alumni party

One of the staff at Souled Out offered me a shot of Port as I approached the first floor. I have not even taken my last step yet! I thought to myself that if everyone took that shot as a welcome drink, then I suppose everyone should be kinda tipsy and jolly. Man, was I right. It wasn't even 8.oopm yet! Food was not served yet and so freeflow beer and wine on empty stomach equals lotsa drunk alumnis. Welcome to my college's Alumni's Party 2008. This was on 6 Nov 08, btw.

I suppose my batch was not invited yet (not old enough) and so everyone was just a familiar face but not acquaintances. I just watch as people acted silly and had fun being silly. I wonder why I have to attend this party! I'm not old enough!! Luckily I had a senior colleague with me, also an alumni.

(actually I was there representing my boss, who is an alumni himself, to get his distinguished alumni award as he is away on vacation)

I surveyed the room to check out who are the Taylorians of the yesteryears... then I was greeted by this jolly uncle who dressed like he was set to go on holiday in Phuket.

"Halooooo! Are you an alumni too? Which batch are you from?"
"I'm from Batch 18!"
"Oooh! I'm from Batch 4!"

Actually, I think his batch 4 was the first set of batches in the Kenny Hills campus before they moved to the second campur in Miharja and started a new set of codes. I was in the third campus in PJ. No way that he was only 14 batches before me.

Then as I explained that I was there to get an award for my boss, who is from the very first batch, he said his friend was from the first batch too! Unfortunately, after we located the first-batch-uncle, he was too tipsy to remember my boss.

I quickly excused myself and found my colleague also on the way to getting drunk. I made him go get some food from the buffet counter and let go of the wine for a while. OMG. Free flow of beer and wine is funny to watch but only for a while.

As the Kenny Hills gang made loads of noise in one corner, even bursting balloons, the Miharja (second campus before the PJ one) group were in another corner, sitting in a circle sharing gossips while trying to relive their twenty's clubbing days. -_-.... I thought it couldn't go any further until one of them decided to stand up and perform some dance in the middle of the circle.

Moving on.

So I found the corner with people nearer to my age and batch. OK. So got some business cards and some updates on the world, about Obama, about insurance.. etc. Man, I wished time would fly.

Then the COO of the college gave a speech but everyone was too noisy for him to be heard. Then as he was returning the mic to the MC, the first-batch-uncle seize the mic to give a speech as well. haha.. funny! This was his piece:

"When I see Taylorians, I ask them, "vous parlez francais?" and they will go "oui!" (weee). That is TCHT! Now, when you see a TCHT alumni, you ask "vous parlez francais?" you will hear..

"Oui(weeeee!)" responded the crowd. His speech seemed to have more impact than the previous one.

Finally, the time came for lucky draw! Aiya, I didn't even win the tupperwares!!

Next came the award presentation. So I presented my boss's speech. It was at this time I wish my voice was louder. Kenny Hills Gang were too busy bursting balloons.

Later on, there was a failed attempt to form a dancing circle in the middle of the dance floor because, as drunk as everyone was, the music was just not pumping enough. Looking around, the staff were serving more wine to the people! I thought they should stop.

I tried not to look bored and chat up a few people. I didn't know what else to talk about so I decided to sell my hotel's recently re-launched SkyBar.

Ooh! Second lucky draw! Again, I didn't win anything. -_-. At least my colleague won RM100 Haagen Dazs's vouchers! He didn't even realize when they called his name. I should have just taken it for him and pretended nothing happened. hmmm.

I really felt like I was in a story book of dark comedy that night. Too cynically funny to be true. I'm glad I could still find humour in such situations. Now, let me see if I can get my colleague to part with his vouchers!

do do do dodododo do

Watching TV and keeping myself updated on the results of the elections, I decided to test out my (so called mine) wifi speed of downloading things and found out that I actually could. New songs took about 10 minutes and one older song took 1 hour, simultaneously. Lol. I think I'll just get my dose of hits from my trainees. But recently I've been facing some problems.

Amin listens to everything that is metal.
Natalia listens to Jordin Sparks.
Teng Wai listens to Jay Chou (and only Jay Chou, I think).


...

I'll wait for the next batch.
I mean, I could do metal, Jordin and Jay but not everyday.

By the way, as crazy and varied as they can be, they are all very cute and funny. Amin likes to sing and also talk to his assignments. Natalia is usually worried about their little temporary "trainee table". Teng Wai buys fresh strawberries from Cameron Highlands when he goes back. I'm contented.


Natalia has to always take their constant joke about her being underaged. Amin and Teng Wai have the hots for this girl in the coffeehouse. Also, Teng Wai has a regular girl trainee friend who calls him for lunch everyday. She stopped ever since we openly and loudly speculated an affair. Also, at the same time, both of the guys are attached and love their girlfriends very much. hmm... right. We're very open about matters of the heart. It also interest them that I'm interviewing a whole bunch of new guys and girls next week. Gosh, the excitement.


Anyways, the older song in question is Fishing For A Dream by Turin Brakes. Listening to this song and coincidentally browsing through Topshop's catalogue brought back memories of my college break and part time days at Topshop. So care free. So free. I miss it very much. I miss the whole serenity of things. Let's go fishing for a dream...


do do do dodo do do do...

stop and smell the roses

It has been a pretty busy week. So much to do, so little time! I haven't even done my Chinese New Year shopping! Craps. Am I going to be the only one not wearing red this year? Nvm. Shall wait for FT day on Friday. :D

Luckily, my hotel have decided to add on some interesting activities for the employees and that includes Massage! So everything was on co-pay and so the staff only pay 50% of the price. Pretty cheap for massage. When else can you get a massage during working hours? The room was also scented with aromatherapy Lampe Berger and we even played Enya to enhance the overall experience. Everyone pretty much sulked when their session ended and they had to go back to work.This gadget is for gently massaging older people but there is no use for it in my hotel. We all needed the deep tissue massage and the bones-cracking stretch.

Me toes were feeling the love they needed.

The masseurs are both blind and because of that, they have a more sensitive touch and they seem to be able to pinpoint the problematic areas in all of us. They used terms like "blockages", "opening the chakras" and so on. Well, anything goes. They were very nice people who thought I was a small kid when they heard my voice. I must have shocked them. I did the neck and shoulder session last week and this week I had reflexology. Each small area on my sole seem to represent something so when the masseur, who has been quiet, decided to announce, "This is your kidney!", I was pretty worried. "So how?! Anything wrong with my kidneys?! Do you sense something?!" She then said, "No, no problem. Just telling you this is connected." Oh. Phew. It seems that from the session on my foot, the masseur could tell that I don't have any problems at the moment and asked me to drink more water.

Moving on, last Sunday was finally my convocation! Well, it was a pretty last minute thing but luckily many of my friends made it and catching up with them was very nice. :) My mom and my sis, Lisa, decided to grace the event with their presence too. Too bad my dad couldn't make it but I have since forgiven him.. :)



Well, lots more photos but they are in everyone's cameras! Shall wait for the professionally taken one to be sent to me.


And then the rest of the week was work, work and more work. Thaipusam being declared a public holiday was a very welcomed news. I very much needed rest. Then, as part of another staff recognition program, we had a party in Petrosains, KLCC! Well, this place is better suited for kiddy-widdies but there is always a child in all of us!



The place is very big and we have to enter through the Perjalanan Sekilas Masa or Dark Ride. Sometimes I don't see how they translate these things. The Perjalanan Sekilas Masa is a ride that shows us how the Earth was formed and how Malaysia have progressed and also how pretoleum has been one of the gifts from Earth etc etc. It is dark, yes, because we need to be able to watch all these screens along the way but it is not dark, dark. I actually thought it was going to be a haunted ride.


Petrosains teaches the guests science through the touch-and-feel stimulated learning so everyone gets to touch and play with all the gadgets and stuff inside. It also aims to teach people about how things are in the oil plant and gives us a peek into the lives of those who work for Petronas. One of the things were about how people were supposed to evacuate when there is an emergency. There is this big round tyre hung by ropes that will be suspended from a helicopter. So people are supposed to hang onto the ropes in a pretty ungraceful but secure manner and then get lifted off by the guys in the helicopter. Don't dig? Let us demonstrate:

When is the chopper leaving?

T-rex.

And then there was T-rex. Nobody really paid attention to him (because we were all above 18) but it was him and his pals' deaths that helped produce petroleum! Due respect were given as we all posed for photos with him.

We all left a little more knowledgeable than when we first arrived. We now know how it feels like to be in a helicopter thanks to the simulation ride. We also now know how it feels like working on the oil plant because some parts of the plant vibrates like crazy 24/7 and there was a tiny platform which vibrates and we all get to try standing on it. It was one of my fave. Don't get me wrong! We just sound very funny when we talk while standing on it. Erm, anyways, we also learned how to balance 6 nails on one! A worthwhile trip!

I did this one. :D

its a cycle!

So another week has passed. I spent the whole week in orientation and training on our hotel's culture. How about my work then? Oh, not to worry because we got new trainees! Three of our sweet juniors from Taylor's decided to gain some experience in HR and what better time than now (when we are so busy).


I texted Murni a few days before she came back to work.

Me: Murni, u coming in on Monday? I've got training for whole week.
Murni: Yes, did u miss me?
Me: Of course! And I need your help to follow up on some stuffs.
Murni: Haha! OK dek...
Me: Oh ya, one more thing. Jon will join and be your toy boy for the whole month, don't worry!
Murni: Haha! You are naughty girl la.

(Don't tell Jon about this.)


Anyways, the supposed toy boy got snitched by the Front Office department and was replaced by other juniors by the name of Joyce, Fahad and Ming Hai. Only one week and they are already making us laugh. Very efficient and what I especially like is they are not introverts. They ask even more than us when we were training. They complain without blinking and they criticise well too. All funny in their own way.

And what Murni loved best was that Joyce and Ming Hai could speak Hokkien so the three of them plus Bin truly felt at home when they chit-chat. I wish I could too. It is like a mini club where you secretly swear at people without people knowing. Haha! Though this is not what it is, it sounded like it.

Joyce is a very cute petite girl who is professionally trained to sing in a famous school somewhere in Singapore. She studied in Aussie too. This is her second degree. We are just waiting for the next trip to Red Box for some big time serious karaoke!

Ming Hai is basically very driven by basic instincts such as hunger and fatigue. And probably something more. In these types of situation, when you hear him talk(maybe swear) in Hokkien, I bet you will laugh even without knowing what it means.

Fahad, is the most cool and calm person of them three. He is also doing second degree (did computer science and decided to switch) but keeps quiet most of the time. Most of the time he doesn't understand what we are talking about because sometimes, we Malaysians don't use proper English. For example:

Ming Hai: You want to go back at 5.30 sharp? You 'wait long long' la.
Fahad: What do you mean 'wait long long'?

(direct translation of a chinese term meaning to wait forever in, you guessed it, Hokkien)

And then we will proceed to explain, each giving our own interpretation, confusing him further. Shiow Ling too shared a story... (She called using another person's phone)

SL: Fahad! Shiow Ling here.
Fahad: Sorry, Shiow Ling is not at her desk. Would you like to leave a message?
SL: No! Shiow Ling here!
Fahad: But she just stepped out.
SL: No! Fahad! This is Shiow Ling speaking!
Fahad: Oh. Shiow Ling?

Maybe we talk too fast. Anyways, he is Muslim and he is fasting this month and poor thing, to fast in a place where people munch all day long.

Me: Hey! Who's Smarties? I eat ya! (Already eating actually)
Presee: I don't know but give me some. (Already pouring some for her actually)
Ming Hai: Fahad sitting beside you la. He is fasting you know. You are so bad.
Me: Hey, he has got will power also, OK. If he can resist this temptation, he gets more blessings. Isn't it?
Fahad: Haha, yes.
Ming Hai: But you get more sins.

-_-


And they blend in really well with our mini "trainee culture". The one where Murni, Ardhan, Philip and I had. The one where we sort of think that "informal relationships" helps sometimes. Like how we will send a guy to ask a girl something or a girl to go ask a guy something.

Ming Hai: Hey I got these few promotional cards from SkyBar.
Murni: Wah... so many. Yvonne last time you went to get info, did you get these cards?
Me: No.... :( they only verbally gave me the info. I had to jot down somemore.
Murni: Wah... who did you ask ah? Did you open button?
Yvonne: Ya lo. Maybe I should wear more frills here around the chest here.
Murni: Ya. Must be orange-orange and with tight sweater. See, so tight. tsk tsk tsk.
Yvonne: tsk tsk tsk.

And then Ming Hai proceeded to explain for the umpteenth time why he chose to wear a bright orange shirt with tiny frill detail at the chest and a tight black sweater over it. Apparently, the shirt (from British India) was too orange and he didn't feel comfy so he used the sweater to tune it down. Erm, OK.


I'm so looking forward to go back to work on Monday because of them. :)

The end of one signifies the beginning of another

And so there goes my college life. Yesterday was officially the last day of college life as my classmates and I got our results and went through the results ceremony. There were a lot of last goodbyes and so on because many of our friends are going back to their home country and many more are looking to start their career in Singapore and Macau. It was a joyous event but also a sad one because, well, it is kind of sad to leave our carefree student life and into the cold working world and also to not be able to see everyone again and hang out like before. Of course there is Friendster and Facebook and Myspace but... you know.. it is not the same. When will we meet again? Where will we end up? We all have a new beginning now. A new chapter in our lives. So many uncertainties. So many questions still unanswered. So many decisions to make.


Everyone seemed somewhat a little more matured after 4 months of trial working life in the internship. I would love to meet everyone again in 10 years and see how different and varied we all will become. In order to maximize the time spent with my friends, I went for Karaoke at Neway for the whole afternoon and then to Laundry Bar at night.

-Summarized!-

I have uploaded the pictures to all my uploadable accounts and so this is a summarized version. Why am I so free? Because this will be the last Sunday I spend as a licensed-to-be-clueless student. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be a working adult. No more wasting time. No more chilling to the max. No more um.. and er.. Its going to be "Certainly". Sound scary. Will I make it? We'll just have to wait and see.


Right now the big question is, will I find a roommate?


Haha. That was a joke. But seriously, I need to get a roommate soon. Soon. A good one at that.


The weather has been very unfriendly lately. It has been so warm that I could feel my skin a little like being oven-cooked. Slowly I'm turning into something like roast meat. Air conditioning? What air conditioning? One of the few reasons I can't wait to start work tomorrow is the air conditioning. Ah... breezy bliss... Better remember to bring my moisturiser. :)


Anyways, I was just looking around my room today. What I have previously described as a little tiny room actually housed so many of my things and as my cousin Jennifer who visited last week pointed out, it is actually quite big and comfortable for one person. I'm going to miss this room and this personal space. I wonder what my future room will look like. I haven't gone there to take a look eventhough I plan to move in next weekend. Just hope it will be good. See? Uncertainties again.


I just hope everything will be cleared and certain by the end of next week. Will update again then. In the meantime, to the few of you who read this, please pray and hope with me too... :)

One after another...

A picture paints a thousand words...

This paints that I'm going to face my finals soon (coming Monday) and that I'm not in the mood to study at the moment. But at the same time, the skull and bones sort of paints that I sense I'm in trouble. But the lackadaisical attitude shows in the fact that it has perfectly straight teeth and loves to brush its teeth. At the same time, the Purple Eyed Monster looks scary, like I'm really scared, but actually it was a mistake. My "e" turned out too ugly so I turned it into a monster. I couldn't think of anything for "a" so I made it a capital "A" in yellow and singing because that's what I want to achieve... I hope... I wish... I pray... As for the "m"... well, no comments. A lazy excuse which paints that I am really not putting much effort into this. Trust me. With effort, you could sell this on eBay. Last but not least, the "s". I have always used snakes as "s", ever since I knew how to draw and they were always green with black zig zag pattern on its back. How original, right? Anyways, it is actually wiggling to get away - don't know from what. I got a feeling it is headed for the beach. Wow. It really does paint a thousand words.

Food Life Style of Tomorrow!

Convenience Food Exhibition 2007 - Food Life Style of Tomorrow

11 May 2007
Taylor's College School of Hospitality and Tourism.

The exhibition that me and my classmates have been fussing about for the past 3 months was finally over. Here is a short summary...

It was a success! Everybody showed really good teamwork and were independent in that everyone knew what they had to do and somehow everything just turned out really well.

The exhibition covers 3 areas. The Exhibition Hall where the exhibitors exhibit their products and also give our food and drinks sample, which were the main attactions. Then there is the Auditorium where we held our Convenience vs. Health Forum with speakers from SJMC,UPM and also our own lecturer who have done studies on food sociology.. or something like that. Then we have the courtyard where all the fun stuff and happenings happen.

-The exhibition hall-

-The panel of speakers at the Forum-

-The courtyard early in the morning-

-We never resist photo opportunities-

We thought the crowd will not be so fantastic but we were wrong. It was overwhelming.

Part of the attraction was the chance to win 2 air tickets to Jakarta courtesy of KLM-Air France. Therefore you can see the little blue booth on the right being crowded with people filling in contest forms. The crowd was also there to cheer their friends on in the Lunch Munch competition and the Best Zest Squeezer contest!

-What a mouthful and squeezeful-

The guys mostly took part in the Lunch Munch where they have to eat up 4 pieces of healthy Gardenia Breakthrough bread and the girls took part in the Best Zest contest. The guys who failed the Lunch Munch were also spotted trying the Best Zest. Haha.. our prizes were too attractive? Maybe. RM50 cash vouchers for Daorae Korean BBQ and even RM100 Hampers from Boh Tea. Even losers get RM20 cash vouchers. What's not to like, eh?

The participants had a lot of fun. Even our lecturers couldn't resist and took part too. The last picture on the bottom right are some of them. Haha!

All of us had fun too!

-Some of us-

-All of us-

In a nutshell - success! Hopefully our photo will appear in the front page of our next college magazine. I'm working on it. In the mean time, yay!

mini re-branding

Presentation just one week away. Exhibition just two weeks away. Finals just three weeks away. Internship just one month away. Dissertation just four months away. And hitting 50 kg soon. Hmm. My attention is needed. I need to get back to earth and stop swimming in the sea of worries and depression and hormonal imbalance. I have recently, over a bar of chocolate of course, decided to f.it. Let's not worry about everything that has past its one-hour-grace-worry-period and just get going on the current things. Even G2000 has re-branded their stores... There are pink, blue and black labels now. erm... OK, not relevant. I just need to go shopping sometime this decade.

I was spending some time browsing through this month's Cleo magazine and that was when I realize that it has started. Since when did I have time to read magazines? F.it. I need to chill first before I can come up with bright ideas, right? Anyways, have you seen the 50 Most Eligible Bachelors? Some of them are from the 8TV show 'What Women Want'. Why doesn't Charles look as cute as he was on-screen? I only have one hour to worry about this nowadays.

I have also spent some time looking through all recent photos in my pc (which is not much since I had my pc reformatted a few times in the past 6 months or so), and plucked out photos in which I felt happy. It felt better than chocolates.


One day I'm going to dig out all the older photos stuck in cds in which I felt happy and form a big big collage and use it as my header or background. Erm, hehe... when I find out how to do it, that is.

Also, I have started eating chocolates at a normal Yvonne-rate again. Have I told you I love to eat chocolates? Due to the recent series of feeling like flubber (badminton? what badminton?), I cut down on chocolates. Now that I have decided to f.it, I feel much better.

A small feature on chocolates:
Once a long time ago, while I was munching on some chocolates, I asked Jiawei, "Dude, what does Yvonne like to do best?"
Jiawei looked up from whatever he was doing and said, "Buying shoes?"
I was, well, appalled. Hmmm. (Refer article "Do Guys Pay Attention?" in older issues of Cleo)


The next day, I randomly picked a classmate and asked the same question. "Vicki, what does Yvonne like to do best?"
Vicki looked up from the table on which she was resting her head and said confidently, "Eating chocolates."
"See? That's correct! My boyfriend said buying shoes!"
Vicki answered, "That one... true also."


Anyways, back to f.it. I know it is inappropriate but it is still better than the likes of "whatever" or "I don't care". At least you have done some critical thinking on the sujet du jour and when the solution seems to be risky, you say it and then you do it. I once told my stressed-up classmate and ex-class representative, David H, who worries more than three Yvonnes combined, to just say it. Let it out! Tell people off or something! Be free! He looked at me worried and said, "Yvoooonnnne..." OK, OK, very uncalled for. A while later I heard from a secret source he actually told people something like he needs his space too. David, if you are reading this, good for you!

Question no more! Focus on the Now! Work Your Way to a Stress-free New You! 50 Make Up Questions Answered! (er... in the meantime)

"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going."

Disclaimer: Anyways, do take care to make sure you have done your best and your most for the best of the situation before applying f.it. OK?

Positivity

-If we don't look like eager interns, who does?, 21 April 2007-

Yesterday Hajar and I went to KLCC for an all time, big time interview. Yup, the one I have been talking about. We do want this really badly. As in, BADLY. If we get this, we will jump around KLCC Park. If we don't, well on the brighter side, at least we have been there and left an impression. :D

So we decided to go to KLCC by LRT early in the morning. Hajar picked me up from my place and it was really sweet of her (thanks, hajar!) and we went to the nearest LRT station. Of course, we tried our best to look as formal as possible. As well groomed as possible. As well behaved as possible. As fresh faced as possible. As positive as possible. You know, all these need effort. We encouraged each other through msn, read through possible interview questions, prepared our folders, ironed our clothes, etc etc.

I've decided to wear my new suit. This suit was made by my mom. It looks like any other suits but with an open Mao collar. Just like one of those at G2000 and Padini. And it has only one layer so it is very airy and cooling. I know I will faint in the heat if I wore my usual jacket. I wore this new suit to Hilton two weeks ago and found out that I looked like their staff. -_-. No incidents until my friend Kelvin decided to lighten things up. "Can you please tell me a bit about this hotel?" "How should I know?" "You not working here meh?" Ish.

So I spent about 1/2 hour looking through everything in my little room for maybe a brooch, maybe a pin, a flower, a butterfly, whatever to make myself not look like a staff in case, God forbid, the uniform at MO has the same design. No such luck. College ID tag? No way. How come I never invested in a brooch? I'm sure they have some in designs catering to the younger crowd nowadays, right? hmm. I did find a "Visit Malaysia 2007" pin but it will probably make me look like I'm from the Sales and Marketing Department. Still better than Front Desk or Bell Boy. Then finally, I found this strip of inch-wide satin black ribbon and spent the next 15 minutes sewing it onto my jacket. Haha! Instantly less staff-like. Now, I probably read College Student. Or Not A Staff so Don't Approach Me. I was ready. To bed it is!

I woke up in the morning feeling like I have not slept at all because I didn't. I kept hearing little noises in the night and getting paranoid because there has been break-in cases lately at my area. It is always after you realize you need to wake up that you feel like you can really go to sleep.

The staff at MO were superbly professional and helpful. I think we felt pretty important even. This is the magic you get from a hotel (An upper 5-star one at that). This is where you see the results of every effort done to make sure everything falls into place in a flow. This is why I'm here. :). My chosen topic was Job Satisfaction and its relation to Job Performance. I'm assuming that the employees here are definitely satisfied. Everything went well but of course, when we talk about MO, it is never a possibility but a tiny little nanopixel of chance. We are still positive!

Later on, full from lunch at Manhattan's Fish Market (I later found out that Hajar actually wanted to eat at Burger King. So did I.) , Hajar dropped me off at my place. As I walked in past the security hut, I was still wondering if we will get any of the hotels we applied to when I heard the guard yelling,"Moi, lain kali turun depan sikit! Orang lain tak boleh masuk!" Referring to my friend blocking ONE very unimportant car from entering for about 10 SECONDS. No, 5 SECONDS. With NO traffic behind it. I just gave him an OK sign with a glance that says, "I'll make sure I have something to complain about you next time" and continued walking. This is where the magic does not exist. This is where everybody just want to get everything over and done with. This is what people escape to hotels and resorts for. This is why I'm here. :)

Featured!

Yet again... hahahaha!

-Starmag, 15 April 2007*-

Hajar decided to submit this photo of the three of us (plus Ivan and San Mei) jumping in Paris and she got published!

First thought: OMG, I look so silly...-_-
But then...: I don't really care! 8)

*scanned picture has been edited for your spotting convenience. :)

Ring, Ring!

-I thought I was a cam-whore until I met these people-

With only 4 booths sold and 20 more to go, things got a bit desperate with my Sales Team under Exhibitor Section. We turned my place into their office to call each and every one of those companies we have faxed our invitation to. We have Devy, Meriana and Isabella from Indonesia and Alex from Korea. We have nominated Alex to do the calls if the contact person was an "Aunty" and Meriana to call the "Uncles".

First Call

Alex: OK. Which company? This one? OK. Slowly. [1 8 0 0 8 7 3 5 3 5]
iTalk: Welcome to iTalk. Untuk Bahasa Melayu, tekan satu. For English, press two. Hua yu, ching an san-
Alex: Huh, what is teck-kan? two?! huayu?! *quickly hang up*
The Rest Of Us: Apa jadi? Apa laaaaa...
Alex: I don't know! I didn't know!
TROU: Again, again!

Alex: OK. [1 8 0 0 8 7 3 5 3 5]
iTalk: Welcome to iTalk. Untuk Bahasa Melayu, tekan satu. For English, press two.
Alex: [2]
iTalk: Please enter card serial number.
Alex: The number... The number! Where?
TROU: What number?
Alex: The serial number!
TROU: Eh, belum scratch!
Alex: *quickly hangs up* Aish.What is this!?

Alex: *deep breath* [1 8 0 0 8 7 3 5 3 5]
iTalk: Welcome to iTalk. Untuk Bahasa Melayu, tekan satu. For English, press two.
Alex: [2]
iTalk: Please enter card serial number.
Alex: [9 3 7 2 5 4 0 9 4 5 9 7] Ah..
iTalk: Please enter destination number.
Alex: *scan the whole document* The number? Telephone number where?!
TROU: Eh, mana dia! Not behind meh?
Alex: This is fax number!
Alex: *quickly hangs up* What do you want from me now?! Aish. Where is the list?
Me: I don't have the list.
Meriana: I didn't bring mine.
Alex: This means I have to go home to bring mine? Aish!
TROU: *looks innocently on the floor/ceiling*

So, now we are quite clear of the situation. Our attitude towards the potential exhibitors have changed too!

Comparison of 2-4 weeks ago and Now

Then: "50 booths only?"
Now: "Wei, how to sell 20?"

Then: "Ms. Lisa(lecturer), we have already chosen 26 potential companies. Yes, only the big companies like Unilever, Yeo's... The others, we haven't even heard of! Better not invite too many companies. We only have 20 booths to sell!"
Now: "Hello? Good afternoon! Is this Tuffin Muffin?/Ah Seng Biscuit?/Kekawan Food?*"
*Names have been changed to protect the identities of the companies.

Then: "With your booth, we only provide two tables and chairs. If you need extension wire, please let us know earlier. Partitions.. well, we have but it is limited so we prefer if you confirm earlier.
Now: "With your booth, we provide two tables and chairs. If you need extension wire, don't hesitate to let us know! We also have plants. What? No manpower? No problem, sir. We can help you man your booth. What? You want to do demonstration also? Can, we can help you hold a demonstration. Huh? Freezer and chiller? We can help you store your things in the our college's Kitchen and Bar chiller. We also have a microwave oven.

Then: "Not interested? It is not a problem. Thank you very much." *shrug shoulders*
Now: "Not interested? May I know what is the reason? No manpower? Oh, I can ask my friends to help you exhibit. You just buy the booth and we do everything for you! Still not interested? What about if you sponsor some products? Not free? Person-in-charge not in? Hold on? *line cut off, sweat drop from forehead*

Also, there were some companies with which we didn't even get a conversation.

[1 8 0 0 8 7 3 5 3 5]
[2]
[9 3 7 2 5 4 0 9 4 5 9 7]
[xxyy zzaa]

Automatic operator: Hello, thank you for calling. For HQ, press 1, for Sales, press 2, for HR, press 3, for blah, press 4..... for blah, press 9

Pressed [2]

*After 15 rings*
Hello?
Hello, good afternoon! I'm calling from Taylor's College. I would like to-
Hold on.
*Transfered*
Hello, good afternoon! I'm calling from Taylor's College. We are having an exhibition themed... I would like to speak to your Sales Department please.
Hold on.
*Transfered*
Hello, good afternoon! I'm calling from Taylor's College. We are having an exhibition-
When?
11 May. It will be held at-
Hold on. I'll pass you to Sales Department.
*Transfered*
Hello? Is this the Sales Department?
Yes.
Ah, yes. I'm calling from Taylor's College. We are blah blah blah...
Oh, this is the wrong department for you. I'll pass you to Groceries Dept.
Huh?!
*Transfered*
ring, ring, ring.... ring........ ring x 20
*Hang up*
"cis!"

-_-