The other day I decided to try out solat sunat istikharah. I didnt do it before because everything was still within thinking and reasoning. Also, the relationship was not actually 'halal'.
I know from the get go that whatever 'signs' I get will not be in the form of dreams because otherwise I would be a dream psychic by now already. In other words, I dream about a lot of vivid things.
Before performing the solat I researched it a bit and found out the best way to see these 'signs' is from your own heart. Your instincts will change. It will guide you to the best decision. I find this more feasible, considering how my heart and brain are sometimes at war with each other regarding this matter.
I also learned that it cannot be performed just once. My friend told me her husband did it for one week straight. He even asked a friend to perform it for him too. My friend did it sparingly. But the key point is to do it more than once and consistently. I therefore decided to do it continuously until I feel no compulsion for it anymore. And so it began.
I did it for 4 nights straight. But I could feel my heart changing as I was getting ready to perform it the second night. I went ahead anyway because I wanted a CONFIRMATION not just a FEELING. As usual, I had some weird dreams the four nights I was performing istikharah and even one where I was out shopping with him. But I discounted it.
Until the fifth night.
As I was showering and thinking about doing it that night, I felt extremely lazy. My heart simply went "but I dont wanna...." on me. Even when I try to rationalize it with "but I havent gotten my CONFIRMATION. I havent gotten a CLEAR sign yet. Just do it again one more time. It wont hurt." My heart simply refused. To my heart, this matter is not important anymore. It did not want to be burdened by it anymore. Even my body was starting to protest to perform this prayer. I just felt lazy and annoyed thinking about doing it.
It was then that I realized; this is it. This was my answer. To someone like me, this is the perfect sign. It took me a while to realize it, but Allah knows me. Knows exactly how to get my answer across to me.
I thought about it for a while. What does it mean? He's not the one? Stop hoping completely? Stop hoping for now? then who is my supposed partner?
I measured the questions against the feeling in my heart and came up with one answer; it doesnt matter. At least for now, it doesnt matter. Think of something else instead.
It was as simple as that.
Funny isnt it? I consider myself lucky to even get an answer. Some people couldnt even get an answer when their dilemmas I consider more important than mine.
Now I'm thinking of performing solat sunat hajat for new year. Im going to follow the same formula. Do it consistently for a week. Why am I waiting until the new year to perform it? Because right now, I'm not sure what I want. I thought I was so sure but I'm not anymore. And when performing solat hajat you must be specific. Because Allah will grant you the wish in your heart that you didnt say. The wish that is even better than what you asked for.
The most important thing is to work hard for your goals, and then turn to Allah with an open and willing heart.
I hope I can find what I want for 2016.
And so do you too.
Ta'ra
Monday, November 9, 2015
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Editing my Wardrobe
How many jubahs do you REALLY need??
I counted 13 in my closet but I really wear only one. I'm not the type who wears jubah everyday for work because the shop is too cold for jubahs. Mine are mostly worn for occassions. My family doesnt have a lot of parties or gathering. Not even once a month. But when the season comes, you may be looking at maybe 3-4 get togethers, parties or weddings in a month at most.
So why do I have 13 jubahs? I shall try to break it down.
1- my black jubah that I wear over my pajamas when I go out to do quick morning errands. This is the one i wear most often.
2- a lycra princess cut jubah. Last I wore it was during my bertekol. I cant remember if I wore it again after that.
3,4,5 - one each for my sister's wedding and enggagement, one from my own engagement.
6- the one Bella Ammara jubah I bought for raya last year that I havent worn since. I think I kept it as a sample for future jubahs.
7- the cotton jubah I made for raya 3 years ago that I wore mayve only once since my cousin's wedding.
8- the jubah I wore on my birthday
9- the jubah I couldnt wear for last year's Raya because I had too many clothes already.
10- the jubah dress I wore once for the family get together on the eve of my sister's engagement.
11- the jubah from this year's raya. Only one because I already had way too many clothes.
12, 13- a pink and a red sequin jubah i have worn once and never (red).
I think from now on, before raya, I need to do some serious decluttering to make space for raya clothes. And cut down on how many raya clothes I need.
Ta'ra
I counted 13 in my closet but I really wear only one. I'm not the type who wears jubah everyday for work because the shop is too cold for jubahs. Mine are mostly worn for occassions. My family doesnt have a lot of parties or gathering. Not even once a month. But when the season comes, you may be looking at maybe 3-4 get togethers, parties or weddings in a month at most.
So why do I have 13 jubahs? I shall try to break it down.
1- my black jubah that I wear over my pajamas when I go out to do quick morning errands. This is the one i wear most often.
2- a lycra princess cut jubah. Last I wore it was during my bertekol. I cant remember if I wore it again after that.
3,4,5 - one each for my sister's wedding and enggagement, one from my own engagement.
6- the one Bella Ammara jubah I bought for raya last year that I havent worn since. I think I kept it as a sample for future jubahs.
7- the cotton jubah I made for raya 3 years ago that I wore mayve only once since my cousin's wedding.
8- the jubah I wore on my birthday
9- the jubah I couldnt wear for last year's Raya because I had too many clothes already.
10- the jubah dress I wore once for the family get together on the eve of my sister's engagement.
11- the jubah from this year's raya. Only one because I already had way too many clothes.
12, 13- a pink and a red sequin jubah i have worn once and never (red).
I think from now on, before raya, I need to do some serious decluttering to make space for raya clothes. And cut down on how many raya clothes I need.
Ta'ra
Bajet 2016 Review for Butik
Recently the Malaysian Bajet 2016 was presented. Normally these things don't interest me, but since working in Kino, and now, having my own business and being an employer, it is important to keep up, especially since after JUST introducing minimum wage a couple of years ago, it is now being INCREASED.
On the whole, I applaude this move because I know we deserve it. But being an employer in the small business retail sector, it presents an extra cost. Right now in sarawak, minimum wage is RM800 for any employee working a minimum of 40 paid hours a week. (Dont listen to other people who says this is just a 'guideline'. It is the rules. These people are just too stingy to pay minimum wage. That's right, I'm calling you stingy for not paying what your staff is owed) Normally people work 9 hours a day, 1 hour being lunch time so the other 8 hours are their paid hours. This is common for any full-time staff anywhere. I calculate OT and base part-timer's wage from this too.
Now, starting from June 2016, the minimum wage in Sarawak is raised from RM800 to RM920. And the next time it is raised, I am sure, will be to RM1000. Because in Peninsular Malaysia min wage is RM900, and is being raised to RM1000 next year. I have two butiks, and two staffs. I pay them both minimum wage and our sales barely cover our expenses. I can safely say, next year, we will not be able to afford a full time staff for our second butik because it will cut very deeply into profitability. Most probably we will hire a long-term parttime staff instead. At least until we get to point where we are comfortable to pay two fulltimers.
But for how long?
I dont think this style of doing business is sufficient anymore. The only constant thing is change. We have to re-think the way we do business. Re-think how we view the market, the customers, their needs and wants, their priorities. And at the same time, allign them to our own self-preservation and profitability.
There must be a balance somewhere.
Recently I heard some troubling news.
When I met my materials supplier in KL, at Jalan TAR, they asked me how business was during Raya season. I told them business was great. We almost doubled our sales from the previous year. He said that's very good, because business was bad for a lot of Jalan TAR sellers. Some of them couldn't even cover their costs. I was shocked. This is Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman. MASJID INDIA TERRITORY.This is THE place to shop for raya, every other sellers in Malaysia get their stocks from this place, yet they themselves couldnt cover costs? It was shocking.
He said GST was a big reason and causes people to have less money to spend on luxury things. Even during the season I noticed how, if they have a family event coming soon after raya, like a relative's wedding, they would try to buy clothes that coincides with the theme color of the wedding, as opposed to last year when people wouldnt think too much over buying two outfits. Although really, how often would you wear that fancy jubah or fancy kurung the rest of the year anyway?
This is not an isolated case. My tailor also told me that business was slow after raya, ini anticipation of the Raya Haji season. He said if it wasn't for some big orders from Brunei, it would be quite bad for him too.
So clearly, the market is changing. It changes every year. I'm not just talking about fashion styles, I'm talking about the consumers themselves. In fact, I dont think it is an annual change. It is a monthly and seasonal change. And they dont revert back to their previous state.
As a retailer and as a business person, some big changes in thinking is required here. A complete paradigm shift.
In the mean time, here are some links for the Bajet 2016. I find them easiest to understand in these websites.
http://www.mysumber.com/ringkasan-intipati-kandungan-bajet-2016-belanjawan.html
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/316903
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/bahasa/article/najib-bentang-bajet-2016-di-dewan-rakyat
http://www.amenoworld.net/2015/10/bajet-2016-pemotongan-subsidi.html
On the whole, I applaude this move because I know we deserve it. But being an employer in the small business retail sector, it presents an extra cost. Right now in sarawak, minimum wage is RM800 for any employee working a minimum of 40 paid hours a week. (Dont listen to other people who says this is just a 'guideline'. It is the rules. These people are just too stingy to pay minimum wage. That's right, I'm calling you stingy for not paying what your staff is owed) Normally people work 9 hours a day, 1 hour being lunch time so the other 8 hours are their paid hours. This is common for any full-time staff anywhere. I calculate OT and base part-timer's wage from this too.
Now, starting from June 2016, the minimum wage in Sarawak is raised from RM800 to RM920. And the next time it is raised, I am sure, will be to RM1000. Because in Peninsular Malaysia min wage is RM900, and is being raised to RM1000 next year. I have two butiks, and two staffs. I pay them both minimum wage and our sales barely cover our expenses. I can safely say, next year, we will not be able to afford a full time staff for our second butik because it will cut very deeply into profitability. Most probably we will hire a long-term parttime staff instead. At least until we get to point where we are comfortable to pay two fulltimers.
But for how long?
I dont think this style of doing business is sufficient anymore. The only constant thing is change. We have to re-think the way we do business. Re-think how we view the market, the customers, their needs and wants, their priorities. And at the same time, allign them to our own self-preservation and profitability.
There must be a balance somewhere.
Recently I heard some troubling news.
When I met my materials supplier in KL, at Jalan TAR, they asked me how business was during Raya season. I told them business was great. We almost doubled our sales from the previous year. He said that's very good, because business was bad for a lot of Jalan TAR sellers. Some of them couldn't even cover their costs. I was shocked. This is Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman. MASJID INDIA TERRITORY.This is THE place to shop for raya, every other sellers in Malaysia get their stocks from this place, yet they themselves couldnt cover costs? It was shocking.
He said GST was a big reason and causes people to have less money to spend on luxury things. Even during the season I noticed how, if they have a family event coming soon after raya, like a relative's wedding, they would try to buy clothes that coincides with the theme color of the wedding, as opposed to last year when people wouldnt think too much over buying two outfits. Although really, how often would you wear that fancy jubah or fancy kurung the rest of the year anyway?
This is not an isolated case. My tailor also told me that business was slow after raya, ini anticipation of the Raya Haji season. He said if it wasn't for some big orders from Brunei, it would be quite bad for him too.
So clearly, the market is changing. It changes every year. I'm not just talking about fashion styles, I'm talking about the consumers themselves. In fact, I dont think it is an annual change. It is a monthly and seasonal change. And they dont revert back to their previous state.
As a retailer and as a business person, some big changes in thinking is required here. A complete paradigm shift.
In the mean time, here are some links for the Bajet 2016. I find them easiest to understand in these websites.
http://www.mysumber.com/ringkasan-intipati-kandungan-bajet-2016-belanjawan.html
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/316903
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/bahasa/article/najib-bentang-bajet-2016-di-dewan-rakyat
http://www.amenoworld.net/2015/10/bajet-2016-pemotongan-subsidi.html
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Selling Online Through Instagram
I started my Instagram shop - Instashop in mid August. The first paid reviews went up on the last week in August, also known as payday week. I gained about 300-400 followers from those reviews and zero sales.
It is now end of October. I had one interested query but that was a backout buyer, therefore no sales yet as of now.
I looked online everywhere and most people only reccomend using instagram to promote your products and services as opposed to using it to SELL. I want to SELL damnit, SELL!!
I tried to break down the best ways to get sale through instagram and from what I see of what other non-branded instashops did is paid reviews bg someone with more followers than you. Basically two things contribute to sales;
1) Number of followers
2) Number of likes per photo
Number of Followers
Of course, if you have a lot of followers then it means that you are a trusted seller. If you are a trusted seller then people are more likely to buy from you. I can understand this very well, but there must be like a lower limit to this. I got my first (backout) buyer at 600 followers, but I am really trying to reach 1k follower first because I saw that many online sellers in the 1k-2k followers group swap reviews with each other for free. So there must be some success here at least.
Number of Likes per photo
As a buyer, it doesn't really motivate me to buy when a picture has a lot of likes. It just means that that product is popular. And may be put of stock. Maybe it is just my nature that I have a very specific taste so it doesnt matter if a product is popular and has a lot of likes. I won't just buy it because of this factor.
My ultimate goal is SALES. So whatever I do, SALES is the end goal. Therefore my logic right now is, the more followers you have, the more likely people are going to buy from you. And so my focus is then to increase followers. How to increase followers?
I even bought a book for this topic but I dont see succesful instashops doing anything in them. Ill update another time. What a lot of them ARE doing is swap reviews and paid reviews. That is, paying other sellers with more followers than them to advertise their instashop. Because I started with 10 followers, it was very slow going in the beginning and nobody told you what is the amount you shpuld spend, what kind of IG shops you should advertise at, and what kind of pictures work best. And also if paying celebrities to review your instashop is worth it.
So many things to cover and ponder!
However, after dealing with other online sellers I engaged for IG reviews, some of them gave me some valuable advice. I dont follow all of them, but these people have over 100k followers, so clearly they are doing something right. Among them:
1) single picture of a person wearing your merchandise works best, as opposed to cluttered group pics
2) Fill up your Instagram account with 'stocks'. At that time I only had 10 pics in my account, being quite new. So she reccomended that I fill it up as much as I can with pics of stuff I'm selling. I suppose it makes your instagram looks like a catalogue. The more stuff to see, the longer people stay, and the more motivated they are to buy?
3) private your account during a review. So you can monitor how many followers you obtain during each review session.
4) There are peak hours to doing IG Reviews. To some it's 6pm, but mostly it is 8-10pm. You can see some sellers charge differently for each time slot. And when they do, the 8pm-10pm slot is always more expensive.
5) provide caption with the most information in the first 10 words. Because Instagram has this new thing where they will shorten your long caption and you have to collapse it to read the full thing.
6) Capture 'moments', not 'pictures'. I got this from the book on how to do promote your business through instagram. Because this is basically what instagram is about, capturing moments.
7) of course, be firm with your customers, always answer enquiries promptly and politely. Be professional and do not be overly familiar. Treat them with as much respect as possible. Online buyers tend to be very impatient. So set yourself "business hours" during which time you are available to answer queries and what not, and shut off after hours. It is important for your sanity. Of customers start spamming your IG becausr you didnt answer them quickly enough, simply be courteus. Answer them politely anyway because how ypu handle this situation will significantly affect your current and future buyers. Learn some customer service skills, just like in any retail and selling jobs.
I personally havent reached 1k yet, and I am trying to implement in some changes in strategy and hopefully I will be able to get some sales. Sad.
I shall keep you updated.
All the best!
It is now end of October. I had one interested query but that was a backout buyer, therefore no sales yet as of now.
I looked online everywhere and most people only reccomend using instagram to promote your products and services as opposed to using it to SELL. I want to SELL damnit, SELL!!
I tried to break down the best ways to get sale through instagram and from what I see of what other non-branded instashops did is paid reviews bg someone with more followers than you. Basically two things contribute to sales;
1) Number of followers
2) Number of likes per photo
Number of Followers
Of course, if you have a lot of followers then it means that you are a trusted seller. If you are a trusted seller then people are more likely to buy from you. I can understand this very well, but there must be like a lower limit to this. I got my first (backout) buyer at 600 followers, but I am really trying to reach 1k follower first because I saw that many online sellers in the 1k-2k followers group swap reviews with each other for free. So there must be some success here at least.
Number of Likes per photo
As a buyer, it doesn't really motivate me to buy when a picture has a lot of likes. It just means that that product is popular. And may be put of stock. Maybe it is just my nature that I have a very specific taste so it doesnt matter if a product is popular and has a lot of likes. I won't just buy it because of this factor.
My ultimate goal is SALES. So whatever I do, SALES is the end goal. Therefore my logic right now is, the more followers you have, the more likely people are going to buy from you. And so my focus is then to increase followers. How to increase followers?
I even bought a book for this topic but I dont see succesful instashops doing anything in them. Ill update another time. What a lot of them ARE doing is swap reviews and paid reviews. That is, paying other sellers with more followers than them to advertise their instashop. Because I started with 10 followers, it was very slow going in the beginning and nobody told you what is the amount you shpuld spend, what kind of IG shops you should advertise at, and what kind of pictures work best. And also if paying celebrities to review your instashop is worth it.
So many things to cover and ponder!
However, after dealing with other online sellers I engaged for IG reviews, some of them gave me some valuable advice. I dont follow all of them, but these people have over 100k followers, so clearly they are doing something right. Among them:
1) single picture of a person wearing your merchandise works best, as opposed to cluttered group pics
2) Fill up your Instagram account with 'stocks'. At that time I only had 10 pics in my account, being quite new. So she reccomended that I fill it up as much as I can with pics of stuff I'm selling. I suppose it makes your instagram looks like a catalogue. The more stuff to see, the longer people stay, and the more motivated they are to buy?
3) private your account during a review. So you can monitor how many followers you obtain during each review session.
4) There are peak hours to doing IG Reviews. To some it's 6pm, but mostly it is 8-10pm. You can see some sellers charge differently for each time slot. And when they do, the 8pm-10pm slot is always more expensive.
5) provide caption with the most information in the first 10 words. Because Instagram has this new thing where they will shorten your long caption and you have to collapse it to read the full thing.
6) Capture 'moments', not 'pictures'. I got this from the book on how to do promote your business through instagram. Because this is basically what instagram is about, capturing moments.
7) of course, be firm with your customers, always answer enquiries promptly and politely. Be professional and do not be overly familiar. Treat them with as much respect as possible. Online buyers tend to be very impatient. So set yourself "business hours" during which time you are available to answer queries and what not, and shut off after hours. It is important for your sanity. Of customers start spamming your IG becausr you didnt answer them quickly enough, simply be courteus. Answer them politely anyway because how ypu handle this situation will significantly affect your current and future buyers. Learn some customer service skills, just like in any retail and selling jobs.
I personally havent reached 1k yet, and I am trying to implement in some changes in strategy and hopefully I will be able to get some sales. Sad.
I shall keep you updated.
All the best!
Unexpected
I know I should let go. But I am stubborn. So instead of doing what I know is right, I try to find validation for what I want to achieve. And then when I find out the methods to achieve what I want, I start thinking if all of it is worth it.
Either way, life surprised me again. It is hard to get good advice when people who care about you are biased towards you and you end up having to make excuses for someone. But last night I received advice and motivation from one among my most ardent supporters. These people kept on surprising me on how understanding they can be for having gone through my situation.
For that I am happy. I am still in the early stages of healing. But I feel so much better that other people are thinking of me in a favorable light. It is very encouraging.
so now, with a heavy heart still, I look forward to a better future, while keeping my fantasy a secret just enough to keep me going. 😊 I am fine now.
Ta'ra
Either way, life surprised me again. It is hard to get good advice when people who care about you are biased towards you and you end up having to make excuses for someone. But last night I received advice and motivation from one among my most ardent supporters. These people kept on surprising me on how understanding they can be for having gone through my situation.
For that I am happy. I am still in the early stages of healing. But I feel so much better that other people are thinking of me in a favorable light. It is very encouraging.
so now, with a heavy heart still, I look forward to a better future, while keeping my fantasy a secret just enough to keep me going. 😊 I am fine now.
Ta'ra
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Dressing for less
Whenever I think of the effortlessly well-dressed man, I always imagined Matt Bomer from White Collar. Despite being a prisoner of sort, he still dresses well everyday, and makes you wonder when does he find time to iron his shirt and pants and get his suits dry-cleaned.
He would still look hot with nothing on anyway, but still.
The point is, I always admired the way men dress. They can practically wear the same things everyday and nobody would judge. Or care. They can wear the staple jeans and t shirt everyday and be comfortable and happy. For myself, coordinating outfits with the right materials and colors are so annoying but somehow needed for happy life.
After being in the fashion industry for a while, I'm obsessed with the idea of having to portray my boutiques through what I wear. I am not fashionable or elegant. If I found something of the right material and cut that I like, I will wear it everyday if I can. Hell, Steve Jobs wear the same black shirt 'uniform' all the time and he's a millionaire. RIP Steve.
Why do I do this? Because the popular brands are all spearheaded by fashionable founders. Most people get into their brand because the owner/founder is very beautiful/ stylish/ fashionable/ popular/ hangs out with popular (and or) beautiful people. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with this of course. But for someone unfashionable like me, it is very tiring. Plus, I dont have any popular or stylish friends. My two closest friends are a doctor, and a lecturer. God knows why they are friends with me. But I am grateful nonetheless.
For my D'Lihah brand, I knew from the start we will not be able to compete with big brands head on. We have no connections to popular people so we only have our marketing dollars to rely on. And even that is precious few. But for that minimal resources we want to create jubahs and dresses that will be the ULTIMATE. Your one and only! How? By delivering high quality materials that do not fade, do not get damaged easily, easy to clean, to wear, to store with minimal ironing. With stitching, we deliver Made in Malaysia stitching quality where their work quality is easily monitored by us, and maintained by the factory. And with design, a simple design with a classic cut that is beautiful on everyone, in colors that will not go out of date. We always imagine a lifestyle of wearing jubah for everyday that is why you will not find excessive embellishments on them like beadings or stitched on flowers. This makes the jubahs hard to clean with washing machine you see.
But what I'm talking about is even more simple than this. I mentioned Matt Bomer and his suits because I like that simplistic clean look. Not simply achieving it by wearing the colors and cuts, but if this is your lifestyle, surely you have a lot of the same type of clothings right? And to go a step further, rather than have 10 of the same types and color of shirt, because we are trying to sell less and buy less here, wouldnt it be great if we have just 1 or 3 of those shirts? Imagine the savings on closet space!
In Malaysia, clothes are cheap cheap cheap. Foreigners might think Zara and H&M already quite cheap, but here we have even cheaper stuff that can make those brands look like Chanel-expensive (theyre not). This resulted in a closet full of low quality crap that you wear for a short time. I have stopped buying these cheap clothes long ago because it makes me feel like a fraud (I have issues). So, invest in good quality clothings that you can wear for a long time. Pick styles and cut that look good on you and wear them forever.
Yes, I am only 28 yet I was told I am too old to change. So yeah, why not just do what makes you happy?
more on this in the future!
Ta'ra!
He would still look hot with nothing on anyway, but still.
The point is, I always admired the way men dress. They can practically wear the same things everyday and nobody would judge. Or care. They can wear the staple jeans and t shirt everyday and be comfortable and happy. For myself, coordinating outfits with the right materials and colors are so annoying but somehow needed for happy life.
After being in the fashion industry for a while, I'm obsessed with the idea of having to portray my boutiques through what I wear. I am not fashionable or elegant. If I found something of the right material and cut that I like, I will wear it everyday if I can. Hell, Steve Jobs wear the same black shirt 'uniform' all the time and he's a millionaire. RIP Steve.
Why do I do this? Because the popular brands are all spearheaded by fashionable founders. Most people get into their brand because the owner/founder is very beautiful/ stylish/ fashionable/ popular/ hangs out with popular (and or) beautiful people. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with this of course. But for someone unfashionable like me, it is very tiring. Plus, I dont have any popular or stylish friends. My two closest friends are a doctor, and a lecturer. God knows why they are friends with me. But I am grateful nonetheless.
For my D'Lihah brand, I knew from the start we will not be able to compete with big brands head on. We have no connections to popular people so we only have our marketing dollars to rely on. And even that is precious few. But for that minimal resources we want to create jubahs and dresses that will be the ULTIMATE. Your one and only! How? By delivering high quality materials that do not fade, do not get damaged easily, easy to clean, to wear, to store with minimal ironing. With stitching, we deliver Made in Malaysia stitching quality where their work quality is easily monitored by us, and maintained by the factory. And with design, a simple design with a classic cut that is beautiful on everyone, in colors that will not go out of date. We always imagine a lifestyle of wearing jubah for everyday that is why you will not find excessive embellishments on them like beadings or stitched on flowers. This makes the jubahs hard to clean with washing machine you see.
But what I'm talking about is even more simple than this. I mentioned Matt Bomer and his suits because I like that simplistic clean look. Not simply achieving it by wearing the colors and cuts, but if this is your lifestyle, surely you have a lot of the same type of clothings right? And to go a step further, rather than have 10 of the same types and color of shirt, because we are trying to sell less and buy less here, wouldnt it be great if we have just 1 or 3 of those shirts? Imagine the savings on closet space!
In Malaysia, clothes are cheap cheap cheap. Foreigners might think Zara and H&M already quite cheap, but here we have even cheaper stuff that can make those brands look like Chanel-expensive (theyre not). This resulted in a closet full of low quality crap that you wear for a short time. I have stopped buying these cheap clothes long ago because it makes me feel like a fraud (I have issues). So, invest in good quality clothings that you can wear for a long time. Pick styles and cut that look good on you and wear them forever.
Yes, I am only 28 yet I was told I am too old to change. So yeah, why not just do what makes you happy?
more on this in the future!
Ta'ra!
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Crying
Im so sad. Excuse me while I bawl my eyes out.
T_T T_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_T
T_T T_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_TT_T
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Im so sad
Im just so sad and lonely.
feel so unwanted. So unneeded.
Cast aside like a used rag.
I was finally able to stop crying. But here I am again. Crying like an idiot.
It truly is hard to count your blessings when you are so incredibly sad.
Always looking for attention where I am not wanted. I know I deserve better than this. I know that. But when youre hurting so much you dont want rationality. You just want the pain to stop.
Where is he? Where is he my forever love? I am ready to meet you. Please come find me quickly.
T_T T_T T_T T_T T_T
Im so sad.
feel so unwanted. So unneeded.
Cast aside like a used rag.
I was finally able to stop crying. But here I am again. Crying like an idiot.
It truly is hard to count your blessings when you are so incredibly sad.
Always looking for attention where I am not wanted. I know I deserve better than this. I know that. But when youre hurting so much you dont want rationality. You just want the pain to stop.
Where is he? Where is he my forever love? I am ready to meet you. Please come find me quickly.
T_T T_T T_T T_T T_T
Im so sad.
Saturday, September 19, 2015
The Future That Wasnt
Hello blog. It's been such a long time since I posted anything. A full 2 years have passed since my last entry. Oh good times. Ever since I got a boyfriend I was afraid of accidentally sharing my thoughts that were mostly influenced by my relationship. I guess I just wanted to be private. Even after 2 years of relationship I still felt that a lot of my thoughts and actions were influenced by him. Not in a bad way of course. He never told me how to behave or to think. It's just, I always thought that one day I will show him the contents of my blog and I would be embarrassed and what if the relationship didnt work out? Then I would be too sad deleting all the posts here about him.
Therefore, should it be concluded that the lack of posts meant that I have been incredibly happy? I shall agree, for lack of evidence to the contrary. I grew up so much during the course of the relationship. I wouldnt have found out the flaws in my thinking and behavior in such a way if not for the relationship too. I was incredibly selfish before, which I think befits my age. But certain aspects of me clearly cannot be entertained in a relationship, no matter how endulgent your partner is. And for that I am grateful. I hope I learned quickly enough.
I found it surprising that the road leading to the wedding was so difficult, yet the end of the engagement was surprisingly easy. Perhaps when something was not meant to be, it would just....not BE. Current relationship status is somewhat confusing. No longer engaged, but still dating. My family seems to think we will eventually get married in the future, but I dont know anymore. I am still in this relationship even with only a slim chance of marriage simply because I still find it to be a meaningful relationship. It's just, I'm starting to view it like my job in Kino; Im staying for as long as there is still something for me to learn. But about who? Me or him? Lately I think its about me. Because learning about yourself is the only useful endeavour in this situation I guess.
I thought about breaking up a lot. Whenever there's a disagreement I always wondered if I should just leave it at that and call it quits. But then he always somehow surprises me. I was once again intrigued. Curious. And I know I would never stop caring. But the love has changed. It is no longer that desperate romantic love like before. Not it's more like a love based on care.
And yes, some people think that I'm just wasting my time. But I have never been one to look for love and a life companion. Now Im just used to it, so losing it will be hard, even though I know there is almost no possibility of a future together. They say a heart doesnt stay the same after its been hurt too often. It is true. There are many reasons to leave. Good, legitimate reasons and bad reasons to stay. Yet I am still here, not because I am hoping for that future of forever. Simply because I care. I love. And for the moment I am not planning to head for that future. I think it will take for him to return home for good before I can let him go.
I wanted that future with him. Not with whoever will suit me. I just wanted him. Now that it doesnt seem possible, I dont yearn for that future anymore. It just doesnt feel all that great...anymore.
purr purr
Therefore, should it be concluded that the lack of posts meant that I have been incredibly happy? I shall agree, for lack of evidence to the contrary. I grew up so much during the course of the relationship. I wouldnt have found out the flaws in my thinking and behavior in such a way if not for the relationship too. I was incredibly selfish before, which I think befits my age. But certain aspects of me clearly cannot be entertained in a relationship, no matter how endulgent your partner is. And for that I am grateful. I hope I learned quickly enough.
I found it surprising that the road leading to the wedding was so difficult, yet the end of the engagement was surprisingly easy. Perhaps when something was not meant to be, it would just....not BE. Current relationship status is somewhat confusing. No longer engaged, but still dating. My family seems to think we will eventually get married in the future, but I dont know anymore. I am still in this relationship even with only a slim chance of marriage simply because I still find it to be a meaningful relationship. It's just, I'm starting to view it like my job in Kino; Im staying for as long as there is still something for me to learn. But about who? Me or him? Lately I think its about me. Because learning about yourself is the only useful endeavour in this situation I guess.
I thought about breaking up a lot. Whenever there's a disagreement I always wondered if I should just leave it at that and call it quits. But then he always somehow surprises me. I was once again intrigued. Curious. And I know I would never stop caring. But the love has changed. It is no longer that desperate romantic love like before. Not it's more like a love based on care.
And yes, some people think that I'm just wasting my time. But I have never been one to look for love and a life companion. Now Im just used to it, so losing it will be hard, even though I know there is almost no possibility of a future together. They say a heart doesnt stay the same after its been hurt too often. It is true. There are many reasons to leave. Good, legitimate reasons and bad reasons to stay. Yet I am still here, not because I am hoping for that future of forever. Simply because I care. I love. And for the moment I am not planning to head for that future. I think it will take for him to return home for good before I can let him go.
I wanted that future with him. Not with whoever will suit me. I just wanted him. Now that it doesnt seem possible, I dont yearn for that future anymore. It just doesnt feel all that great...anymore.
purr purr
Friday, May 3, 2013
Girls
I think most girls are quite easy to please. :/ I don't speak for most girls, don't speak for most guys either. In fact, I lack the right physical anatomy to speak for guys at all. But I already made my thesis statement, so I shall explain.
I found that most girls in a relationship want the same things - love, affection, attention, and presents. No, they don't want these things, they think they are entitled to it. As shallow as that may sound, I agree that that's the primary purpose of a boyfriend - anymore than that is a husband. Not saying that I personally subscribe to these needs, but I shall explain that later. For now, most girls.
When girls are emotionally attached to someone (ie: boyfriend) they obviously think they are in love, and wants to be loved back. So once said feelings are confessed, they become a couple. Therefore, love is a must, regardless of how you define it (attraction? care?).
Next, affection. When a girl is in love she wants affection and tenderness from her boyfriend. I think this is quite common sense generally for people to want affection from their loved ones. This is not the same as attention, because it's about quality, not quantity. A 'good quality' affection cannot be hampered by distance and time apart. A girl knows when she's given good quality affection versus bad ones.
After that is attention. This is where it gets tricky. Both guys and girls require attention from their partners. The difference is how much? Girls usually ask for more attention because that's their nature. A guy may require only a good morning and good night sms on a regular non-date day, but a girl needs good morning, good brunch, good lunch, good afternoon, happy hi-tea, good evening, bon appetit dinner time, good night and ten 'I love you's and 'I miss you's throught the course of the day.
Please bear with me. I'm no expert at relationship matters, but I am going somewhere with this.
And finally, presents. I don't mean just for special occassions like birthdays, anniversaries and Valentine's day. But for little things. Something as common as sulking sometimes can be defused easily with a present. I've seen girls who don't consider themselves 'materialistic' ask for a gift offering.
Maybe for guys who are not financially gifted this is very typical and quite hard to do, but it is actually the easiest. Most girls can easily appeased by a visible/physical token of the heart from their partners. Perhaps I am influenced with the way I am brought up that money was the easiest to ask for from my dad. Asking for his time, his signature, or anything that required him to be there physically was hard but money is easy. Just mention the purpose and amount and it'll get banked in. Or if money can substitute his presence, then even better.
Therefore, because I value a person's time and company more, I think gifts are the easiest thing to give someone. If I sulk, I won't ask my partner for a gift to appease me. I would rather appreciate his time to explain his situation and honesty above all else. I make it sound like all girls are shallow except me, but like I said, I am very surprised to see 'humble' girls demand gifts to appease them. Girls, why cheapen yourselves with gifts!?!??! (unless it's something extremely expensive then maybe, but still, gifts are cheap).
After all, time is the most expensive gift of all. Time lost cannot be replaced, and everything in this world requires the currency of time. Money can buy time, but time can always buy money back.
I think it's a good gauge of someone's commitment to their partner too. How willing are they to spend their time with you and all that.
So guys, be grateful if your girlfriends only need gifts to be appeased. Also, they are shallow, so go find someone else. :P
Ta'ra.
I found that most girls in a relationship want the same things - love, affection, attention, and presents. No, they don't want these things, they think they are entitled to it. As shallow as that may sound, I agree that that's the primary purpose of a boyfriend - anymore than that is a husband. Not saying that I personally subscribe to these needs, but I shall explain that later. For now, most girls.
When girls are emotionally attached to someone (ie: boyfriend) they obviously think they are in love, and wants to be loved back. So once said feelings are confessed, they become a couple. Therefore, love is a must, regardless of how you define it (attraction? care?).
Next, affection. When a girl is in love she wants affection and tenderness from her boyfriend. I think this is quite common sense generally for people to want affection from their loved ones. This is not the same as attention, because it's about quality, not quantity. A 'good quality' affection cannot be hampered by distance and time apart. A girl knows when she's given good quality affection versus bad ones.
After that is attention. This is where it gets tricky. Both guys and girls require attention from their partners. The difference is how much? Girls usually ask for more attention because that's their nature. A guy may require only a good morning and good night sms on a regular non-date day, but a girl needs good morning, good brunch, good lunch, good afternoon, happy hi-tea, good evening, bon appetit dinner time, good night and ten 'I love you's and 'I miss you's throught the course of the day.
Please bear with me. I'm no expert at relationship matters, but I am going somewhere with this.
And finally, presents. I don't mean just for special occassions like birthdays, anniversaries and Valentine's day. But for little things. Something as common as sulking sometimes can be defused easily with a present. I've seen girls who don't consider themselves 'materialistic' ask for a gift offering.
Maybe for guys who are not financially gifted this is very typical and quite hard to do, but it is actually the easiest. Most girls can easily appeased by a visible/physical token of the heart from their partners. Perhaps I am influenced with the way I am brought up that money was the easiest to ask for from my dad. Asking for his time, his signature, or anything that required him to be there physically was hard but money is easy. Just mention the purpose and amount and it'll get banked in. Or if money can substitute his presence, then even better.
Therefore, because I value a person's time and company more, I think gifts are the easiest thing to give someone. If I sulk, I won't ask my partner for a gift to appease me. I would rather appreciate his time to explain his situation and honesty above all else. I make it sound like all girls are shallow except me, but like I said, I am very surprised to see 'humble' girls demand gifts to appease them. Girls, why cheapen yourselves with gifts!?!??! (unless it's something extremely expensive then maybe, but still, gifts are cheap).
After all, time is the most expensive gift of all. Time lost cannot be replaced, and everything in this world requires the currency of time. Money can buy time, but time can always buy money back.
I think it's a good gauge of someone's commitment to their partner too. How willing are they to spend their time with you and all that.
So guys, be grateful if your girlfriends only need gifts to be appeased. Also, they are shallow, so go find someone else. :P
Ta'ra.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
My Life So Far (Again)
Dear blog,
It has been a long time since I last saw you so I suppose I have so much to tell you now. Hrmmm, what comes to mind first? Oh of course!
Omar, one of my oldest friends got married! It is quite an amazing thing considering he was engaged two weeks after proclaiming he will only get married when he's 30. Pfft.
The most delicious shit ever, I say.
Yulia also gave me the nicest present ever. Book vouchers! I always gave them away but rarely received one. And such a generous amount too. Thank you Yulia! You can bet your birthday prezzie will be awesome too! (are you even reading this? hehehe)
It has been a long time since I last saw you so I suppose I have so much to tell you now. Hrmmm, what comes to mind first? Oh of course!
Omar, one of my oldest friends got married! It is quite an amazing thing considering he was engaged two weeks after proclaiming he will only get married when he's 30. Pfft.
His wife Zara is very pretty. :3 Congratulations! You are an inspiration for reforming rakes the world over! Hehehehe.
What else? Oh yes, I turned 26! It's a good age to be! 25 feels like borderline to me, but 26, nobody can accuse you of being a kid or being old! Hahahaha. This has been quite an issue for me in terms of credibility. I hate it when people put my ability into question because of my age. Also, at this age onwards I will no longer think my friends are too young to get married. So to all my classmates, you have my approval to get married! (overrr)
I spent my birthday going on a food trip with my darling girlfriend. I went to Dip n Dip for the first time and found out first hand why people are addicted to it. I mean, just LOOK! AT! THIS! SHIIT!
The most delicious shit ever, I say.
Yulia also gave me the nicest present ever. Book vouchers! I always gave them away but rarely received one. And such a generous amount too. Thank you Yulia! You can bet your birthday prezzie will be awesome too! (are you even reading this? hehehe)
And lastly I met up with an old, old friend from primary school who came to KL last week. She was in the 'berbunga-bunga' phase with her boyfriend so I was kind of curious. Fetched her from KL Central at 2 am when she arrived, and sent her back to KL Central at 3 am two days later. In return I got RM30 worth of coins (in exchange for my RM30 notes).
The notes that she took from me were the only notes I had left in my wallet at that time, and I thought, if I wanna go out to eat I have to withdraw more money. But then my neighbour suddenly dragged me out to eat at the mamak shop nearby. So I had no choice but to gather them all in a plastic bag, and put it in a tiny hello kitty paper bag and go out to eat with it. I felt so medieval.
So that's it for this post, blog. If I continue anymore it probably won't end. Not that you'd complain eh blog?
Ta'ra!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
3:51 AM - 4:19 AM
Dear blog,
It's 3:51 am in the morning and I am bored. Normally I would read some books before bed, but maybe all those hours of movie marathoning has made me restless. But today is the start of my 3-day off and I am having mixed feelings. Relieved, to finally have my rest, but also anxious, because it's the middle of returns week and I STILL HAVE A LOT TO DO!!111111111111
BUT!! It is my designated rest days so I AM GOING TO REST! or at least, relax. Or something. Returns will return after I return to work. *shudder*
Also, I was ranting alone on facebook. And since it's 3 am in the morning, nobody replied. I should sleep.
In the end, all I could think of is "Who is THAT now??"
Ta'ra!
It's 3:51 am in the morning and I am bored. Normally I would read some books before bed, but maybe all those hours of movie marathoning has made me restless. But today is the start of my 3-day off and I am having mixed feelings. Relieved, to finally have my rest, but also anxious, because it's the middle of returns week and I STILL HAVE A LOT TO DO!!111111111111
BUT!! It is my designated rest days so I AM GOING TO REST! or at least, relax. Or something. Returns will return after I return to work. *shudder*
Also, I was ranting alone on facebook. And since it's 3 am in the morning, nobody replied. I should sleep.
In the end, all I could think of is "Who is THAT now??"
Ta'ra!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Money Issues
I am terrible with money. I have already set a goal to have at least half of the capital I need for my online business venture next year, so I decided I will put 2/3 of my pocket money into my ASB account because withdrawing money from there is a hassle, therefore will discourage me from spending it.
So imagine a full amount of my monthly allowance. Just imagine it, I can't say it for fear I'll get robbed. Okay that, and then I'm supposed to dump 2/3 and live off the 1/3. It should be plenty enough for most people I was told. Anyway, after that I have my salary which I just received yesterday.
Before anything, I put 1k into my maybank. They are for bills and money from the sale of our english cotton my sister sold.
Oh, today there was a chocolate fair at BB Plaza, so I thought I should buy some farewell gifts for those people leaving Kino soon. And BB Plaza has a lot of money changers so it's perfect! I woke up at 3.30pm, but it's fine! I shall pray zohor, and Asar, and then left home without showering FULL OF VIGOUR!
I went around the chocolate fair. It wasn't big, but they had a lot of variety of chocolates that I got greedy. It was probably a good thing I haven't withdrawn any money yet and had only a few ringgit in my wallet. I tasted the ones I thought were interesting and then stumbled upon a money changer. They have good rates (3.465) and had small change for 20000 Japanese Yen. When I told them I'll come back to withdraw money, I saw that other money changers had a lower rate of 3.46. When I calculated, the difference is 1 ringgit. At 3.465, 20k yen is 693. At 3.46, it's 692. But they probably don't have small change I reasoned, and I was lazy to ask and besides, it's not a huge difference. I wipe my ass with RM1 notes anyway.
After that I proceeded to the Maybank ATM and withdrew 800. I bought the 20k yen for 693. Then I smsed my neighbour who said she's on her way over. Her husband owns the chocolate shop near the fair area and has a booth in the fair too. While waiting for her I went to the CIMB ATM which is a little further away from the fair area. I withdrew 700 because I'm supposed to put 600 into my mom's money box. Half for my savings, the other half just money I give her. But actually I owe my mom's money box 200 so I really should withdraw 800. Since it's not urgent, I didn't. (and she said I could use the money if I want so yeah).
So after I got my monies, I saw an ad for a book fair at level 3 Sg Wang, so OF COURSE I went to check it out! The selections were...not great, but they had some Archie comics and they are always very awesome and nostalgic. I like Betty and Veronica Digest. Hehe. After some time my neighbour called and I met her back at the fair. I left the book fair without buying anything.
So back at the chocolate fair I bought 6 Russian chocolates at 45 and 49 for each set of threes. After that I got some marble strawberry cereal balls from Chocolat-ier for 48 after discount because I went with my neighbour who is friendly with them. I thought I was done but I found some nice seaweed snacks and spent another 28 on it. Then I thought the chocolate gold bars at another booth would be great for my chocolate hungry colleagues so there goes another 70 ringgit.
Oh did I mention I haven't had dinner yet? Yes I haven't. I wanted to go to Paradise Restaurant to buy food and they are not cheap. Spent another 21 ringgit. But that was it. The end of my spending. After that I went home and realized my phone's credit is expiring today so I will need to spend another RM50 later.
I hope someone is keeping track because I am too afraid to count the money left in my wallet right now.
And oh another 10 on this bag of 5 keropok.
So um, yeah.
Ta'ra!
So imagine a full amount of my monthly allowance. Just imagine it, I can't say it for fear I'll get robbed. Okay that, and then I'm supposed to dump 2/3 and live off the 1/3. It should be plenty enough for most people I was told. Anyway, after that I have my salary which I just received yesterday.
Before anything, I put 1k into my maybank. They are for bills and money from the sale of our english cotton my sister sold.
Oh, today there was a chocolate fair at BB Plaza, so I thought I should buy some farewell gifts for those people leaving Kino soon. And BB Plaza has a lot of money changers so it's perfect! I woke up at 3.30pm, but it's fine! I shall pray zohor, and Asar, and then left home without showering FULL OF VIGOUR!
I went around the chocolate fair. It wasn't big, but they had a lot of variety of chocolates that I got greedy. It was probably a good thing I haven't withdrawn any money yet and had only a few ringgit in my wallet. I tasted the ones I thought were interesting and then stumbled upon a money changer. They have good rates (3.465) and had small change for 20000 Japanese Yen. When I told them I'll come back to withdraw money, I saw that other money changers had a lower rate of 3.46. When I calculated, the difference is 1 ringgit. At 3.465, 20k yen is 693. At 3.46, it's 692. But they probably don't have small change I reasoned, and I was lazy to ask and besides, it's not a huge difference. I wipe my ass with RM1 notes anyway.
After that I proceeded to the Maybank ATM and withdrew 800. I bought the 20k yen for 693. Then I smsed my neighbour who said she's on her way over. Her husband owns the chocolate shop near the fair area and has a booth in the fair too. While waiting for her I went to the CIMB ATM which is a little further away from the fair area. I withdrew 700 because I'm supposed to put 600 into my mom's money box. Half for my savings, the other half just money I give her. But actually I owe my mom's money box 200 so I really should withdraw 800. Since it's not urgent, I didn't. (and she said I could use the money if I want so yeah).
So after I got my monies, I saw an ad for a book fair at level 3 Sg Wang, so OF COURSE I went to check it out! The selections were...not great, but they had some Archie comics and they are always very awesome and nostalgic. I like Betty and Veronica Digest. Hehe. After some time my neighbour called and I met her back at the fair. I left the book fair without buying anything.
So back at the chocolate fair I bought 6 Russian chocolates at 45 and 49 for each set of threes. After that I got some marble strawberry cereal balls from Chocolat-ier for 48 after discount because I went with my neighbour who is friendly with them. I thought I was done but I found some nice seaweed snacks and spent another 28 on it. Then I thought the chocolate gold bars at another booth would be great for my chocolate hungry colleagues so there goes another 70 ringgit.
Oh did I mention I haven't had dinner yet? Yes I haven't. I wanted to go to Paradise Restaurant to buy food and they are not cheap. Spent another 21 ringgit. But that was it. The end of my spending. After that I went home and realized my phone's credit is expiring today so I will need to spend another RM50 later.
I hope someone is keeping track because I am too afraid to count the money left in my wallet right now.
And oh another 10 on this bag of 5 keropok.
So um, yeah.
Ta'ra!
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Diary of a Bookstore Employee 1
Hello. Today I shall start a new series, thus new life into my blog. I'm gonna call it 'Diary of a Bookstore Employee' because that's what I am.
Ahem.
So the Christmas season is ending. As of 2/1/2013 things will go back as normal, which means Returns (HELL) every month. Yes, I can already imagine those frantic days of pulling dusty books from the shelves, sorting through them and putting them in cartons. Oh joy. But other than that, I quite look forward to being back to normalty. At least returns is only 1 or 2 weeks of hell per month, the Christmas season was hell for TWO FREAKING MONTHS!
And WHAT is with the type of customers walking into the bookstore these days!?!?! They walked in and expect to be treated like some freaking VIPs! THIS IS A FUCKING BOOKSTORE, NOT YOUR MOTHER'S HOUSE! So of course following the rise of people is the rise of idiots, and following that is customer complains! Lately it's not just our customer service that gets complains, but there has been reports of missing handbags/wallets/handphones/children/spouses in the shop as well. What's funny is that when these people/things are missing, and never recovered, people blame US the bookstore. Can you imagine people saying stuff like:
Why didn't you look out for my stuff?
Your store is so big that's why my son got lost.
Your staff didn't notice my very average-looking son?
You couldn't even look after just one bag?
Get the picture? There's so many questions that I could reply back to these stupid questions. But being the polite staff I am, I am obligated to hold my tongue and just smile like an idiot. Even worse is that, after these incidents were reported, and the managers all got rallied together, in the end it is the sales floor staff who got a 'reminder' (ie order) to be mindful of customers' belongings/children/spouses.
This, came right after we had to sign an agreement to perform all the basic customer service things that we already have to do ON TOP of being mindful of our display, merchandise, ordering, counter safety, customer safety, shelf tidiness, stock level and a myriad of other things. Now we also have to add 'Guardian of Customers' Personal Belongings' (including persons) = GCPB. It's been a while since I made acronyms. What irritated me more is that these rules are imposed by people not in the sales floor, but spent most of their time in the office, away from the day to day bs of serving customers. It's not just one or two. It goes on and on and on and on and on even after the store closes sometimes.
So when you see service-related employees being rude to people outside of work, now you know why...
This post is not very coherent it seems. I could barely keep myself on this page long enough to finish it. I have lost the zest for blogs obviously, but I needed to rant.
Ta'ra!
Ahem.
So the Christmas season is ending. As of 2/1/2013 things will go back as normal, which means Returns (HELL) every month. Yes, I can already imagine those frantic days of pulling dusty books from the shelves, sorting through them and putting them in cartons. Oh joy. But other than that, I quite look forward to being back to normalty. At least returns is only 1 or 2 weeks of hell per month, the Christmas season was hell for TWO FREAKING MONTHS!
And WHAT is with the type of customers walking into the bookstore these days!?!?! They walked in and expect to be treated like some freaking VIPs! THIS IS A FUCKING BOOKSTORE, NOT YOUR MOTHER'S HOUSE! So of course following the rise of people is the rise of idiots, and following that is customer complains! Lately it's not just our customer service that gets complains, but there has been reports of missing handbags/wallets/handphones/children/spouses in the shop as well. What's funny is that when these people/things are missing, and never recovered, people blame US the bookstore. Can you imagine people saying stuff like:
Why didn't you look out for my stuff?
Your store is so big that's why my son got lost.
Your staff didn't notice my very average-looking son?
You couldn't even look after just one bag?
Get the picture? There's so many questions that I could reply back to these stupid questions. But being the polite staff I am, I am obligated to hold my tongue and just smile like an idiot. Even worse is that, after these incidents were reported, and the managers all got rallied together, in the end it is the sales floor staff who got a 'reminder' (ie order) to be mindful of customers' belongings/children/spouses.
This, came right after we had to sign an agreement to perform all the basic customer service things that we already have to do ON TOP of being mindful of our display, merchandise, ordering, counter safety, customer safety, shelf tidiness, stock level and a myriad of other things. Now we also have to add 'Guardian of Customers' Personal Belongings' (including persons) = GCPB. It's been a while since I made acronyms. What irritated me more is that these rules are imposed by people not in the sales floor, but spent most of their time in the office, away from the day to day bs of serving customers. It's not just one or two. It goes on and on and on and on and on even after the store closes sometimes.
So when you see service-related employees being rude to people outside of work, now you know why...
This post is not very coherent it seems. I could barely keep myself on this page long enough to finish it. I have lost the zest for blogs obviously, but I needed to rant.
Ta'ra!
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Work, work, work
I can't be bothered with resizing and editing the pictures for the post that I wanted to originally do, but there's just some things I needed to get off my chest, so here goes.
I've only recently turned fulltime at Kino and had just been assigned my own section this week. It's great to have your own section. It gives me something to focus on and I no longer feel homeless per se. It has also been quite an adjustment and although I've known this fact before, I've never actually realize it before. The fact is - parttimers and fulltimers live in completely different but parallel worlds!
Let me put it into perspective because most people are only in one and not the other. Only precious few have been in both and stayed long enough to tell the tale.
When I was a part-timer, my job description goes something like "to be the extra hands and legs of the fulltimers". On the ground it means my first priority of the day is to display. Sometimes you do wrapping, serve customers and other physical work. So during briefing time, you explained how many trolleys you cleared, how many you sent in, what sections you displayed, what section you couldn't display etc etc. It's important for everyone to hear because you display every category and their respective retail execs need to know. In addition to your chief who needs to be updated on what you did. Repeat process the next day.
As a part-timer I had a vague idea of the kind of paperwork the fulltimers do. Most of the time they are simple enough, and most of the time I think they spend waaay too much time than they need to with them. I am not wrong in this :P. I especially hate it when there are 3 fulltimers and I was the only parrtimer on duty because they don't do display or any of the physical shit and I would be the only doing display and later on, packing shelf. It is fucking annoying to have 3 'bosses' all telling you to do different things. Even more so when they are all telling you to do the same things. By then I'd just roll my eyes and snap back. I've always had my suspicions of people pretending to be busier than they really are so they can avoid drudge work (I know who you are :P). But as a lowly mindless slave, it is not your place to comment on them. Most of the time, their tardiness do not affect you. Most of the time.
Fulltimers' main focus is their section and their merchandise. Eventually they are expected to know everything that their merchandiser knows like ordering, warehousing, negotiating etc. And surprise, surprise, they are expected to know how to teach parttimers to be able to do their display so they can spend more time in the counter doing ordering and shit. Of course this doesn't mean you don't go to the shelf at all. It just means you have more free time thinking about how to improve your sales than doing mindless things other people are hired for.
Before I had a section, I was a homeless nomad. I already mastered the skills of a super part-timer which included some of the skills of a fulltimer. I have a strong basic and was taught the advanced things quite quickly compared to the other newbies who came with me. But because my 'teachers' were often distracted I could barely learn much at first. That was the weekend after all. Therefore in between, not allowed to display, I just stayed at the counter serving customers until I am sent out to pack shelf. It's funny how much freedom I have in my own section and how other 'people' can't easily order me around anymore. And the things they order me around for, I can see now that some of those things they are supposed to be doing anyway but couldn't mostly due to poor time management. Nobody told these people how we are supposed to work fast and efficiently around here?
Briefing time was different too, for me. Anything I had to share usually only things that effect me, my section and people who do display there. Nothing I said felt as important as clearing one trolley and sending it inside because that actually has a big impact on our day to day. I suppose I have yet to realize how important my current duties are. Sometimes when I'm doing work inside the counter, I look out and try to imagine what goes on in the part-timer world and felt out of touch because I really don't know what they are doing. I usually know exactly how the displays are going; how many trolleys are out there, what sections fill them, what sections can be cleared quickly and what sections are constipating etc etc. Now I just don't know. I still feel that I do need to know those things in addition to my own shit. I am still being taught a lot of things so I can't really work according to my own schedule yet. I look forward to working according to own pace. I just hope the slower pace of fulltime work won't make me lazy though.
To reward you guys for reading through this dry post, here's a picture of walabies from the Kristiansand Zoo in Norway.
Ta'ra!
I've only recently turned fulltime at Kino and had just been assigned my own section this week. It's great to have your own section. It gives me something to focus on and I no longer feel homeless per se. It has also been quite an adjustment and although I've known this fact before, I've never actually realize it before. The fact is - parttimers and fulltimers live in completely different but parallel worlds!
Let me put it into perspective because most people are only in one and not the other. Only precious few have been in both and stayed long enough to tell the tale.
When I was a part-timer, my job description goes something like "to be the extra hands and legs of the fulltimers". On the ground it means my first priority of the day is to display. Sometimes you do wrapping, serve customers and other physical work. So during briefing time, you explained how many trolleys you cleared, how many you sent in, what sections you displayed, what section you couldn't display etc etc. It's important for everyone to hear because you display every category and their respective retail execs need to know. In addition to your chief who needs to be updated on what you did. Repeat process the next day.
As a part-timer I had a vague idea of the kind of paperwork the fulltimers do. Most of the time they are simple enough, and most of the time I think they spend waaay too much time than they need to with them. I am not wrong in this :P. I especially hate it when there are 3 fulltimers and I was the only parrtimer on duty because they don't do display or any of the physical shit and I would be the only doing display and later on, packing shelf. It is fucking annoying to have 3 'bosses' all telling you to do different things. Even more so when they are all telling you to do the same things. By then I'd just roll my eyes and snap back. I've always had my suspicions of people pretending to be busier than they really are so they can avoid drudge work (I know who you are :P). But as a lowly mindless slave, it is not your place to comment on them. Most of the time, their tardiness do not affect you. Most of the time.
Fulltimers' main focus is their section and their merchandise. Eventually they are expected to know everything that their merchandiser knows like ordering, warehousing, negotiating etc. And surprise, surprise, they are expected to know how to teach parttimers to be able to do their display so they can spend more time in the counter doing ordering and shit. Of course this doesn't mean you don't go to the shelf at all. It just means you have more free time thinking about how to improve your sales than doing mindless things other people are hired for.
Before I had a section, I was a homeless nomad. I already mastered the skills of a super part-timer which included some of the skills of a fulltimer. I have a strong basic and was taught the advanced things quite quickly compared to the other newbies who came with me. But because my 'teachers' were often distracted I could barely learn much at first. That was the weekend after all. Therefore in between, not allowed to display, I just stayed at the counter serving customers until I am sent out to pack shelf. It's funny how much freedom I have in my own section and how other 'people' can't easily order me around anymore. And the things they order me around for, I can see now that some of those things they are supposed to be doing anyway but couldn't mostly due to poor time management. Nobody told these people how we are supposed to work fast and efficiently around here?
Briefing time was different too, for me. Anything I had to share usually only things that effect me, my section and people who do display there. Nothing I said felt as important as clearing one trolley and sending it inside because that actually has a big impact on our day to day. I suppose I have yet to realize how important my current duties are. Sometimes when I'm doing work inside the counter, I look out and try to imagine what goes on in the part-timer world and felt out of touch because I really don't know what they are doing. I usually know exactly how the displays are going; how many trolleys are out there, what sections fill them, what sections can be cleared quickly and what sections are constipating etc etc. Now I just don't know. I still feel that I do need to know those things in addition to my own shit. I am still being taught a lot of things so I can't really work according to my own schedule yet. I look forward to working according to own pace. I just hope the slower pace of fulltime work won't make me lazy though.
To reward you guys for reading through this dry post, here's a picture of walabies from the Kristiansand Zoo in Norway.
Friday, April 27, 2012
My New Shelf
I finally got around to transporting my shelves to Kuching all the way from IKEA! I only managed three small ones on this trip, and I still have a lot to go, especially the big ones. But I think I'll just courier them over instead of travelling with them, since they are so heavy. My room looks turqoisey blue in these pictures but it is actually green. I actually wanted my room this color, but the shade of green I got was the closest I could get.
And also you can see the line of hooks I imported all the way from IKEA. Hooks are easy to bring because they are small. But who cares! I FINALLY HAVE A SHELF OVER MY HEAD WHOOOOOO!!! Now, if only I have my funky books to fill it? xD
Oh yes, I haven't introduced my boutique yet. I kept forgetting to take pictures of it. Here's a picture of the sign. I think I'll put te rest in facebook for promoting purposes xD.
Signage designed by The Other Farah.
Ta'ra!
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| Notice my porn smiling on the shelf? |
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| Not pictured: (non-porny) books to fill the shelf. |
Oh yes, I haven't introduced my boutique yet. I kept forgetting to take pictures of it. Here's a picture of the sign. I think I'll put te rest in facebook for promoting purposes xD.
Ta'ra!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Quarter Life Birthday 22/4/2012
It's been a while since I made any birthday posts. And it has also been a few years since I celebrated my birthday in Kuching. My youngest sister's birthday also falls on the same date so this is our first birthday together since a long time. This also happens to be Sarah's first birthday party, so she was really looking forward to her presents. Ahh, the good old days.
Anyway, she celebrated her party at McDonald's with the them of Spongebob, so all her friends are supposed to wear yellow. Of course, not everyone had yellow things to wear, but it was still amusing to see them putting so much effort to follow the dress code. Let's move on to the birthday girls shall we?
Now presenting our birthday cake! It was a surprise, apparently, because I came home for my birthday on the last minute hahahaha. You might remember this picture from this post. It is the exact same picture used. My elder sis had a copy and it was one of those rare pics of Sarah and I together.
After the party, we all went home and Sarah went to excitedly unwrapping all her presents with the (probably unwelcomed) help of some of her friends. Later that night we went out for seafood because that's all I wanted to have for my birthday. Presenting the oyster pancake!
Can't believe I've seen this anywhere else in the world but here.
After dinner I met up with Totchi at The Atelier, this bar restaurant that was set in a renovated colonial home. I played pool for the first time since I was maybe ten or twelve waaaay back at the Kiddies Club at Damai Beach. I sucked at it, but it was still fun. It was funny how everyone there had a drink, a bottle or just a glass in front of them while I had a complete tea service before me! Isn't it obvious that I don't belong in such places? I met some interesting people. Bar flies are often nice people, I was told. I just didn't dare to take pictures of myself there because I'm afraid that people will take it out of context. :P Either way, my clothes smelled of smoke when I finally went home and had a feverish, cigarette-smelling dream that night because turned out I was on the verge of a fever that became full on the next day.
Overall, what an interesting birthday! Ta'ra!
Anyway, she celebrated her party at McDonald's with the them of Spongebob, so all her friends are supposed to wear yellow. Of course, not everyone had yellow things to wear, but it was still amusing to see them putting so much effort to follow the dress code. Let's move on to the birthday girls shall we?
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| Me and my awesome party hat |
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| Sarah and her friends. It's good to be young and excitable. sighs. |
And the food, of course. Each bag contains a piece of chicken. There are fries and nuggets as well. Suits picky eaters like me best since I always have my burgers plain xD.
And you can't have a birthday party at this age without games. My dad took the games maybe a little too seriously...
Now presenting our birthday cake! It was a surprise, apparently, because I came home for my birthday on the last minute hahahaha. You might remember this picture from this post. It is the exact same picture used. My elder sis had a copy and it was one of those rare pics of Sarah and I together.
 |
| Although I didn't get to eat my own head. |
After dinner I met up with Totchi at The Atelier, this bar restaurant that was set in a renovated colonial home. I played pool for the first time since I was maybe ten or twelve waaaay back at the Kiddies Club at Damai Beach. I sucked at it, but it was still fun. It was funny how everyone there had a drink, a bottle or just a glass in front of them while I had a complete tea service before me! Isn't it obvious that I don't belong in such places? I met some interesting people. Bar flies are often nice people, I was told. I just didn't dare to take pictures of myself there because I'm afraid that people will take it out of context. :P Either way, my clothes smelled of smoke when I finally went home and had a feverish, cigarette-smelling dream that night because turned out I was on the verge of a fever that became full on the next day.
Overall, what an interesting birthday! Ta'ra!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Fruityful Day
Even though I think my soul died a bit today. But never mind. Today is my day off, so I thought I’d do the second part of my errands. I woke up at 2pm today (whoo!) and decided that I need to finally go to the bank to transfer some money. The bank closes at 4.15 today, so I thought I should get there at least by 3.30. Should be easy right? Not when you’re me! Between waking up and leaving the house, took me about one hour and a half. I reached the bank at exactly 3.30pm – without eating. I only managed to scarf down two Viennese cookies after showering. It was pretty quick though. The last time I went to the bank is because I had to make a new ATM card and the previous two times before the last one, was for the same reason but without my mykad, as I was recently relieved off my wallets. Long story.
Anyway, after that I had lunch – where to go? – of course Pavilion! That’s my kitchen. I was craving for nachos and was pleasantly surprised that there is the same stall that sells nachos here in Pavilion as the one in KLCC! What’s funny was, I saw the nachos behind the counter of Little Taiwan so I asked the girls there where they got it. They pointed to the stall behind them. After that, after I sat down with my food (nachos included), someone else passed by and asked where did I get them! Hahahaha! Obviously people don’t know about the nachos!
While I was sitting down to eat, I turned on my phone and its faulty sim card and found that I had 3 missed calls from MPH. I tried calling back but my sim card hated me and kept cutting my line. After lunch I still had plenty of time before Maghrib so I thought I’d finally buy those stupid ink cartridges that kept giving me warnings about their impending dooms. So I made my way to Sg. Wang. And bought the damn ink cartridges.
And because my SIM card kept dying, I bought a new one.
Yes, Digi. I was too lazy to take a pic of my sim card so I just googled a digi image. I am not doing it any free or paid advertising. I always buy my temporary sim cards as Digi. So while I was on an sms-ing spree, telling everyone about my new number, I got fed up with the faulty buttons on my phone and thought, what the hell – let me just buy a new phone!
And so I did.
I name it NordKitten – after my laptop –NordKatten, meaning Nordic Cat hehehe.
Cameo.
It’s a Walkman W100i Spiro phone for RM250. Cute, cheap, good brand, reputable seller – what more do you need? Well, how about some accessories? Not so easy. For both case and screen protector, every seller nowadays are selling only for ; iphone, blackberry, galaxy or any variations of smartphones therefore. Gone are the days of the buttons. So I just bought a sock for it.
I wanna see how this one goes before I decide to buy anotherone which is crocheted, colorful and slightly longer, able to cover the whole phone. Because swiping your card takes some of your soul, therefore it needs some nourishment after that.
Nothing a Subway sandwich can’t fix!I’m still keeping it for later though, since I just had a big late lunch. I also stumbled onto my neighbor who is recently married and thought I should finally give him his wedding gift. Just to be neighborly. But sighs, I still have some chores to do – clear up my desk, hang my laundry, fold my laundry and take out the trash.
((5 hours gap where I went to my neighbour’s house, hung out and had dinner. I have nice enighbours))
Forget all those things. I need to shower!
Ta’ra!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Tea Time
Apart from lunch (and brunch, or dinner and maybe supper), tea time is my favorite time of the day, regardless of when that may be - early in the morning, after lunch, late afternoon, or after supper at night before bed - I just looove tea! I love it so much that when I went to London I brought home a whole collection of tea!
Do not be fooled - I actually have a lot more! Those are just my Whittard collection. I have a few more from tourist tat shops. All were purchased for personal consumption, but I decided that I should share and gave away some of those with nice tins, like the one the shape of a double decker bus. Despite that, I still kept this one with me. It's loose leaf tea, but still...
Sherlock Holmes London Tea! And yes, I bought it just for the awesome tin! There's some 'back story' on the back:
It says: "This delightful blend of a Secret Victorian recipe known only to Mrs. Hudson, could have been served to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in their study in Baker Street whilst foiling the exploits of Professor Moriarty".
I certainly wouldn't mind the fictional taste of tea made for fictional characters! Also, I have opened this tin yet. It's currently decorating my dresser xD.
Tonight's tea is Whittard's Afternoon Earl Grey.
My favorite tea is obviously Earl Grey. I have about...five or six Earl Greys of different brands and made it a point to taste all the Earl Greys of available brands. My favorite daily Earl Grey is from Dilmah because unlike these British teas Dilmah is not as strong. Or perhaps because the packets are smaller so the tea doesnt get bitter towards the end. Either way. My 'Tea Service' tonight:
I kept forgetting about those two pieces of cookies in the fridge so I included them there. Here you can see the stool doing what it's meant to be - being a tea table. While I was drinking this, I was going through my London pictures and some Norway pictures...well basically I was going though my camera memory card! So I thought I would include some very well overdue London pictures. Just a bit, though, don't be dissapointed.
Here we were, drinking hot chocolate with the London Bridge in the background, waiting while my older sis and bro went to the London Dungeon. I skipped out because I was a wimp xD.
Here's me again, I think we just came back from Paris. Tired. Probably hungry, and needing to poop. Or maybe just fart. Travelling makes me gassy.
And this is the very, very friendly hotel porter whom we nicknamed Mosby. (actual name Gabriel) He is French Nigerian. Took this pic after coming back from shopping one night, and was waiting for dad's cab to arrive. Apparently daddyo's cab arrived earlier and they were already lepaking in their room. Either way, very friendly guy this Mosby.
Oh, and of course. Can't blog about tea and London without finishing with this. xD
Do not be fooled - I actually have a lot more! Those are just my Whittard collection. I have a few more from tourist tat shops. All were purchased for personal consumption, but I decided that I should share and gave away some of those with nice tins, like the one the shape of a double decker bus. Despite that, I still kept this one with me. It's loose leaf tea, but still...Sherlock Holmes London Tea! And yes, I bought it just for the awesome tin! There's some 'back story' on the back:
It says: "This delightful blend of a Secret Victorian recipe known only to Mrs. Hudson, could have been served to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in their study in Baker Street whilst foiling the exploits of Professor Moriarty".
I certainly wouldn't mind the fictional taste of tea made for fictional characters! Also, I have opened this tin yet. It's currently decorating my dresser xD.
Tonight's tea is Whittard's Afternoon Earl Grey.
My favorite tea is obviously Earl Grey. I have about...five or six Earl Greys of different brands and made it a point to taste all the Earl Greys of available brands. My favorite daily Earl Grey is from Dilmah because unlike these British teas Dilmah is not as strong. Or perhaps because the packets are smaller so the tea doesnt get bitter towards the end. Either way. My 'Tea Service' tonight:
I kept forgetting about those two pieces of cookies in the fridge so I included them there. Here you can see the stool doing what it's meant to be - being a tea table. While I was drinking this, I was going through my London pictures and some Norway pictures...well basically I was going though my camera memory card! So I thought I would include some very well overdue London pictures. Just a bit, though, don't be dissapointed.
Here we were, drinking hot chocolate with the London Bridge in the background, waiting while my older sis and bro went to the London Dungeon. I skipped out because I was a wimp xD.
Here's me again, I think we just came back from Paris. Tired. Probably hungry, and needing to poop. Or maybe just fart. Travelling makes me gassy.
And this is the very, very friendly hotel porter whom we nicknamed Mosby. (actual name Gabriel) He is French Nigerian. Took this pic after coming back from shopping one night, and was waiting for dad's cab to arrive. Apparently daddyo's cab arrived earlier and they were already lepaking in their room. Either way, very friendly guy this Mosby.
Oh, and of course. Can't blog about tea and London without finishing with this. xD
Feel like a Sir
Ta'ra! xD
Friday, March 30, 2012
Redecorating
I'm redecorating my room. I painted it green last year during my raya break, so now I'm ready to put up shelves. For inspirations, I have been going through these mooks (book+magazines = mooks).
I'm starting to get quite attached to these Hitori Gurashi series. I like these Japanese interior mooks because they feature rooms of real people, not just show rooms or designer-styled rooms or houses of really rich people. They are ridiculous and ridiculously expensive! After perusing these mooks I have somewhat decided what design I want. I already bought the shelves. After getting the rest of them I am complete hehehe! Although it might not be a bad idea to just add oneplank shelf in my KL room to put all these:
Ohh don't worry, I have more xD. These used to reside on the box for my pants under the aircond. But one night my aircond suddenly squirted water downwards on my precious pile of porn so I had no choice but to move them. Talk about a higher power! 
Most of the time it's a tea table. Better than the previous stool, which was too low. Somehow, I found a toolbox lying around the house and the tools inside were sufficient to put this together. I felt so awesome and self-sufficient after that and had an ego orgasm.
Ohh don't worry, I have more xD. These used to reside on the box for my pants under the aircond. But one night my aircond suddenly squirted water downwards on my precious pile of porn so I had no choice but to move them. Talk about a higher power!And oh, you might remember the stool that I assembled myself that I mentioned before.
TA-DA!
Most of the time it's a tea table. Better than the previous stool, which was too low. Somehow, I found a toolbox lying around the house and the tools inside were sufficient to put this together. I felt so awesome and self-sufficient after that and had an ego orgasm.Also recently I found myself with a bit of time, trying to decide what to do with the contents of my beading box, so I made myself some bracelets.
They are all swarovski crystals, put together with wire and sterling silver chain. And yes, I wore all five! Alas, I had to remove them when I was making grilled cheese, and forgot to put it back again hahaha! If you're interested to get one for yourself, don't be shy to ask me ;) I charge very reasonable price hahaha!
Man, I am so not used to typing lenghty blog posts. I'm getting old. Ta'ra!
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