my brother is due for an operation...

... for his broken ligaments in his legs on Dec 5. how i knew was through email sent by my father:

Operation is scheduled on the morning of 5 Dec 2005. Hospitalization stay is approx. 2 days. I am taking leave on the 5/12/2005 as I have to sign the deposit charge. We may require to take leave to settle his lunch after his discharge. Alternatively, I may ask my mother to assist.

formal email with with clear instructions to all. no casual addresses to me, my mom, my grandma and my brother. it was sent to my bro, cc-ed to me and my mom, with proper attachment of the documents. i'm sure if my grandma is tech-savvy enough, he'll keep her in the loop instead of calling her. he signed off with "best regards", along with full name, designation, and contacts.

i replied him my proposal to how to fetch my brother. he was in my room at that time.

cool. i always knew my family is a tad different from the regular ones.

goods news!!

yesterday, one of the fools from HQ left our little family for another.

to commemorate this special day, i put together some of the conversations i have to put through with her:

#1: "11 months shipment is more that 12 months shipment"

me: and "FY05 Note" is the full year actuals?
the fool: not full year actuals, ABC is July forecast figures for full year supplied by C, others are Aug YTD multiplied by 12/11.
me: therefore "FY05 Note" is annualized?
the fool: yes
me: then how come the annualized figure is less than Aug YTD for ABC?
the fool: ABC is July forecast figures for full year supplied by C (she actually reiterated the point like i'm the fool)
me: oic... he just supplied 252K is it? which is less than330K, which is ABC's shipment up to Aug? (i'm mocking her)
the fool: during July forecast , yes. (it was already September, why she used an outdated forecast which did not make sense does not make sense to me either)

#2: "SEA task uploaded in system, but not in SEA"

me: regarding the change in plan from 5278K to 5223K
me: you mentioned that it was per K's email*
me: but per system, it is still 5278K
the fool: because, D asked me to adjust it in Asia Pacific task level*
me: since it is AP task, it won't be uploaded to the system?
the fool: it is uploaded to system, but just not in SEA. you know, SEA has 4 countries, how to allocate?
me: since it is only 55K out of 5278K, why not allocate proportionately? (actually i meant to say since it was only 55K, why waste time with a task? D's a fool too.)
the fool: I have to follow my boss' instructions*

#3: this is my favourite

the fool: Can I call you up now?
the fool: sorry, are u still there?
the fool: hello?


well, P, if you're reading this, you know i'm just playing. haha.


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* blind followers doing things without understanding are also fools. but i must admit, it's pretty convenient. for queries you can't answer, just blame the boss.

faux pas - part ii

this time the faux pas was not committed by me. it was my boss.

we were going through my performance review yesterday when he wanted to share something personal with me. he started off saying something like: "this is off the records. i'm sharing this with you as a fri..." before he stopped short and said "as a co-worker" instead.

hmm... i wonder how i should take this. i postulate:

1) he's the regional director, therefore it is necessary for someone his position not to get too personal with his direct reports.
2) he feels that there's no such thing as friendship in the office, therefore it will actually sound insincere to call me a friend.
3) friendship to him means much more, therefore the term "friend" is not to be used too loosely.
4) i'm female, he's male, therefore there no such thing as platonic friendships between opposite sexes.

i'm taking it too seriously... hahaha

life mysteries - "鱼圆" or "鱼丸"?

i was walking back to my office after lunch one day when i noticed a fish ball noodle stall.

the stall's board wrote: "鱼丸麵".

the question: is it "鱼圆麵" or "鱼丸麵"?

faux pas - part i

i made a faux pas yesterday, thanks to my lousy memory (again).

i noticed a 'batman begins' poster outside a vcd shop, and without thinking, i asked my boyfriend if he watched the movie before.

"huh?!?!?" he looked at me, appalled.

it was the very first movie we watched together.

the most dangerous fools are those who think they are not

yesterday, i had an encounter with one.

i had difficulty breathing. i thought i was going to have a heart attack.

an approx. 5 min conversation with this fool shortens life considerably, units = days. and i tried to talk to him for almost 20 min. my time and life wasted on a fool.

the repercussions are unimaginable. i'm still thinking about it now.

aaargh.

i went to Beyond...

...The Story Live 2005 concert yesterday. i don't really know much of their songs. i went to experience the mood, for fun, and it was the very last time they are performing as Beyond*.

during one part of the concert, in memory of Ka Kui, they showed a short excerpt of some appearances he made, but mostly of the things he said before.

some of his words that strike a chord in me are:

"to me, music is not entertainment. it has to be appreciated. music is an art."

and also,

"i can't imagine one day without music. i really can't imagine the world without music. without music, i would die. i would really die."

words from a person who had passion. his passion was so strong it lives till today. so strong i feel wrong using the past tense. and it is shared with the rest of band members and fans.

his passion moves me. because i have none. and because i've never met a person passionate about anything before. i trudged through my life doing what is expected of me. or to pursue materialistic things to match the monetary status of others. i say what i want to do without true conviction burning from the bottom of my heart. those are "dreams" i chased with "short-lived passion".

if i really have passion, it won't be short-lived.


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*mostly because it was free

quote of the moment

That's the penalty we have to pay for our acts of foolishness -- someone else always suffers for them. --- Alfred Sutro

bad customer service - part i*

scenario:

last weekend, i went to a thai restaurant for dinner with my boyfriend. it was very crowded, so we had to queue.

we only waited for a while. soon, we were led to one of the tables. A waiter was still cleaning it with a cloth before laying the table. the waitress stood there with us.

while i was waiting, one of the waiter asked me to excuse him, indicating me to give way.

fool analysis:

fool #1: the waitress. she shouldn't have led us in while her co-worker was still cleaning the table. don't let your customers wait like fools, alongside with you.

fool #2: the waiter cleaning the table. he was made to join the ranks by the waitress. he shouldn't let us wait. he should clean faster, at approx. flash speed. and his butt was facing me. offensive. oh yes, and he made a remark. he asked the waitress why she was so eager to let us in. such remarks should not be heard by the customers. it degrades the team. also, she's eager to let us in cos she didn't want us to wait outside for long. the onus is on you, waiter. you should clean faster.

fool #3: the waiter who got excused by me. never ask your customer to give way. take another route. otherwise, don't say excuse me. i won't excuse you. maybe smile or say something friendly or apologetic. anything but ask me to excuse you in a deadpan tone, when i'm already standing there waiting for your fellow fool to finish cleaning the table, and feeling like a fool myself. therefore don't make it worse by making me feel like an obstacle as well.

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*part i cos i foresee more to come. esp from a country like mine**, and especially from a consumer like me

**surprisingly, we were ranked 6th in the world for good customer service. i can't imagine what the rest of the world have to put up with

i started this blog to...

... create a virtual dumping ground to air all my views, before i suffocate my mates. i still need them around to listen.

so there. fools@work.