RANDOM TERM BREAK COMMENTS - IN PRAISE OF NEW IMMIGRATION POLICIES, MR. SHOW, AND POSITIVE THINKING

Random racket from the one week between term break….

1.) In the process of getting my work permit renewed and for once have something positive to say about a Malaysian government policy….The new policy basically creates one all purpose permit that covers the foreigner married to a Malaysian whether or not he is working….When I am working, I must get a stamp showing my employed status which is relatively easy….Apparently, I do not have to go in and out of the country anymore when I leave a job….I merely switch back to the original permit….Sounds great and we’ll see how it works in months ahead.

2.) As I am in my brother in law’s house for the week holiday returning to Ipoh tomorrow, I now have Internet without going to a cyber café or a wireless hot spot….I’ve been enjoying one of my favorite shows courtesy of YouTube….Mr. Show, which ran on HBO for three years in the late 1990’s, was largely the brainchild of David Cross and Bob Odenkirk but also featured many contributions from the future voice of Spongebob Squarepants Tom Kenny.

I would describe Mr. Show as the American equivalent of Monty Python’s Flying Circus….Sketches ran into one another and were often completely absurd….They didn’t rely on repeated characters or phrases the way so many tired, flaccid, predictable sketch comedy shows do….Are you listening, Saturday Night Live?(a gaseous dinosaur that should have gone extinct many years ago)

Here are some of my favorite Mr. Show sketches….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOKv0qaA-nw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxlvKA6ipvs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne0RrK5qJ-k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP4yX2rkpBc

3.) Over the last year, my wife has got me into reading the LAWS OF ATTRACTION and other books that stress a positive mindset as the number one priority in creating your own reality of success….While I find the spiritual side of this to be silly (in keeping with my own agnostic/atheistic beliefs), I do strongly believe in the power of positive thinking and these books do give good tips on how to create this mindset….In fact, I’ve been trying it a lot this last term and I must say this has been the most stress free term at my school so far….There are a few people at my school who really irritate me (and I am NOT talking about students) but I find through utilizing this approach I was able to minimize their idiocy as well as to keep my temper in check….I am planning a couple of Audio/Visual Lessons this term (always a hassle at our school since we receive no help in the setting up of these lessons) so let’s see how that taxes my new found peace of mind.