GARHHHH!!!

*curses but crosses fingers and hopes for the best*

A very eventful day, or was it?

First of August. Gosh. August already. I'm still unemployed. Bah. That's EIGHT months of sitting on my arse. Pfft.

Anyway. First of August marked the day I went off to Sydney for a whole half hour, then came back. It's the day I went to send Yongs off, till the next time I see him again. It's also the day of my last IB. Also my worst. As in worst IB, not worst day.

So I started the day, waking up at 7am, to shower and prepare for my 3-hour bus trip. I also conveniently managed to damage my glasses the day before so I had to put on my contacts. Got to the bus, took a nice long ride into the neighbouring state.

When I was nearly reaching my destination, Hongs called and said "Xin where are you ah?" I'm like...erm, reaching soon. She went, "You do know our bus leaves at 11.15 right?".

Xin: You serious? But my bus is scheduled to ARRIVE at 11.15. Crap!
Hongs: Erm, never mind lah, you just get off one bus to jump on the other loh.

Crossing my fingers, I hoped we reached there early, and we did, lucky thing. The other bus also arrived late. Luckier thing. So I had a half hour in the airport, saw Aits, talked a bit, farewelled Yongs, hugs all around, photos a bit bit, then took another 3-hour long bus trip home.

Then got home, went to the city for a bit, rested a bit, then Hongs came over to primp and doll us up. Us being Shuey, Su Yin and I.

Primp and proper, we walked in heels to the International Ball. The night was a disaster for me. I didn't really have fun, the food was bad, performances....mehh. By the mid of the event, I was already half dead and gone. My eyes were so weary I could close them in a snap.

What I disliked MOST about the event, was how there was ZILCH schedule around. No one had any idea what was happening or when. MCs were entertaining themselves with suggestive jokes on stage, people on the floor were too busy doing their own things to care, it's like people on stage were in a different world to those on the floor.

And was I disappointed I didn't go up on stage? Yes. I do like to be in the limelight and I like the attention, I'm definitely not shy to admit that. I bothered to dress up to stand out in the crowd, but my effort was dusted off like a piece of lint.

And not just me, I must add. Yeam did a fantastic job dressing up too. And all his wonderful videos (I see an alternative career path should he decide to give up on Econs) went unappreciated.

Owh wells. And I also found out that it is my last ever ball, or formal dinner. For the year, possibly. Unless some other ball comes up. I won't be attending Malam Gemilang, cause I won't be around. I'll be home, rotting, while people (hopefully) have fun without me around. =( Am tiny bit regretting the decision to go home. Cause so many awesome things are happening whilst I'm gone. I'll miss out on so much. Boo.

I guess, an eye for an eye. I get to go home, and enjoy the company of family. I should focus on that yay part. And try to forget the fun I'm missing out on, the money I could be earning, the people I'll miss. Cheeyyy say until like I won't be coming back. =P

So, Canberra, don't miss me too much. I'll be back within a month! *blows kisses*

So which is it???

Ignoring the English in the second line, so is it a nice day here in Canberra or not?

Jeng jeng...

Drama mama : Kiasu mama.

The ultimate kiasuness.

I sure win.

So, I went to Dick Smith to develop photos to add to my wall. Someone *coughBarneycough* was complaining that his picture wasn't on my wall so we chose some to print out to add to the collection.

So the price of the digital prints were 12 cents each.

I wanted to print 7.

But, 7 means I have to pay 84 cents, when I technically could pay only 10 cents for each, meaning 7 should cost only 70 cents.

So I did just that. I printed one photo by one photo. Having 7 receipts in my hand, I walked to the cash registers, and before I plonked my receipts on the counter, asked the lady "Could I be a pest and pay for each of these separately?".

She said, "Yeah sure" before realising there were 7 receipts and each of them were for ONE photo.

I was like, "Erm, I'm trying to save money, so yeah...*nervous laughter*".

She looked at me one kind and asked, how is this saving money again?

I'm like, well technically, if I pay one by one, I pay 10 cents each, so I save 2 cents per print.

Then she had this look on her face, but proceeded to do just that.

So she had the cash register out 7 times, putting in 10 cents each time.

At the end of the 10-minute transaction that would've taken 5 seconds, I managed to save 14 cents!!!

At the end of it, I told her "I must be your weirdest customer today huh."

She's like...heh heh, yeah, but it's all right....*smiles*



I rock, I know.

Drama mama : Dresses up and marches out.

Yesterday I had my first permanent job interview - with the ACT Treasury.

It started off with a Case Study, where I was given some articles and a few questions, a notepad, a calculator, a pen, a pencil and a laptop. I was also given 45 minutes.

I walked into the room, realise the topic of my Case Study was on "Tax Review" and went CRAP. I know least bout tax amongst all, and the little that I know bout it, I don't even really know it well.

So I got to working to "analysing" the articles I was given - a pie chart and two pieces of news cutouts.

Read, read, read, wah lao I tak tau what is going on la wey. So I just pakai crap my way through nia. Wrote out a few points on the notepad, arranged my thoughts. I then spent half an hour to structure my sentence, typed it out, made it sound a lot more informative than it actually is, and space it out with pretty paragraphing.

Okay 45 minutes up. Now to the scary part. Face to face interview with a panel of 3, and a scribe.

Two men, one very pretty woman. All high pangkat managers.

They asked me questions, technical ones, that I couldn't answer. DEATH. Like I wrote in my "impressive" case study some mention about "inefficient taxes could be removed". Then they asked me, what sort of inefficient taxes are you referring to. Uh oh. Caught in a trap that I set up on my own. So then I elaborated about tiny small departments and tax bases that are less productive or unimportant or something, I just stuttered the rest of my answers.

Then they asked "Do you know the difference between the taxes that is governed by the Federal Government and the state taxes?". I'm like, honestly, no I don't have a clue. Then one of the guys was very nice and said "Don't worry, not a lot of people actually know the difference of which is governed by who.". Then I calmed down a bit, then the other guy asks, could you, however, give us some examples of what you might think are state taxes? CRAP. I went, sorry, but I really have no clue. GOSH HOW TEMPURUNG MUST I HAVE SOUNDED. But they were very nice and gave me some examples of both. Then I went, oh yes, I did read some of that in the articles in the case study that I did. DOINK ME.

Then they moved on to more general questions like teamwork and conflict resolution, those WAY more manageable.

Then they asked what strengths do you have that you can contribute to us. I said, erm, I'm meticulous, I like organising stuff (yes, I friggin said stuff), I'm...a happy person [laughs nervously]. Good thing they laughed with me and one of them said, that's good, we like happy people. *smiles*

Then the lady asked what my career aspirations are, so I said, ultimately I want to own my own business. Like a food and beverage business. Then she said "Oh wow, that's NOWHERE near what you'd do here in the Treasury. So you're into the hospitality thing?". I was like...erm yeah, very different, but I'm a big fan of hospitality and customer service.

At this point, they all nodded their heads and smiled. "We like customer service. Customer service is good." PHEW.

So. I like screwed up answering them technical knowledgeable questions, but they were all VERY nice and VERY smiley, and that definitely helped with the jitters. So, they seemed to nod a lot and smile a lot and quite liked me, I guess. But I sounded like so dumb, so they might not like that.

So, *crosses fingers* see how lah! There are 8 to 9 spots to be filled and I will know by end of August-ish. Will DEFINITELY announce if I get the job then.

Drama mama : Sheer laziness overcomes her.

Episode two in the drama mama series.

She went to sleep at about 3 plus after chatting with her friend. She woke up 4 and a half hours later wondering why she was awake. She rolled around in bed then her phone rang.

Bakery calling? Hmmm... Brandall speaks through the earpiece : You're supposed to work today, from 8am. She went...HUH? But I can't. I've got a lot of things to do. Cause I'm going to Sydney tomorrow. Then Brandall says, oh, but you're working tomorrow also, from 8am to 2pm. She said, but I'll be in Sydney.

Brandall gives in and went oh well, guess I'll have to find other people to replace you then. She rejoices and wades in her laziness.

Then another call comes in. The screen flashes "Target". She already knew the question and her answer in return.

Manager : Hey, it's Jess calling from Target. Could you come in today from 1 to 6?
Drama mama : Oh, erm, sorry, not today. Sorry...
Manager : That's okay. Buh bye.

She puts down her phone and guilt overcomes her. Does laziness warrant a loss of the chance to earn a hundred dollars by picking up clothes from the floor and helping out customers when they need help? She didn't think so, but what's done is done. Thoughts crossed her mind about whether she should ring back and said she cancelled her plans.

No, she didn't in the end. In case you were wondering.

She turned down 3 working shifts, in half an hour. That half hour of laziness cost her a total of....$280. Oh dear. Now she regrets it.

Oh dear.

What has she done?

Oh dear.

Oh dear.

Ohh.

Dearr.

Drama mama : All grown up.

She woke up with a start, looked at the clock. OH DEAR! It's 10.30am already?! She was beyond late for the First Aid class now. How bad must it look with her managers since they knew she signed up and all.

She clambers out of bed, and took a peek at her phone, wondering why it never woke her up. The clock on the phone read 8.25am. She got very confused and searched around for her watch - on the study table, on the bedroom table, on the bed, in the bathroom...then found it happily residing on her wrist. It read 8.30am.

PHEW. She didn't miss anything there. It was a cold morning, so she quickly rushed back under her warm toasty doona, and in a snap she was fast asleep again.

Get Shaky by The Ian Carey Project pierces the stillness in the room. Her fingers reached for buttons and randomly pressed one. She let it linger there for a while, then she jumps up for the second time that day. This time she checked the watch on her wrist. It was 10 minutes to 10.

She ran to the bathroom, narrowly missed tripping on her heater, brushed her teeth at a world record time, grabbed some clothes, put them on and rushed out of the house. She cycled all the way nearly skidding off wet patches of leftover rain. Once at the destination, she ran to the training room, pleasantly surprised to find out that the trainer herself was late, making her 5-minute tardiness tolerable.

During introductions, she felt small and singled out. It was, after all, a course for Kids First Aid Training. It was meant more for parents than for young girls who are merely interested, unless of course they were after careers in childcare or the like. Everyone but one (besides her) in the room was a parent, telling stories of their 5-month old, or their 3-year old who liked to climb trees.

When asked of how dangerous her house is to kids, she was at a total loss to answer. Well, DUH, the place wasn't childproof, it isn't meant to be. Though honestly, if it was a hazard to someone her age, should be lethal for a kid. Then during the lunch break, one of the attendees asked her, "Planning to have a kid in the future?". She replied, "In the future, definitely, just not right now." If she hadn't felt like an outcast yet, that question certainly made her feel like it wasn't time for her to be there. Not yet, not soon.

Yadayadayada the course passed by uneventfully after that scenario. She ran around doing errands and then took a long bus ride to the DFO, having heard news about cheap suits on sale.

She went straight to the shop, careful not to look anywhere else but the road knowing things like one digit prices would catch her eye and that they would linger there. Once at the shop, she searched around for the telltale signs of a sale. None could be seen. Then she noticed the oh-so-small sign that read REDUCED.

She walked over, and there the suits were. All immaculately pressed. She shuffled them around, searching for all that were her size. Frankly, not that many were. In the end, she found a grand total of 5 and headed to the fitting rooms to see which suit suited her best.

First one, pretty good. Second one...made her boobs look small. Third one...didn't look quite right. Fourth...made her shoulders look huge cause it had princess sleeves. Fifth...wasn't exactly a suit.

Back to first...hmms...really is pretty. Okay. Decision made. Now to move on to the bottoms. She asked the lady whether there were any matching ones. "We did have some skirts, but I'm afraid we're all sold out now." Darn. Why would people buy only the bottoms and not the tops. It leaves the poor sad tops lonely and without their partners.

She skirted around the place a bit, thought about spending that huge chunk of her wages on the one piece of clothing, then made up her mind.

Today, she blew 40 whole dollars on a singular piece of clothing. A suit top. She feels all grown up, buying suits and spending huge chunks of money on work clothes.
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Then she runs off to Jay Jays to make it feel like the world has resumed normalcy by buying disgustingly cheap 5 dollar clothes.

Very quick bites. *munch*

I got shortlisted for an interview with the ACT Treasury!!! It's next month, so I have time to do homework. Wish me loads of luck.

I just got back from my 2-week holiday with my aunts and cousins, healthy.

On my last day of leave (from Target) my manager called and asked me to work 9 to 5 for the next two days. I said okay. I went in to work, manager asked me to work 9 to 5 on Saturday. I said okay. That afternoon manager said you're on for 10 to 1 on Sunday, could you do 10 to 5 instead? I said okay. Today manager asked you're only rostered for Sunday and I have some shifts next week. Could you do Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 11 to 6? I said okay.
===> As a result, in about one and a half weeks, I would have clocked in a total of 51 hours, which should cover all my expenses during my two-week holiday.

End of bites.

My very own fail blog entry?

Found on my friend's shirt:

Somehow in my mind I picture rain, where instead of water droplets, Post-It reminders are falling from the sky.

A sad truth known.

After many sudden bouts of hives, Shuey claims that I'm allergic to seafood.

And after many thoughts about it, I think she might be right.

I don't want to be allergic to seafood. Seafood is yummy. I have eaten seafood all my life and it can't be out to get me NOW. NOW when I know how to enjoy it. =(

*throws tantrum*

Maybe if I carry my medication around, I still can eat seafood. So everytime the hives pop up to say hi, I swallow the little pill and say bye.

Maybe, just maybe, that might work.