Sighzz..sometimes being a nice guy does not pay...
I was telling this customer soooo much about the diff oranges types and there came this comment .."u sure ornot..u are so young u know meh.."
Felt like strangling her..!

Hates it when u doubt my words..sometimes..knowledge in such "aunties" matters is not link to the age..i have to say many pple of my age do not know all these craps becos they are more capable in IT/Gambling/Fashion/Cars/HPs stuff...for me i am proud to say that i am more conversant in such aunty matters..abt which type of food/meat/vege is gd and fresh..

Well..so i told her..its up to her to believe becos such things are nt link to age one...
Feel like replying her..."aunty ..u so old ..u dunno meh..need me to tell u so much de meh..!"
Haha..(well..i did not la..)

Soon came Mr Kilo who patronise me a $13.88 carton of XL sz LuKan..haha
Tribute to him..*clapzzzz...

Today was less hectic and stress with the customers as i got 2 boys to help me out..
alright..i should be appreciative towards them though but somehow i juz feel really younger pple sometimes juz cannot make it ...sighzzz (i dunno if i was like tat last time so i juz obeserve how they do things 1st)
No initiative, timing, responsibility ... sighzzz
Maybe they are nt quite experienced for this..so ...let them learn 1st..haha(i am so forgiving..)

Or maybe i should be a bad guy and wack them..i think maybe i have been doing too much manual stuff hor..
should let them know the hardship of life...heee
*shake head..youngsters nowadays..haha (of course there are gd youngsters out there..haha..must save my pigu also..)

Morning for tmr...









End of the 1st 3 days for the start for CNY sales...
OT ... OT ... OT ... Has been staying later than usual as the block stack display was nt at its best until today...A block display will nv look good if they are nt sorted and group and stacked in proper..and if done nicely..the entire block will look great and attract people..
I must still say i am quite proud of my "display" at the end of it..

Also, felt shiok that it was commented that the block display looked good..haha
Tats what drives me and my sense of achievement..

Yep! Tmr finally off for me..
The moment i reached home earlier on .. felt so tired and body-aching that i just sat down and watch tv till i slept..pheww..guess i am quite shagged out..
It has been 2full yrs since i have been involved in CNY sales..as i told some of my friends b4..CNY is the best time to work though bz..its when there wun be boredom and enjoyable as sure many customers will come talk rot with u..hahaa...(and will hear some of the greatest jokes ard)

I think gotta do up quite abit of stuff liao..clothes..pack up home..CNY stuff...phew..
else not much time left to do liao..as i prepare to have quite a bit of more OT to do as time goes by..







Super Weekend!
90% of my time spent looking and touching Mandarin oranges!..OT for both days and did nothing but selecting oranges for customers...haha

Well..seems i am given OIC for sales display & operations of the oranges, I would have to be committed to it then..Its a good chance to perform though..haha ... i would want a gd rating and gain "points" from this challenge!..heee
However, seems that i am not well supported though..quite tough without extra help and as time goes by..and more customers pouring in .. problems in satisfying those oranges-hungry customers would be a headache...
Sighzzz..*think think think....

Well..on the whole its great to be getting this chance to call the shots..haha
I am not power-hungry but it really triggers one to think how to smoothen process..
Which i have a problem with the current staff..they do things which look simple at first but will cause problems later on which they do not need to face...well..and they draw lines between their jobscope very clearly...sighzzz

With my coming days look to be spent withmy dearest oranges ... haha...
i shall wish that there would be less rotten oranges to throw..becos some are really so "odourful" that when i reach home..i still can smell it from my clothes..haha
DUN WORRY! ... FAIRPRICE Oranges are safe..esp J8 becos i go thru them one by one!..Guarenteed! haha

lcH was HERE at
11:10 pm

As my title denotes..i really take my hats off FATE..becos today seems to have been pre-planned to make me test my limit of patience, EQ, luck and endurance.. Never have i been tested so much on the emotional side of me..maybe sometimes..but it has been a long time since i have felt so pek chek in one day...Phew...

The bike was with me as i need it for wat was a well-planned seamless route for the day... Sudden change was to dongbang my mum to Cineleisure for work..well..
which after some discussion Mother and Son went to Sungei Rd to buy our HengHua "ShouMian" meant for CNY.. The trip there was fine ..
Next was the problem coming up...i think it is quite simple to have go from SimLim Tower to Orchard..BUT i really dunno wat the heck my brain cannot work out the map in my mind...i started to turn as and when my hunch told me... ended up in places like Newton/Mt Sophia/ Selegie..i know Selegie is close to Orchard already..somehow my mind still wanted to find that freako expressway to get to Orchard..simply becos i dun want to stop at junctions..

The fact that i started to get disappointed and sianzzz cos i can't get a way out..and further agitated by those cars' horns as i believed i had been quite undecided on the road due to I AM STILL LOOKING FOR THAT FREAKO WAY OUT OF THAT FREAKO PLACE!..
Haha..well..finally..i found something..PIE(SLE)..haha..wat the heck..jus go.. Of course..i know thats the way back home..well..wat to do..i am officially declared myself missing..safest way is to go onto some route i am most confident about...
Finally..out of AMK Ave 1 and up back towards City to reach Orchard..
Time taken = 1HR (on the road continuous!)
Normally, a dramatic day dun end this way..becos theres more to come..

Next was to go down to ALB in CCK, meeting up wif William to pick up some stuff and have a kopi and chat too... Simple - I miss that Mandai exit too..becos it was my 1st time going futher up than my Yishun exit...sighzzz..atfer that was another U-turn to get down to CCK..
Finally..ended up at CCK and time was quite early still..Went to walkwalk in Lot1 - supppose to add shopping for shoes(for work) and clothes(for CNY)..so park in Lot1 carpark and went shopping...

After all was done - thus ready to meet William, getting out of that carpark was simple..however the common cashcard problem struck...can any1 believe it..even little cashcard also wanna play punk..for dunno wat reason..only till many cars started to Q behind me then the reader reads my card..kaozzz...! For that short route to ALB - the engine stalled a couple of times...WALIAO!!!.. NOthing is going right till this point of time...

Well..then met up with William and down came procurement pple too..for tea break..nice to see them again after my departure from there though.. Heard that a Indian will be taking over me..haha..phew..after CNY.. On the way home..the engine problem came again..and one of them was when the lights turned GREEN!...decided to go home straight to cool down with a bath 1st..before going for dinner.. SIghzzz...after so much shit today..waliao..fuming is nt the exact word to decribe already..

My hands are kindof numb right now as i think with conservative calculations .. i might have been on the road with the bike for about 3HRS at least..
Sounds cool..but well..try it with a vibrator (same logic) ..haha..sounds too vulgar.. 8X

Sighzz..nice OFF-day though..well.. if less those missing missing thingies..haha..but some are my fault la..some are fate's fault..haha Ending the day with a Hair cut and bought a KRONOS shoes for work..hmm..consider for CNY too la.. Fulfilled my objectives for the day already..well..so its rest and buck up for tmr's work..

I really muz memorise maps liao..haha(still thinking abt it..)






Cool..Just back from a football session at Bishan Park with my current collegues! ... SHIOK but comes with a price ..as i write this posting with a strained back(the disc again!) and tight muscles..
Afterall..its still fun...heee..(i know..serve me right...)

To simplify things...i woould say that i am starting to feel the heat in my job now...
To be able to lead and think of ways to up sales and smoothen operational flow is critically important..Now that CNY is inching closer and closer ..where crowd is becoming more and more each day...This yrs CNY would be my reference for wat would be my solo show next yr..haha..
Stay tuned wor!! haha
I would think that i am settling down in good shape and starting to mingle with people around..
haha..am i a nice person to mingle with..i hope so...haha

Boss is giving me quite abit of tips and advices and things that should be asked and know..which ..well..is quite relevant too..and i would say i am receiving much help..
However..kindof feeling that i am doing too much manual work..i.e. replenishement and forwarding..haha..i think i haben do much on the paper/system related stuff yet..OMG...
The point which Boss siad that HQ may transfer me away from J8 anytime after CNY adds the urgency that i need to know more ...sighzzz...2wks left nia lo...

Come to think of it..I haben buy CNY related stuff yet sia...i.e. clothes..food..blah blah...
haha...sure jialut...

I was informed abt something today..but i really cannot figure out if its really that feasible for a mototbike to go over to our friendly neighbour's place for replenishement of petrol..i think the journey back to Yishun would use up abt 1/5 to 1/8 tank ba...sighzzz..
So hua suan meh...ahyooo...

Back to relac for morning shift tmr liao...
Phew..Those Mandarin oranges coming! BZ BZ BZ...
Welcome to J8 for them if u see this..haha! I shall pick the best for ya....(Its my job and u get the service wor..!)

Finally..the long-awaited OFF day is here!

Nothing fantastic was planned though - but i wanted to go down Bugis to take a peek at the arcade Bball Challenge thingy (think its an event link to the upcoming Bball movie of Jay Chou)..upon reaching - saw nothing but some ..eh...nt very pro pple playing..so i suppose the "challenge" had ended..
I am nt very pro myself though but 300+ is nt very hard for me (aka 70%)

In the end, went walkwalk shopshop with JY and the fact that from the BJ side wanting to cross over to BugisStreet is damn scary enuf..pple are still wanting to squeeze into that poor little "island" transit point in the middle of the road! Well..cannot blame..if u dun move..u might never..
It has been ages since i step into BugisSt but i really did not expect TO HAVE SO MANY PPLE!
Is this the norm for a Sunday afternoon? - well maybe a mountain tortise like me cannot understand..
It was exceptionally hot down there in the 1st level and changed only for the slightest better when we went up to the 2nd level...
A disappointment for me though as i dun really appreciate those fashion there and i cannot link them up with CNY appropriate attire...So it simply means i need another session to go and source for apparels...

Next was down to ChinaTown to get those CNY goodies..looking at scenario i dun think i can afford time like previos yrs to go down abt 1wk b4 to get some gd bargains..well..due to nature of my work lo...
So with Bugis and ChinaTown not too far away..decided to pop over to ChinaTown and ....
IT WAS STILL ALOT OF PPLE!
Well..i really tot it could have been lesser as i tot i have been quite early this yr..3wks b4 is already a record for me...
Shopping ard for new stuff..clothes..food..blah blah..
Something new this yr seems to be nuts from Taiwan and mochi from Japan..hmmm..i was still the Taiwan muachee mindset but decided not to as i expect Northpoint to have some cheap buys when CNY draws closer..haha..(the aunty in me is quite obvious.._)

So it was a long but comfortable bus ride home to reccuperate for work tmr....
ChyeSim, XiaoBai, LongBeans, DragonFruits, Apples, Oranges ..here i come..haha









Somewat unfortunate happened that one of the collegue left us in a most unwanted manner...
I may not have know her but actually knowing this person and seeing her b4..yet to mingle but knowing she is within the community is somewat sad though, after knowing her some of background...
Well..juz hope tat all's over and may she pass on in peace..

As today marks the unofficial completion for attachment to Meat/Frozen Sections, i somehow cannot really find much to have been learnt under the mentor-ship of AngTeoh ... she seems less proactive in the jobscope-related stuff...perhaps update me more on the soft issues of managing the dept..
Just knew today that she had abt 10yrs of experience in this line..no doubt i respect that but it seems that i did not received much from her though..
Well..some of the staff reverted her way of running things which i shall nt interfere...however to me she isnt too bad afterall but somewat not really contented as 2wks has mostly been beef-sale at the counter..
However, maybe one of the betta things was to get to know the aunties of the dept thought...they are certainly quite nice to mingle with ...

Next week shall be Fruit/Vege Sections under another Mentor - Han...i will need much of his help thought as i feel what i know now is certainly nt enuf to run a dept yet...
Need to buck up...






Surprisingly receive a couple of SMSes from Mr Wo & Kelvin asking abt me...haha..which was quite heartwarming though..as pple still remember my existence ..i hope i have been a nice person and collegue to trigger such a gesture...

Was chating with my SO abt customer service - about how Singaporeans value so much abt pple serving them..saying "hellos" and "thank-yous" ... giving product info... blah blah..
Of course, as a customer - u are entitled to good service and relevant assistance.. however for the past 2wks i have collated quite a bit of customers for their unreasonable requests and attitude...
With now so much being emphasised on provision of customer service..abt how to serve pple..and i was thinking does a customer know how to be served? Do they know how to carry themself and feel grateful or at least respect the one serving them...?
While we have GEMS(Go the Extra Mile Service - i think so!) for customer service personnel to teach pple..
would customer need some training also to know how to treat pple like us...hee? Just a sudden thought..

With the completion of the cashiering course..finally Mgr Ma throw yet another bomb..to go and experience cashiering after CNY! - 15Feb to be exact - so i shall be attached to cashiering for maybe about a week..as SOP states that OJT requires a TL to do 40hrs of cashiering - perhaps to understand the pain and misery for our fellow cashiers...
Thus, it literally means that i will still be at J8 at least till Feb..sounds gd but nt all gd though..

Another afternoon shift awaits tmr .. till Fri to be exact...
ZzzzzZzzzz...










For the umpteenth time, pple is asking me, "How old are you..?"
With my standard reply of being 23 yo, there can be few scenarios that will continue from the conversation, but is really sick of having to answer them the following:

"Oh, you are very young, why dun u go study somemore? Then u can advance further..."

To be fair, they dun really know my background and me well enuf though, so the standard for youngsters nowadays seems to be Diploma->NS->Degree kindof journey. I do have many friends out there also on this kindof plan..well certainly they do have some of the factors that i might not - time/money/interest/commitment. I really hope that pple can stop advising me or enquire me on why i dun wanna that seemingly de facto route for pple nowadays.

Frankly speaking, studies is now one of the lowest thing in my list now as i embark further in my working life. I have no problem in working hard for $$$. Just like in army therom -the Specs & Officers. I would rather be a Spec (though lower ranking and tougher) than an officer. I would prefer the hands-on approach much more than sitting in office to give instructions. Well, i dun deny other factors too..

I am not sure, but i dun deny the fact that degree grads would definitely have a higher basic pay as a start, but as i contemplate the plan of working hard enuf for the no. of yrs while they study and thru pay increment - would i be on par with them too?? heee...
Well, as i still will laugh it off when i am on the ground and the fellow collegues thought i was a "XiaoDi" working during the holidays and further affirmed when a customer also asked me whether i am a student, I think if i am able to hit it off in this retail service line, i can possibly do wat not many pple can do - i am one level away from managing a small branch entirely - and i see it as my next goal! haha

However, from past experience..some old and experienced will have the kindof remark in their mind, "So young, just becos you got a cert and you think you know everything..."
From the very unpleasant experience in the past, i think i have shown much more as a 18 yo and taking charge of a dept. Although it was easier back then with not so much of ISO-related procedures, i think i am proud of wat i did as i compared myself to my friends ard. I learnt everything the hard way though, from hand -carry gds, pulling pallets, 32hrs non-stop(during CNY) ... well i juz wanna say not all youngsters are pple who dunno everything...

As a 23 yo this time and back into this line, to lead a dept. and perhaps at least 10pple would be tough..of course its another challenge and i would have to work for the respect pple give me..thru my performance and capability...

Phew, i think subconsciously i am quite put off by pple asking me that - as i look thru all the comments above..it seems quite long sia! haha..
I hope i have lesser of those advices from pple though..haiyooo..
Do i really have the boy-face? hmmm..maybe go and grow some moustache to act old abit..haha






From wat i see..everything seems to be on track for a possible smooth track in my choosen retail/service path..i am slowly adapting to all the differences from the purchaser job, i.e. timing, environment, jobscope etc.
And Mr Dennis Ma finally threw the bomb - to be able to run the dept by end Feb! Great - now i muz be more pro-active in my work already..less of selling beef but more into wat a TL really need to do...
Not very surprised by that as a target is inveitable and i think i wun have much problem..i juz need guidance and teachings to proceed to do what needs to be done...
We shall see - Mid Feb shall be my own target!

Was at Dempsey yesterday with HY & Angie for a chill-out session yesterday..i was quite interested with the Dempsey Hill thingy with the bars, restaurants kindof environment all in one area..the website portrayed a very nice feeling and seems quite cool though..
A B&J ice-cream session was decided and i tot B&J was not too bad..the only time i had couple of bites of B&J was sooo long ago..and it was a 1st in their restaurant though..the environment was nice for a chill-out chit chat session...Shortlist for future army/dining sessions...haahaa
The trip continued with "their" shopping at FarEast and surprised to see SiewNgoh & Dennis at a shoe shop...hearing the long-nv-heard "lau chin hock" in that "tone" and i turned to see that long nv see face..she slimmed down quite abit though..has been 2yrs since i last saw her ba..haha..
I too walked ard in that place and did not really see anything to my liking..though as general knowledge on how the teens nowdays fashion is all about...

Back to FPTI for the Cashier course ... well..i was one of the 2 guy for todays class..the other was a yr91(17yo) boy...well gen gap lo..haha..could not really click with any1 though..well..seriously need to get back to the skills of "hello aunty/uncle" days..haha..

As i look forward to the coming days ahead..highlight would be the one long stretch of afternoon shifts next wk..(hurray!) and the Sunday OFF day! .. But time is tight..less than a month to CNY - i might have to do more as the job now does not allow dilly-dallying..planning for a ChinaTown session soon for goodies procurement...the public is welcome to join! ..






Sighzz..cannot sleep leh..how ar..

Tomorrow morning on course somemore...Queenstown!!!!?


Just saw an email from my ex-collegue..with pic taken whilst i was on bike..well..haha..indeed..quite well taken ..perhaps becos of the rider..haha(pengz)

Looks funny to see yourself on bike though...haha...









Phew...it has been tiring for the past few days...
Back to shift-work life perhaps need some time to adapt back...

Practically doing nothing much except for the morning peak hours dealing with meat preparation..doing counter sales and packing fish and meat...
Other than that, its was mingling with pple of the dept..walking ard the chiller display...and recapping the items bit by bit...
I get the delightness when serving the customers and giving them info abt the foodstuff..(maybe i am crazy) well..i like it when they thank you for your service though...Still trying to build up my product knowledge...
Perhaps being TeamLeader is not supposed to hands on the replenishment..as i feel kindof awkward when pple see me with a different view when i offered my help ... hmmm..perhaps kindof taking their job away kindof thing..
Well..basically TL deals with operational stuff..paperwork..decision-making..blah blah..in short..responsible for things that happen within your dept...(phew....)

As more info is being pumped to me on the responsibilities of a TL..i feel that its more and more challenging though..with authority given..you are to ensure your dept perform..and how u do it is another thing...well..we shall see when i get my permanent branch...

Just back from a 7am shift on a Sunday morning..well..i might need a rest as it has been 2yr+ since i was on shift-work thingy...haha...
Hope for the best to come in the days ahead!...Blessings welcomed..haha






Yoohooo...i am back to my "playground" - a place where i can see pple..see items...see many things moving abt...heee..the "smell" of a supermarket is back to haunt me..haha..
The path i chose and very willingly wanna move on .. has began..

As usual la..oritentation on the 1st day is quite norm..
However, i can feel the Manager has quite abit of resemblence to SPS in STLog..haha..The way he speak and the style and the attitude...
So indeed..i will be doing Freshfood - inclusive of Fish/Poultry/Beef/Pork/Egg/Bread/Dairy/Frozen/Fruits/Vege...its big and massive...excited abt the jobscope and workload i will be taking soon..haha(in other place)..
Quite obvious that i would be posted elsewhere most probably..cos theres no opening for me at J8..everything is quite established already..i am picking up the roots though to apply them in my own branch soon..(hopefully) - rumours are Downtown East has a new branch coming up..its exciting..!!

Was attached to ham counter today .. well..got hands-on to cutting hams..haha..getting to know hams and bacons..The aunties were quite nice..and from there i began to mingle to customers again..
However, it has really been soooo long since i get to stand for 8hrs a day..haha
Its part of the job though..so no complains...

Understanding the operations and the facility ard was a little eye-opener...everything was of course more established than ABC days..of course i had more freedom back then..i called the shots ..haha..but i had to be responsible for all that i did ...

Well..for here..a TL's role would more be like a PC..(if BM is the OC..haha).. u have to assign duties to pple..ensuring things are done correctly and appropriately..its not so manual as i tot..as i see quite abit of admin/planning/scheduling work involved..
We shall see from tmr onwards as i embark this journey on...

Time to koon.....






Hohoho...Yr 2008 has arrived...!

Just back from my "celebration" and i simply cannot sleep..
Was telling and asking alot of pple how they celebrate their countdown though ..haha..in the end i settled for the by default..eat supper..went beach-seeing...biking ard yishun ..haha..

Well..May all whoeva see this be blessed with my blessings..haha..gd luck to all my frends around..may u get wat u want ...!

My resolutions for the Yr 2008:
1. My Own Bike (if i need it for the new job)
2. Camera Phone
3. Clear all my debts (if not majority)
4. Settle down on my job

Monetary support welcomed too for the above..haha..

Die liao..i think i might have problem in sleeping..sleeping disorder..cos i still dunno why i cannot slp...
Then tomorrow daytime i sure shag till siao...
Becoming an active-by-night creature liao..haha..
Need to move to Night Safari liao..heee