Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Late update by me again.. been busy with work.. Oh.. pardon me.. Usually after work, the 1-hour bus ride wears me out totally.. sometimes it amazes me how i could not feel tired or hungry when i am at work.. yet the moment i'm unoccupied during work hours, i feel worn out and hunger pangs come aknocking..
i've been having just a cuppa 3-in-1 coffee for breakfast of late.. lunch would be rather late at around 1-2pm. (usually only when the VMs decide to break for lunch) i dun seem to feel hungry.. hmmm... then after working hours stretch into OT hours, i dun feel hungry for dinner.. as long as i hv something to do during work, hunger & fatigue dun seem to affect me.. hmmm... strange?
i kinda like my job. i felt i've selected the right choice in taking this job instead of the fossil storeman job. it's pretty active and provides learning experience which suits me fine. ;) though the workload and travelling everyday renders me bed-ridden after i reached home, bathed and got onto bed. cannot imagine how bored i would be if i had taken the other job..
This week (monday and tuesday), i've been down at Parkway Parade Shopping Centre. they're opening a new TopShop/TopMan outlet there. The John Little there have let up the lease of their place and it's now been leased out to several boutiques. (TopShop/TopMan, Dorothy Perkins & Esprit to name a few..)
Monday the place was bare. the carton boxes had arrived but other than that, the store was bare, empty and super dusty. furthermore, there was no air-conditioning inside the store. and the air conditioning from the outside ain't gonna leak into the boutique that much till it reaches me who's more involved in the TopMan section.
The layout of the boutique is such that it's like a boutique in a boutique. Top Man was inside Top Shop that is. To make things worse, the lightings in the store generated a lot of heat. well,.. i was there to work so i didn't realli care.. juz went abt doing my job. afterall taiwan during my ATEC was much worse. limited water. heavy load. Oh man. thinking abt it makes me feel like drinking ice cold coke.. haha! =D
So at the end of Tuesday, i'm proud to present, via my camera phone, a wall display of 'Smart' dressing section with an accessories rack(below left), a display basket in the 'Denim' section(below center), a display of bags, caps, folded piles of jeans and the inverted 3-jeans-overlapping display(below right). =) Recently, dyson has been giving me chances to learn. i appreciate that.. he'd take the effort to explain to me certain pointers in displaying items.. whenever i feel i'd disappointed him, i'll encouraged myself saying that nobody does a new task 100% right immediately.
Hey! my eyes must be playing tricks on me after a long hard day at work.. i swore i saw a swear word on this t-shirt.. do u? i, myself, am very much amused by how much better it makes me feel simply by accepting that i'm just a normal person & normal ppl takes some time to do things in the most efficient way. everytime i am told to do something i'm not familiar with, i'll do it with the notion of giving my best effort and taking criticism with a positive mind set.
i strive to learn. to make mistakes is the best way to learn.. that's what i figured.. =)
Bean blubbered at [23:17]
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Sunday, November 27, 2005
Sunday !! As the name implies,... it is a day for SUN !! haha... And where else better than to Sentosa.. yes.. i got up with great difficulty at 0650h. (Set alarm for 0645h actually but didn't wake up till i heard the reminder..) not that i was lazy.. more like crazy.. coz i slept at 3+ am after watching chelsea beat portsmouth 2-0.
dun think i'm up early. i'm already rushing late. no time for breakfast liao.. took 3-4 sips of coffee before rushing outta aunt's place. jm is already at amk mrt waiting for me.. took a cab down to pick him up. then continued on our way to harbour front mrt. Island life.. sun.. sand.. sea.. beach babes.. beach bums.. ahhh... i've always liked pictures at the beach.. the colors so nice. green sea. blue sky. yellow/orange sun.. white clouds.. the contrasting is so nice.. hee ;)
AHHH... i haven told u guys why i am going sentosa for rite? make a guess? hehe.. This is the reason.. 
Beach Soccer !!
There were lotsa waiting. watched lotsa soccer at the side.. but we were pretty good spectators.. Finally after a loong wait, our first team is abt to kick off. they were arguably(at least in my opinion initially.. i was proven wrong.. haha..) our strongest team coz they had played with one another be4 in another beach tournament. they din win.. they lost 2-0. Then we waited more.. Soon it was my team's turn. We're entered as Geordie Bootboys.. due to them no knowing me well.. they dunno my playing skill, so i was on the bench. i din like that lah.. but no choice loh.. who ask me seldom play with them.. but i entered the fray nearing the end of the first game. it was 0-0. i helped them hold on to the clean sheet. Draw.My team's second game i started and scored within 5 mins. robbing a defender of the ball, i proceed to score with a precise shot. had a few half chances to increase the lead but din make full use of it. i felt confident of winning one nil actually..then they did their substitutions.. taking away my midfielder. the replacement wasn't as good. i had to compensate by dropping back more. conceded the equalizer. =( Draw again! 1-1. unbeaten though.. haha.. i also became well-known among the newcastle fans. coz i was the first and only newcastle fan club goal scorer thus far..We took a group photo before leaving the island seperately after finding out that all 3 teams had failed to qualify. Special thanks to jm,... for accompanying me the whole day, lending the camera and being my photographer while i was playing.. realli appreciate it.
*Ps: my digicam on tour with michelle.. =( now should be in bangkok le..
Bean blubbered at [23:59]
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Saturday, November 26, 2005
Made my trip down to Singapore Expo with intentions to check out the IT gadgets.. met up with well and pink as well as made a new fren in kelvin. tim joined us a while later. ep had gone down much earlier with his other fren, weilun.
it was a rather disappointing exhibition in my opinion lah.. but i bought lotsa stuff.. i feel so guilty now.. gosh.. splurged again.. a glimpse into my purchases of the day.. got a 4 port hub, 25 dvd-r, 100 cd-r, a twin set of creative webcams and finally my most beloved lime 6GB Creative Zen Neeon. i simply lurve my my Zen Neeon. it's so small and slim.. lighter than my handphone even.. wonderful..
Bean blubbered at [23:59]
It SURE feels GREAT to sleep in.. !! haha.. after waking early and sleeping early for most of the past week, today shall be the opposite of norm. tossed and turned till realli cannot sleep animore le then still only 9+ am.. dad made us breakfast.. i call it home-made prata but it's not exactly prata lah.. diff kinda flour i think.. Come to think of it... i need to learn some cooking so that i won't starve in aussie.. hmmm.. anyone willing to teach me on weekends? hmmm... ok, gotta go prepare myself for Sitex soon.. going with kp, jm, tim, ep, well and his gf.. i wonder if i will realli get to buy the cam from elwyn's fren.. coz if i can't then today must buy le.. hmmm..
gotta noe more abt elwyn. his full name is elwyn gerard. googled abt him. i think his name is david elwyn gerard. remember he told me his relative bernard harrison is the CEO of Singapore Zoo. confirmed that too.. hmm... investigative ways at work again.. kekekeke..
Ixus Ixus Where are you? hope Elwyn is gonna update me abt it soon..
Bean blubbered at [10:45]
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Friday, November 25, 2005
Ranting resumes again.. haha.. sorry to bother u guys with my constant complaints lah.. but it certainly helps to say it out.. rather than keep it all inside.. hehe.. back track to THURSDAY..
After a stop-start sleep on wed night/thurs morning, went to work.. Dyson didn't even mention abt me not turning up on wed due to oversleeping.. the wed break from work was certainly welcomed come to think of it although i didn't mean to skip work on purpose..
the whole morning was occupied by the preparation of posters, signages, decorations, fixtures etc to be brought down to Parkway on monday for the opening of a new TopShop/TopMan outlet.. had a late lunch @ 1430h with dawn(Junior VM) and cedric(VM Executive) after settling those dust covered stuff..
Set up a christmas tree on the 10th level after lunch.. it was kinda fun.. first time i'm involved in setting up a christmas tree.. many things to learn. which was what i wanted.. figuring how to fix the tree trunk together, then sorting branches of different lengths, fixing them up, coiling the christmas lights (we actually used 3 coils for that small tree.. they say more would make it nicer.. which is true..), hanging decorations, tying ribbons(or some may call it Lair-Bin), etc.. after the tree set-up, i was told to do the tedious job of cutting rolls of silver glossy paper(below left) to be used as gift wrap to be sent to different outlets.. only managed to finish cutting one roll before it was late and the graphic boys(below right) needed to use the cutting table as they were rushing some posters.. and so i gave the table up to them(i still had at least 3 rolls to do tomolo).. went home.. left the place around 1930h. clocked one and a half hours of OT. felt pretty down that evening. maybe it's work blues getting to me.. coz the previous day was of a day of huge contrast as compared.. felt lousy.. coz a lot of things i felt i didn't do very well.. however, i've encouraged myself that i need to find strength and belief within if i wanna improve.. this is all part and parcel of learning so i shan't get discouraged so easily.. :P
i was realli tired out. after doing some brief surfing around and watching the usual dramas, i went to bed pretty early(though reluctantly.. coz i fell asleep with the lights and tv on. only to wake up mid way thru to turn them off)
FRIDAY was better. i was more mentally prepared. i decided that i needed to gained belief and confidence for the strength within to emerge.. i got to work early and continued my tedious job of cutting the rolls of gift wrap paper. Dyson & all the VM guys ain't here yet.. first time meet Alex(another VM executive), said hi and intro-ed myself briefly before going abt doing my chore..
unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut, unroll, measure, cut,...etc. Multiply that by abt few hundred times and i had finished cutting 3 rolls of paper(the amt Dyson told me to do ytd). and all that done before Dyson arrived. heh.. i'd luv to impress him.. Right before i could actually finish the last roll, Cedric and Dawn came along. we set up another 2 christmas trees(didn't get a chance for pictures. haiz) this time on the 9th level. it's a different kinda tree this time.. 2 flat wooden boards cross intersected to form a tree each. it was silver and reflects light well with many shiny reflective stickers pasted on it.. but it was heavy loh.. my arms aches now from the carrying of the 4 boards from level 3 to level 9 via lift and walking..
When we finished the set-up (minor touch-ups of decorations not accounting), we went for lunch with the graphics guy and i got to know someone new today.. Andy. he studied Architecture in Brisbane. we chatted abt my impeding overseas study, the weather there, etc.. Over lunch, we had an interesting chat topic abt architecture.. it's amazing how much u could learn about everyday life when u gathered a table of ppl of different lines giving insights of their jobs, etc..
After lunch, Dyson told me to help him cut another 2 rolls of paper. "WAH KAOZ!!" u must have thought.. however, there was this stength within me this time.. i wasn't fazed.. i knew i could do it.. many ppl were impressed by me finishing 5 rolls of paper in one day.. heh.. i was happy.. kekeke..
i felt i made quite a few frens today.. helped each other out. was pretty free for the last hour or so of work.. the feeling's good. =)
*ps: ppl new in their jobs, Life's a never-ending learning process.. you are not perfect in every aspect. do not be depressed/disappointed with yourself for failing to be up to standard. to be good in something, it's natural that it'll take some time. be patient.. =)
Bean blubbered at [11:59]
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Wednesday, November 23, 2005
OMG! i feel bad. realli bad. i actually woke up at 1345h!!! i was supposed to meet him at Wisma TopMan around 1200h-1300h.. Disasterous was the thought when i saw the time on my handphone.. also there was one missed call.. who else.. Dyson loh..
Aaaarrrrgggghhhhhh... how am i to answer? being the person i am, i preferred to be honest. i told him i had overslept and had juz awoken. He seemed pretty cool about it. i had made the suggestion to rush down asap.. but he told me "nevermind, i think today u dun need to come down wisma. you can take the day. come down to the office for work tomolo at 0830h loh.."
much as i hope that i didn't wreck all my good impression the night before, i was juz as guilt-struck. i hope he ain't too pissed off. i almost wished he'd scold me if he realli ain't happy abt it. i'm realli apologetic abt it yet i know i wouldn't wanna to be blasted at.. hmm.. i hope it all turns out well..
surfed the net a little.. felt like going down to Kranji War Memorial to take some pictures.. take a look at the scenery etc.. asked jm to go actually.. but he's too lazy to wanna go out.. he said it was boring. haiz. wanted to cycle down with ok hao.. but after toking to him on the phone abt it, i felt it was too short a time be4 it closes. it closes at 6pm. it's already 4.20pm and cycling takes time.. perhaps another time bahz.. And so.... as it turned out, it was a pretty good and nice break from work to relax the mind and body.. chat with ok hao on the phone, catch up a lil' and also read up about some places in singapore i wanna explore/visit someday.. hmmm.. it's been a rejuvenating day.. cooling weather to boot. wonderful life i'm leading.. heh. ;)
Everyone will have down times.. even great ppl.. always remember this.. the difference is that great ppl dun dwell on it but instead build on it. gaining experience instead of taking it as another failure..
Bean blubbered at [17:30]
Juz got home not long.. the cab ride home was such a quickie.. 15 mins oni.. but 11+ bucks already.. it's been a tiring day afterall.. I went down for work at 4pm.(actually reached there around 3.45pm) Wisma Atria Top Man/Top Shop. Dyson was already there. i helped him do a few minor chores.. Steamed some suits/shirts which he wanted to hang up for display in the display window.. it's my first time trying to steam iron.. it's like using a vacuum cleaner to iron clothes!! i got by.. the clothing weren't too crumpled anyway..
After that, i asked him what i could help. he told me to "qu4 guang4 guang4". i was blur. or perhaps i wouldn't believe my ears.. he reassured me and told me to go window shop around in peace and he would find me if he needed me. he said the actual thing will start around 8pm.
with that, i was free.. it was mentally nerving.. i was at Takashimaya walking around when my mind pop up with this qn.. "did he mean stroll around in Topman so that when he needed me he would call me?" i was in 2 minds whether to go back or to just go slack around in peace.. i did neither.. the thought of going back there didn't appeal to me.. and the fear of missing a call from him bugged my conscience.
moreover, i was in no mood to shop. i didn't wanna overspend. i hv a wishlist to clear.. i need to tighten my belt. gotta budget some spare cash for the meal money and transport money(midnight cab fares after work to be reimbursed dunno when also..)
it was still only 1630h. 2000h is 3 and a half hours away loh.. i spent them walking a lot. sms ep. he say my job scope is to window shop. couldn't believe it.. both me n ep. when finally the clocks ticks 1950h, a topman shop asst announced for customers to make their final purchase before they close the store..
but it wasn't to be.. i watched more n more customers in the store. it seems singaporeans love to make last min buys. the shop manager then decided to change the closing time to 2100h. another hour of boredom.
Work finally started at 2050h. dyson told me to sort out the belt section. sorting by leather and non-leather and also sort by colors. it was a big mess.. i took me quite some time.. then i re-arranged the bags.. sorting by material.. canvas, leather, Dunlop brand, etc. Went on to arrange the wallets then caps/hats.
then come the task which took me almost the whole night.. putting size cubes on each and every hanger.. that is those small cubes which state 32 Regular, 34 Short or 30 Long for trousers, S, M or L for t-shirts and some shirts, 40(inch)or 44(inch) for Outer coats.. i had to arrange clothing according to size too.. meaning the smallest to the biggest from left to right or front to back..
midnight there was a break.. i walked over to 7-Eleven got myself a chocolate donut and a milo. took some pix(below) for fun.. enjoyed the break.. i needed that after seeing so many size cubes.. having to search the chuppa chups tin bucket for every size.. gosh.. it sure strains my eyes..
the jobs not realli completed. there're too many.. tomolo gotta go down there again.. hmmm... eyes see until blur liao.. urgh.. rabbit eyes liao.. tired.. Dyson told me to leave at around 0245h. told me go back there tomolo between 1200h to 1300h. he was pretty nice lah.. he changed my working timing ytd, which was "0830h - 1700h", to "0830h - 1800h". he told me he had no problem with me leaving early ytd.. but i must still write 0830h - 1800h coz that is the stated working hours.
well,.. i wouldn't complain if more money come rushing into my pocket, would i? he then wrote my start work hours for the day as 3pm when i actually reached around 4pm and basically idled till 9pm. ending hours is 0300h. power boh? i nv do any job end so late one.. heh.. took a cab home from the right side of orchard road. that is the extreme right lane.. haha.. first time take cab from the right side of a road also..
argh.. dreads to think of the miserly hours of sleep i'll be getting.. replied 2 emails requesting for my resume and portfolio seperately.. i cannot open mouth to change job one.. i'll feel like i've betrayed wingtai and left them short of manpower. but i've still sent out the resumes and portfolios. now i'll hv a hard time rejecting these new jobs.. esp when one of them might be a multimedia related job which i'll prolly jump into had i not already started working..
Currently(0525h) blogging and watching champions league soccer. man utd vs villarreal. haven bath even.. sianz.. ok, gotta go bath.. then sleep after watching the match. intend to wake around 1030h.. hmmm.. Ciaoz..
Bean blubbered at [04:00]
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Monday, November 21, 2005
Straight back from work(if u call that work that is..), i changed into berms, washed up a lil' and met up with kp, jm & ep at chong pang. dinner. sumptuous meal. mmm... yummy! bought a pirated 3d animation software disc and headed to GV yishun. caught this wonderful romantic comedy.. Just Like Heaven. i like it.. yes.. i noe i'm such a sucker for this kinda cheesy love crap. =P it's abt this girl who's a doctor. very hardworking and all.. seldom spare time for a life.. too much of a workaholic. always thinking of doing these n that but nv get down to it coz of work commitments.. then in the end regret abt not living life to the MAX. well,.. i guess i'm a lil' of the opposite.. aww... nothing unexpected. but good ol' romantic comedy..
A sumptuous dinner ........................ $5
A pirated software .......................... $8
A movie .......................................... $7
The company of my pals................. PRICELESS
Bean blubbered at [23:59]
Hi guys.. i'm feeling so excited. haha.. can't wait to burst this joy outta me.. today.. my first day at work.. everything was good. from the colleagues to the environment.. guess the only complaint i could make was that it was drizzling on my way to work.. din bother to bring umbrella lah.. juz brave it thru man!
was a slack day. basically went to the office at 0830h. then the Visual Merchandising guys weren't around.. so i was attached to the Graphics department which was juz adjacent to the VM cell.. made friends with Xing.. he's one of the graphic designer of WingTai Clothing.
i sat behind him. doing nothing. absolutely nothing.. i watched him do the final touch-ups to his brochure.. and all i thought about was... what's his pay? what's that program he's using etc.. I WANT HIS JOB. wahahahaha... hmmm.. gotta brush up on Freehand liao.. i think i'll like his job. wish they hire me as part-time graphic designer. but then VM ain't bad at all lah!
then around 10+ to 11am, this guy Elwyn came in. he looks malay or is he juz super tan? he's a funny guy.. he can speak mandarin and hokkien too.. he is one of 3 VM executives. the others being Dyson(seems the most senior. look stern but i heard he's alrite guy..) & Cedric(haven seen him yet). i followed him around and collected some posters and stuff and loaded up his van.
lunch time at 1pm.. he drove me to ECP Lagoon food centre. we joined another 2 ppl for dinner.. they were his Elwyn's financial planner & his brother. the financial's planner's brother i mean.. the trio were avid fishing kakis. they talked from their fishing experiences to the superlative performance of Ronaldinho against Real Madrid. i just ate my Mee Rebus as i listened intently.. not that i mind.. they're funny ppl.. all at least a decade elder than me.. hehe..
then after a long lunch and chat, elwyn drove me to town. we strolled from Plaza Singapura to Lucky Plaza making stops at every Dorothy Perkins store to check out the sales and arrangements of fixtures and mannequins.We did window shopping too! Elwyn was checking out a Crumpler laptop bag. thinking hard abt whether to buy.. $179. which made me tempted too!! kekeke.. we chatted lots while walking and i got a lil' worried abt not making the grade in making a visual impact with the mannequins n stuff.. din wanna think too much.. one step at a time i guess..We happen to bum into his fren. he told us abt this Canon fren of his who could get digicams cheap.. elwyn was realli helpful.. he offered to help me get one too.. it's so outrageously cheap loh.. the price they quoted.. 5 Megapixel Ixus Camera around 100+ to 200+. they say stuff sale. well.. if they would let me buy at that price i'll be over the moon.. fingers crossed.. we stop at Lucky plaza and chatted more at a kopitiam. bought him coffee as we chatted. he amazed me in many ways.. he had this ear lopes with a metal ring in it. as in... 2 holes in his ear lopes with a ring forming the circumferance of the hole.. he used to own a fish farm in pasir ris.. he used to own 4 dogs.. now left 2.. he used to deal with exotic fishes and also cross breed them. he dealed and was caught for dealing those exotic reptiles.
he is an interesting guy.. how i wish i'm under him.. but it's oni for the day.. tomolo i'll be under the stern looking dyson(pronounced as day-sen) liao.. hmmm.. Elwyn let me off for the day at 4.30pm. he wrote my punch card at 5pm. heh.. now... i juz hope the camera thing is the real deal.. *pray hard*
eh.. was i working today? i felt i was shopping..
Bean blubbered at [18:04]
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Sunday, November 20, 2005
Sunday morning. a super tired/sleepy but disciplined melvyn woke up at 0845h. watched the barcelona vs real madrid match from 3am-5am.. slept less than 4 hours. urgh.. not wanting to be late for soccer. esp not after blasting the guys for being late last week.. heh.. soccer at 10am sharp. played in the rain which interrupted us midway. i like playing in the rain. cooling.. heh..
After bathing i realized my face is not as dry anymore.. hmmm.. my skin was like so dry till it itches and hurts.. the Bodyshop Blackcurrant reviving mask sure does its trick.. heh.. though it stings my skin like hell when i first applied it on my dry dry skin.. Tried to iron my 2 newly bought shirts and scalded myself. argh.. long sleeve very hard to iron u noe? haiz. pain. now there's a red scald mark on my right hand. in the end, i reckon they dun necessarily hv to be well-pressed to look good.. haha.. tired myself out holding the iron and so i took a short afternoon nap.. zZZ...
dinner at S11 AMK Centre beside Jubilee. the variety is there. lots to choose from but the price seemed to hv rose..? after dinner with jm, we split. i took a bus to uncle john's place. they ain't home. only the maid & ah ma at home. i got my laptop n stuff and left soon after..
tomolo starting work le.. a new experience. well,.. hope it all turns out well.. haha.. dvds tonite again.. then to bed.. heh..
Bean blubbered at [23:02]
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Saturday, November 19, 2005
Morning was good. watched naruto with michelle. afternoon? Aeroplaned.. evening went to town with michelle. hmmm... went on a shopping spree.. 70% discount mah.. got 2 shirts and a t-shirt. splurged a horrid $180. guilty guilty.. gosh... pardon me..
treated michelle to cheese cake and milkshake @ My Galilee while i had a chocolate truffle with ice-blended coffee. chose a comfy seat and took pictures for fun.. haha.. we were so bloated. gosh.. we've committed another sin.. kekeke..
The 'M & M's (Melvyn & Michelle) leaves their mark !!
Bean blubbered at [23:59]
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