The life of a motel cleaner

So it's safe for me to say that I'm not the only one who thinks this way (refer to previous post).

***

1 more week of absolutely nothing to do to go!

Well, actually that's only half true. Every Saturday, I drag myself out of bed and head to a nearby motel to be (low and behold) a motel cleaner.

Being brought up as an only daughter, mum allows me to stay away from housework, worst case scenario means having to do the dishes once a week. OKAY, so maybe I am a little spoiled.

So the only way to overcome a bad habit is to do something about it. Since last December, I've been doing dishes, washing toilet bowls (and encountering brown-ish half solid/half liquid material in them), vacuuming, mopping, dusting, and making beds; on a regular basis nonetheless. It's not fun at all cleaning up after strangers' rubbish, and less fun taking the same instructions again and again.

But like they say, every job has its shortcomings and advantages. Retail jobs require dealing with customers, smiling every time even when you don't mean it, and thinking of different ways to greet/thank customers. The good- breaks, no constant work or rushing to get something done. A cleaning job doesn't require dealing with customers directly, except for their wastes. The latter smells and looks much worse, but thick gloves and air freshener take care of the problems.

The interesting part is of course, discovering funny little habits of customers checked into the motel. One particular customer, whom I assume is pretty rich, practically lives in the motel at least 100 days a year. Her room is even stocked up with her own cooking supplies, though according to my boss, she never cooks. Some customers wash their own dishes, some leave their dirty dishes everywhere. Some are wise enough to use the free laundry service provided, some hang their lingerie with a string in the toilet. Some take all the coffee/tea/sugar sachets (like any Malaysian would do), some leave behind 2 bottles of expensive wine on the table after they've checked out.

So next time you're staying at a hotel/motel, know that there would be people coming into your room, cleaning up the mess (and possibly blogging about things you do!).

The Ew-eth Girls

I cannot NOT post this picture up.


The Spice Girls were anything but normal. They sold millions of records, came up with a movie which I couldn't be bothered watching anytime soon, and who could forget those ageless, annoying, yet fun-to-sing-along songs?

I get the impression that Victoria (see pic) is just trying to say to the world: "Hey ya, see my fantastic figure? You've got to admit, I look the BEST among the 5 of us! Hurry up Mr Photographer, my corset is suffocating me!"

Mel C: Look at how straight my hair is right now! Hah! *Just smile and pout...*

Gerri: Oh gawd. I can't believe this is happening. At least we're not in colour-coded outfits. I'm so glad I opted to wear this floral sundress which totally suits my newly permed hair!

Emma: Do I look fat in this dress? I'm sooooo glad we're finally doing this reunion tour thingy!

Mel B: I KNEW this was a bad idea. BADDDDDD idea. I cannot stand being in the same room at all with that stuck up aneroxic wife of some guy whose job is kicking a stupid ball around a big field... And who is she kidding with that weird hairdo?!

My Visual DNA

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Just something I stumbled upon and decided to try.

Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine (2007) surpassed my expectations.

It's one of those underhyped movies- beautifully made and presented with the viewers in mind.

The movie starts off showing a little girl, Olive, who dreams of becoming a beauty queen in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. Then there's Frank, her dysfunctional and suicidal gay uncle who seemed to be the only person getting along with her brother, Dwayne. Sworn to a vow of silence, Dwayne has not spoken in 9 months, wants to become a jet fighter, and as quote "hates everyone".

I love how Olive's mum is portrayed- the one who keeps her family together in one piece and encourages everyone to stick together when the going gets tough. Her dad on the other hand, is a motivational speaker on the verge of giving up. Olive's grandfather lits up the whole movie with his devil may care and live-as-if-today-is-your-very-last-day attitude.

This movie tells the story of a far from perfect family on the outside: insecure and on the brink of falling apart.. Yet it shows us why it didn't fall apart; all of them supported each other despite each other's shortcomings. Why I really loved this movie was because it succeeded in making me feel sorry and cringe for the characters when all hope was thought to be lost.

A must see for everyone, definitely in my list of the top 10 movies of the year.

Not making sense

Christchurch, oh Christchurch. The city of memories.

I stayed at my previous homestay for 4 days and 3 nights, more than enough to remind me of what it was like coming into a foreign country knowing only 2 people in a pool of 4 million strangers.

Carol and Margaret- the perfect homestay family for me. They took care of me, made sure I go to church and home groups, took me to uni when my alarm failed to wake me up. Tried to cook a Chinese meal on my first night there, a very good attempt in making me feel at home. Everything was great, and honestly, it was how I would want to spend the first year here.

Many would beg to differ. I dare to stay that almost half of Riccarton High student population consists of Malaysians. This is what I know, a group of form 5 leavers from Lodge or Green Road (with their parents holding PR) conveniently go to Ricc High, then either Otago or Canty uni. The keyword being "group". Going to movies would involve a GROUP of 30 of them, crammed into the same bus, the same cinema, and eventually the same flat next year.

My point is, they will forever stick to their own cliques. And when a new kid comes along, granted that he or she isn't very outgoing, lack of social life is doomed to happen to the poor kid.

Take Roy for example, the 20 year old guy from Hong Kong who's currently staying at my previous homestay. He's been in NZ for almost a year and the homestay for a month now, and all he ever answers to a question are "yes, yes" and a vigorous nod. Even when the same contradicting question is asked. Believe me, I tried talking to him in Mandarin, but to no avail. I don't know exactly how he lives his life, but I do know he goes straight back to his room after dinner (5.30pm), and stays in there except for a shower and the lights in his room goes off by 10pm. Doesn't seem to have any friends other than a guy who plays basketball with him on Fridays (according to Carol). Nope, I am NOT stalking him or anything like that.

It's sad when things like this happen. You want to help, but don't know how. You don't do anything, and end up feeling guilty or not being helpful enough. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation. The only solution is to hope that things do change for the better for him.

Things always change for the better. Keyword being "change". Change always involve denial, pain, then acceptance. Not always physical, but unavoidable nonetheless. I've been through that, and am glad that I did.

I'm sooooo glad that I decided to come to Dunedin.