Reminiscence

I know I say this alot, but I am going to say it again. So, for the umpteenth time, I miss England - Manchester, especially.

Despite the cold freezing winds and unpredictable English weather, I love being able to throw on layers of clothes - I get to mix and match and experiment with different styles without worrying about being a laughing stock. People there dress up!

I love walking the distance without getting tired easily - because of the weather and then running into buildings to hide from the cold. At least, there was reason, or rather, 'excuse' to go dining, shopping or catch a movie. That was literally what we did back in Manchester.

I remember The Printworks. Will and I would often 'hide' there, most of the time ending up at Nando's, Hard Rock Cafe, Yum Yum Buffet or ODEON Cinema. We could watch more than one movie in a day 'cause tickets were cheap. I got student ID, so I got discounts. *Silly Grin* Life was gooood (Not that it's bad now. If I get the chance, I'd love to re-experience it all over again, with my son, Nathan, abroad).

I miss walking the streets of Manchester and London, even alone (I did that alot). Love the convenience in using the public transportation offered. On a typical day in London, with not much tasks at hand, I would take the underground tube to places as far as in Zone 3. I remember taking the Central Line to Bond Street and exploring Selfridges, or the Piccadilly Line to Knightsbridge and paying a 'visit' to Harrods. I still remember the one glass of ice-cream which cost us a good 15 quid - Yes, $terling pounds! We took a photo of it, but dang, we lost it.

Summer in London was great! (Why London? 'Cause it's much warmer for a longer period of time compared to other places in the UK). Who could blame us for craving the sun and warmth after being in the freezing cold for at most, 10 months a year? I know we get sun in Southeast Asia, but here, it is humid and leaves you sticky-icky and awfully sunburnt by the end of the day. There, you get warmth (or heat during heatwaves), but dry and constant cool breeze.

I miss 'playing tourists' in London with friends.
On the double-decker London Tour Bus during Summer 2006.

Experiencing the World Cup 2006 Fever.

I remember the streets of London, especially Leicester Square, when Italy won the World Cup. I swear it felt like we were in Italy, not England. Italians and Italian fans were everywhere, jumping with joy, parading with their flags and those driving, were sounding their car horns.

Tired from the summer heat and long-day tour, but happily contented.

London is perfect for tour and holidays and shopping only if you are loaded - with $Money$, of course!

I miss Manchester more. I miss Aunt Bibi. She is a cool aunt who cooks great curry and makes great salad, and is a great shopping companion and a friend you can talk your problems out with, like a peer buddy.

I miss going to Trafford Centre. Awesome shopping and dining place with beautiful cruiseship-like interior design.

I miss matches at Old Trafford - the place, the atmosphere (What a blast!) and the bonus part - getting to meet Manchester United players!

Park Ji Sung!

Alan Smith! (Oh my! Notice how round I was!)

I miss chilling out and going for drinks with friends. Love the varieties of drinks available for selection. (Here in Brunei, alcoholic drinks can only be consumed in the privacy of one's home. Public places are forbidden from selling and allowing the comsumption of alcohol. Extrreeeemme! Tsk Tsk Tsk)

I miss life as a university student abroad - the huge lecture halls where students (and even non-students) of different age groups attend; the libraries and IT facilities; Student Union; the parties we had at student accommodation. All we had to worry about were assignments and exams.

Look at the pretty birthday cake a friend baked for my 18th! Gee, how time flies! I feel old.

Treated like a 'princess' on my 18th. An advantage for being the youngest in group, huh?

This may sound absurd, but I do miss working in England - at Vina Noodle Bar & Karaoke & with REED Employment, UK. There were RIGHTS and pay was goood.

I miss GREGGS. I miss SUBWAY. I miss PRET A MANGER. I miss Frankie & Benny's. Ooh! I learnt that KRISPY KREME Doughnuts has arrived in the UK. Dammit! I missed that!

I miss hitting the gym at LA Fitness - the indoor pool, the steam and sauna rooms after workout.

Ah! I need a vacation, or better, a re-location!

Reality bites

Sorry, Peeps. Blog's rather out-dated. Hadn't been able to put up new posts. Have been rather caught up with work & studies, and not forgetting, Motherhood.

Speaking about work, my workloads are getting heavier these days. There are more upcoming projects, meaning more things for me and my colleague to handle, more sales to do, more things to put up in our advertisement (I design them), more customers (existing & new ones) to come. For being a developing & management company, I would say we are expected to do works of a contractor office. Dammit! What is wrong with management?!

It sucks, purely. With this, I am referring to most typical traditional-thinking Asian bosses' management. Question is, do they really know how to manage, the right way? I hate the fact that they like to deal with business and things through relations. I despise the fact that they think older employees with (what They call) better & more experience deserve higher pays and better benefits for being older, (so-called wiser) and experienced. Look, the world is changing.
It makes me wonder what we, the younger generation, are studying so much for, if we are only being underestimated by these typical older bosses who claim 'Young People' (Hau Se Kias) know nothing.
Man, I seriously feel underpaid. Wait, I am underpaid. I am expected to do the same works done by the manager, only more. Tell me if I'm cursed. Why is it that most jobs I've done include me having to be the one cleaning the toilets? *Screeeamming already* I am expected to keep the toilets clean and vacuum the office. Hold on, what do I do again? As far as I'm concerned, I'm the one dealing with sales, answering calls and greeting walk-in customers. I do most of the paperworks, because for obvious reasons, Good English matters here. (Not that I want to brag, but I seriously find adequate knowledge, if not full education; Good English; Computer literacy & knowledge; & the right management skills do matter, especially in today's businesses, period.)

A friend asked, "Just out of curiosity, what is your actual 'designation' (in the company)?"

Oh! *Laughs out Loud* Non-existent. I came in with no specified title. It's a small-scaled company, no doubt. Was told I shall help around, as an assistant. It was fine, at first. Pay was acceptable for the little workloads. However, as months pass, what do i get? I haven't even had my first paid annual leave. There was little increment in salary, I'm grateful. Come to think of it, the starting pay should not have been acceptable when I'm expected to do the jobs of 'bulls and horses' (Juo Niu, Juo Ma/ Cho Gu, Cho Be).

Reality is, it has become a norm among private companies and firms in Southeast Asia, especially. Wages and salaries have been lowered and made acceptable to most good qualifications and skills, which should really deserve and by law, entitled to higher pay.

Another thing - Delegation. Having studied and fallen in love with Management, I shall safely say, most existing management I see are...Piles of Sh*t! Just because you have become your own boss (by whatever means) does not give you the right to throw all the burdens and workloads and blames (regardless of whether it was the bosses' mistakes in the first place or not) to your fellow subordinates and employees mainly because they work under you. Work delegation happens only when you have already mastered and know pretty well everything that is going on from the operating core level up to your management level and would like to enrich your own job specification. So, you leave the job you already know to your trusted subordinates.

It's sad that what really happens is, without knowing a thing about how the most basic operations work, these bosses leave all the work and responsibilities to you, expecting you to produce them what they want, with no further instructions. You shall not ask questions to do with obtaining additional relevant information because according to them, it is now your task and responsibility to acquire them from sources which shall be looked up by you as well. And when things go wrong or missing, even if it was the bosses' fault, we, as employees, shall 'be honoured' to receive all blames and accusations, again, because they're the Boss(es) and they say so.

Another thing I'm truly against is 'Black Market'. I know it is common among Asian to do illegal business. To them, it may not matter how they climb up to the top of the 'Get Rich ladder', as long as they get up there. To me, I find it foolish and pointless. Why? Even if and when you do get rich, are you at par with other world class' businessmen or tycoons? Will you find the honour to call and label yourself successful? How will you respond in interviews or just any social gathering or meeting with any other true successful businessmen or entrepreneurs when asked about your secret and strategy to 'success'? Name me which famous and world-ranked billionaires achieve what they have achieved through illegal activities. Such shall not even be called 'Famous'. Let me introduce you to a word called 'Notorious'.

I can give you an endless list of complaints and dissatisfying facts, but I guess these shall be enough to make you see why I wish to get out of here ASAP!

Rights

Just another day at work. Spending my lunch break of an hour and a half in the office, as usual.

The office phone can't stop ringing and it's pissing me off! It's not the first time this happens. Don't Bruneians (or perhaps, most Southeast Asians) know of the "Lunch Break Hour(s)"? It's fine if it has just slipped your mind that the clock reads 12pm++ OR you're trying your luck just in case our office is open whole day.
Come on! Any sensible person will think "Oh, between 12 to 1 pm, if no one answers after my first or second call, they must be out for lunch." I know I do, but Noooo, hell NO for Bruneians. They won't give up. They'll keep calling and let your phones ring till it's going to explode! It's worse if you use your personal mobile phone to SMS some existing customers because they don't answer after NUMEROUS calls (for some reasons, either they're super busy to give a damn about answering their phones or they just don't know the purpose of having a mobile phone), there goes your weekends and off days. SERIOUS!
Some of these customers (I shall not specify nor name which 'group' or race, but you should have guessed or known better) will keep calling you up in the early mornings on your weekends and off days or SMS you a long-due reply in the wee hours at night.
Customers, I understand you are fellow consumers in this commmunity. So am I. You are fellow employees/employers. So am I. We work. We have our rights to have our lunch breaks when it is time for lunch break. We have rights to have off days because we need these time off from work and enjoy other things that life can offer.
So, please. Don't give me shits like "Oh, but we only have free time during your lunch break. How arh?" *Screeammming inside* I tell you, just because I'm partly doing sales and answering your calls, I (try to) keep my cool.

Let me share with you of a Mr. Bastard. He called on a typical work day, but it was off office hour by half-an-hour, but I was in the office, and I answered his call.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy.

Me : A* Property, Good afternoon.

Mr. Bastard : Hello. Are you the boss or the worker?

Me : I work here.

Mr. Bastard : Oh, you work here. Who's your boss? What's your boss' name?

Me : My boss? You want her full name? Well, she's known as Anne*.

Mr. Bastard : Ok, I'm looking for a piece of property at Gadong. I need to ask your boss.

Me : Gadong? You mean a piece of land?

Mr. Bastard : No, a piece of property. Terrace at Gadong.I want to ask your boss if you have.

Me : We do have terrace at Gadong. 3-storey.

Mr. Bastard : Oh, you do? How much is it?

Me : Uhm, Corner plots are sold at B$###K & the Intermediate ones r B$###K each.

Mr. Bastard : Oh. Are you Philippino or Chinese?

Me : I'm... Chinese. Why?

Mr. Bastard : The way you speak... you speak verryyy sloowww.. & u like to drag your words.
You sound very arrogant. Is this the way you speak normally?

Me : What?? Arrogant? No, I don't normally speak this way.
(Was gonna tell him I had flu & was sick, but he interrupted)

Mr. Bastard : Yeah, you speak slow..like you're going to sleep & u like to drag your words.
You sound arrogant. And you speak with a slang.

Me : What slang? I wasn't 'slang-ing'!

Mr. Bastard : Yea, you slang all the while.

Me : This is how I speak. I mean the English. How else do you want me to speak?!

Mr. Bastard : (I swear he was smilling. I could hear frm his tone & voice) Ok, I'll get back to
you.

Me :*Slams phone*

Look. I haven't charged him extra for attending his call after office hour! (Yes, we charge! Kidding.) Then, I was already taken aback by his ill-mannered question "Are you the boss or the worker?" Even if I am the boss, u don't ask like that! Worker?!
And then he underestimated me, thought I didn't know which property we have. Sir, I am trained to remember all our available properties and know how and what to answer when anonymous customers call! I have 'em all listed in my head that my boss has to ask me sometimes.
And I was working with the AUTOCAD (an architectural & design program) on the computer & of course I had to think of precisely which property you were asking & give u the correct answer. Sorry if I sounded like I dragged my words, and pardon the flu. If you had asked properly for an explanation, you could have gotten a good apology, instead of the name "Mr. Bastard" now! Now, my boss knows of you & it pissed her off, too. She thinks you're just another jealous broker/developer calling to pick on us. (It's a country without much existing rights. So, yes, we do get these alot. Even plagerism of building plans!)

Slang? Which slang, please specify 'cause as far as I'm concerned, you spoke with a slang, too, a typical old-chinese-busybody-kopitiam-uncle-Slang. I don't speak with a 'slang'. People who 'slang' usually try hard. I wasn't even trying & OK, I admit, was half-paying attention since I was working on another thing at the same time. If you consider this slang, I don't know how else to speak normal. It's called PRO-NOUN-CI-A-TION, Misterrr.

I'm anticipating your call, Mr. Bastard. We have your number (Thank Goodness for Caller ID). I won't scream at you, but I could taste that vengeance will be sweet. =)

Touch My Body

NOT my body!

Have you guys checked out Mariah Carey's new video? Yes, that's the title of the song.

It's funny. Credits, especially to the NERD. He's a great actor! LOL.

Check it out.



Man, I'd say Mariah's still HOT HOTT HOTTT for her age!

Some Things That Most People Don't Know

Okay, let's start with some which have gotten the attention of most people already.

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing. (I think it meant the eyeballs, to be precise)

Hmm...Let's see & compare...

Okay...Proven.

It is physically impossible for you to lick your own elbow.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men. (Now, now, we ain't fluttering at you, 'kay?)

And here are some I have discovered along the way...

Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient in keeping you awake. (Try it! Especially Green Apples. I used to always bite one when doing revision or reading at nights.)

The number '98,765,432' multiplied by '9' gives you '888,888,888'.

And here are some listed, but haven't gotten to my attention before.

King of Hearts is the only king without a moustache. (Card 'pros' should have known or noticed this, ey?)

A snail can sleep for 3 years. (Oh my! Imagine being squashed while sleeping!)

An ant can survive for up to 2 weeks underwater. (No wonder this pest keeps appearing even after you (think) you've washed 'em away. Arrghh!)

A duck's quack does not echo and no one knows why.

Now, English, English, People!

The only word in English with all the vowels in reverse is 'Subcontinental'.

'Dreamt' is the only word in English that ends with '-mt'.

Words that don't ryhme in the English language are the popular 3 colours: 'Orange, Purple & Silver'; and the word 'Month'.

And the Bonus(es)...

Try this. When you see a friend hiccups, ask him/her if he has already eaten. The person must answer "Yes, I'm full." without thinking about anything else. Before you know it, hiccups are gone. (Don't give me that look. I can't explain why either.My husband did this to me once before and ever since then, it has worked wonders.)

And...

Most of you reading this would have tried licking your elbow.

Oops!