I am leaving and they are trying to make me stay.

Yesterday, I told my manager, Kareesa, about the possibility of me quitting soon, depending on whether I get the job at the Singapore Zoo. Kareesa said that she’ll tell Win (a pretty high ranking person who interviewed me) about it. She did and she told Jonathan (outlet manager) as well. Win wanted to speak to me yesterday but I had to leave. So, she spoke to me today. But before that…

I was preparing to open the shop, doing the usual stuff (just that I really did the not so tough tasks today) and Jonathan called. He requested for me to answer the call. So, I did. Here’s roughly what he said:
“Hello Jaslyn, you quitting Donut Factory? Why? Is it because of Wendy?”
“Well, Wendy is pretty irritating and… pisses me off sometimes, but that’s not the main reason at all.”
“Oh. Then I heard that the zoo is offering you a job, yes? How much are they paying you?”
*tells him the pay*
“Wow, that’s high. So, you’re not going to stay? I mean you are a very good staff and you learn things very fast. Actually, you are one of our best staff you know. But since the zoo offers you a job and you want to take it, I don’t think I have the right to take that opportunity away from you.”
“Oh, thanks. Yeah, I’ll take the job if the zoo offers it to me.”
“Okay then, good luck.”

Then in the late morning, Win came. When it was off-peak hours, she asked me to sit down and spoke to me. Here’s roughly what she said (She didn’t say everything at a go. I just want to cut it short and not include my replies. I answered her questions and she asked other questions.):
“Jaslyn, I heard you’re quitting. Is there anything to do with Wendy? The zoo is offering you a job right? How’s the pay like? What are you going to do at the zoo? Are you sure you want to work there? You know, we’re very reluctant to let you leave. I was about to offer you a position — a store trainer. Basically, you’ll be in-charged-of training new staff. I want to offer you that position because you have a lot of initiative, you’re dedicated to your work, you’re hardworking and you learn things very fast. But it’s just such a pity that you’re leaving us. If you want to come back here to work, you’re always welcome.”

Yup, those are the things she said. Wow, I only worked for 3 weeks and I’m offered a position. Interesting. But well, I still prefer the zoo job. (:

Anyway, the zoo called me this after and told me that I got the job! Yay! I’ll start work this coming Monday! Whee!! ((:

But actually, I’m really worried about one thing. Donut Factory kept claiming that I have to notify them 2 weeks in advance! Ahhhh! I really seriously don’t know that. They said it’s in the contract and I signed it. But seriously, I wasn’t briefed about that at all. So, Jonathan told me that he didn’t give me a schedule for next week as he was not sure whether I’m quitting or not. The means he gets it. Don’t you think what he said is indirectly allowing me to quit ‘whenever I want’? But I called Kareesa and she mentioned the 2 weeks thing and said I have to call Win. I called Win and she didn’t answer all the calls. The last time I called her, she hung up on me. I really hope she’s not pissed or what. I called her because this was urgent. If they don’t let me quit, I got to inform the zoo like, ASAP! Ahhh! Trouble, trouble.

I’ll go to work at Donut Factory tomorrow and see how it goes…

Ranting about that woman at work.

All right, today I had a totally crappy day at work. You know what? I’ve decided that I shall not keep that woman’s (*her*) name for her privacy. She doesn’t deserve that. Her name is Wendy. She totally made me lose my cool today. Enough is enough.

Here’s the list of things of what she did/said today:

• “I said before, right?! If you want to display other donuts, merge the other donuts first!”
  So, I merged the other donuts.
• “I said this many times already, right? Don’t merge the donuts like THIS.”
  “Fine.” *turns away* 
• “This one (*points at container with detergent + water*) you add one is it? The detergent. You add so much for what? This one is very expensive one okay. Don’t pour so much!”
   I replied her yes but she pretended she didn’t hear it and repeated it again. I just followed the amount the other staff asked me to pour the other time.
• “The coffeemaker you fix one is it?”
  “I didn’t fix it this morning. It was fixed already when I reached.”
  “Then the other day when Win (training manager or something) was here in the morning. You fix one right? Do you know you fixed wrongly? “
  “That day I asked Win how to fix it and she fixed it for me.”
  “No, that day when Win was HERE in the morning.”
  “Yeah.”
  “You fixed wrongly! Come here!”
  *walks over*
  “Which colour do you fix on the left?”
  “White.” 
  “Then the right? Black right?”
  “Yeah.”
  “Then why that day you fix the other way round?”
  “No, I didn’t.” Well, I said that so many times before that and she seems to deny it. So, I thought maybe she could be talking about the other day. So, I said, “Well, that day I fixed already then I asked Jonathan (Outlet Manager) and he said it’s fine.”
  “NO, I’m talking about THAT day when WIN was here in the morning. “
  It was getting on my nerves already. Which part of it does she not understand?? So, I said it in a ‘you-are-getting-on-my-nerves’ way, “Yeah. I said, that-day-when-Win-was-here,-I-WALKED-OVER-TO-HER-AND-ASKED-HER-HOW-TO-FIX-IT-AND-SHE-FIXED-IT-FOR-MEEEE!” 
  “Okay.” *in an inconvinced tone*
• “I teach you all things and you all don’t want to listen, later when they ask you and you can’t answer, don’t say I never tell you.”
• *talks to Kareesa (manager)* “Kareesa, I tell you, if anything goes wrong, it’s not my fault.”
• *shouts at Kareesa* “I TELL YOU, MY PATIENCE IS LIMITED ONE!!!” *slams stuff*

There were more things she did and said but I can’t remember everything. So, anyway, she talked to Kareesa outside the shop for awhile and they were talking to this other guy too. Then Kareesa came in and asked me to just smile at Wendy. I was like, “I ain’t gonna do anything.”

Look, who exactly is this woman?? Wendy. She wears an orange polo T-shirt just like me and the other newbies as well as the other ‘normal-ranked’ people. She doesn’t wear a black polo T-shirt which shows that she is a manager. And, she doesn’t wear any clothes that she wants to show that she’s a training manager, operating manager or even the Boss. So, Wendy is just someone who’s the same rank as me and has a lower rank than Jonathan and Kareesa. Jonathan and Kareesa are outlet managers. Wendy even dares to boss them around. I am TOTALLY PUZZLED why she’s not fired.

So what if I’m new? So what if I’m younger than you? It doesn’t mean you have the right to pick on me all the time and order me around. I tolerated you for the past weeks and you think you can boss me around? I think I’m the one who’s suppose to say ‘my patience is limited’. I don’t usually do this — blogging about something bad about someone specifically. Actually, this is my first time. You know what? Try me one more time, I’ll make sure that I talk to Win. Think I don’t dare to do so? I’ll just say that I dare to talk to anyone.

Yeah, so, I was so irritated by this woman, I requested for my break from Kareesa. I didn’t want to go for my break since I end at 15:00. But I got to get away from this woman. Go somewhere and chill. So, I went for my break, called Anik and asked if he wants to watch Yes Man. See? I needed to do something like watch a comedy movie to really forget about this woman.

Nowadays, at Donut Factory, all I look forward to is the end of work. It sucks that I have to wake up early in the morning and work there. Once evening is here, it just feels terrible to know that soon, it’ll be morning and I have to go to work again and s tart all over again.

I mean, I reach Donut Factory and I do most of the tiring jobs like sweeping the floor for the whole shop, setting up the tables outside the shop, arranging the tables, mopping the floor, wiping the tables, etc. They’re all very physical and I literally perspire doing all those stuff. Tomorrow, I’ll ignore doing all those stuff and do the easier tasks. I don’t know why I’m so hardworking (you can *cough* at this, but I’m serious. I really did all the tougher tasks, I know it myself). I don’t get paid more or what. Oh wells. I must learn to be not-so-hardworking at this kind of workplace.

Tomorrow, I’m so going to treat myself to something (again) after work. Anyone wants to join me somewhere? 🙂

One-day tryout at the Singapore Zoo

I reached the Singapore Zoo corporate office at 08:30 today. Once again, I’m early. The receptionist asked me to sit down and wait. I saw her full uniform when she walked out of the reception desk area. I was thinking, wow, that uniform sure is weird. Who knows, after a while, she handed me a set of uniform with my name tag. That uniform that I was going to wear was actually that weird looking one. :O I sat there and waited until 09:10. As I waited, I was thinking if that job was what I really wanted.

At 09:10, a guy called Zhenhao briefed me on my OJA today. Then, he brought me to the main entrance to meet the other staff. 🙂 They are all very nice! Then this girl called Helena brought me to the locker area and I ironed my uniform and changed.

At the main entrance, I was taught the different tickets they have as well as the memberships. So, there, I started working. There was a girl called Evevlia or something like that. :X They kept saying that she looked so much like me! 

At work, you can chat with the people working with you when there aren’t anyone there. Then you can play with little kids that are hanging around the entrance area. (: And, lunch is provided. Today, we had rice with a big piece of black pepper chicken and vegetables. Lunchtime is an hour.

I was also asked to walk around to do checks on the toilets and other areas to see if it’s acceptable and if there’s anything that’s spoilt. Then I have to conduct surveys on the overall zoo experience as well.

Overall, it was a fun job. 🙂 I think there’s a high chance that I can get the job because everyone gave great feedback which the person who debriefed me said that they are plus-points and he hope to see me again which he’s pretty sure he will. So, I’ll wait for the phone call from them after a week. Till then, I’ll work at Donut Factory for the next few days.

Cruise Trip

12 December 2008 – Day/Night 1 of Cruise Trip

Dad, Aunt Nancy and I boarded the cruise at 19:45. We put our stuff in our cabin 6559. After that, we went to the Pavillon Restaurant that serves Chinese food for dinner. I had a lot of big tiger prawns! 😛 Then we made our way to the Mediterranean Buffet for our dessert and proceeded to the pool side. Who knows, they had a barbecue party there which we missed. So, too bad. We only had a bit of food up there. At 21:00, the cruise started to leave the port. At 22:00, the casino was announced to be opened. That’s when everywhere became less crowded. Great. 🙂 I don’t like crowds. So, Dad and Aunt Nancy went to the casino and I was left alone. The Picture House (cinema) was showing The Dark Knight at 23:00. So, I wandered around before that, exploring the different areas of the cruise. At 23:00, I watched the Dark Knight which ended at 01:25. I returned to my cabin and watched some television shows and only slept at 03:00.

13 December 2008 – Day/Night 2 of Cruise Trip

I woke up at 06:30 and went to the deck to wait for the sun to rise. I took photos of the sunrise and went back to my cabin at 07:30 to watch some tv. Later on, when dad and Aunt Nancy woke up, we had our breakfast at the Mediterranean Buffet. After that, I went for a swim at the pool. Since the pool was really small, I swam a total of 100 laps. I think that’s equivalent to about 20 – 25 laps at a normal swimming pool. I went under the sun after the swim, took a shower back at the cabin and used the internet in the library. We had lunch at the Bella Vista Restaurant that serves western food. I had my favourite — beef steak, lamp chop, turkey bacon, sausage, potato wedges. And in the evening, we had dinner at the Mediterranean  Buffet then I had to accompany Dad to watch a performance by Taiwanese singer, Jeff Chang. Well, I have no idea who is he. :X At 22:00, I went to the Picture House to watch a movie that won’t be released in Singapore until 18 December. hehe. That movie will be Angus, Thongs and Pefect Snogging. hahaha! It was a funny movie. 

14 December 2008 – Day 3 of Cruise Trip

This was the day that I returned from my cruise trip. Seriously, nothing much was done because we arrived in Singapore at 10:00 in the morning.

 

Photos from the cruise can be found in this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66351&l=01644&id=505207095

Something from Gena’s blog. hahaha

This is from Gena’s blog:
Try to use the first alphabet of your name to answer all the questions:
But your answers must be near real.

my name is: Jaslyn
four letter word: Jump
boy’s name: Jake
girl’s name: Jolyn
occupation: Janitor
colour: Jade (there’s only 1 colour that starts with ‘J’!)
something you wear: Jeans
beverage: Juice
food: Jelly
place: Jubilee Court
something found in your bedroom: Jeans trousers
reason for being late: Jam! (Traffic jam)
something to shout: Jump! You jump, I jump!
font: Jokerman
tv show: Jericho
song title: Jullov by Lars Vegas Trio (it’s a Swedish song! hahaha)
book title: Justice League?
country: Jamaica!
name 10 ppl to pass this on: Jake, Jolyn, Janice, Jaime, Jerry, Jonathan, James, Jon, Jasmine, Jade

My answer is very accurate indeed.. 🙂

Updates: All in point form.

The title says it all. 😛

5 December 2008

Dory’s birthday!! 🙂

6 December 2008

I don’t remember what happened. :X

7 December 2008

• I received a call from the Singapore Zoological Gardens. I was called to go for an interview on 10 December 2008. Wow. That’s 2 weeks after I sent in my resume. But still, glad that they called! 😀
• I saw a feedback in the feedback saying, “Staff Wendy’s (*her*) attitude is lousy today.” :X

8 December 2008

• Boss came to the shop today to meet his friend. I served his friend. Before boss left, he welcomed the 2 newbies (yay! I want more newbies!) and his friend reminded him about me. Boss: oh yes, Jaslyn.
  Manager: Jaslyn is new too.
  Boss: how long have you been working?
  me: 1 week
  Boss: Wow! You’re very good! I heard you greeting just now and your voice is very clear and good! Keep it up!
  me: Thank you, sir.
  Boss: Are you a part-timer or full-timer?
  me: Part-timer
  Boss: Awww… Such a waste!
   
  Hahaha. That felt good. 😛
• I saw a feedback in the feedback box saying, “Jaslyn is very nice with me and my gift vouchers :)”  Woohoo! Hahahah.
• It’s Alyssa’s birthday!  (: I brought 24 donuts to the party after I worked half-day. hahah.
• For the season finale of the Amazing Race 13 (or 14), I’m soooo happy that Nick and Starr won it!! Woohoo! I knew they’re going to win!!! They won 6 out of 10 legs! And, if you include the final leg of the race, it’ll be 7 out of 11! Amazing siblings. 🙂 I like Toni and Dallas too. But unfortunately, they lost their passports and all their money in a cab during the 10th leg of the race. ):

9 December 2008

I ended work at 15:00 today and Mom was mopping the floor. After I left Donut Factory, I was told that I shouldn’t go home until 18:00. So, I walked around MPH at Novena Square, staring at stationery, then I made a trip to Dhoby Ghaut alone to walk around. I am asked to leave only at 18:00. So, it was rather boring because I had nothing much to see. :X

10 December 2008

• I went for my interview at the zoo today. I reached like 45 minutes earlier! So, they allowed me to go first at 10:00. The interview was pretty fine. I was asked to go for a one-day tryout at the zoo from 09:00 to 18:00 on Monday. 🙂 So exciting!!! I was also asked to wear sandals. HAHA! That’s one of the funniest requirements for attire. 😛
• I pissed a few customer off today because I held the queue for too long. I mean, I was asked to promote the $10 voucher. So, if people purchase it and use it right away, I have to separate the receipts. There’s so much to do. So, of course I’ll have to hold the queue for quite long. A woman didn’t get her coffee for some time which I don’t know how long, then she walked over to the counter, and said, “Ehh, if I wait for you to serve me, I think I rather serve myself! (She repeated this like 3 times. Dang.) Look at you! You all are so disorganised!” What the hell… If she thinks it’s so easy, then come and do it yourself! So kiasu (for friends who don’t know what that means, ‘kia’ means ‘scared’, ‘su‘ means ‘lose’. So, together, it means, ‘afraid to lose’.)
• I was praised a few times at work by customers too. They said that I’m such a good salesgirl. HAHA! Because I kept promoting the different offers and stuff. 😛 It always feels good when you are promoting to the customers and they decided to buy the offer. 🙂

11 December 2008

• I was scheduled to start work at 13:00 today but when I reached there, my manager told me that I didn’t have to work today because I could only work an hour plus then I had to go for my appointment and after that, I can only work another hour. So, I sat at Donut Factory to read my book and only left at 14:00.
• I went for my medical appointment for my barium swallow results. The doctor said it was fine, nothing serious at all. No cancer, etc. But he said that I only have some muscles coordination problems which is really nothing much. hahah. So, he scheduled me for an appointment 3 months later to see if it’s still bothering me.
• I went to buy my swimsuit at AMK Hub! I bought an Arena swimsuit. 🙂 Nice! After that, I made a sudden decision to watch The Day the Earth Stood Still at Cathay. So, I went up to Cathay and it was 16:35 on my watch. The next show will be at 16:40! Wow, I’m so gonna watch it! hahaha. And I did. My 3rd movie alone. 🙂 Lalalas. hahaha. I got a good seat (it’s easy when you’re watching alone. haha). 🙂 The movie was not bad. 🙂 I love Klaatu (Keanu Reeves)! His hairstyle as Klaatu is much better. 😀

12 December 2008

1 thing – I’m going on cruise today in the evening and I’ll be returning on 14 December at 11:00. 😛 Whee!

That’s all for updates. 😀

About people at work

I almost lost my cool at work today. Basically because, I-have-enough-of-*her*. 

I really didn’t want to mention anything about *her* on my blog actually. But after today, I think I can’t stand it anymore.

*She* has been really bossy and grumpy since the first day I started work. I thought maybe over time it’ll get better. I also did my best to ignore all *her* complaints. I didn’t talk back and ‘accepted’ everything.

*She*’s always asking me not to do this and that:
– I said don’t put the trays out here
– Combine the donuts into one tray
– Don’t put the donuts like that
– Don’t come here (Donut Factory), go back and practise your cashiering for Urban Pantry 

Those are examples of stuff that *she* kept saying.

Today, I was taught how to do the cashiering for Donut Factory. So, I did that the whole day. 

There was a customer who requested for a cup of ICE. I confirmed with her if she wants ice only or ice water, and she said just the ICE. So, I wanted to prepare a cup of ICE and *she* didn’t allow me to do so and insisted that I get a cup of ice water for the customer. Like, hello? I confirmed the customer’s request with her and she said ICE ONLY. And *she* was really really stubborn and kept on insisting that I get a cup of ice water.

Then awhile later, the customer approached the counter and requested for a cup of ice from *her*. I was like thinking, see? I TOLD YOU SO.

There was another customer who ordered a can of coke. Today being my first day at the cashier, I’m a little bad at it. So, I forgot to give him a can of coke with his other orders. Later on, he requested for his can of coke. I took it for him and apologised to him. He was AT THE COUNTER. So, apparently I’ll just pass him the  can of coke over the counter. Then *she* came over and said in an irritated manner, “don’t pass the customer his drinks over the counter. Take a tray and serve it to him.” Dang. What’s wrong with you? Then I didn’t pass him a cup of ice. I was told that I pass them a cup of ice if they requested for it. Zzzzz… 

I think the other girl could tell that I was losing my cool already. :X Unbelievable. I tolerated her for a week already. It’s always so peaceful when she’s not around. No wonder I was enjoying work in the earlier part of the day. Lalalas.

There are some nice people at my workplace. I made a new friend, Amelia, who’s also a newbie. 😀 Unfortunately, she is posted to other outlets this weekend. So, life pretty much sucks without her around. At least when she’s around, I feel better because *she* always pick on her too. :X There’s another guy called Omar who’s really funny. Hahah. He kept disturbing me and teasing me. So, basically, he’s like the joker that makes working more fun. Most of the other staff are really nice too. Especially the staff working at Urban Pantry! 😀 They’re very kind and are kind of cute. heheh.

So, that’s just some ranting and some comments about my job.

Dory’s birthday celebration :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DORY!! HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION WE HAD YESTERDAY! 🙂