Heads of State

Don’t Mess with Dilma tells a gripping story of Brazil’s President, Dilma Vana Rousseff, her much struggled but nevertheless thriving journey, in the September 26, 2011 issue of Newsweek (also featuring spotlight articles on Women in the World). When you read about another mortal who has lived through imprisonment, interrogation as well as torture for resisting military dictatorship (yes, torture, as in being whacked, hung upside down, electric-shocked, god knows what else were there!*) and continues to live-on to serve as the Head of State despite undergoing chemo treatments, it puts your misery and pessimism into perspective. Thanks to the need to pass time while procrastinating from job-hunting, I decided to compile a list of current female Heads of State.

During my search, I discovered that in some countries, the Head of State’s portfolio doesn’t necessarily include the role of, literally, governing the State. Take England for example, where Queen Elizabeth II is the de jure Head of State, but it is actually David Cameron and his cabinet who are really calling the shots. So, I revised the title of my list to 'The Current Women Leaders Who Exercise Executive Power Or Constitute The Unit That Wields Executive Power (i.e. Switzerland)' and found 20 of such women who run the shows:

1. Argentina - Cristina E. Fernández de Kirchner, President (December 2007 - current).
2. Australia - Julia Gillard, Prime Minister (June 2010 - current).
3. Brazil - Dilma Vana Rousseff, President (January 2011 - current).
4. Costa Rica - Laura Chinchilla Miranda, President (May 2010 - current).
5. Denmark - Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Prime Minister (October 2011 - current).
6. Germany - Angela Merkel, Chancellor (November 2005 - current).
7. Iceland - Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Prime Minister (February 2009 - current)
8. India - Pratibha Patil, President (July 2007 - current).
9. Ireland - Mary McAleese, President (November 1997 - current)
10. Kosovo - Atifete Jahjaga, President (April 2011 - current)
11. Kyrgyzstan - Roza Otunbayeva, President (April 2010 - current)
12. Liberia - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President (January 2006 - current)
13. Lithuania - Dalia Grybauskaitė, President (July 2009 - current)
14. Slovakia - Iveta Radičová, Prime Minister (8 July 2010 - current)
15. Switzerland - Micheline Calmy-Rey, Member of the Swiss Federal Council (January 2003 - current).
16. Switzerland - Doris Leuthard, Member of the Swiss Federal Council (August 2006 - current).
17. Switzerland - Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Member of the Swiss Federal Council (January 2008 - current).
18. Switzerland - Simonetta Sommaruga, Member of the Swiss Federal Council (November 2010 - current).
19. Thailand - Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister (August 2011 - current).
20. Trinidad and Tobago - Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister (May 2010 - current)

Sure it took 160 years (since the first wave of feminist movements) for ladies to constitute about 9.9% of the world’s total political leaders, hopefully it'll take lesser than another 160 years for that amount to double, if not, triple.

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On another note...

Just earlier, I attended a career/motivational talk, Bosses in Heels, at the Intercontinental Hotel. The audience were asked a question...

Speaker: How many current female Heads of State are there in the world?
Me: [Cognition in process: By Heads of State, I think she meant female political leaders who rock'n'roll the show. It’ll be unfair for Queen E II to be one half of Australia’s Head of State - the other half is shared with the Governor General - while Julia Gillard gets criticized and disliked for running the country; c’mon, the Aussies even made a TV production on her with explicit scenes...Right!) 20.
Speaker: 20? [Looked my way] You’re ahead of your time. Anyone else?
Random dude: 1!
Speaker: There are actually about 9 current female Heads of State in the world and, of course, there will more emerging from the African countries.
Me: [Sad face - what's wrong with my '20?' Think, what would Dilma Rousseff do?].

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Footnote
* ...which also makes one wonder if Prime Ministers, Presidents and other political leaders would eagerly step up to their positions if the job requirements include ‘a minimum of 3 years experience being underprivileged, humiliatingly deprived, oppressed, battered, broiled and fried alive, but managed to gracefully rise above the living hell for the sake of the nation.’ Nonetheless, we have seen an exceptional character as such (take a guess first before clicking on the link to find out who this person is). You've gotta love this one.

Appalled.

I saw this cat leashed to a cage at the apartment block where I live. It stayed there like that for about an afternoon. I’m pretty positive that its owners are the family who lives 2 floors beneath us. And yes, the owners were at home, indoors, dwelling at about 7 feet away from the cat and the cage.

I could empathize if you were walking your cat on a street and had to pop into the video rental store to return some DVDs, which would validate your need to leash your cat to the nearest tree or lamppost. But having it leashed to a cage, where it probably sleeps, and leaving it within close proximity outside of your own compound?

Unbelievable.

What also baffles me is that the building’s rules actually prohibit pets.

What gives?!

The Malaysian Cuisine

Here're the long requested and awaited shots of food from Malaysia. Some of you might not be used to images of food like these ones, but fear not! They're very succulent (uber fresh seafood!), highly palatable and, needless to say, extremely appetizing; there weren't enough of them to go around even after we had ordered extras.

Behold! The Steamed Clams at Taiping. These babies won't hit you as impressive until you've sucked them in from their shells together with bits of the rice wine sauce.
Refreshing!

Unlike Taiping, Penang or Kg. Sg. Batang, Cameron Highlands is hardly known for its culinary landscape, except for this snack, the Glutinous Chicken Rice. One mustn't underestimate this measly lump of sticky rice. They take up to 3 hours to prepare and less than 15 minutes to be sold out!

Squiggly octopuses at Kg. Sg. Batang. We didn't even look at the menu for this dish. We simply walked into the restaurant (more like a shack), saw what the other table was having and ordered the same thing. I don't even know what this dish is called. What I do know is that the octopuses were amazing with the peanut-chilli sauce!

When done or cooked right, the Oh-Jian (fried muscles with egg) is one of the most addictive dishes that you can find in South-East and East Asia. There is no secret to preparing this dish other than using fresh muscles and eggs (without over-cooking them); anything stale would conjure the yuck-monster, which should never be a part of any dish.

These unfriendly, alien looking fruits are known as durians. A durian connoisseur (my dad) would tell you that the goodness of a durian can be determined from the pungency and bitterness of the fruit. In other words, the more intensely these fruits display the signs of "I'm smelly and bitter tasting, please don't eat me," the more likely they will get eaten, savoured and appreciated in memory.

The durians' guts...which I don't even have a word for...anyone?

Page Under Construction

Hey guys,

Thanks for visiting my blog. Unfortunately, the disarranged layout that you see right now is caused by my attempt to update the look and feel of it. I'd be indebted if you could come back in 4 hours; hopefully, my web-tech illiterate brain will have things more or less pinned down by then. Many thanks!

Siew Ling

An Interview at the Career Fair

This little lady interviewed me at a career fair
For a position her boss had posted on customer service care
She sat down with a sigh, which I’m sure she must be tired
And told me how inept I was after skimming my application
I defended my opportunity by articulating all my experience
Surprised, she put on her glasses to re-read what I’ve written
“I agree that you have experience,” said she
“But your forte is in media coordination.”
“I’d like to work in media coordination," said I
“Since I’ve a BA in communication. ”
But recruiters in media coordination would never grant me employment
Since I’ve got no such experience
I’ve only worked in customer care and administration
By which she responded with a smile of a world class beauty queen
Said she’ll forward HR my CV and we’ll have to wait and see
I said "sure thing!" and thanked her for the time that she had spared
Then turned around to realized, who on earth gives a care?
Tough luck keeps twirling and prancing, orbiting in silly circles
Like a dog chasing its tail while the cat contently watches
Will I be a coordinator, a writer or something I'm meant to be?
As long as I remain alive, opportunity might just find me
Then again, reality bites, how more cliché could it get?
I shouldn’t, couldn’t, wouldn't and daren't count much on it.

Image photographed on 24, October 2010 at TO's Black Creek Village. Time speeds by with edgier than cutting edge bio-engineered turbo wings!

1st Posting from Home, Malaysia

The alley by the 譚公爺 Temple in Tapah, Aug 5th.

It’s been almost 2 weeks since I’ve been back home. Things seem to be settling fine with a few ‘oooh’s and ‘ahhhhh?’s and a few minor glitches. It’s nice to be with the family again until they suggested the prospects of introducing me to a "husband". I plan to ignore that for as long as I can. Meanwhile, here’re some pics that I took on our week-long Penang-Taiping-Cameron road trip.

Batang, Aug 5th.

Batang, Aug 5th.

Sunrise in Taiping, Aug 6th.

Before the rain at Cameron Highland, August 8th

Am Rolling it Down Now: See You at the Other Side

The crowd gathered at dusk for the fireworks spectacle on Canada Day.

Having to work 2 jobs can be a pain in the behind:

• You commute more often than the regular 9-to-5-ers. Your are always rushing from one location to the next. The only time you get to eat lunch is when you’re riding the subway.
• You have more bosses to answer to and therefore, by definition, more crap to deal with.
• Occasionally, you need to sacrifice your weekends to secure your wages.
• You have to sit through the annual performance evaluation twice.

But, the good parts of working 2 jobs are:

• You could take vacation-time off at one place to go work at the other place to earn extra wages.
• You get to have 2 farewell parties, 2 goodbye cards signed by everyone and 2 goodbye presents.
• You get to have 2 sources of professional references when you look for a new job.
• You leave with contacts of co-workers who have become your friends and/or your Facebook friends at both places.

Things I shall miss most in Toronto:

• It goes without saying, my friends.
• The year-long non-stop arts and cultural scenes.
• The Toronto Public Library.
• The convenience of the TTC even though heaps of people complain about its failing services.
• Spring and fall.
• Camping out at the deck during the summer nights when my room is smothering hot!
• The Canadian currency.
• And many more :)

Many thanks to Monica and Sylvia for inviting me out to join them for the event, Jul 1st :)

Mini Chapter with the Customer: Ticket Donation

A customer walked-in to our counter today and asked for a tax receipt for the tickets that he’d supposedly donated...

Customer: I wasn’t able to attend this show (on April 6th), I’ve donated the tickets back to you and would like to get a tax receipt for my donation.
Me: Alright, please hold on for a moment while I take a look at your account.

I logged into the his account and found a comment left by a co-worker who had previously helped him with his ticket donation. The comment stated that he had called on April 26th, 20 days after the performance, and had asked for his unused tickets to be donated for a tax receipt in return. Before I go on further, here’s a point-form explanation on how ticket donations work:

• You have to be a subscriber (this customer is one, so that’s a good sign).
• As all sales are final, your ticket(s) cannot be refunded. However, if you are unable to attend a performance, you have the option of donating your ticket(s) back to our organization. We would then release your seat(s) to be re-sold to the general public, by which you would be issued a tax receipt for regardless of the outcome of the re-sale.
• Ticket donations can be arranged up until 48 hours before the start of the performance (however, there have been cases where we allowed customers to donate their tickets up until minutes before the show starts. This just goes to show how accommodating and empathetic we are).
• Ticket donations cannot be arranged after the performance has ended (as this would be no different from giving someone an expired ‘all you can eat for free’ coupon at the Sheraton).
• All of the above information (except for the ones in parentheses) are written in a more formal and polite tone, printed in black and white under the Important Subscriber Information section located in the middle-page-spread of our Subscriber Handbook, which all subscribers receive in a package together with their season tickets and free gift coupons in their mail. These information are also posted on our website.

My co-worker’s comment also mentioned that the customer had made him called our manager to arrange for the ticket donation since he (my co-worker) did not have the authority to do so, BY WHICH our manager replied with an unshakable, definite ‘NO’ due to an obvious reason - he was donating us tickets to a performance that has ended 20 days ago. Our manager was kind enough to offer him missed-performance-replacement tickets to one of the remaining shows of the season, but he didn’t take the offer. Furthermore, he walked into our Customer Service Centre months after he made that call, lied to me that he’d donated his tickets and asked for a tax receipt as if it was all legitimated, which was clearly not the case.

Me: Thank you for waiting. I believe that you called us sometime in April after your performance has ended to arrange for the ticket donation?
Customer: That’s right.
Me: Thank you. You must have been informed then that ticket donations could not be arranged after the performance has ended because you would be donating tickets that could no longer be used.
Customer: No, nobody told me that.
Me: (Li-ar~) There is a note left in your account by my co-worker who helped you over the phone in April. He contacted our manager to see if we could find a way to arrange the ticket donation for you, but it wasn’t possible. As a result, we offered you the option of a missed-performance-replacement.
Customer: You can tell your co-worker, I told him that I didn’t want any replacement.
Me: Yes, he had written that down in the comment. Unfortunately, you had not donated your tickets. Ticket donations must be arranged in advance before the start of the show and we cannot process ticket donations for past performances. I regret to inform you that we cannot issue you a tax receipt for these tickets.
Customer: Tell me, how else could I have gotten the tax receipt since I didn’t attend the show.
Me: You would need to call us by latest, 48 hours prior to the performance, to arrange for the ticket donation. We do need a window period to re-sell the tickets.
Customer: But I was in Florida 2 days before the show and my wife and I didn’t know if we would be attending it. I thought I made that very clear over the phone.
Me: (Buddy, I’m not your mom. T’s your problem for double booking your vacation with your performance and, on top of that, being indecisive with your schedule and unwise with your money. Worst of all, you tried to make it look like this was my fault. I'd smack you at your behind and barred you from supper if I were your mom!) I regret to inform you that ticket donations can only be arranged before the start of the performance. After the performance, the tickets carry no value and therefore could not be accepted as a donation.
Customer: Are you giving me my tax receipt or not.
Me: (Dude, you cannot get a tax receipt without making a valid donation prior, that would be FRAUD-ulent) I'm afraid that it cannot be done.

He grabbed his tickets and charged right out of the door.

I hate to have customers leaving us in an unpleasant state, but in cases like this when the line is crossed, one has to be as firm and diplomatic as one can. Not all customers are ‘always right,’ some of them can be boldly unreasonable in order to get what they want.

The End of the Toronto Chapter

Christie Park, Jun 11th.


Submitted one of my resignations yesterday.
Submitted the other resignation today.

Leaving Toronto in 35 days.

Mini Chapter with the Customer: A Pretty Name!

I was helping a customer over the phone today with her tickets, trying my best to find her the best available seats in the hall which was challenging with a close to sold-out show. Towards the end of her phone call, she asked for my name...

Customer: What is your name?
Me: Siew Ling.
Customer: What?
Me: 'See-you-ling.'
Customer: I'm having a hard time hearing you, spell it!
Me: S-I-E-W-L...
Customer: No, I want you to spell me your name!
Me: S-I-E...
Customer: You're not understanding me here, I want you to SPELL me YOUR name!
Me: That is my name ma'am, but I never got to finish spelling it.
Customer: Oh. I meant your first name!
Me: That is my first name. Allow me to finish. It's S-I-E-W-L-I-N-G.
[Akward silence]
Customer: Well, you have a pretty name.
Me: (T's too late lady, too late.) Thanks.