Understanding Public Space (My Take on "Smoking Areas")

For those of you who don't really know me, I have an avid love for sitting in open spaces.
Despite the heat, I much prefer outdoor seating. Unless it is unbearable, I will usually avoid air conditioned rooms and opt for the more eco-friendly options.

This stems from a variety of reasons:

Uno:
I don't like having to freeze my fingers in Malaysian weather. It don't make sense when it should be a no brainer that being in Malaysia entails the tropical weather that does not involve turning my fingers to icicles. No Elsas required here.

Dos:
I like the fresh air. When breezes come by, I'm appreciative. If it rains, even better. Out in the open sans recycled air, I can't help but feel more responsible to take care of the planet.

Tres:
I like to people watch. By sitting outside, I get to take in my surroundings, be it the calm hustle of the vehicles, the interaction of people that could inspire my next neuro connection, or just to zone out in daydream, watching static drives me mad.

Quatro:
No sound reverberation. Therefore, no catching unwanted attention from conversations I'm having with whoever is with me.

But unfortunately for me, I find myself in a unpleasant place when I become the recipient of second hand smoke. Despite having picked up smoking for a very short-lived time span, I always saw to it that I would keep my smoke away from others. And in the occasions that I wanted to smoke, I'd look around (and even up when I am in close vicinity to higher buildings with open windows) to stand in a way that will not affect unsuspecting second hand smoker victims.

My smoking days are long gone, but since, I've become even more sensitive to cigarette smoke. This fact comes as rather surprising taking into account that one of my favorite places to go when in Korea was a nightclub, where everyone was like a waking chimney, spewing clouds of evaporated ash in my face and into my lungs. Funnier, is the fact that I ended up gaining employment at said club.

Working there was pretty cool. I must say the experience has been invaluable to me to say the least, but walking home at wee hours in the morning in a thick coat of smoke is one thing. Despite the delectable smelling shampoo conditioner combo, my hair post shower still smells strongly of smoke is another. 

So it goes without saying that I am not a fan of second hand smoke. Beyond that, is when I take a seat on an outdoor setting, only to see waves of humans coming next to me and exhaling second hand smoke. It's not the smoking I have a problem with. It is the direction in which the exhaled smoke goes.. in the general direction of my face.

In many occasions when I am vocal about it with my friends who are sitting outside with me, they tell me something around the lines of..

Kim, the outside IS smoking area. 

While yes, lots of people do go outside to enjoy a smoke because most people prefer sitting on the inside where the air-conditioning in the heat, there is a small but present handful of people that ARE outside enjoying the non air-conditioned indoors.

Being on the outside, be it on a beautiful veranda of a cafe, or at a high table at the entrance facing the main road, outside space is meant to be shared. Whether or not you're smoking, it's a public space to be used by all. I like to equate getting undesired second hand smoke in my face (as a result of choosing outdoor seating) with a stranger asking your personal questions in your face out of no where. Take for example, you're outside, waiting for a friend to arrive, or having a really intimate moment of listening to your friend pour their upset heart out, when suddenly, a random person comes up to your ears, and starts asking your personal questions. Granted, smoke not as intense. However, to those who do not smoke for various, valid reasons, but being given an unrequested and unwelcome gesture can get under one's skin. Especially when it keeps happening in various places in one day.

I believe that we're all aware of the dangers of smoking, and those who still do so have their reasoning. Thus, I do not condemn those who do. (Though frankly, I do wish that they re-evaluate their choice. As the health effects of smoking will in turn bring a lot of pain to those they love, I do hope that they'll re-evaluate the worth of smoking.) However, I think it's important that those who do are considerate of the people who also want to enjoy the open without the scent of recycled cigarette smoke.

Update: #TurkishAirlinesSaveSomalia

So a couple posts ago, I talked about how famous social media funny man Jerome Jarre posted a video to start a campaign to get supplies to Somalia.

What happened?

A six-year old girl died from dehydration after walking 150 kilometers in search of water with her mother.

Enraged by that situation, he started a campaign with #TurkishAirlinesSaveSomalia.

A handful of celebs have come forth in support of the campaign.

And….

YAY!

Turkish Airlines has come forth with a pledge!

On March 27^th, their GoFundMe page raised a hefty sum of donations and have already started their shipment of both passengers and 60 tonnes of food which include rice, cooking oil, porridge (I am guessing the oatmeal kind), nutritional biscuits, flour, and sugar. They’ve also promised that they will not stop at just that.

On the GoFundMe page is an excited exclamation

Not only they are making available a full cargo flight that can fly 60 TONS OF FOOD, but they agreed to let us ship food containers on their commercial aircraft to Somalia, UNTIL THE END OF THE FAMINE !!!

Jerome Jarre has also offered thanks to every single person who donated.

INTERNET YOU DID IT !!! 💪

WE HAVE AN AIRPLANE & WE HAVE FOOD !!!

WHAT IF WE COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING?

➡️ #NominatedForSomalia 🚨 pic.twitter.com/lIDq5geWV9

— JÉRÔME JARRE (@jeromejarre) March 19, 2017

Actor Ben Stiller has also offered his charity StillerFoundation to manage the funds, and also to ensure transparency of the funds.

Ah, humanity has been restored.. just a little. 

Have a fantabulous weekend guys! 

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What YouTube's Restricted Access Has Taught Me

Not too long ago, YouTube created a Restricted Mode with aims of limiting child access to certain videos has caused an uproar.
A good friend and LGBTQIA+ YouTuber posted on their Instagram about the restriction and was definitely displeased about the news. As an advocate, ally, and member of the community, they were upset that YouTube made the decision to restrict their videos to not only those within the community, but as a means of creating dialogue with those who have varying understanding of the community, and to educate and encourage those who are struggling with their own understanding about themselves.

Lots of content creators have found their content unrightfully removed; videos that educate/ help were taken down to appease some,

while those that have innuendos were not..

(Singer sisters Tegan & Sara put it so poignantly...)

It comes with no surprise to say the least, that the huge uproar has resulted in YouTube coming forward with new statements regarding the issue:

"We recognise that some videos are incorrectly labelled by our automated system and we realise it's very important to get this right. We're working hard to make some improvements"

So it got me thinking 

about censorship, especially in Malaysia where I am now located, and have spent most of my living breathing life in..
In retrospect, listening to the radio (which consisted solely of English radio broadcasts), most of what comes to mind is a lot of mainstream music that would blare on the speakers of the car speakers. And there would be some songs that I would sing and then somewhere somehow when a specific word was originally in that song, would be just the sound of..

BLANK.

Those in Malaysia would know what I mean. You'd be listening to a song and then mid verse, a pause where a word is supposed to be. Sometimes if there are a few, you'd just hear pauses one after another.
So teenage me would go...

"I kissed a *blank* and I liked iiiiit. Taste of her cherry chapstickkkkk"

Ah, naivette times.

Anyway, back on topic.. from my memory, anything related to sex or anything "abnormal" including anything LGBT related, or profanities, would be blanked out like that. Then, as time went by, something as simple as "Hail Mary" and "Jesus" would be blanked. I've not heard the word "Buddha" get censored thus far, but I'm curious to see if that would happen.
Since my return from Korea, I've had the privilege of listening to songs that have been warped into some funky inaudible language with the aim of censoring profanities/vulgarities.

ONE:

Censoring is one way of preventing the youth from the misuse of profanities, bullying, and violent behavior. But in my opinion, it does nothing to actually ensure the prevention of disrespectful/degrading behavior. Quality education and upbringing is. This takes me back to a conversation I once had with my neighbor about using profanities. He told me that profanities when used appropriately, can help further emphasize the meaning of what is being said.

Example:

I'm so hungry.

I'm so fucking hungry. 

He told me that as a kid, his dad had explained to him that profanities are also part of one's vocabulary. They are alright when used to accurately reflect one's thoughts, that he could use it ANYTIME. Except for one: on others. If used to degrade someone else, then the meaning has been misused and misunderstood.

Going back to the issue of LGBTQ censorship, I don't think that YouTube made right by creating the censorship. What I think should be corrected is the way we educate our children, to teach acceptance, respect, and love. Not to preach discrimination, anger, violence, and hate.

Looking at the education I had growing up (in Malaysia), our education system still has a long long way to go. If Moral Studies involves children and teens WRITING DOWN the CORRECT moral "value" of a situation, while forcing students of varying faiths to eat in the bathrooms, away from those who are fasting, then we are preventing our own growth and progress through oppression and censorship.

In sum: a quality education is one where the learner is taught how to be critical on themselves, and not projecting one's negativity on others


TWO:

Censorship to a certain extent is healthy. Especially when it comes to shielding sexual activities such as pornography from young children. As children, they should do what one does in childhood. That is to play, interact, and see the world through play, experience, and exploration. Getting out and about, in the fields, mud, planes, boats, playgrounds. Through their exploration is where they will have questions, where we, those with our unique experiences as grown ups, shed light through our own experiences.

LGBTQIA+ videos for the most part are made with the hopes of providing guidance, encouragement, and support to those who have questions. Regardless if you're in or out of the community. Their aims are never to place harm on others. Granted, there ARE a small handful who do not do so, but even those do not deserve censorship. Not only because there should be freedom of speech, but also to create a hate speech dialogue to build each other up.

In sum: Let children do what they do best, have fun. Censorship can be healthy if it gives children the space to go out and learn through interaction and exploration, to prep them for life, not to control and oppress.




As an avid user of YouTube, as I am sure many of us are, I am disappointed to say the least at YouTube's decision. But I am also hopeful that we can all come out and voice our frustration that is respectful and one that encourages us to take a step back to listen and to be listened to. As for the radio waves here in my home country, I also think that we should start rethinking the meaning of censorship and the roles we play as a society and a community.

Are we teaching children to think, or have we become numb to the "education" that aims to teach us how to obey and memorize moral values instead of applying them in our daily lives?

#TurkishAirlinesSaveSomalia

Often times, I watch the media and the kinds of atrocities that happen, but for some reason, I always can't help but feel helpless, for there isn't something I can do that will provide immediate & full relief to those affected.

But this morning when I woke up and was flipping through Instagram, I saw this one post with the hashtag #TurkishAirlinesHelpSomalia and I was wondering what it was. So I Googled it, here was what I found:

As of this morning, nothing was up..

I had to get out of bed so I shrugged and went about my day.
Then in my effort to procrastinate, I went through a group on FB for travelers and landed on this video:

For those of you who are kinda lazy to watch it, it's by one of the most well known humans on the interweb, Jerome Jarre. In this video, he's speaking in French, clearly upset.

He's talking about how a friend of his sent him a video of a little girl who was dying of dehydration after having to walk 90 miles for water. After expressing his disbelief at the situation, he goes on to talk about how this issue can be easily resolved:

Using an airlines to fly all the food and water to Somalia.

He mentions that everyone is on social media, from food corporations, drink corporations, to airlines. So he suggested that we all play a role and fill up the planes with food supplies to Somalia. 

He then explained that Turkish Airlines is ONE airlines that flies there, and invited everyone to get Turkish Airlines to respond with an answer. So when I started this post, I looked it up again and it seems like things have changed.

this looks promising.

Even Ben Stiller has shown his support 

It's cool to see that people are posting these hashtags, and I see lots of people sending out tons of ideas. Someone also said "why don't we buy out the seats and just fill them with food?" I think it's a cool idea and I'm excited for that to happen. 

The reason why I'm talking about this is because I'm reminded of something my father once told me about lending money. Lots of people will ask you for money, but don't give them money. Instead, ask them if they're hungry and buy/make them food. 

Thus why I'm talking about it and want to do something about it. 

I've done my hashtag #TurkishAirlinesSaveSomalia here and want to encourage you to do the same, on all of your social media. 

Throw in ways that you think will be inclusive of all donors & donations, the airlines, and most importantly those deprived of human's most basic needs. 

Hello, It's Me.

Alright.

I've been meaning to sit down and face my laptop as I update you on what's occurred in my life since my last post in September. That was when I posted about how proud I was of myself for applying to a job in Google.

Lots and lots have moved, changed, and moved out since then. So I've rounded them up into 10 things:

1. My plans in Korea have shifted due to some unfortunate circumstances and I have relocated back to my home in Malaysia. Lucky for me, I've had to move out of my place in Korea so I don't have any outstanding bills to deal with.
2. Since the end of my school semester, I have been applying for jobs, going to interviews, and then getting rejection after rejection. At one point, my bank account was so low, I had to take up a job busting tables at a nightclub. 
3. My colleagues & boss at the club had taken very good care of me, but after my last job hunting stint, which resulted in me remaining in Malaysia, I told myself that as much as I enjoyed being in Korea, I do not want to risk my stay by working without the appropriate paperwork. 
4. With that said, my family has had the misfortune of having to bare the brunt from my Airbnb rental (which sadly, is still unresolved), and the upgrade fee that went through the day before my flight (you're welcome, MAS haha jk)
5. Slamming the breaks to all of the employment mess, all the traveling & Chinese New Year celebrations, I am now pursuing a career in the field that I am most passionate about: performing arts. I've begun my process of going for auditions and to casting houses for potential jobs. One of which you may or may not have seen on my Facebook (if we're friends). 
6. While I'm in the process of doing so, I'm also doing some other work on the side to feel productive & to earn money. With a new determination to write more & to practice my craft. 
7. I miss Korea loads & I wish that I was there. But I am still feeling pretty stoked about what the future holds now that I've made the decision to start pursuing something locally and moving outwards.
8. I am friends with the person I was seeing previously, and it's been a pretty weird adjustment. But all in good vibes. I've let go and was given the opportunity to speak my mind, so there's no bad blood at least on my part.
9. I'm kinda nervous about saying this next bit cuz I don't usually announce things like this, but I am really excited to say that I've been seeing someone and I am over the moon about it. 
10. Last but not least, my hair is back to black again.

In a nutshell, that is what's up with my life. 

For those of you who've been checking in on me, from the bottom of my heart, thank you thank you thank you. 

For those of you who are still religiously swinging by for updates, I'm sorry. But thank you for your kind kind patience. I have been experiencing life, accumulating stories, and compiling them to retell them to you in time to come. 

Please bare with me while I seek balance of my footing in this new & exciting journey. 

Thank you once again. 

I Applied for a Job at Google

I applied for a job at Google.

This just happened a second before I began writing this.

But today, after a renewed confidence, I decided it was time to really push myself to get the job I really want so I am able to stay in Seoul with a job that fits every single criteria.

I started by fixing up my résumé. After writing up my Korean résumé (CV, more like), I was beginning to feel as if there was a lack of something. I wasn't putting in as much information as I should and I had limited myself to keeping my résumé at only 1 page. As a fresh college grad, that seemed acceptable. But now that it has been a good 3 years, it was time for a revamp. So I did a quick Google search:

My god. This whole time I was wondering WHY NO ONE WANTED TO HIRE ME. 

Silly Billy. 

So there I was. I saw the job at Google that finally fit my abilities: language. 

And sat there revamping my résumé. Afterwards, in the bottom most section of the application there was a Cover Letter section stating that there was no need for one. But I still felt the need to write one so here it goes:

While one's work experiences and success stories are a positive indicator of one's success, a bigger, more significant but forgotten trait is one's daily practices. In a society where work has become a sole index of one's success, many have become blinded to only one's financial stability as a means of achieving success. Upon achieving financial stability or status, many become cold and inattentive towards their contributions as a member of society. Enthused neither by the need to make small contributions such as helping an elderly member cross the street, nor bigger contributions such as fighting for equal rights. Many have become blindsided by the need for comfort and status, thus becoming mere observers instead of taking a stance and helping others. "To create a steady stream of global citizens that contribute to society" was the motto of Soka University of America (SUA), my alma mater of four years. A university founded upon Buddhist principles, Soka means to create value in Japanese. As a result, the students who attended SUA were constantly encouraged to seek the bigger pictures in daily life. Students were challenged on a daily basis to apply all the learnt knowledge towards their daily lives, and in the long run, towards contributing towards causes for an equal and peaceful society. Despite my initial negativity and rejection, by the end my four years at SUA, I carried a heart overflowing with appreciation and gratitude for the four marvelous and life altering years. The four years at SUA were challenging to say the least as it was a balancing act between two athletic sport practices, extra-curriculum activities, a part-time job, while overloading on classes. On the flip side, never having obtained a good grades throughout all my academic years, SUA made a once pessimistic student enthusiastic about learning through their interactive and integrative environment. All the classes offered many room for personal and academic growth by nurturing students' innate curiosity and drive. For example, Physics lessons were not about how well one could do the calculations. Instead, students were told to put themselves in the shoes of the first scientists by asking the question "what can I do to find the solutions to these questions?". Then, after seeking out the solutions, students were asked how they were able to transfer these skills toward understanding culture, society, and systems. Then, through comprehension, to revisit and revise methods in improving the justice systems, education, the environment, and ultimately, society. As a proud alumni of SUA, I believe that the invaluable education and lessons I have obtained during my four years serves as a beneficial addition to my experiences. Keeping my alma mater's motto close at heart, I am confident that I will serve as a valuable addition to Google as a Language Specialist team.

But really, Google, if you're reading this (since blogspot IS under Google and I'm sure you have access of this), I felt the strong need to talk about SUA and how that has shaped me as who I am today. And to SUA, I want to say a big fat 

for playing such a magnanimously beautiful part of my formative years (I am a late bloomer you see). 

Thank you for having so much faith in me and for pushing me while teaching me all I need to learn. 

Regardless of whether I get this job, I am truly proud to have been able to apply for this job and the process it took for me to also share my appreciation for my alma mater and all those who were, and still are a part of this amazing institution. 

I tilt my head off to you and to Google, I say, thank you as well for opening up this opportunity for 

me.

Good evening.

3 Months in a Nutshell

Wow crocodiles.

I can't believe it has been 3 months since my last update. So much has happened since I thanked my beloved father for his endless dedication to making our family's lives a happier, healthier, and more comfortable one. Once again, thanks dad! In real life though, I had JUST gotten off the phone with our family man too so I'm feeling extra filial atm.

Any Hooters. 

As I was saying, a shit ton has happened since my last post. And after what happened today, I think it was most definitely due time for a much much anticipated & needed update.

So Kim, what happened today?

Glad you asked, Chip!
But before I go into that, let me just really quickly run through what has occurred over the last 3 months:

1. For starters, yours truly had so much fun in Level 6. Oh man. The workload sure was something! My classmates, fellow Level 6-ers, and I were bombarded with Power Point presentations (which I always made extra effort for, even if we only got 1 damn point for it), group presentations, prep work, or some sort of extra point big presentation (where we took up certain roles or did something big like have an official interview with video/audio recordings), not to mention, the workbook exercise that seems to come too quickly on top of our essays, readings, and well, you get the picture.

2. I had the usual work of tutoring my 6 year old student. Which has been fun as usual.

3. Level 6 ended finally! And while all my examination points (which included the Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening section) added up to give me a pretty good grade in total, I was unfortunately not given a "graduation certificate". The reason being, for each section, there was a minimum grade to be achieved. Sadly for Kim, her Reading grade was not met. Thus, making Kim unworthy of the certificate. To which I was rather disappointed (let's be real, who wouldn't be, right?), but came to terms with. I've accepted it, and I also have come to understand that I don't need a piece of paper to prove that I know Korean because...

4. I translated 2 whole experiences from Korean to English all on my own. With literally no help. Only for certain words that were absolutely foreign (specific terminology that they don't really teach you in school) so yay! See what I told you?

5. Telling people (especially my parents) about me not passing Level 6 was not very fun because for my parents... Wait, funny story actually, my dad was under the impression that I was in grad school or something T_T (aww..) but of course I explained it to him and he was REALLY sweet about it. He understood it and, like many of my concerned friends asked: "well, are you gonna take the exams again?" The answer is, no. Simple: If I were to do so, I'd have to retake the classes. Do EVERYTHING (in Level 6) all over again, all the presentations, group work, etc, AND THEN take the exams again. Nah. Not worth the time, money, not effort. So instead...

6. When my roommate (who is now in Level 3) started classes, I got her to buy me the reference book for Level 6 to help me understand what I still struggle with. Self help. Yas.

7. But of course, now that Level 6 is over, I have begun to live on my savings and have been job hunting like a mad woman. The initial hunt was dreadful. There were too many jobs that rejected me from the get go with conditions stating "NO SPONSORSHIP WILL BE PROVIDED" or they were jobs I had ZERO expertise in such as engineering.

my sentiments exactly.

8. When I did finally find jobs I could work, it was either unpaid (yeah, cuz I feed my hungry tummy with rays from the sun), or strictly no visa sponsorships will be provided

9. I celebrated my birthday! YAY! I'm out of the quarter life mark, aka no more crisis.. Maybe..?

10. Until one day when I was going to meet a friend to discuss some potential YouTube stuff, she led me to the company on the pretense that I was going to work for them & had an impromptu interview. Then after an hour listening to the CEO tell me what my process was going to be (which was 3 month probation then full time job with visa sponsorship), I was honored the privilege of hearing him yap away about the potential and how he would love to help me grow, I applied to that company after taking a full day trying to figure out what to say for my "cover letter" which was basically answering a ton of questions which leads me to today

11. I got called in for a 2nd interview today, and I showed up on time (remembering how the CEO said his BIGGEST pet peeve was tardiness), actually I showed up early to avoid all that, but for starters, he wasn't even in (oookay). So instead the "Team Manager" interviewed me. He was a lot less friendlier than our first meeting (which included ALL three company heads ie Mr Team Manager) which should have been a tell tale sign. Next, he seemed to be in a rush for something but was patient enough to give me the time of day by asking me if I had any questions. Which I did and fired away. The answers I got back were all starting to match my criterion about my job hunt. They're pretty straightforward: 

• Visa sponsorship
• A job in the field I was passionate about (which is entertainment and they WERE an entertainment company)
• One that'll develop my skills, knowledge & experience 
• Friendly, equal, healthy, happy work environment
• Good pay

Of these 5 conditions, most of them were met. Maybe not so much the pay for now, but being in a 3 month probation period, you don't wanna overcompensate, I get it. The money should last me for those 3 months. So, of course, there was a part of me that was like "NEHHHH too good to be true". But off I was, looking for the right visas to apply for to begin this process. However, I came to an impasse. I would either apply for a 3 month temp work visa (for the probation period), or if I already have an annual contract, to just get a full employment one. That's when I found out that my probation period was not 3 months as stated in the 1st impromptu interview and the interview today, but was FIVE months. Confused I corrected him only to get a firm denial stating that they said FIVE months. Still confused, I messaged the CEO in the group chat, recounting the ENTIRE thing from our impromptu till the very last message. 

The response I got from the CEO was: "Well, I believe that I said our probation period was FIVE months." But my friend having been there during our impromptu, chimed in and vouched that he DID say 3 months. Only for him to say "well, looks like there has been a miscommunication between the speaker and the listener. But let me say this. In Korea (IN KOREA), the probation period for workers is 3 to 10 months (man, no wonder Korea has a high rate of suicide), and for our company, the probation period is 5 months. So after all the back and forth, my friend called me and said, Kim, just let it go. They're not being fair. So just thank them for the opportunity, explain that 3 months would've worked (realistically speaking) but 5 months is just too much of a strain. So I explained just that and thanked them for the opportunity and left the group chat. 

So obviously this news had to go to my parents. 

After listening, mom's advice was:

"ALWAYS write it down. Then at the end of the thing, repeat it so you're both in the same understanding"

Dad called me separately to remind me that this wasn't the end of the world. He reminded me that there are always better things out there that are waiting for the perfect timing. He reminded me not to despair and to keep my head up as tomorrow is a new day. Them being in Europe, he still kept his child in mind and told me to call it a night so I am fueled for the next day. 

Needless to say, this was a valuable lesson. Both mom and dad have their valid points. But tomorrow is a new day. So I shall just focus on that. But I hope that my situation has also shed some light on your own experiences and life. I hope that you don't do the same mistakes I do. Or, DO. Because it is through these mistakes that we remember and when have something to laugh about, as a reminder of how far we have come. 

Looking at today, I can say that I am blessed to have parents that are so kind and understanding. Patient in listening to their daughter while also being encouraging without pressuring me. An experience I truly admire, and appreciate. Thus, I felt the strong urge to share it with you, my fellow readers & comrades in life. 

To that, I say cheers. On to bigger, better things. 

Good night. 

12. Oh I'm also cat sitting and am starting to get the hunch that the owner doesn't really want it anymore..? HAHA