Save the day

Ok folks! Its finally over!. I'm out! *claps*

Man, its been a long run. Finally yours truly is out of the cluster's Buddy System and sad to say, I'm not "moulding" young minds to be competent CSOs anymore.

In a way, from what was expected to only last for 2 months, streched on to almost a year. Still, I'm glad to see that all the new recruits that was under me and my buddies' tutelage have grown to be able and efficient CSOs.

As for me, on a personal level....its been satisfying and rewarding. From their very first days, looks of moronic expressions and stares of blurness haunts me whenever I go to work. But now...its all good, baby. Its all good.

Cluster B.R.A.V.O Buddy System 2005

On another note, I finally got my BONUS!!!!

WOoOOoOoOHoOoOOoOoO!!!!~~~ $$$ come to papa! Initially, I had sOOoOoOOo many plans for my bonus this year. Thoughts of holidays, shopping sprees and food fiestas filled my mind. I know, I know.....those of you who know me is probably thinking....."What other gadget is this freak going to buy this time?"

But....... fortunately the cash was in my bank account for less than 24 hours.

Hehe...you see, ever heard of the phrase, "A fool and his money will soon be parted"? Well, this fool aint taking chances.

I have made a commitment to myself that I will be making something out of this year's bonus. Maybe buy a house in Penang or something like that. But however, I also know that the longer the money stays in Singapore, the higher the chances that I'm gonna do something stupid with it. So, 'nuff said....I transferred it back to Penang.

Thank God for creating Internet Fund transfers.

But seriously, to be honest my mood has been kinda rotten for the past few days. And basically, customers calling in these days with an IQ of a 9 year old isn't helping. From assholes to morons and idiots, it gets worse each day. EVERYONE wants a free phone.

If I'd know it better, I'm working for the Welfare Department of the Rich and Ignorant. I truly believe there's a medical term of how stupid these people can get. Look it up in the medical dictionary....its under moronis ignoramus.

Also, recently there have been a few people that have been getting on my nerves as well. I know some of them have good intentions, but they're execution seriously needs re-consideration.

Still, the funny thing is; no matter how bad my mood has been for the past few days, something always turns out for the better. I guess these days I'm more......positive and optimistic. I find myself looking things differently these days.

Something always seems to save the day. Something that makes it a little bit more...bearable.

KING Kong RaWkS!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess all of us has been very good this year. Cos, Peter Jackson has given the world the perfect Christmas gift.

What better way to spend your Christmas watching a big hairy monkey dragging a damsel in distress, wrecking havoc in New York.

I just saw King Kong and I.........SIMPLY LOVE IT!!!

Spectacular, jaw-dropping, fantastic, awesome...these are the few words that I can describe the movie.

But wait a minute....should I be calling King Kong a movie? Its much much more than that. Kong brought back the old Hollywood magic that mesmerised us for decades. It was pure popcorn-loving fun and every minute of it was great. All 3 hours of it. It kinda felt like I was a kid again; watching movies in a cinema. Just look at the picture above. The fonts, the banners. Looks like one of those old Hollywood classics.

King Kong didnt need to be rational, realistic or practical. Every single minute of it was pure movie nostalgia.

And who do we owe it to? One man.

Peter Jackson.

Peter Jackson is a genius.

Peter Jackson should have directed Jurasic Park.

Peter Jackson should have directed the 3 Stooges.

Peter Jackson should run for Presidency.

Peter Jackson is King!!!!!

All hail Peter Jackson!!!!

Never dissapointing. Always awe-insprising. This man made this B-grade movie classic into a masterpiece. Check out the scene from the minute the bronchiosaurus stampede to the T-Rex showdown with Kong. Pure excellence.

The whole movie is actually quite cliched. You have the strapping and dashing hero. The brute beast. The Damsel in distress. The over ambitious villian. And the pompous rich brat. The movie is so cliched that everyone has their specific role to play. Take for instance; the cook (acted by the talented Andy Serkis).......he enters his first scene wearing an apron. Typical of any ship's cook. BUT, even when he ventures into the depths of Skull Island, he's STILL wearing his apron!! And even till his death, he has his apron on.

And oh boy, don't get me started with the action scenes! They were so intense that they leave you gripping at the edge of your seats. Don't even blink. Its so fast and furious you'll only manage to catch your breath at the end. Look out for a scene where this guy is running amongst the veloceraptors and the other dinasaurs. In the midst of the running, the dude just jumped over the fallen veloceraptor and gave the dinosaur an overhead kick!!!!!~ What the?!?!!? Even seen anything like that before???

Though, one thing I have to mention is that the love chemistry between Adrian Brody and Naomi Watts is a tad weak. I felt that even King Kong had more chemistry with her. Especially the scene where Naomi Watts looks into Kong's eyes in the final moments together...before he plunge to his doom. That monkey's big brown eyes nearly made me shed a tear.

Alot of people are implying that Noami's role in the whole movie was just to act pretty and scream on cue. However, I beg to differ. True enough her screams and shouts can put the Scream movies to shame, but she played it like a true veteran. Its something about this actress that makes her so endearing.

Also, not to mention kudos to Andy Serkis aka Gollum that brought life to King Kong.

Perfect damsel in distress. Perfect monkey.

Simply brilliant.

Have yourself......a merry christmas....

♪Jingle balls, jingle balls....♪

♪Hanging on the wall....♪

♪One is big, one is small...♪

♪Just like........(I'll leave the ending to your imagination)♪

Anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!!

I know I haven't been updating my blog as often these days, but I have been seriously busy and of course the mid-afternoon shift doesnt help my poor time management at all.

Well, where do I begin? Its been a real wild week and of course, there has been alot of ups and downs.

For starters, I managed to catch Choronicals of Narnia! I guess what I can say is what everyone is saying....it sure damn hell has alot of similarities to Lord of the Rings. Though, this movie is the goodie-goodie-two-shoes version. To sum it up, this is what I think of it....

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Moving on, another thing that I went thru this week was my apparent denial of being the Chief Editor for my company's newsletter for next year. I won't go into details, but basically there was alot of politics involved. Though, to me of course; is one less headache to worry about.

And then there's the Christmas Celabrations in my office just a few hours ago!

I had a hand in organising this year's Christmas celebrations. So, being the glutton I am, we ordered lamb, chicken, beef and turkey! And to top it all off, we also ordered some log cakes just to get into the mood of things.

Later on, the "Jedi" and the "Sith Lord" of the department had a little argument on who would get the last piece of lamb. In many ways, it was inevitable and the Light and Dark side of the force clashed.

Ladies and gentlemen, the epic duel between Darth Ho and Obi-Al-Vin!!!

After hours of fierce battle, the Light side prevailed and Obi-Al-Vin overpowered the dark powers of Darth Ho....granting him to the last piece of Lamb.

So there you have it folks. My past week that has lead me up to this merry old Chritsmas Day.

On a side note, I was working until 9pm on Christmas Eve. And everywhere I go, I see people having plans to celebrate the countdown. And as for me, even as I am not working on Christmas (which is already a blessing)...have no where to go. Especially during Christmas, its the time that you spend it with your loved ones.....just one of those special times of the year.

And of course, I have no one to spend it with. Sigh. Even one of my close colleagues just asked me today.

"Sonny, why don't you have a girlfriend? I see you come to work, go home and come to work again the next day"

I was really amazed she asked me this question. This colleague of mine is really a nice lady with 2 children. And she asked me the above question.

I had no idea how to answer her.

Back to the point, I was talking to alot of people and as they have it, alot of people are attending parties, clubbing and all sorts of activities. Though, maybe I might be getting old, but even as lonely as I feel, but I'm kinda glad I'm not part of the masses, crowding in town, squeezing among human traffic, suffocating my balls in clubs.

In the end of it all, I ended up with an "activity". And it was a pleasant one at that. I cant reveal how I actually spent my Christmas countdown, but I can definately tell you I was in the company of really great friends. It wasnt lavish, it wasnt grand.....but we had fun.

What could have been a lonely countdown at home, turned out to be quite an enjoyable time. Really a pleasant surprise.

Temptations

No, I'm not referring to the 70s music band. But I'm talking about the root of all evil....well, not to me that is; money.

Its my off day today, after a horrendous 3 days at work. Sometimes, the days get so tough I can't imagine having to go thru it 5 days straight. Thats one good thing about working shifts I guess. If you were to ask me to work 5 days straight taking one arduos call after another, I would go insane.

But back to the point. As you can see from today's date. Its already the 16th of December. Which means, the mid-month's pay cheque is already in. And now its only the wait for the year end's bonus.

Still, this is where bad habits come into play.

Already on my shopping list is the all-magnificent PSP. I was planning to get this baby with my year end bonus , but not before; as I have to control my expenditure even when the mid-month's pay is in. You'll never know when you need emergency cash.

However.........today being my off day; thoughts ran wild and I have been contemplating to blow $500 and just buy the PSP asap. Thats the bad thing about some people I guess. Whole year round, we complain that we don't have money but still we could do without alot of things. But the moment you have money thrown your way......you start to think of ways to spend the money!

You'll start to contemplate on buying items that you'll never need and saving it is the furthest thing on your mind. Then again, you give yourself reasons why you need to buy that item; whether its true or not.

C'mon, I'm sure everyone has felt this way at one point in time right? A friend mentioned to me once, "All humans are like that. We earn $1, we spend $1. We earn $100, we spend $100". Which is true. Heard of paradox of thrift?

The moment your level of income increases, you would like to increase the standards of your living as well. When you earn $2000 a month, you live comfortably in a HDB. But when you earn $20,000 a month, you would want to stay in a nice house eventhough you were confortably living in a HDB previously.

I'm sure in a small way all of you would agree with me on this.

Still, today I'm happy to report I haven't blown my pay cheque yet; but I did spend $300 today. Went to the optician today and got myself a new pair of glasses. But this my friends, is something I can claim back as part of my flexi-benefits from my company. So, not so bad.

But.....come to think of it..........I think I'm gonna buy the Motorola V3 also.....

Errrrrrr.....

What??!?!?! I need a second phone for my Malaysian SIM what??!?!

SUPER CSO!!!

That's right. Work sucks.

I really have to say this. Why? Well, I can tell you one thing's for sure. The Csutomer Service Officers in my company are not normal people. They are super people.

In normal everyday life, the might seem to be normal citizens and lead normal public lives. But when they get to office, amazingly they suddenly transform to super employees.

Why again?

Because we have to work on friggin public holidays. Which makes us..........non-public citizens! Since we are working on public holidays, that means we're not a member of the public right?!?!

Now, you might also ask........why am I so pissed about it. Well, I'll tell you why. Because I'm friggin working this coming Chinese New Year!!!!!

WooOoOooHooooOOoO. I'm so excited. There goes generations of traditions and re-union dinners down the drain.

When people everywhere is having a good time re-uniting with their beloved families, we poor bastards will be stuck in office attending to morons.

And the big problem is.....I can't complain about it. Beacuse, everytime you make noise, the company takes out the employment papers that you signed and shove it up your ass. Just because it says "able to work on public holidays".

Well, its true, but still that doesnt mean I'm not pissed about it. I still haven't figure out how to tell my parents I won't be home on CNY.

Initially I was thinking that it wouldnt be fair for me to apply for leave during Xmas and New Year, and let the celebrants a chance to enjoy their festivities. Cos, I'd rather have leave on CNY. But now, seems like I have to work on Xmas, New Year and CNY!!!!! (it was mentioned that we can't have all. If we apply for leave on Xmas and New Year, our chances for leave approval for CNY will be very low)

But now.......... If I knew any better, I'd just rather be a prick and apply for ALL public holidays. Atleast I could have got something out of it.

Oh yeah, but the I was told that as a consolation, I will given 1 day leava either on the first day or second day of CNY. But what for if you give me one day off??? I can't rush back to Penang for 1 day! What for your give me one day??? Fly kite at home ah!?!!? I might as well work the entire CNY period and not waste my leave!

However, to be "fair", the company conducted a ballot to see who is lucky enough to get leave on CNY. Bear in mind, that I already sacrficed to work on Xmas and New Year....and I still have to ballot.

And guess what. When I drew my ballot, this is what I got.....and they were damn polite about it.

FUGGING HELL!!!!!

Reflections of Time

Hmmmm...seems like its been ages since I have blogged at this un-Godly hour.

I have no idea why, but I just feel like jotting down some of my thoughts. I started to noticed that my few recent posts were all about what I have done and what I have did; rather than "how" life have been.

Time for some.....reflection.

Recently, I've started to notice alot about the things around me. And in a way, I have started to understand myself better as well. How long has it been? 2 years? No....I guess longer than that.

19th June 2003

Thats the date I entered into Singapore and started my life here. Almost 2 and a half years ago. And since then....I've grown so much.

Things were a little different back then. Fresh out of college and enjoying a young relationship. Naive. Innocent. Childish. Ignorant. These are the many words that can describe me at that time and place.

I've learnt alot. But one of the things I've learnt is also how important and precious time can be. 2 things. Time can heal all wounds; and time.....shows you who are your true friends. And with that, I'm happy to say for all that I've endured, I have great friends that stuck with me thru thick and thin.

These days, I look in the mirror and I don't see the person whom I used to be. Good or bad, I don't know. But I'm still here and taking one day at a time.

Also, I have submitted my PR applications last week. In some ways, I am really excited about it. Because with it, comes the possibilities of applying for new jobs. Jobs that I have always wanted to try out. And jobs which are much more fulfilling that the current one. Its the hope of something prospectful I guess. I want so much more out of life.

To be honest......looking back, when I first came to Singapore...I thought all of this would only be temporary. I have always loved Penang and never thought of leaving home......and soon, one day I will be home again. But now I find myself having been here for so long and also applying for PR. And now....I start to doubt will I ever be able to adjust myself back to Penang life if I ever to go back.

Will I miss Singapore if I ever go back? Will things be the same the way I left them back in Penang? In many ways, I do not wish to know the answers to those questions.

The other day, my uncle came to Singapore for a short visit with his family. When I brought ,y uncle back to my place, he asked me, "Aren't you lonely staying alone?". My answer was of course in jest and I told him I have already grown used to it. I told him when I broke off with my ex 2 years ago, I have already adapted and got use to the fact I am.....alone in Singapore. Still, we have to do what we do in order to survive. And to a certain degree, I am....happy.

Then my uncle told me he can never live a life like mine. As he says that its important for one to come home to a warm house with someone to greet you....someone to make your life more colorful. Its true what he said. But for me, it isnt much of a choice.

But what he said next.....truly broke my heart.

According to him, he says that my parents are really worried about me. My mother especially...... mentioned that she knows I'm all alone in Singapore. And I do have alot of sadness in my heart but I'm not telling them anything at all. She's worried whether I have anyone that I can find consolation in....and who's going to take care of me.

I feel really down when I know my parents are worried about me. All I want for them is to be happy and not to worry about me.

If I ever have the courage to tell them....this is what I will tell my parents, "Mom, dad.....don't worry about me. I'm a big boy. I will live my life to the best of my ability and I hope that I will never dissapoint you all."

Its been one unforgettable journey this past 2 and a half years. I've learned and growned. Who knows what will come for the next 2 years.

All things Nippon

Its been a relaxin past few days....and its been a long long time since I really given myself the luxury of relaxin at home and doing things I love to do.

And for those who didn't know.....I was on MC on Friday and Saturday. And co-incidentally, Sunday and Monday is off days. So, inadvertantly I had 4 days away from office.

So, trust me....so far for the 3 days that have passed, it was well spent.

Of course, the first 2 days was really a torture as I was sick and I struggled day and night with my flu and fever. Thankfully, Donald was nice enough to visit me and took me out for porridge. If it wasn't for him, I would have been eating bread for the past few days.

Still, given so much time at home....what do you think I have been doing?

I've been watching nothing but........ANIME!!!!! Currently, I'm watchin Bleach and must admit that its pretty addictive and I watched it till 5am last night.

And as for today, I had myself a pleasant surprise. Received a call from Carmen! Apparently this dear ex-colleague of mine came down to Singapore for a short visit....and guess where did we end up having dinner?

KUSHIN-BO!!!!!! Another Japanese Restaurant!!!!!!!!

Must really admit that the food there is really good with a wide selection of sushi, sashimi, teppanyaki and other japanese delicacies....Again, it was introduced by Rena!!!!!

It was a realli nice re-union as it was nice to see the old gang again. I was reminded of the good old days when me, Rena, Carmen, Siew Chi and Marcel use to skiv away at work. Really missed those times....times when I looked forward to go to work. In many ways, it is because of them that gave me the drive to go to work day after day. But unfortunately, Marcel couldnt make it tonight and missed on the re-union. Perhaps, maybe another time.

Hmmmmm.......seems like I have been having alot of Japanese food recently, huh?

Well, I guess Korean was the flavour of the month last month....and this month its Japan!!!

UDD

I'm impressed....

Singapore has taken public sanitation to a whole new level.

I was at a friend's place in Bukit Batok the other day. And on my way back, as I was taking the lift down, I saw this sign in the lift that caught my eye...

People.......let me introduce you to Singapore's best defence against Weak-Bladdered Lift Passengers. The UDD!!!! Urine Detection Device!

I was at awed when I saw the sign and first question that came to mind......How does it work?!!?!
Issit that if anyone who started to pee in the lift sudden is stuck by a bolt of electricity? Cos it says its "armed"...so it must have some kinda weapon right???

Though I was tempted to try, I was about to unzip my pants but at the last minute I changed my mind. I didn't wanna risk being struck by a bolt of electricity that will render my "little brother" useless and the "crown jewels" fried.

Its amazing to see that the government has taken such drastic measures to put a stop to lift-peeing atrocities.

This is definately public sanitation at its best.

H5N1?

One thing I learned over the past few days.

Don't be a hero.

Been having a mild case of flu and sorethroat for the past few days and regardless of that, I've been ignoring it and have been sleeping late and not getting enough of rest.

So, what do you get? Well, definately not the H5N1 Avian flu......but my condition did worsened, especially when I forced myself to go to work yesterday.

Partly because of the Senior's Buddy Dinner we had yesterday; I forced myself to be at work and decided not to take an MC as I didn't want to be accuse of being sick but still being able to attend a social function. Though, I noticed that whenever I'm in office, my nose gets blocked and somehow recovers when I leave office. Someone should do something about the working conditions there....

In the end; I am down and out today. As my flu worsened, I couldn't breathe properly as I had to breathe thru my mouth and talked to customers at the same time. And to make matters worse, I had a splitting headache that was so painful that made my eyes teary! If I didn't know better, customers might have thought they have called the Star Wars Hotline and they were talking to Darth Vader. Or better yet....they might have thought they have called a porn hotline.

Boy, did wanted to try......."Lukke.....wa si....*chokes* lim lau peh...*chokes*........faster pay your....*coughs*....handphone bills. *heavy breathing*."

So here I am.....resting at home. Times like this I wish I had someone to take care of me. Not that I'm complaining, but you get pretty much self-reliant after staying alone for the past 2 years. With a waterry nose and a coarse voice that can make grown men run for their lives; I still had to drag myself out of bed and go see the doctor and prepare my own meals.

Anyway, I guess the Senior Buddy's Dinner after work was worth the torturous 9 hours of work. We went to Hoshi Japanese Restaurant at IMM and we had a feast!

Despite the mildly rude waiters, we didn't cared much for what was around us but it was all about having ourselves a good time.

Miraculously, when the food arrived, my flu and sorethroat just suddenly dissapeared and I started "attacking" delectable sashimi!!!! I simply love Japanese food! Definately one of my favourite cuisines of all time.

All in all, it was a really nice outing with all the seniors and the managers.

J-Jeo, Cassie, Alan, Miki, Sharon and Dewi

BC, Mei Ling, Alzari, Alvin and his adorable little Aiden

Past week's round-up

Finally......manage to find some time for myself.

For the past week, I was under the assumption that normally morning shifts I'll have more time to myself compared to afternoon shifts. Wrong.

Seems like no matter how early I finish from work, I have some function to attend or some appointment to keep.

Avarage sleeping time for the past week is around......5 hours per day.

So I guess you can imagine I've been gargling coffee everyday at work just to keep my eyes open.

Still, in terms of work.....not everything is going as smoothly as it used to as before. I have no idea why, but I'm not performing up to par and I even start to feel that I'm overstayed my tenure in the cluster's buddy system.

Do you ever get the feeling that you have worn out your usefulness? Well, there will be a Senior's dinner this coming week. Though, I can't help but to feel like its a farewell dinner for me.

Also, I got into a small tiff with another colleague during one of the briefings we had the other day. It was primarily a briefing regarding the cluster's performance regarding the Sales Thru Service campaign. Apparently, the cluster is not performing as well as the other cluster.....and now, the managers are trying to get feedback from the floor to see if there are any way to improve on the current situation.

I dont know....but for me...looking at a statistical point of view, I feel that the root of the problem is the difference in methodology between the 2 clusters. That's why the disparity is there. However, when I try to put my views across, I was immeadiately shot down by another officer that I was just making excuses for the poor cluster performance.

But the thing is, if we continue to do what we do, and just barge in head-strong with out current methodology....we're never going to catch up on the other cluster.

There is a procedure and solution to every problem. You see a problem. You think of a solution. You formulate a plan. And you see it thru. If there is any problems along the way; you fine tune your procedure to perfection.

But the solution to these people? Simply whack everything until you get it right. Sadly, I must admit....this is the Malaysian way.

To be honest, the colleague that went against me the other day is REALLY starting to piss me off. The way he handled the situation looked to me like it was......personal.

Anyway, enough about work.

I attended the infamous CS Bash the other day. What was expected to be a mediocre department dinner turned out to be one of the most entertaining nights I ever had.

All because of my slut-bro, Franklin.

You see, he was nominate for the CS Mr. Personality pageant. Initially, I was quite worried about the dude as I didnt know how he is going to handle the stage fright. Boy, I was worried for nothing.

On stage, when he was asked, "Why do you think we should choose you as CS Mr. Personality?"

Here are his exact words.......

[He took the mike]
[Stepped up to the crowd....and said]
Why?
Is there any girl in this ballroom I haven't talked to before?
Is there any girl in this ballroom I haven't flirted with?

[There were about 100+ girls in the ballroom]
Now, if you don't know me, I'm sure you know my reputation.
Why?
It's because......I have sex appeal.

After that.......he literally brought down the house!!!! He has every man's respect in the ballroom and everyone was cheering for him. Some were even shouting, "We're not worthy!!!!!"

Seriously, it was something I have never seen anyone do....ON STAGE! For those few brief moments......Franklin was God among men. And the best part.....what he said about his reputation......is TRUE!!!!!!! HE HAS flirted with EVERY single one of them!

Here are some of the pics I took with some of the 'gorgeous' babes that night.....

Here's me and the ever-so-lovely Hayati

Here I am with Ellie the Tech-Girl (also from Penang!)

And here are the rest of the CS Rec-Comm members.....