Mom told me that the Telekom line at our area was struck by lightning a few days ago and all telephone and Internet lines are down. This affects every household on this street (and probably the neighbouring streets too).
This problem had already been reported but the line is still not fixed even after so many days. It seems like the Telekom staff is very into CNY holiday mood too, even though most, if not all, of them are not Chinese.
When i heard about this from mom in the car just now, my first reaction was, "shit, then what am i gonna do at home during this CNY holidays??!!"
(I am taking leave for next Wednesday to Friday like many others so that i can have the entire week off.)
Yes, i am so handicapped without Internet, especially when i have so many days at home. I have already planned what i wanna do over this long holiday, and a few of the things actually involved blogging and FB. My plan is foiled now, no thanks to Telekom.
I actually have lots of things to rant about Malaysia after my extended stay in KL and having gone through the massive traffic jam at the Malaysian checkpoint at 2nd Link this evening. Now, this just tops my list of things of why i think Malaysia is marching into doom if there is still no change to how it is governed and managed.
For those who wanna lecture me about how Malaysia is already better than many other countries, what i should not only be complaining while not helping to change it, what the opposition party may not do any better, what we are already progressing compared to before, yadda yadda yadda... You know what, i am not interested in listening to all these shits of yours. Just shut up and go away. Don't read my blog. Go and write on your own blog about what YOU think. This is MY blog and it is where I rant and complain and whine about anything and everything if i so desire. If it bothers you, so be it... as if i care. DUH.
==========
Phew, after getting that whinny and bitchy PinPin out of the system, i feel a little bit better now.
I would have felt a lot better if the tethering works. Unfortunately, not sure what is wrong with DIGI 3G or my out-dated iPhone, tethering didn't work on my laptop and i gotta resort to using iPhone for this post (after several attempts). Now even the DIGI network that i normally love is failing me too. Darn!
I would have written at least three posts today, as i have quite a few things to update. Since i am kinda Internet-less now, and it isn't exactly that enjoyable typing with the iPhone touch-screen keyboard and looking at such small screen, i'm gonna call it a day.
Oh boy, i wonder how i am gonna survive the following 7 days without Internet. For all i know, the Internet withdrawal syndromes may soon set in! *shivering*
Cogito ergo scribo
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Internet-less
| Cogitated @ 4:28 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
| 
cool down cool down. perhaps your sugar level is low after you fall sick, but then that's not good excuse to continue unhealthy diet. well, i can picture your predicament - no internet until wednesday. this is really a disaster, especially internet these days can be categorized as one of the basic needs. the service in johor might be bad, maybe, but in kl it's actually improved compared to yesteryears lor. hey, i'm not trying to flamebait that JB is some ulu place, but i think TM concentrated more their customer service in KL where the profit is even higher more. anyway, seems that digi is just getting worse. sometimes i can't get the signal too at certain spot at my home, and in my office basement. maybe the signal is weak but then maxis users can receive their signal. but then digi is still a good bargain compare to the bigger boy. i heard from my colleague who lives in skudai that celcom is better bargain for broadband but that was 1 year ago. if you doubt the iphone, you might want to try with your xperia mini for the tethering. gee, i think you have to turn to become night owl again for faster internet connection with the 3g network. i dread to imagine pinpin in her internet withdrawal syndromes, scary ....
don't say lah malaysia is bad place, it's still better and blessed country if to compare to, say, ghana, zimbabwe, uganda, libya, etc, etc. oops, pinpin is so serious. but the way you hentam makes me like fool when i decided to come back from SG and settled back at my hometown, and became worse slave than my ex-company's. actually i'm more dreaded to commute every week kl <-> SG just to be with my family. maybe i'm not a kind of person who demands much things or comparison, but i always believe that if one does not have his/her root, it'd be the same to be other place/country. at the end, it's just us to make the decision and change things for the better. sometimes bad things happened because of the action of others, but hey, that's what people is all about. there's still room for improvement for the country, hopefully things can really be much improved in near future. still hoping, though. hope pinpin don't tell me to go away and ban her blog from me after all the lecture ...
anyway, hope that you'd have a nice family and friends gathering in coming CNY. perhaps you fell sick is a message to take your health better next time, and no internet so that you actively visit your friends and have more outdoor socializing rather sitting numb all day in front of the monitor. or perhaps so you actively help your mom to prepare nice food and dishes for CNY. cheers, and happy Chinese New Year (how many times i have wished) !
, at 21/1/12 7:30 am
You will survive without internet
:)
It is human nature to adopt to the environment.
Once you pass the internet less day, you will feel refresh. , at 21/1/12 6:36 pm
Monday, September 12, 2011
Delayed again
I am now at Senai Airport waiting to board the plane. The flight is supposed to be departing at 8:50am but I am still waiting at the gate.
Uh huh, the flight is delayed, again.
This time, not only MAS but all flights are delayed due to technical problem at the airport.
Ok, this is unexpected situation that happens everywhere and so I shouldn't be complaining about it. But the the thing is not so much about the technical problem (even though that creates inconvenience to the passengers). The issue I have is on how the delay is handled.
Firstly, the screen is showing the gate status as "calling", and this usually means the plane is ready for boarding or they are already boarding passengers already. Yet, this is apparently not the case, as I've not even seen the plane.
Then there is no announcement of the delay at all. The airport and the airline did not bother to inform the travellers what happened. When I went to ask the ground crew if they were boarding already (at around 8:45am), the person told me (pointing through the glass window), "as you can see, we are having problem with the ladder."
Oooookaaay, seriously, I can't tell there is a problem. Even if I can, it doesn't mean they need not inform passengers of the delay, right?! And how about the standard "we apologise for the delay"? Oh, perhaps they aren't sorry because shit happens and there is nothing to be apologetic about. The passengers should be understanding.
Welcome to Malaysia.
Uh huh, the flight is delayed, again.
This time, not only MAS but all flights are delayed due to technical problem at the airport.
Ok, this is unexpected situation that happens everywhere and so I shouldn't be complaining about it. But the the thing is not so much about the technical problem (even though that creates inconvenience to the passengers). The issue I have is on how the delay is handled.
Firstly, the screen is showing the gate status as "calling", and this usually means the plane is ready for boarding or they are already boarding passengers already. Yet, this is apparently not the case, as I've not even seen the plane.
Then there is no announcement of the delay at all. The airport and the airline did not bother to inform the travellers what happened. When I went to ask the ground crew if they were boarding already (at around 8:45am), the person told me (pointing through the glass window), "as you can see, we are having problem with the ladder."
Oooookaaay, seriously, I can't tell there is a problem. Even if I can, it doesn't mean they need not inform passengers of the delay, right?! And how about the standard "we apologise for the delay"? Oh, perhaps they aren't sorry because shit happens and there is nothing to be apologetic about. The passengers should be understanding.
Welcome to Malaysia.
| Cogitated @ 1:09 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Gee, that's not a good start of the day, especially when there's a big shot to meet . Btw, malaysia day is just few days away only, and, sigh, what a bad impression u just had.. , at 12/9/11 3:55 pm
oh no! I'm gonna fly to KL then Sarawak this Fri too, hope it will get better, I dun wanna get stuck in the airport! It's gonna be a long week for me too! , at 12/9/11 11:29 pm
geez, that's not a good start of the day, and you have to meet a big shot somemore. hopefully things turned out to be great despite the unfortunate incident in the morning and didn't leave you being sulky. well, malaysia day is coming, perhaps you should be a bit cutting down bash and being instigator for your friend to follow :P. but then to speak up is to care. not all malaysian customer services are like this, your KL teammates and your friends are different mah. there's still much of improvement ahead can be done, so don't give up on the nation hor. cheers. , at 13/9/11 2:29 am
Friday, August 12, 2011
Post vacation blues
I'm not kidding you, this is really what i'm suffering from now.
Check out Wikipedia on the explanation of post vacation blues. Sometimes there may even be depression too!
So, be prepared to read more rants than vacation sharing on this blog for the coming days.
First off, i gotta deal with the jet lag for sure. In fact, it should be bed time for me now in LA time zone. Yet, i'm now stuck here in KLIA waiting for the postponed flight. So do bear with me, for a person deprived of sleep is normally more easily agitated.
Then, if i were to sum up the vacation briefly, i would say that it is not really as good as i had hoped. In fact, there were quite a number of unpleasant days and unhappy events. I've not made a calculation of the total amount i spent on this entire trip, but a rough estimate would be around SGD8K. I did not really feel that it was money well-spent, and i could only keep on telling myself that i should be thankful and feel blessed that i am able to spare this amount without feeling much pinch financially.
Lastly, and the worst of all, is that i am feeling a lot of pressure from work. The HK project kick-off will be held on 16/8 (next Tuesday) and boss wants me to be there even though i've told him that the two ladies should be able to handle it by themselves. Basically, he has no confidence in them, especially on project and people management portion.
This means that i gotta fly off to HK on 15/8 and be there for about two weeks (will be back in SG on 27/8). I'll have to rush for the project materials over the weekend, as i've not done anything on it during the vacation. I also have tons of work piled up after 2 weeks of absence, and a major document due by end of the month.
On personal affairs, i have yet to settle my lost IDs and my sprained ankle is still not recovered yet. The time is also almost up for me to settle the painful affair that i'm sure gonna drain me physically and emotionally.
Ok, now that i'm done with the rant on this blog, i'll have to deal with my blues in real life. Whether it is work or personal, i just gotta work through it.
Check out Wikipedia on the explanation of post vacation blues. Sometimes there may even be depression too!
So, be prepared to read more rants than vacation sharing on this blog for the coming days.
First off, i gotta deal with the jet lag for sure. In fact, it should be bed time for me now in LA time zone. Yet, i'm now stuck here in KLIA waiting for the postponed flight. So do bear with me, for a person deprived of sleep is normally more easily agitated.
Then, if i were to sum up the vacation briefly, i would say that it is not really as good as i had hoped. In fact, there were quite a number of unpleasant days and unhappy events. I've not made a calculation of the total amount i spent on this entire trip, but a rough estimate would be around SGD8K. I did not really feel that it was money well-spent, and i could only keep on telling myself that i should be thankful and feel blessed that i am able to spare this amount without feeling much pinch financially.
Lastly, and the worst of all, is that i am feeling a lot of pressure from work. The HK project kick-off will be held on 16/8 (next Tuesday) and boss wants me to be there even though i've told him that the two ladies should be able to handle it by themselves. Basically, he has no confidence in them, especially on project and people management portion.
This means that i gotta fly off to HK on 15/8 and be there for about two weeks (will be back in SG on 27/8). I'll have to rush for the project materials over the weekend, as i've not done anything on it during the vacation. I also have tons of work piled up after 2 weeks of absence, and a major document due by end of the month.
On personal affairs, i have yet to settle my lost IDs and my sprained ankle is still not recovered yet. The time is also almost up for me to settle the painful affair that i'm sure gonna drain me physically and emotionally.
Ok, now that i'm done with the rant on this blog, i'll have to deal with my blues in real life. Whether it is work or personal, i just gotta work through it.
| Cogitated @ 8:16 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
er, don't tell that you are the one who edited the part on depression, jetlag in wikipedia .... poor girl, but nevermind lah, at least you fulfilled the goal of bringing your mom to see your bro and had a family reunion, not to mention of visiting hollywood, vegas, batman, shopping spree, etc etc in the States. why your boss is so inconsiderate one? with internet and telecommunication these days , sure you can still coordinate the project with 2 of your teammates on site even you are not being there physically. plus, it does not reflect the real you since you are not in good form in performing if the blue spreads into the project, for you did not have appropriate time to replenish your energy - physically and mentally (hey, even superhero like batman still needs to eat and rest too mah). you boss obviously needs to seek to understand before being understood.
sigh, that's reality of working life , gotta deal with it lor. i guess the consolation would be you are not flying from KLIA/MAS but changi this time .... oh, you should bring along lots of chicken essence. don't overstress yourself too much, don't be easily get agitated. and hey, since you have confidence in your teammates, perhaps you can treat the HK trip as sightseeing. gosh, i'm preaching you to be slack. hopefully you got your all IDs settled before you fly again, you shouldn't have postponed it again and again (wonder if your boss ok to postpone the trip instead). keep it up pinpin, you know you are one strong gal. stay positive in no matter what situation, remember you always have friends and fans who always stand by you. cheers. , at 14/8/11 5:44 pm
Transit at KLIA again
I am actually in a rather bad mood now for various reasons, and i'll rant about one of the main contributing factors.
After 20 hours of travelling half a globe back to Malaysia, i am now in KLIA again.
We arrived at KLIA at around 12pm and the flight back to SG is at 4:30pm. Mom and i had thought of going out of the airport but then there is no facility in KLIA to place our hand-carry luggage. What a lousy airport.
So, we ended up waiting here at a restaurant where we had a lousy tasting lunch at exorbitant prices, again:
(Two weeks ago when we were in-transit here, mom bought a small bottle of mineral water for RM12!!!)
While we were waiting here, i remembered that there was an email i received while the plane stopped by Taiwan to refuel. It was from Zuji, the website where i bought the air tickets. The email mentioned that the airline had informed Zuji about a change in my flight schedule and asked me to give their customer care centre a call. I did so and was told that our flight back to SG was changed to 5:30pm. I was puzzle about this because we have already gotten the boarding passes for this leg of the flight when we checked in at LAX, so i didn't understand how they could simply change my flight just like that.
Since i was already at the airport, i went to make an enquiry at MAS counter. The ground crew informed me that the 4:30pm flight was cancelled and hence i was moved to the flight that departs an hour later. Notice that i said "i was moved". Yes, after checking the system, the lady could not locate my mom's name in the system. Apparently, they cancelled the flight and moved me to a later flight, but my mom's booking was simply cancelled without moving her accordingly too.
Anyway, the lady took back the boarding passes of the cancelled flight and then re-issued new ones for mom and me. This also means that my transit time here has just been extended by another hour. Fortunately i did check email and call Zuji, otherwise we may have problem getting onto the plane later.
Actually the flight with MAS had not been pleasant at all, but i told myself that i should not keep on comparing SIA with MAS, for we get what we pay for. But then, this flight cancellation and how it was handled have worsened my perception on MAS (when it was already not very good to begin with). It sure doesn't help when i'm so tired and in need of a bath desperately (i can't stand my oily flat hair, uncleaned face and teeth!).
Alright, enough of this rant for now. Mom had gone around looking to buy a bottle of water again and the cheapest she could find cost RM9. She didn't buy it this time. The drinks in this restaurant costs RM6 per cup, and so i'm gonna move to Burger King or Starbucks.
After 20 hours of travelling half a globe back to Malaysia, i am now in KLIA again.
We arrived at KLIA at around 12pm and the flight back to SG is at 4:30pm. Mom and i had thought of going out of the airport but then there is no facility in KLIA to place our hand-carry luggage. What a lousy airport.
So, we ended up waiting here at a restaurant where we had a lousy tasting lunch at exorbitant prices, again:
(Two weeks ago when we were in-transit here, mom bought a small bottle of mineral water for RM12!!!)
While we were waiting here, i remembered that there was an email i received while the plane stopped by Taiwan to refuel. It was from Zuji, the website where i bought the air tickets. The email mentioned that the airline had informed Zuji about a change in my flight schedule and asked me to give their customer care centre a call. I did so and was told that our flight back to SG was changed to 5:30pm. I was puzzle about this because we have already gotten the boarding passes for this leg of the flight when we checked in at LAX, so i didn't understand how they could simply change my flight just like that.
Since i was already at the airport, i went to make an enquiry at MAS counter. The ground crew informed me that the 4:30pm flight was cancelled and hence i was moved to the flight that departs an hour later. Notice that i said "i was moved". Yes, after checking the system, the lady could not locate my mom's name in the system. Apparently, they cancelled the flight and moved me to a later flight, but my mom's booking was simply cancelled without moving her accordingly too.
Anyway, the lady took back the boarding passes of the cancelled flight and then re-issued new ones for mom and me. This also means that my transit time here has just been extended by another hour. Fortunately i did check email and call Zuji, otherwise we may have problem getting onto the plane later.
Actually the flight with MAS had not been pleasant at all, but i told myself that i should not keep on comparing SIA with MAS, for we get what we pay for. But then, this flight cancellation and how it was handled have worsened my perception on MAS (when it was already not very good to begin with). It sure doesn't help when i'm so tired and in need of a bath desperately (i can't stand my oily flat hair, uncleaned face and teeth!).
Alright, enough of this rant for now. Mom had gone around looking to buy a bottle of water again and the cheapest she could find cost RM9. She didn't buy it this time. The drinks in this restaurant costs RM6 per cup, and so i'm gonna move to Burger King or Starbucks.
| Cogitated @ 6:50 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
welcome back! luckily you were "diligently" checking email during the transit. anyway, mas already has a share swap deal AA ,who knows under AA guidance it will emerge with better service offer lor (cross finger). rm 12 bottle is like buying a coffee from starbucks.
hopefully you still able to have gathering with your school friends. but before this, you gotta settle your IDs first lor. cheers. , at 13/8/11 4:37 am
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Pissed
Ok, i've been thinking about posting some details of my trip so far, but instead i need to rant; otherwise i think i'll probably lose my temper very soon.
(Anyway, the trip update is gonna be short and quick, as there is nothing much to tell really.)
Seriously, i do not know how to deal with my brother. I am putting up with him for the sake of my mom... he really pisses me off, and seriously, i'm now just taking this trip as the sole purpose to make my mom happy (which does not really seem to be the case either, which i will relate it eventually in another post).
I think not seeing each other for more than 15 years and to hardly keep in touch have really made a very deep negative impact on our family relationship. Let's not talk about how my brother is now or my opinion of him, for that's probably gonna be a long post. For now, i just need to get this off my chest.
So far, i've not really been to anywhere except to the factory outlet mall for a few hours this afternoon. I feel that if i still don't do anything about it, i'd probably just end up spending 14 days at my brother's place doing nothing (or work) everyday.
LA is a place where you are practically handicapped when you do not have a car. The public transport is near to non-existence and the cab fare is expensive. My brother does not stay near LA downtown area and there is nothing but just town houses within walking distance.
As i do not have a driving license now, i could not rent a car or drive my brother's car. He needs his car to go to work everyday anyway (even though i do not really see him working hard at all, and again that is for another post). So my mom and i ended up not able to go anywhere without him.
So there are three options for us now:
(1) Join local tour
(2) Stay at hotel in downtown
(3) My brother drops us off and picks us up at our destinations
After more than 2 hours of research just now, i decided to do a combination of the three.
First of all, i decided that mom and i should stay in a hotel at Hollywood area for maybe two nights so that it is near to various attractions. There are also shuttle bus to and fro this hotel, with a pass that we could buy to enter over 40 different attractions at cheaper combined prices. This will also cut down the time for travelling and we won't be so tired.
When i told my brother about this plan, he immediately rejected it and said he could drive us anywhere. Yet, i do not think that is a good idea and i'm kinda tired to have to tell him where i wanna visit and then be judged by him. I did not reply him though, and decided to talk to my mom in private tomorrow and seek her opinion.
Secondly, i found a multi-lingual 5½ hour tour of LA. It is just a sightseeing tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills and downtown LA with some quick stops - yeah, the touch-and-go kind with a tour guide. I figure that this is good with mom around and when my sprained ankle does not permit me to do excessive walking (even though i have done so today at the outlet mall).
I will need my brother to drop us off at the pick-up point and so i told him about it. He then told me not to waste my money on whatever tour, as those are just rip-offs on tourists. He said there is nothing much there at all, and if we really wanna see that area, he can just drop us off there and we can walk around on our own.
I was pissed and told him that we do not know the area at all and it is dangerous for us to walk around on our own should we wander into any dangerous neighbourhood. Then i snapped at him, "well, we ARE tourists". He then said (to stop the argument), "ok ok, whatever."
Actually i know and agree with his statement about joining tours can be a rip-off, but he gotta consider my mom. If i were to go with my friends like i did with LF and PT, we would have no problem go exploring on our own. Yet, with my mom around, he can't expect her to do the same. Furthermore, i'm not sure if LA is safe no matter where we go; i'm sure there are places that are unsafe and we are not aware of it at all.
His comments about "there is nothing there to see" also pissed me off. He has forgotten that, unlike him who has stayed here for years, this is our first time here. Will any tourists who come to LA go home without at least seeing the Hollywood sign at all?! It is just like one going to New York and did not bother to see the Statue of Liberty, or going to Washington and did not check out the White House or monuments.
(And seriously, what else he expects us to do here for 14 days if everywhere is also "nothing to see" to him???)
Then he also disapproved me of taking pictures of the food or things i saw. On the first day i was here when i took picture of our first meal, he told me not to do that. Then on the second day when i took out my camera to take picture of his car, he again said to me, "can you please don't do that", and then murmured something, which i know that he felt embarrassed or something. He said he does not understand why i wanna take pictures of the food and everything i see. I was unhappy and told him, "what's the big deal? I am a tourist." But then, just out of respect since he does not like it, i have stopped taking pictures.
There was also this thing about coffee. I gotta take my daily dose of coffee and i have an headache today because of the jet lag plus missing my coffee. So just now when my brother picked me up at the outlet mall, i told him that i would need to stop by Starbucks to get some coffee powder, for i've bought a coffee filter to make coffee.
My brother does not drink coffee at all. He then again did not agree with me buying coffee from Starbucks. He said he did not understand why i wanna buy coffee from Starbucks since it is so expensive. I did not answer him but mom told him that i gotta have coffee everyday and i like Starbucks coffee. He then murmured something disapprovingly again, which to that i almost wanted to tell him, "So what if it is expensive? I have lots of money (老娘我有的是钱)." Of course i did not say that out loud.
Here's another one - before i came here, i've also briefly checked out what the free things i can do here. I found out that for the month of July and August, there are free Shakespearean plays at Griffith Park. I've marked it as one of the activities that i wanna do here and even checked out the schedule on the play that i wanna watch.
Yet, the play starts at 7pm and will end late at night. I don't think his place is near Griffith Park and don't feel right asking him to pick me up in the night. So just now i casually mentioned this to him and kinda wanted to find out if it is far from here. His first reaction to me is that Griffith Park is a dangerous place and i should not go there. I was puzzled and did not really believe him, for i've read that Griffith Park is huge and there are different areas in tha park for different activities. If the drama organisation can stage a free performance there for arts lovers in the evening (and there are even drama workshop for students that starts at 5pm!), it can't be that dangerous.
I told him this thought and he said to me, "i don't understand why you wanna watch a play." I was pissed and told him, "why not? I'm here and i wanna experience everything that i can." You see, i don't blame him for not knowing that i love Shakespearean plays, but i an not happy at him for belittling anything that is not of his interest. To him, only watching movies are real entertainment and anything else is just plain pointless.
As for his various negative or contemptuous comments about Christianity (because mom and i asked to visit a church on Sunday), i would just keep quiet and not say anything. He is obstinate in maintaining his opinions, values and way of life that i do not think it would make any difference to say anything.
Three days have passed and the trip has so far been nothing but disgruntlement. I just gotta keep telling myself that even if we end up going back just like this, at least my mom has finally gotten to see his precious son whom she missed so so so much. And frankly, i do not know if the next meet up will be another 15 years+, or if my mom will still be around or well enough to travel so far.
Nonetheless, i think i really ought to do something about this and not let it becomes the worst and most wasted long trip of my life.
(This post was written on 29-Jul-11, 11.47pm)
(Anyway, the trip update is gonna be short and quick, as there is nothing much to tell really.)
Seriously, i do not know how to deal with my brother. I am putting up with him for the sake of my mom... he really pisses me off, and seriously, i'm now just taking this trip as the sole purpose to make my mom happy (which does not really seem to be the case either, which i will relate it eventually in another post).
I think not seeing each other for more than 15 years and to hardly keep in touch have really made a very deep negative impact on our family relationship. Let's not talk about how my brother is now or my opinion of him, for that's probably gonna be a long post. For now, i just need to get this off my chest.
So far, i've not really been to anywhere except to the factory outlet mall for a few hours this afternoon. I feel that if i still don't do anything about it, i'd probably just end up spending 14 days at my brother's place doing nothing (or work) everyday.
LA is a place where you are practically handicapped when you do not have a car. The public transport is near to non-existence and the cab fare is expensive. My brother does not stay near LA downtown area and there is nothing but just town houses within walking distance.
As i do not have a driving license now, i could not rent a car or drive my brother's car. He needs his car to go to work everyday anyway (even though i do not really see him working hard at all, and again that is for another post). So my mom and i ended up not able to go anywhere without him.
So there are three options for us now:
(1) Join local tour
(2) Stay at hotel in downtown
(3) My brother drops us off and picks us up at our destinations
After more than 2 hours of research just now, i decided to do a combination of the three.
First of all, i decided that mom and i should stay in a hotel at Hollywood area for maybe two nights so that it is near to various attractions. There are also shuttle bus to and fro this hotel, with a pass that we could buy to enter over 40 different attractions at cheaper combined prices. This will also cut down the time for travelling and we won't be so tired.
When i told my brother about this plan, he immediately rejected it and said he could drive us anywhere. Yet, i do not think that is a good idea and i'm kinda tired to have to tell him where i wanna visit and then be judged by him. I did not reply him though, and decided to talk to my mom in private tomorrow and seek her opinion.
Secondly, i found a multi-lingual 5½ hour tour of LA. It is just a sightseeing tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills and downtown LA with some quick stops - yeah, the touch-and-go kind with a tour guide. I figure that this is good with mom around and when my sprained ankle does not permit me to do excessive walking (even though i have done so today at the outlet mall).
I will need my brother to drop us off at the pick-up point and so i told him about it. He then told me not to waste my money on whatever tour, as those are just rip-offs on tourists. He said there is nothing much there at all, and if we really wanna see that area, he can just drop us off there and we can walk around on our own.
I was pissed and told him that we do not know the area at all and it is dangerous for us to walk around on our own should we wander into any dangerous neighbourhood. Then i snapped at him, "well, we ARE tourists". He then said (to stop the argument), "ok ok, whatever."
Actually i know and agree with his statement about joining tours can be a rip-off, but he gotta consider my mom. If i were to go with my friends like i did with LF and PT, we would have no problem go exploring on our own. Yet, with my mom around, he can't expect her to do the same. Furthermore, i'm not sure if LA is safe no matter where we go; i'm sure there are places that are unsafe and we are not aware of it at all.
His comments about "there is nothing there to see" also pissed me off. He has forgotten that, unlike him who has stayed here for years, this is our first time here. Will any tourists who come to LA go home without at least seeing the Hollywood sign at all?! It is just like one going to New York and did not bother to see the Statue of Liberty, or going to Washington and did not check out the White House or monuments.
(And seriously, what else he expects us to do here for 14 days if everywhere is also "nothing to see" to him???)
Then he also disapproved me of taking pictures of the food or things i saw. On the first day i was here when i took picture of our first meal, he told me not to do that. Then on the second day when i took out my camera to take picture of his car, he again said to me, "can you please don't do that", and then murmured something, which i know that he felt embarrassed or something. He said he does not understand why i wanna take pictures of the food and everything i see. I was unhappy and told him, "what's the big deal? I am a tourist." But then, just out of respect since he does not like it, i have stopped taking pictures.
There was also this thing about coffee. I gotta take my daily dose of coffee and i have an headache today because of the jet lag plus missing my coffee. So just now when my brother picked me up at the outlet mall, i told him that i would need to stop by Starbucks to get some coffee powder, for i've bought a coffee filter to make coffee.
My brother does not drink coffee at all. He then again did not agree with me buying coffee from Starbucks. He said he did not understand why i wanna buy coffee from Starbucks since it is so expensive. I did not answer him but mom told him that i gotta have coffee everyday and i like Starbucks coffee. He then murmured something disapprovingly again, which to that i almost wanted to tell him, "So what if it is expensive? I have lots of money (老娘我有的是钱)." Of course i did not say that out loud.
Here's another one - before i came here, i've also briefly checked out what the free things i can do here. I found out that for the month of July and August, there are free Shakespearean plays at Griffith Park. I've marked it as one of the activities that i wanna do here and even checked out the schedule on the play that i wanna watch.
Yet, the play starts at 7pm and will end late at night. I don't think his place is near Griffith Park and don't feel right asking him to pick me up in the night. So just now i casually mentioned this to him and kinda wanted to find out if it is far from here. His first reaction to me is that Griffith Park is a dangerous place and i should not go there. I was puzzled and did not really believe him, for i've read that Griffith Park is huge and there are different areas in tha park for different activities. If the drama organisation can stage a free performance there for arts lovers in the evening (and there are even drama workshop for students that starts at 5pm!), it can't be that dangerous.
I told him this thought and he said to me, "i don't understand why you wanna watch a play." I was pissed and told him, "why not? I'm here and i wanna experience everything that i can." You see, i don't blame him for not knowing that i love Shakespearean plays, but i an not happy at him for belittling anything that is not of his interest. To him, only watching movies are real entertainment and anything else is just plain pointless.
As for his various negative or contemptuous comments about Christianity (because mom and i asked to visit a church on Sunday), i would just keep quiet and not say anything. He is obstinate in maintaining his opinions, values and way of life that i do not think it would make any difference to say anything.
Three days have passed and the trip has so far been nothing but disgruntlement. I just gotta keep telling myself that even if we end up going back just like this, at least my mom has finally gotten to see his precious son whom she missed so so so much. And frankly, i do not know if the next meet up will be another 15 years+, or if my mom will still be around or well enough to travel so far.
Nonetheless, i think i really ought to do something about this and not let it becomes the worst and most wasted long trip of my life.
(This post was written on 29-Jul-11, 11.47pm)
| Cogitated @ 7:33 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
uh oh, just the first day and already there is rant. i could imagine if he knows you are a blogger and blogs everything you have come into, and catch you for this, he might be super super pissed then. it's also quite a waste you were unable to polish up your skill in snapping photos with your SLR :(. sigh, if only your bro is a good listener and understanding person . anyway, to put it in another perspective, you brother (might) concerns about your well-being, i.e:
1) drink coffee is detrimental to health.
2) he doesn't want you to spend unnecessary and rant later because he's been through it (you know lah you always rant).
3) he wants to be big brother to make up for the family (including the transport, especially the misfortune days before the trip!) after so many years not seeing each other.
4) he doesn't want you as one "stranger tourist gal" alone in the theatre and technically that is "unsafe".
5) being critical to you as he wants you to be resolute gal.
cool down, cool down, these were just some the initial setbacks and misunderstandings. after some cool off period, hopefully not very long your brother learned about this shortcomings (especially with your mom's local dishes as peacemaker), things would turn to better. of course, probably induced by the jetlag, you have to play a part to control your temper (you passed one since you didn't bloat the "money" thing). many things can happen in 14 days just like in the movies :). on positive note, brother-sister arguments could strengthen your relationship, and it won't take another 15+ years (you're exaggerating) to see each other. hmm, i think i've overly kepoh here.... if you got angry, chocolate and/or icecream might be indeed helpful ......
hopefully thing would improve days ahead. don't ruin your holiday just because your brother is being inconsiderate. you might treat this as one of the anger management and diplomatic training lor. is there anyway that could turn your brother to be one good listener? worse comes to worst, if you think your decision is the right one, you should go ahead with it, e.g move to hotel in hollywood. actually reading this makes me feel guilty coz i've told my friend who wants to bring her family for singapore visit that there's nothing much to visit in universal studio, chinatown, etc etc ... oh, if you are being forgetful to turn off international data roaming on your mobile. cheers, look forward for some good postings from the trip :) , at 30/7/11 10:00 pm
My condolences! It is frustrating indeed! Does he knows all the sacrifices you had made to realise this "reunion" trip? If not he should hear it, or else, sorry to say, there wont be a chance anymore.
I hope all these can contribute to a wake up call for everyone, i.e. your mum, yourself and your brother. Seeing is believing! , at 31/7/11 4:56 pm
Pin, I know that you are a bit "shocked" with ur brother's reaction and you are angry.
Time to accept that this is how he is. At least this is the "real him" ya . Time to accept that he is like that and see how to make the best of your holiday, for your mum and for your brother. For the past 15 years, he is living in different part of the world and definitely his thinking will be different from yours. Your mum's happiness is the key for this trip, and the starting point is you must make yourself feel happy before anyone else can make your mum happy too. have fun! ym , at 1/8/11 2:47 pm
Hi Pretty Pin,
No point getting up sad, your priority of this trip is to make your mom happy right?
Your brother has been in USA for many years, you never know how hard he started his life there, he may have gone through a lot of difficulties and finally settle down. So his way of thinking is different considering maybe he is just someone who love saving instead of spending.
Cheer up and don't be up sad. It is unfortunate that you lost your wallet and hurt your leg. Be positive, ok? :)
Henry , at 1/8/11 4:48 pm
Aiya! My dear, I think u r just still not use to having a brother to argue with you lah! No matter how, he had been missing from your life for the last 15years mah! I have been "fighting" with my sis for more than 30years still tak biasa lah!
Try to talk to him nicely, tell him that you'd been taking photo & sharing your life with your fan. Many people can't understand why r we doing so. My sister also always complain me why whatever also want to take photo, why anything also want to share on FB.
Maybe there's some DO & DON'T in US cultural leh! althou he should also talk to you nicely on it, but you know he's talk like that one mah! We also always tend to be nicer to outsider lah!
However, hope your holiday mood wouldn't be dampen by this small matter. Be Happy!!!! , at 2/8/11 1:18 pm
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
More lousy services
I really gotta rant about this...
Seriously, there is still a loooooooooong way to go for the customer service in Malaysia.
After experiencing an unpleasant customer service with Public Bank, i just had another with a big Malaysian corporation again today - Malaysia Airlines.
First of all, i signed up for the MAS airmiles called Enrich. I have no idea why MAS did not join in any of the airlines alliance such as the Star Alliance; instead, they isolate themselves and customers must sign up with their airmiles. I guess they figured that this is the way to force the customers to always take their flights to earn airmiles. If that is so, then it is actually a thinking without foresight.
Singapore Airlines is a member of Star Alliance, and i have many points accumulated under SIA. In my previous business trips to USA, when i was booking for my flights, i specifically told the travel agent to book me under the airlines that are also members of Star Alliance so that i can earn the points. You see, it is not possible for any airlines to cover ALL the routes in the world, especially for those domestic or non-popular destinations. Furthermore, there are also times when the flight is full or the flight time does not suit the travellers, and then the travellers will look for other airlines for the flight. In such cases, travellers such as myself would choose the airlines that can accumulate points under the same loyalty programme rather than splitting up the airmiles. In a way, this is another way to get more customers too. Yet, our dear MAS choose to be so alone out there.
Ok, so this is the way it is, i signed up for Enrich so that i don't waste the airmiles for this flight to USA. But then, i could not log on to the membership site. There was a function that says "forget your password" on the site and i clicked on it to have my password reset and sent to my email. I did that like at least more than 5 times already but i've not received any emails at all. I think that function isn't working at all, and now i can't log in to my membership site unless i called them up to complain about it.
Lastly is on the online check-in facility. Alright, it's not that i wanna keep comparing Singapore with Malaysia, but i just couldn't help it because i am so used to the good services provided by SG companies.
The online check-in facility on SIA website allows passengers to change seats even after we have checked in. We can also cancel the check-in and re-do it again. The user interface is friendly and smooth.
Yet, our lousy MAS online check-in facility does not allow checked in customer to change the seats or cancel the check-in. Basically, once you have already checked in, the only thing you are still allowed to amend is the Enrich membership number.
Yesterday i did the online check-in on MAS website. After i filled in all the necessary particulars (i gotta do that everytime i check-in online because i could not log on to my membership page) and click "Next", i was hit with an error about unable to proceed with the checking in on my ticket. I then try it again from the start, but was eventually brought to the page where it showed that i've already checked in with seats already assigned! The worst part is that the "change seat" button was disabled and i could not make any changes to it.
So, basically i did not get to choose my seats, did not get to even see where the seat is, and couldn't make changes to it either. I have wanted to choose either the first row or an aisle seat so that there may be a way for me to elevate my foot during the long-haul flight, but now i'm stuck.
I then called up the customer service at MAS just now and told them about my situation and requested them to change the seat for me. After much time spent, the guy told me that there are no more available seats and asked me to try again when i'm at tha airport. Oooookkkaaay, what's the odd that any seats will still be available tomorrow morning right before the flight?
Furthermore, i asked him where my allocated seat is located. He told me that it is right in the middle of the middle cluster (the 5 seats cluster). That is gonna be really bad. I think my foot is gonna swell up like an elephant leg after close to 20 hours of flying time. I could of course try asking someone to switch seat for me, but seriously who would want to change from a front or aisle seat to a narrow middle seat for such long hours flight?
Anyway, my comment for my experience with MAS online service - it SUCKS! It is not customer oriented or user friendly. They should seriously take reference from SIA and improve on it. But then, Malaysian government or GLC always have this unrealistic bloated ego about themselves that they think they are the greatest and most wonderful of all. So i seriously won't put much hope in it.
Oh well, i'll just have to tell myself that this is a cheap ticket and hence comes the price. I'll just have to bear with it, and i've been trained over these few years to withstand agonies.
So yeah, this is NOT gonna break me.
Seriously, there is still a loooooooooong way to go for the customer service in Malaysia.
After experiencing an unpleasant customer service with Public Bank, i just had another with a big Malaysian corporation again today - Malaysia Airlines.
First of all, i signed up for the MAS airmiles called Enrich. I have no idea why MAS did not join in any of the airlines alliance such as the Star Alliance; instead, they isolate themselves and customers must sign up with their airmiles. I guess they figured that this is the way to force the customers to always take their flights to earn airmiles. If that is so, then it is actually a thinking without foresight.
Singapore Airlines is a member of Star Alliance, and i have many points accumulated under SIA. In my previous business trips to USA, when i was booking for my flights, i specifically told the travel agent to book me under the airlines that are also members of Star Alliance so that i can earn the points. You see, it is not possible for any airlines to cover ALL the routes in the world, especially for those domestic or non-popular destinations. Furthermore, there are also times when the flight is full or the flight time does not suit the travellers, and then the travellers will look for other airlines for the flight. In such cases, travellers such as myself would choose the airlines that can accumulate points under the same loyalty programme rather than splitting up the airmiles. In a way, this is another way to get more customers too. Yet, our dear MAS choose to be so alone out there.
Ok, so this is the way it is, i signed up for Enrich so that i don't waste the airmiles for this flight to USA. But then, i could not log on to the membership site. There was a function that says "forget your password" on the site and i clicked on it to have my password reset and sent to my email. I did that like at least more than 5 times already but i've not received any emails at all. I think that function isn't working at all, and now i can't log in to my membership site unless i called them up to complain about it.
Lastly is on the online check-in facility. Alright, it's not that i wanna keep comparing Singapore with Malaysia, but i just couldn't help it because i am so used to the good services provided by SG companies.
The online check-in facility on SIA website allows passengers to change seats even after we have checked in. We can also cancel the check-in and re-do it again. The user interface is friendly and smooth.
Yet, our lousy MAS online check-in facility does not allow checked in customer to change the seats or cancel the check-in. Basically, once you have already checked in, the only thing you are still allowed to amend is the Enrich membership number.
Yesterday i did the online check-in on MAS website. After i filled in all the necessary particulars (i gotta do that everytime i check-in online because i could not log on to my membership page) and click "Next", i was hit with an error about unable to proceed with the checking in on my ticket. I then try it again from the start, but was eventually brought to the page where it showed that i've already checked in with seats already assigned! The worst part is that the "change seat" button was disabled and i could not make any changes to it.
So, basically i did not get to choose my seats, did not get to even see where the seat is, and couldn't make changes to it either. I have wanted to choose either the first row or an aisle seat so that there may be a way for me to elevate my foot during the long-haul flight, but now i'm stuck.
I then called up the customer service at MAS just now and told them about my situation and requested them to change the seat for me. After much time spent, the guy told me that there are no more available seats and asked me to try again when i'm at tha airport. Oooookkkaaay, what's the odd that any seats will still be available tomorrow morning right before the flight?
Furthermore, i asked him where my allocated seat is located. He told me that it is right in the middle of the middle cluster (the 5 seats cluster). That is gonna be really bad. I think my foot is gonna swell up like an elephant leg after close to 20 hours of flying time. I could of course try asking someone to switch seat for me, but seriously who would want to change from a front or aisle seat to a narrow middle seat for such long hours flight?
Anyway, my comment for my experience with MAS online service - it SUCKS! It is not customer oriented or user friendly. They should seriously take reference from SIA and improve on it. But then, Malaysian government or GLC always have this unrealistic bloated ego about themselves that they think they are the greatest and most wonderful of all. So i seriously won't put much hope in it.
Oh well, i'll just have to tell myself that this is a cheap ticket and hence comes the price. I'll just have to bear with it, and i've been trained over these few years to withstand agonies.
So yeah, this is NOT gonna break me.
| Cogitated @ 1:09 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
hmm, it might be the IT's fault too, if only their IT personnel have the zeal to uphold responsibility, logical, good service and delivery... MAS must have paid them peanuts for their service, if the service is outsourced. oh wait, MAS is GLC ...
it's all down to people attitude when it comes to service sector. and if the good ones (like you , oops, don't get angry ...) don't leave, then it might still be chance that our CS won;t be in loooooooooong way to become in top class standard. plus, most of service sector industries in SG are run and managed by malaysians too. sigh ... there is rumor even AirAsia is moving its HQ to indonesia to capture the larger market before it was rebuffed. oh well, hopefully you manage to change the ticket last minute at the counter. otherwise, it would be yet another test of perseverance for coming holiday lor. gosh, your grand trip is sure full of adventure even before it kicks start. happy holiday, and reunion too! and don't sleep late. cheers. , at 27/7/11 3:26 am
If one were to compare MAS and SQ, then one could also compare Air Asia and Tiger Airways. I think it boils down to the way the company is run. Tiger is a subsidiary of SQ but yet it is far from anything like SQ. Some 12 years ago, I was part of the Star Alliance member reaching gold membership via its Ansett partner which has since been liquidated. Back then it was a lot easier to accumulate points as there were no competition from budget carriers. But then whenever I tried to redeem flights from SQ, there will always be "I am sorry Sir, there is no available seats for the dates you want." It was before I got really mad and ask them for a six months schedule, they still could not find any. Don't be part of an alliance unless you could offer benefits as an alliance. To be honest, the rumours about how SQ treats caucasians customers better is true. But I would have to say MH is a culprit to that as well. Airline is a cut throat business and in the next 10 years we will see a lot more changes and SQ will definitely not be the same SQ as it is now. Fat4, at 30/8/11 6:01 pm
Horrendous customer service
I had a brief but terrible experience with the customer service of Public Bank when i was reporting my lost ATM card:
(CS = Customer Service)
I was appalled by such service level. Seriously, i've always thought that Public Bank provides the best service among all the banks in Malaysia, and now i know that i'm so wrong.
When i called the banks in Singapore, the customer service personnel was very polite and helpful (or at least they sounded so). They would asked me a bunch of questions to verify my identity before proceeding with my request.
Yet, with Public Bank, all i need to say is just my IC number? So anyone can just call in to cancel someone else's card!
Furthermore, the way that he conducted himself on the phone had absolutely no courtesy. No "may I", "please" or "thank you". All questions were asked in one incomplete sentence in a rude tone. He also did not offer to tell me how i could get a replacement card, nor did he greet the customers properly when picking up and putting down the call. It was horrendous.
I think i'd better call the bank again to make sure the ATM card has indeed been cancelled. I wouldn't be surprised if it hasn't.
(CS = Customer Service)
Rude CS: "Hello?" (He did not even greet the customers with the company name or identify himself)
PinPin: "Hi, i've lost my ATM Card today and would like to report it."
Rude CS: "Ok, your IC number?" (in a rude tone)
PinPin: "750201-01-xxxx"
Rude CS: "Your bank account number?"
PinPin: "Huh, i do not know my bank account number."
Rude CS: "You only have one account with Public Bank?"
PinPin: "Yes."
Rude CS: "Ok, the card is cancelled."
PinPin: "Erm, so i just go to any of the branches to get a new card?"
Rude CS: "Yes."
PinPin: "Ok, thanks."
Rude CS: "Ok." (Then put down the phone)
I was appalled by such service level. Seriously, i've always thought that Public Bank provides the best service among all the banks in Malaysia, and now i know that i'm so wrong.
When i called the banks in Singapore, the customer service personnel was very polite and helpful (or at least they sounded so). They would asked me a bunch of questions to verify my identity before proceeding with my request.
Yet, with Public Bank, all i need to say is just my IC number? So anyone can just call in to cancel someone else's card!
Furthermore, the way that he conducted himself on the phone had absolutely no courtesy. No "may I", "please" or "thank you". All questions were asked in one incomplete sentence in a rude tone. He also did not offer to tell me how i could get a replacement card, nor did he greet the customers properly when picking up and putting down the call. It was horrendous.
I think i'd better call the bank again to make sure the ATM card has indeed been cancelled. I wouldn't be surprised if it hasn't.
| Cogitated @ 5:24 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
haha! welcome to M'sia.
M'sia BOLEH!!!!
Friend, you know what's the first thing I'll do when I call any Customer Service Hotline?
I'll first find out his/her name b4 I proceed. I'll write down the name, the date, the time I call.
em..... normally they'll be more polite after they tell me the name. :p
I remember last time when I don't have car, I seek help from Min to pick up one of my lost card in JB(had verified with bank can be done with authorisation letter). But the teller reject this request. So I told Min no need to do anything just find out what's the teller name, and I'll follow up myself later. surprisingly after 5mins, Min call me up and told me that now she just need to fill in a form, then can get the card. It's funny, right?
So sometimes M'sian people really need to learn from S'porean, w/o complaining our services wouldn't improved. So for the sake of our country, love her by complaining ^-^ , at 26/7/11 4:37 pm
by the way, don't let your mood spoilt b'cos of these people.
Count down 19hours leh!
Enjoy your trip. , at 26/7/11 4:39 pm
ah, i learned new way of tackiling horrible customer service. thanks! might be come handy one day. by the way, if you read jeffooi's blog in 2005, 2006, there's complaint on MAS service from a reader and eventually she got the attention of upper management and reply from it (not sure about the compensation). and a complaint about maxis too from blogger himself. perhaps you should pen up a complaint to the department head . like your friend's Sui wrote (and also your user to your service, if there is any ...), if there's no "black and white" feedback, how would the management aware of the problem and buck up (though they should have common sense lah). No worry, this is not a restaurant or KFC, you don;t need to be afraid for the waiter to retaliate on your food, like squeezing table cloth onto .... (darn i'm too imaginative, but seriously, that's what my friend did!) ....
the word horrendous is quite exaggerate a bit - not that he's not going to attend your service, he is just being rude. compare to other CS who might make you wait, pass, wait, at the end gain nothing. especially when you make the call to the hotline with mobile... hmm, probably you're accustomed with SG CS style that you find malaysian counterpart such response rude. of course, in commercial world full of competitiveness, such attitude is intolerable, and there are lots of improvement that can be applied, if only the majority public emphasize this to make it one important factor of demand. and in another perspective, it's good to become friendly with each other lor for the sake of win-win situation (habit #6, aha), customer with bad impression of the company would be shocked with sudden attentive and dedicated friendly customer service (which it should be at the first place, but you know malaysia lah), and the staff not only he/she has offered excellent service, he/she might get praised and become a model. err, maybe i have exaggerated ...
anyway, malaysians should "only" copy the "good" things of singaporean, not the bad ones. hopefully your ATM is canceled. hmm, i wonder if you have malaysian credit card, and you call the hotline to report loss the response would be still the same or not. sigh ... don't think too much of the loss as you have addressed the matter well even the time is short. tomorrow finally is the day! cheers, and enjoy your trip :). , at 27/7/11 2:21 am
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Rant about work (III)
Gee, i can't believe it's July already and half of 2011 was gone. Time flies by so quickly that it's scary.
It has been a busy week for me. I worked till 4am on Tuesday night, or rather, Wednesday morning. I couldn't complete the report as i had planned even though i worked through the night. For all the previous reports that i needed to revise, normally i was just correcting the English. Hence i could complete them over the night. This time 'round, i needed to fill up the content too and that took me longer than usual.
On Tuesday night, i met the senior consultant on MSN. I clarified some of the points with her, and then also took the chance to tell her that i felt she did not put her heart into the work this time. As it was late already and i wanna continue with my work, we didn't chat much, and she logged off and went to bed (yeah, while her boss was about to work overnight to clean up the work that she did not do properly).
Then on Wednesday, i worked from "home" and had to help to do a little bit of babysitting. I will elaborate more on this in another post.
When i woke up at 10am+ and started working, i saw the senior consultant put a long message on her MSN. It was something along this line: "i did what i was told and now you said my work is not good. I am very confused." When she saw me online, she immediately deleted the message away. I'm not sure if i should be glad about this, for it at least showed that she would still be worried about me seeing it.
So i pretended that i didn't see anything and proceed to clarify a few points with her again. I also asked her why certain things were missing from the report, and she then started telling me how those were supposed to be covered by the Malaysian finance lady and not her, and she was there only to cover the portion that she was told to do. As i carried on asking her some more things, she still continued in such manner, kept on saying that she did not want to do the part where the management had said that finance lady could cover, as she did not want to be seen as a busybody. I saw that the conversation wasn't gonna work and decided that it was best for me to talk to her face-to-face when i am in KL. Then i ended the chat by diverting the topic to another work issue.
This senior consultant had really disappointed me greatly. Actually on the very first day when we were in Shanghai office, she had already exhibited (in my opinion) unprofessional behaviours. In the meeting with the China management before we started working, she was typing away on her laptop and did not participate in the discussion at all. Basically, she was showing her silent protest by giving this aloof attitude.
Then after the discussion, we concluded that the finance lady and the senior consultant will talk to the users together, while i worked on other stuff. Just before we went off to start our own assigned tasks, the senior consultant spoke to me softly, "can she just go by herself?"
She was referring to the finance lady. She was basically telling me that she did not want to work with that lady and would rather that lady talk to the users on her own. Then i got quite pissed, wondering how she would even need to ask such question. I just felt that she was being non-cooperative and throwing her tantrums even. I mean, c'mon, we were already there at Shanghai and we gotta do the work no matter what. So are you telling me that the company would fly you so far to just sit there in the meeting room and do nothing? How is it gonna reflect on the regional team?
But then, we were at a country office and i couldn't possibly show any sign of internal problems within the regional team. So i replied to her softly too, but in a straight face, "OF COURSE NOT."
Then unwillingly, in a sulking face, she went off with the finance lady to talk to the users.
A few minutes later, she came back to the meeting room (leaving the finance lady alone with the users) and started complaining to me in a very emotional manner. She was obviously very upset and then even told me that she was already unhappy with a lot of things in this company, and this China incident might very well be the push factor for her to leave. I did not want to aggravate the matter there and wanted her to quickly go back to join the discussion with users, and hence i just allow her to let off her disgruntlement.
After she finished her whining, i told her calmly that i understood her frustration, but at the end of the day, we would be the one who needed to write the report. If the report is not good, we will be the one liable and not that finance lady. I told her to just ignore that finance lady and just do as what she would normally do like all previous tasks. We have to ensure whatever we needed were covered just so that we could write the report.
Anyway, apparently, what i told her did not register into her mind at all. Now she actually told me that she did not cover the part that the finance lady was supposed to cover, even though she had told me how the finance lady seemed to be at a loss and did not ask users a lot of questions (she told me this just to prove that how lousy that finance lady was). Then i wondered - seeing how the work wasn't done properly by another person and you could actually let it slip, and didn't even bother to fill in the gaps? Where is the professionalism and sense of responsibility?
In fact, throughout the entire trip, she had shown her moodiness on-and-off. During discussion, she would just keep mum and kept on typing on her laptop. I intentionally asked for her opinions a few times, and she would just give simple reply or just say "i have nothing to add".
It was the worst working experience i've had with her so far. She has always been a responsible person but this time her emotion and negative thoughts got the better of her. Her behaviours and work attitude were totally out of my expectation, and i felt that this is not the end of it yet. This case had such big impact on her that she is now more like buying time only - she is looking for job (even during office hours) and she would just leave once she got a better opportunity elsewhere.
I definitely have to talk to her next week. Uh huh, i'm going to KL again next week. I think the talk gotta be something that either change her mindset or make her determines to leave. Seriously, if she can't change and still continues in such manner, i would rather she leaves than to become a tumour in the team. I would rather free up the headcount to get someone who can be more passionate about the work, than to have someone occupying the position but not being productive or not doing a good job at all.
This is not gonna be easy for me. I really hate doing this people management thingy, but i gotta do it nonetheless. See, it's similar as what she went through - being put into a situation or dealing with people that we would rather not have to do. The difference in how we handle it is that i know this is what i am being paid to do, this is my duty, and this is something i do not get to choose so long as i still want this job. Therefore i just have to do it to the best i can, no matter how unwilling i am and how frustrating it may be. I just wish she can understand this principle, just like a matured professional ought to.
It has been a busy week for me. I worked till 4am on Tuesday night, or rather, Wednesday morning. I couldn't complete the report as i had planned even though i worked through the night. For all the previous reports that i needed to revise, normally i was just correcting the English. Hence i could complete them over the night. This time 'round, i needed to fill up the content too and that took me longer than usual.
On Tuesday night, i met the senior consultant on MSN. I clarified some of the points with her, and then also took the chance to tell her that i felt she did not put her heart into the work this time. As it was late already and i wanna continue with my work, we didn't chat much, and she logged off and went to bed (yeah, while her boss was about to work overnight to clean up the work that she did not do properly).
Then on Wednesday, i worked from "home" and had to help to do a little bit of babysitting. I will elaborate more on this in another post.
When i woke up at 10am+ and started working, i saw the senior consultant put a long message on her MSN. It was something along this line: "i did what i was told and now you said my work is not good. I am very confused." When she saw me online, she immediately deleted the message away. I'm not sure if i should be glad about this, for it at least showed that she would still be worried about me seeing it.
So i pretended that i didn't see anything and proceed to clarify a few points with her again. I also asked her why certain things were missing from the report, and she then started telling me how those were supposed to be covered by the Malaysian finance lady and not her, and she was there only to cover the portion that she was told to do. As i carried on asking her some more things, she still continued in such manner, kept on saying that she did not want to do the part where the management had said that finance lady could cover, as she did not want to be seen as a busybody. I saw that the conversation wasn't gonna work and decided that it was best for me to talk to her face-to-face when i am in KL. Then i ended the chat by diverting the topic to another work issue.
This senior consultant had really disappointed me greatly. Actually on the very first day when we were in Shanghai office, she had already exhibited (in my opinion) unprofessional behaviours. In the meeting with the China management before we started working, she was typing away on her laptop and did not participate in the discussion at all. Basically, she was showing her silent protest by giving this aloof attitude.
Then after the discussion, we concluded that the finance lady and the senior consultant will talk to the users together, while i worked on other stuff. Just before we went off to start our own assigned tasks, the senior consultant spoke to me softly, "can she just go by herself?"
She was referring to the finance lady. She was basically telling me that she did not want to work with that lady and would rather that lady talk to the users on her own. Then i got quite pissed, wondering how she would even need to ask such question. I just felt that she was being non-cooperative and throwing her tantrums even. I mean, c'mon, we were already there at Shanghai and we gotta do the work no matter what. So are you telling me that the company would fly you so far to just sit there in the meeting room and do nothing? How is it gonna reflect on the regional team?
But then, we were at a country office and i couldn't possibly show any sign of internal problems within the regional team. So i replied to her softly too, but in a straight face, "OF COURSE NOT."
Then unwillingly, in a sulking face, she went off with the finance lady to talk to the users.
A few minutes later, she came back to the meeting room (leaving the finance lady alone with the users) and started complaining to me in a very emotional manner. She was obviously very upset and then even told me that she was already unhappy with a lot of things in this company, and this China incident might very well be the push factor for her to leave. I did not want to aggravate the matter there and wanted her to quickly go back to join the discussion with users, and hence i just allow her to let off her disgruntlement.
After she finished her whining, i told her calmly that i understood her frustration, but at the end of the day, we would be the one who needed to write the report. If the report is not good, we will be the one liable and not that finance lady. I told her to just ignore that finance lady and just do as what she would normally do like all previous tasks. We have to ensure whatever we needed were covered just so that we could write the report.
Anyway, apparently, what i told her did not register into her mind at all. Now she actually told me that she did not cover the part that the finance lady was supposed to cover, even though she had told me how the finance lady seemed to be at a loss and did not ask users a lot of questions (she told me this just to prove that how lousy that finance lady was). Then i wondered - seeing how the work wasn't done properly by another person and you could actually let it slip, and didn't even bother to fill in the gaps? Where is the professionalism and sense of responsibility?
In fact, throughout the entire trip, she had shown her moodiness on-and-off. During discussion, she would just keep mum and kept on typing on her laptop. I intentionally asked for her opinions a few times, and she would just give simple reply or just say "i have nothing to add".
It was the worst working experience i've had with her so far. She has always been a responsible person but this time her emotion and negative thoughts got the better of her. Her behaviours and work attitude were totally out of my expectation, and i felt that this is not the end of it yet. This case had such big impact on her that she is now more like buying time only - she is looking for job (even during office hours) and she would just leave once she got a better opportunity elsewhere.
I definitely have to talk to her next week. Uh huh, i'm going to KL again next week. I think the talk gotta be something that either change her mindset or make her determines to leave. Seriously, if she can't change and still continues in such manner, i would rather she leaves than to become a tumour in the team. I would rather free up the headcount to get someone who can be more passionate about the work, than to have someone occupying the position but not being productive or not doing a good job at all.
This is not gonna be easy for me. I really hate doing this people management thingy, but i gotta do it nonetheless. See, it's similar as what she went through - being put into a situation or dealing with people that we would rather not have to do. The difference in how we handle it is that i know this is what i am being paid to do, this is my duty, and this is something i do not get to choose so long as i still want this job. Therefore i just have to do it to the best i can, no matter how unwilling i am and how frustrating it may be. I just wish she can understand this principle, just like a matured professional ought to.
| Cogitated @ 5:25 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
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Poor girl, I'm quite lucky so far my left-right-hands are quite responsible & mature. Eventhought sometimes they'll grumbling & complaining, but after that they understand this is what they have to do, they'll still complish the task given accurately & timely.
Gosh! din she know that reputation & relationship is very important in working environment? Din she know even she resign, the new co might call to ask her ex-superior for opinion? So normally we'll still do our very best eventhought we'd tender our resgination. The world is very small oh!
But I believe my good friend wouldn't give any bad comment even was asked lah! Really, this kind of people should talk directly to her, and let her know u can't tolerate her attitude, so she can even change or go away immediately. She is the one left us no choice.
You think I'm cruel? Maybe being in Admin in so many years, we'd to be like this, can't be emotionally. Sometimes being kind to others is being cruel to ourself. Furthermore, this kind of people should be teached some lesson. , at 2/7/11 3:40 pm
sigh, not sure if the consultant is really confused, or deliberately trying to shirk off the responsibility. must be hard for you to be trapped in such situation - being principled to deliver good quality of work and yet staff not only refused to cooperate fully but also giving hard time. and yet, if the other department is not dedicated doing the job, why should go extra to help them to make them look good undeservingly and gain the credit too when own's bonus, increment and promotion are bypassed. especially when there's bad blood spilt between them. of course, the ultimate product is the report, if the other department is not liable, the ball will roll back if to ignore or laugh at its incompetency. haha but at the end sendiri yang kena teruk. maybe you have set the quality demand higher than she expected, she doesn't want her work encompasses the finance lady (with mind of sabotaging her and her department) and you have advised her to ignore them to cover the part that only needed, there's where the confusion arises. she has lost the zeal, hence directionless and you have to be micromanaging for her tasks.
i agree even with all the grievance and plan to leave, one should not stay away from given responsibility. hard work in the past could be immediately forgotten and only be remembered with recent mishaps, that's reality. it might be stupid but at least we can maintain dignity and tell that we are not part of the contributor for the sinking ship. obviously everyone will leave when there's "better" opportunity elsewhere. people come people go. my current company after 1 year got about 8, 9 people resigned. that's the challenging part of being manager - managing people . i wonder what she would be thinking when she stumbles onto this blog and read about this rant. it seems if she put this mess at your responsibility and paint herself as victim, put you at the guilty side. you must not yield. it's rare and very fortunate for them to have you as your staffs' boss, boss who understandable, knowledgeable, approachable, reasonable, reflective, technical, workaholic, protective, staying up late late nights to go down the field to fix the problem. you are different from most other uncaring selfish bosses. sometimes when it comes to decision making, you have to be ruthless for the sake of the whole team. If the consultant continues on being like this, the best will be like what you mentioned - to root out before the tumour starts to spread. otherwise not only you stressed yourself very much which it's unhealthy, you will be also viewed as indecisive , incapable leader and less be respected. the staff probably was painting herself as victim and shunning others to take up the role, but i believe there are others will stand by your decision and passionate to fill in the spot to earn job experience.
hope you can sort out the problems with the consultant when you are in KL, personal and work. you did good, it's just that other people doesn't appreciate it. the company could have its flaw, at least it's not due to you and your team. recently i attended a workshop on 7 habits of highly effective people (not volunteer but being forced by management), perhaps to share them with you (from wiki):
Independence
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Habit 3: Put First Things First
Interdependence
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
Habit 6: Synergize
Self Renewal
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
you need to think win-win and good empathetic listener lor, instead of being autobiographical . https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits-habit5.php
cheers, don't let this spoils your coming 24 days to go trip, and all the best :) , at 2/7/11 8:42 pm
Friday, June 10, 2011
Rant about work (II)
Oh well, so much for staying away from laptop after work. Alright, at least i managed to do that until today.
Anyway, back to the topic about work.
A few weeks back, the management from China told me that they need help with their system there and asked us to send someone over, and preferable choice was me. I had been doing my best to avoid trips to China (for the obvious reason), so i told my boss that some of the tasks there must be done by the senior consultant in my team (her designation is not "Senior Consultant" but i'm referring her as such in terms of seniority, as she was the first person we hired into my team, and she is also the oldest in age too, even older than me). I was hoping that they will send this senior consultant to China instead of me, just like what happened back in year 2009 when she went over there on behalf of me due to my personal issue.
Yet, this time the finance head of China insisted to have me over, and so their decision was to have both of us to go together. Everything was fine up until someone played some office politics and caused a hoo-ha. They had wanted to replace the senior consultant with a user from Malaysia for the trip, to which i opposed and questioned this decision. After taking my concerns into consideration, the final decision was to have all three of us to go there, and the two of them will be working together on the tasks that were originally assigned to the senior consultant.
The problem was that this has caused tremendous disgruntlement and unhappiness for the senior consultant. First of all, there was bad blood between our team and the users in Malaysia. My team members, especially this senior consultant, cannot get along with the users there at all. Secondly, she felt that the arrangement was an insult to her capability and profession. She felt that the management did not trust her work and was sending a business user to spy on her.
When she was told of the arrangement, she outright told me, "i REFUSED to work with her", and "i REFUSED to go then". And of course, these were followed with endless whining and even tantrums. For almost a week, she gave me this aloof attitude and passed remarks like "no one appreciates my work anyway". Of course, needless to say, her productivity also decreased to almost a halt.
I was actually very much taken aback by her reaction and behaviour. I've always known that she is quite a temperamental person and not that easy to get along with, but i've never expected her to let emotion take control over her until this extent. I am very concerned about the output of the work if she continued to have this negative attitude.
After my several attempts to talk sense into her, she still could not cool down and i started to feel pissed too. I was not happy with how the event turned out as well, but to me, i feel that work is work and emotion should never get in the way. No matter how mad we are at certain things or people, we must never compromise on our work ethics and quality.
Of course, the effect of the increment had somewhat added on to my short patience towards the situation too. She was the person receiving the highest increment among the entire department, and i felt that if not for anything else, she gotta at least do her best for the price the company is paying her. After all, the company pays us to get our job done to the best of our ability, and we do not get to choose who we want or do not want to work with. We can do our best to fight for it, but at the end of the day, we still gotta do it simply because that is what we are paid to do.
Anyway, i did my last round of talking to her last week and decided that i was not going to do any more pep talk. I figured that i had already said my piece and she would have to think it through herself. I was preparing myself to lose her if she still could not get hold of her emotion.
She has finally cooled down and got back to her normal self in working effectively for these two days. I hope this will last and would not be spoilt during the actual trip to China.
Even though the situation is back to normal now, i was rather troubled by this event. Besides worrying about the outcome of the work, it was also kinda like a knock on the head for me. I started to wonder: how come my subordinates would actually dare to give me such defiant attitude? How come they are not thankful or appreciative of what they have - the good pay with reasonable workload and a good boss who cares and listens to them? Have i taken my "Ms. Nice Lady" approach towards them a bit too far until they forgot that i am actually the boss and not a friend (even though i am super friendly with them)?
I will leave my long-winded thoughts about this in the next post, for it's time for bed soon.
Anyway, back to the topic about work.
A few weeks back, the management from China told me that they need help with their system there and asked us to send someone over, and preferable choice was me. I had been doing my best to avoid trips to China (for the obvious reason), so i told my boss that some of the tasks there must be done by the senior consultant in my team (her designation is not "Senior Consultant" but i'm referring her as such in terms of seniority, as she was the first person we hired into my team, and she is also the oldest in age too, even older than me). I was hoping that they will send this senior consultant to China instead of me, just like what happened back in year 2009 when she went over there on behalf of me due to my personal issue.
Yet, this time the finance head of China insisted to have me over, and so their decision was to have both of us to go together. Everything was fine up until someone played some office politics and caused a hoo-ha. They had wanted to replace the senior consultant with a user from Malaysia for the trip, to which i opposed and questioned this decision. After taking my concerns into consideration, the final decision was to have all three of us to go there, and the two of them will be working together on the tasks that were originally assigned to the senior consultant.
The problem was that this has caused tremendous disgruntlement and unhappiness for the senior consultant. First of all, there was bad blood between our team and the users in Malaysia. My team members, especially this senior consultant, cannot get along with the users there at all. Secondly, she felt that the arrangement was an insult to her capability and profession. She felt that the management did not trust her work and was sending a business user to spy on her.
When she was told of the arrangement, she outright told me, "i REFUSED to work with her", and "i REFUSED to go then". And of course, these were followed with endless whining and even tantrums. For almost a week, she gave me this aloof attitude and passed remarks like "no one appreciates my work anyway". Of course, needless to say, her productivity also decreased to almost a halt.
I was actually very much taken aback by her reaction and behaviour. I've always known that she is quite a temperamental person and not that easy to get along with, but i've never expected her to let emotion take control over her until this extent. I am very concerned about the output of the work if she continued to have this negative attitude.
After my several attempts to talk sense into her, she still could not cool down and i started to feel pissed too. I was not happy with how the event turned out as well, but to me, i feel that work is work and emotion should never get in the way. No matter how mad we are at certain things or people, we must never compromise on our work ethics and quality.
Of course, the effect of the increment had somewhat added on to my short patience towards the situation too. She was the person receiving the highest increment among the entire department, and i felt that if not for anything else, she gotta at least do her best for the price the company is paying her. After all, the company pays us to get our job done to the best of our ability, and we do not get to choose who we want or do not want to work with. We can do our best to fight for it, but at the end of the day, we still gotta do it simply because that is what we are paid to do.
Anyway, i did my last round of talking to her last week and decided that i was not going to do any more pep talk. I figured that i had already said my piece and she would have to think it through herself. I was preparing myself to lose her if she still could not get hold of her emotion.
She has finally cooled down and got back to her normal self in working effectively for these two days. I hope this will last and would not be spoilt during the actual trip to China.
Even though the situation is back to normal now, i was rather troubled by this event. Besides worrying about the outcome of the work, it was also kinda like a knock on the head for me. I started to wonder: how come my subordinates would actually dare to give me such defiant attitude? How come they are not thankful or appreciative of what they have - the good pay with reasonable workload and a good boss who cares and listens to them? Have i taken my "Ms. Nice Lady" approach towards them a bit too far until they forgot that i am actually the boss and not a friend (even though i am super friendly with them)?
I will leave my long-winded thoughts about this in the next post, for it's time for bed soon.
| Cogitated @ 3:54 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
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my dear, we say "one type of rice feed hundred kinds of people" mah! They are this kind of people who never satisfy and never content, they are the one who's not happy. Don't let urself being drag down by them. I'd encounter many mnay these people, for executive level u still can tolerate, quite a no of them are managerial level, and they are more calculative than junior staffs.
and this kind of people are so self-centered so even thou u r not a kind lady, they'll only raise their voice, as they think they are having all rights to fight for their benefit, if u decline, u r bad guy.
So don't be troubled by this.
(I think our problem is-as manager, we are a bit young, so sometimes difficult to raise our voice at our subordinate, especially those older than us, hope these old people can be more mature lor!) , at 10/6/11 1:37 pm
to work at our "best" ability is quite subjective .... the "extra mile" part is more like voluntary than a must. if one doesn't get the satisfaction or appreciation, why put the max effort when time is better spent elsewhere (like gossiping). of course doing "nothing" is absolutely bad. hopefully it's all just a tantrum. for a disciplined person, i guess it's difficult for her to be deliberate idle and depart from a responsible employee (yeah, speaking on my own experience after throwing tantrum). try to allow some cooling period, and she would come to realize the situation and your understanding.
it's hard being a boss or manager with the resource is tight. maybe you are over-sensitive when your staff gave feedback. maybe they could have taken you as friend with channel to air their frustrations and grievance as you have the approach to upper management. hmm, worry that you might to become the type of boss you once detested. just don't let such thought to frustrate and withdraw you from your principles lor. hope that your coming kl trip will patch this up. all the best :). oh, maybe you wanna try to read "7 habits for highly effective people", at habit 4 (think win-win), 5 (understanding) ,6 (synergize) the interdepedence part. cheers :). , at 11/6/11 3:53 am
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Rant about work (I)
I hope the recent troubles at work can finally be put to an end, or at least for now.
Uh huh, i've been having some issues at work recently, mainly originating from problems with people. Well, i guess this is nothing new - most problems we faced at work are to do with people more than other things.
I think the story goes back to April during the time of annual increment. This is also something that i've mentioned briefly before in one of my previous posts and said that i would blog about it separately, so here it goes...
Sadly as expected, boss did not make the rightful adjustment to my pay that was due to me since the promotion back in year 2009. I did get some increment but it was the usual percentage. It was the same with the IT Manager who is in the same situation as me, i.e. promoted from non-managerial level without the corresponding adjustments to the pay. This puts us two as the lowest paid managers in the regional office.
Anyway, the point wasn't about the increment, for i am already over it. As much as i felt it was unfair to me, the money is sufficient for me to live a decent life and i am grateful for whatever that i am drawing now. I mean, if i think about being unemployed with no income, then ain't i supposed to be thankful for the haves rather than dwelling on the have-nots? I think we just gotta see beyond the money sometimes and just do our best at our work, and then the rest of the things will just follow.
My staff all received rather good increment as well, or at least from my point of view. I said that because it really depends on individual's perception on whether or not the increment is good. And as usual, most people will never be satisfied with their pay and will always think that they should get more, even when they are already the most highly paid in the department.
With the annual increment exercise, boss also requested our HR to conduct a benchmarking to gauge the salaries of our staff against the market (because he has been hearing everyone complaining about being underpaid). Two separate benchmarks were carried out and came back with similar results for my four team members - they are all paid higher than the market average (only for my team; i am not sure about other teams). Of course, when they were told of this result, they sneered at it and felt that the benchmarking was inaccurate.
I can't say for sure if it is accurate or not, for different fields and skill sets do demand different pay, and our benchmarking was done based on general IT market. It is known that there are a shortage of NAV professionals in the market, and it may be true that the market is paying higher for people with NAV skill sets. This is similar to how SAP consultants can easily draw more than RM10K per month while it is impossible for the consultants of other smaller ERP systems to get this amount. As i have no idea of what the NAV market is paying now for consultants, i can't judge if they are indeed being paid over, under, or on par with the market.
Whatever it is, this did have some effect on me, and i'm not sure if it was good or bad.
Firstly, i was puzzled at why there were good increment to people who are already being paid higher than the market, while they did not make the appropriate pay adjustment for people who are not being paid within the rank. With this event, i kinda relooked at my team and felt that they should take on more responsibilities that commensurate with what they are drawing. This is only fair to the other teams who aren't being paid as much as they are but have more workload.
Another effect from this increment is that i seemed to have lesser tolerance for their whining nowadays (i used to be able to put up with it). Whenever they started complaining about the work or the company not having good benefits, i would think in my heart that they are really an ungrateful bunch. I would think that the company is already paying so much to them, and why can't they appreciate what they have and keep on harping on what they do not have. I agree there are things that need to be improved in this company and it may not be the best of company but it is definitely not the worst either. There are a lot more people out there doing the same or even more work than they are but drawing pathetic pay with a lot worse benefits (and perhaps bad bosses too).
Now, whenever they complain about things, i would be telling them in my mind, "If you can get into the best of companies out there that pay you higher with the best of benefits, then by all means please go ahead and join them. I would not stop people from progressing anyway. If you can't find a better place outside, then do realise that you are already in a very good situation and do be grateful for what you have now instead of keep on complaining and complaining and complaining!"
Of course, i can never say that right in their faces, and so this was only spoken in my head.
And somehow, this effect spills over to a recent incident, which also made me start examining myself as a manager.
Uh huh, i've been having some issues at work recently, mainly originating from problems with people. Well, i guess this is nothing new - most problems we faced at work are to do with people more than other things.
I think the story goes back to April during the time of annual increment. This is also something that i've mentioned briefly before in one of my previous posts and said that i would blog about it separately, so here it goes...
Sadly as expected, boss did not make the rightful adjustment to my pay that was due to me since the promotion back in year 2009. I did get some increment but it was the usual percentage. It was the same with the IT Manager who is in the same situation as me, i.e. promoted from non-managerial level without the corresponding adjustments to the pay. This puts us two as the lowest paid managers in the regional office.
Anyway, the point wasn't about the increment, for i am already over it. As much as i felt it was unfair to me, the money is sufficient for me to live a decent life and i am grateful for whatever that i am drawing now. I mean, if i think about being unemployed with no income, then ain't i supposed to be thankful for the haves rather than dwelling on the have-nots? I think we just gotta see beyond the money sometimes and just do our best at our work, and then the rest of the things will just follow.
My staff all received rather good increment as well, or at least from my point of view. I said that because it really depends on individual's perception on whether or not the increment is good. And as usual, most people will never be satisfied with their pay and will always think that they should get more, even when they are already the most highly paid in the department.
With the annual increment exercise, boss also requested our HR to conduct a benchmarking to gauge the salaries of our staff against the market (because he has been hearing everyone complaining about being underpaid). Two separate benchmarks were carried out and came back with similar results for my four team members - they are all paid higher than the market average (only for my team; i am not sure about other teams). Of course, when they were told of this result, they sneered at it and felt that the benchmarking was inaccurate.
I can't say for sure if it is accurate or not, for different fields and skill sets do demand different pay, and our benchmarking was done based on general IT market. It is known that there are a shortage of NAV professionals in the market, and it may be true that the market is paying higher for people with NAV skill sets. This is similar to how SAP consultants can easily draw more than RM10K per month while it is impossible for the consultants of other smaller ERP systems to get this amount. As i have no idea of what the NAV market is paying now for consultants, i can't judge if they are indeed being paid over, under, or on par with the market.
Whatever it is, this did have some effect on me, and i'm not sure if it was good or bad.
Firstly, i was puzzled at why there were good increment to people who are already being paid higher than the market, while they did not make the appropriate pay adjustment for people who are not being paid within the rank. With this event, i kinda relooked at my team and felt that they should take on more responsibilities that commensurate with what they are drawing. This is only fair to the other teams who aren't being paid as much as they are but have more workload.
Another effect from this increment is that i seemed to have lesser tolerance for their whining nowadays (i used to be able to put up with it). Whenever they started complaining about the work or the company not having good benefits, i would think in my heart that they are really an ungrateful bunch. I would think that the company is already paying so much to them, and why can't they appreciate what they have and keep on harping on what they do not have. I agree there are things that need to be improved in this company and it may not be the best of company but it is definitely not the worst either. There are a lot more people out there doing the same or even more work than they are but drawing pathetic pay with a lot worse benefits (and perhaps bad bosses too).
Now, whenever they complain about things, i would be telling them in my mind, "If you can get into the best of companies out there that pay you higher with the best of benefits, then by all means please go ahead and join them. I would not stop people from progressing anyway. If you can't find a better place outside, then do realise that you are already in a very good situation and do be grateful for what you have now instead of keep on complaining and complaining and complaining!"
Of course, i can never say that right in their faces, and so this was only spoken in my head.
And somehow, this effect spills over to a recent incident, which also made me start examining myself as a manager.
| Cogitated @ 6:23 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
no, no, as manager sometimes it's worse to put "the door is always open, you can walk it out if you like" towards the staff. that's what a director in my ex-comp believes and at the end all his hard trained and experienced staff walked out and left behind big mess for him to pick up. perhaps the job competition in malaysia is not that tough compared to singapore that makes you think differently with your colleagues from KL, especially with the stories like PHD or young executives resolved to drive cabs to make ends meet familiar in the island. sometimes i hate to think about being engineer with higher technical knowledge, frequently work overtime and overloaded and yet draw less salary compared to IT and accountant. indeed, it's the market and supply that determine the rate. so, instead of whining, i gotta agree is we should just do the best for our part with responsibility to see how far we can go, how good we can actually achieve. not only probably it instills job satisfaction, at least we can hold our heads high to tell that the output justifies the pay and even more. hmm,i wonder if i'm being naive here ..... oh well, instead of frustrating over this, GSS is near and you should take off time for that. oh, maybe an ipad :) cheers. , at 11/6/11 3:09 am
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Upbringing
Hope this is gonna be my last post about that horrible tenant.
Last night, i heard of something even more outrageous.
When the landlady's mother was complaining about this girl to her daughter-in-law (i.e. the girl's cousin), we were told that this girl actually had refused to pay for the SGD200 rental when the cousin asked for it. The girl said it was her cousin who INVITED her to come and stay, not as if she came to stay on her own accord, so why she should pay for rental!
This girl is really an inconsiderate spoilt brat. My landlady is a single mother who works very hard to support the family and with an ex-husband who always defaults on the alimony. This girl actually has the audicity to live off people and feel that there is nothing wrong in staying and eating for free off someone who is technically not related to her at all!
I really feel like slapping the parents - yes, the parents, for not knowing how to bring up a decent human being. Seriously, i always believed that upbringing plays a big part in our life; it is often what moulded us into who and what we are today. A lot of personal values are instilled into us, sometimes subconsciously, since we were young through how our parents brought us up and the behaviours of the people around us.
It is a given fact that the world is filled with polluted minds now, and the media plays a big part in it. We also know that peers affect us a lot too, especially during our childhood and schooldays. The thing is that given all the potential negative influences around us now, the parents have an even bigger responsibility to ensure they take good care of their kids, not only in terms of material aspect but also on cultivating the right mind and good values since young, so that we grow up knowing how to discern good and bad, right and wrong.
I know it is easier said than done. I never said it is easy to bring up kids. It is especially more difficult now when most parents are working and leave the kids to the maid or grandparents. The parents put their focus on providing a comfortable and sometimes even luxurious environment and material life for their children, and place second priority on building the character and good values in the kids. Of course, we also see a lot of parents now who simply pamper their children to no end and yet they do not see it, until they have produced all the spoilt brats that fill up the young generation nowadays.
I can rant about this for the rest of the night, as most of my friends would know i hold strong opinion about today's young generation. I think i've actually expressed my views about this many times before when i talked about why i do not want to have any children. My point is actually very simple - if you are not gonna bring up the kids properly, then don't have any at all. Otherwise, you are only doing harm to the society.
Having a kid is not about bringing a life into this world to extend your own family name or gene pool. It is not about fulfilling certain responsibility as a son or daughter. It is also not about going through the cycle of life matter-of-factly. It is especially not about reproducing for our species.
It is a human life that you are going to shape, and this life is eventually gonna come in contact with other lives and inadvertently affects the lives of others. It is a chain effect that has wider implication than simply giving birth to a cute baby who has your nose or your spouse's eyes or whatnot. The failure in properly bring up this life may mean that other lives will be ruined in the future.
Anyway, how did i even get to this topic... i was talking about that selfish girl. Well, i know it's not right for me to think this way, but somehow in my heart i was wishing that she would get a hard lesson in life one day, so hard that it will not only make her change but also remind her of all her past misbehaviours and she will be sorry and repent.
Last night, i heard of something even more outrageous.
When the landlady's mother was complaining about this girl to her daughter-in-law (i.e. the girl's cousin), we were told that this girl actually had refused to pay for the SGD200 rental when the cousin asked for it. The girl said it was her cousin who INVITED her to come and stay, not as if she came to stay on her own accord, so why she should pay for rental!
This girl is really an inconsiderate spoilt brat. My landlady is a single mother who works very hard to support the family and with an ex-husband who always defaults on the alimony. This girl actually has the audicity to live off people and feel that there is nothing wrong in staying and eating for free off someone who is technically not related to her at all!
I really feel like slapping the parents - yes, the parents, for not knowing how to bring up a decent human being. Seriously, i always believed that upbringing plays a big part in our life; it is often what moulded us into who and what we are today. A lot of personal values are instilled into us, sometimes subconsciously, since we were young through how our parents brought us up and the behaviours of the people around us.
It is a given fact that the world is filled with polluted minds now, and the media plays a big part in it. We also know that peers affect us a lot too, especially during our childhood and schooldays. The thing is that given all the potential negative influences around us now, the parents have an even bigger responsibility to ensure they take good care of their kids, not only in terms of material aspect but also on cultivating the right mind and good values since young, so that we grow up knowing how to discern good and bad, right and wrong.
I know it is easier said than done. I never said it is easy to bring up kids. It is especially more difficult now when most parents are working and leave the kids to the maid or grandparents. The parents put their focus on providing a comfortable and sometimes even luxurious environment and material life for their children, and place second priority on building the character and good values in the kids. Of course, we also see a lot of parents now who simply pamper their children to no end and yet they do not see it, until they have produced all the spoilt brats that fill up the young generation nowadays.
I can rant about this for the rest of the night, as most of my friends would know i hold strong opinion about today's young generation. I think i've actually expressed my views about this many times before when i talked about why i do not want to have any children. My point is actually very simple - if you are not gonna bring up the kids properly, then don't have any at all. Otherwise, you are only doing harm to the society.
Having a kid is not about bringing a life into this world to extend your own family name or gene pool. It is not about fulfilling certain responsibility as a son or daughter. It is also not about going through the cycle of life matter-of-factly. It is especially not about reproducing for our species.
It is a human life that you are going to shape, and this life is eventually gonna come in contact with other lives and inadvertently affects the lives of others. It is a chain effect that has wider implication than simply giving birth to a cute baby who has your nose or your spouse's eyes or whatnot. The failure in properly bring up this life may mean that other lives will be ruined in the future.
Anyway, how did i even get to this topic... i was talking about that selfish girl. Well, i know it's not right for me to think this way, but somehow in my heart i was wishing that she would get a hard lesson in life one day, so hard that it will not only make her change but also remind her of all her past misbehaviours and she will be sorry and repent.
| Cogitated @ 3:52 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
gee, bad blood was spilt, of course the tenant not gonna pay for the rental, and the wireless repair fee too with some cooked up excuse or reason. sigh, don't think it could be collected from the tenant anymore, and it sure puts the cousin in awkward situation. what is the landlady's brother doing? can't he stand up against this rubbish and demand the payment from the girl or her mother? can't he be a man to stop letting a mere 20 y.o cousin girl to bully his sister and his wife? sometimes it just gotta stand up for what is right even it will result confrontation. i guess the landlady would use the tenant as model example for her girls not to be like her when grow up, 有眼睛看了。
even family background is a factor, as you mentioned before mixing with right company could shape to better character too, like pinpin :). i agree much parents today pampering their children too much. slapping and rattaning kids are past actions that seem to be barbaric, uneducated and unreasonable. to some, it is deemed effective, others would argue against it, like citing violence begets violence (crap? i donno). whatever it is, mothers made the call what is the best for their children lor ...
oh, the recent bully case in school in malaysia, not sure if you heard about it. i guess watching parents subjected themselves begging for forgiveness would have greater impact on their kids than caning them.
anyway, let bygones be bygones lor, and hopefully you won't come across with such people anymore. hmm, you don't need to be overly agitated until wanting to slap the parent for the failure in upbringing their kids, calm down calm down, it's not nice to talk on slapping parent or beating kids on mother's day somemore ..... cheers, and have nice day , without the horrible tenant around and think about ... :) , at 12/5/11 1:37 am
I'm not sure if the girl will learn her lesson in the future. But, on the immediate note, I hope the cousin as well as the landlady's brother would learn something. Is this what he claim, "Christianity?" What was the intention in the first place of having her to stay with them? Lving without teaching (hard truth=painful experience)was not imparted in this supposedly "teaching" experience to the young girl, then what did the rest learn? Guarding your turf so that you'll not be taken advantage of? Who is going to be responsible for the "lost/damage" the brother or the cousin?
On the same note, I hope your landlady will learn something from this girl as well. For it's going to be a mirror for her (daughters). Is she bringing up spoil brats too? Is this what bible taught us to be? NOpe, for sure. Bible said that we ought to be a responsible parents for children are from God and parents are to gurd(ian) them and teach them and that's love. Simply providing material needs is not love.
God has His purpose for everthing. And I hope everyone learn something out of this "experiential learning" lesson. , at 12/5/11 2:42 pm
Friday, April 01, 2011
Frustration at work
I'm very busy at work and have been rather lethargic, but one will never be short of time and energy to rant.
And today, i am gonna rant about people.
I am getting frustrated with stupid people, or more specifically, stupid users. You may probably want to read my old posts on stupid users and being an IT person to understand how i felt about them. And i still feel the same about them, if not worse.
People always say that we will be more patient and more mild-tempered as we grow older. I doubt this is true. Why then do i still get frustrated with stupid users after so many years of dealing with them?
(This reminds me of a quote i saw recently: "Just when you think your software is idiot proof, somebody comes up with a better idiot.")
I'm taking care of a mini project lately for the branch office in SG. Since it is not cost effective in sending my consultants from KL down to SG for the project, i will have to conduct the training and UAT personally. I am actually not required to do these tasks anymore, but then i gotta say these users are very lucky because they get to be trained by the Project Manager personally, who is also the best trainer in the team (yes, i am blowing my own trumpet here, rightfully so).
Well, lucky them but unlucky me. Besides utilising my time that could have been spent on other work (that is piling up each day), i also gotta put up with the frustration of training people who simply can't be trained, or at least their behaviours manifested so.
You see, if i have to repeat the same thing more than five times, in different ways, using analogies and demo, and with guided documents right in front of them some more, but they still do not know what to do next and need to ask me again and again, i can't help but label them "stupid".
Yes, of course there is a possibility that the problem lies in me for not having the ability to teach, but people who know me well or who have attended my training or presentation before know that this is not the case. So i will dismiss this possibility for now.
I think the real issue here is with the person being trained. Some people just do not like to think, or words just don't get registered into their brains. They are suited to be in a role whereby the work does not require them to think and act differently in different situations or scenarios; they just want to work like robots everyday, expecting that they will always open the same screens in same sequence, and fill in the same fields with the same information, EVERY SINGLE TIME.
Sorry, honey, that ain't gonna happen. Nuh-uh.
The business world is dynamic. I would expect human brains to be too. In fact, the only thing that is "dead" here is the system. Yes, technologies change everyday, but an IT system is actually written by human and it is only performing the actions predefined by the programmers - if A happens, do B, else do C. All it does is just processing predefined actions or calculations faster than human can. Other than that, it is actually stupid and does not THINK. It is the human brains that do the thinking.
Sadly, a lot of people forget about this and expect the computer to sing and dance for them.
A few years back, i was gathering some user requirements for a system design. The person demanded that when certain figures get too low, the system should automatically alert him and print out a report highlighting the issue at various places. He even asked for some very complicated things on the report that i can't remember anymore, but what i remember is that i got quite fed-up and asked him sarcastically, "do you want the words on the report in red and blinking, and with a beeping sound too?" He looked surprised and asked me, "oh, the report can do that?"
I wanted to hang myself there and then.
And i digress, as always.
Anyway, the UAT continues tomorrow. I guess i gotta pray for lots of patience, or to be more understanding towards different capability of people. If five times do not work, then do it ten times. If it still doesn't work, pray some more and do it another ten more times. If it still won't get through to them, then i can tell them to throw their computers into the sea and go back to working manually, because no super system in this world can ever help them anymore.
And today, i am gonna rant about people.
I am getting frustrated with stupid people, or more specifically, stupid users. You may probably want to read my old posts on stupid users and being an IT person to understand how i felt about them. And i still feel the same about them, if not worse.
People always say that we will be more patient and more mild-tempered as we grow older. I doubt this is true. Why then do i still get frustrated with stupid users after so many years of dealing with them?
(This reminds me of a quote i saw recently: "Just when you think your software is idiot proof, somebody comes up with a better idiot.")
I'm taking care of a mini project lately for the branch office in SG. Since it is not cost effective in sending my consultants from KL down to SG for the project, i will have to conduct the training and UAT personally. I am actually not required to do these tasks anymore, but then i gotta say these users are very lucky because they get to be trained by the Project Manager personally, who is also the best trainer in the team (yes, i am blowing my own trumpet here, rightfully so).
Well, lucky them but unlucky me. Besides utilising my time that could have been spent on other work (that is piling up each day), i also gotta put up with the frustration of training people who simply can't be trained, or at least their behaviours manifested so.
You see, if i have to repeat the same thing more than five times, in different ways, using analogies and demo, and with guided documents right in front of them some more, but they still do not know what to do next and need to ask me again and again, i can't help but label them "stupid".
Yes, of course there is a possibility that the problem lies in me for not having the ability to teach, but people who know me well or who have attended my training or presentation before know that this is not the case. So i will dismiss this possibility for now.
I think the real issue here is with the person being trained. Some people just do not like to think, or words just don't get registered into their brains. They are suited to be in a role whereby the work does not require them to think and act differently in different situations or scenarios; they just want to work like robots everyday, expecting that they will always open the same screens in same sequence, and fill in the same fields with the same information, EVERY SINGLE TIME.
Sorry, honey, that ain't gonna happen. Nuh-uh.
The business world is dynamic. I would expect human brains to be too. In fact, the only thing that is "dead" here is the system. Yes, technologies change everyday, but an IT system is actually written by human and it is only performing the actions predefined by the programmers - if A happens, do B, else do C. All it does is just processing predefined actions or calculations faster than human can. Other than that, it is actually stupid and does not THINK. It is the human brains that do the thinking.
Sadly, a lot of people forget about this and expect the computer to sing and dance for them.
A few years back, i was gathering some user requirements for a system design. The person demanded that when certain figures get too low, the system should automatically alert him and print out a report highlighting the issue at various places. He even asked for some very complicated things on the report that i can't remember anymore, but what i remember is that i got quite fed-up and asked him sarcastically, "do you want the words on the report in red and blinking, and with a beeping sound too?" He looked surprised and asked me, "oh, the report can do that?"
I wanted to hang myself there and then.
And i digress, as always.
Anyway, the UAT continues tomorrow. I guess i gotta pray for lots of patience, or to be more understanding towards different capability of people. If five times do not work, then do it ten times. If it still doesn't work, pray some more and do it another ten more times. If it still won't get through to them, then i can tell them to throw their computers into the sea and go back to working manually, because no super system in this world can ever help them anymore.
| Cogitated @ 2:42 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
sorry friend, can't help to ask--r they from Finance? We can be quite square sometimes oh! ^-^ , at 1/4/11 2:17 pm
wahahahaha...I am glad that finally someone is experiencing this too.... this reminds me of my experience in training in the insurance coy on Financial Calculator...somehow some brains are not design for technologies or science!
But, never know that you can be so sarcastic in front of people! I thought only I do that! , at 1/4/11 2:42 pm
geez, put it in this way that if customers are not stupid, how do we to keep our job then, and make good profit from it. so, gotta control your temper lor and don't get agitated till to call them stupid aloud. Just keep in mind that you are doing fine in your job and it's their loss for not paying good attention and putting effort in absorbing the training. you've already done your best. like your friend mentioned, some people are just not into technology, and paranoid against errors especially in handling financial figures. some people are just stuck in robotic position, and not everyone's equal in intelligence and ability.
you really don't need to hang yourself (gosh, don't even think that!) for person being sarcastic back to you after you did it first. you sure have a bad bad temper. perhaps you should ask your mum to cook nice nutritious food to reduce anger, increase patience. hmm, i might being sarcastic here ... importantly, don't over stress yourself in work and get enough of sleep!
last one, sometimes stupidity does produce creativity. wish you had a good training, with the keywords - CONTROL, PATIENCE. geez, this message is overdue le. cheers! , at 2/4/11 4:00 am
Angel, no no, the person wasn't being sarcastic with his answer. He actually didn't get my sarcasm and believed that we can make the report blinking and beeping!
PinPin 彬彬, at 2/4/11 4:38 am
Saturday, February 19, 2011
I am hungry
What the heck!!!
Just as I published the previous post saying that I am happy that it's weekend, there is an announcement on the delay of the flight. It was supposed to depart at 9.20pm, and now it is postponed to 9.50pm.
The problem is not so much of reaching home late due to the delay. The thing is that I haven't had dinner yet and will only get to eat after I get home, which will probably be almost 12am already.
Just now I called mom and asked her to buy something light for me as dinner, thinking that I should reach home at around 11pm. There is only fast food and lousy cafe here at the domestic terminal and I really don't feel like eating any of those food.
Darn, lousy airline!
Just as I published the previous post saying that I am happy that it's weekend, there is an announcement on the delay of the flight. It was supposed to depart at 9.20pm, and now it is postponed to 9.50pm.
The problem is not so much of reaching home late due to the delay. The thing is that I haven't had dinner yet and will only get to eat after I get home, which will probably be almost 12am already.
Just now I called mom and asked her to buy something light for me as dinner, thinking that I should reach home at around 11pm. There is only fast food and lousy cafe here at the domestic terminal and I really don't feel like eating any of those food.
Darn, lousy airline!
Labels: rant
| Cogitated @ 2:10 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
haha, not only you, i was hungry until i ate my dinner at 12am when i reached home from work. i really don't know what i did in work, just like a mindless robot programming and porting codes. time for a nice rest.
have a nice weekend :) -hy- , at 19/2/11 6:02 am
Thursday, November 25, 2010
The maid and the kids
It's pouring outside now, and i'm glad it is, for the cool weather will definitely help me in containing my agitation.
I'm working from "home" for these two days, which supposedly to be a good thing, for i can be more productive when i don't have to spend time dressing up and commuting, and i can concentrate better when i'm by myself.
But then, i forgot one thing - i am not really by myself because it is school holiday now and the two little girls are at home, all day long.
Well, i'm ok with the constant noise actually, since i'm not doing any programming, which then i will need absolute silence - yes, i get distracted easily, as i have short attention span.
Yet, what i cannot stand is when i heard the maid is being "bullied". That really irritates me to no end.
Probably it is a bit exaggerating to use the word "bully", for it sounds strange to say a 25-year-old is bullied by a 10-year-old and 7-year-old. All the girls did were just throwing tantrums and throwing their weight around, which i think most people do to their maids in Singapore and Malaysia (and i absolutely abhor that).
Actually i've wanted to blogged about several incidents concerning the maid that had happened over this past year, but then as usual, i never got to it and eventually just didn't wanna write about it anymore. Those incidents would just go and show how the kids are getting more and more out-of-hand each day when their mother isn't around, or sometimes even when the mother is around!
There was one morning when my landlady found the maid crying in the kitchen and asked what happened. The maid then told my landlady that the younger daughter accused her of stealing money (which was only a few dollars of pocket money i think); she was very sad and told my landlady that she didn't do it. My landlady then reprimanded her little daughter for not keeping her own things properly but accused others of stealing when the things go missing.
Just now similar incident happened again. The elder daughter was shouting at the maid for misplacing a piece of paper (her school work), and i heard the maid kept telling the girl that she didn't see it nor take it. Then she helped to look high and low for it, and eventually found it somewhere in the living room.
There was also once when i was alone with the maid, i casually passed a remark to her about how naughty the girls have become, especially the way they treat her. Then the maid related an incident that one day the little girl came back from school and commanded the maid to remove her socks, saying that, "you are the maid and you should do this for me". I was pissed when i heard that.
But perhaps what i'm more pissed is at myself, for not doing anything about it. Seriously, i do not know what i can do. I've hinted to the landlady once about how i couldn't stand the sight of such nonsense and told her i am not sure if i should or should not stand up for the maid. The landlady then asked me not to, for she said if i do so then the girls will know that i'm "spying" on them. So in a way, i guess i was told to stay out of it.
This maid has been here for almost a year already, and she is really a simple, sweet-natured and timid girl, which explains why the kids would step all over her. Sometimes i look at her, thinking about her life as a maid, and i told myself i should stop all my whining and be grateful for what i have.
You know, we are so blessed that we were not born into poverty, and have the chance for decent education, plenty of opportunities to earn a good living and to lead a rather comfortable or even luxurious life. As a maid, she gotta leave her family and friends to a foreign land with culture and language that are strange to her; she gotta live and work for a family who may mistreat her; she has no days off, and gotta wake up early at around 5.30am and only get to bed at 11pm or later, everyday; she doesn't get any leisure time of her own, does not get to go out and be with friends, does not get any true relaxing time when she doesn't have to worry about the madam or the kids needing her to do something.
Don't get me wrong - my landlady is a nice person. She can be very harsh and strict, but definitely with a good heart. She actually treats the maid well, making sure the maid is well-taken care of. The maid is not perfect, as she does make mistakes sometimes, and when that happens, my landlady will sure scold her and i see nothing really wrong in that. It's the behaviour of the kids that really gets to me.
And all those who know me in person should know very well that i have absolute zero tolerance towards naughty kids or spoilt brats. Fortunately i'm not gonna have any of such of my own.
I'm working from "home" for these two days, which supposedly to be a good thing, for i can be more productive when i don't have to spend time dressing up and commuting, and i can concentrate better when i'm by myself.
But then, i forgot one thing - i am not really by myself because it is school holiday now and the two little girls are at home, all day long.
Well, i'm ok with the constant noise actually, since i'm not doing any programming, which then i will need absolute silence - yes, i get distracted easily, as i have short attention span.
Yet, what i cannot stand is when i heard the maid is being "bullied". That really irritates me to no end.
Probably it is a bit exaggerating to use the word "bully", for it sounds strange to say a 25-year-old is bullied by a 10-year-old and 7-year-old. All the girls did were just throwing tantrums and throwing their weight around, which i think most people do to their maids in Singapore and Malaysia (and i absolutely abhor that).
Actually i've wanted to blogged about several incidents concerning the maid that had happened over this past year, but then as usual, i never got to it and eventually just didn't wanna write about it anymore. Those incidents would just go and show how the kids are getting more and more out-of-hand each day when their mother isn't around, or sometimes even when the mother is around!
There was one morning when my landlady found the maid crying in the kitchen and asked what happened. The maid then told my landlady that the younger daughter accused her of stealing money (which was only a few dollars of pocket money i think); she was very sad and told my landlady that she didn't do it. My landlady then reprimanded her little daughter for not keeping her own things properly but accused others of stealing when the things go missing.
Just now similar incident happened again. The elder daughter was shouting at the maid for misplacing a piece of paper (her school work), and i heard the maid kept telling the girl that she didn't see it nor take it. Then she helped to look high and low for it, and eventually found it somewhere in the living room.
There was also once when i was alone with the maid, i casually passed a remark to her about how naughty the girls have become, especially the way they treat her. Then the maid related an incident that one day the little girl came back from school and commanded the maid to remove her socks, saying that, "you are the maid and you should do this for me". I was pissed when i heard that.
But perhaps what i'm more pissed is at myself, for not doing anything about it. Seriously, i do not know what i can do. I've hinted to the landlady once about how i couldn't stand the sight of such nonsense and told her i am not sure if i should or should not stand up for the maid. The landlady then asked me not to, for she said if i do so then the girls will know that i'm "spying" on them. So in a way, i guess i was told to stay out of it.
This maid has been here for almost a year already, and she is really a simple, sweet-natured and timid girl, which explains why the kids would step all over her. Sometimes i look at her, thinking about her life as a maid, and i told myself i should stop all my whining and be grateful for what i have.
You know, we are so blessed that we were not born into poverty, and have the chance for decent education, plenty of opportunities to earn a good living and to lead a rather comfortable or even luxurious life. As a maid, she gotta leave her family and friends to a foreign land with culture and language that are strange to her; she gotta live and work for a family who may mistreat her; she has no days off, and gotta wake up early at around 5.30am and only get to bed at 11pm or later, everyday; she doesn't get any leisure time of her own, does not get to go out and be with friends, does not get any true relaxing time when she doesn't have to worry about the madam or the kids needing her to do something.
Don't get me wrong - my landlady is a nice person. She can be very harsh and strict, but definitely with a good heart. She actually treats the maid well, making sure the maid is well-taken care of. The maid is not perfect, as she does make mistakes sometimes, and when that happens, my landlady will sure scold her and i see nothing really wrong in that. It's the behaviour of the kids that really gets to me.
And all those who know me in person should know very well that i have absolute zero tolerance towards naughty kids or spoilt brats. Fortunately i'm not gonna have any of such of my own.
Labels: rant
| Cogitated @ 10:37 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
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gosh, what's with the kids today? where do they pick up such master-slave attitude? they should be made to read and memorize uncle tom's cabin book until they understand what's hardship and "slavery" is all about (no, i knew about the book, but didn't read it, but i do read histories how people rise against tyranny, or how weak nation bullied by strong cruel invaders). sometimes i really wonder slavery would probably be still rampant among the asians if not of insistence from angmoh to abolish such practice. though singapore schools have excellent education system, but what's the use of knowledge and skill when one's morality and humanity are rotten. and usually it is morality and humanity that drive desire for greater knowledge ...
to think that i breakfast for long time, surf net, chitchat, gossip, yamcah during the office hour, a maid doesn't even have that luxury. and years ago there's protest against giving extra leave to them, and increase wage. and yet white blue collar employees berate about how less number of leaves and salary being stagnant or reduced. yup, i'm blessed too. i got good parents to take care of me, got into decent school and studied in university, and afford to buy (comic) books, computers, mp3 player, stuffs like that. forgive me but to me the landlady seems clueless on how to educate the daughters. in my opinion, asking people to stay away when one is at out of control (or doesn't want to be perceived so) would not do good to the situation. for someone who claimes to be "absolutely" zero tolerance, this implies something must be done-lor, otherwise it is still "tolerant" mah. but anyway, at cases where are so obvious, perhaps you should tell them off, or ask them why are they doing this, is it to show sense of superiority, or just to gain attention. and golden rule - do unto others if you want others do unto you.
to put it bluntly which i hate to admit, sometimes it has to do with the genes too, and you're not a spoilt gal thanks to your parents. and sorry for such long cogitation (and probably hijacked it too)... , at 26/11/10 6:36 am
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Public holidays 2011
Saw this on FB today (applicable to KL only):
That brings me to the topic of public holidays.
Seriously, i think Malaysia is one of the countries in the world with the most gazetted public holidays; either that, or Singapore is one with the least.
Take a look at the public holidays for year 2011 on MOM website:
We only have 11 days of public holidays in a year. If you spread it out across a year, you don't even get one day per month.
Now, take a look at Malaysian public holidays for next year. There are 13 days of national public holidays, and for the state of Selangor (where our Malaysia office is located), there are another 4 days, which total up to 17 days in a year!
One of the expatriates from China noticed the many days of public holidays in Malaysia and told me that he would love to work in Malaysia. Of course, what he isn't aware of is the inequality that is built into the law between different races. If he knows that, i wonder if he would still wanna work there. But then, i guess it doesn't really matter to him since the law does not affect expatriates.
If there's anything i miss working in Malaysia, it's definitely the public holidays.
That brings me to the topic of public holidays.
Seriously, i think Malaysia is one of the countries in the world with the most gazetted public holidays; either that, or Singapore is one with the least.
Take a look at the public holidays for year 2011 on MOM website:
We only have 11 days of public holidays in a year. If you spread it out across a year, you don't even get one day per month.
Now, take a look at Malaysian public holidays for next year. There are 13 days of national public holidays, and for the state of Selangor (where our Malaysia office is located), there are another 4 days, which total up to 17 days in a year!
One of the expatriates from China noticed the many days of public holidays in Malaysia and told me that he would love to work in Malaysia. Of course, what he isn't aware of is the inequality that is built into the law between different races. If he knows that, i wonder if he would still wanna work there. But then, i guess it doesn't really matter to him since the law does not affect expatriates.
If there's anything i miss working in Malaysia, it's definitely the public holidays.
Labels: rant
| Cogitated @ 1:57 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
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ah, about public holidays, i also did count against other countries long ago when there was this calender on the meeting table. malaysia has not too many, and not too few either-lah. it's slightly comparable to singapore's, err, maybe there's slight advantage with office located in state rather than in kl. if you look at hong kong, it has quite number of holidays too. and china, boy, unlike malaysia and singapore which is scattered, they have 1-wk shutdown in CNY and national day. anyway, with holidays scattered, don't really feel the effect-lor, especially sometimes still have to go back to work on these days....
i don't know but i observe that most of my friends in malaysia are promoted faster, and many of them are working in giant MNCs. they deserved it at their own capability, when at gathering i often heard the stories work average until 8-9pm, sometimes 2days non-sleep to organize workshop and presentation to customer. you have missed about the dread of tolls and public transports. practically in malaysia you will "die" if you don't your own car (in contrast of singapore you will "die" if you own a car). huh, i shouldn't use the word die, but that's a quote from my colleague in our conversation :). of course, main advantage of working in sg is the PAY, even it's still seen as cheap labour though .... ah, i'm not talking about you but me actually ... if you choose to look things at the bright side, you probably won't feel the pinch and aggravated, and could have positive outcome too. cheers, have a nice holiday, next week :). , at 9/11/10 5:26 am
Monday, November 08, 2010
Still busy
Gee, i guess long weekend is never long enough. Didn't have as much rest as i'd hoped to over the holidays.
Seeing how infrequent i updated my posts for last week, it's obvious that it was still hectic at work, and it will continue to be so for many months to come. There are new plans coming up for my team, and it's gonna be something so major that i will probably need at least two more members in my team.
On one hand, i'm very interested in the new projects, which involve full system implementations for many countries; on the other hand, i'm seriously burned out and not sure if i can continue working like this. I am NOT a workaholic even though the way i work gives the impression that i am. I actually do not enjoy doing what i am doing, and i do hope to have lots of personal time to do whatever i wanna do, even if it's idling at home doing nothing but read or sleep.
Another factor that makes me contemplating in changing job is the pay - for my position and the work that i'm doing, i'm seriously underpaid. Yes, i know you may say that, "all employees in the world think that they are underpaid". Well, it isn't if i'm comparing it against market benchmark and even with my colleagues of similar rank. As to how i know about their pay, well, i don't know in exact, but i do know something.
Actually i'm ok with what i'm earning today, as in the pay is sufficient for my lifestyle and i am content with it. But then, what i'm not alright with is that i am not earning a pay commensurate with the workload and job responsibility. This makes me feel being short-changed and exploited by the company. I feel like a cheap labour.
I am now undecided about the next move, whether to stay or to move on. For now, i'll just be still and think carefully about what i should do for my future.
Seeing how infrequent i updated my posts for last week, it's obvious that it was still hectic at work, and it will continue to be so for many months to come. There are new plans coming up for my team, and it's gonna be something so major that i will probably need at least two more members in my team.
On one hand, i'm very interested in the new projects, which involve full system implementations for many countries; on the other hand, i'm seriously burned out and not sure if i can continue working like this. I am NOT a workaholic even though the way i work gives the impression that i am. I actually do not enjoy doing what i am doing, and i do hope to have lots of personal time to do whatever i wanna do, even if it's idling at home doing nothing but read or sleep.
Another factor that makes me contemplating in changing job is the pay - for my position and the work that i'm doing, i'm seriously underpaid. Yes, i know you may say that, "all employees in the world think that they are underpaid". Well, it isn't if i'm comparing it against market benchmark and even with my colleagues of similar rank. As to how i know about their pay, well, i don't know in exact, but i do know something.
Actually i'm ok with what i'm earning today, as in the pay is sufficient for my lifestyle and i am content with it. But then, what i'm not alright with is that i am not earning a pay commensurate with the workload and job responsibility. This makes me feel being short-changed and exploited by the company. I feel like a cheap labour.
I am now undecided about the next move, whether to stay or to move on. For now, i'll just be still and think carefully about what i should do for my future.
| Cogitated @ 4:05 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
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and i thought your reason of job changing is so your colleague friends in the company then can visit your blog :). reminds me i bent on resigning from my ex-company after leaving the reputation of being rebellious, and offended a director, managers. and i bashed the company management in my current company interview somemore. i think i had really lost my mind then, haha, probably because years in that company really hardened me and turned me into unplesant person.
changing to new job will have to go through new environment again, new type boss to face, new workmates, etc etc, surely you have more experience than me in this (ok ok, you're not job hopper). but, from the way you described your character, even you go elsewhere where workload is perceived lesser, you'd probably end up overwork yourself too. but then, i agree you should never allow yourself being exploited as cheap labour-lor. in fact, with your calibre, i do think you should deserve better position. well, some people even if he's/she's is talented and skillful, unfortunately the skill is not appreciated and applied in correct field. that's reality of life, sigh ... i wonder if there's any employee dare to walk in front of boss, demand a justifiable raise by reasoning the contributions made without "backup" from outside company. there's always still suspicious no matter how close with the boss.
as your "fan", i'll support whatever choice you made lor, and i'm sure you will make a wise decision :). alternatively, you might just let life as it goes as it is lor, and who knows opportunity just come at a sudden, and you'll be the lucky star in life+career. cheers. all the best! , at 8/11/10 7:23 am
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Still undone
Here's a portion of an email i just sent out:
Yes, i've sent the document out, even though it is incomplete. I ended it at 176 pages, but i'm sure it's gonna be more once i get the incomplete parts confirmed.
It has been painful, to say the least. I slept at 5am again yesterday and woke up at 10am+. If i remember correctly, i've been going like this for 2 weeks straight (or more?). This probably explains my blurry eyes, aching shoulders, back and neck, racing heartbeat, trembling hands, occasional buzzing in the ears and heavy head.
I kid you not; these are indeed what i've been feeling since the past few days. I was concerned if there is anything wrong with me, but my colleague said i am being paranoid. He said these are probably the symptoms of fatigue; i just need to have a good rest.
Yet, the agony is far from ending actually. This piece of work is still undone. I've discovered quite a number of bugs and errors in the programs. And the technical specs still needs to be completed, while there are still lots of overdue work that i need to clear, and more are also planned in the pipeline.
I really wonder if i can continue on like this at all. Besides affecting my health, i'm having serious acne breakouts on my face and back, probably due to sleep deprivation. Then i'm also feeling very depressed, probably also due to energy drain. So i'm getting weak, ugly and unpleasant because of this job. That's bad.
And to make things worse, i do not have anyone who can hug me, pat my head or make me feel better when i'm down. I know i have God, but i couldn't even spare the time to talk to Him.
If you know me in person and see me next time, please give me a pat on the shoulders. I really need it.
Alright, i can actually rant on and on and on, for you can see that i'm in this self-pitying mode again. But then, i really ought to sleep now. Will have to attend church service in the morning.
Please find attached the 90% completed draft of the technical specs. You will notice that there has been quite a considerable change to the format and sections.
My apologies that despite my best effort, i was not able to complete it on Friday. There are also some portion that i need to check with the programmer before i can confirm it in the specs. The portions that are not completely done are in blue colors.
Lastly, thanks for the first issues list received last week. I also have a few issues that i found when i was going through the program for writing the specs. You may be receiving a bugs fixing release in the coming weeks.
Yes, i've sent the document out, even though it is incomplete. I ended it at 176 pages, but i'm sure it's gonna be more once i get the incomplete parts confirmed.
It has been painful, to say the least. I slept at 5am again yesterday and woke up at 10am+. If i remember correctly, i've been going like this for 2 weeks straight (or more?). This probably explains my blurry eyes, aching shoulders, back and neck, racing heartbeat, trembling hands, occasional buzzing in the ears and heavy head.
I kid you not; these are indeed what i've been feeling since the past few days. I was concerned if there is anything wrong with me, but my colleague said i am being paranoid. He said these are probably the symptoms of fatigue; i just need to have a good rest.
Yet, the agony is far from ending actually. This piece of work is still undone. I've discovered quite a number of bugs and errors in the programs. And the technical specs still needs to be completed, while there are still lots of overdue work that i need to clear, and more are also planned in the pipeline.
I really wonder if i can continue on like this at all. Besides affecting my health, i'm having serious acne breakouts on my face and back, probably due to sleep deprivation. Then i'm also feeling very depressed, probably also due to energy drain. So i'm getting weak, ugly and unpleasant because of this job. That's bad.
And to make things worse, i do not have anyone who can hug me, pat my head or make me feel better when i'm down. I know i have God, but i couldn't even spare the time to talk to Him.
If you know me in person and see me next time, please give me a pat on the shoulders. I really need it.
Alright, i can actually rant on and on and on, for you can see that i'm in this self-pitying mode again. But then, i really ought to sleep now. Will have to attend church service in the morning.
| Cogitated @ 6:54 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
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Pray to God, read some books will help.
Hope you feel better after attending church service.
ym. , at 25/10/10 1:26 am
"hands trembling" - this is serious. do you think you should consult doctor of your condition? please take care of your health, it's not worth to throw your life for the sake of work that won't turn you millionaire or big career jump overnight. i know you aim for perfection, and i might not qualified to say this since i definitely would not work until 5am, and consecutive for 2 weeks somemore but you have to stop continue being like this. work is one thing, but you have to know your limit also - heavy head and dozy mind don't give you best result and you probably need to redo again. . gosh, where are your team members other than the "pretty girl" ! this is simply not right. you gotta prioritize that HEALTH IS MORE IMPORTANT! you're making your friends and family worry about you! remember, you are NOT alone. i also don't tolerate slackers and last friday i worked until 12am, and worked until cough somemore for 2 weeks already (however i tell myself i won't work at saturday and sunday so that i can come out some drawings for your blog), but the way you worked are too much. seriously, you need your mum to bug you for 8 hrs sufficient of sleep, just like my mom does to me.
darn, instead of encouraging you, i'm pouring cold water here. I'm sorry for this. once this over, you should give yourself a GOOD rest. ask your boss to grant you compensatory leave, if not take MC instead to deduct your annual leave. whatever it is, you should have a GOOD rest after all this nonsense. i wish i'm in singapore or JB so that i could really give a pat (if i know the real you), the fact that i have left singapore because i felt that i got career nowhere there in engineering and the regret i have of this decision other than money is i did not revisit this blog of yours. sigh ... i hope, no, look forward other blog readers who know you in person give you a pat you deserve, and even a hug.
cheers. you must take care of your health FIRST. -HY- , at 25/10/10 1:43 am
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/4008/patpat.jpg
sleep early. kick that habit of 5 hrs sleep, otherwise even if you take lots of essence of chicken, vitamin C ginseng, bird's soup nest, it's still no good. and stop putting yourself so much stresson job, try to take it easy. cheers. -HY- , at 25/10/10 4:26 am
Saturday, October 09, 2010
About the volunteering
I just got back to JB in the evening at around 5pm+ today. Was very tired and hence decided not to go out and meet up with LF they all even though i had originally wanted to.
So, about the volunteering work last night... well, it's a good idea that i didn't blog about it instantly and let the feeling of disillusion sink in so that i could be less emotional in my writing.
The event i volunteered for last night was organised by an organisation under UN. I am not going to disclose the name of the organisation here lest i get into another trouble like i did last time with the other organisation. Another reason for not mentioning the name of the organisation here is also because i do not want to undermine the effort that any UN organisations are putting in to better the world. After all, all these organisations do have good and noble causes. It has nothing to do with the organisation, as always, but the people who are in it.
I volunteered to help out in registration and usher for the gala event that was meant for charity. The main activity of the event was auction of arts pieces and expensive branded stuff. So needless to say, all the guests werefilthy rich people of the high society.
On last Wednesday, i attended the volunteer briefing at the office of the organisation. I was there on time, without having my dinner, but it was late for almost an hour. By the time it was done and i got "home", it was already 10pm+.
And on that day, i came to know that they had engaged some other organisations for batch volunteers, and a few of these volunteers (all Indian young girls) from those organisations were there for the briefing as well. While we were waiting there, these girls were chit-chatting and i overheard them using the F word frequently in their conversation, just like the typical Westernised youngsters nowadays. I was thinking to myself, "great, these are the people representing UN on that day..."
On Friday, i took full-day leave, thinking that i wanted a good rest in the day for the night's event, as we were told that the event might last past mid-night. I had quite a number of days of leave to clear anyway and hence i didn't mind taking a day off too.
Well, i was actually quite excited to be part of the event, but it was such a disappointment to me as the worker (the guests may not know of all the mess behind it) that i left at 10pm+, before the event ended, since my work was already done.
Now, all i can say is just that i will not volunteer for such event for this organisation anymore. I would have written a long whinny post here if i had blogged about it last night or this morning. I would probably relate the entire story of what happened and what pissed me off. But as mentioned at the opening of this post, my frustration has eased off and hence i'll not tell the full story here. What i will do is that i'll just share some of my thoughts and lesson learnt here.
First of all, do not be misled by the halo of UN or any organisations that are affiliated with it. What i meant here is not to say that they are not good, but just that the people working for them are not necessarily all with high calibre or good personality as we might have thought they would be. And seriously, i've always believed in that an organisation is only as good as the people in it.
There were a few stuck-up people in the organisation, who exuded the kind of "i'm working for the UN and hence i'm better than you" kind of uppish attitude, and yet couldn't even handle some simple tasks well. And guess what, these people are of a certain race who is known to behave in such a way if they are rich or of certain career position or social status. If you do not know which race i'm referring too, then all i can say is that you have not had enough encounters with these people yet.
(Yes, i've made a remark on racial stereotype. Save me the lecture of what we are not supposed to pass such remarks and what craps. I know all these, and i don't care. This my rant on my blog, so don't even bother to tell me that you do not agree with my assertion about that race. I don't give a damn of what you think.)
One of the lessons i learnt from the event is that we must take care of even every minute details of the venue, such as what decors the hotel is gonna place on the dinner tables. For an event with performances and auctions on stage, it is really bad to have a vase of 50cm tall with plants of 100cm tall in it placed in the middle of each table. That blocks the view of the audience in seeing the stage, as well as the view of the hosts and auctioneer in seeing the bidders.
For the volunteers, well, perhaps it was precisely because it was volunteering and hence the organisation does not get to screen through the people like a recruitment process, there bound to be people who, instead of helping, may tarnish the image of the organisation by behaving inappropriately in a formal event.
There were also volunteers (or just people whom we may meet day-in, day-out) who would think that they were so experienced in organising events and hence you all who are "less experienced" should just listen to their commands. The ironic part is that they didn't even attended the briefing, and hence they were not aware of the flow of the program or even wore the wrong colors because they did not know there was a dress code. Yet, they still felt that they know it all and they are in-charge.
I also realised that not all volunteers are genuine about volunteering; their objectives of being there may not be to help out in a just cause. There may be people who are there for the free meal, for the free-flow wine (serious, i saw one volunteer drinking the champagne non-stop!), for the glamour, or for getting to know the rich and powerful.
Talk about free meal, here is the dinner that was provided last night for the volunteers:
Of course, it would be unfair to say that i did not get anything positive out of this. For one, i think i would never ever have the chance in my life to cross paths with those people of the high society. No, i didn't get to speak to any of them, but merely standing at the side watching them was already interesting enough. I was especially impressed by the female guests. They were all so beautiful, with expensive dresses and accessories, flawless makeups andarrogance elegance. All these people really have a different air about them that you could easily distinguish them as people of different class than us.
Lastly, i got to see how the people of this social class mingle and talk (all with accent!). I also saw in action how these people would not even frown or wink to bid for a painting or carpet with five digits figures (yes, yes, for the charity, i know). I had only seen it in TV drama before, you know, where the rich people raise the auction paddles and then the auctioneer would go "once, twice, and sold". It was interesting and an eye opener for me, but i guess it may probably be the last for me too.
So, about the volunteering work last night... well, it's a good idea that i didn't blog about it instantly and let the feeling of disillusion sink in so that i could be less emotional in my writing.
The event i volunteered for last night was organised by an organisation under UN. I am not going to disclose the name of the organisation here lest i get into another trouble like i did last time with the other organisation. Another reason for not mentioning the name of the organisation here is also because i do not want to undermine the effort that any UN organisations are putting in to better the world. After all, all these organisations do have good and noble causes. It has nothing to do with the organisation, as always, but the people who are in it.
I volunteered to help out in registration and usher for the gala event that was meant for charity. The main activity of the event was auction of arts pieces and expensive branded stuff. So needless to say, all the guests were
On last Wednesday, i attended the volunteer briefing at the office of the organisation. I was there on time, without having my dinner, but it was late for almost an hour. By the time it was done and i got "home", it was already 10pm+.
And on that day, i came to know that they had engaged some other organisations for batch volunteers, and a few of these volunteers (all Indian young girls) from those organisations were there for the briefing as well. While we were waiting there, these girls were chit-chatting and i overheard them using the F word frequently in their conversation, just like the typical Westernised youngsters nowadays. I was thinking to myself, "great, these are the people representing UN on that day..."
On Friday, i took full-day leave, thinking that i wanted a good rest in the day for the night's event, as we were told that the event might last past mid-night. I had quite a number of days of leave to clear anyway and hence i didn't mind taking a day off too.
Well, i was actually quite excited to be part of the event, but it was such a disappointment to me as the worker (the guests may not know of all the mess behind it) that i left at 10pm+, before the event ended, since my work was already done.
Now, all i can say is just that i will not volunteer for such event for this organisation anymore. I would have written a long whinny post here if i had blogged about it last night or this morning. I would probably relate the entire story of what happened and what pissed me off. But as mentioned at the opening of this post, my frustration has eased off and hence i'll not tell the full story here. What i will do is that i'll just share some of my thoughts and lesson learnt here.
First of all, do not be misled by the halo of UN or any organisations that are affiliated with it. What i meant here is not to say that they are not good, but just that the people working for them are not necessarily all with high calibre or good personality as we might have thought they would be. And seriously, i've always believed in that an organisation is only as good as the people in it.
There were a few stuck-up people in the organisation, who exuded the kind of "i'm working for the UN and hence i'm better than you" kind of uppish attitude, and yet couldn't even handle some simple tasks well. And guess what, these people are of a certain race who is known to behave in such a way if they are rich or of certain career position or social status. If you do not know which race i'm referring too, then all i can say is that you have not had enough encounters with these people yet.
(Yes, i've made a remark on racial stereotype. Save me the lecture of what we are not supposed to pass such remarks and what craps. I know all these, and i don't care. This my rant on my blog, so don't even bother to tell me that you do not agree with my assertion about that race. I don't give a damn of what you think.)
One of the lessons i learnt from the event is that we must take care of even every minute details of the venue, such as what decors the hotel is gonna place on the dinner tables. For an event with performances and auctions on stage, it is really bad to have a vase of 50cm tall with plants of 100cm tall in it placed in the middle of each table. That blocks the view of the audience in seeing the stage, as well as the view of the hosts and auctioneer in seeing the bidders.
For the volunteers, well, perhaps it was precisely because it was volunteering and hence the organisation does not get to screen through the people like a recruitment process, there bound to be people who, instead of helping, may tarnish the image of the organisation by behaving inappropriately in a formal event.
There were also volunteers (or just people whom we may meet day-in, day-out) who would think that they were so experienced in organising events and hence you all who are "less experienced" should just listen to their commands. The ironic part is that they didn't even attended the briefing, and hence they were not aware of the flow of the program or even wore the wrong colors because they did not know there was a dress code. Yet, they still felt that they know it all and they are in-charge.
I also realised that not all volunteers are genuine about volunteering; their objectives of being there may not be to help out in a just cause. There may be people who are there for the free meal, for the free-flow wine (serious, i saw one volunteer drinking the champagne non-stop!), for the glamour, or for getting to know the rich and powerful.
Talk about free meal, here is the dinner that was provided last night for the volunteers:
Of course, it would be unfair to say that i did not get anything positive out of this. For one, i think i would never ever have the chance in my life to cross paths with those people of the high society. No, i didn't get to speak to any of them, but merely standing at the side watching them was already interesting enough. I was especially impressed by the female guests. They were all so beautiful, with expensive dresses and accessories, flawless makeups and
Lastly, i got to see how the people of this social class mingle and talk (all with accent!). I also saw in action how these people would not even frown or wink to bid for a painting or carpet with five digits figures (yes, yes, for the charity, i know). I had only seen it in TV drama before, you know, where the rich people raise the auction paddles and then the auctioneer would go "once, twice, and sold". It was interesting and an eye opener for me, but i guess it may probably be the last for me too.
Labels: rant, volunteering
| Cogitated @ 4:52 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
why did you skip your friends' outing? is it because of the food you ate in the event that you have no energy? you should spirit up and don't get yourself tired/down easily. maybe because of your unenergetic nature, it reflects to your life too. pinpin, stay strong!
eee, how wish if you blog about it when you were in full fire mood so can get to read what "exactly" had happened that made pinpin so so pissed. btw, that sounds the event organizer is really lousy and out of control, but at the end the guests and bidders didn't see it and complained, so it's still a success .... though the bad things have been swept under the carpet, aha. i guess many other organizers are like that too, as long guests don't see it, it's success. it's always the outcome that measures everything. anyway, it feeds lesson to you not to organize events the way they did-lor. isn't odd to consider positive when didn't get the chance to talk to and to know the high society "elites" but admired from far, and envious their dressings and spendings. if it was me, for sure i would have sense of inferiority, and go back home being more negative.
hopefully this event won't damper you for any future volunteering. maybe you should bring a friend next time, at least you have company to share the experience together. cheers :). , at 11/10/10 5:28 am
Haha! For being organised quite a no of events in my ex-co, I fully understand no matter how fully prepared we were, there will definitely some hiccup here & there, and there are definitely some people who supposed to do something fail their tasks and we'd to clear the mess for them. And no matter how succesful the event to the public, my superior also will manage to find some minor issue to shoot us one.
So don't let this damper your mood.
Sometimes we maybe are the one who are not so understanding as we really don't understand how can those people handle things in such an lousy ways. Maybe we are the minority? :p
However, this is really a rare experience what! Volunteers, I had never been one b4. Good for you. , at 11/10/10 6:53 am
i know which race u write abt, & no u r not racist, it's just tat race demonstrate such behaviour throughout the whole world.n they r filling up spore so much as well. , at 11/10/10 6:58 pm
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Clearing shit
And so i'm supposed to be here for the induction programme of the new joinee. Yet there are so much outstanding (and rather urgent) work awaiting me that i gotta take care of the work first and asked the new joinee to wait. In fact, i didn't manage to cover half of the programme for the first day, and i gotta catch up within these few days.
Then as if this isn't bad enough, i was informed yesterday about a serious issue on a task that i had assigned to the under-performed staff.
Basically, there is this system integration work that needs to be done between the financial system my team handles and the operation system that ex-little boss handles. We have done this integration for many other countries and there is a new one that needs to be done as the operation system is being implemented in one of the Asian countries. We are not part of the project team for that implementation and was not kept in the loop of any project timeline or discussions, but we do need to handle this integration work since it involves the system we handle.
Our team was informed of this task as early as back in March, and the actual work of development and testing started at around May. With the departure of the technical guy, and the rest of us were tied up with other work, i handed this task to the underperfomer, thinking that it would not go wrong since the work only requires testing and follow-ups.
So, none of my consultants or myself actually monitored this closely at all, which i do admit that it is definitely an oversight on my part - for trusting him in getting the work done with minimal supervision, just like how the other team members would do.
Then yesterday big boss suddenly asked me about the status of this task. It was then i realised that it was still pending at our side, when the project is now at the crucial juncture of making go-live decision (in three days time!). I was simply flabbergasted, and so i sent the underperfomer into the project meeting that big boss was having, and told him to answer to the project team himself (i didn't join the meeting). It may seem as if i'm being a lousy leader in doing this, but i felt that i should not continue to be his cushion anymore. Sometimes it's best for him to get the shock himself to understand the urgency and importance.
After that, i checked with him on the reasons for the delay and he timidly replied that he was waiting for replies from various parties. I asked him why he did not follow up more closely and he told me that he was doing other tasks. Well, i've actually heard comments from my consultant that he seems to have problem in multi-tasking, and i guess this proves it - he works in DOS mode and not Windows mode. Darn!
Then today, ex-little boss casually asked me why it took so long and this task is still incomplete till today. I seriously had no justifications for it at all. Being a team lead, i gotta take the responsibility for not following up on the work and leaving it entirely to a person whom i already knew requires constant monitoring.
So the important thing now is to get the work done first. I will have to take over whatever shit and clean it up. But with just a few days left, i seriously do not think i can make miracles happen. I only hope that even with this task incomplete, we will not be the cause of any delay to the project go-live.
And the best part is this - the underperformer is going to be on leave for the rest of the week. He is taking leave to study for his exam for MBA (yes, he is taking Master's degree. Go figure!). I will have to do the work myself, not really knowing what he has or has not done. This also means that i may not have time for the new joinee at all. In fact, i have been working just now since i came back to the hotel room at around 7pm.
I'm really tired, pissed and sianz.
Then as if this isn't bad enough, i was informed yesterday about a serious issue on a task that i had assigned to the under-performed staff.
Basically, there is this system integration work that needs to be done between the financial system my team handles and the operation system that ex-little boss handles. We have done this integration for many other countries and there is a new one that needs to be done as the operation system is being implemented in one of the Asian countries. We are not part of the project team for that implementation and was not kept in the loop of any project timeline or discussions, but we do need to handle this integration work since it involves the system we handle.
Our team was informed of this task as early as back in March, and the actual work of development and testing started at around May. With the departure of the technical guy, and the rest of us were tied up with other work, i handed this task to the underperfomer, thinking that it would not go wrong since the work only requires testing and follow-ups.
So, none of my consultants or myself actually monitored this closely at all, which i do admit that it is definitely an oversight on my part - for trusting him in getting the work done with minimal supervision, just like how the other team members would do.
Then yesterday big boss suddenly asked me about the status of this task. It was then i realised that it was still pending at our side, when the project is now at the crucial juncture of making go-live decision (in three days time!). I was simply flabbergasted, and so i sent the underperfomer into the project meeting that big boss was having, and told him to answer to the project team himself (i didn't join the meeting). It may seem as if i'm being a lousy leader in doing this, but i felt that i should not continue to be his cushion anymore. Sometimes it's best for him to get the shock himself to understand the urgency and importance.
After that, i checked with him on the reasons for the delay and he timidly replied that he was waiting for replies from various parties. I asked him why he did not follow up more closely and he told me that he was doing other tasks. Well, i've actually heard comments from my consultant that he seems to have problem in multi-tasking, and i guess this proves it - he works in DOS mode and not Windows mode. Darn!
Then today, ex-little boss casually asked me why it took so long and this task is still incomplete till today. I seriously had no justifications for it at all. Being a team lead, i gotta take the responsibility for not following up on the work and leaving it entirely to a person whom i already knew requires constant monitoring.
So the important thing now is to get the work done first. I will have to take over whatever shit and clean it up. But with just a few days left, i seriously do not think i can make miracles happen. I only hope that even with this task incomplete, we will not be the cause of any delay to the project go-live.
And the best part is this - the underperformer is going to be on leave for the rest of the week. He is taking leave to study for his exam for MBA (yes, he is taking Master's degree. Go figure!). I will have to do the work myself, not really knowing what he has or has not done. This also means that i may not have time for the new joinee at all. In fact, i have been working just now since i came back to the hotel room at around 7pm.
I'm really tired, pissed and sianz.
| Cogitated @ 4:41 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
you should have gone to sleep before midnight clock struck and recharged for the next day. by the way, happy mid autumn day, how i wish you could enjoy mooncake under nice full moon with your mom and family and friends - work is indeed sickening .... hey, maybe you can treat the new colleague good lunch and mooncake to give good impression, i worry that given your super hectic workload might give him a real scare and regret of joining your team (i guess you too have this shock when you newly joined company then). with many years of experience, your new colleague will understand, somehow.. :)
i don't know, but i hope this experience would give reflection that you shouldn't be depressed over the past and what is bygone be bygone. pull yourself up, no point of thinking the old days, concentrate your energy on reality and job instead! instead of blaming yourself, try focusing the future and avoid repeating the mistakes. i'm looking high on you. go pinpin go! pinpin can do it. 加油!
hmm, even i had a first degree from singapore university (and yet not articulate, take long time to type cogitation like this, end up in lousy companies, what a life), it did not cross my mind to go back to dreadful study and pursue masters. if one really wants to learn, industry is the best place, not school. maybe years of working experience showed me that people with higher level of education tends to talk more but do less effectively and efficiently. of all masters program, MBA is stand out (maybe you should consider to pursue that too) since it seems to be a must have for most managers and high level executives. my ex-company director once said he became manager because he's inept in technical. maybe your staff doesn't suit to become technical person but a manager instead. he is going to be "leader" soon, so you should treat him nice and get nice lobang in return (uh, i think i'm being sarcastic here, my bad :|).
do your best, less blaming yourself, be positive. if work cannot be done, so be it lor, not everybody is perfect anyway (i already resigned with my assignment anyway, though i used to tell everyone i'm capable in everything). the most important is don't lose yourself. ok, gotta back to work. cheers. , at 22/9/10 2:19 pm
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7080/comic30.jpg
suppose to post this on sunday so you get smile (but then, don't know if you'd get mad instead cause being ridiculed like that) and afresh in next monday morning. my bad :). last week didn't post anything cause i'm busy with your "prince charming" posting, oops.....
cheers. , at 28/9/10 4:24 am
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Late night again
Just got on a cab to go "home". Uh huh, it's yet another record-breaking late night in the office.
Oh man, what else can I say but this job is really killing me!
Oh man, what else can I say but this job is really killing me!
Labels: rant
| Cogitated @ 3:17 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
uh, is it really that hectic for this week (or this month) coz all the big shots are at the office? just remind yourself only for this week, only for this week and then after this over all will settle down back to norm :).. , at 18/8/10 3:29 am
MUST take care of ur health oh! Drink lot of water & vitamin C. , at 18/8/10 6:26 am
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9255/comic23.jpg
gosh, you're working late today again? hope you settle all the mess and can get good rest after all hard work. and remember, health is always most important! take care lor. , at 20/8/10 4:54 am
