Month: November 2007
Toa Payoh and Bishan
Yesterday, I went to my agency at Toa Payoh to hand in the timesheet and had wanted to speak to my agent because the previous week’s cheque is still not in yet. I didn’t managed to see her as she’s in a meeting so, I passed the timesheet to her colleague instead.
Then, I went to the POSBank at Bishan to change a new passbook. The queue wasn’t long but the waiting time was exasperating. My grandma could have completed her 2.4km run and it’s still not my turn yet!
After getting my new passbook, I went to the foodcourt to tapau the Teriyaki Chicken Bento Set for my mum but tapau really not worth it. Have to pay 50¢F for that flimsy container plus tapau doesn’t comes with the Miso Soup!
By the time I reach home, the food wasn’t nice anymore. The meat is too tough, vege too salty and the Teriyaki sauce has soaked the crispy letteuce until very soggy. It didn’t used to taste like that the last time I eat it!
I should have bought the Spareribs Prawn Mee from S11 instead.
sayonara oh!
My workstation…
One of the six stupid Orchids…
Yesterday was my last day at work and I was kind of relieved because I’m finding it quite stressful. I’m stressed not because of the work but due to the culture in the office. There are way too many rules to observe and follow. Furthermore, since the Accountant joined us, my superior, the Operations Manager had shifted her desk into the room with me such that I’ll be facing her day in day out.
I’ve discovered that the other temp staff who came in together with me also had his contract terminated today so it’s NOT my problem after all! Initially, I had thought that it was due to my incompetency but now, I can safely conclude that my competency is not to be doubted!
Phew!
Anyway, the boss was in the office and everyone were on their toes because he doesn’t come in everyday. He only come like once or twice a week while the rest of the week would be spent networking with big corporations like AMEX and interviewing candidates for the roles which they are applying for.
In fact, yesterday was only the second time I had ever seen him since joining the company two weeks ago.
I was actually quite free with nothing to do in the morning but I was busy acting busy and it is really tiring in doing so.
In the afternoon, my Operations Manager received a call from China which she couldn’t understand a single word the other party is trying to say so she passed the phone to me. The woman on the other line was desperately trying to hard sell some time-share package. Trying to be polite, I entertained her for a moment before declining her offer.
*XX = blah, blah
(The actual conversation was much longer but that was the whole gist)
Goodness! She spelled my name as R.I.B.B.O.N! Is that funny or what? Was my pronounciation that bad?
Anyway, before she hanged up, she wished me 
It was the first time in my entire life that someone actually wished me
After lunch, work started coming in and I began to get busy. For the past week, I had nothing to do except making some phone calls and running errands. I think they are making me pay by giving me one week’s worth of work to complete in one day before I leave the company!
I left the office late and was quite seh already. The moment I got onto the MRT, I concussed all the way home. After reaching home and a bath, I flopped onto my bed and continued concussing till this morning!
I was so tired, I had clean forgotten my appointment with some friends! Sorry, guys!
Grad Night ~ The red carpet affair
Last week, I received an invite from Esther to attend the Grad Night for yet another batch of graduating Student Councilors. Hence after work, I rushed down to Bishan to meet Ivan, Bud, Zizah and Fatimah to go to school together.
Bud and Zizah have not arrived yet so we waited for them at the library but after a while, we decided to meet them directly in school instead since they are coming by taxi.
As I walked on the once familiar route to school, I can’t contain the happiness that’s bursting out of me. I can’t wait to see everybody!
When we reached school, we wanted to look for Mama Yu and Mrs Lee but the staffroom was already empty. It was almost 7 pm and the teachers had already gone home. We went back to the foyer, sat on the chairs and chatted while waiting for Bud and Zizah.
A taxi has barely drove through the gates when Fatimah suddenly jumped onto her feet excitedly, “They are here! They are here! I can see Zizzzzzzzah!”
So, Ivan and I stood up and the three of us clapped thunderously to welcome them as the taxi pulled up in front of us. I even stepped forward and was just about to open the door for them when I realised something amissed. There’s only one person in the backseat and it’s NEITHER Bud nor Ziza!
We totally made a fool of ourselves (like we always do) and exploded into fits of laughter! The passenger must be thinking what the hell are these three idiots out there clapping for? Haha!
Bud and Zizah soon came and we proceeded to the auditorium where we were received warmly by the ushers. Everyone were dressed like Geeks and that is so funny because that is the theme for tonight’s party!
After signing our names and receiving the door gift, we entered the auditorium to the fanfare of the music and deafening applauses from our juniors! Everyone were already seated inside waiting for our arrival! As I make my way to my seat, Miss Tan suddenly grabbed my hand to talk to me.
It was really a wonderful night seeing all my members and juniors once again especially my 16th EXCOs like Wenqiang and Keith who came to hug hug. Even Fitri was happy to see me.
There are three people who touched my heart during this event:
Irfunny
She was in my group during my very last SC Camp when I was relegated from EXCO to member. I remembered her as a jovial and happy girl with a big mole on her face. Although she ain’t Whitney Housten, I was still touched by the sincerity in her voice because I could feel her emotions and the sadness in her tones.
*I realised she was the passenger at the backseat of the taxi when the three idiots were happily clapping away at the foyer.
Khairee
I have always thought of him as a playful person who doesn’t care much about the SC but I was taken aback by the numerous times when he became incoherent and held back his tears while being the emcee. I didn’t know that the SC meant so much to him if not he would not be so emotional throughout the party. I was really wrong about him. My bad…
Sukjeet
She used to be ‘preached’ by me (quite frequently) for being talkative while performing morning duty. Tonight, she has put her talent to good use and outshined herself by being the emcee with Khairee.
After the end of Grad Night, we saw Mrs Foo at the Amphitheatre and we were delighted to see her! She has just returned from a course hence she couldn’t join us at the party earlier. She looked so tired. We chatted for a long time and joined forces to bully Zizah just like how we used to.
Here, I would like to thank my 16th EXCOs, especially Adam (despite his foot injury!) for the wonderful dance put up for us, the 15th EXCOs! I would also like to thank the organising committees (SWB and P&C) for the invites!
GREAT JOB, GUYS!
Awaiting deliverance
As of today, my Operations Manager still hasn’t breathed a word about the termination of my contract. She might be breaking the news to me tomorrow or maybe even on Friday itself. Should I act surprise and fall to my knees or simply tell her that ‘I knew already?’
Perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise for my premature end of contract with the company as working here is alot like being in jail. There is no freedom and everything that we do must be reported.
There is a program installed in our computers whereby the administrator could take screenshots of our screens and spy on what we were doing in the background without us knowing.
We couldn’t use the internet unless it’s for work-related purposes (not even to check our own email!) and though we have MSN and Skype, we aren’t allowed to add any personal friends in except our colleagues both in Singapore as well as in Bangalore.
The MSN was for our boss to spy on contact us anytime and if he sends us a message but we didn’t reply him on time, we would be in trouble. He would question our whereabouts and why were we not at our desk? If we were not around, why is our status set as ‘Online‘ and not changed to ‘Away‘?
Also, the status which we could put for our MSN were restricted. The only three status which we could put was, ‘Online‘, ‘Away‘ and ‘Out for lunch‘. We cannot put ‘Busy‘ or even ‘Be right back‘ as it is against the company’s protocol to do so.
When we report for work and leaving the office at the end of the day, we have to send an email to our Operations Manager (my superior) to ‘clock’ our timing. The same rules apply even when going and returning from lunch.
Before we log off the computer, we have to email a daily checklist to our boss stating what are the tasks we have set out to do at the start of the day and did we manage to complete it at the end of the day? If we didn’t manage to, why?
It’s really horrible because our every move is like being scrutiniesd by someone in the dark!
The cats’ out of the bag…
This morning, my superior got an angry call from the boss and before we knew it, everyone were instructed to switch on their Skype for a mass conference. The whole office was thrown into an uproar because everytime when the boss is angry, everybody would be very kancheong!
We waited for a very long time but the boss didn’t log in at all.
The next thing we knew, there was a mass email circulating around, informing us that one of the staff from the Research team has been fired for dishonesty. Apparently, this staff had commited a mistake but he lied to cover his backside. However, the boss discovered the truth and thus sent hm packing on the spot.
No wonder I saw him talking to my superior teary-eyed earlier because the two of them kawan-kawan one mah…
Anyway, two new staffs joined us yesterday. One was the Accountant and the other was the ‘perm’ Operations Executive Assistant whom I had mentioned in the previous entry. True enough, the moment she came, all my work at hand has been relegated to her. I sat in front of the com all day, with nothing to do except changing toner for the printer, calling the courier and the air-con people to come service the dripping air-con.
I’m basically getting paid for doing nothing. This more or less convinced me that she was here to replace me.
After work, I went to my agent at Toa Payoh and she finally confirmed what I had suspected all along. My superior had called the agency this morning, instructing them that my contract ends this coming Friday. In other words, I’ll be jobless after this Friday.
I was already expecting that so I wasn’t caught by surprise at all. I wasn’t even mad with the new girl for snatching my job because I’m already sick of it. I felt so restricted by the rules and regulations!
My superior hasn’t mention anything to me yet but in the meanwhile, I’ll just shake my legs and wait for Friday to come.
I can smell it in the air…
The boss held an inpromptu meeting with us last Friday just before I was about to knock off from work at 5 pm. (That’s also when the stupid Orchids were delivered)
He went through the company structure, what he expects of us and the goals that he had wanted us to achieve.
He talked about expanding the company and of course, about hiring more staffs.
He also talked about the various departments and when he came to mine, he mentioned about this new Assistant Operations Executive ‘perm’ staff who will be coming in on Monday.
I had a bad premonition about this.
My days at the company might be numbered since a perm one is coming in.
Will they still need me, a contract one?
Frankly, I bear no high hopes of being converted into a perm staff here at this company. There are just way too many rules and regulations to follow here and I find it quite a struggle.
Perhaps it’s time for me to seek greener pastures out there.
The new job…
I had started on a new job this week.
I loved the location as well as the little building where my office is located. I even had my own room and a air-con all to myself!
In a way, I had all the privacy and peace but then, it could get pretty lonely in there because I had no one to talk to. There’s a glass pane in the wall where I could look out to what’s happening outside but somehow, I felt like a goldfish trapped in a bowl and could only watch in envy at all the excitement out there.
That aside, I’m pretty much stressed out by my immediate superior. She would only give me one liner instructions and expects me to know what to do when I’ve not even learnt how to do it. She would sound impatient and irritated when I asks her for more details.
When she gets stressed by the boss, she would start banging on the table and cursing like hell. I think she seriously need anger management!
There’s a few pots of Orchids delivered to our office today at around 4.50 pm. Just when I was about to knock off at 5 pm, she wants me to “by hook or by crook” get the saucers to put under the pots if not, the Orchids will die by tomorrow.
Where got plants die just because there’s no saucer underneath the pots one?
So, off I went in search of the saucers and eventually managed to get a couple (I love Cold Storage!) but when I returned to the office, she isn’t there anymore. She returned shortly, apparently been to the same place where I had gone to earlier, and chewing on the squid head from Old Chang Kee. She actually went to get a snack for herself while I was in search for the stupid saucers!
Chao Papaya! I didn’t know if she’s keeping me back late for three hours on purpose?
Anyway, we had to speak in well structured english sentences in the office. Before I joined this company, my agent showed me their stringent entry requirements. One of them was to be able to speak english as a first language (no singlish) and the other was to have an A1 for ‘O‘ Levels English.
Singlish is forbidden and a taboo in the office! How can like that one?? I ish Singapore lang and Singapore lang speaks Singlish!
When answering calls from our clients, we have to sound professional. There is a script for us to follow and we must follow exactly word-by-word. Sometimes, the boss would pretend to be a client and called to check on us if we are following the script or not!
Even when sending emails, it is a MUST to spell in US English. ‘Color’ cannot be spelled with a ‘U’ and ‘Questionnaire’ is spelled with a single ‘N’ (Questionaire).
Then at the end of the day, we still had to send a checklist to our office in India, detailing what we had done for the day. The format of the email must also strictly follow the template. From the number of spacings right down to the underscores, everything must follow exactly if not, Bangalore side will email you back telling you your format is wrong, etc…
Walan… I don’t even feel so stressed when I was in the army!
Why ish I so pai mia?? Jin cham ahhhh! *Beats chest*
Where is my fairy jie jie?
universal studios free photo booth
I’m too tired to blog this week. Perhaps this Saturday then update bah…
http://www.wretch.cc/video/embed/vamFjazc3MTIyMS8yMzUyNDYy
The Dead Cockroach 