Chicago, One!

It was a fine, sunny spring morning on Monday when the engine of that huge GreyHound bus revved away, breaking the silence of that sleepy downtown in Des Moines. The next thing we knew, we were sleeping away like dead logs, despite the uncomfortable seats, as the bus hit the hilly road and rocked up and down, as if it were a basinet. We had an unpleasant 8 hour journey with a stop or two before arriving at Chicago. What a relief! It usually take one 6 hours at most to reach Chicago from Iowa, but the bus had to make stops at some station to pick up customers or otherwise. Thus, the lengthened journey.

We alighted the bus and spread our arms, taking deep breathes as the chilly wind bathed on our smiley faces. It was dusk, almost pitch-black when we gathered our carry-on baggage, took out our cameras and started flashing away. If it weren’t our modern apparel and sophisticated gadgets, passerby would think that we just came out from a cave or somewhere so deserted and isolated from the modernized world that it’s as though we have never in our life seen a bus station.   

Look at us, people from a land so far away, traveling alone in an alien soil for the very first time, absolutely unaware of what we were about to experience.

Night fell upon us by the time we planned out a treasure map of our own, only that this map will lead us to our hotel rather than a locked antique chest filled with gold bars. We took an anticipated 20 minutes brisk walk along that quiet side streets of Chicago, occasionally stopping in the middle of no where, taking pictures of the mesmerizing Chicago night scene. 

It’s common to get lost in unfamiliar places like Chicago, especially during a time where darkness veiled the entire city and rendered those street signs out of sight without the presence of street lights. As we searched frantically for the right route that would lead us to our hotel, we sought help from people who shared the same fate as us, people who didn’t own a car, only that they were more familiar with the streets than we did ourselves. You would be surprised to see people jogging by the roadside at this hour of the day.

Even though it’s rather frustrating to get lost, I was starting to fell in love with the city. She had such immaculate sidewalks and clear river water that it’s as if I belonged there, it felt like I was home again. We walked for more than the expected time, 20 minutes, before arriving at the front doors of Travelodge, the hotel for our 3 nights in Chicago.  

It’s good to get some rest after such an exhausting journey, but we soon found ourselves walking by the sidewalks of Harrison street, in seek of good food to satiate our hunger. There were a whole lot of fast food restaurants around the hotel, but we told ourselves we didn’t come this far to experience something we already have back in Des Moines, that pathetic small town that are filled with overflowing serenity. So our ultimate decision was to have a taste of some Thai food from that Thai restaurant located just beside our hotel. Thai Spoon is the name of the restaurant.

Boy, was that restaurant crowded with couples and business people! It was awkward the moment we entered the restaurant, a restaurant packed with mature adults and us going in. Picture that for a moment, oh and don’t forget those stares, that does your parents even know you are here kind of stare. We were being seated at one dark corner in front of a table of rather senior women. We ordered our respective preferred meal and soon we were taking pictures of them and devouring and savoring them like baboons that were on hunger strike for months. I had Green Curry Rice. It was orgasmic at first but I got really sick of it when it was almost done because of the thick Santan and all. Overall, it’s a thumbs up.   

We walked in a hungry man and shuffled our way out with a filled stomach and a satisfied smile. There goes our first night in Chicago!

Till then,
Sean

Popcorn Friday!

I know it’s Monday but this title has been moving about in my mind since Friday. Why? Last Friday, I tagged along with my friends and a few Americans after dinner at Hubbell Dining Hall (Where else even though the food is revoking) for an American board game session at Morehouse. The game is called Killer Bunnies.

Never mind the game if you’re that kind of person who doesn’t like really really slow game. But if you do, google is all yours. It’s not that I’m bad at explaining things, which unfortunately is actually quite a fact, but it’s best if you learn as you play. All I can say is that the main aim is to kill bunnies that don’t belong to you, that’s why the name killer bunnies. Make sense?

Coming back, we get to eat popcorns while we played and the smell of popcorns was really aromatic. In addition to that, there was this similar burst of aroma of popcorn blasting through the atmosphere that tingled my nose hairs when I was on my way back to my dorm room in Goodwin-Kirk (we call it GK for short). So, having popcorn smells slapped twice on my face, HARD, I pretty much think that Americans eat popcorns on Friday, and therefore, led me to the title – Popcorn Friday! Yay!

In case you’re wondering about the food in Drake, it’s awesome. Trust me. It can make someone with a huge appetite go down with diarrhoea, then make him feel like vomiting every second the thought of Hubbell food flashes through his mind and not forgetting, instilling phobia and fear into him that he never takes food in large amounts no more. That’s how AWESOME Drake’s food is.

Yes, I had diarrhoea, then fever plus a headache which lasted for 3 days? It was tormenting and in this kind of freezing weather, it was hard recuperate. For those who’re in the US currently, drink more water and don’t get sick, blizzard’s coming! It’s easy to get ill but it’s hard to get out of it. 

On Saturday, the Malaysian Student Association (MASA) at Drake held a Welcome Back Party for all MASA members, and practically, you’re a member of MASA if you’re a Malaysian. So for the sake of meeting the seniors and other Malaysians to build up my network, I slept in that day just to make sure that all my illnesses were gotten rid of. It didn’t quite work but I definitely felt better than previous days.

The party was okay. It wasn’t like any other parties where there’s ample supply of beers and alcohols for guys to down just to impress girls, who then become all drunk and wasted and start puking at every corner they swayed to. Neither was there a disco ball hanging on the ceiling, brightening the entire room with rainbow colours while sweaty people squeezed onto the dance floor and started nodding and shaking along with the rhythm of the music.

NO! Not even close. This party was way laid-back than that. We did a little bit of speed dating. Basically new students us, were arranged to be sat next to a junior or a senior and we start talking for 2 minutes, then we move to the next senior or junior, that speed dating. Then there’s the game of matching characteristics, which I will definitely bore you to death even more if I go into detail. The benefit gained from the party was that you get to know more people along the way despite the corny and lame activities implemented to achieve that objective. So yea. No comment.

I was invited by Ken Vin, one of the seniors to this Saturday Night Supper thingy, which is on Sunday (weird) at one of the American homes for some home-cook dinner after I complained to him about the food at Hubbell when we were speed dating (sounds wrong but it was what we were doing).

On Sunday, I went without any hesitation just to get away with Hubbell food for the night and of course, to gain more experience of the American culture. It was a long 20 minute journey and when I stepped into the house, there were around 20 of us cramping in that small wooden American house, eagerly waiting for dinner to be served.

Although the food was almost similar to those at Hubbell i.e. rice, chicken, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, but it tasted way better. Love it. We played a little card game called President after dinner before bidding goodbyes to them folks and heading back to Drake. It was a great night! There’ll be one every Sunday night and I sure am going to all of them if I have the time. No, I’ll find time for it. =)

It’s snowing heavily today and yes, there’ll be pictures! But not today. Hee~

Till Then.

Unfamiliar

Seeing that the number of viewers and readers have increased for the past 3 days, I decided to reward each and everyone of you enthusiast of A Comprehensible Affection with another update of my life in Des Moines. Apart from posting up words which I know most of you despise, I’m also going to upload some pictures I have taken on my trip to Des Moines and some, in Des Moines itself.

Before rummaging through the contents of my luggage for the transfer cable, allow me to talk about random facts about Des Moines and the people.

As I have mentioned, I am now staying with Hern Ee, Angus, and Pek Hong (a Malaysian girl whom I’d not mentioned) in a house, which is pretty huge from the outside but not from the inside, in 2801 Cottage Grove Avenue. This house in which we currently reside has 3/4 levels, however, due to the extremely unique design of it, all floors are not connected to each other. Meaning, there are no stairways in any of the floors which lead to the next.

In fact, each floor has its respective entrances at different sides of the house. Ridiculous as it may sound, it took Hern Ee long enough to know that Ian is staying in the same house as him but on the higher level. Speaking of Ian, I have not seen him for a little over a year now and still haven’t got a chance to see him. As the saying goes, so near yet so far, it can be very convincing at times.

After spending more than a day in this suburban, I realize everywhere could be just a stone throw away from everywhere. What also caught my attention is the design of the road, which made “getting lost” sound pretty absurd. Everywhere is a walking distance from everywhere but people don’t really walk much now because of the extreme weather condition, duh.

Since yesterday was my first night here and I was sleeping on a sofa due to insufficient beds, I didn’t sleep really well. I woke up at 7 in the morning, my earliest yet ever since God knows when, and turned on the laptop. Trust me, it was a long wait until those 2 boys got out of bed. I was so starved that at 2 in the afternoon, I barged into their room to inform them about my grumpy stomach.

Because I was planning to open an account at the US bank near Drake, we went to this place called Jimmy Jones for lunch. It was something like subway but they serve their sandwiches with French bread instead of those fancy Italian ones. It cost me less than 6 American Dollars (considered cheap if you give your head a smack and stop doing those conversions) and I really loved it. Not to mention, the portion was big unlike Malaysia’s Subway, where a supposing half foot long bread was served in less than 6 inch.

Then we got our butts to the other side of the road and went into a building which has a “US Bank” board, covered with white snow, fixed to the wall just above the entrance. It was really really a tedious process to open a bank account. I bet I took around 1 hour or more to get everything done.

It was already pass 4.30pm by the time we reached Olmsted Centre. It spoilt the plan of getting my Drake ID done when we came to a locked entrance door and a completely dark building. Since we were already out, we decided to pay Yi Yun and Lydia a visit. It was really nice to see them but their apartment was steaming hot, we didn’t couldn’t stay for long. It’s like the hot wind you get in Malaysia but without the wind. Someone could get suffocated in there, seriously.

We then went to McDonald’s for dinner, Woot~ The price was FUHREAKING CHEAP! They actually sell Chicken and Cheese burger for $1, FREAKING ONE AMERICAN DOLLAR. Now I know where to go when I’m starving, 5 chicken and 5 cheese burgers, please. Thank you. We stayed at McDonald’s for awhile before heading back to Yi Yun’s to deliver her her meal.

The night yesterday was a bit chilly, plus it was colder than previous nights but I can totally survive this. =)

Till then.

At KLIA

At Changi

I ate Burger King at 3 in the morning.

Look how empty are the food courts.

The entire airport was also empty at that time.

I was on my way to get my boarding pass at 4.15 in the morning.

I got myself a window seat on the flight to Hong Kong.

At Des Moines

Front View: The house in which I’m staying.

Side View.

I can See Snow everywhere~

Crazy Beginning

A lot had happened recently but I was a bit laid back about putting it all up in my blog. With my latest post due sometime a month ago, you could already guess the number of chill pills I have been consuming. So, I’m here to haul it all up the ocean before everything sinks deeper and fades away.

If you are someone who keeps track of my barren blog, you definitely know that I had been working part time jobs on and off throughout the previous semester break, which had earned me quite an amount of pocket money. I was coerced into putting a halt to my sudden urge of working when college reopened, which was something I actually looked forward to.

On seeing the miserable ADP timetable, I was gravely disappointed at the number of subjects offered this fall semester. However, when I gave it a slight thought, I couldn’t help but empathize HELP, as dedicated lecturers as Ms. Yap and co. had turned or are turning their backs on the institute. Leaving behind a pillar-less crumbling tower, which is not only facing a shattering end but also an imminent danger of bankruptcy, sadly to say.

4 days of waking up early and attending a full 10 hours of class each day, gave me more doubt of what not to take than a comforting assurance of what subjects to take. As an ending outcome of shopping around and choosing subjects, what I got was exhaustion instead of a decision. I sought help from Ms. Mamoorian, who is the admin of Drake University via E-mail and later found out that the only subject I could take was Accounting 2. Ridiculous ain’t it? How can someone take only one subject in a long semester? Unless that someone is as jobless as Riz.

Political Science wasn’t that bad, especially when Mr. Ho the Head of Department was the one conducting the class. A retired lawyer Mr. Ho shared many of his first-hand experience in class, which I found amusing despite the exaggeration of having to make friends with the ministers of the Malaysian government and even some former president of the United States. Frankly speaking, I was this close to registering the subject as I was pretty convinced that it would be an interesting class. I didn’t in the end after I got a reply re-confirming that it was absolutely unnecessary for me to take it even as an elective. So Accounting 2 it is.

I really couldn’t imagine me wounding up being a couch potato at the end of this semester since last semester had already made me a lot lazier than my first year in college. So I gave myself a little motivation and continued my job hunting stint! Having ample time to spare, once again I was spending time trawling through forums, searching for “lucrative” part time jobs. =)

After sending out about 10 resumes to 10 different agents, I received notifications about interviews via phone calls and sms pretty soon enough. Without further hesitation, I accepted a promoter position at the DiGi specialized store at the Tropicana City Mall outlet due to the reasonable pay and the simple job scope. Never did I know that I was being lured into a Trap of Boredom.

There was literally nothing I could do in the shop. Allow me to enlighten you. My job scope was to promote DiGi postpaid lines and that I would receive a commission of as high as RM 20 after successfully selling 4 lines in a day, the subsequent lines sold would earn me as much as RM 5 per line. Since Tropicana City Mall is a new mall and is nothing compared to any other shopping complexes in the Petaling Jaya district, the number of shoppers were pathetically low each day, even during weekends. I ended up helping DiGi users, mostly foreign workers reloading credits into their accounts.

I felt like a retarded freak who had never embraced any from of education, doing something that only required the least amount of brain work. It was so boring and a complete waste of time that when my friend invited me to a gathering the other night, I smsed and lied to my agent about a family emergency as soon as I hung up the line, ditched my supervisor who was happily playing bejeweled back at the shop, and left work an hour earlier for the gathering. God blessed the night, it was awesome.

The following morning was Fawesome when I was told that some client decided to put the store on hold temporarily, which in English means I do not have to work in that hellish place for some time. But even if I was asked to go back later on, I would reject it anyway.

So, I’m unemployed again! =)

Sunsilk – The Best Brand for Shampoo in Malaysia

An innocent-looking ID at Lowyat forum deceived the best of us and lured us into taking the bait. 4 runners and an army of female ambassadors were all they needed to ensure the roadshow was a success.

It was Wednesday morning when we marched anxiously down the grave-silent hallway, thinking that this job could we tackle and handle with ease. All we had in mind was that simple job scope that had been briefed to us back in Dataran Prima and we could not help but smirk. Not knowing that we were about to be enslaved and tormented with stern and gay supervisors, ridiculously short break times, hours of standing, work that was beyond our responsibilities, and not forgetting a low payment and the longest pay term on earth.

The first day wasn’t as bad as you think it is. Personalities were still being left in dark corners while fancy masks were donned. However, some preferred to give people a bad impression about them and that’s just so idiotic. Like this guy I know, he’s too clever and smart in a way that he was coercing me mentally and physically into doing all the filthy and labor work while he did those sissy ones. It peeved me alright but I swallowed all my anger in in order to avoid unnecessary commotions and chaos. Such noble of me. Sometimes, it could be quite hard to work with assertive people.

The day went on with me realizing that I was going to work with 2 people I’ve met prior to this roadshow, and from that moment, I know I’ve got company! I didn’t really know Clement back in HELP although we once attended the same LAN class during the first semester of 2009 but now it’s an utterly different story. He came to know me as Chloe’s friend. Heh~! The second person was Kheng Loong, a guy I work with in the Cadbury Event. I couldn’t recall the whereabouts I met him until the 3rd day when he told me that he was working at the Cadbury Event as a mini-game marshal that it finally disentangled my twisted memory.

A little while after I arrived, hairstylist, make-up professionals, and those in charge of the hair wash started swarming in. All dressed up in black and armed with their respective tools, they laid everything on the dressing table with efficiency and aided fellow female ambassadors in a partial makeover. I must say that some were truly professionals while others were just fraud but nobody gave a damn as long as the customers looked extremely gorgeous in the cover photo shoot.

Not many knew about the roadshow on Wednesday, which accounted for the low number of customers at the end of the day. Us runners who were in charge of the water for hair wash had so much time to spare that we were forced to fill up the gaps between ambassadors and start pushing sales. Absurd! Of course, nobody was happy with that and we rebelled by lazing around and chatting with the ambassadors. Negative comments about our performance bombarded at us during the briefing which was held right after the roadshow ended at 10. I bet no one kept those words in their heart because I myself didn’t get a word as I don’t hear wind. Heh!

The second day had gotten better as the pages began to fill up with names of customers. Which in English means that there were more hair wash and runners had something to do to bust boredom and attention. Us runners were keeping our fingers crossed at all times for more hair wash so that we didn’t have to perform duty like promoting Sunsilk products that’s out of a runner’s job scope.

As the weekend drawn closer, the number of customers kept increasing. Runners had to make more rounds to the toilet to fetch sufficient water supply for the tank and of course pour the dirt water away into the cleaner’s room in the male’s lavatory. Our schedules were getting more hectic by day and soon 4 runners seemed to not suffice to accomplish the piling workload. Our job had definitely gone from relaxing to exhausting and torturing.

How hard we wished the queue to be shorter and the traffic to be lighter but the wishes were never granted. We grumbled as we refilled the tank and rumbled as we scooped out the dirty water. I  ranted more when one guy chickened out at the beginning of the hectic weekend and failed to find himself a replacement. Irresponsible is the only word that could describe him. So the remaining 3 of us worked our asses off and prayed hard for it to stop soon. If you notice, our prayers contradicted with that of the first day. =)

At last, 5 consecutive days of  Sunsilk roadshow came to an end at 10.30pm on Sunday. Although the total sales may not be as high as those in Mid-Valley and Sungai Wang, but it was a great achievement by all of us as we strived hard for it. Not really actually. I’m glad that the sales weren’t that high. Hence, a treat by our supervisors in Ss 2’s Pelita.

-End-

Wait.. Here’s a lovely pic of a slacking supervisor.

3rd Job

26th of July, 2009

Yawn~ I woke up reluctantly to the annoying buzz of my alarm. Sitting up on my bed with my eyes half-closed, I gazed through the water-stained windows. It was a drizzly Sunday morning, a perfect morning to sleep in but I had to get myself ready or I’ll be late for work. Putting on a pair of slacks and a black tee, I drove off to Central Park One Utama.

Today, Cadbury organized an event called the “Sweet Fighter Challenge” that gave the opportunity to people of all walks of life to win prizes that includes PSP, hampers, Cadbury chocolates, and souvenirs. Of course, there’s a catch. To win big prizes like PSP, people have to team up into groups of 4 or 5 and participate in a carnival game that has 6 simple stations to complete. Needless to say, the group that manages to complete all 6 stations in the shortest time wins the prize. As for the small gifts, people would only have to play a mini game. However, only those who purchased Cadbury products of up to RM20 are eligible to participate in both carnival and mini games. One receipt for only one participant in the carnival game and 3 rounds of mini games yo.

This morning, the people in charge along with 13 other marshals and ambassadors were hiding from the rain under a huge white tent, looking all tired and sleepy while contestants of the “Sweet Fighter Challenge” gradually filled up the park. Judging by the bad weather condition, I actually thought that the event would be called off, but I never guessed that people were so willing to sacrifice their sleeping time and fight through the rain just to win prizes. Malaysians.

After being briefed of what we were supposed to do, we dispersed and stood guard at our respective stations. The deejay blasted the music and the emcee tested the sound system with the mic in his hand while the contestants waited eagerly in front of the registration desk. I swore I would’ve punched the emcee in the face if I could get away with it later on because he made grammar mistakes and kept reiterating. Annoying.

Anyways, the event officially started after the CEO or whatever of Cadbury gave a concise speech and cut loose a bundle of Cadbury-branded helium balloons.

So, I was in charge of the very first station, “Warring Faction,” where I and 2 other fellow marshals had to make sure that the black balls oscillate at all times while contestants make their way through the swinging balls. If one of the balls were to hit them, they had to go back to the starting point. Easy-peasy job.

As for the second station, contestants had to put exactly 30 oranges into a gunny sack or they would be given a 1 minute penalty. It’s not as easy as it sounds because with 4 or 5 people putting in oranges at the same time, it would be chaotic and there’s a high chance that miscalculations would occur. I’m only familiar with 2 stations and besides, I’m too lazy to explain further, so that would be it.

Mini games. There’re a few mini games such as Bowl-A-Ball, Bytesketball, and yada-yada. Prizes to win include packets of Cadbury Bytes, Choclairs, Cadbury puzzles, and Cadbury photo frame. All the lame prizes but who cares, they’re all free.

The event ended at around 4 something, earlier than the actual ending time, which was supposed to be at 5.30. There was nothing else we could do but were asked to wait while Alex, the person in charge went to fetch our pay. So we clumped together under the shade, grabbed ourselves chairs and chatted. Then came the best part, which was when Alex came back with a stack of 50 dollar notes and I got paid RM120 on the spot! Whee~

If Cadbury were to hold another event, I would definitely love to work again! =)

2nd Job

There isn’t any appropriate reasons to not posting this up, so this is it, my first job experience as an ambassador of DiGi campus Roadshow in University Malaya.

Having no experience at all in this particular field, I have everything all planned out in mind of how I’m going to make this thing work out for me while I was waiting anxiously at the gathering spot – Old Town in Jaya 1. It was a fine morning when I comfortably sat myself in a chair at a corner outside of the restaurant. Should I be fortunate or unfortunate to have a smoker sitting right beside my table? Fortunate I may say because he was a pipe smoker and I’ve never seen one in action before.

Clearly, he was of Arabic origin with his rather tanned skin and moustache and beard growing all over his face. I observed every single motion he made, occasionally looking away to avoid being caught looking at him. Apparently, he was a wealthy and successful guy who had worked his ass all the way to the top of a well-known company and now had all his employees attending to his work while he enjoyed his morning Cappuccino and smoke.

Whatever he was smoking really smelt good, but I refrained myself from inhaling any of those pollutants. He handled his pipe meticulously as if he was a neurosurgeon fixing a fragile little human nerve. I couldn’t help but realize that every puff he took from the pipe was going to kill him sooner or later, giving him awful-looking ulcers to his lips and an uncountable number of cancers that could rupture and screw up his anatomy before he die a painful death. Anyway, I learnt the right way to smoke a pipe that morning. Which I probably would not apply to any part of my “quite-healthy” life until the day I die.

The day in UM started off great despite that mere blur-ness in me. Every one was busy opening up boxes, setting up buntings, folding gift boxes, and etc. I, on the other hand, tried to figure out ways to give a helping hand. After all was set, I grabbed hold of a few leaflets and registration forms and set off to the entrance of Kolej Perdana Siswa in a mission to get my first customer. Putting a smile on my face and great spirits in my voice, I started explaining about the cheapest package in town.

I’m not a people person but I wasn’t nervous at all and I did have courage to approach every single person I met. I got stuck often as I explained to enthusiastic students, and I knew some of them noticed it. Hah! My explanation got smoother as the day progressed, but the number of customers I get was not enough to earn me my commission. I was disappointed but it wasn’t entirely my fault because I shifted from KPS to K12, which had a lower traffic and a lower number of enthusiastic students. That night, I made a promise to myself to be more professional the next day and get myself 28 customers before the end of the day.

2nd day. My faith was shattered after a few attempts to persuade students who were devouring their meals to purchase a new package of DiGi campus/try out the new DiGi plan as I approached their tables. Some even scowled at me before I even had the chance to speak. Their attitude peeved me alright and restrained me from further promoting, but the target I had to meet to earn me RM20 motivated me. Evidently, Lady Luck was absent for the first 2 days and it made me envious to watch my friends walking away from tables with filled up forms and IC in their hands. I failed yet again.   

From the 3rd day onwards, things started getting better and more tiring. Traffic swelled and the situation at the counter was chaotic. But we managed to pulled it through with the help of several Yellow Armies, which constituted of students of UM. Finally, on the final day itself, I managed to get top sales, earning me an extra RM20. I was satisfied.

Benefits: - I get to know lots of people, had a chance to officially introduce myself to one of my ex-schoolmates, got to speak Malay/English with Malay accent after years of learning the language, become someone who’s way different from who I really am, and finally learn how to converse fast and persuade people in a short period of time.   

Yay to me.

The guys

The Girls

First Experience

Blogging to the song of “So Close” by Jon McLaughlin is very refreshing although I’m going to be blogging about my tiresome days of working at Robinsons in The Gardens.

Malaysian timing is not something one should be proud of, but Malaysians seem to be practicing it everyday. Meetings postponed due to latecomers, briefings had to be pushed to an hour later because the client had something else to get busy with, even marriages got delayed because the bride and groom got caught in a heavy traffic in the middle of a bustling city! Punctuality has a certain meaning to it that we must not take for granted.

It was a cloudless Saturday when I was all dressed up for my first part time job. I admit there was a slight sense of anxiousness tingling in me. Arriving there extremely early, which was 45 minutes before my work starts, I alighted the car and walked towards the entrance. The timing was perfect because as I approached the huge transparent glass doors, the security guard was just unlocking the thick iron chains that shut it tight.

I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to head to but all I knew was to find someone with the name Ms. Shamini. I started asking around after walking up and down the escalator several times. My first attempt of questioning brought me to the entrance of Robinsons at the 2nd floor and to the security guard who was standing guard right over at the railings. After having not to speak Malay often, I found myself forming words and sentences with much difficulty as I asked for directions.

Finally, I found the staff entrance, which was situated right beside the male’s lavatory. Coolness! After surrendering my belongings, I went into that huge elevator and brought myself to Ground floor, then into Ms. Shamini’s room. I was not surprised at all when I was notified that I arrived first, because indeed I was! Paid a loan of Rm30, I received an M-sized Robinsons-tee, a Promoter badge, and a punch card.

When all part-timers arrived, we were given a short briefing about the rules and regulations and of course, penalties if the rules were to be crossed. Of all departments, I was assigned to the Ladies. Greatness, it would be a wonderfully new experience I thought. I was introduced to this guy whose name was Ruben rather than the supervisor himself because he was on leave that day.

I was put to station at Coast that morning, which was right in front of the Cashier counter. After Ruben gave me some explanations about the sizes, I started walking back and forth, scrutinizing those extraordinarily pretty and expensive dresses, which I have never given a glance whenever I go shopping with my family or friends. The first hour passed with only a handful of customers who came and went without a question. Boredom Bugs started to get into my nerves in no time.

There was nothing for me to do except to stand there and be prepared to assist any customers who had questions or enquiries. It was a boring times 100 job. My legs started to feel achy after merely 2 hours had passed. 7 more hours to go and I was filled with guilt for taking up this job without knowing the consequences beforehand. The only thing that was keeping me going was the break time at 3.

Out of desperation, I took out my phone and sms-ed my friends in a hope for them to pay me a visit and to keep me company. None of them turn up. On top of that, there was no one to talk to because that small section was kept under me and my only surveillance. Poor me and pity me wished and prayed hard for time to pass by faster than before. That moment was gruesome and it’s dreadful to think of it now. I wonder how could one survive being a full-time promoter.

Your legs ache because of the standing, your neck gets stiff for God knows why, your tummy drumming away because of the late lunch hour, you get bored because you are not supposed to clump together for some chit-chat sessions, and you get scowled at and unnecessary grumblings from fussy customers. Being a promoter wouldn’t make me any happier unless I get commission from the purchases my customers make. And that’s the best part of this job I get, I don’t get commission.

So basically, there' wasn’t any motivation for me to keep my ass working except for that RM10 I get for every hour I stand. What a boring job that I wouldn’t think twice to get back to even if that were to be the last vocation on earth. Of course, I did learn something new over there. I learnt that when put under pressure, people tend to rant about everything even though it’s to someone they don’t really know. =)

It’s 3 in the afternoon and I was allowed to go for my break! That feeling of freedom was overwhelming I must say because I could finally have a seat and satisfy my empty tummy. I savor every bite of chicken rice and every second I got to rest my legs before I had to struggle through another 5 hours of standing. I could already feel my knees breaking apart and my cartilages and ligaments wearing off as the synovial fluid dry up gradually.

Going back to work, I was kept refreshed for the first 2 hours because of the food and that 1 hour of rest. After which, I found myself dragging my feet along that nicely tiled floor and finding stuff to keep myself busy. Then, there’s this friendly sales advisor who talked to me for a moment and kept me company while he arranged the clothes hanging on the metal bars. He was so eager to go back home as he continuously asked me for the time. At one point, he was like, “Kenapa jam you begitu lambat? Saya balik sekarang lah!” then he walked off after bidding his goodbyes.

A long Saturday it was. I had a good sleep that night as there wasn’t any energy left in my body for a simple slight motion. What an experience!

Awkward Silence

My whole anatomy is now numbed with nothing but tiredness. I can’t believe I stood the whole Saturday away and am going to do just the same for Sunday. Dear Christians, please put me in your prayer list, pray for I could live through tomorrow.

Yesterday evening, I attended a briefing in Jaya One for the upcoming DiGi Campus Roadshow as I was chosen to be one of their ambassadors! Yay!

We were asked to be punctual because it’s supposed to be a pivotal meeting, so I arrived 15 minutes earlier and thought it was a good idea to make a wonderful impression on my fellow “colleagues” and “team leaders.”  There were a handful of highly-spirited people in the room when I entered. Ignoring them totally, I grabbed a seat at the front and was handed 2 MYC! magazines to kill boredom.

Flipping through the page as slow as I could, knowing that I would have to wait for quite some time, I tried to admire the layout of every page. It turned out that I wasn’t slow enough or those people weren’t punctual enough! I literally had to stone after glancing through those magazines, because there were nothing else to do in that 16 feet by 10 feet teeny room.

I started rolling my eyeballs around, trying hard not to move my head too much, taking in as much as I could about the room’s condition. There were 2 long tables in front of me, one with a 45 inch LCD TV on it, and the other with a Dell laptop connected to the TV via cables. The table with the laptop was in a terrible mess. Stationeries were laying around, empty projector bags laid unzipped, and there were stacks of papers scattered around. To the left of the LCD TV was a double-sided whiteboard with words written in black ink. The wall behind those 2 tables was wallpapered with scenery of cloudy sky, in which there’s a hot-air balloon floating on the right. I didn’t care much about the back of the room.

After waiting for almost an hour, those people finally arrived, bad examples. We were briefed about the DiGi packages, the target we have to meet to get our commission, the rules and regulations, Dos and Don’ts and they reiterated. Gosh, they nagged worse than mommas, super long-winded. Then we surrendered our ICs to get it photocopied and signed the contract. And here we go again, the nagging continued for a little while more before the meeting was adjourned. Did I mention that we were all given notes about the new DiGi campus package to study? It’s worse than an exam, I haven’t even started.

To be Continued…