyway, the SV visit is gonna be on 16th March. I feel nervous even rite now. Even though it’s just a visit with no presentation (right guys? Someone confirm wf me?), somehow still nervous ma. My poor 1Si SV had to cancel off her leave she planned to take that day. Oopss…

Was surfing and came over pages with useful tips for better sleep, something everyone might be lack of.

Clear your mind of all the anxieties and thoughts of the day. Avoid feelings of anger or resentment, which can be more potent than anxiety in maintaining wakefulness.

Don't read an exciting book (or watch endless animes) or watch a thrilling film before bedtime. Excitement is another obstacle to sleep.

Tell yourself frequently during the day, and again last thing at night, that you will relax in mind and body, go to sleep quickly, and sleep right through to the morning.

Make the bedroom a pleasant place, softly-lit, quiet and comfortable (and for Ong’s case mebe a lil more hygienic instead of breeding unknown fungus on her mattress).

Follow the natural human sleep pattern (no wonder Ong got prob) by retiring early and waking early.

Unwind physically. Progressively relax your body, tensing and then releasing each group of muscles from the toes to the head. Alternatively, meditate for at least fifteen minutes before retiring.

Avoid nicotine and caffeine for at least an hour before bedtime - they both harm sleep. In small amounts alcohol, which is a depressant, can help you get to sleep, but it is better not to rely on it.

Try hot milk and honey or a malted milk drink as a soothing bedtime beverage.

Repeat a soothing formula - such as "I am drifting off to sleep" – (self-hypnotizing? Hehe…) before sleep and if you wake during the night. Alternatively, repeat a peaceful visual exercise, such as visualizing trees waving in the breeze (wow… dinoe dat…). You could even use the old trick of counting sheep. If these exercises produce no immediate effect, persevere with them. After several nights the unconscious will begin to get the message.

Don't worry about the amount you are sleeping - in the end, our bodies make sure we get all the sleep we need. Worrying or annoyance because you can't sleep is a guarantee of wakefulness.

So you may ask, what is the cause of this sleepiness?

One of the more common sleeping disorders where a person is either unable or afraid to go to sleep is Insomnia which comes in many different flavors.

- Difficulty falling asleep

- No problem falling asleep but difficulty staying asleep (many awakenings)

- Waking up too early

Behaviors shown to perpetuate insomnia in some people:

- poor sleep hygiene in general (*cough*Ong*cough*)

- expecting to have difficulty sleeping and worrying about it

- ingesting excessive amounts of caffeine

- drinking alcohol before bedtime

- smoking cigarettes before bedtime

- excessive napping in the afternoon or evening (*cough**cough*)

- irregular or continually disrupted sleep/wake schedules

Difficulty sleeping at night is only one of the symptoms. Daytime symptoms include:

- Sleepiness

- Anxiety

- Impaired concentration

- Impaired memory

- Irritability

For more on sleep problems, click here.

"True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment." William Penn