gobbledigook.
[ a morbid fascination that borders on obsession. ]
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Occam's Razor.
My job never fails to tickle me right to the funny bone or irritate the heck out of my rashes. Thus far the shenanigans of being an underpaid janitor ensues. Everyday, a new adventure awaits. I'm fitting well into my schedule as a night owl and honestly, i haven't seen daylight for some time. I'll be in bed by the time light hits the ground and when i wake up, its all dark. Reminds me of count dracula. I'm hitting the 1 month milestone this saturday, and my, what a hell of a journey it has been. Just yesterday, a triple blackout occured close to 6 am. I can count my lucky stars that i wasn't alone at that moment. Apparently one of the chillers tripped and short circuited the whole store. Kumar my shift leader managed to find the faulty device. If it was me, i would have rolled the shutters down and sat outside till daylight. I've been briefed about blackouts by the store manager and even the security guards but it didn't occur to me that it MIGHT actually happen. It was a real eye opener well cause, it was dark. Working through the Chinese New Year period was great too, not that it was hectic, but for the first time i actually saw the other part timers, 3 Myanmar students Lynn, Zaw and Kay. Most of the time only their names stare at me from the schedule list. Since the Chinese full timers took leave, it was 3 straight days of duty for us. From virtual strangers to close friends( me and them that is), at least some people i can get along with at work. At that point of time too our store manager dropped a bombshell on us. I had that niggling suspicion when i first worked here and it piqued my curiosity even further after subsequent rendezvous. And Allan(the store manager) only comfirmed my worst fears. One of the area/district managers is a transexual. Yes a tranny! And the store manager of a neighbouring store is a transvestite. And it really sounded wrong when she inspected our store on CNY and told Allan," I see you have three strong guys here(me, Lynn and Zaw) and i need a huge favour from them." Ahhh!! Being on regular night shifts alone, i'm accustomed to the night staff of paragon too, the mat secure-s and the mat deliverys. the kitchen staff of the surrounding restaurants and the starbucks and coffee bean baristas. One, no two in fact casually noted that i look Myanmar-ese. ???. Its already bad enough that i'm almost constantly mistaken for a chinese but now a Burma Boy. And this is just classic: Gardenia Boy: Eh you Myanmar ah?Me: No ah.
GB: Cheh, ni ching chong cheng chong ching.
Me: Bro i not chinese la. I'm malay.
GB: Wah lau eh. You sure or not? And there is always the rude, demanding obnoxious customer. The customer is always right. Yeah right, not for me. I've been heckled, cursed and yell at in full view of all those present and at the current rate, its becoming more of a formality. Sirs and madams(erm, its usually the guys, the ladies are an awesome bunch) if you were to open your eyes an inch wider, this misunderstanding can all be avoided. And we're a convenience store, not some DIY-hardware-supermarket-restaurant-bar-lingerie shop rolled into one. And sorry sir i don't know the difference between congac-whiskey-brandy-vodka-borboun-gin&tonic-lager beer-plisner beer cause i don't drink? Working irregular shifts is bad for you. And i can attest to that. This following incident is a clear testimony of its ill effect on your already disrupted sleeping pattern. Ok it goes like this on monday i was working the afternoon-evening shift. As usual Kumar was late and by the time i took the train, it was the last one. By then i was absolutely drained and conked out. I could help but to doze off in the train. By the time i woke up, i had not only overshot Woodlands but was stranded at Jurong East. My mind was just numb as my legs walked out of the station. It was 1.10 am. I took out my handphone thinking of booking a cab. Oh i forgot. I forgot to charge it the day before and its blank screen looked back at me. Great, my handphone fails me when i needed it the most. Well no fear i can always line up at the taxi stand, where a mini queue has formed. I check my wallet. $6.50 left. So i was in the middle of nowhere, uncontactable and penniless(well to take a cab at least). Muse's Hysteria was blasting into my ears but i was anything but that. I was still trying to comprehend the severity of the situation partly due to my partial sleepiness and semi-ignorance/apathy. And thank God for 24 macdonalds! I bought myself a warm meal(to pass the time) and spent the rest staring at the station to look out for the first train. The night felt unbearably long( its was only 5 hours actually). Lessons to be learned:1) Don't sleep in trains no matter how long the journey is(same goes for buses). 2) Always have sufficient cash in your pockets or atms at least. 3) Never leave house without a fully charged handphone. Its useless to have a phone with all the knick-knacks but unable to save you at the vital moments. Simplicity is the key here. 03 chalet this weekend. Haven't seen some of them for years. It would be a 3 days 2 nights. Plus i'll be working thoise nights. Juggle juggle juggle. Please don't complain of me being sleepy at work. But i'll be happy to refer you to my area manager. Later.
Labels: work work
I've got soul
But I'm not a soldier
But I'm not a soldier
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