Aug
19
How May I Help You?
Filed Under work, me, life | 11 Comments
I was a customer support in my second company, an excellent good one or so I thought. I found the patient to entertain service them which the patient doesn’t really comes in when I deal with my personal life.
I enjoyed ‘servicing’ customer or at least the good ones. I was quite confident when dealing with them as I knew the product very well and I know I would understand what they want or trying to do.
(And of course being said that I enjoyed customer support means I have subconsciously eliminated those horror stories during the time I serviced those unbelievably crazy unreasonable customers that demand for quality products and services but pay peanuts.)
Missing the satisfaction of helping a desperate needy customer, I excitedly accepted my current job for the role of QA cum support which meant I do not have to give up QA (knowing well that I might be in this line for a long time) and getting a taste of customer support again. Two birds with a stone. Sounds perfect, no?
But my role of support is dimming with time as my service doesn’t seem to be required so far as I am only doing QA. And so I put it behind my mind, reassuring myself that maybe someday, yes, someday maybe I could polish it again.
And the other day, being the only early soul in the office, the US support phone rang. I missed the first two calls as it was terminated when I answered. But I answered the third call, totally unprepared!
It was a customer from US! And I could feel that my customer support level and confidence has rusted so badly! I don’t know if it is due to the fact that I didn’t master the product as well as I did last time or because it was a kwai-lo at the other end of the line or if I couldn’t understand him perfectly with his slang or I was just.. not prepared.
I was flustered after I got his name and number and promised to him that I’ll get the customer support that just spoke to him to call him back. I was half relieved when he wanted to speak to the other guy as he already told him the issue. And after that, I frantically find the right guy to assist him. (=.=)”
It sure surged up my adrenaline for that sleepy morning.
And so, now I wondered, if I could still buff up my customer support skill and excel from it. =)
Or will it just be a memory that I was once a great good customer support?
Jul
4
Work from Home II
Filed Under work, me, life | 9 Comments
I am just glad that I get to work from home since my insomnia is getting from bad to worse. When I felt so sleepy and I went to bed, about 10 minutes after that, my mind will start running around and I would be getting more energise than earlier.
And after 20 minutes of lying on the bed, trying really hard to sleep, I would not feel like sleeping anymore. I either get up to watch the movie or read a book or trying to cultivate the sleeping mood again. I even sleep around 1 to 2am on work day which is very late to me as I used to sleep before 12 am. I totally hate it!
Anyway, on Monday, I requested to work from home since for this couple of work I will be working on a project that practically does not need me to liaise with any colleagues. Yeah, if you remembered the ‘compare document project’ that I was involved in the other time. Anyway, I really like working from home as :
1. I could wake up at 8.40am and still not late for work!
2. I could have my idea of delicious breakfast : fried egg with wholemeal bread (and lotsa tomato sauce) + coffee
3. I could go to the park for jogging and exercising at 6pm
4. I could have bread with cheese sausage and choc milk for tea time
5. I could go to the post office at 9am and be back by 9.30 am (work starts at 9.30am)
6. I could cook instant noodle for lunch?
7. I could go lie down at bed for 3 minutes when I am tired
8. I am more focused at my work as I know I need to finish it on timeline given
9. I have the need to be more responsible at home than at work or I’ll feel guilty
10. I don’t feel so boring and sleepy at home compare to in the office
11. I could do laundry and sun my clothes at day time
12. I could switch on the MP3 on the speaker and sing along it
13. I could save a few bucks on the LRT train
14. I save 65 minutes of travelling time (return)
15. I don’t have to think of what to wear in the morning
16. I don’t have to put anything on my hair to make it looks less fluffy
17. I could watch movie while having my lunch
18. I could sleep late due to insomnia and not to be too worried the next day
19. I have a peaceful house all by myself
20. I could watch the house so Mr.Rat won’t have a chance to roam and conquer the house?
Of course there are some cons when you work from home. But so far the pros outweigh the cons and I shall enjoy it for this 2 weeks! 
Apr
23
How Long Have You Been Slaving Off?
Filed Under work, me, life | 12 Comments
This month, April, marks the 6th year I am joining the working world! Whoa! I started pretty early, around my early twenties. Yeah, so I am not that old, mind you. 
Time really flies, I remembered when I was in my final year, I was really scared to venture into the working world as I told my roomie, Yun. I was very worried if I am able to cope with the job scope and perform well. I felt that I wasn’t prepared at all even though after studying for 4 years at uni.
But….so fast, it’s already 6 working years and I am in my 4th company! Another 28 years to retirement!!! Counting down.. aren’t you?
I’ve been to this new company for more than 3 months and well, hmm.. it’s another un-exciting job. Duh.. I have yet to start my ‘support’ role yet and really am looking forward it! Right now I am still doing QA which means plenty of testing. (=.=)"
My new company office layout is quite ‘individual’ compared to my previous jobs. I guess I have pretty much privacy sitting in the individual cubicle as the pictures shown below. Here are some of the pictures snapped in my cubicle during my b-o-r-i-n-g time.
Due to the boredom, I like to munch something or drink something after lunch or during personal-tea-time. One of my current favourites are rose tea, green tea and honey or combination of them!
So, how long have you been to the working world? Or are you reaching your final count down to retirement already?!
Apr
3
And You Think Your Job Is Boring?
Filed Under work, me | 14 Comments
If you think your work is boring, you might want to think again. Here is what I am doing at work (not everyday but for current 5 weeks or so, I'll be doing this, on top of other testing task.)
For current assignment, I am given 15 PDF documents of language Hungarian, Greek and Icelandic. Some documents are of 30 over pages and some could be around 100 over pages, some big documents and some smaller one (smallest I think also more than 1 0 pages) full of text and tables.
I have to generate the Word output documents and compare them, look out for any characters that are not converted and stuffs, making sure both are exactly the same!!!
Take a glimpse of the Greek language as below :
Top 1 is the PDF file and the bottom is Word file, compare them to see if there is any discrepancy between them.
It makes my eyes go blur looking at those strange, alien letters @.@ each and everyone of them, making sure they are correct in the output. It makes me stare hard at monitor, making my eyes drier and tired. I am afraid I'll have to wear glasses soon! >_<
This is Hungarian language (=_=)"
This is the wonderful Icelandic (=.=)"
Before this, I have compared the Arabic language, which makes no sense to me at all. (>_<)"
It's not difficult or what, just very tedious and …. boring… you tell me..
Mar
14
I am Home~
Filed Under work, me | 7 Comments
Weeee~~!!!
I am at home now, at 10.20 am on Friday.
I am not sick.
I am not on leave.
My company is not declaring holiday.
I am still working.
Yeah, I am working from home today!
Coz the Telekom guys are coming to install another fixed line at my home, for company purposes, need to do support from home in the future at night time.
Yeah, more work from home to looking forward to!
OK, back to work now.
Nov
29
Unfair!!!
Filed Under work, me, colleague | 22 Comments
So unfair!
I am sulking.. stamping my feet.. pursing my lips..!
Reason is?
I don’t get my bonus days although he got it!!!
Ok, it’s like that..
In our company we have a policy that we can get up to 4 days of bonus leave next year if we do not take any MC this year. If you take 1 day MC this year, you’ll get 3 days of bonus leave next year. So, if you take 2 days of MC, you’ll get 2 days of bonus next year. If you take 4 or more MC, then you are not entitled to any bonus days. (This really helps to discourage people from taking MC!!!)
This year I only take 2 days of MC so by right I will get 2 days of bonus days next year. He didn’t take any MC so he’ll get 4 days of bonus days. Right? Yes.
The thing is both of us already resigned and last day for both of us are early next January. He opted to leave early before Christmas by offsetting his annual leave and he still will get 4 bonus days of annual leave.
I want to leave before end of December (note that it is after Christmas and after his last date) by offsetting my leave too. But HR said that I am not entitled for bonus leave next year coz I won’t be physically here!!!
But he also won’t be here what by next year and why he is entitled to the bonus leave!?! It is so unfair! 
If I complain to the HR, I afraid he might lose his 4 days of bonus day too. So I think I shouldn’t sabotage his extra annual leave.
But I am feeling very unhappy.
So what am I going to do?
I am thinking of taking 2 more days of MC this year before I leave (so I won’t deserve the bonus days and won’t feel unjust!)! Wuahahahahhaa… *evil plan*
Though it is really a dread for me to fake sickness and see the doctor, something that I really am not good at and hate to do..
Don’t forget to put your citi visa card when leaving for vacation trips. But before buying anything with a credit card, one should be aware of the credit card application. Lots of frauds are observed in case of credit card processing. We can’t also ignore the factor of credit card debt, particularly in case of using a rewards visa credit card.
Nov
13
Shall I Go or Shall I Not?
Filed Under work, me | 30 Comments
As some of you might have guessed, my main dilemma is whether to move on to a new company. I have gotten an offer last week from a relatively small company and it is driving me crazy whether I should accept it or not.
There are some pros in the new company which attracts me to go but some that set me back. No doubt that there are many reason why I am so reluctant to leave my current MNC company! And I can’t help but to think and worry about making a good decision..
Here are the comparison that I have draw between both companies :
|
Current Company |
New Company |
| Big, reputable MNC company with a lot of colleagues | Small company with parent company in USA. |
| A lot of benefits including medical, dental and classes like Yoga, Belly Dancing and English classed and plenty of activities. | Not much benefit, not even a medical card and medical is on limited receipt claim. |
| Great working environment : fast pc, free flow of drinks (can, packet, beverages), comfortable big office with pantry | Basic working environment with small office |
| Same salary (until end of the year review, which isn’t much as well) | A quite good increment of salary |
| Doing QA work which I am getting quite demotivated. Quite light workload. | A new fresh start with QA & Support role, more to learn! Perhaps heavier workload! |
| Slimmer travel opportunity | Travel opportunity to USA for training, more exposure! |
| Do not liaise with any customers, so could be rather boring sometimes. | Liaise with the customers, so should be more challenging and learn more of business knowledge. |
| Work from 9am – 6pm (5 days work) | Work from 9.30am – 6.30pm (5 days work) Need to do phone and internet support from 8pm – 12pm on working days. |
| A bunch of colleagues that I am close to, rather sad to leave them. | Need to make new friends. |
| Dealing with ERP products, better future? | Dealing with smaller products, not much knowledge of the product yet. |
| No bonus. Near LRT station. | No bonus. Near LRT station. |
Nov
6
I AM at the Junction of Life now..
Filed Under work, me, life | 16 Comments
When I opened the Gmail at work yesterday, I almost couldn’t breathe! How could this be?!? I never thought they would give me what I want and I thought I could escape from making this big decision! Silly me! Apparently I am so wrong, I am really at the forked road of life right now.
I need to make a big decision right now! It is a huge decision, one that involves risk and yet a challenging and attractive path ahead, if I would only throw away my comfort and all the benefits I am enjoying right now. It seems almost too huge a decision for me to make.
I asked for opinions from my loving HEAF-ians (read: housemates). They all ask me to go ahead with the new path but I still have my doubts. I am afraid of falling and risk and the extra hours!!! I tried to remember the principle; when it is a small decision, use your head, but when it is a big decision, use your heart.
My heart wants me to try, but my head is pulling me back with all the logics and reasons. Arrgghh.. it is really driving me crazy!!!
I wrote this poem when I was going to change my first job to my second job..
Fly butterfly,
Fly far & high,
Fly towards the light,
Fly beyond the sky.
Fly butterfly,
Rest when you sigh,
Oh, do not be shy,
U won't know unless you try.
Oh, fly butterfly, fly~
Am I ready to fly? Am I..?
Sep
24
Demotivated at work /_\
Filed Under work, me | 11 Comments
I’ve been very demotivated at work lately and I mean very, seriously. Firstly, it is not exactly my fault that I am demotivated. It started after the project was over. We didn’t have much work to do ever since.
Then the new product rolled out and went internal live. And some people gets very busy, especially those with the module that is frequently used. My module is not and we have many people in the team. So it literally explained why I am quite free.
I hate to be idling around in the office, PRETENDING to be busy when I am not. I can’t march over to my manager’s table to let him know that as he is busy as hell. I bet he won’t even realized it if I don’t come to work! And I cannot openly surf internet, I have to pretend busy but actually I am surfing.
My manager knows my workflow is rather empty. So what do I do? I try to learn more about my new module by exploring it myself but hey, it’s damn boring. When I reach office at 9am, I am waiting for lunch. After lunch, I am looking forward for 6pm (or sometimes tea break). See the fungus on my head? It’s getting bigger, huh? Arrghh…
I am not alone as when I turned my head around, I saw people watching You Tube. Some check their emails. Even my senior took more than one hour of nap after lunch time! Some is on emergency leave for unknown reason. =S
I want to be busy and fully occupy my time. This way, the time will pass faster and I’ll feel satisfaction of getting something done. I’ll feel more useful and motivated and will strive for a better career, not just makan gaji buta (means getting salary without working).
Arrgghh…
Sep
14
Back to normal morning..
Filed Under work, me, life | 10 Comments
I am back to morning shift, 9am. I wanted to sleep until 8am, coz I think I deserved it. Yeah, I always think I am entitled to something which formally I am not granted. So yesterday night I set my alarm to 7.45am so I could snooze it this morning and sleep till 8am! It’s a happy thought and quite a happy plan. ^.^
After all I’ve been sleeping late for the past 4 days (for the 1pm – 10pm afternoon shift, which was a bliss for 2 days and then it became a dread).
But plan totally wrecked with not one but two banging of the door by my dear housemates at 7.30am when they DECLARED that they were off for work (while I am still in my cosy bed?). Darn. I dragged myself up at 7.40am, no internet. I mean I didn’t switch on my laptop as I sometimes would. See, I am really an addict! Got ready within half an hour (with shower), not quite bad.
I wanted to get some curry puff from the Malay stall at LRT station for breakfast. It is second best breakfast, after nasi lemak, which I constantly deny myself to indulge in it. The reason is not because of the price or calorie (I love calorie by the way) but cholesterol! Other normal & healthier alternatives are boring wholemeal bread and cereal.
Everyday, I am looking forward to work for the precious heavenly-delicious-coffee and breakfast. It is the only motivation that makes me walk 7 minutes to LRT station, sweating a little, squeezed my little body into the crowded train for 25 minutes, trying to look cool and unaffected by the crowd.
While walking to the LRT station, I was so engrossed in my thoughts of what-to-blog that I forgot to stop by at the Malay stall. I only remembered when I was waiting for the train, so not to spoil my only pleasure at office (as I’ve no more derived any satisfaction from work), I climbed back the stairs (ok I took lift!) and headed to the Malay stall.
Then it struck me : I HATE IT WHEN MALAY PUASA (fast)!!! All the stalls are closed!!! No food whatsoever. I miserably took the elevator up for the train. And I declared, it’s gonna be a bread-Friday again!
And so I am, enjoying my cuppa coffee and cheese stick bread from Bread Story. ^.^
And looking forward for 6pm at 9.51am.
Man, can I go home now?
Sep
12
Time VS Money~
Filed Under work, life | 5 Comments
Two main ingredients of life, apart from love, are time and money. How do you juggle between the two of them to have a balanced, fulfilled life?
I wouldn’t say all but from my observation and opinion, most of the time you trade your time for money. My manager will be a good example. He works days & nights almost everyday, and I do mean night as he works till quite late at night, sometimes on weekend too. Nevertheless I believe he’s well paid for commitment and time he put in.
I don’t know if he has a good, happy life outside from work. As far as we are concern, he doesn’t seem to have another half and is living by himself, at age of reaching 40s. But he certainly does well at work, much respected & important figure here.
And well, I do that too, sometimes, not to the extreme. Yes, trading my time for money. I hate to work on weekends as it is time to rejuvenate and surfing-the-net-full-time, watch DVD and napping. But sometimes for the sake of extra money (and of course to finish up the uncompleted work) I dragged myself to the office on weekend too!!!
But sometimes when I go overboard, I try to remind myself to find a balance, between work, money and time for friends and family. Both are getting crucial as you have more commitment, the extra dough will do nicely but so is spending quality time with your loved ones.
So how do you manage?
Aug
8
Customer Support..
Filed Under work, me | 2 Comments
At 3.21pm on Friday at work, my mobile phone suddenly rang. I looked at the number, starts with 06, either Malacca or Seremban and so I picked up. A lady over the phone was looking for me and her name is Joanne. I thought it was regarding to the job opportunity that a guy told me in Malacca but I wasn’t keen to go back to my hometown for work.
However it was not. She said “I am Joanne, do you remember me?” I paused for a second, listening to the familiar voice and then I smiled. Joanne, from the salon in Seremban! 
She was my very first customer in my previous company where I was the customer support (one of the many roles I held). I remembered going there by commuter train to do implementation and gave them training when I just joined the company and barely know the system well enough!
Hell, I was nervous and unconfident but they made me felt welcome and it was really a nice experience and a good start for me in dealing with customer. They even gave me free eyelashes perm, though the girl accidentally burnt my eyelid a little! Ouchh!!!
It was more than two years since I left that company and probably 3 – 4 years since I have last seen them. But I remembered them as a nice and understanding customer who didn’t simply yell at the customer support when thing went wrong. Though they have minimal computer knowledge and I need to guide them in every little issues they have (or we have), it was an enjoyable process to support them. One of my best customers I had I would say!
The Joanne, rather distressed as there was some little error or annoyance in her system at the moment, couldn’t reach any of my old company employees. If I am not mistaken, the company had been bought over and no more people are supporting them. Thus, she was rather lost and found my mobile number somewhere and called me. 
She has a friend who knows a little more about computer than her and he couldn’t access something (which she couldn’t put a name to it) and so I asked her to get the person to email me. I am not sure if I would remembered anything as it was more than 2 years since I last see the system, but I definitely would try my best to give her the support if I could..
And suddenly, I think I’d miss the support job. Especially when you have a nice customer and it is a nice and satisfying feeling when you manage to help someone. Well, somehow, my mind seems to sink all the bad memories of supporting bad customer, when they yelled at me, called me non stop, bugged me non stop and gave me nightmares..
And I am thinking.. whether.. I should.. or not.. 
