Greenie Friday Morn!

My mobile phone beeped as it would when a Whats App message comes in!

This is what I received….early this morning as I started work! 😀

M Says, "Care For Greenie?!"

M….my sweet kind friend had woken up early to whip up a greenie juice of bittergourd, parsely, green apples, cucumber and brocolli!!

She was asking if she could drive to my work place and plonk a  freshly whipped up juice into my hands 😀

But of course as I love M’s juice concoctions.

M knows that I do not eat well and cares about my nourishment. She is a sister that I do not have really! I feel truly blessed.

The bottle of juice lasted me the whole day with the last gulp at 6pm.

I had rescued greenie juice from the bottle 😀

Invigorating and refreshing….it kept me going all day as today, I brought very little to eat as I was too busy and tired last evening to prepare anything.

It was 2 small round slices of dark rye with alfalfa sprouts and John West tuna with capsicum and chilli base all done ready in a tin (really looks like kitty food ha ha).

I am a “big kitty”  ha ha!!

Mos Burgers…..Fast Food!

I am unsure if you have this fast food chain of “burgers” where you are.

Tonight, I decided to take my parents to try this fast food chain of “burgers”

The difference was that unlike the likes of Burger King and or McDonald’s they have both bread buns and rice patties!

I suspect it is of Japanese origin and ate once some years ago at Shaw Center, off Scotts Road, an unagi eel burger.

I enjoyed it as it fulfilled my Japanese craving of some rice and unagi eel squeezed between two tightly packed rice pattie.

Not thick rice pattie but slim and elegant to give you that right munch.

Since the nuclear reactor incident in Japan, unagi eel is off their menu.

In fact in most restaurants, unagi eel is hardly served and I miss it ;-(

My dad would never eat McDonalds as he says it is pan fried and lesser taste in quality than compared to a flame broiled Burger King Burger! LOL!

Dad must have watched too many Burger King adverts on TV!! 😂

So tonight was my dad’s big adventure. He chose Ebi Burger.

Dumbo me who speaketh no Nippon is like parlaise vous Francaise…thought it was “fish” till luckily I asked and was told it was a shellfish…a prawn paste pattie!!

I settled for Yakiniku…slices of beef with rice pattie prepared with a lovely japanese seasoning. Bits of veggies like lettuce, bok choy was in the concotion. Yummy!!😍

Mum had shrimps with her rice pattie and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Both of them shared a cup of clam chowder.

I ordered a side of salad, apple pie bits made in little puffs of apple pie filling that gave one bite, no more.

$2.10 for 4 bites which fitted us 3 well with an extra bite for me as I walked close to 5,000 steps today. Hooh Yah!! 🙂

For drinks mum and I had hot lemon tea unsweetened and dad had iced lemon tea!

The bill came up to $28.45!

Economically priced and something new I felt for mum and dad.

A nice outing for my folks as we patronised the branch located at Tanjong Pagar where Amara Hotel is located.

Happy Friday folks 🙂

Garfield hugs 🙂

Stock Take…..Why Me?!

Mr Warehouse has decided to resign and Electrical Lord has called for a stock take of our warehouse on levels 6 to 10.

The best part is, Electrical Lord wants it done during our Jubilee Celebration SG50 public holidays spanning 7th August till 11th August when we report for work.

It shall be 7th August as decreed.

Long faces went throughout the office floor. What has HR got to do with stocks asked my minion.

My minions are a calculative bunch. Overtime will be paid I said. Or replacement days off.

Other minions accepted it and I managed to round up 21 sheep.

As my spine does not allow me to be on my feet from 8.30am till midnight, nor am I capable of shifting boxes to count, I am not putting self on list.

If Money Bags has his team in place it should just be a case of Finance and Logistics being involved instead of IT, Business Development, HR, F & B etc.

I can agree that Purchasing should be involved but all others?

Shorthanded and clueless buggers I guess.

My latest reign of power is extended to include installation, logistics, diesel pumps and tank, HR (my ordained task) Admin, Outdoor Sales, Customer Relations, Retail…..soon I might have to clean toilets too…😤

One price fits all….

Know all…..

See all….

Do all…..

I am a bargain employee 😕

I guess the Gods are testing me.

Vouchers Found & Stretched

I am one of those in life who hardly get freebies, win the sweepstakes or any lucky draws 🙂

Sadly I do not have that sort of windfall luck!

Ha! I must have filled up umpteen lucky draw slips from grocery shopping for that $1 million worth of free groceries.

But I do not even get a whiff of as much as a bar of chocolate! Bah humbug! 😦

To me, it seems my fate is to earn for my keep.

Slave like a minion and use wages to buy stuff! 😉

Imagine my surprise when I opened up a letter from the bank that I locked horns with for forcing me to give up my sentimentally attached credit card and finding $50 worth of vouchers for my favourite retail outlet. Ha ha!! Ooh so very happy!!

I was in need of a pair of work pants and with $50, all I need to do was add $9!

I was happy. Yup…little things made me happy and though I was ulcerated by the bad experience, the voucher almost erased that bad experience.

Off I trotted to my one and only mall that I knew how to get to. Directionally challenged remember!! LOL!

More good news when I reached the store!

Huge signs screamed 50% off 2nd item for bottoms!! Even the myopic or visually challenged could see these signs of magnificent font sizes! 😀

Whoopee! I could top up $19.85 for 2 pairs of pants as I had some points left in my credit card to offset for the rest.

Yes, I had my sweepstakes moment this evening!

I feel so darn lucky!!! 🙂

Life Span Of An Employee Is Maximum 6 Months

Electrical Lord faces challenges in the minion world.

The average life span of an employee regardless of rank is under 6 months.

I racked my brains and wondered why could the older staff remain for a good 20 years, making it their first and last jobs. But yet the new joiners barely make it past 6 months!

True, we are not paid premium salaries but we are not paid poorly too comparatively speaking.

In terms of benefits, there are none. No medical hospitalisation cover, just outpatient treatment on a co pay basis.

But what is nice is that they treat employees as humans in that they provide that cuppa java or tea or milo and all you can eat cookies.

One theory is that the older employees make it hard for the new ones to stay.

This means they hoard information, making the newbies dig very hard for information.

This frustrates newbies as oldies tend to feign ignorance well and little information allows an easy lead in time.

Resistance to change is very strong and oldies who are not goodies actually stifle growth.

If I had it my way, I would release the hard core not doing much oldies who are making it hard for progress to happen.

I feel that oldies must co exist with newbies. Live and let live and change to stay relevant or else they get left behind.

What they should not do is politicise and make working life hard for newbies as newbies bring in fresh ideas, new technological improvements.

But then, the selfish “I” before “others” remain, as it is protection of their own rice bowl or jobs that gives rise to these selfish antics by oldies.

A Little Madness Now & Then Is Good

I often feel that a little loonyness or mindful insanity is good for brain health.

Let me explain. Oh and please please do not misunderstand that I am making fun of anyone 🙂

I work in an intense job. I am seen as Ms Know All, Ms See All and Ms Do All.

If I suggest anything good for the Electrical Lord, lo and behold..it becomes my job. Too smart for my own pants it seems but unfortunately, I like to improve on procedures or processes.

So, I need some mindful insanity and feign stupidity.

Looking stupid is actually very useful as it allows me an escape hatch to elude tasks.

But the level of mindul stupidity must be carefully calibrated, else I will kiss performance variables that translate to cash to be thrown out of the window.

I also like to show some mindful insanity and let loose some silliness such that the back stabbers will keep their political sabres and in turn I insulate my back from political stabbings.

Such a working world I have been working in. Often times I do get tired and wish I need not work.

Since I am not an eligible bride…..remember…my white knight or prince charming forgot to sign up for wifi or lost his boothtooth connector and so I am left on Old Mother Hubbard’s shelf 😉 LOL!

I cannot rely on a rich husband or a husband to provide for me. Instead, I bring home my own bacon for me and my inanimate furball Garfield! Ha!!

So I need to slave like a minion and to make the most of the real dog eat dog world, a little mindful insanity, stupidity and all things silly help me stay relevant at work and less tense.

Ah well….tis just a job that pays real dough and not Monopoly money 😉

What’s Right & What’s Wrong?

When is it a right or a wrong? Answer: Conscience

When does a right, right a wrong?
Answer: Conscience

When does a right seem wrong?
Answer: Conscience

When does a wrong seems right?
Answer: Conscience

Jimminy Cricket of Disney’s creation is portrayed as conscience in fairy tales but in reality, or at least to me, my conscience gets terribly loud if I feel that I have done anyone a wrong.

I would be the first to apologise and make the person understand that it was not a deliberate act.

I rely on my conscience alot to ensure that I am calibrated in unchartered waters of posdible guilt or wrong doing.

Often times, if I feel it is not an action that I should take, I’d stop.

Better safe than sorry or live to regret.

I like observing the actions of others and often hazard guesses as to why one would act in a certain way.

Today I faced a colleague who looks so pristine and a picture of innocence.

But his looks are beguiling as he is the most conniving innocent faced man.

I call it a great poker face. Innocent and agreeing at a meeting, only to return to his desk and thwarting the entire decision making process at a meeting.

So, I learnt that a wrong can be a right. It depends on how political or conniving one can be to convince others to see it your way.

In this essence, I reflected on what my ex boyfriend used to promote to me….black is not black and white is not white he would say.

There are grey areas.

Grey areas can be whitened or blackened.

Scary man my ex boyfriend was.

I never saw his true face in all the years I knew him.

What I did learn was “conscience” and how it drives me to stay on the straight and narrow.

I do not wish to be at the pearly gates or in the bowels of 18th level of hell awaiting the weighing of my soul.

I must soar…..guilt free and at peace…conscience intact!

Blessings!

What A Monday!!!

Mondays are the hardest and as I dragged self to work this morning, I knew that I had a long Monday ahead.

I would be lucky to reach home by 8pm!

Interviews were packed back to back for me and the hardest part was I had to chair a weekly meeting with my team.

My team is always dragging their posteriors on Mondays and if they had a choice, they would want to vegetate in their cubicles and mope or get over their Monday Blues!

But nooooo….I would not let that happen as there were items to update them and for them to update me 😉

As the clock tick tocked and 11am came about, I was delighted to get a text message from M who offered me a green zinger juice to perk me up!

At the witching lunch hour of 11.50am, M will arrive in her “chariot” LOL!

M was going to drive over to my office to deliver it together with fish soup for lunch.

I told her I would save the fish soup for dinner as I had nothing in my trusty fridge 🙂 plus I had packed my cheese toast sandwich with alfalfa sprouts for lunch.

As I went about my day at work, I slurped on M’s green juice zinger of bittergourd, green apple, chinese parsely and lemon juice. It was invigorating and certainly “cooled” me down 🙂

I really enjoyed that as I clocked 3,700 steps in the office running back and forth from Electrical Lord’s office and mine.

M’s fish soup was just polished down my gullet like a pelikan.

I was famished by the time I sat down to dinner at 9pm and the fish soup had loads of veggies, fish slices, fish cake and pork in fish broth. Yummy!!

M included chillis and a dip of salted bean with chilli padi. M is indeed thorough in her preparation and I am grateful for her preparation as always.

I am so blessed to have this lovely meal, courtesy of M. She is indeed a dear friend 🙂

Chicken’s Sister Had A Birthday

Chinese in Asian countries celebrate birthdays with gusto and pomp.

Another year older is another accolade, surrounded by 3 generations where possible.

Longevity, good health and happiness is the perennial wish.

The peach bun made of flour and bean paste fillings is a must as it symbolises longevity and prosperity.

Chicken sent me a montage of the elaborate banquet she enjoyed last evening at Tong Le Restaurant within OUE Tower.

Photo Courtesy Of Chicken

I am sure it was pricey as the dishes looked delicately plated, refined and posh.

But I think a voracious eater may find this inadequate for the tummy as the dainty dishes apportioned may not be enough for buffet eaters given this is ala carte fine dining 😉

Here’s wishing all things good for Chicken’s sister….many happy returns of the day and good blessings as always 🙂

SMEs Thrive With Visionary, Hands On Leaders

I have had the opportunity to have worked at 3 SMEs, 1 MNC and a cooperative.

Definitions:

SME – Small, Medium Enterprises

MNC – Multi National Corporations

SMEs often get a bad name when it comes to extension of benefits to employees when compared with say, an MNC.

This was true of SME #1 and SME #2 I worked at.

SME #1 had us walking through a dimly lit corridor and working in a lighted area surrounded by darkness. Frugality versus ambience or correct working conditions?

Frugality won!

We worked in squalid conditions with boiled water to drink as a colleague brought an old fashioned kettle for us to plug into electricity on the quiet.

SME #1 had a boss who had 3 branded sports cars ranging from Porsche, Lamboghini and Ferrari. The last I heard he owned a Rolls Royce. He graduated from a university of sorts. He sported Patek Phillipe watches.

SME #2 had a boss who drove a porsche and also had a degree of sorts. Unsure if paper milled though as he had difficulty spelling words.

He sported all sorts of branded watches to match his attire.

Adjectives that describes this Boss would be quietly flashy, inwardly selfish to minions and uses holy water to douse any contracts before going to bids.

Selfish gain for self only and to hell with the minions.

Minions are not humans and drink out of a water cooler with no change of filters.

Dirt and grime unseen to the naked eye but water quality akin to the Ganges River though this is “unholy” water.

SME #3 has a boss that is openly telling minions and the world that he had little schooling and created the company with his 2 bare hands.

Minions do his reading and paperwork whilst he rose ground up building his empire. He is a grease monkey.

Minions get branded cars for their hard work and are given all you can eat biscuits, coffee, 3 types of teas all free flow.

Boss drives a 300S class Mercedes and wears simply with no Patek Phillipe or Constantine brand watches.

He stops to greet and chat with minions.

What have I learnt from all 3?

It is the head honcho that leads the company.

Visionary with hands on experience to get on the ground and get dirty with grease wins!

Visionary with practicality and compassionate to minions double wins the heart of minions.

Visionary with a conscience and a mind to succeed without ill treating minions actually succeeds.

I have surmised from these personal experiences that leaders can take on any form.

Some can spout “love” freely but fail miserably in truly “loving” or caring for minions.

Words do not carry weight but actions do.

MNCs are seldom runned by the owner with the largest share holdings as compared to any SME.

MNCs hire talent and like any talent it is a glorified minion with a bigger pay check and beefed up benefits package.

A delicate balance is important for SMEs.

Revenues versus costs.

Top line versus bottom line.

Survival of the fittest and minions must accept the culture, work ethics and be prepared to sacrifice for the right SME whose head honcho is prepared to reward for achievements.

Few and far between but assuredly, these bosses of SMEs do exist. Not all, but some 🙂