Busy Busy Busy

The wheels are in motion!

Lots of activities going on around me and I can feel the chaos that will be the next two months building up. Oh yeah :P

Just this week, I've got to meet up with the wedding organiser @ Parmelia Hilton to sort out what I have to do as MC. Then following that, I have to sort out my brother's buck's night. Then there's SHANNON NOLL this Friday. Throw in a few more projects I have lined up and you have yourself a very merry weekend. The weekends after should be just as busy.

And yes, you did read right! I'm MC-ing my friend's wedding. I'm a bit nervous coz I wouldn't know anyone in the audience. So I'm not sure if my jokes would work. And there's nothing worse than a cold audience. All those one-liners gone to waste!

Speaking of Parmelia Hilton, I'm in this particular hotel doing some I.T. training this week.

Really basic stuff, but really informative. It's really opened up lots of doors for me and I'm really glad I organised this course (took forever to get approved!)

But the best part is the food!

The food is so good! Lunch is always very gourmet - even the meat pies and sausage rolls. We got a nice steak sandwich and beer battered fries for lunch today. I think we're having fish and chips tomorrow or is it prawn sandwiches? For morning and afternoon tea we get croissant, danishes, brownies and even a VERY LARGE CHUNKY KITKAT BAR (there's also fruit platters but who cares about fruit when you get KitKats!!!). Oh man - such an improvement from the crappy canteen food!

But I dunno if its a good thing that I remember the food more than the course material :)

Walking to the hotel, I finally got a chance to explore a bit of the city. And I've noticed that there's a lot of new stores and constructions going around.

Looks like Perth city is moving on up.

I was surprised I saw an Armani store, I think its been there forever, I just haven't noticed. There's also a Burberry store. And I think they're opening up more of the fancy brand stores. There's also that huge new centre near Target.

Near my workplace are some swanky new apartments. There's the new Police precinct in Northbridge and the art centre.

Swanky new apartments through my see-through umbrella.

So lots of new stuff happening everywhere - both in the city and me personally. Good to see the GFC hasn't really bogged Perth down.

Now if only we could get this and that.... then we'll know Perth has hit it big time.

Interviews

3Willings
1) Victoria Station
2) The Apprentice
3) Nickelback - Gotta Be Somebody

I just finished watching through the whole season of UK's The Apprentice and by gosh, what a ride.

Its just really fascinating watching people try and sell themselves to be Suralan's next apprentice.

They love flowering themselves and giving BS answers like 'I shouldn't be fired because I'm willing to give it my best shot, and that if you give me another chance, I will prove you blah blah blah.'

My favorite is Episode 11. The contestants get grilled by Sir Alan's team of interviewers. Two of the guys in the panel are super nasty. They pretty much tore everyone apart. Then there was a part where a contestant was asked to sell a plastic ball pen over a more expensive fountain pen. He did a shocking job I thought. And I can't believe Sir Alan let someone who lied about their resume continue in show.

Of course I'm no interview expert.

I've crashed and burned in so many job interviews. I even failed securing a job in Hungry Jacks / Burger King (endless Whoppers was a noble dream).

All the rejections get you into this horrible spiral of questioning yourself and your skills. Its like a dark purple cloud of negativity towards yourself and others.

Maybe my test score is not high enough, maybe they don't like Asians, maybe my accent is too American. Maybe its the cologne I'm wearing. Maybe maybe maybe.

Then I figured, maybe I'm just trying too hard.
Trying too hard to find the right answers and say the right buzzwords - even for jobs I knew nothing about.

Just be yourself. If you don't get it, then you know you've done all you can. And if you do get it, well..

Celebrate!

I remember being asked on my job interview about what someone would consider if they were buying shopping trolleys for a supermarket chain.

I remember going on about size and shape and ease of use of trolleys, materials, colours, weight capacity.

But the clincher, I think, was the little foot things on the trolley wheels that stopped it from rolling back on travellators.

I remember seeing the panel's faces light up, curious of the little foot thing I was going on about.

There and then I knew I was having my moment of brilliance.

Because that's what I'm about.
The shopping trolley foot thingies.

Si-key

Three separate sickies in one month.

This has to be my slackest sickest month in my working career.... ever.

New to me this month are back pains. Damn I'm getting old! I had to see a physio! Thankfully there was nothing serious.

Twice I stayed at home due to the cold cold weather and me being stupid and not wearing something warm. Thus cold/flu/fever.

And as much as I'd prefer to stay at home, it wasn't particularly nice coughing up green blobs this morning.

Now I've seen worse times, but the radio ads are telling me to stay at home if I have the flu. Just in case I infect someone and it cascades over to thousands of people.

Plus the admin lady said I had heaps of sick leave left.
Yey for the sick leave.

Birthday Saved by the Chicken

3Willings
1) Curry Fish Heads
2) Devil May Cry
3) Sony Walkman

Work today was pretty bleh.

Sadly work does not discriminate if it's your birthday or not.

And some people will be difficult, regardless of how many profiteroles you bring in.

That's why I've decided to dedicate my birthday wish to making less 'bleh' days.
If people would just stop making other people's lives more miserable, then we can all be happy chappies.

So my wish is for that everyone to follow the golden rule.

Thankfully today allowed for my traditional birthday dinner of KFC and Rice.

Nothing like the Sanders to perk things up again.

Job Descriptions

3Willings
1) Utopia in Myaree – they have cakes!! Yakitate Japan style!
2) Ministry of Sound Annual 2008 – Disc 3
3) C&C3 – love them cheesy actors

"So, what exactly do you do? I mean, you told me where you work, but what exactly do you do there?"

For this question I have two pre-made answers.

One I call is ‘Wooooooo’ answer.

Purposely designed with an even use of corporate terms and technical jargon and eight syllable words. Wow - is the usual response. Of course it’s the answer made to impress.

Then there’s the ‘Oooooow’ answer.

The overly over-simplified version of my job. I tell them I’m in front of the PC, make phone calls, go to meetings and do paperwork.

The same way Bill Gates or this guy or this guy can say the same thing when they over simply their job descriptions.

Now I'm not saying I'm in the same level as these top dogs - but if were talking casually, there's no need to get to the nitty gritty of things.

Yet for soooome stooopidly unknown reason, I always find people who take my overly over simplified explanation seriously.

‘So you’re a _____?’

Which in my mind is the same occupational level as mould and the crusty bits on public toilet seats.

I feel like slapping them with a trout.

Maybe I should just say I’m a prostitute. Because really, I use my time and body to get paid.

But sheeze, even prostitutes are better than mould and crusty bits on toilet seats.

Work greetings

So you're sitting at home watching TV. Mountain dew commercial
have made you increasingly uncomfortable.
And finally realise you need to pee.

So you get up and make your way to the toilet.

On your way, you see your brother.

You walk on.

No need to greet him. No waving or smiling.

Just keep on walking, keep on walking.

But you see, you can't do that at the work.

Nope.

Not at all.

At work, everytime you see someone in the hallway you need to greet them.

Every man, woman, child you know, you must greet. Boss or colleague or subordinate.

You have to do it.

Otherwise you're rude.
Or unsociable.
Or indifferent.

You can use 'good morning or `mornin`, hi! or g`day'.

Greeting is must.

And I'm down with that. That's cool.

We're all just trying to maintain a nicey-nicey working environment so were all very polite and kind to everyone.

But things go weird when you've just seen one workmate and then two minutes later you see them again in the hallway.

You can't say "good morning or hi!" again.

You're only allowed to greet them once a day! You'll overdose them with greetings if say good morning again!

What I've seen some people do to get around this awkwardness is to do body languages like winking or raising eyebrows or pouting their lips and nodding upwards?! as their pseudo-greeting-i-need-to-rush-to-the-toilet-gesture.

Its just as weird and awkward.

Space between us

Everytime I use the elevator at work its always so quiet inside. It’s like the box of silence or something.

One would think that if you get ten or so people in there, a few would strike a conversation and you'd get some chatter going on. But you don't! In fact, the elevator has the opposite effect. If a couple of workmates are talking outside and they hop inside the elevator, they would soon stop talking and stare into elevator level indicator like everyone else. In silence!

When I was a kid and I spoke to my parents in a crowded elevator they wouldn't answer me. It’s as if I didn't exist. Its as if some voodoo magic worked inside the metal box and only when you step out will it be dispelled.

In the odd occasion that I do get someone talking in the elevator, I get quite annoyed and pestered by their talking. Hello? I'm not interested in what you're putting in your caldereta! I can hear everything you're saying! I wonder how some people can be so thick skinned.

Must have been cows in there past life or something.

When one speaks of personal space one would think this.

Personal space is in fact a region that surrounds your body. Like an air bubble that you carry around with you. Its your claimed territory with a specific radius and it determines your relation to others. If someone in fact breaches his or her allowable space you subconsciously realise that something is wrong and you instinctively prepare for it. Naturally, welcomed intrusions are okay, but when strangers start space invading, negative emotions are thrown in the mix.

Now there are four different kind of spaces (see the stolen picture from Wikipedia)

There’s public space. This is a nice big distance that we'd like to put ourselves in when we are speaking to a group of people. Anything less than this and we'd feel like we were shouting at someone too closely.

Inside this is the social space which extends from about one to three metres away from you. That’s about the kind of distance you'd want to keep your boss at when talking to them work. Any closer and they'd be intruding your personal space that can lead to some a messy sexual harassment case.

If someone is standing in your personal space, you can still exercise some tolerance for it, but you're definitely aware of his or her presence. In the elevator scenario, although you're all staring at the indicator incrementing with the elevator ascent, you get a burning sensation that someone's watching you. So you remain quiet and composed.

What you sense is probably not just the elevator surveillance, but the other guy next to you who's also sensing that you've invaded his personal space.

Now the intimate space is pretty damn close. Its also the bad-breath strike zone. Intrusion in this zone induces physiological changes like raise in heart rate and start of an adrenaline reaction. To have someone that close means you're either being naughty and kinky with them :P or your physically abusing each other in a fight ;(

The funny thing is that these spaces are culturally defined. In western countries personal spaces are quite wide. That’s probably why their cars are so big. Asian countries on the other hand - like getting REALLY personal - borderlining intimate. And everyone is okay with that!

That’s why you probably won't find too many westerners comfortably riding jeepneys.
This spacial awareness probably explains why two guys using a public toilet will always choose the opposite ends of a urinal. And why all the window seats in a bus get occupied first before strangers start sitting next to each other. We want our personal spaces free of weirdos and strangers.

It also explains why I got irritated when I was in a train ride in Hong Kong. This guy stood so close I could taste his char siew lunch from his breath.

Yuck. It was salty.

Rise and Shine