The thing with tea and management..

Ever wondered why every company has tea sessions where those that just join the company has tea with the senior management? And those tea sessions may probably be the only time you see the head or CEO or director. That is of course unless you're someone prominent or your work revolves around the management. Went for a tea session today, sometime after lunch. Before we reached there, I told my colleagues that the plan was to hide at one corner, make ourselves unnoticable, have some tea, and call it a day.
The plan was going very well, and management, as usual would turn up a little later, after everyone had time to settle down. Staying in the corner, at that time, seemed like a good idea. And as our big boss made his way through the door, I heaved a sigh of relief as he seemed to be headed another direction. Just then, he turns, faces us and walks to the wierd corner he wasn't supposed to. And the first group he meets, well, you guess it... it's us.
Actually, having conversation with your big boss isn't all that bad, especially when he doesn't really have much time but has to cover all new staff. We had our share of small talk with him, and a group of 'senior management' inches their way near him. he gets the hint, completes the conversation with a polite gesture, turns and faces them to continue a second round of conversation.
Some people tend to think that tea sessions are meant for the potential or gifted people to showcase their ability to converse and to impress the big boss. Me, I'm happy to have a nice cup of coffee, some casual conversation and a good break...hehe

Staying healthy 101...

Every weekend, me and my other half would make our way to a local stadium to jog... well, we skipped 3 weeks of jogging due to some personal matters, but well, we do try to keep up a routine. The previous time we were there, we set a target at 6 consecutive rounds without stopping. And seeing that we had previously made 5 rounds without breaking much of a sweat, 6 rounds wasn't much of a problem. This time though, it was a different. Breaking for 3 weeks is definitely taking its toll. One, age is catching up; Two, legs have not been moving much the past 3 weeks; Three, it's a Saturday...and I feel like sleeping la...
So we went ahead, this time setting a target of 7 rounds... by round 2, we were panting profusely...legs giving way, heartbeat unstable, sweat dripping.. by round 3, we were walking back to the stands to get water... I guess we will be less ambitious next week... maybe 3.5 rounds?
After the jog, we saw a guy walking up and down a staircase. Looking at the signboard, it was an uphill track up small Guilin. Seeing that we didn't want to continue the jog, we decided to brave the track. We saw a couple, in their 40s probably, climbing up the track, and so we followed closely behind, dodging trees and avoiding slippery steps.. and after half an hour of climbing, through toil and sweat, we were rewarded by the sight of a sign which read "lookout 3". We went to the lookout, and it was rewarding, standing there enjoying the breeze, looking down at the hill side and lake.... feels like a mini holiday..
But I have to say that the sight of a bunch of older folk exercising at the same lookout did throw off part of the fun... my god, how did these older folk actually get up here?!...

Excess? left-over? redundant? what's that word again?

It's one of those days, when I wonder what the heck am I doing here! I mean, seriously, have you felt like this when you're at work? Was at my bosses office today discussion on what I'm supposed to do. I'm not kidding, we were discussing 'what I'm supposed to do'. Can't blame the organisation, I'm only here for a month or so, and being relatively new, it's obvious that people won't trust you with major tasks or things that have implications. For my case, honeymoon is getting a little too long.
Back to the discussion. A month ago, I would give anything to just be able to get home a little earlier and catch some sleep. Sometimes, while rushing tender, I have to stay back till 9pm or so.....which is an improvement considering that I used to stay up to 3am in my past department. But, as age catches up, you can just feel the efficiency drop the moment you loose sleep. A month later, after the job change, I'm sitting at my cubicle at 6.00pm looking at all my colleagues go home one after another... 6.00pm! But seriously, sian la, the whole day nua... beh tahan leh... hehehe

work...work work work work...

Work... work work.. wonder what I'm going to do at work today... kinda got you conned that I was going to say I had too much work right? hehehe.. I guess being in a policy makers seat does have its advantage... first, you get to decide what you want to do... then you set the targets in accordance to what you think you can do, and then you do it. If it does not meet your targets, then shift the target or misinterpret your own original intention by playing with language and .. there you have it!... we have reached our targets!!!
And if all else fails, you can always turn around, and do this to the critics...




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Whiner..

Sometimes I really wonder why I whine so much. Actually, I wonder more why my buddies and friends bother to come to this website and hear me whine. I mean, things always seem to be alright or fine. Everyone seems to be nice and kind. My company pays well and does lots of things for us. Logically speaking, I should be thankful, appreciative and counting my blessings, but somehow, it just feels lethargic being in the state I'm in right now. Well, at least one buddy got pissed and wont be visiting here soon.
I guess it's kinda like midlife crisis, where you have a career, but you don't seem to have one. Where you have money, but it never seems to be enough to make ends meet, where you have friends but they're never near. Where you have a job, but have nothing to do. Sometimes, I just wished I was in the rat race. That way, I wouldn't have to think and I would be so bogged up with work that these things wouldn't even cross my mind.
I read a book which advocated that we should spend time writing what we want in life to remind us of the things that are really important to us. Try this little exercise. Pick up a pen and paper, write down 10 things that you want most in life. You'd probably realise that filling the 10 items isn't easy at all. Well, unless you list ferarri, peugeot, mercedes.. etc. which shows tons about your character development. I guess the key thing is, most of us either want the same things, family, security, early retirement... or we don't know what we want at all... I guess that when you age reaches the big 3, you'd start to think where you're heading and whether the ship can still be steared away from where you're heading.
Me, I'm glad I have great family and friends and an understanding companion. Life sucks, but with these people around me, it sure sucks less....

Chinglish?

Met this couple at the lift. They were talking about a colleague who kept saying "yeah su" (in mandarin) which translated meant Jesus. After numerous times of using "yeah su", they finally realised that what he intended to say was "yeh su" which meant coconut tree... I remember a cantonese movie at which a lady was being interrogated by the police. The police were baffled at her statement as she referred to "yam mou" (which meant pubic hair in cantonese) multiple times. One of them finally pointed out that maybe she was referring to "yam mau" which meant conspiracy.
Then there are the language translators which on surface seem to be quite alright. One friend asked me in cantonese whether "lei kum man yau mou hoong" translated as "do you have breasts tonight". After some probing, I realise that he direct translated the phrase from mandarin "ni zhing wan yeo mei yeo koong" which meant 'are you free tonight'!
One other guy who was trying to answer my query on whether he went pubbing, said "yat tim tim" in cantonese. "Ah? What does small dots have to do with pubbing?". And yet again, it came from "yi dian dian" in mandarin for 'sometimes'.
To top the language barrier problems up, I tried explaining a robbery by using the word "chiang jien" which meant 'rape' instead of 'chiang jie' which meant rob......

Farewell tune..

A senior management person in our company was scheduled to leave the company. Being proactive, some of my colleagues decided that we should sing a song to bid her farewell. And so, they arranged rehearsal sessions for us to sing. For the past few days some of us were exempted, as we were attending a course elsewhere. The course ended this morning and we had to return to the office. At 4.30pm, the rehearsals were supposed to begin. One of the colleagues, wanting to have some company join him for the singing went around asking ppl to go for rehearsals. A colleague reminded me that it was timely for a toilet break. Another rushed out for a meeting. One colleague hid beside the cubicle wall. Me? I was trying to hide in an empty cubicle. After getting caught for well "trying to arrange papers in the empty cubicle", someone else shouted that it was time to sing! A colleague hid under the table, while I went further in and used a chair to shield whatever I could. I guess they would've finished singing now, but safety first... I'm leaving before they decide to have more rehearsals! hehe

Arrrrgghhhh....another parking fine!!!!!

Went out for dinner with some of the guys at this very far place, and not being too familiar with the place, I parked my car somewhere near the shop houses. While we were having dinner, I suddenly remembered that I didn't put a parking coupon. And being an optimist, a buddy assured me that those parking attendants don't visit here at night... So, we had dinner, and sure enough, when I reached my car, there and behold was this little parking fine...
I remember an incident where 4 parking attendants were grouping at one car park and every 1 minute, they would take turns walking around and throwing summons to any car that did not have a coupon or had it placed too early or is expired. If any industry in this country have improved its efficiency, it would be the parking fine industry...
If only they handled other issues as effectively as the parking fines..

Err....French? German?..

Went for a forum today... lots of speakers talking about how you affect change and sharing philosophy. Initially, they had someone influential start the forum. Then, they proceeded with the Q&A sessions and asked if anyone had any queries. Just then this guy got up and posed a question. Ironic thing is that his question could not have been any less politically correct and being curious of what he intended to ask,I opened my ears wide. Actually had a hard time understanding what the heck the guy was trying to say! Then, thinking that this could've been a one off occurence, two other guys got up, did the same thing, and again, it made me wonder if they took english lessons from some Ivy League University that had a language of its own. Don't people use simple english anymore? During the tea break session, I asked one of my colleagues who those people were, and sure thing, those were scholars.... but that being said, it still feels funny to hear their politically correct questions and the equally politically correct responses. Maybe I opened my ears too wide....

The bridge troll's adventure...

In an island, a bridge troll, that newly migrated from his bridge to a new hut, was invited to attend a function to celebrate the village's 1st anniversary formation. Being new to the village, the bridge troll attended the village celebration for the entire day. During the celebrations, the villagers grouped into groups and went around performing village rites. Groups of villagers had to compete in aboroginal bonding activities and challenge each other to see which group is supreme. The troll, feeling awkward, found himself looking at the sky and thinking how nice it would be to have a cup of coffee with other bridge trolls under his bridge. But then again, in the future, after the troll is more familiar around the huts, perhaps the troll would be familiar with the huts and would then become a villager. Or perhaps, the villagers would all become trolls.... sigh, wonder what the other trolls are doing..

@#%$^$# door....

Whilst having refreshments at a talk today, I decided to get myself a cup of coffee outside the function room... I walked out and walked past a corridor and realised that the exit was way back the other way. Feeling sheepish, I went to the exit, pretended that I went to the other corridor on purpose and proceeded to open the door. As I tried to get out, I realised that the door wouldn't budge. I exerted more force and still the door didn't move. Some people in the function room started to look out and notice me. Just then a colleague shouted out,"press the exit button"... and I realised that more than half the room was looking at me. Deciding to exit asap I pressed the button, pushed as hard as I could and then tried to exit. Still, the @#$%@@ door wouldn't budge. Then, I heard my boss shout out,"you have to pull the door in first, press the button, then push it outwards. The door is a bit cranky". Without looking back, I pushed the button, got out of the door and finally got my machine dispensed cappucino.

Where's the keys?

After starting work for a couple of days, I was feeling the lethargy from travelling to work by public transport. The season parking label for my company is not available yet, and parking in the city costs at least $12 a day. So the best option was to travel by public transport.
When I reached my apartment block, as usual, I checked the letter box, then took a lift to the 10th floor. Upon reaching the 10th floor, I found my keys missing! Thinking that I must've left it in the mailbox, I rushed downstairs to get them. When I reached there, the keys were not there. So I rushed back into the lift, went back to the 10th floor and searched almost everywhere.
Finally, I decided to give the ground floor another look. Just then, I remembered throwing away an advert slip that I collected from the mailbox. I looked into the garbage bin beside the lift, and viola, there, in the bin, was my keys!

Guests..

There was once a Bunny who hopped by to stay over at a Dragons lair. It has been years since the Dragon got to know the Bunny and the Bunny had always been bullied by the big Dragon. Knowing that the Bunny had a bad sense of direction, the Dragon set out to find the Bunny. The Bunny as usual, got lost. After searching for a couple of rounds, the Dragon instinctively spotted the Bunny. You see, this bunny had wierd features. It had a huge muscular body and small legs due to his erratic gym routine. Finally, the two friends met up and the Dragon brought the Bunny to his lair. At the Dragons lair, the Bunny exclaimed that he wasn't really interested in gaming. However, as soon as the Dragon switched on his DMC3, the Bunny got hooked. Even when World Cup came on TV, the Bunny was more interested in the Dragon's entertainment system. So the night went by and the Dragon and Bunny reminisced on old times when the Bunny was scrawnier and the same size as the Dragon. Though the moment was brief and the Bunny had to meet other female Bunnies the next day, the Dragon had a great time.








A couple of weeks later, a Bug turned up near the country which the Dragon resided. The Bug had a wierd obsession for soup. And the long distance travelling to a nearby kingdom to get soup wasn't going to stop the Bug from getting it. When the Bug reached the yonder kingdom, to his dismay, he found that the soup hut was shut down. The Bug, feeling defeated, went back to his rented Bug lair. Seeing that the poor bug had no soup, the Dragon decided to pay the bug a visit. When the Dragon reached the bug's lair, the Bug brought out a set of Magic-al cards. The Dragon, being well prepared, unleashed his set of Magic-al cards as well. They both battled for four rounds and at the end, it was a draw. The bug was really estatic that he drawed with the Dragon and both agreed that they would meet again to duel at the Bug's rented lair the next time the Bug comes to visit.









The Chicken went awol after he got his first chick.

Let's Celebrate the Day... the Day...the Dayyy...

Funny thing how the World Cup brings people together... to be frank, some of us (e.g. mua) are "soccer challenged"... before Germany 2006, Argentina is a country... so is England...now all of a sudden, we're staying up late every night glued to the TV set, getting our adrenaline pumped up during the match and risking looking like a zombie the next morning.

Was on my way out for lunch when I met someone who was a so-so acquaintance. Having nothing to talk to him about, I brought up Spain-France match and lamented how dissapointing it was for Spain to be downed 3-1 by France... just then his face lighted up and all of a sudden, we were chatting like long lost friends! This really reminds me of what someone told me of the beauty of being a kid: "You like Coke? I like Coke Too! We're best friends!" ....

Job woes..

During work,in the middle of a meeting, I got a call from someone from a company I was applying to. That someone was asking me when I'd be free to go through some details. After the conversation, I went back feeling happy that I had a good offer. Just then, a colleague brought up that there were rumors that 700 letters were being prepared by the HR Dept and that the Division I was in was likely to be retrenched! Arrrgghh... why is it always so ironic, early dun say, late dun say, I plan to move, then only say...
Add salt to the wound, the previous day, someone brought up that working for the company I was applying to was said to be very stressful... sigh... all the funny news come in all of a sudden...
But, not to despair, I dun think I'd change my mind... nothing seems to be worse than the current situation I'm in... so good or bad, I'd still be moving on to a better place... Guess I shouldn't think too much... The more I think the worse it gets, so better not think...hehehe

Ai Piah Jia Eh Ia

Hehehe..can't believe I'm surfing for this song..

Back in 2000, I can remember myself wondering why people use words like "wahlau" and "chialat"...I can faintly remember me telling myself not to catch on to this Singapore type of slang... that was back in 2000....

Now I'm sitting at home trying to find the song


...maybe I really need some motivation..hehehahaha

For peace of mind..

Went to the temple near my office a few days back. When we got there, we were shocked that the temple was closed at 7pm. There at the entrance was a sign indicating working hours from 9am to 6pm. So, we got our bags, headed home, and planned for the next trip the following day. When we got there in the afternoon, it was quite a surprise that lots of people were there and everyone was either carrying a jos stick or some 'chims' (wooden sticks used to tell your fortune). Instinctively, we each took one and started praying for something that was on our minds. We had peace of mind when we left, and none of the things that were in the temple - the joss sticks, the lucky charm, the 'chims', cost us a cent! Donations are voluntary of course and we did donate, but knowing that the not-so-well-off could also come and pray and not be required to give anything is a nice thought.. The following week, we made our trip there again. This time I took a 'chim' and asked for something less noble - my career. What I got was a medium 'chim' which asked me to "Don't worry, eat, drink and sleep. Success follows". Hmm...That is great! That shouldn't be medium it should be very very good! So, those who want to drink tea this week, pls call me yah!! I'll be sleeping in the office..

Job Hazard

Just got a new project for widening of an existing road. One of the constraints we faced was a cemetary that was at edge of the road. While having a discussion with some members of the project team, one guy brought up that there were groups of cyclists that like to visit that road...one in the morning and one at night. "The former, you have to ask the workers to be a little bit careful. For the latter, just make sure your guys are not easily scared." I was pondering what he meant by that, until one colleague burst out in laughter and said, "You mean those cyclist got no leg wan rite?"
Also recall an incident when I started work near this shopping complex. My site office was abutting a forest. Half way through a meeting, we heard a worker squeal. And then the foreman came up and told us that they found a skeleton hanging at a tree!
Talk about job hazards...

Some sound advice..

"You will receive sound advice from an unexpected source".. that was what my zodiac read yesterday. Didn't turn out yesterday, but it got delayed till today instead. As I was walking along the linkway, I saw a senior staff from my former department. Seeing that we seldom exchanged much words, we greeted each other casually and as I was passing by, he asked if I was doing ok in my new department. Being sour from the past ordeal, I told him that there's nothing to be happy about being in the new place. His response somewhat caught me aback. "Sometimes, when we face a difficult situation, the best way to deal with it is treat it as one of life's challenge. Often than not, we end up laughing it off some years later and wonder why we found something so simple to be so difficult to handle." He added by recalling his first job as an enforcer.. someone who tears down people's houses. "The key is to be able to tear down a house and still have the house owner thank you for doing it!" At that point, I looked at him and wondered what he actually did. He went on by explaining that "The easiest way to do something is to help people and to remember that you're always learning. No one wants their houses torn down. And people understand that sometimes, the people doing the actual work may not be the ones who ordered their homes to be torn down." "So, as long as you try your best to help them, be it helping to find them alternative shelter or directing them to the right people to seek help, you'd find that most people reciprocate with gratitude." "You can't learn people skills like this in expensive seminars or talks, so forget that you're in a difficult situation, and just tell yourself that you'd be able to learn no matter where you are. Then you'd be alright!" Well, needless to say, I guess it woke me up a little. The self pity I was feeling waned. I felt a new sense of meaning to what I was doing. Walking back to my cubicle, I wondered why I'm always blessed with wonderful and nice people around me whenever I need them..... :)

When you just know something is wrong the moment you click on the send button

Was talking to my other half when I recalled this incident when I was typing an e-mail to a friend. We were on the topic of business opportunities.. and half way through the e-mail exchange, we were discussing about pumping in capital to start a business... just then, my friend exclaimed that she had no capital to start anything.. trying to be supportive, I replied by e-mail telling her, "If you can run the place, we can pool some capital and start something. I can be your sleeping partner", and clicked on the send button. Just then, it dawned on me that something was wrong.... I leave the interpretation to you..... Lucky thing, that friend didn't realise the pun and replied in a normal way that the biz was too difficult to begin with....phew!