Just to illustrate

Just thought I'll write this down... some examples of what I mean by services not up to expectations or am I just being too demanding?

A company... I'll leave out the name ( but give obvious hint as to which one... hiak...) which introduced me to my current job ( see! that's very obvious right!)

This company have staff which is not very professional according to my standards.

I was actually quite pleased with them, or thought they were very efficient because they called me pretty quick after I submitted my resume online. They gave me a long-distance call despite the fact I was still in Japan then. They asked me about my date of return and told me they will call soon.

As they promised, they called me just 3 days I came back and found me my first job within 2 weeks I was back. So.. this current job is more like being shoved into my hands. I was just told to turn up for interview though I told them I would like some more time. Then the next thing I knew, I was asked for an interview by the prospective company and I begin working 3 days after that.

Fast and efficient right? Very good. They promptly replied my emails and calls till.... till I was happily settled in the company.

One fine day, I emailed my agent to ask him something regard the job ( since I was on the agency's payroll) and then he never replied. ( He did not just not reply. He never ever replied)

I got a call only 4 days later from his colleague who greeted me in this way. "You mean he never tell you he went on a business trip meh?"

Ignoring the bad English and manners. I replied no. Yup, I swallowed up the rest of the sentence. " Yes you are absolutely right. He didn't BOTHER to reply to me so I wouldn't have known his whereabouts. You see mdm, I am not his keeper." Anyway, she wasn't at all a help to the questions I had. fine..

Another fine morning, I received a msg on my phone. "Please call me immediately at this number 62XX-XXXX. Urgent."

What the heck... who in the early morning. No name, unidentified number. My mother has always told me to ignore strangers since young. I guess it extends to strangers on the handphone too. What rudeness. If you are urgently looking for me then have the decency to pick up the phone to call me. Or at least offer me your name.

Anyway it turned out to be the agent and the best thing was, it was nothing urgent.

The last incident ( or so I hope).

Their receptionist called me up one morning to tell me there was a mistake in the calculation, the amount they paid me ( note: she said there was a mistake and no more) was $10.10 more. and she said this," Can you come down to the office to give me back the money?"

I replied coldly, 3 words. " I am working."

She replied in her chripy voice " Oh is it? You are working in XX office right? Very near our office, can come here."

What kind of service is that. Hey look, you are the one who made the mistake. Instead of thinking of ways to rectify the problem, y0u are asking me to go to your office instead? Whｙ should I was my first reaction though I know it is not good to be so calculative. Besides anyway, she made a mistake, I wasn't at the office near hers.

Anyway, I checked my pay slip and found that there were no mistakes so I called her back to clarify the matter. and she replied, " If you look carefully, the 5 looks like 6 right? That's where the mistake came about." So she wrote the cheque wrongly, mistaking a 5 for a 6, after looking carefully.

I was really pissed by now ( I censored some other parts of the conversation, mostly on her lame excuses) so I replied " If you say so. because I LOOKED carefully and I see a 5. So you are telling me now it is not a calculation problem and YOU are the one who made the mistake? Is that what you are telling me now?"

ok... for those who think I am mean. Maybe I am. But then I　not am against the girl nor the agent but their attitude. I think it is ok to make mistakes because we all do. But then, being in the service line especially, I think sincerely brings you further. WHen you make mistakes, admit and apologize. Nice humans out there ain't all that mean and demanding. You will make them more irritated when they discover they have been brought on a merry-go-round by you trying to shove the blame here and there.

So.. was I too mean?

Impatient

I seriously think I am a very impatient person. No matter what I do, I always think and want to see results quick. Is that why I always give up half-way?

When I was young, my mum is always skeptical about letting me learn new things. I remember how I would always try to persuade her into letting me go for some classes. For eg, I went piano, dance, computer... I will always start by trying to convince her that I have longed possessed a life-long passion for that particular thing and by letting me go for classes, she might be the next star's mother...and I will go on and on till she relents. Actually, I know.. I think she knows I will probably give it up half-up but still, cherish the glint of hope that something good might come out of it.

I am even impatient when I am sick. I used to ask my mum "How come the medicine doesn't work!" 5 mins after I ate it. And my mum has to explain to me it is not a xian dan or ling yao

Then now that I am grown up, I am still impatient. As people who are late for appointments, service people who don't meet up expectations. Even computer systems can piss me off big time.

What can I do to slow down my pace a little?... feel so unsettled and fidgety

God will make a way when there seems to be no way...

This morning as I was getting ready for work, suddenly a song came to my mind.

God will make a way, when there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me
He will be my guide, hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day, He will make a way,
He will make a way.

By a roadway in the wilderness
He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His Word will still remain
He will do something new today

God really knows how each and everyone of us feels and thinks. And He wants us to know He cares and is also troubling alongside with us. For people who have been talking to me, knows that I have been troubling over some issues recently and I am glad God's reminder came as sweet assurance to me this morning.

Althought it still takes some time to completely put everything in His hands, I know now I am not troubling alone and indeed with it seems all impossible and the future looks bleak, God will make a way.

Last attempt at storming Tokyo

First installament of Tokyo storming.

Time: A few days before my grand entrance back to Singapore

Venue: Tokyo, to be more precise, Shinjuku, Harajuku and Shibuya

Main characters: Me (but of course!), Chou ( the first part and the last part), So-kun ( middle and last part) and the others....

Ok... so a few days before exiting Japan, Chou and I decided to make our last attempt to do last minute shopping in Tokyo. Ok, it was more of my idea. She wanted to go Osaka at first but she couldn't resist the temptation of a Disney land cum sea closure so she chose to go Tokyo with me.

However, since we only had 3 short days, we had to be very strict. We needed a fool-proof plan... btw, just a side note, sometimes i am just so amazed how chou manages her time. We took private lessons together for the whole of a 2 months period and she was NEVER on time! Her record was to be late for 2 hours on a day our lesson started at 12.40pm. She woke up at 1pm and took another hour to make up. But then, she always makes it on time for our trips. AMazing uh. So i call this selective punctuality. or selective impunctuality.

And our plan was...

no plans. Just take us to where our desires lead. ( sounds so worldly.. gosh.)

Ok, so reached Tokyo on the first train and we bumped in a gang of sumos! ( i dunno which collective noun to used because sumos never appeared in our textbooks before)

and I mustered up my courage to ask for a photo! the funny thing was they were stlil smilling and laughing before that. but they immediately turn very stern when I approached. I guess they have a professional image to upkeep uh.

Ok then we went on our separate ways and I went to meet So kun in Harajuku. We didn't take any pictures nor will he appear in this blog because we have taken too many pictures together before. So no special need to take anymore.. . but I met someone!!!

For those who have been in Japan catching the reality show "Ainori" you will realised that this Hero, is no other than Hide!! who has on the show for like 1.5 years? 17 countries. Details of the show pls wait for another entry. Will come soon uh..

Ok.. after the Hide craze.. I mean, really I was excited. I was estactic. I wasn't hysteric though. I have been catching the show since day one I started watching it and acutally I was pretty lucky. The previous time I went Harajuku I also bumped into some other Ainori participants.

I

I think I was a bit too nervous to smile properly. I was nervous becus of So's poor photography skills. He has proven track record. I did not malign him.

Anyway, for those who know So kun, He TREATED me to lunch! How cool is that! He gave me a TREAT!! haa... for the benefit of those who don't, So Kun is one of my best buddies in Japan. He is 30 but he is just like a kid always being bullied by me or sometimes the other way round. But we have always shared a very close friendship. Especially after some thing happened to both of us. Seen 2 people crying for each other? Everyone always thinks he is very petty with money and he also acts like he does by how he scramb;es from one market to the other just to save like 100 yen ($1.40) but I know he isn't all like that. He saves on himself only to splurge on his friends.

Finally after a long walk together, we joined the others for dinner. ABout 8 of us. Some friends' friends, some ex- yamasa students...

Night... chou and I decided to stay overnight at a love hotel.. kekeke.. last time in tokyo so needed some excitment. uh hem...

Love hotels in Japan is well as the name suggested bascially for couples to stay in for a few hours or overnight. I heard that love hotels used to be more bold and flamboyant but in recent years, they have toned down a little because it wasn't reflecting very well on Japan to have such a "attention-seeking" red-light industry. It is still thematic though less of its former glory. I heard those in Osaka are more fun though.

Ok, basically it works like this. You enter the hotel without having to see any staff or receptionist. The photos of each room is being flashed on a board with buttons beside. And you get to choose any room that is available by the push of a button. Side note, I realised the hotel has lots of entrances and exits. Probably to facilitate easy escape in the case of being caught in the act.

Then you enter the room and realised that the doors can't be locked until you swiped your credit card against this machine on the wall. The money is not paid yet and it is only then you come to another realisation. The door can't be opened until you swipe your card to pay again. So, once you go in you can't come out. The assumption is you won't need to go out for nothing again.

Anyway, I really recommend love hotels for budget travellers. It is nowhere cheesy but really spick and span. The basins and floors were gleaming bright. Tubs big enough to accomodate 2 and comes with a massage jacuzzi. But of course it depends on each room though. We each only paid about 4000 yen each. Mind you, this gives you only a budget hotel room in Tokyo but we got a really good bargain I would say. The bath room even came with disco lights. cool combi.

Ok.. last on my list. Did I mention I was in Shinjuku's red-light district Kabuki cho? Hmm.. I must admit it is not exactly the safetest place to be but well, as long as you don't hang out in the middle of the night I guess it is ok. I went there to check out the host clubs. ( guys cabaret). Don't why but recently hosts clubs seems to be so popular that the documentary show on them are so often seen on TV.. and yes, all hosts looked the same to me. ( (I mean clothes and style) . They are so easier recognisable. Long, stinted, set-hair with suits. See the bill boards and you will get what I mean..



Another Ainori participant, Autoro's dentist.


The array of host club pictures. Welcome to Shinjuku Kabuki Cho!

...

Don't know what's up with me these few days. Played too much over the weekend at genting?... hmmm anyway, i am suffering from what you call, Tou zhong jiao qing or head heavy feet light. I kept feeling giddy and even puked at home twice yesterday. Thank God there wasn't much work on Monday because the IT side is making some changes to the server and my Sup allowed me to go home earlier. But then a 2 hr nap didn't helped as well and I ended up paying $50 plus to see a doctor because I only decided to go there after 9.30pm. Doctors really know how to suck hard-earned money from poor OLs like me.. just a less than 3 min consulation and I see my blue bill flying into his register.

Well anyway, today has been a busy day at work. Though I will have OT but then, managed to clear the stuff pretty fast. Anyway, there was so many mistakes in the order that I had to keep emailing the Japanese. But good in the sense cus I got to practise my Kanji as I had to type many addresses.

I need more sleep I guess.. more more more..

anyway, I got an email from a friend in Japan. She was complaining to me about this common gu friend we know who is so zong se qing you. Sigh sigh... I was guo lai ren loh.. I already too used to his pattern that actually I just kinda drifted away from him. But then now another complaint. seems like I am not the only one. My advice to all you out there, Zong se qing you (putting your bf/gf above the interests of your friends and taking your friends for granted) is a dnagerous act. It is contagious too. Once one of your friends contract it, you will see it the disease spread unless you take some control of your own actions..

case closed.