Self-Respect

Humans are really contradicting and complicated creatures...

How many times have you come across someone diving back into a bad relationship which he/she managed to get out eventually? It's like you finally climbed out of the shit hole that you had fell into, and after that chose to jump back into the same shitty place. Why?!

When you broke up with your partner who was all along undeserving for you, your friends tried to console you and hope you could carry on with a better life... all because you were sad over the "loss"~

Then you "listened" to your friends' advices on the surface and everyone else thought they had finally made you see the light... and their effort paid off~

And what happens later? You patched back with your undeserving ex and told your friends the "disappointing" news and hope they could "bring" you back to reality again. HELLO~~~ stop wasting people's time on you when you don't even appreciate their effort. Learn to protect and love yourself and stop being a slave to others~ you have the freedom to choose your own future... but don't ever lose your self-respect in the process!

* Nobody Can Take Away Your Self-Respect Unless You Let Them To *

P.S: This post is dedicated to a (should I say immatured?) friend of Shirlene, who made me "vomit blood" after hearing his case for the countless times.

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People

Recently I attended this course on "The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People" and I learnt alot from it. This is based on the self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey, and for those of you who wished to know more about it, here's a link I found online - http://www.whitedovebooks.co.uk/7-habits/7-habits.htm

Basically I just want to share with everyone on something useful which we can apply in our personal life, not just for work-related matters. Good things must share mah~ but if you're not interested then it's ok lor... Anyway, the 7 Habits in sequential order are as follows:

1. Be Proactive
   (you are free to choose your response to whatever happens to you)
   
   
2. Begin With An End In Mind
   (know what are your objectives)
   
   
3. Put First Things First
   (evaluate where you spend most of your time - The Time Matrix)
   
   
4. Think Win-Win
   (improve or maintain good relationship with others)
   


5. Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood
   (using empathic listening when listening to other people)
   


6. Synergy
   (1+1 = more than 2)
   
   
7. Sharpen The Saw
   (take time to rejuvenate and relax your body, heart, mind and spirit)

The Chat With HIM

I finally told HIM my plans just now when I was still at my workplace earlier at 11am plus.

HIM = Big BOSS (Uncle P)

It was an unplanned casual chat when he walked around and asked me if I was ready to go to another unit in due time. So I started with the usual "erm..." and smile back at him. Then I decided to let him know officially since there is a chance to do so. After I told him that I would be applying for the new post in May 07, he said "Apply lor, last time our Stanley (SA) also working there now". It was nice to hear him say that~ There was another nicer thing that he said:-

Uncle P: Anyway you still young mah, still can try out other things (actually I think he was talking about me going to THAT other unit soon). You now 25 right? So....

Before he can continue further, I interrupted him.

Me: Ah... no lah I where got 25? (but actually inside abit happy *hehe*) I already 28 leh...

Uncle P: (smiling) Aiya... 28 still young mah, I think before 35 you should be able to be an I*** (the upper level post).

Omg... 35?! Unless I have no choice but to stay back, ya~ 35 should be an acceptable turning point bah~ but it's like... almost 7yrs more!! He asked me to think about it, which I had been doing all these while... and the FINAL Decision~~~~

Just Do It in May 07!

Life Is Full Of Surprises~

The Case 6
I cant find my house key as I was packing my bag and ready to go to work, which means I'm stuck at home! There was no other extra key at home and my mum will only be back from work after 9.30pm... whereas Shirlene was out shopping with Baoli at Marina Square~

The Cause 6
Shirlene had accidentally took my detached house key that was placed on the table, which she thought it was hers. But in fact, her own key (detached as well) was all along in her coin pouch!

The Consequences 6
I was "virtually shot" over the house phone when I called my boss to tell him what happened, and I had to apply for urgent leave (my boss say he feel like shooting me *haha* jokingly of cos). I can't resist laughing when I apologised to him cos it wasn't any plan of mine to skip work, though it was nice to take the nite off to rest at the expense of my precious annual leave. Furthermore, now that I'm stuck at home, I guess I'll have to eat my favourite "出前一丁" instant noodle (sesame oil flavor) complemented with "Tulip" chopped ham for dinner.

Was it a misfortune or a blessing? Guess it was both bah~ you gain some, you lose some. This is LIFE, remember?

Coping With The Boss~

The 2 days course "MBTI Approach To Working More Effectively With People" had ended and it was one of the most enjoyable course I attended so far. Well I learnt alot... mostly about how a supervisor should manage his men.

Another interesting point during the course was on "Coping with the boss"... there was this graph that shows the severity of problem with the boss vs level of risk involved, and when the problem becomes seriously severe, we're supposed to Oppose the boss and the last resort is to FIRE - meaning to tell your boss face-to-face on what you think and let him know the consequences of ignoring your thoughts. However, this does not apply to ALL problems lah, if not wait you sure kena FIRED by your boss at the end.

Anyway, I juz heard from my colleague that there had been some problems with my boss recently. Things are getting worse, with tightened controls and loud naggings (dowan use the word 'scoldings') almost everyday. Yes~ he is great in his supervision and vast knowledge, and sometimes we were wrong... but some people up there doesn't realise that too much control is unhealthy at work. This is reality~ and it is also a reality that our bosses dunno about that or simply refuse to acknowledge that fact. Our guys' morale had been shaken once again, although there was an initial surge when he came.

I guess it's time for me to speak up on behalf of them (espcecially on the loud naggings), since I'm much more senior in age (sigh) and experience~ but I shall wait awhile more, since his big day is approaching soon somewhere near the end of March. The time has come for each and every one of us to share our thoughts again... before things get to the brim of the bottle and start to ooze out like the champagne-opening session during celebrations (but this one is not). Well, let us keep our fingers crossed and hope our unsettled morale can be uplifted once more.

Appeal For Weight Gain Tactics

I juz checked on their website and there is this new section on minimum requirement which wasn't there previously... and I saw the killer criteria - min. 45kg for female~

Omg... I'm 3kg lesser and I need help to increase it to at least 45kg by May 2007! Ya... I know some of you might think it's as easy as ABC... but not for me lor~

I still remembered facing the same problem 8 years ago when I applied for my current job. I was 1.5kg lesser at that time and I was rejected during the 1st application. I was so devastated but finally I managed to overcome that hurdle... if not I won't become Orang Lama (old bird) in my department now liao~

Well anyway, can any kind soul please post some comments here to share some valuable and "hopefully-will-work" tactics for me to gain some weight within these 2-3 months? Thanks... I'll give you guys a treat if I succeed and get accepted in the new post~

When??

Juz heard from one of my colleagues that she's been accepted by MOE to be a Home Econs Teacher, and she's going for a training session on 23 April 07. Meaning... she's gonna leave us for good~ omg... when will it be my turn? People have been coming and leaving like nobody's business after their contract is over... and here I am, still hanging around with never-ending opportunities waiting for me (which is a good thing actually~)

Like I mentioned earlier, some things happened for a reason... I had been doing quite well in my current post, and prospects are considered good. Maybe "Someone" wants me to stay back for a while more to wait for an auspicious time to leave later... cos immediately after I got my RB, the application was temporary closed til May 07. So my plan had to be delayed.

Well well... I'll wait patiently again~ til the time is very ripe but just before it turned mouldy for me. Gotta make some initial preparations in the meantime thou. Hope to share some good news with you guys soon~

Someone Somewhere

Today I feel like I'm being "taken care of" again by "Someone Somewhere"~ a moment of head-cracking problem had been instantly solved earlier in the noon. Here's the story~

I was supposed to go for a one-day Teambuilding event in Malaysia with my colleagues (it's a MUST go thing) on 12th March early morning. But suddenly I remembered that my passport has a validity of only 3 months while working last night!! I have exactly 3 days (including today) to make a new passport, and in order to expedite the process and get it done by Saturday, I have to go to ICA personally to speak to the officer for the special request. I was told by the ICA operator that Monday is the earliest to get my new passport. So the plan for my 1st off day had been drafted out as follows...

1. take instant passport-sized photo at AMK Central Bridal Shop
2. go home bathe
3. go ICA queue up and try to get my new passport done by Saturday
4. go home zzzz.... (which is dunno what time liao~ so maybe this luxury will be omitted *sigh*)
5. wake up for dinner appointment with Seok Wai (to pass her some documents for despatch to someone in her Office Tower)

So basically the day is packed, and I dun look forward to it... but Bo Bian~ who asked me to be so busy til I forgot to get a new passport before the event?

Anyway, when I reached the bridal shop at 11am, it was closed and would only opened at 1pm. It was a wasted trip (initial thought)... and I had to walk home like a zombie under the scorching sun after my night shift. I then took a short nap and decided to wake up at 12.30pm for the photo-taking at 1pm, but my precious napping session was interrupted and thus I changed my waking alarm to 1pm.

And here comes the turning point - my handphone rang~

On the other side was from the Human Resource Dept. He told me that my 2 days course had been brought forward to 12th & 13th March, and I immediately say "OK". Hahaha... this means I can continue with my sleep and do not have to go ICA today, since I dun have to go Teambuilding liao! Omg... I cant believe how lucky I can be... all thanks to that "Someone Somewhere" who had been taking good care of me, to stop me from the 1st instance outside the bridal shop so that I cant proceed with step 2 and so on.

Hmm~ this reminds me of the movie "Final Destination" where certain things happened for a reason. Well, I do believe in this phenomenon cos it has always been around us in our daily life. Take some time to observe and you'll agree with me~

Silence Is Golden?

Let me share a funny experience of service recovery I encountered today...

Shirlene and me had gone to a Japanese Restaurant for our late lunch cos her friend told her that the food was nice. Both of us then ordered our food with the waitress when she came to our table. I had ordered a set meal with some kind of noodle in thick curry sauce, and Shirlene had specified on my behalf to have the noodle type as soba (thinner in width) instead of udon (thicker). While repeating our orders, the waitress had stated udon instead of soba, so Shirlene corrected her, which she acknowledged.

After waiting for 10-15 minutes, my set meal finally appeared. Before I took a closer look at the huge bowl of noodles, the waitress realised that the noodle was udon and immediately remove the bowl and apologised. So I waited...

A short while later, a waiter appeared with the bowl in his hands and explained to me that the noodle type was wrong and I could request for a change if I wished to, but actually the taste of the udon will go very well with the curry sauce compared to soba. Without raising my head to look at him, I said "Ok, nevermind" monotonously without any facial expression. I was actually looking at the table and listening to his explanation. The waiter then left and I started to eat the udon. The taste was not bad although I was disappointed with the mistake.

In less than 5 minutes, the same waiter appeared again and said that he had checked with the chef and he could help me change the whole bowl of noodle. Once again, I used the same tone and body language, and said "Nevermind, it's ok". I continued with my food...and he left. Well for your info, I'm an easy-going person so normally I dun flare up with stuff.

I dunno if my silence and expressionless reaction was too weird for them to handle or what... that the waiter came over the 3rd time and asked if I wanted to have any soft drink for free. Finally I took a look at him and said "No thanks", and I returned my attention to the food. Shirlene told me that the waiter had smiled awkwardly at her after that.

Both of us thought that the issue was over since we managed to finish our food in peace. But then it was the waitress' turn now. She had apologised to me whenever she appeared to clear our crockery and refill our ice water... and I told her it's ok with a smile. I mean it's so funny to receive such treatment when I didn't even make a big fuss out of the issue like some customers would. When we asked for the bill, I was surprised with the amount... cos there was a 50% discount on the set meal that I had ordered. Realising that I had noticed the discount, the waitress told me that it was for the mistake earlier. I then paid a round figure and waited for my change as the waitress left. Shirlene and I were so amused by their service recovery and finally when I thought I can get my change and leave, there were 2 pieces of S$2 meal voucher for our next visit enclosed with my change in the black rectangular folder (dunno what's that called).


Well, both of us can't wait to get out of the place cos it's really too much for us. After the incident, we wonder how they would react if I were to reject the discount or left the meal vouchers behind. Would they come chasing after us and asked us why? Hahaha... anyway I felt it was something worth sharing cos I had learnt the following:

1. When I dun smile, I looked scary to some people (validated by Shirlene)
2. You dun have to make a big fuss to show your unhappiness (Silence is Golden)
3. Some service providers are really sincere in apologising (so we must appreciate)

Story of A Young Man

This is a fictitious story of a 20 year-old young man.... but the photos are genuine~

One day, a young man fell asleep after a hard day at work...

When he woke up, his devilish friend (in red of course) offered him half a glass of "wonder drink", telling him that it is something similar to "Tongka Ali" and will help him get stronger. The young man looked at the suspicious drink but still gobbled it up anyway... since young men always wanted to get stronger in "some way" (especially with "Tongka Ali").

After finishing the 1st glass of "wonder drink" offered by the devilish friend, the young man felt "shiok" and wanted more... (cos once is always not enough for young men). So he asked for more~ and the devilish friend had to find two other devils for the extra stock. Finally... the young man drank another 8 glasses of half-filled "wonder drink". At this time, he had already gone bonkers... and holding the 10th glass up high, he put a toast to his new found soul-mate.

And the story ended... with the young man "pouring his woes" to his soul-mate. Well, he didn't drink the 10th glass since he already had too much of it... and the 3 angelic devils had to take care of him.

Moral of story : Too much of everything / anything is bad~