Build "Repo"

I have been called into my boss room to have a chat yesterday.

Prior to this i have been warned by one of my colleague that i should be aware (in which i did) of my subordinate's "small gesture" and i actually see this coming.

My boss is of the opinion that i am not "approachable" and hence cannot work together as a team. He said i should spend some time to have a drink with my subordinates on a Friday night to build my reputation among my subordinates.

The fact is, i don't think having a drink with my subordinates on a Friday night is part of my work. This should never be the only reason why my subordinates are able to "gel" (as in my boss terminology) with me.

I always thought that a certain distant need to be maintained between superior and subordinate. We are all employees of the same company and we received salary every month in exchange for work done. We are just doing our work, nothing more.

Am i the boss who own the company? No. Do i get anything more than my salary if my department is able to do more files? No. Then i am of no different from them except that i might ranked slightly higher than them with a room of my own.

Does that mean i need to hang out with them on a Friday night to build up my so-called "reputation" among my subordinates? I don't think so. We are all, in fact, sitting in the same sampan whereas my boss is sitting in a cruise. I don't think i am very different from them.

With this, it really gets me thinking... am i being employed to do sales and marketing (even among my subordinates), as opposed to clerical work? I never believe in colleague = friend. Colleague can never become friend because tension and conflict in workplace will always come between colleagues.

Maybe next time my boss should ask this question during an interview for my post: Do you drink? Do you hang out at pub during weekend?

Then my answer would be: I drink and hang out at pub occasionally but only with certain people in which i am comfortable with and people that i called "friend".

With this, i am not going to change myself just to please my subordinates because this is not something that i believe in. Different boss might have different way of dealing with people but what my boss advocating is definitely not something that i would do.

你也不过是个旅客

有“紧张大师”之称的著名导演希区柯克有次在苏格兰山区迷了路。

不知走了多久才在漆黑的夜空见到一盏灯火。

他定睛一看：原来是一户人家，立刻兴奋地奔上前去。

“我家又不是旅店！” 屋主听到他所提出借宿一晚的要求后，立刻板着脸拒绝。

“我只要问你3个问题，就可以证明这屋子就是旅店！” 他笑着说道。

“我不信，倘若你能说服我，我就让你进门。” 屋主也爽快回答。

“在你以前谁住在此处？” “家父！”

“在令尊之前，又是谁当主人？” “我祖父！”

“如果阁下过世，它又是谁的呀？” “我儿子！”

“这不就结了！” 导演笑道，“你不过是暂时居住在这儿，也像我一样是旅客。”

结果，当晚他就在屋里舒舒服服地睡了一觉。

人生如白驹过隙，在历史长河中每个人都如匆匆的过客。

Nescafe

I have always like to compare products from different countries.

Here, you can see Nescafe can drinks from three different countries, namely Malaysia, Hong Kong and Korea.

The Korea Nescafe can drink was bought from Malaysia at a Korean Grocery Store whilst the Hong Kong Nescafe can drink was bought from Hong Kong which (if not mistaken) costs me double the price in Malaysia.

All of them tasted essentially the same, but i find that our Nescafe tasted slightly sweeter as compared to the rest.

Here, you can see Nescafe sachets from South Africa.

These were provided by some of the hotels in South Africa to their hotel guests.

You can see the word "special filtre" on their packaging.

The last two sachets are Nestle creamer, which are known as Cremora creamer in South Africa.

Noisy Wedding Dinner

One of our Indian neighbour downstairs is having a wedding dinner near the entrance of our block.

The tents have been set up one day in advance and the stage is extremely grand.

They have rented 2 BIG speakers and they have been very NOISY for the past 2 hours since 7.30pm.

Those songs played by the sound system is very LOUD and is akin to an EARTHQUAKE.

On top of that, they also play fireworks similar to those we see during countdown party in the town.

Although its of a smaller scale, the noise is ear-piercing as the fireworks were released in close proximity to my unit.

I cannot understand those people... just because they are having fun, the whole block of residents have to suffer.

I felt like i am in a club right now... the noisy bass is disturbing my heartbeat... WTF!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone... Ha Ha Ha!

Thrust or Trust

Every now and then, i would come across some correspondence with spelling errors all over the place.

This is just one of those silly mistakes which brighten up my boring day.

The person who signed this letter is a manager and he must have had a bad English teacher.

Benefits of Drinking Tea

By now you've probably heard that tea is a great mood booster, stress reliever and all-round master of making you feel Zen. Tea can improve some areas of life that mean the most - your job, your skin, your finances and your confidence.

Landing a Job

Tea obviously cannot walk into your job interview and force the Human Resource representatives to hire you on the spot, but it can increase awareness and alertness, without the jitteriness coffee often causes. The morning of your interview, sip on a cup of tea to perk up without suffering an energy crash mid-interview.

A Raise or Promotion

The secret of calmness could land you your own promotion or even a raise. Those who have a tendency to stay calm under pressure and not fly off the handle are often the first ones to be brought up when it comes to time for a promotion.

A Flawless Face

Tea is full of antioxidants that detox your skin and fight against free radicals (basically, the annoying factors that make your skin age). Tea also contains rooibos, which is full of Vitamin C, Zinc and Magnesium. These are three big factors known to improve complexion and promote healthy skin.

A Positive Outlook

Don't sneer at the bubbly girl at the coffee shop everyone is drawn to - become her. To reap the benefits of a mood-stabilizing tea, pick one with a high concentration of L-theanine. This little miracle worker also helps your body strengthen its immune system, which is why you never see the bubbly coffee shop girl with a cold.

P/s: The above Golden Pekoe Tea was bought from South Africa and was told that it's famous among the locals.