Got this from the regular email updates from irishjobs.ie.

It's public information on pensions in Chinese.

[...] the Pensions Board has announced the introduction of a pensions checklist published in what have become the country's six most commonly used foreign languages: French, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese.

To download go to Booklets in Foreign Languages at Information Booklet section of pensionsboard.ie.

I wonder how baggage transfers will be "as" simple anymore now that Aer Lingus is leaving OneWorld.

Saw this posted on a column outside the Emporium Asian Market at the Jervis St. LUAS stop.

You are welcome to comment at the IBC Forum.

Came across this in The Standard today. So did a search in YouTube, and OMG, what a complete eejit! Ok, he was provoked (um, a tap on the shoulder from the young man seated behind who as asking him not to talk to loudly on his phone). Well, ok, not really, but he went off the rails. The profanities (listen with headphones, folks) just came spewing out. The young lad just wanted to get to his destination, but this guy kept going and going. Here is the vid : Bus Uncle
If you do a search in YouTube for "Bus Uncle", you will find a follow-up (Bus Uncle's arrest), and parodies made (fairly lame though). Oh, and it even made it into wikipedia!
So the phrases of the day (in Cantonese anyway) stemming from this:

* "I don't know you. You don't know me. Why do you do this?"

* "I face pressure. You face pressure. Why did you provoke me?"

* "This is not resolved! This is not resolved! This is not resolved!"

Just read this article from DimSum, and from that person's experience just reminded me of my friend who was scammed similarly also (but the folks were not threatening or anything). I am awfully wary about going to Beijing in the future. Should I bear distrust to Mainlanders from this generalisation? Well, for now, scams happen everywhere around the world, but when I do go to Mainland China someday, I will still be twice as paranoid as I would be in HK. It's more to do with a comfort thing I suppose. But then again, I never had problems with cocky HK people. I have always found that I can get away with most conversations. And they always speak to me in Chinese even though it is obvious I am back from overseas. The only thing I hate are the Golden Mile conmen who are mainly Indians or Pakistanis who are trying to sell you a fake watch. It's infuriating just thinking about them, as they are so in your face.

A bill to combat spam, junk email and nuisance calls is being put forward in June/July in Hong Kong.

This would be great news, as I remember my aunt in HK complaining about Telecom companies, realtors calling up all hours of the day and night. Heck, even I got a call from the telecoms company asking if we wish to avail of blah, blah, blah services. I just palmed it off by saying I'll get someone to call them back.

Plus if this legilsation gets passed, the service is free.

Interesting perspective from a friend of mine at work. We were at a free company lunch in a Chinese restaurant (nothing fancy, your typical set menu, but I'm not complaining, it's paid for,. *lol). Anyway, my friend mentioned that whenever they go to a Chinese restuarant and ask for chopsticks, they get strange looks from the waiting staff. It's like it's out of the norm for someone who is not oriental to use chopsticks. I know it's great that some folks make an effort to use them, but sometimes restaurants somehow just find it normal for folks who are not oriental just use a knife and fork. My friend just finds it amusing, but I think Dublin is one of the very few places where people are willing to try something different. I know in Limerick, palettes don't really change, that is why Chinese food in my parent's restaurant has hardly changed i.e. new additions to the menu, as the locals just don't want to try anything different. It has been like this for decades now. Folks just come in and order the same thing over and over again. We can't second guess customers, I suppose we just assume how the majority acts, and proceed with that in mind. Only time will tell, when cities like Limerick might open a bit more and be a little bit more adventurous.

So my letter got noticed by a fair few folks out there. Which is good. So I try not to get bogged down by it... but I came across this article about RTE's new programme aimed to

[...] explode many of the stereotypes that have grown up in our rapidly changing country and encourage mutual understanding between people from different places.

I did not watch the first series, but basically it will find out about the person who moved to Ireland, why he/she did it, and the presenter will go to the country the person is from and starts understanding the family and friends of the participant on what their day-to-day lives are like, and discovering more about their culture.

RTE's looking for participants in their No place like home series.

You cheat, you're nicked according to this article I read from The Standard. I am not sure how the students use their phones, they should be kept out of the exam hall regardless, or in their bags with all their books in a place where the invigilator keep watch (i.e. at the top or back of the room). Would it be taken this far over here? I hear stories of how folks see other folks cheat, and the supervisor is oblivious. I saw in one issue of The Times, that cctvs are used to monitor students during examination. I know it's hard to get into college in HK, but is it still worth it to sully your name for the sake of better grades obtained by cheating. Doing that, you are only cheating yourself.

Read about three restaurant staff who were stabbed by two diners (From Irish Independant, need registration to read) , arising from not being happy with their meal. This happened in Magic Wok restaurant in Charlestown, Co Mayo, on Sunday night.