My First Exposure

My first week on job and I seem to enjoy it. Work usually ends at 730pm (because senior doesnt want us to claim meal allowances and taxi fare) and I have to see the client pull their long face when I request for documents. Beside these, I think the rest are all within my favour. I even went down to work on a Saturday without a single complaint. Maybe if King were around and I had to reserve Saturdays for him, I would have cried out loud.. Even on weekdays, I didnt have a single bit of dying-to-go-home mood when it was 730pm. What makes me wanna go home is when Mum called to say she cooked my dinner.. I named this state: FLOW. The flow of work!

-

Learning curve wasnt the least bit high. I would say, it is a comfortable pace for me. I could easily take my time to understand the process. Once in a while, senior would ask if I have any problems. He is quite patient in explaining things to me. So that's one good thing about the job. Although I have had my attachment in relevant firms before, I find the job different to a certain extent. This explains why I'm so slow in doing things. Perhaps, I could have completed my assigned task last week if I havent been chatting with the other A1s so much.

-

The team is a good one. Probably this is part of the reason why I'm enjoying it so much. They were easy to joke with, very funny. If not for this, I could have die out of boredom, one week without internet & msn! I realised work has trained me to become 'lame-r' by the day. In general, people of my profession adopts that attitude as they sink deeper into work. Maybe it's a way for us to balance our work-life? Or we reach a state where we realised we need something else other than pure work!

-

Coffee has become a staple drink. I found myself dozing off in the first few days of work. Subsequently, I had coffee everyday. Either for breakfast or after lunch - the 2 most crucial times when I'll fall asleep. Now, I have become a true coffee addict. I could even take pure kopi O for now without finding it too bitter. Food has also played an important role. The term 'snacking' has never popped up in my mind when I was at ORQ. Now, I pop that question to my team after lunch: "Snacking??!?" Haha.. You cant blame it on me, anyway. Senior & Victor were the ones who brought that culture on the first day at client's place. Subsequently, we adopted that attitude too. Maybe I was alittle to extreme only. Wooops!

-

Some self-reflections: I still think I need more exposure in this industry. Most of the time, I got scare off by those long-faced client. I hestitate to approach them for documents. One general trend: the aunties really treat the males better. For example: I went to this lady for a document, she asked me not to bother her today as she was rushing stuff for us. Yet, Jonathan went over to ask for invoices, she gave it to him. Isnt it unfair? So much of gender equality! On one ocassion I find myself very unprofessional and insensitive. For private and confidential documents, I forgot I have to handle them with due care.. I accidentally flashed the document to the lady without realising there was another lady by her side. She had to quickily push the documents to my side so that I can cover it up and then flashed me the *tsk tsk tsk, it's P&C! face*.

-

Work isnt the least bit boring YET, since I have much more to learn. It's more like I'm starting to see the world now. :) Is it really FLAT?

Pissed again!

STUPID ID!! I spent one whole hour trying to figure out how to log on to the company's website to post my week's activity for tomorrow's pay day. And at the end of the day, I didnt manage to do it! What the ~!!! How come we are not taught how to do such things in the first place? And why did my itchy fingers anyhow click on that stupid icon? Why must the dumb remote connect be so user-unfriendly? Why cant I just go back to the original window? Why does the stupid help book not help at all? Why is King busy and I cant call him to complain? Now, I cant get my pay tomorrow!

ARGGGHhhhhh! Pissed, Tired, Angry!

Saturday is Gui's Day!

Well, it's always very difficult to get everyone out, and when Xin Xin promised to meet us on Saturday, I was exuberant that I finally get to meet her after a year??!?

-

Xia chose Miss Clarity Cafe and since I missed their reputable MUD OOZE soOooo much, I didnt think twice before I agree.. As usual, Xia brought along her "Lao Xiang Hao" WeiMing along and their story begins... It's never a surprise that whenever Deez is around with us, we started playing match-making! (Seriously, Weiming and Xia have the husband-and-wife look, and I'm sure they will make a cute couple!) Xia was extremely sporting that day and she started playing along with our teasing. (Poor girl, she must have gotten immune of such business!

.+ YG & TCG +.

.+YG&LKG+. .+YG&CTG+. .+XIA & her Lao Xiang Hao+. .+ Envious LSG +.

.+Guis+.

The Sub-conscious Mind!

Have you ever found yourself coming to your senses in the morning, without being awaken by the noise of the buzzing alarm clock, just because you have something important to perform?

-

Well, if your answer is YES!, then your sub-conscious mind is working.. Someone once mentioned to me: "Try not setting your alarm! The night before you sleep, chant to your sub-conscious mind, I MUST WAKE UP AT 6am TOMORROW.." It may sound ridiculous to you as it sounded to me when I first hear it. But not when you actually experienced it like I did!

-

These few days, I found myself awake, minutes before my alarm clock even start sounding! No procrastinating, no hestitating, I woke up immediately.. (Impressive!) It becomes a routine. I on my laptop, gather my clothes to bathe and talk to King. Perhaps, he is the reason as to why I'm so "well-tamed"! LOL

-

So why not try this out? Let your alarm clock rest for a day. Chant to your sub-conscious mind, I MUST WAKE UP AT 6am TOMORROW.. Perhaps, it works on you too!

*Disclaimer: This is not applicable to those who have work or school the next day. You might end up waking up at noon time, late for work/school.

I miss BAKING!!

When can I ever find time to bake? Now that my guinea pig is not around, I needa find replacements!

BUT I still miss baking!!!!

SINful Day.

What a sinful day! I bet I already have like 5 meals today.

-

Went jogging with Mum and Dad at Botanical Gardens as usual. Thought I could lead a healthy day today.. Unfortunately, the food at Sixth Avenue looks too good that I ate a bowl of prawn noodles and 2 pieces of prata just for breakfast. The prawn noodles tastes good. (How come King never bring me there to eat before?) The prata looks crispy but it wasnt as good as the one at Upper Thomson. I still miss the prata there. Dad tried the wanton noodle and he said the roast meat tasted the best. I'll give it a try next time.

-

That's 2 meals in a row.

-

Dad and I went to the cold storage to get some grocery. It was funny that my Dad becomes so health-conscious after I told him that the tau sah piah that he ate last night before he sleep was super fattening. He said he wanted to get some healthy food so that he can snack when he feels hungry. While we were grocery shopping, there comes my third meal of the day. Mum happened to see a bakery shop and bought lots of bread to try. Well, being a hard-core bread addict, I reached out for some. Heh..

-

That's the 3rd and it was only in the morning!

-

Met up with Sab & Jun and the 3 guys for lunch at Soup Restaurant. Amazingly, I was the earliest of all, although Ziqian claimed that he reached earlier.. Nvm that. At least I am early and all of them were impressed with me. I guess all thought I would be late. Glad that I'm working my way to being a more time-conscious person. :) I bet King is proud of me too! I finally get to try the Teo Chew Olive Rice and I think it's not bad. But the guys say they prefer the Yang Chow fried Rice. Apparently, the 6 of us were nicely splitted among the 3 big fours. YJ and Sab are in PWC, Jun and I are in EY and ZQ and Lionel in DT. So we decided with the plan that we will take turns organising outings. The next one would be held on 25 November at Sentosa!

-

During the 3 hour lunch, we talked about our work experience, joked about our profession, gossip about our colleagues, laughed at stupid jokes and took some pictures too. I thought it was great to have friends of diversed company so that we can share our experiences and compare companies..

-

4th meal...

-

I reached home after an hour's bus ride. I guess I was sooooo tired I slept throughout the whole journey. I couldnt even hear my phone ring. I wrapped up my day with 5 ferrero rocher while typing this. Ya, it's sinful, but I'm enjoying it! ;p I'll keep to my healthy regime tomorrow! Haha..

-

5th meal, and hopefully the last!

Buddy Meal

You must be thinking of KFC but it's not! It's EY's way of getting the new hires acquainted with the company's structure, style and culture.

-

Today, I finally met up with my buddy for a meal. And I found out a hell lots of things from him, and told him too much of my thoughts too. Half way through, I started pondering.. Maybe I shouldnt say so much after all. He isnt a close friend of mine and I should watch what I'm saying. I might be walking into forbidden territory without myself knowing it! Well, I'm a little disappointed about my team's portfolio of companies. I would mainly be working on manufacturing firms. Although I'm ok with it, I would prefer working on F&B, hotels or even retail industries. But nope! It's not within my reach.. Buddy mentioned about my manager too! He says she isnt a very friendly person. Not that she wants to be unfriendly.. Maybe she works too hard that she overlooked the social part of her life. Yes, she is a total workaholic that she even works on weekends! You are right, sundays included! On the other hand, Jonathon's manager looks so much livelier! A team I think I would enjoy being in more than my current one. Buddy says that manager has been awarded one of the best manager in EY. Impressive!

-

In addition, today marks my last day of slacking in the pantry. While I was sitting in the pantry sipping coffee and talking to the other new hires, Buddy happens to walk by.. During lunch, he sort of informed me that I should be doing that all the time. It doesnt reflect well on me if any manager or partner walks pass and see us idling there. Sounds scary, isnt it? At least, it scares me! In fact, when Kelvin msn-ed me to go for tea break, I rejected and say I wanna work! haha.. I even warned him not to go there too often!

-

Buddy also briefed me some basic matters in EY. I thought he was good as compared to the other buddies.. Oh there's one thing about him! He really inspires me! He slimmed down a total of 12kg within a short 2 months! I was totally amazed when he showed me his photos. Inspiring! But his meals were like vegetables and fruits for that 2 months?!? And he names it detox programme. We went for buddy meal together with his girlfriend (yup, I was a true lightbulb!) and he shares a bowl of noodles with her while I had my own bowl. Haha.. I wonder if I can do what he's doing!

-

Post work activity today was movie with Ting and her friends. " The Nanny's Diary" was not bad. Some funny scenes and a part that was quite touching. One of the friends reminds me of King's younger brother. He has that groofy smile that makes them resemble each other. And I like that ZARA shirt he was wearing. Kind of playful yet decent looking.. I tried to picture King in it but half way through, I changed my mind. Darling will look better in his usual shirts.. (ops!)

-

Tiring day! especially my eyes.. Hope I wont be late for work tomorrow!

An Extravagant Day!

Today, an expensive day!

-

In the morning, I went Botanical Gardens with my family for a jog. It was nice, this time round Sis was around. So I actually have a jogging companion. We left Pa and Ma to wonder off themselves. Initially, Dad seems to prefer Mum to tag along with us. But we refused, because we wanted them to spend more time together. So Mum looked like a ball, being kicked in between us! ;p

-

We had breakfast at Bukit Timah market before proceeding home to change. I agreed to go Borneo Motors with Dad to look at the Camry that he wanted to buy. Well, Ting tagged along too, since we would be going out on our shopping spree later on. I must say, the new Camry is really nice. The interior reminds me of King's mother's Mercedes. It also has the auto-drive function that (i think) a Mercedes has too! I cant wait to test drive the car!! Ting says I will look really 'polished' in it.

-

Ting and I decided to have a beach theme today. Didnt know why we ended up overly-dressed for shopping. Maybe we just wanted that extra attention on the streets. ;p And we really turned many heads! Whahaha.. Ting termed these people 'radar', and she made us sound like aliens who had just returned from outer space.

If you happened to notice those big bags in my hands, coupled with that smug grin on my face, you could have guessed correctly. I had just immersed myself in retail- therapy! $160 - a pair of corporate shoes, $53 - Cropped jacket, $60 - undergarments, $60 - blouse, $160 - Ting's belated birthday present, $30 - King's surprise. That was how extravagant I am today. And I guess I have to be so much more thrifty for the next 3 weeks in October.

-

To add to my high-life, Ting and I took a taxi down to Orchard Road from her house. Since we were in the mood, we decided to have high tea together at Plaza Park Royal! Some rich Tai-Tais, huh?

*WARNING: Such extravagant days are highly not recommended for normal daily life..

A typical Saturday

Today, I was supposed to meet Ade for breakfast at Cartel. But it turned out that I dragged till 1130am. So we ended up eating lunch.. Why 1130am? Whahaha.. 1st of all, I woke up at 7am to talk to King. As planned, I was supposed to go jogging after that.. (to lose that extra fats from the chocolate mud pie that ZX treated me during dinner last night.) But I laid in bed, struggling to get out of bed. Soon, it was 10am! I decided I can jog after tuition later on. Guess what, it started raining after tuition. ;p Man, I got over it so easily!

-

Shafiqah's PSLE will end on Monday, and this marks my last tuition today. Time really flies. And as I see her scribbled 53rd tuition on the homework book, I couldnt help thinking: where did I spent all that money? 53 tuitions will mean 6 months of $180.. 6 x $180 = $1080!! Where is my $1080? How come I dont see it in my savings account?!? Anyway, Shah is really sweet. She passed me an envelope with a very nice card and key chain enclosed. Well, although she mentioned she's confident with her Maths paper, I know one look on her expression and the way she tells me that she wont get good grades. Maths is the only thing I have to worry about for her! *Pray she get good grades*

PISSED!

I'm PISSED with everything on Earth!

Work-Life balance

It's my 3rd day in ORQ, King's 2nd week in London..

-

Well, ABBS 21 looks like a mess compared to ABBS 22, desks were half-occupied by piles and piles of files and documents, ABBS 21 looks over-staffed, new hires in ABBS 21 has no lockers assigned. . I could go on & on! There's definitely so much to complain. Yet, I find myself getting on well with "work". Maybe not work yet. More like "training".. Useless web-based learning. Perhaps due to that, I'm actually enjoying myself. At least, I'm not stressed at work yet. Coming to the office slightly passed 830am and leaving on the dot at 530pm! Half the time, I'm on the net, surfing, chatting, idling.. The other half, completing web-based learning modules and dozing off, taking toilet breaks, pantry breaks.. That's what work life is all about! (Talk about work-life balance!?!)

-

I havent really interact much with the seniors yet. Most of my time in the office was spent with the A1s in my team, and lunch - with anybody from the Sept batch who isnt out at job. I havent been officially introduced to my manager on the first day at work. She wasnt around that day. On tuesday when I report to work, I went forward to introduce myself. She didnt look exactly friendly. She dont even seem to know that I am assigned to her! No one introduce the seniors in my sub-team to me. On the other side, Johnathon's manager appears to be warm and nice, introducing people to us, briefing us AOB matters..

-

King has been away for a short period of time and I think I'm handling it pretty well. If King were around, I could be with him now, spending time together, seeking some form of entertainment. And I would probably turn up at work feeling lethargic and sleepy. Now, I can make use of the time to do my own things! Yes, what a way to think. I'm looking on the brighter side, aren't I?

I wonder what's the fate of my Xiao Hei now.. Under his legs, under his armpit, on the floor or in his arms?