Fatspider

Thoughts/Flashbacks:

During my time of grace, I have help many a soul, be it finanially or emotionaly (support). It is maybe in such acts of giving that in my time of need, some have response in a way to give me a part time job (1 to 2 month) to help me get by. First a big Thanks! But in such a situation I tend to open myself to be taken advantage of by people.

Yu may disagreed by saying why am I spoting words of ungratefulness. But 2 contradicting thoughts are actually at work here. (Maybe born in the year of the dog) I am loyal to all my employer including the American firm, but such acts are a sure way to commiting suicide. I find it even more so when working for frens or companys where frens introduced. I would find it harder to rebutt senarios thrown at me that sometimes more than unreasonable. This is because I am working thru my frens help, can't let them down. Thus, have to shallow whatever urine/squirts/cum that life has to offer. But I accept it as I wouldn't be here if not for their intervention.

Have you ever fight for frens so hard you gave an arm for, no not the expression, no litterlally gave an arm for. When yu know deep down yu wear their heart, and all of them know yu were their armour. But what happens when karma, turns around and bite yu, and yu becomes the main source of the pain and they despice you. Hey, dog , I try to help yu, I give yu 1 underdoor but yu gotta swing by yourself.

When I was resign to accepting the fact that I could be on a long road to recovery (no draughting job), I went around looking for part time job in the ads, naturally part time jobs whatever they are, tend to look for younger people too, be it whether in retail, admin, counter, waitering, ursher, the others out there pay yu min wage for the time yu spend, in my desparation I even try to go for those and wudda yu know, I dun think yu look fit (fat, meaning) ..huh?

I dun really want to go back to my R & D line and thats a promise I still keep to myself, the pain is too great to bear after selling my youth away. Anyway, a lot of the same line have also shifted out of Singapore too, Greater China being more attractive. But draughting I will still want to do but life always has ways of blocking your path.

So my first encounter with a fren lending me a hand brought me some cheers,

Internet Shop Assistant-

I was frequenting their internet shop before when they started out at Katong Mall and bought them food and stuff . I learn they start up the hard way and sometimes starve all day, saving up every little dime they have. So, my heart breaks when I heard such stories and wanted to help but all I can do is buy some food. I can see it greatly lifted their hearts and they show their appreciation. The owner is a medium and he practises possesion, this I actually have no interest in but still accept the shop. It has now grown to 3 or 4 shops and makes its biz by $1 per hr (yeah I think yu know where in Katong)

I met the owner again while surfing at his shop and upon learning my plight, offer me to work there, however thats where the lies started, everything he does has a greater intention, I won't want to mention anything here but there are no free meals in this world. Even if yu work for it...,


I started realise the fact that all those that work for him are his investor, me and another old lady are his only workers. Hey there are a greater conspiracy at work here which i rather remain quiet. In truth, once I outlive my usefulness (really no money to invest) and the asst shop owner comes back from exanination, I was ask to leave in such a fashion so abrupt that I still fine senseless till tis day.

My boss:
Yu do your job and dun talk to people, the gods protecting the shop can't help yu too much if yu talk..... (so I took out a comic to read, only a couple of people inside and the old lady has clean the area already check, can concentrate on cashier).

My boss (1 hour later):
Anybody look for me? I notice a lot of strange people loitering in front of the shop I dun know, my gods are telling me they are devils. Are yu collocting soccer bets? 4D? ToTo? Told yu to behave yourself....

Me: No lei.....???? (All the while still reading my comic book mah)

My boss (2 hour later):
Hint and tell yu already yu fucking dun learn, your job is to talk to the people inside, ask them what they want and make coffee for them. We are providing service orientated internet cafe to the public and yu laze off at the counter.

Me:
Sir, I thought yu ask me not to talk today, i was keeping mum and just quietly mending the counter. (In truth no customer would like yu to go up to them and bother them about kopi and stuff, as they might be having a private concersation on MSN)

Boss: Yu still talk back; yu are so ungrateful , yu said yu no money to eat, I bring yu in, pay yu and yu suppose to work for me 15 hrs yet yu go off at 11pm. Working only 12 hrs. Yu are cheating the company; (In truth I am pay $40 for that 12 hrs of work, min wage already, plus $3 each day for makan, sucks....)

Me: But I live at Commonwealth and tis here is Katong. I ask for a grace period while I fine a room to rent around here, yu said ok, can work until 11pm, as yu dun wan to pay for my taxi fare home. Until then just continue till 11pm for the time being.

Boss: Get my cheque book out, you are fire.... ungrateful bastard

Me: Fine, if yu want to kick me out just tell me yu have budget constraint, dun have to use such ungentlemen behaviour. Yu want your customer to know you are still right is it?

I still think the job is ok, I like it and alot of customers actually enjoy my service, I dun mine the long hours, but too many politics even in a small shop. Mine yu I even have to go with my boss to the graveyard (CCK) until 4am in the morning, as the asst shop owner need to study, (did I tell yu he is a medium, yeah). This lasted fro July to Aug 2005 (1.5 months to be exact)

My second part time (my fren intro);

Comic Shop Asst

The comic job comes along as another fren (I call him uncle). Fight for me when he hear a opening. I have earlier try to apply there but they take in youngster only. So when he heard of the the sudden end to my internet job, he beg his brother (owner) to give me a trial. I was really touch and vow not to let him down; I love comics always have and always will and this is rite down my alley, on top of that I used to play Magic The Gathering and has a advantage when people ask about cards, so his brother say what the heck give him a trial. Even though it is going against company policy.

It was less working hours for the same $40 (10.5 hrs), I should be content rite, well life always have a way of slapping yu in the face. To be frank, the job there is really tough due to the fact they sell every other thing next to comic, cards i can still associate but psp lah, cap com lah, accessories lah (really a lot), VCD/DVD lah, internet gamecards lah, and there is a code for each item and somehow I write down also got trouble remembering let alone remember it by hard like my seniors. I was in nah nah land and everything I do seems to backfire on me.

It all began from the 1st day;

The owner's wife caught me reading the news when she come in, it was a very hectic day and I was learning the rope and my senior just sent off the a bunch of schoolchildren. I was off for a break and catch some curry puff as I skip my lunch, so decide to buy newpaper while looking thru the job adverbs (habit lah due to months of job hunting). Thus, I came into shop put the paper down and eat my last bid, and what do yu know, there she is, sucks, gave me a piece of her mind and what can I do, my bad luck continues. But the 1st impression is discounted already.

1 month went by and nothing much happens and I began to pick up confidance in retail and remember some of the items, I was thinking, hey, maybe I can work for 1 year in this , boom, tregady strucks again, I was hit by dengue and hospitalize. This was a major setback in my comic career (so call) as 1st, my 2 weeks out caused major disruption to my schedule, I think the lady who was planing my schedule was screaming at me at the top of her voice when she found out (another bad image).

And when I came back, my mind was in a blank (dengue really knocks yu silly, fyi, all my fren tell me I pale in energy level from then on) and I naturally have to start from step 1 again, guess my buddies at work have to put up with my slower learning curve, and after 4 days back, my lady senior got piss off and let me have it for not remembering some items. Hack, it doesn't help that I got angry and kick at the cabinet too. I just need some time and a little understanding and it all spiral downwards from there. Naturally, such in-subordination carries retribution and I was black-listed.

Another 1 month the owner wife have to come down personally and tell me, look I am only giving 50% (naturally after hospital I forgotten all that I learn from the 1st month) and if i am to continue, I will have to give it extra. I said it helps too when my buddies are working with me and not against me, 1st month I ask and learn, and after I come from the hospital I ask same thing again and they get piss off with me. I decline to continue working lah, alreadi feel very down, and making everyone life so miserable. So there goes my 2nd part time. Frankly saying it was tough but I like the comic environment. The accessories kill me, provided I have some more time, and the boss is not about to give that..... so......This lasted from Oct-Mid Dec 2005 (2 months)

(PS: For the record, if ever I could fine something that purely sells comic/cards, I definately have no problems what so ever, it is the interest and service providing that I enjoy. I have a feeling because I am older than the rest and learning, the staff treated me more unforgivingly, I leave it at that. I also miss out on a good opportunity,when a fren ask me to become a part time driver for Olympic Games Committe, which I decline due to a certain loyalty to my fren, hence persisted in working on, to the very last min.)

Hotel Counter/Reception (mom fren intro)

My 3rd job was the most happy for me, 10 hour and pay $40 per day, only setback was graveyard shift and no rest for only 1 month. Only slight skermishes with guests and the boss's sister (she does the accounts). But all jobs are like that for the 1st few days, after yu settled down it was plain sailing from there. However, that month clashes with my investment assets kanna frozen, so it pulls down my spirit basically for the whole of Feb 2006.

Afterwards a good fren of mine (R), ask me if I would want to help him out by helping him with being a part time draughtsman (manual), I naturally was over the moon and I know he also does Autocad, hopelly in the course I can pick up the latest version and prove myself more useful in getting a job. However, he ask for some grace like a month so he can set up shop in Katong, so readily I agreed, thinking with my last $1500, should last me until then.

However, life slap me in the face again, come April, when R was ready and inquiring, rental was a big setback, R ask for another month as he will look for something more within his budget. My happiness in going back to drawing probably blinded me, I decide to stretch it out, which till tis day I wonder if that was a mistake at that time, by mid-Apr, I was down to my last $500 and reveal to R, I can't hold out much longer. He say he understand my situation and respect my decision. So, I started hunting for part time/full time again, but whatever I try, security/property agent/rental agent all need you to pump in money first. Sucks! and all others would like yu to have just crawl out from your mom's womb.

Cum May after I pay my rental, I was down to my last $100, and I was ready to throw in the towel and go to Waterloo St to beg, R finally found a shop and was cheap too, he say hang in there and we can start in June, the previous tenant last tenure was until 26th, May. Hence stumbling thru I began my next part time phase

(Manual Draughting) working for R

I was glad to come back to my old trade (1991-1993), manual draughting, as I was out for 12 years naturally I was very rusty, my first month was really very slow, earning about $750 only, R pay by each drawings completed, and it felt good to be finally able to pay your own handphone/internet bill. I have to admit the World Cup was a big distraction that time too. Sunday was off and that provided a good rest as well. R is tough at work and throw a lot of critisim at me. One being my lower energy level but I never want to use my dengue stint as a excuse, I took it in my stride and tell myself to persist on, at least I'am back in draughting....:)

The month of July was better, I up my performance and brought home $900. Somemore took a urgent day off to handle PC issue (lucky dun need to pay). And a lot of off days was practically due to a lack of info to continue draughting. In truth, I counted the days I actually work was only 18 days. I love the freedom I have, If R would to have more projects I think I can easily hit 1,5k. My typical day would be like reach office around 1pm (average), work until 4pm have a 1 hr lunch, work from 5pm to 7pm, go and take a half hour to 1 hr kopi break. then continue to around 10pm. Naturally if something urgent I will stay up to 11 something, but I counted only 3 or 4 days like that. What makes the work more interesting is I get pay to go to different government bodies/worksite/even airport to collect documents/submission and I actually enjoy doing that. It is a bit different from your normal desk bound job. Sometimes yu get to knock off early when yu go out, as early as 6 or 7pm.

However I always get a slap in the face and my good life has to come to a sudden end, after working for 4 days or so in Aug, I was suddenly stop short of projects and after another 4 days of waiting, finally decide to ask what had happen, R, insists there was no manual drawings and what he has on hand was autocad only. There was 1 more site visit (to earn) later in the month (2 hr in the morning) but that was all. I really wanted to ask for some autocad drawing to do, but R say his stuff are all very urgent. Sigh

I genuinely was in tears again as I feel I sacrifice/try too hard just to come back to draughting and I ended up back in square 1. Naturally I am broke again as R pay me on a daily basis, I am surviving on my mom's saving and sometimes really starving on days. So I have to start looking for part time job again and lucky only after days of hunting, found the present nite tele-marketing job. It is the 1st self-find job and it will last for 3 months, subjected to performance of course. I am stumbling thru again as the pay day would most probably be around in Sept, 10.

Another good fren H (yes I help him out before) ,offer to let me sell his mp3/mp4, but the furthest thing from my mind is to do sales as I need a income quick-fix as I am broke, I will still push but I guess not with so much expectation. I search him out only because I heard he needed some sales person in his new shop in Pearl Centre. However, yada yada, I think I am hiring a young girl for that, anyway, yu can still push for me outside. Sucks! (I am sticking with my self found job for once after a year of my frens help, not being ungrateful but more appreciate. Thanks!)

Now back to my soccer analogy last chap;

Chap 5: Other Factors and Summary

I hope eveyone enjoy the soccer portion, my flashback was a bit long tis time but always wanted to get it off my chest. Yap, feels better but very tired. Good Nite.. 4am liao

Outta Here FatSpider......shooossss