Covers

I saw this book at MPH on Wednesday night. I’m sure the author did a fine job writing the book, but I can’t help finding it funny that a book titled Task Force: The Inside Story of the Ships and Heroes of the [the UK’s] Royal Navy has two US Navy ships on its cover.

Meanwhile, copies of Brisingr stacked high gave me heartache, until I arrived at the office this morning to find a package from Amazon waiting. Amazon charged me US$25.11 for the book including delivery charges. It translates into RM88.54 on my credit card statement. The book sells for RM89.90 on MPH Online and RM104.50 on Kunikuniya BookWeb, both not including delivery charges. MPH even puts a disclaimer that “the price may change from time to time as advised by the publishers”. PFFT! I guess I’ll be sticking with Amazon for my future book purchases.

People give me a certain look when I tell them I buy books online all the way from the USA. I suppose it’s because they thing that it’s expensive to get the books delivered from halfway across the globe. I thought so too, but decided it was worth it because I don’t want to go from one bookshop to another across KL looking for a book nobody stocks and I don’t want to wait three to six months for a title to be officially released locally. Another book I was looking at last week sells for RM92 locally but only costs RM85 to have it delivered to your doorstep by Amazon.

Good to know that I actually save money by buying online. Of course, it depends on the prevailing exchange rate as well.

Run Around

I
The students invited me to attend the closing ceremony of some program they had on Saturday and sent three girls and two letters to get me to come. Er... when was it again, Saturday?

HAHA! HAHAHA! MUAHAHAHAHA!

That’s one thing about being academic advisor: you get invited to just about every other student activity you don’t want to have anything to do with. I just don’t get it with these people; if I were the (student) organizer I wouldn’t want to have lecturers come to my event if I can help it.

Of course, it helped too that the invitation letters had a giant loophole that allowed me to skip the whole thing without an ounce of guilt.

HAHA! HAHAHA! MUAHAHAHAHA!

There was no closing ceremony listed in the program itinerary!

I’m so bad. But hey, I’m just the academic advisor, not the babysitter.

II

The program book was actually quite a good read

The 4^th Session of the 23^rd IIUM Convocation was such a bore. The Ministry of Higher Education Sec-Gen missed a huge opportunity when giving his speech – monotonously reading the text at a gazillion words per minute! I suppose he knew that nobody came to hear him speak. The plus side was the whole thing was finished – all diplomas, or should I say diploma folders, were given out – in just about two hours. Oh, and instead of the embarrassingly inappropriate ‘rock band’ last year, an angklung orchestra performed during the intermission.

III
What’s the most important thing in life? Well, people write books on that (or watch Adam Sandler movies, eh?). I sat with the parents of an award winner at the post-ceremony high tea, and the father went on and on about how many thousands his children are earning working with this and that multinationals, and telling me again and again how right he was to tell them to study in the business fields because “That’s where the money is”. I got the point, pop!

His 15 seconds, I guess. He didn’t want his daughters to become doctors, because doctors don’t make much money. I suppose he wouldn’t want them to become teachers too.

Whatever makes you happy, huh?