Nuah3 Tang4

I have a new colleague recently (2-3 months) whom I have given a nickname “Nuah3 Tang4”. I simply cannot stand the sight of him, not just because he is not the handsome kind, or because his face is oily with potholes. The way he walks simply irritates me! He likes to drag every single footstep of his (I think he has to change his shoes often as his soles should wear out often) and he walks with a slouch! His shoulders are forever sloping downwards and forward! He looks SO DAMN LAZY! Why did my AD and DD even hire him in the first place?! Didn’t they notice the way he walked into the interview room?

Anyway, in terms of work attitude, I also don’t have a good impression of him as he has dee xiao a few times for his own work and I had to do some of the work for him as a result. My branch is like that, if anyone cannot handle his/her work, the more efficient and younger staff will suddenly have to catch those half-done jobs. Since this guy is young (he’s my age), why didn’t they make him catch my half-done jobs?! Stop citing that he is new and hence you all don’t dare to give him any jobs! During my 3rd month in the branch, I was already assigned to do presentations and organise divisional events. Bloody Hell. And the average age of the execs in my branch is around 30, about 6 in total, yet the only ones that always kio sai are the same two people. All the unfairness is making me psychologically unbalanced every  day second.

I really despise nuah3 tangs4, especially if they are men! BE A MAN AND WALK LIKE ONE LAH! Oh btw, when I was describing to yh how this guy walks, somehow this image came to mind –> in HK vampire dramas/movies, those ancient era types, the vampires will suck the villagers’ blood and these villagers will roam the streets in masses. To act like vampires, they will drag their feet and walk in a half-dead manner… That’s really similar to how this nuah3 tang4 walks!!!

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Adding paper into printer

In my office, we usually have the CSOs to help us fix any printers-related issues, including adding paper into the printers when paper has run out.

My practice is, if I want to print things and paper has run out, I will find any CSO and ask him/her to help add paper into the printer.  If I can’t find any CSO, too bad for me, I will go add the paper myself.  It is as simple as just going to the cupboard to take out one huge stack of paper and adding into the printer.  (Ok, since I say it’s so simple, why don’t I do it myself and still trouble CSOs to do it? I think it’s part of their job scope and I should not “spoil” them.)

This morning, the B/W printer ran out of paper again, and I witnessed one of my colleagues, removing a small stack of paper from the colour printer next to it and putting into the B/W printer.  WTF? Is she just taking enough to print for HERSELF?  And the cupboard containing all papers is just nearby!  If she does not know where the papers are stored, she could have asked the CSO sitting nearby to just help out on it (note: the CSO was around during then).

Alamak… This is just one of the incidents showing how selfish my colleagues are.  Anyway, there is a PSC scholar serving an internship in my branch; we are supposed to “impress” him and give him a good impression of the branch/organisation.  Haha…

Disgusted with these people.  If only I could be more aloof towards what I see…. Sigh.

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Best Day to Start Work After CNY

My mum likes to forward me funny stuffs. This time, she sent me a document which lists out the “best” day to start work after CNY, categorised by the animal year that you were born in.  (Of course it also lists out the “worst day” to start work, and whether starting work on a particular day is “average”, “good” or “bad”…)

Apparently, the “best” day for me to start work (I am born in the year of dog, btw) is Tue, 8 Feb 2011.. Hmm….. 🙂

For me, anyday is the best day to start work after CNY, as long as I have a peaceful workday, without my DD shouting at me. So I pray hard that she is either on MC or on leave on Mon.

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Golden Horse Awards – The Real Winners

Everyday when I enter my office, I feel like I am entering a filming studio.  The survivors of my workplace are those that can act really well. The Golden Horse Awards nominees can’t beat those hardcore and expert “actors/actresses” in my office *clap clap for them*. Why do I say so?

•  They act like they are soooo interested in everything the “producer/director” says, by gasping, etc.
• They suck up to the “producer/director”, just like what newbies do to get acting opportunities
• They are melodramatic about the things they do, for e.g. if they pick up a piece of trash and thow it to the bin, they equate the action to being contributing to the efficiency and well-being of the office – i.e. do small thing, achieve a save-the-earth kind of effect
• They skive (read newspapers, watch youtube, etc.) when the “producer/director” is not looking at them, just like those actors catching sleep when the camera is not facing them
• To fellow “actors/actresses” in the office, they show their true selves, especially when the “actors/actresses” are more junior than them. However, towards the “producer/director” they can become those tame little sheep again
• The older and more experienced “actors/actresses” like to harp on their past experiences to show their worthiness in the office *again and again and again*

Sigh. Maybe as a farewell gift to each of them, I should go Queensway and make a trophy specially for each of the “actors/actresses”, of course with their names engraved on the trophies 🙂

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“Attached below…” is bad English

I get scolded by my boss every single day, maybe not to the extent of every single day since she takes half days’ or full days’ leaves occasionally, but on some days, I can get scoldings a few times a day, so it works out to be almost at least a scolding per day.

I have been trying hard not to get affected by her scoldings, and if possible, make a joke out of every scolding. It’s terribly difficult to stay happy at the end of a work day after multiple scoldings, and somehow, very exhausting.  I feel so tired after 6 pm, it feels like I have just completed a marathon (made up of scoldings and trying to pacify her).

Anyway, yesterday, she was scolding me over my “bad english”.  I certainly don’t think that my English is superb, but at least okay right? She was scolding me over a sentence I use quite broadly, i.e. “Attached below is the blah blah blah”. To her, “Attached below” is bad English (huh?! Why huh?!) and as usual, she rudely and sarcastically said “You never learn English before is it? Can’t you all write proper sentences like “This is blah blah blah”?”

Sigh… Going to work is like going to school, and my teacher is not just a normal school teacher, but the disciplinarian.

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Meeting Etiquette

Tsk Tsk… Youngsters nowadays don’t have meeting etiquette. I feel ashamed to be a youngster. Hahaha. (Actually I’m growing older so shouldn’t be young anymore.)

I was having some meeting today and there were 2 young architects or the architects’ assistants among the attendees. Being the client who is paying for their services, I (and my colleagues) would expect basic courtesy from these people right? Problem was, the first time I encountered these people during an initial meeting, these 2 youngsters laughed or mocked at every mistake made by one of the Asst Directors (ADs). He was not those English-pom-pi-pi type of person so basically he made many grammar and pronunciation mistakes as he spoke. Plus he kept reiterating his points, hence bringing more focus to his mistakes. I personally find his English very “can’t-make-it-to-be-an-AD”, but I have never laughed at him openly and rudely in his face, at most is behind his back. Hahaha. These two people were sniggering at all his mistakes and I couldn’t help but notice them.

Today was the second time I encountered these two rude youngsters. This time, they diverted their attention to the school principal. This school principal was also not those that can speak well and made grammatical mistakes along the way too. She even made the mistake of using the acronym “CCTV” when she meant “CCPE” (Co-Curricular Programme Executive). Within seconds, I heard someone repeat after the principal, “CCTV?!?!”, followed by a rude snigger. WAH LAO! I turned my head and saw that it was again the rude youngsters!

Bloody Hell! Don’t they recognise that those people they were laughing at, are their clients? I wonder why their boss hired them in the first place. Tsk tsk.

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My new desk is spick-and-span!

My branch shifted office yesterday. It was a good chance to do housekeeping and pack all our files, stationery, snacks, etc. What I did was I placed all my files side by side according to their categories and felt so satisfied with myself. My stationery were also neatly kept in the drawers. I even boasted to my colleagues that my workstation was so neat and they thought likewise.

When I told yh the above, he said this to me… “路遥知马力，日久见人心贞晶”… He changed the last two words to my name instead. Hahaha… My colleagues ought to see my desk at home. Bwhahahahahhahaa.

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Working part-time hours – Stop abusing it!

Recently I was rather pissed off by someone at work. She is an employee who opted to work part-time hours, meaning she works either in the am-half everyday or the pm-half everyday.

To cut the story short, I wanted to organise a meeting with her and in order to match everyone’s availability as well as the availability of meeting rooms, I had to offer her the option of a meeting in the am hours, which she does not work during those hours.

So, our conversation went something like that..

Me, “Are you able to attend the meeting in the morning?”

Her, “Morning? I cannot! I can only go meetings in the afternoons”

Me, “Oh you everyday also cannot meet in the morning right? Only afternoons? How about you send a representative from your department to attend instead? I am sorry, but all the meeting rooms for the other dates are packed.”

Her, “My boss said it is either I attend or she attends!” (I was happy after hearing that of course, so…)

Me, “Then can you ask your boss to attend on that morning instead?”

Her, “Erm… Ermm… Ermm… How about you go beg those people to give up meeting rooms to you? Sure can one.”

Me, “My CSO has been trying hard to secure rooms but really no more rooms for our usage. Why not you ask your boss or other colleagues?”

Her, “Aiyah I cannot lah! (in a raised voice) You just go find another date!”

 I was so frustrated then! It is obvious she does not dare to ask her boss to give in to my request due to her inconvenience and she dares to ask me to go BEG other people for rooms just because she does not work during morning hours?

Initially my thoughts were, such half-day working arrangements are so troublesome and inefficient! However, upon lamenting about this event to my husband, he had another perspective and I totally agreed. These people are abusing the system! In the above scenario, the lady could have arranged with her boss to work on am for that particular day instead but she didn’t want to. It is not that the arrangement is inflexible, but the person who is inflexible. Probably she has some REAL reasons like looking after her children or parents, then jolly well don’t work at all if she cannot be flexible with the hours. The company is already so kind to allow her to work such hours daily,  she ought to put in effort on her part to make adjustments in her lifestyle for her work too!

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Pre-starting-work insomnia

I’ve started work! Had wanted to edit the Hello Kitty pictures to continue blogging about Sanrio Puroland but I was too busy the past few days, enjoying my last few days as a HDB taitai. Will post those kawaii photos soon. 🙂

Anyway, I was too excited apprehensive about my first day of work the night before, so I couldn’t sleep early, as much as I wished I could. I ended up watching TV and my eyes were so glued to History’s channel “The 102 minutes that changed/shook America”.. I can’t remember if it was “changed” or “shook” in the programme title. Anyway, it was gruesome! They showed footages of the 911 terrorism attack, and showed people jumping or flying off World Trade Centre. The people jumping off flew downwards far more faster than paper flying down (due to the greater mass obviously), and the sight was frightening. Why are they showing such “heavy” programmes at 2 or 3 am at night?! Wah liew.. I found it even harder to sleep after watching the tragic footages. Serious leh.. In the end I gave up and quickly switched off the TV. That worked. I slept within 15 minutes after that.

Anyway, History channel is getting interesting, even better than National Geographic and Discovery channels at times. Hope they maintain this standard, but I also hope that they stop scaring people late at night. Haha.

Anyway, work was okay today, just that I was panda-eyed whole day. Hope it gets better from here. 🙂

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Feeling excited again….

I have not blogged for a long time as I was preparing for a competency test held last Thu. I applied for a certain job on Tues and was asked to go down for some Excel/Powerpoint/Written tests on Thu. I was worried that they would test my excel macro skills as I was really very lousy at it. 😦 I will always need to go online to search for similar codes to be incorporated into my codes. Haha…

Phew, fortunately, they didn’t test my macro skills. It was rather easy (basic formulae like median, percentile, average were tested) but I had a nightmare when I saw that they were using Excel 2007. That’s the same version on my laptop too, but till now I can’t figure out many things on this version of Excel. I was so used to using Excel 2003 and this new version was like….. STRANGE. Hahaha. Wah lao, initially when using this Excel 2007 on my laptop, I had problem finding the “Save As” link lor… In the old excel it was under “File” right? This new Excel 2007, the “Save As” is found inside this Windows icon located on the top left button. ^$*@#&@*!

The Powerpoint turned out to be rather easy too, but I didnt have time to complete it as I am a slow coach and I tend to check my work again and again. I would rather score well for the Excel portion. I did manage to do out the chart as requested and pasted it on Powerpoint, but I did not have time to animate the individual bars on the bar chart. 😦 I must admit my Powerpoint skills were not fantastic, but okay lah 🙂 mai hiam buey pai, ai hiam is kanasai. 🙂

There was also a test of my languages, though mainly testing my English grammar skills. Alamak…. This was a nightmare. I think the test was written by a Hong Kong-er. There was a very chong-haye (long-winded) statement about some law-related clause. There was this term “Court of First Instance” and I googled it, found that it was appearing in many HK-related statements. I was supposed to rephrase the clause in layman terms 🙂 Of course I don’t understand the entire statement but just anyhow hamtam and wrote out some stuffs lah. There were also some other questions lah, it’s hard to explain here. Anyway what scared me was the Chinese proverb. I HAVE NOT SEEN IT BEFORE! Bwhahaha. Although I have been in the Higher Chinese stream throughout my Primary and Secondary school education, I have really never come across that proverb. I would think that my husband and bestie (who are always better at Chinese than me) will know the term, but even they also don’t know!!!!!!!! I guess only China counterparts taking this test will know how to explain that proverb. 🙂

The last section was an essay section, nightmare too. I was supposed to write out my life story and some other stuffs. Oh boy, I think I have TOO MUCH to write. It’s not my fault, I just have such a colourful and interesting life story, how am I going to write it all out within half an hour?!!? 😦 So, as usual, I could not complete my essay lah. So sad. 😦 They also wanted my views of the economic crisis happening now, and of course I have soooo many views. It is crashing the stock market and affecting our pennies, how can I be nonchalant? Haiz, I think I am too talkative. If I were less talkative and less expressive, I could have completed my essay. Or perhaps they should give me more time to complete it.

The invigilator was also very strict. When he says “do within 20 minutes”, he really means it and comes in 20 minutes to stop me from writing anythin further. Good. Very strict. I like such invigilators. Because if he is not strict enough, many other candidates will take advantage and keep writing, then honest people like me will lose out. 🙂 Bwhahahaa.

Anyway I have an interview with them this coming Wednesday. I am trying hard not to be hopeful in case I get disappointed 😦 So everyone please don’t place high hopes on me too 🙂 I thought they would not contact me again after my lousy test performance but surprisingly they did. Hmm 🙂 I am preparing again for the interview, so gonna be busy. Everytime before an interview, I feel like I am sitting for an examination and will read up on anything related to the company, their industry, etc. 😦 Those questions I would not be able to answer if I had not read up. Basic questions like my father, my mother, my previous job, my hobbies, all these I can blabber non-stop, no problem 🙂

Wish me luck! 🙂

P.S. Yh and I have not watched any movies for years, and we watched My Bloody Valentine 3D last Sat. It was of course a 3-Dimensional show, as the title suggests, and it wasn’t really horrifying as they claimed, but just gruesome. Because of the 3D effect, you will feel like the axe is targetted at you and slashing you, blood gushing out from the victim’s body, etc etc. Quite a nice movie experience but costly too. $23 for 2 tickets. 😦 I like to watch thrillers, cheap thrills also can. Hee hee.

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Good pay in London!

Omg we saw some advertisements of job openings in London and their pay is similar to Singapore’s, just that everything is in pounds! For instance, the pay of a temporary admin assistant is around 9 pounds per hour, and a receptionist is paid 17K-25K pounds (~SGD 40K – 60K) per annum!

We also saw some job ads on buses, bus drivers are paid higher than me in my ex and ex ex companies (after converting their pay to SGD). However, I think they also pay more taxes than us and the standard of living is higher too. However, I don’t find food really THAT expensive there as sometimes you can find rather affordable food too. 🙂

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Beware of such interviewers!!!!

Some interviewers are real a**holes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *fuming mad*.

Let me illustrate with an example. You may be applying for the post of HR Manager but seeing you have an engineering degree, they inform you DURING the interview that actually, the post of HR Manager has been filled up and they will like to offer you the post of an engineer instead. However, your cover letter has stated clearly that you want to move out of the field of engineering and venture into HR instead, with the subject of the cover letter being “Application for the post of HR Manager”.

Let me tell you what is so irritating about this!!!!!

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1. To go down for an interview, you usually have to apply for leave. ONE DAY OF LEAVE IS GONE JUST LIKE THAT, JUST TO GET INTERVIEWED FOR A JOB YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. You are filled with hope and excitement at the thought of the interview, as this may be your chance to get out of your current shithole (your current company) and yet it is dashed just like that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. You think that this company you have applied for sounds promising and you look forward to working in it, yet it is such a HUGE disappointment and IT IS SO DAMN UNPROFESSIONAL!!!!!!!

4. After the mistake the idiots have made, they still dare to smile and show their bl*ody yellow teeth, and persuade you to accept the post of an engineer!!!! THEY ALL THINK THEY ARE HOSTING A MLM RECRUITMENT EVENT AH? We may be desperate for jobs but we are not going to chin chai (i.e. anyhow) take their offers!!!!!!!! And what I hate most is, such a**holes are not sorry about wasting your time and effort!!!! WHERE IS THEIR “SORRY”??

5. Preparing for an interview takes time! You will usually have to read the company profile, look through some technical information, etc. IMAGINE, ALL THAT TIME IS WASTED!!!! TIME IS ALSO MONEY YOU KNOW?!?!?!?! Oh, and to go down to the company for the interview, you have to park your car at that damn expensive carpark, how about that parking fee?!?!?!!?!?!?!?! PAY US BACK THE MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!

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I am super angry, hence the many exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!! I curse that you idiots encounter the same shit experience when you all try to change your jobs!!!!!! Pui!!! Big company and yet so unprofessional.. Hmmphf.

If you want people to consider another post within your company, you should have the courtesy, consideration and professionalism to inform the candidate through the phone that his/her applied post has been filled, and will like to interview him/her for another post instead. Don’t make people travel all the way down to your company mah!!!!

Lesson learnt: Always ask the HR officer through the phone what post you are going to be interviewed for.

(Btw, sometimes it is not entirely the HR’s fault for such an arrangement. Sometimes HR just circulates the resume and another department fancies the resume and asks HR to contact the candidate for an interview. However, HR is still partly responsible as they should have informed the candidate through the phone that it will be a different post)

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