I Feel Like Quitting.

48 hours since I got pissed off and I'm supposed to head back to the place where it all happened. Don't know why, but I just don't feel like heading to work, especially since I'll be working with one of the people that really pissed me off. I think it's the first time that I actually feel like just giving up, packing my bag and taking a break, not caring about my responsibility at work. Honestly why should I when the people employed there full time don't even bother either?

Maybe You Should Worry About Finding New Part-Timers?

Well the day started fine enough until one family came by, with the mom being a bitch with her 'concerned' questions regarding our menu's items. I understand your kids have allergies, and that you're making sure that we don't kill them by accident, but you seriously didn't have to ask me things as though I was some incompetent person suggesting things off the menu just to make a few extra dollars. First off, I've taken your order before as I recall your two girls having to share one drink and can never seem to agree on how they want it. How about you stop being a cheapskate and just get them a drink each? Or since you were so smart today to take half the drink away, why not just let them have a glass each to go so they can enjoy their own drink. Oh wait... I head back to my first observation, that you're cheap. So cheap you'll charge $6 to the credit card just to get points. So the next time you see me, I probably won't be bothered to take your order, and just send my manager to you since you seem to only want to talk to him.

Then cue the people in the 2nd shift. I honestly don't know if some people are just plain ignorant, or is it about time they changed their shitty working attitudes. After finding out that they didn't receive much of a bonus this year, people at work are not only less motivated to work, some seem to have lost all sense of duty. 

I wonder if they realise why there is such a thing as a schedule, and that on the schedule, there are times to indicate the flow of staff for the day. If you're not going to work when you step into the outlet, why bother coming in at all? So if you already stepped into the outlet, why aren't you taking over tasks from the 1st shift? It's rather easy to guess who you should be taking over if there are 3 people in the morning and 3 working in the evening. 

Then they take their own sweet time to get things done, including going for their breaks. Hellloooooooooooooo? Did you not see that I am supposed to be leaving at 4 and you're still at the outlet instead of banking in the previous day's takings, you still haven't gone for your break, and lets not forget that the 1st shift hasn't gone for their break either. Plus we can't forget the one who decided to slowly pack things away after retrieving them from the store, getting in the way half the time. Don't you realise that it was only the two of us and that I was taking, as well as, preparing orders while you took your time to unload the trolley? 

Then came the point where I really started to get pissed off - when some people decide to leave the bar unattended just because I was there. Did you even know the reason I came up was because you were so bloody slow just getting drinks out? Did you even realise that I just went up to prepare the fruit salad? I can't believe you even have the cheek to step down and actually let the next order sit on the spike for me to prepare. Was it even right to have me, the part-timer, to ask one of you full-timers to actually get the thing done because it seems all of you were too blind to see I was busy with another order of fruit salad that had to be prepared from scratch? What is the use in dreaming about big bonuses and bigger paychecks when you don't even pull the weight of your own title? And back to the schedule... you were supposed to take over my shift, therefore take over the bar. The very reason I stepped down from it when you were finally done with shoving everything in their right hiding place was so you could get the bar to the way you wanted. 

So the crowd came streaming in just as I was supposed to leave, but I already knew I had to extend my time, well I thought at least until someone more capable came back from their break. But lo and behold, the person comes back and seems to have decided to play around with the cash register instead, at the same time asking the ignorant one to take their break. Even after the hint that I was supposed to be heading home, no one seems to bother taking over the bar, the only question I get directed to me was if I could stay till 6, and this was the 2nd extension. I really didn't see why I had to stay any further when all I ended up doing was to complete and order, walk around, clean things, stare at the cakes, and head to the kitchen to bitch to Adi. If I could do that, why couldn't someone else just do my job at that point? 

What's the use of complaining that running costs for the outlet is high when you're wasting money keeping me there for another hour? What's the use of having everyone with nice titles above their names when they don't seem to pull their weights. Do these people even deserve the titles, let alone their pay?

The last straw came when I was told to leave. Not that I wasn't happy about finally being let off, but it's the way, or the tone of voice, that sent me over the edge. From the same person who says that some people need to learn about intonation when speaking to customers, this one needs with staff. When you finally want me to go, did you have to say it as though I was breaking things and you had to send me out of the place? Furthermore, did you realise how stupid it was to ask me to take a half hour break at 5.30 when you said you want me to stay till 6? Yes, I was already pissed off and my attitude wasn't the best at the point, so did you really not expect me to talk back when you're asking me to do something ridiculous? 

Somehow I just felt that I was being taken for granted. I'm there to help, but I'm not there to be taken advantage of. Why did it have to take for me to break down that you finally realised that there was something wrong? 

Finally, do you seriously think I will tell you what's wrong with me when you're part of the problem? Since you're all 'worried about me', how about worrying about getting a new part-timer?

Usher In The Tiger With A Little Love

Wishing EVERYONE
a Lovely Valentine's Day,
and a Prosperous Year of the Tiger!

I Need To Travel

I seriously need to travel, but I don't really feel like travelling alone. The few people I'll be comfortable travelling with all can't due to time or financial restrictions. However, there's one person I wouldn't mind travelling with, although I somehow see a lot of issues arising through it - Eddie.

I don't really know how to explain it, but I just have this odd feeling that if I ever travelled with Eddie, we'd have to travel our separate ways and only meet at the end of the trip. Even though we might be alike in some ways (most of which people seem to point out rather than noticing it myself), I still think the minor differences would break the trip. I think it's probably because we like similar things, yet we like the opposite ends of the spectrum of the same subject.

I wonder if the risk-taker feels the same.

Hitch-Hikers

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down." - as posted on Adi's profile. Personally I'd want someone who'd walk with me when the limo breaks down, head to the nearest cafe, and have a nice cuppa while we try to get someone to come pick the piece of crap limo and get it fixed.

Joking aside, the quote got me thinking about how people seem to enter your life (the limo) like hitch hikers. There are ones that you trust enough to stop for (friends and acquaintances), some you don't trust at all to even give a 2nd glance (the type of people you really can't gel with). While for the ones you chose to stop for, there are the ones who you end up helping a little bit more than just to give them a lift, some who will just disappear after you drop them off, some who turn around to rob you and your limo, and the ones that end up helping you fix the limo if it breaks down half way.

Thinking through my list of friends, I do have a few people in each category, yes even the ones who robbed me. The ones that end up helping you are really rare, and so are the ones that just disappear after you've dropped them off. The ones that are rather problematic are the type that need your help even after you've reached their destination. I sometimes wonder if these people do realise that you're already veering off course to help them, and yet some just don't know how to say 'thanks' and be on their way. At times, I really feel that some of them are better off being robbers. At least the robbers take a bit off you, but they rarely come back to haunt you as they probably would think that they next time you see them, you'd run over them with your bus instead of stopping to pick them up.

To Marc Sin

To Amy Tan

Do I Have One Of These?

"The best kind of people, is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had."

I haven't tried... so I wonder.

Why Should I Bother?

You email me regarding the fact that you finally finished writing the letter (that would have taken you much longer if I didn't set a dateline... the same sort of letter which my other former company took just a week to complete by the way...) and to call to make arrangements to pick it up. Then when I did call back, you inform me that the letter was passed to my colleague to be brought back to the outlet. Over the phone, you had the cheek to tell me to contact you if there was any problem with the letter.

So after 1 whole month, you couldn't even try to find my employment records, but you could go around asking some previous manager of the outlet that I didn't work about me. Then instead of taking my word regarding the month I ended my contract with the company, you decide to take the word of that person I didn't work with. So what would be the difference, TO YOU, between taking the word of someone I didn't work with who just gave you an estimate of my employment duration, and taking my word that I ended my employment on that specific month? Would it have cost you money? Or would a finger drop off for every month you indicated wrongly? In that case, I think that you'd have dropped 4 fingers then.

Seriously, why should I bother calling you back if you have already shown that you couldn't be bothered to help me in the first place. Will I have to wait another month to get the letter with the correct duration printed on it? By the time you get things done, I think I would have missed another chance to apply.

Thinking about it, I'll just apply with the useless letter you gave me, and if someone asks about the discrepancy, then I shall point the finger at you and your laziness.

Thanks for nothing.

To Yana

Don't Try To Mess My Relationship

I've come to the point of wondering if working with one of my besties is actually a good idea. Before a certain person came into the picture, there was already attempts to keep us apart during work, and possibly outside the work environment as well. I would understand why an attempt would be made if the two of us didn't get any work done during our shift, but to try and keep us apart even after? You seriously have to be kidding me.

Well after the move to the new outlet, the people behind that plan to keep us apart didn't have much control  over our shifts anymore. So it was all quiet for a while until one of the people behind that 'evil' plan transferred over and we wondered if problems will arise again. Thankfully nothing of that sort happened.

Then came the day I started talking to this one certain person - my current manager - who keeps thinking that it's a good idea for me, as a best friend, to talk to Adi concerning work ethics. Time and time again I refuse with the reason that Adi will not take me seriously even thought the matter might be serious. If I were to switch positions with Adi, I'd be laughing my head off, which is exactly what she did when I told her what he wanted me to talk to her about.

So basing her reaction doesn't seem to be a good enough excuse not to talk to her. I did give the reason that I'm only a part-time staff, while Adi is the supervisor, and he's the manager. If he wanted someone to talk to Adi before he did, then it should be the one person that fills the gap between their positions in the outlet.

Now even after the first incident that was strictly work-related, what had me really pissed off was the day that he kept asking me to talk to Adi about a personal matter. Honestly, the choices Adi, or anyone else, decides to make regarding their life is up to them. If she decides to quit soccer, I can't stop her even if I think she's might be throwing away a good future. Even if she decides to consult me regarding something, the ultimate decision is still hers. I can't possibly be watching over her, or all of my besties, to just let them experience the good, and avoid the bad in life. It's their life to lead and to do with.

Seriously, the next person who tries to mess with any of my relationships might just end up with a knuckle sandwich for dinner.

A Little Lesson For Some People I Know

"Apologising does not mean that you are wrong and the other one is right... It simply means that you value the relationship much more than your ego."

Well people who can't do it aren't worth the effort of a relationship then.

Be A Smart Customer

After a discussion with Syndyk earlier about the service sector in Singapore, and how bad it is in many aspects, this article proves the one thing I was trying to say; that the customers need to change their mindset when it comes to service.

Other than trying to make people a little nicer by trying to get them to clear the table so the next patron could have a relatively clean one to dine on, it did point out the one bit about people being used to someone picking up after them. I told Syndyk that customers here are also one cause of the crappy attitude of service staff when they've been treated as though they're maids. Maids are, at least, still humans. There are some people who think that service staff are dogs - clapping or whistling is not a way to get our attention. So if my dog ignores me when I whistle at him sometimes, what makes you think I would give you my attention if you whistle or clap your hands?

Haven't people heard about treating others the way you want to be treated? Well if you decide to treat the service staff like crap, what makes you think you'll get the best out of the service staff? Seriously, not all of us might have a great education under our belts, but when it comes to class and culture, I think we can definitely beat the clappers and whistlers.

Another good point the article did put across was the fact that customers ought to change their mindset if they want to start getting prices down. More manpower to clear your leftovers, means more cost to the company, which ends up as cost to the customer. Well, everyone will argue that it might be a whole load of bullcrap and that higher prices is just another excuse to earn money. However, if you think about it, in the days when people in the hawker centres had their assistants to clear and wash their bowls/plates, the prices were much lower before common cleaning crew was hired to service the hawker centre. Now you have to carry your own food to the table, and the stall owner has lost his assistant, yet the price of the food has gone up. If you asked, the answer is the extra cost of the cleaning crew.

So get smart, change your stupid old habit, and just clear your tray. It's not as though you have to carry a pile of plates that might break and make more problems for the staff. It's just a plastic tray, with empty paper boxes, wrappers and cups. If kids can do it, I don't see why an adult can't.

Hermit Crab Haiku?

Excuse me please

Ms Hermit Crab

Where are you?

Camouflaged so well

Can't even find

Your dreamy shell

You've been gone

Almost a week

Hiding in room?

So much stories

So much gossip

Starting to forget

I'm getting irritated

Still no reply

Just one acknowlegement

How to apply?

Can't even try

What to do?

I'm kinda stressed

I'm really bored

I need SLEEP!

To Tim Greiner

It All Depends On The Support

Amy and my aunt seem to be going through the same problem. However, in Amy's case, the victim seems to be on the brink of entering IMH, while my aunt's abuser is being treated there. Both are being verbally abused, yet my aunt seems to take the abuse better than Amy. Thinking it through, I realise that it all boils down to the support that you get with your problems.

For my aunt, the reason why she has managed to cope with it all is due to the support from her family. Especially now that her own children can support their own family, and are able to support her as well, it gives her a lot of hope in the fact that she would have a place to run to if and when she needs help. Furthermore, with my mom enforcing the point that my aunt has her children and siblings to turn to for help, it's seems to be a big relief when she gets to the point when she feels like giving up.

Amy, on the other hand, has a much bigger problem because the abuser(s) is also the same person(s) who is supposed to be giving her support. In an instant, the only person she can turn to for support is her sister, and that is if her sister can be there for her. It's easy to just say why can't she turn to this person and that person, but you can't possibly expect everyone to drop everything and tend to Amy every time she needs help. While in my aunt's case, my mom is almost always able to just let my aunt gripe on the phone for hours.

If you read her post, you can see how hopeless she ends up sometimes, and makes me wonder what else can be done to help. Other than being one of the few people who listen to her gripe, I'm not in a position to be able to support her like my mom or cousins would be for my aunt. Is the answer to her problem for her to support herself financially and just leave her parent's house? If that's the case, all she needs is to get a job to pay for the things she needs, which I think, shouldn't include a phone line the family knows about.

To Eddie Kheng

To Shirley Ho & Marcel Goh

To Ian Tan

2009 Annual Awards

Remembering 2009 Awards Winner's Roll:

BEST HOLIDAY
Margaret River with the family.

TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
* Ellen *

SONG OF THE YEAR
* Halo - Beyonce *

MOVIE OF THE YEAR
* Fast & Furious 4 *

BOOK OF THE YEAR
* Waiter Rant *

CLUB/PUB OF THE YEAR
* My Home *

DRINKING BUDDY OF THE YEAR
* Eddie/Ah Liang/Angie *

RESTAURANT/CAFE OF THE YEAR
* New York New York *

BEST EVENT OF THE YEAR
* Receiving My Psychology Diploma *

BIGGEST DOUCHEBAG AWARD
* Slowpoke C.T. *

LOW POINT OF THE YEAR AWARD
Losing Ah Kong.

MOST STUPID IDEA WHEN DRUNK
Discussing Anything.

WORST CLUB/PUB OF THE YEAR
* Mimolette *

WORST RESTAURANT/CAFE OF THE YEAR
* Modestos *

WORSE EVENT OF THE YEAR
* Syndyk's Housewarming *

VALENTINES AWARD
* Peeps @ Work, Mom, Barkley *

BEST RELATIONSHIP AWARD
* Amy/Adi (time to take mom out of the running) *

WHAT WERE YOU FOR HALLOWEEN
* Master Baiter *

NEWCOMER AWARD
* Meena *

3ND ANNUAL LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD
* Shirley Ho *

BEST DECISION MADE
To use the expiring mileage points to go to Penang.

BIGGEST CHANGE AWARD
Location of work/My hair style.

HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR
Getting the PS3.

FUTURE PLANS
Travel, enjoy life, and start Counselling degree course.