Phew....

you know how it feels to face something tough and dreading the moment to it?

i had this thing and while i know i have done my very best, it's hard to gauge expectations when you are given no indication or benchmarking. i was pretty much alone and had to simply figure it out. the figuring out wasn't the hard part, it is knowing whether what i figured out is actually correct or not; that was tough.

anyways, i received my feedback and boy, i'm relieved its over. and no, i didnt lose any sleep on it but i dislike questioning myself again and again, making sure, double checking, triple checking and if i do it anymore, i'm the new obsessive compulsive in town.

i can breathe more easily now. PHEW.... boy, am i glad it is over.

if you're wondering why am i being so vague about this thing, well, that's coz, i dont even know if i'm suppose to talk about it. while its technically not really personal but when there is a blur line, i'd keep it vague. bear with me wont you?

looking forward to a relaxing weekend with great food!

Open for Business

I finally received my business card today. It was placed right there on my desk, a nice present after a solid good friday lunch. Yippee! Now I get to exchange cards when I’m out, how awesome is that, so proper, business and executive like. Let’s see who will be the lucky one to get my first card. I have a feeling this will happen very soon.

PS: For those who are attending the Silent Halloween Nuffnang-Nokia party tmrw night, have a blast. It is unfortunate i'll be outstation. Enjoy!

Office Runway

To beat any possible office blues, I take small pleasure in dressing up for work. I believe when you look good, you feel good and that translates into productive work leading to a great day. Everytime I walk into the ladies, I flash a bright smile at the floor-to-ceiling mirror which I totally heart. No matter how boring or busy the day is, to see the reflection of a nice top, well matched belt, butterfly ring on my finger or scarf around my neck is bound to make me feel happy again. So no surprise I flash another smile at myself before exiting. But really, I can’t help it. If that’s one of the small little things that make my day, I don’t see why I shouldn’t enjoy it.

There is a secretary in my office who is immaculately dressed everyday. In fact, I admire her sense of dress, style, colour coordination, everything! She can go from sheer minimalist to pure extravagant and yet has never once looked over-the-top or tacky. I think she’s gotten down the art of dressing up at the back of her hand.

She’s another one of the reasons why I feel looking good makes a fantastic day. She’s never without her smile, very cheerful, positive, helpful and excellent at her job. I have yet to see her having a bad day. Of course I’m not implying that because a person dressed well doesn’t have a bad day but if you can find that one thing to cheer you up, it becomes less stressful.

So here I am, absorbing the runway (aka the corridor) to see what she has to sashay for day. I take in small pointers from her and store them in my mind. If I see something similar which could match my outfit, I know how to style it up. Now, who says office is all about work?

Office Refurbishment

Due to the number of newcomers in the office, we have ran out of workstations for everyone resulting in some of us having to share spaces. Therefore, during the weekend, my wing of the floor underwent a refurbishment to rearrange the furniture and resize the workstations to accommodate everyone.

When I came in, I noticed I now have neighbours on my right, left and behind. I no longer face the corridor to the ladies and am not seated at the secretary’s spot. But asides all that, my workstation has also shrank!

There were a number of complaints over the smaller area we now have especially those who have a large number of things. Moving cubicles is like moving house for some and I kid you not when I say my colleagues have the same amount of things I had when I moved to KL!

My cubicle has gone from a 4x5 panels to 3x4 but I have no complaints coz my old space was huge and very under utilized. At least now I don’t feel so small surrounded by so much blank space because the size is just right for me.

I also love love love my new spot because I’m no longer isolated. Those around me are friendly, cheerful and helpful. The mornings are the best when everyone comes in, says good morning very brightly, checks on each other to make sure we’re all set for the day and starts working. It’s pretty nice being where loads of exciting things takes place. Gosh, how left out I am for the last 6 weeks!

A shocking discovery

2 days ago, my collegue came up to me all excited to tell me a story of how much I remind her of her good friend's daughter. The part where we're tall, thin and have similar features are pretty usual to me. A lot of people have told me that I remind them of someone they know - sibling, friend, classmate, neighbour's sister-in-law's uncle's daughter's niece's godsister, you know the whole works. I either look like someone, or sound like someone. I'm already beginning to think how common I am, no special factor :(.

Anyways, the last portion of the story was the most interesting bit. "Asides all that (tall, thin, similar features), you both are quiet." I looked at her all stunned, shock written all over my face and then quickly covered it with a smile before she noticed.

Quiet? Like seriously? How is that possible? I can bet a gazzilion pounds that all my friends and family members will never use the adjective quiet to describe me. Because i'm not. What they would say is this, "Oh, that girl ah, she can talk non-stop wan. Mouth never get tired at all"

Why do you think this blog is called the Mouth Marathon? Simply because it describes me pretty accurately. I'm talkative, bubbly, highly excitable and should never be seen high with coffee.

Episode 2 happened yesterday. Another colleague came over and said this, "You're very quiet aren't you? No work also quiet, now got work, you've become even quieter". I just nodded with my head exploding - QUIET??!!

Well, that shows how much people in office know me huh? I brought it up with a friend and there's 3 ways of looking at it.
1. You could be quietly productive, get your work done excellently and the boss knows it.
2. You are quiet but people mistake that for unfriendliness or even arrogance.
3. A bit of both.

In my defense, I am indeed quieter in the office because everyone else is. I'm seated at the corner so I do not have neighbors on my right. Behind me is a whole wall of cabinets and a printer. The corridor opposite me leads to the pantry and the ladies room. The person to my right is an extremely busy manager who is hardly around. And this person is around the 40's. What am i going to talk about - wife/husband and kids? So you see, there is no one really to talk to nor do people come up to talk to me.

But please, I'm not quiet nor arrogant, just a tad quieter. Get to know me a little better and trust me, you'll be in for a pleasant surprise.

So what am i? The selective speaker. *winks*

Sleep Sleep Go Away

Seriously, I’m dying of boredom. Asides attending 3 meetings and consolidating data for a document, I’ve been doing nothing but reading manual after manual after manual. And these manuals are not designed to keep me awake. Reading them is akin to reading an entire textbook filled with technical jargon.

I’m not saying that the manuals are not educational. To the contrary, I’ve actually picked up a lot of information of what my group and department does as a whole, the systems in place utilized to help one another etc. but seriously, if I had to read another manual, I’m not so sure if I can keep sane anymore! It is becoming a very conscious effort to stay awake in the world of terminologies and thousands of acronyms.

For crying out loud, just give me something to photostate or type or something. I’d rather do clerical work even than to be staring at Arial font size 11, single spacing, justified paragraphs of my manuals.

Sigh… someone pray I don’t nod off. Or if I do, then pray nobody sees me.

The Moi Who Didn’t Fast

I wanted a change in outfit from the usual corporate wear so I donned a baju kurung instead today. Wearing the usual slacks, skirts and collared shirts are getting a little too routine so I decided to throw something traditional in to spice things up.

And the reaction it got me was rather amusing especially from those working in my department, which I have decided to name the Prefect Board. I’ll get to its name in another post yeah. So many people were excited to see a non-malay wearing a baju kurung and I had quite a number of compliments on how nice my baju kurung is.

Inside I was chuckling coz I only have 2 baju kurungs in my entire wardrobe and this is a really old one which had made not more than 5 appearances since 5 years ago when I bought it. In fact, it is an extremely simple outfit, nothing fancy and I know how much nicer my colleagues baju kurungs look like.

The best part is I got loads of people outside my department confused as I unashamedly ate my tuna sandwich at the pantry without any guilt or remorse. You see, they actually thought I was malay girl! I even heard two ladies whispering to each other about me not fasting (quite kepo huh don’t you think?) until someone said I’m not malay. And when I went for lunch at the nearby foodcourt, I could feel dagger stares penetrating through my thin and tiny frame for queuing for food.

When the office boy left for home (those fasting leave at 4pm), he turned around and said “Moi, jangan lupa buka puasa tau.” There you go; a supposed Chinese girl in a baju kurung not fasting. Hang on, I look Chinese?? *puzzled*

The Work Force

It’s my second day of work and there’s really little going on for me to talk about. I’m in a group of 5 people with me as the only girl. I have a Boss, his boss whom I call the Big Boss is a strict-looking lady but since I’m not reporting to her, I hope I don’t have to bee worried too much. And then there is the Big Boss’s boss I call the Biggest Boss. I have yet to meet the last two individuals. Those with the title Big in front are very busy mah.

It is also an adjustment period from student life to a working adult. It sometimes slip my mind that I’m not an intern anymore like my previous working experience. This time I will be taking on more and heavier responsibilities and be accountable for a wider range of things.

Have you tried making friends with people in their 40’s and 50’s who enjoy talking about the families and kids? Trust me, I don’t relate beyond a certain extent.

I need to think of a nick name for my company and my group. To make things clearer, there are 6 groups that makes up my department so yeah. Any ideas?

Things to do

The thing about getting a job is that there are so many forms to be filled. My offer letter came with a thick wad of forms for all sorts of things like EPF, medical check-up, letter of agreement etc. It brings back memories of those days when I filled up all these forms for my sponsorship. While they are pretty easy to fill up, a lot of supporting documents are needed. And here I thought my days of making copies for my certificates and letters are over. On top of that, I'll be going back to school to get the documents certified as true original copies. I kinda pity the teacher who would be doing the certification coz his or her hand will be tired from the entire signature signing once I’m done.

Speaking of medical check-ups, it involves a blood test. Now I’m not exactly jumping up and down about this. I don’t have a fear of needles but I faint each time I draw blood and it’s a really scary feeling. I first discovered this in school when I was undergoing the Hepatitis B vaccination. Prior to that, the nurse has to take a blood sample to see if I already have the antibodies. As usual, boys were being whims (ok la, I was just in a hurry to not miss Bio class), so I was the first one. Needle in, needle out and voila, I was back in Bio Lab.

But about 10 minutes later, I started sweating profusely, I couldn’t hear a thing, the world was spinning like a never ending gasing ride and eventually everything started turning hazy white. Luckily my friend caught me right before I collapsed. This happened again when I underwent my medical check-up for uni. This time around, I was better prepared. I got my friends to stand by just in case and I made sure I sat down. True enough, I went all weak-limb about 10 minutes after the blood test. So the girl who stood before me who cried while blood was drawn gripping my hand tight till my hand turned white ended up taking care of me. The world works in strange ways sometimes.

Mum was really worried the first time around. She insisted I went to the doctor for a check-up to rule out anemia. The doctor had a good laugh at my story because apparently this situation is more prominent with the males. And that I had nothing to worry about. It happens because the mind takes more time to digest the fact that body has undergone a physical change and due to the delay, it reacts as such. So while I mentally am not afraid and am physically fine, I most likely would still pengsan. Lol.

This time around, I’m bringing Sis S along for my medical check-up. Helluva no way I wanna drive the 40 minute drive home after the blood drawing trauma.

I've Got A Job!

Yes, I'm happy to say that I will no longer be a Professional Slacker slash bummer slash unemployed because I have a job now. Ok, well at least on paper I do. I received my offer letter earlier this afternoon and much to everyone's relief (I wasn't holding my breath, had to be prepared for anything), I am posted to KL! Yippee!!!

I'll be working in the Twin Towers to boot. Woo Hoo!! I'm so very thankful that I did not get thrown into somewhere far far away. I had 5 years in a tiny town for my uni years, seriously, I could do with a metropolitan city for a change. Melaka does not count as a city, when I'm optimistic, Melaka is a town.

Speaking of which, I am now looking for a place to stay in KL. Any suggestions? A criterion is it must be located anywhere along the Kelana Jaya LRT Line as I don't own a car and would rely on public transportation to work. So Congratulations to me *beaming perasan-ly*

V’s Love for Music

Have you been in a situation where you love what you do but due to circumstances, are halted along the way? And when you were stuck, did you wish you had someone to help you out?

Well, this is the situation a dear friend of mine is in. V’s love of music is much bigger than his body can contain. He was studying engineering at one point of time but felt his calling for music much greater and left to pursue his dreams. Along the way, he met with constant challenges but never once did he give up.

After loads of hard work and toil, he finally had his dream job of managing a band which is now a household name in Malaysia. Alas, his dream was cut short. A week after that, his tenant called to say he has to move out at the end of the month as she is selling the apartment. Things became from difficult to tough very quickly.

So here I am asking if anyone of you readers out there who knows or would like to hire a person who is committed, dedicated and passionate about music, managing bands and artists, who isn’t afraid of hard work and would go the extra mile to make sure he doesn’t do a good job but a Great Job.

V’s an infant in the tough and choppy music industry. He has dabbled with the trade for two years on his own and 7 months professionally. And V is currently looking for a job in this field of work. While he may lack experience, he makes it up with his enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. I have faith in what he does because he is not afraid to beat the odds.

While everyone plays it safe with professional careers which brings along the supposed stability and financial security, it is the fact that he’s doing something so different from most people I know that makes him more outstanding. V does not know I’m writing this about him but a part of me felt like I had to do something to help. I can’t just sit here doing nothing when I see so much of potential in a good friend and think what a waste to see it just go right away before my very own eyes. And I don’t really know how to help because I’m as clueless.

I recently met V up. He still maintains his optimism and passion about his dream. But that twinkle in his eyes are missing and I can tell he is concerned over what the future lays. How nice it would be if I could tell him that everything will be ok. But I can’t because I don’t know myself. Seeing him across the table with the fading glimmer of hope made me a little sad because in front of me is a person who has so much to offer and yet no path is visible at this point of time.

I’m writing this as a friend who is trying to help out another friend. I do lend my support and I cheer in all hisgood days and am around to listen on not-so-good-days. But if you dear readers do know if there are any job openings, vacancies or people who could possibly help V get a job in his much loved music industry, I will be very grateful. Do drop a comment, give me a buzz or an email. I truly appreciate it and I’m positive V would too. Because I’m sure you too have a friend who you would help out in his / her time of need. And I need your help to help my friend in his hour of need.

How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Now that I’m in a job hunt, I have to get myself prepped up for interviews. It is important to be prepared because it will show when the interviewers asks you questions and giving blank looks aint going to earn you any brownie points. When I was studying, looking for a job didn’t seem so hard. All I thought I had to do was send in my resumes to a few companies and wait for their call. Boy, I was wrong! Just sitting and waiting did not get my anywhere so a different approach has to be taken. More initiative into calling and emailing them expressing my interest works better than just waiting.

So here’s a few tips for attending interviews:

1. Resume & Cover Letter – make sure they are spelling and grammatically error free. It doesn’t give a good first impression to note mistakes on your “selling point”. This is afterall the first document the HR department receives prior to scheduling to meet you for an interview.

2. Company Background – This can be found mainly on their website. The amount of information may be overwhelming but the key items to look for is the company history (which country are they from and current headquarters) and company mission

3. Attire – dress to impress. First impressions count very heavily as you may only see your interviewer once and it’s best to create a good hence positive and lasting impression. Invest in a pair of black shoes, slacks and a good fitting collared shirt. Ties should match the attire and pls skip those sleezy smiley faces ties, those will not work! Girls, do not wear make-up 3 inches thick unless you’re applying for a job that has such requirements.

4. Be prepared with answers. Some questions will pop up and it’s best to be prepared. Popular questions include:

a) Tell us about yourself.

b) Why did you choose our organization?

c) Your strength and weaknesses

d) Why should we hire you over the next qualified person?

Answer with sincerity and while it is great to highlight on your strengths and keen interest, do not exaggerate as you may come across as a show-off or arrogant.

Well, that should set you up for a decent interview. One more very very important thing to note, Be On Time. Its alright if you’re early but never come in late. In a case of emergency, it is best to call and give them a heads up. Interviewers also have their jobs to do and can’t spend the whole day waiting. If they do and seem snappy, you know why. Good luck then!

PS: I was in the newspapers again, on New Straits Times last Saturday for the Made of Honour Premiers. Will blog bout it later :)

Unemployed? Bummer? Professional Slacker?

Now that I’m home and just recently graduated, I find it a lil tricky to classify which category do I fall into. I can’t call myself a student because I’m no longer studying. I do not have a job yet, so that makes me jobless hence unemployed. But I don’t quite like that term, it makes me appear lazy. Right now whenever someones asks, I just say, I recently graduated. But I’m sure you see the loophole in this. After say 3 weeks, being “recently graduated” will be old news and stale.

Being on holidays is too broad a term for most people especially when it comes to dad and some of the wiser generation. And saying that I’m on holidays will invite a host of questions like “How long are you planning to take your break?” “What do you plan on doing?” “Oh, is that how young people these days spend their time?” “How’s the job hunt coming along?” Seeing I’m not keen on being bombarded with so many questions, I need to find a better way around getting to what am I up to these days.

I’d like to think of myself as the bummer because that’s what I do pretty much now. I sit and bum around at home, go out occasionally, run some errands and housework here and there. I have yet to get around to teaching and volunteering yet so there’s very little to say. The word bummer has a nice ring to it. Every time I hear it, I get the visual picture of myself in a bikini lounging on a hammock by a beautiful beach wearing a beach hat tanning under the sun with my favourite book and a lunch pack tucked at the corner of my mat. Such a lovely image don’t you think so?

But a dear friend of mine who is taking a year off work came up with a more “refined” way of putting it; he calls himself the Professional Slacker! I think it’s quite brilliant though all it does is to dress up a simple term in a more fancy way. Pretty much the same way the Hygiene and Waste Management Officer actually means the garbage collector. *laughs*. I might actually pull of the Professional Slacker to tickle some funny bones when I’m in the mood of mischief.

What am I now actually? Unemployed, Bummer and a Professional Slacker. But not just that. I’m also taking a well deserved break after months of hard work and brain cracking. I would like to take this time to chill, relax and do some soul searching before I head out to the real world where harsh realities and the possible lack of no time for me might pop up more that I’d like to. I do want to give back my time at home where I’m hardly ever around all this years. Lending a helping hand to those who need some tender love, care, help, attention and guidance would be tiny way of giving back after all the showers of blessings I’ve received. To pursue things that I wanted to do but never got down to doing it. To be in my element. But most of all, to make the best of my holidays in every way possible.

The Interview

Last week, I had an email that made my heart stop. I thought there must be a serious mistake. So with my heart beating like crazy, I checked the email and to my surprise, I was called for the final stage interview with company S. Now the reason I was so surprised was because results were suppose to be out 2 weeks upon the 3^rd round of interviews (and this was in the first week of april). And since I didn’t get any reply, it was safe to assume I didn’t make it through. Furthermore, the previous interview was quite the experience to say the least.

The interview went alright. It is hard to say whether it went great, I know it didn’t go badly but I do not like being unsure. It was somewhere in the middle. Unlike Xena who managed to terrorise me, the interviewer (my potential boss) was rather nice and calm. However, his parting words struck a chord in my heart. Instead of feeling awesome, I came out with a cloud looming over my head. I didn’t feel as confident as when I entered the room. I am beginning to doubt myself. Am I giving myself too much credit all this while? Can I do this? Is the immense pressure and horrendous workload versus the good money worth it at the end of the day?

These are questions I still do not have definite answers to and I don’t like being in this situation. I like being sure and knowing things. But the vagueness of this situation is slowly eating me inside. Unlike my pet interview where I was very sure went superbly well, I can’t say the same with this interview. I am missing the WOW factor I was looking for. I just don’t know. I don’t like not knowing.

On the other hand, on the very same day, I saw something I’ve not seen in a very very long time. I liked what I saw; it has a feel good factor about it. The emotions that come with this is pretty nice. Do I see something in the future? Perhaps. But this is something I don’t mind not knowing for now. Let nature run its course and I’ll see what time brings as the future unfolds.