Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Dear All,
Budget Airlines are having their promotions again. Woo hoo. I intend to go backpacking or budget travelling again next year, some time in March. Coincidentally, these two airlines' promotions are ending in March, so guys, if you are keen in travelling with me, please inform me by 03 December 2007. Thanks.
Places I am keen to go
- Thailand
- Hong Kong
- Taiwan
- Vietnam
- Macau
- Australia
I-dreamt-of-a-cavalier at 10:18 am
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
After much considerations (and nagging from both my mother & grandmother), I have decided to find an office job. Never mind that my pay is almost the same as my previous job, never mind that my work place is so inconveniently located, never mind that I am almost kept just as busy - my mother, granny (M&G for short) and Mage are happy about it. They just do not like me to work at the vet; they just want me to get a job that justifies my diploma certification. *yawns*
Insights of My Company
I am currently working at a Swedish MNC (Mulit National Company). The people here (in general) are cordial and amicable. During my four weeks of work, I have yet to experience any fierce competitions nor office politics. Most importantly, hardly anyone in the administrative building works overtime, unless you belong to upper management or you are the secretaries of the upper management (unlike my previous company).
Most importantly, the benefits here are good; ample annual leave, island wide transporation, transport claims if you work over time and subsidised food. (I will blog more about the food next time.) The best thing is, office hours end at 4.40 pm!!! (With the exception of me ending work at 5.30pm.) For that, I do not mind starting work at 8.00 am.
Job Scope
The only down side of this job is my job scope. I am basically a receptionist cum administrative assistant cum customer service relation officer cum bao-ga-liao and that makes my job scope pretty wide. Even though my job scope is pretty mundane, it can get highly stressful at times when clients have unreasonable demands and everybody demands to be attended first. This sounds like a challenging job, but my job satisfaction is quite low as my work is very routine; I have gotten the hang of it so well, I am getting bored.
I am performing so well that I have gotten quite a few compliments - both internally (from colleagues) and externally (from clients). One of them even feedback straight to my supervisor and she is so pleased with me. Sorry if I sound smug, but I am indeed feeling proud of it; at least it shows that my efforts were appreciated.
Index
Benefits 4 out of 5
(very good benefits compared to most companies)
Food Galore 5 out of 5
(i am full of praises for the food here i wish i had more time to eat)
Job Satisfaction 2 out of 5
(i need a job that is mentally challenging)
Breaks 2 out of 5
(i need more toilet breaks and tea breaks)
Smiley Index 4 out of 5
(my company literally pays me to smile)
Job Performance 4 out of 5
(i will like to think that i'm a great asset to the company. Hehs)
Overall
Happy Index 4 out of 5 (very happy to work for this company)
Conclusion
I will gladly stay on in this company as a permenant staff if they transfer me to other departments with a more challenging job.
I am even having the thought of working for this company after I complete my studies.
I-dreamt-of-a-cavalier at 1:27 pm
Friday, October 19, 2007
I have long thought that every country's flag is unique and that no two flags are the same. It was this morning when I realised that this may not necessarily be true. I was in my office when I happened to glance at the '180 Flags of the World' poster, when I saw two flags of the same design, belonging to two different countries!
I was thinking to myself 'how can the poster company make such a mistake!' However, the thought bothered me so much that I decided to search more information on it in Wikipedia.
Yes, I guess the printing company was right, but I still find it hard to accept the fact that one flag can represent two different countries. (Please correct me if I am wrong.)
Can someone explain to me which body actually registers the each and every country's flag, and is duplication allowed? If it yes, will the 'original' country sue the other country for infringing of copyrights?
The Flag that belongs to 2 Different Countries
The Two Countries which own this flag
Republic of Indonesia
Principality of Monoco
I-dreamt-of-a-cavalier at 9:06 am
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Office Conversations
These are some interesting conversations I heard from office.
Teachers
A: Quite a number of people have been on leave last week.
B: Ya. That's because their children are having their holidays?
A: That soon? The teachers sure have alot of rest days.
B: No lah. It's the PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examtiona) marking day. Teachers still have to work as per normal.
C: Ya. It is not easy being a teacher. They can only take their annual leave during the student's school holiday.
B: My friend who works as a teacher, has to fix her wedding ceremony to June so that it coincides with the school holiday in June. She had a hard time picking the right dates as they had to find an auspicious day in June .
(Can you imagine if the couple is not able to find an auspicious day in the month of June for the next couple of years? The groom will have to tell his friends "I have already proposed to my girlfriend since X years ago, and we are hoping to get married soon; but I can't get married until X years later, beacuse she is not able to take leave in any other months except June and December!" No wonder a handful of older teachers are spinsters.)
C: I have another friend who is worse off than yours (referring to B's friend.) When she did her family planning, she 'scheduled' her two children to be born in the month of November, so that by the time her confinement and maternity leave ends, she will be back just in time for school in January.
A: Woah. So that means that by mid January she will have to start having a kid and if she doesnt conceive by February, the factory has to shelve the production plans for one year?
Everybody: LOVL. (Laugh out very loud)
(When they were talking about the teacher and her family planning, the image of National Geographic channel with wild animals came to my mind. Please do not be mistaken, I am neither mocking nor insulting the teacher. Just that it reminds me of how female animals mate and routinely in a specific season annually as they go through the estrous cycle.
Just so is the life of a teacher in Singapore. That probably explains why MOE (Ministry of Education) is actively recruiting new teachers All The Time.
I-dreamt-of-a-cavalier at 12:48 pm
Monday, October 15, 2007
Lately, I have been experiencing bad mood swings. My mood will fluctuate between hopeful, confused, depressed, ecstatic and lost. These happens frequently when I reflect about life, and when i think about my future (plans). Most importantly, my moods are easily influenced by others.
When people around me are down, I will tend to feel down. Ironically, I only feel happy for a short moment when others are feeling happy. Why, you may ask. The reason is simple; I tend to make comparisons. I will wonder why have I achieved so little when others have already attained this and that? Why can't I be as competent or capable as X, Y or Z? Why can't I, why can't I, why can't I?
I remember one of my secondary school teachers used to tell me "人比人会气死人!" (loosely translated as comparing yourself with others will only result in death due to excess anger.) However, I personally feel that comparisons are the best benchmark; the benchmark to know how well you are doing, how fast & far you have been progressing and where you are standing amongst the rest.
Comparisons can indeed be motivational factor for one to do better, but excessive comparisons are not healthy. At least I think the kind of comparisons that I am making aren't in the long run.
Yes, I do indeed need to talk, but there are tonnes of thoughts going through my mind at any point in time and it is so difficult to put them into words. My brain sure is good at multi-tasking. If only there is an invention of a machine that allow my thoughts to be typed out into words only when I want them to.
I need to quit my habit of remaining silent. I need to learn how to talk. I need a talking companion.
I really need to run away from reality for a moment. Anyone keen on a backpacking trip? Serious backpacking; no hotels, no shopping. Just experiencing life in another part of the world.
I-dreamt-of-a-cavalier at 1:04 am
wishesGALORE
1) Go for Charity Dog Run
2)
Bring the Poochies out!
3) Set up an Adoption Blog
4) Donate money to Charity
5) Convince my friends to donate/volunteer at Charity as my birthday gift
6) Volunteer
7) Go Ubin
8) A Nice Over Night at Sentosa
9) Pudding to Blend in Well
