Bad Feng Shui

Received a call from a friend......regarding my previous Company. After I left, the Company employed 2 persons to take over my areas of work. The guy who took over my areas - Europe, Australia & New Zealand, came from another Company with experience.

Well, he has resigned and no longer in the Company. The reason was ......cannot take the stress! Just 2 months in the job and only half of what I was handling!

The seat I had was the same seat he had and that seat has changed many planners....... bad feng shui?

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Saturday

Yesterday I went back to office to get some work done. Back in SingTel, it's 5-day week. It's really good not to go back on weekend. Most colleagues would rather stay back late on Friday than to come back on Saturday. I beg to differ......

I enjoy coming back on Saturday. With this job, I actually get tired by the end of the day. All I want is to get out of the office and relax the mind. So, I would rather come back on Saturday than to work late on Friday

When I come in on Saturday, it's quiet.......no phone call, no one to disturb.....just me, myself, I and Ben.....good time to get many things done. and prepare for the week ahead.

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Relationship

Had dinner with Sebastian on Friday night. The wife n son have gone back to Taiwan and he would be leaving for China next week to take up a tour.

It has been tough for him. His wife wanted a divorce and he has decided to agree to it. Sebastian spent the last 8 years mainly in Taiwan staying with the in-laws. Both Sebastian n wife are tour guide for Europe and they often have to travel. The son is placed with the in-laws to look after.

To me , Sebastian is a simple man. All he does is to earn money so that he could afford a comfortable life for his family. Of course, there's always disagreement between husband n wife but he usually give in.

The last few months, the wife gave him hell and he finally decided that he has enough. He agreed on the divorce.

Someone very close to me is going through similar situation. The wife has asked for a divorce because the husband had an affair. But the wife is going all the way out to accuse the husband of abuse on her and the children and also a threat to the in-law.She is trying to extort an exorbitant sum for alimony (I almost fainted when I heard of the amount). She was all out to 'destroy' him so that she could get as much as possible.

It's really sad to know all these. But, it shocking to hear the extent people go to to exhort as much as possible. Sebastian's wife said that Sebastian should give to the house a certain sum a year to raise the kid. Somehow, to me, it did not occur to her that the kid belongs to her as well! She also wanted Sebastian to pay for staying at her place for the last 8 years. But she forgot to remember that Sebastian paid for the Taiwan house!

For that someone close to me, the wife becomes someone I could not recognise anymore. She forgets that when she continues to try and squeeze every penny from him, the only person who gains is the lawyer. Ultimately, she will lose because she was not telling the truth, and the whole family ends up poorer because of the legal fees. She fell out with her best friends and also family, and at the end of this legal case..... she will lose herself.

Why?

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Busy Week

This is probably the busiest week since I started in July! We are still having a lot of problems with the system! Since the launch of the iphone and using SPEAR (reservation system), instead of enhancing customer's experience, it was more like enhancing our nightmare!



SMS a close friend on 26th ... his birthday. Surprised to get a reply and even more surprised to learn that he was in Singapore! Sebastian was a ex- colleague. I travelled with his group to South Africa and since that trip, we became close friends. Found out that he is not getting along well with his wife and will be splitting up. Plan to meet up with him soon......



Got invitation for steamboat dinner last night .... at Roxy Square.... next to Grand Mercure Hotel (opp Parkway Parade). The steamboat was quite good...except VERY EXPENSIVE!!!!! When I saw how much Derrick paid, my jaw almost dropped! For a steamboat lover like me, eaten at a lot of places, it was expensive for a average location with no ambiance, except it has air-con. Nevertheless, the company was great and that's all it matter



It's Sam's birthday today! Happy Birthday! Received a sms from him that he received my 'card'. Instead of buying the usual birthday card, I 'made' one and sent to him. Glad that he liked it. Well, he does not really have a choice, anyway!



It's Friday tomorrow! Hurray! Looking forward to the weekend! Malaysia having LONG WEEKEND..until Tuesday! Also, I have 3 friends' Birthday! It's Alex, Eric and Michael's birthday! Alex & Eric are local and Michael is a friend in Hong Kong.

Happy Birthday, my friends!

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Maturing

I realised that lately when I go shopping, I usually come back empty-handed. Even my friends who were with me commented that. I would want to go to a place to buy something but in the end, I would come back without buying.

Nowadays, I would ask myself if I really need the stuff. I may have the intention to buy but when I am there looking, I would ask myself if it is necessary. Often, I convinced myself that I could do without and then I would not buy.

In the past. I would spend on food, snacks, etc that I like. Now, I would look at them and then probably give most a miss. Well, it does not mean that I save a lot ...it just means that I spend the money on things that are necessities, e.g. stuff for the house, etc.

When you grow older, do you necessarily grow wiser?

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Another Busy Day

The mobile rang and I got up.... from office..... 3:40am! Called back and spoke to Jontue...problem with 1 reservation. Settled.... and then asked her why so late and found that they had a lot of problems with the reservation system.

Was in office in the morning and found that Jontue left out 1 reservation. Oh dear! How to explain to customer? The email was sent after 6am! They were in office till 6am!!!!!!!!

Another chaotic day! Many people called to check the delivery. One company has 4 sets but we only delivered 2! The other 2 sets were delivered just before the day ended! So many called to ask and check on iphone prices... the calls were almost non-stop! I have been been so busy before, except at NATAS!!!!!!

Well...when I left, many colleagues were still in office struggling ........



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Crazy Day

The launch of iPhone tonight......past midnight!

Been a extremely busy day! The amount of phone calls was overwhelming! I could hardly cope! Call after call......and I could not even remember the name of the caller!

Trying to fulfil the delivery of iPhone to a certain group of customers. Hopefully everything will turn out smoothly for the colleagues who are doing the data entry from 12 midnight to 3am! Good luck!

Will be another busy day tomorrow....



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Black Out

Got home after the briefing sessions on iphone and iphoneNet.

Problem with the TV. If you on the TV, the fan stops working. Checked the circuit board. Turned off all the switches and down all circuit breakers. One by one I turn on the circuits breakers and then 1 tripped! The one tripped was the light for the whole house! TV worked; fan worked; fridge worked; computer worked and also the air-con (thank goodness!) The house was in darkness! Thank goodness for torch lights!

Checked the newspapers and called a 24 hours lighting company. Within 20mins, someone came and checked and found 3 breakers not functioning well. Changed all the 3 and wala! Let there be light and there was light!

Glad to know that there are such 24hours company providing services. Though it was not cheap, but it was money well spent! Otherwise, would have to spend the night without light!


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iPhone

After much hush hush about the product, the information is finally out! Wait! Changes? Not finalised yet????? Ahh!!!!!!!

Since last week, many people have been calling up to ask about iphone prices. "Sorry Sir, the prices are not out, will only be ready next week"....standard reply to the customers...

Prices came out today and with it, comes 3 new plans... more plans? Confusing! Had to attend the training this evening. Well, the 3G iphone is really not as fantastic as you think! No video call, no MMS!

Customers were supposed to make online reservation and we tabulated more than 60,000 reservations! The truth is many may not take up the phone but still, 10% of the number is still huge!

SingTel staff will be operating from Thursday midnight right up to Sunday! According to the drink stall at the canteen, they need to operate 24hours starting from Thursday!

SingTel is having a SME Fair from Friday to Sunday and iphone launch is on Friday! Very busy weekend! Some of the staff need to come back this Thursday midnight to fire through the reservation so that the iphone could be delivered on Friday itself!

SingTel is the only company selling iphone in Singapore!



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44

Yes, I am 44 today!

Had dinner with my colleague buddy last night at a Japanese restaurant...Minori. Food used to be better... still, the company was great! Thanks, Diana!

A dear friend called from KL last night, checking if I would be in KL. Had a good time chatting. Will try to catch up with you soon, Lawrence!

SMSes started to come in just past midnight! Jeff was 1st... and then YL, Ben, SP and a few others. This morning, I had birthday greetings from Wong, Nancy, call from Teik Jin, Kee Huat, from Hong Kong, Anson, Lee Hong, Jason from KL...still have a lot of friends yet to send me greetings!

Did not do much this morning. Just rested at home and then went out for lunch with a friend. Lunch was good, so was the company.

Dinner with a very dear friend..... met up at Orchard Point. Went to a Japanese restaurant, Kazu. The food was delicious! Thanks, Alvin, for the dinner, present and the evening!

Happy Birthday , Benjamin !


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Gathering

Gerald came to fetch me from work yesterday for the steamboat dinner. Went over to Lavender to meet up with Richard and Leo. Traffic was rather bad ..... did not realise as I stay in the south west.

Surprised that Albert was already at the venue. usually he would be the last to arrive! That's good! Then came Derrick and finally Tony & Wong.

Steamboat was good, as usual. had a good time chatting with each other. Have not seen Leo for a while. Leo was from Nanjing..now PR here.

Tony & Wong bought me a cake and after that, we went over to the mamak store for drinks.

The night ended well.......for me! Thanks, guys! Thanks for the presents & company!

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Dinner Tonight

Having dinner tonight with some old friends. So kind of them to celebrate my birthday in advance. Guess where dinner would be? Yes, the famous steamboat at Tanjong Katong! My favourite steamboat place!

A few friends could not make it tonight. Hopefully, there would not be anymore absentee. Anyway, the occasion is just an excuse to get together. With each busy lifestyle, it could be difficult to catch up unless there's a reason to. Singapore may be very small but how often do you get to meet up with friend without prior arrangement?

Looking forward to catching up with old friends again!

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Otanjobi Omedeto

Many years ago (too many years), I met this Japanese Language Teacher, Hiroko Nakano. We got along very well and when she left for Japan and later US, we continued to keep in touch. Unfortunately , along the years, we lost touch and I have not heard from her. I believe she is still in US, though. Today, is her Birthday and I want to wish her ...Happy Birthday, Good Health and Happy Life!

Today is also Ray's Birthday! I know there's a birthday gathering on Saturday for you and friends! Happy Birthday and enjoy!



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Need To Buck Up!

Sales has been slow these 2 days.... Have been busy with calls but not sales....transferring calls coming in and helping to clear problems.......

The good news this morning was that the team has exceeded the half month's target! Hooray! But.... my contribution is very little at the moment...... still building up my base of customers.
Have to work hard......need to wake up! Ganbarimasu!


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Change Appointment

Supposed to have a small party on Saturday...some friends could not make it. Need to move forward to this Thursday. The good news is most of them could make it. Well.... if Saturday is free, maybe I should go away. Was actually planning to go away this weekend, anyway. Haiz...nowadays, so indecisive. Cannot make up my mind.





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Friends from Shanghai

Richard H'ng, a very dear friend, is in town for some starwood event. Not sure if Lily from Westin is also here. There should be quite a number of suppliers from Asia Pacific here for the event. I was invited but then...... hahahahaha!

Supposed to catch up with Richard & the others (I think) for dinner tonight. Not sure yet...have not heard from him. Learned that he is staying at Orchard Hotel.....not a starwood hotel.....hmm....wonder why......

It may be an expensive dinner for me....He is out to 'kill' me....hahahahaha! Maybe I should give an excuse to miss dinner.... Work is a good excuse......

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It's Him Again!

Went down to the pub for a drink. The place was rather crowded. Then, suddenly he walked past! It's him again! This very dear friend of mine...... that someone who appeared once a blue moon in my life! Hahahahahaha!

Was very happy to see him again! I remembered meeting up with him in June .... that was the 1st time we actually met up for drinks!

He is a very dear friend..someone very close to my heart!

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Sawadee krup

Today is a special day....it's Daddy's Birthday! Er....not my Daddy...... it's 5th Uncle....Uncle Chartchai's Birthday!

I met Chartchai in end 2003. The 1st met up was tough for me! He was a well travelled man and held very high position in the Company. The thing that sort of break the 'barrier' between us was the famous Hilton Cheese Cake! A few trips to Singapore sort of strengthened the friendship and now he is part of my 'family'!

In 2005 (I think), I was in Bangkok to celebrate his Birthday. I remembered we walked quite a distance in Pathumun to look for a particular Chinese restaurant. It was a simple dinner with Richard & Win.

Happy Birthday, my Friend! I will be seeing you soon!

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I Remember..

Today is a good friend's birthday. Though we have hardly kept in touch, I have not forgotten this day. Happy Birthday, Jackson!

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Memories

Was at MacDonald's (Bukit Merah Central) this evening...for dinner with JT. While eating at the restaurant...brought back memories of my last visit.... May last year.

I remember that I was in the restaurant around 3 am....sat there till about 5am and then walked home. Had breakfast and then to the airport to catch my flight!

I was very down.... could not sleep ...went to MacDonald's...ordered some snacks and sat there reading magazine till it's about time to leave. Was leaving for Bangkok that morning. It was a very long day......

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My Mother

Woke up suddenly.... saw the light from the kitchen. Came out of my room and saw my mother sitting on the floor of her bedroom. She was trying to get up to go to the washroom but she found difficulty in getting up. Sometimes her legs are too weak and could not support her frame.

Managed to lift her up to sitting position and then slowly Yanti escorted her to the washroom.

This is not the 1st time I got up in the middle of the night for her. She is getting old and her movement is becoming a problem.

After getting her to sleep, I had problem trying to get to sleep! Worse still, my chest started to hurt again. I always get this problem when I get up in the middle of the night. Something I have to put up with, unfortunately.........


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Last Weekend

Got a call from HKG on Friday. Wallace called to tell me that he has asked Raymond to pass me a gift. Met up with Raymond on Friday night to pick up the gift. So nice of Wallace n Frankie. Knowing that I would not be in HKG this month, they asked a friend to bring the birthday present to me. Birthday present????? Got the hint???!!!! Hahahahaha!

Was supposed to meet Nicholas on Saturday but did not realise he was waiting for me to confirm the appointment. So, when I called him around noon, he was still at home! He wanted to come in when the traffic at the causeway ease up but I told him that we would meet up another time. My apologies, my friend!

Anson called - free movie at Vivocity. There was supposed to be a buffet before that as well. When I arrived at the cinema, I realised that the movie was for 9pm! Decided to skip the movie and joined Gerald for dinner at our regular steamboat place.

Got up early on Sunday to make dessert for the party in the evening. Made dessert on Saturday afternoon but felt that something was missing and when I checked on my dessert, I realised that the main ingredient was left out - Agar Agar powder! Hahahahaha! Wasted effort!
Managed to make another tray but still felt that it was not up to expectation! Hmm.....

Dinner at Stephen's place. Ordered DIY Popiah and DIY Mee Siam. Athea cooked braised pork with bun and Lyn brought chicken wings & drumsticks. The DIY stuff was rather good. The popiah skin was very thin and tasty. The mee siam gravy was rather delicious. I guess the troublesome part was that you have to DIY. To some, that's the fun part !

Ended with the Birthday cake. Celebrated Janice's (3rd) & Abigail's (8th) birthdays together! Nowsdays, no more toys. Everyone gave vouchers - Popular Bookstore's vouchers....


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