tHe NeXt Dimension

SIP again....

2006-09-22T22:36:00.000+08:00

SIP: Student internship program or Suffering in progress

Is tomorrow a weekday or weekend? Since the start of this internship in the hospitality industry, I lost track of the dates cycling along the calendar. The only things that motivate me now are rest days. Working within the hospitality industry, the schedule is ever changing with the hotel occupancy rate. When it is low, managers will “request” staffs to clear their annual leave/off. However, when the hotel occupancy rate escalates, I doubt no one is able to enjoy such privileges; Employees have to work overtime (OT) and by the way, I do not think they are paid for OT.

It is like a culture, hospitality employees have to work OT. As stated noticeably on the working schedule, the shift timings are 7am to 3pm, 3pm to 11pm and 11pm to 8am and how high is the possibility that the employees will end their work sharply on the stipulated time? Never, I guess. It will be a good suggestion to the management to consider giving an extension of 30 minutes to all shifts as to cushion all closing activities or meetings. This will eventually change employee perception that the organization will recognize individuals’ contribution. This can be implemented through pay raise or longer rest days maybe one and a half day break each week.

In view of the fact that there are no fixed rest days for the hospitality employees, this hinders leisure and social planning due to variable operational schedules. With this stating fact, hospitality industry in term of operation is not suitable for someone who:

1. Does not have the passion in making other people happy,
2. Does not take pleasure in working shift timing
3. Does not like to eat institutional catering food
4. Does not like working overtime for free
5. Does not like to abide to strict grooming standards
6. Does not like wearing clothes that are worn by many other unknown people

On a personal level, there are a few benefits working in the hospitality industry.

1. One gets to meet foreign babes; I just met a Japanese babe who check in with me this afternoon. Damn chio sia.. Oh no.. to add on, sometimes there are also babes from the part time banquet staffs..
2. One may receive tips for their effort( By the way, front-office department has a lower tendency to get tips)
3. One gets to see how messy corporate guests can be; Pillows all over the floors, opened condoms under bed, dirty bath tub, torn newspaper and foreign porn magazines.(Housekeeping)
4. Get to eat and dress up for free! (As mentioned above, most of the Singapore hotels have institutional catering services within their premise) +++ is inclusive.

4th in MM

2006-09-18T12:20:00.000+08:00

4th day in MM...

Still a baby in the front office, learning the jack of the trade. The job requirement of front office agent requires interns to learn fast and cope with various situations. Can be stressful and challenging. It also depends greatly on the occupancy rate of hotel on that particular day. If it is very high, the front office agents will have a tiring day to check in/out the guests. On the other hand, the interns get to experience on how to handle various situation in a typical busy day.

Phew.. quite lucky that the occupancy rate from the 1st day till now is managable to allow the interns to learn some skills and communicate with the agents. Actually, the job scope of the front desk agent is rather simple and clear cut. The only challenge may be allocating the rooms to safisty the needs and wants of the guest, at the same time the hotel is experiencing high occupancy rate.

To overcome the problem, we need to make rooms for the guests while compromising the needs of the other guests. Certainly it is stressful to handle this kind of situation as mistakes are prone to happen and guests may get irritated easily. The best thing is there are more situation to come, Victor! This means that MM will experience more mistakes than before. And Victor will get more scoldings.

Most of my shifts are morning, from 0700 to 1500. No, it is actually till 1530 when the next shift successfully replace the morning shift. Yes, it is free labour from 1500 to 1530. What to do, it is the nature of the job. After each check in/out, the FOA(Front Office Agent) will have to update their address, credit card information and check out time. So many to things to follow up. Imagine the hotel occupancy is 100%. I think I can go back at 1700 which mean free labour from 1500 to 1700. Maybe there are OT, No guarantee hor, intern!

Gtg le. Today is my off day. Maybe going for a swimming later at Safra.

3rd Day in MM

2006-09-16T18:35:00.000+08:00

MM 3rd day...

It was 0510 and my alarm clock rang.

Cannot bear to leave my bed but I have to. I know if I don't, that the end of my internship. Meaning to say, people are going to lose trust and faith in me. As the sayings goes, internship is the best time to make mistakes. I do not agree to some extend as an intern has a higher tendency to make unpardonable mistakes for themselves as well as for the organisation such as coming late for work, projecting horrible attitude and pesonalities. So are we pardonable for these mistakes?

Certainly NOT! So why this saying,internship is the best time to make mistakes.....

However, as an intern myself, I do feel sad sometimes. There is no equity theory(Organisational Behaviour) at all. We are doing the same things as the full/part time but we are receiving much lesser than anyone in the organisation. The worse situation is that interns are abused by the management by docking our pathethic pays or implementing horrible work schedules. And the management simply get around by telling the intern off that it is the nature of the job. Who is going to save us?

The Liaison officer or myself?

Time is passing abit slow as interns are shadow player in the front office. Certainly, being a shadow player can be fun and tiring. I have to stand the whole day from 7 to 3, exclude the 45 minutes in the staff canteen(Basement 1). However, it also due partly to your buddy, who can brighten up the day and learning become more interactive and smooth.

By the way, MM girls are pots of roses waiting for deputy manager to rent them out. They are abused in some way. Are they going to sliently like what the activitist in IMF are doing? My heartache when the girls are out there standing. Their legs will be tiring and mind will be tiring. No wonder the full time staffs do not want to do. So at the end of the day, the interns got abused. The girls are "forced" to stand in front of lobby area to project that 80s oriental feeling to the guests. In my opinion, I would consider it as sentry guard duty in army term. As emphasis by the MM's management, it is all in the mind. Dun tok cock lah, maybe one fine day, they should try standing there themselves. It is tiring and boring loh. Somemore, there are no pay increment for that duty. If there is, maybe it will help to console the mind that it is worth the time and effort.

I miss my dear alot. Hotel shift work. No joke. Like guard duty in army. 7-3. 3-11.11-7. Still in the progress to manage my biological clock and physical to comply to the job requirement in MM. I guess there are not much time to see dear. MM took it away.

Dinner time. Tomorrow is morning shift again. Jia you bah Victor !

First day in Meritus Mandarin

2006-09-13T23:27:00.000+08:00

beep .. beep.. beep beep . beep beep beep...

oh... 7.15 am... this marks the beginning of Victor student internship program in Meritus Mandarin Singapore. .. Quite tiring cos I was playing WC3 with Dear last night.. Holy shit ! Sentinel Owning ! Haha.

7.45am : Took bus 124 to MM.

8.10am : Reached MM. (Holy shit... it was too early .... so .. I went over to ComCenter to have a cup of soya bean milk...I have learnt my lesson ... nv get out of the house too early. .. )

8.45am: Here I come MM!! Passed through the security uncle, down the stairs into the lecture room... for my horror.. I will be stuck there till 6pm ...

>>Grooming standards. .. . (boring ...aka bedtime BESE) Vision and mission (As though I care..)

>> Meritus: Money, ezlink, rubber, interns, tissue paper, umbrella and safra card.. (Not bad to break the ice!@##_$)

>> Lunch in the cosy canteen (Just like the old days in the army, the food still okay .. lah.. room for improvement.. what more to expect.. free lunches and free uniform everyday..)

>>Hotel tour ( This part abit xiong.. have to walk up and down .. left to right .. South tower .. Grand tower.. deluxe rooms .. premier rooms.. executive suites.. regency suite... presidential suite...) -> abit confusing.. level 5 to access both tower... service lift... Scourge OWNING... MegaKILLS>....

>>Networking session (Something like Tok Cock session with the directors. The director of room who was controlling my fate, spoke lifelessly .. . could nearly fall asleep... Zzzz) I doubt the rest of the interns were full awake. Forcing their eyes to stay open while their mind drift to lala land...

>> ENd of Day 1 in MM <<

After which, I went out with some MM friends and dear to shop for their comestic. .. Ah Lim was trying to make the front office ladies' life miserable.. hahalol. .standardised sia.. like army ... hahalool.. WHERE GOT TIME??

Wonder how is day tu ... like... ..

You are the Chosen one !

2006-03-10T14:16:00.000+08:00

To My Darling

Do not give up and continue to strive for the best. I have extremely high confidence in your learning attitude and performance. Results is only part and parcel of life, more importantly is the process that counts. If you have placed in your best in what you have done, the result is only a form of direct feedback on whether you are moving on toward the correct direction. It is never too late to steer back to the correct direction. Yes, I can understand that you have to inject more effort and money into the course. However, have you ever wondered why you are attending the driving course?

It is to get your driving license. You do need to make some sacrifices to attain this goal; waking up early in the morning to attend lessons, getting scolded by nasty instructors, scheduling lesson plan, etc. I agreed with you that it is tough and the test is stringent. But what you need now is perseverance. Endure through and ten years down your life, you will be laughing over it.

A successful person is not a person who is able to get good results but is a strong person who is able to face the music even after several disappointments. I totally understand your feelings now as I have been through myself for the class 2B test. Let me share with you my experience through the class 2B test.

For the first time, I pinned extremely high hope on myself to pass the test though I know there are still some obstacles courses, I have no confidence in. And I failed. Feeling very sad, I walked back to the computer booth and rebooked my 2nd test date.

After 2 bike revision lessons, I am somehow prepared for the second test. Feeling a bit nervous, I mounted the bike and start my test. I did all the things I supposed to do but my bike went off the track on one of the obstacles. I scolded myself, “Fuck x 3, Stupid bike!” Once again, I failed and returned back to the computer booth and went through the usual procedures.

One and a half months had passed, I am not prepared and letting the nature to take the course. I did not have the confidence like the first time I took the test. I went into the test just like any normal revision lesson. Doing the normal routine stunts, surprisingly I passed the test! But without doubt, I wanted to give up after failing my first test. I told myself that my effort did not justify what I get or something on this line.

I endured through the 6 revision lessons and extreme weathers and end of the day I got my class 2B license. With the same attitude, I signed up for class 2A and passed it as well. End of the day, I realized that perseverance played a success factor in satisfying the goals. You can give up anything but not on yourself. Do not lose faith in yourself as you are at the verge of getting your license.

I cannot help you much as I do not have a car presently. Nonetheless hope that you do feel better after reading 500 words.

Love you always
Victor

Holiday !!!~

2006-02-25T21:10:00.000+08:00

GOALs for this coming holiday

Currently I am jobless. Shit. No money means no possession of disposable money. How can I survive?

Hai… Hard lah …. have to work hard to find a job …. Anyone can recommend me ?
There are so many things I want to do but do not have the motivation to do. For example,
I wish to exercise till the physical build during my army time. Have the ideas but no action. Oh shit, that reminds me of FILA. OMG …

Can be done! Victor do not disappoint that there are no work now. I believe that with my determination and ability, I will find my way some where. Haha somewhere I hope.

Holiday is the time for us to rest and rejuvenate. So I should take the time to climb my Maslow hierarchy of needs and making sure the time will not slip off my hand. Phew finally exams are over (FBO, FM, MICE, Lodging and accounting), I cannot believed that I have finish one more semester. That is faster than I expected. And rite after holiday, I am a senior in school… Old bird. Haha lol !~

Then I shall ask god a golden question, “what will be my future after graduation”?
Tough question indeed. .. . I also do not know what is the answer.. Shall use this holiday to think through it. . .

This holiday will be ….

Interesting
Loving
Adventurous
Tiring
Lazy

And my goals are:

To exercise 4 times a week. (Run, Swim, Gym)
To be sweeter to Cai Yun
To earn some money to feed myself and Cai Yun
To own a pair of rollerblade
To buy a new handphone (Nokia)
To save money for the rainy days
To celebrate Cai Yun Traffic Police Test in CDC
To work hard to find a job
To celebrate every 11th of the month (Eat Good Food) Dragon village Dragon Gate restaurant
To prepare my mind for the next semester

My Army Spec

2006-01-07T00:22:00.000+08:00

Hmm… Yesterday I wore so log co (Horrible) to TAS. Actually, before I exit my house I knew that I will receive weird comments and stares from people.

Test marketing! (excuse !~ Fxxk Shit Victor < Lazy bum !~)

This is to tell me who are the ones really understand “Victor”. Hmm.. I guess not many. Luckily, at the end of the day, Cai Yun knows me well. From inside to outside, outside to inside.

Let me quote one good example which occurs at Rasa Sentosa site inspection. It was an extremely hot day and I am good at sweating as usual. All the students are waiting at the reception which is open concept (No Air Con) -à wah liao … cut cost huh ? ??

Hahah lol resorts are meant to be this way… open concept .. might as well the guest rooms are non air conditioned !~ Tourists in Singapore will sweat at night and dirty all the bedsheets. Haha lol Jia let this time Aunties in the hotel line will have more linen to wash.

Lame Victor !!~ okay getting back to the main topic. Oh yah. No air con. The stupid ah ne(Indian lady) in charge screamed at everyone to get our attention. By basic instinct, all the students move forward including Cai Yun.

Guess who is at the back ? ?

It is me !

Not that I am anti social or whatever terms you use to describe a weird freak.

Only Cai yun know the real reason which is no point squeezing with the main body since it is already so hot there. And one more thing ! That fxxking ah ne !!~ haha lol cannot make it sia .. somemore I think she is wearing a wig screaming at us. ! To hell you go.

Finally I am back !

2006-01-06T00:54:00.000+08:00

Sumimasen.. I have neglected this virtual space specially cater to me. I will try to update as often as possible. I gtg to talk Cai Yun now. Haha.

That may explain why I did not update my blog so often.

Cheers
Victor

MY HAIR !

2005-01-29T23:20:00.000+08:00

I cut a Powderful hairstyle this new semester ! Oh .. I cannot believe that I have this hairstyle.. There are a total of 18 Zebra lines on my hair. My mother screamed at me when she saw me ! bleh bleh .. but too late nothing can be reverted. HAhaha . Acutally I am okay with it but there are so many people staring at my head as though I am from planet PLuto ??? Lol . K lah .. After one week, the designs will be gone and I will be bald again .. Like BMT recruits .. haha .. Those times .. really memorable sia... It is that time that force me to slim down and get back my fitness level...

1 more days to school ! I am wondering what are my friends going to say abt my hair ?? ? Nonetheless that is not important at all as long as I am fine with it. Hai .. School .. Tests .. Projects... Gals .. Guys .. Teachers .. and VICTOR ! haha Lame ! V day coming you know ? ? Anyway I think there are nothing for me on that day either. Hahaha maybe I have the Low Man tic (Romantic) dinner with my air plant or with you ???? Drop by and tell who are you k ? ?

My Printer Cartidge

2005-01-23T17:04:00.000+08:00

I am wondering whether should I step out of the house this afternoon.. It is so hot outside and I am feeling so lazy as usual … But I need to get a new ink cartridge for my old printer.

Life is like a printer ! Inscribing words and pictures onto countless sheet of plain paper…. How I wish all the papers I printed are full of flamboyant colors and beautiful backgrounds. .. But life is never a bed of roses if one realized….as we human are always not satisfied with ourselves. Am I one of them? YESH ! That why I am so stressed up sometimes I guess. . .

I am having a “short” term break now. That explains partially why I am so free updating my blog. 1 .. 2 .. 3.. 4.. This is the 4th day of the break and sleeping tends to occupy most of my time. Pig hor ?? LoL ya loh . .. Thinking about those holy books… OMG.. but that is like one week later from now. No worries !

I really need ink cartridge … Caiyun can you invent the teleport thingy? Then can teleport me to Suntec. WINK wink !

Whoosh .. GtG Moon .. Nono Suntec now .. !

The SWEat room . What a Day...

2005-01-22T18:28:00.000+08:00

It has been awhile I update my Blog.... I am too busy or should I say I am always busy .. Y y ? ? Just cannot stand it .. There are so many things for me to do.. How I wish the clock can turn faster and it will be even better if it allows me to turn the other way round. I want to change some parts of my history and create a new future. That is Life ! MY LIFE ...

I felt so restless this afternoon when I hit the sweat room .. No mood .. no motivation .. no idea what the hell had happened to me. Feeling so down, I ended up in the jazuzzi ... Enjoying the arrays of the hot afternoon sun. I started to begin my mediation process.. Thinking what had I done so far .. For the past few days, exams occupied most of my time ~ sleeping time gaming time chatting time ..GoNE ... I hate exams !

Think nobody will believed in me .. Felt so dejected sometimes. Words can be so hurting like the edge of the sword.... You think I want to study that HARD ? Who does not want to slack like nobody business and lead a carefree life ? I want ! But not now.. beco my history had enlightened me..

War time with books..

2005-01-16T16:00:00.000+08:00

I am having war with myself and the books lying on the table. I need more soldiers(motivation) to fight this war. Upon opening those holy books, my soldiers seems so sleepy and restless. As though the books had casted a drowsy spell on them. Sometimes I ended up visiting the one-eyed monster(TV) or my playmate(PS2). Just cannot be bothered about the war infront of me. Economics ... Statistics... Principles of Management .. Hai... .. I need more talented and motivated soldiers .. Can you lend me yours ? Wink Wink !

Have I changed ?

2004-12-23T07:50:00.000+08:00

My CDS just ended and I received a call from my old classmates. Victor,can you meet us at Cartel Plaza Singapura ? Then I thought to myself"What the hell it is areally near to 8 pm". However this kind of meeting is very hard to come by. So I still make my way down to PS though I have not finished my project research. ... : (. Not long after I reached PS, then I saw some familar faces waving to me! The feeling is so so wonderful to see them again . They passed a mere comment on me that I have changed. But change for better or worse ? hehehe.I think I am getting worse. That is not important .. haha. Ya some of them have changed drastically in a way like Cindy and Desmond . To tell you the truth, I am very very tired at that point of time but after having contact with them.A new surge of energy seemd to load me up. I asked them a lot of questions and I definitely want to know more about them. Hope that in the future there are more meetings of this sort.

My X

2004-12-22T09:20:00.000+08:00

I genuinely hope that she can read this page of my life. Though chances are rather low or near to zero ,I will continue to write it. Let me give you a brief introduction of her.She can be noise and quiet on the contrary side. I am attracted by her petite form and elegant behavior. Most importantly, she is my first love. I have tried my best to protect and shower my love on her. But destiny seems to object this relationship.. hai .. .. I cherished every moment with her. But I seriously hope that fate can bring us together again. Everytime I meet you in school,I feel dejected... So near yet so far.. In my bottom of my heart I wish to tell you that I love you wholeheartedly. My wish is to have you back again. I am happy enough if destiny allows you to read this confession of mine.

Aishiteru
Victor.

Mr Benny is back .. Ar...

2004-12-20T13:37:00.000+08:00

oH no ! Mr Benny ..... Oh no .. That it .... In between sobs, I want to pass a statement on him which is an unpleasant thing for me to excute.But I just cannot help it and determined to write something about him. I think this semester Principles of Management is going to be tough on me.. or should I say our class is going to suffer in a way .. Certainly you may say me why ? Actually there are many reasons to it. I should have the honour to tell (honour?hehe.More like I regret to tell you) you because most of us just cannot get the drift. On top of that, every comments from you are good. Can you do me a flavour? Point out our mistakes ! Afterall he is a good teacher,I think he does not want to discourage the students and impart the knowledge at the same time. I can understand that. However if destiny brings you to this page,I think you should know what to do hor ?

The Sleeping Book Chamber of Orchard

2004-12-19T10:50:00.000+08:00

It was early in the Sunday morning nine o'clock ....oh . I forgot how to commence my day and confusely I made way to Orchard Library.....But why must be Orchard Library ? oH ya ...it was because it is the nearest library from my Harbourfront home. See I can be that blur sometimes. After borrowing two torn and antique books from the slient and peaceful library....I slowly initate my way into sleeping city ... It is so unusual of Orchard Road is so quiet and serene. I went to Takashimaya coffeebean branch and enjoyed my cup of latte. At the same time,I stoned one corner and reflect on yourself. Reflection for this particular day:I should sleep more lah ...What the hell?

Uncle Benny : )

2004-12-13T19:06:00.000+08:00

Uncle Benny is my new principles of management tutors ...er... Should I be joyful or mournful about it? Personally I feel that he is very knowledgable about general issues but not responsible in imparting the wisdom to the students.. It is still early to jump into conclusion. Let me observe him for a couple of sessions before I make a statement about him. But really hope that he will enlighten me throughout my new semester with him. Talking about his name,Uncle Benny ... I will still preferred to address him as Mr.Benny .. as though as I am so close to him..

It is just like any other day in School ...

2004-12-13T14:21:00.000+08:00

After having my meal with my acquaintance in Mensa food court,I can feel all my blood rushing its way to the stomach.Leaving my brains in phantasm mode... And guess what up next.. ? ? It is principles of management tutorial .. Surprisingly,this is the second time I get in contact with my class .Let put our hands together and pray hard that the lesson will be easy and fun.Otherwise that it.. I will end up resting in the arms of Morpheus.. Gtg now for the upcoming tutorial .. : p

I am back home ! huh ?Which home?

2004-12-12T19:09:00.000+08:00

I am back at Bedok reservoir home. This home belongs to my best pal of mine,Yigang.He has done me a great flavour by allowing me to stay at his house..I really really own him for this. Otherwise, one can imagine me travelling from west to east with a melancholy : ( look.. But staying in Bedok has its own disadvantages.For example, one has to do most the household chores(which I cannot be bothered by it) and prepared to feel lonely sometimes. Gradually,I turn back and witness the aftermath of holocaust... the place is in a big mess.. dirty clothings stack out like piles of bricks. The only thing that please me is my room .. hehe ..

A morning at Harbourfront

2004-12-12T10:40:00.000+08:00

yawn .. yawn ... I just woke up .. As usual the house is always empty,only the music(Nada Sou sou) from my computer filled the space. The feeling is so arr... lonely .. My mum had gone to the market to buy groceries while I have no idea where did my brothers go.. I am wondering how should I start my day ? .. Should I hit the gym? Should I bury my head into the books or simply doing anything just to kill the day.I am in a dilemma.. Nonetheless it is always my goals that direct me in life.

Bugis village !

2004-12-11T23:26:00.000+08:00

The day today is rather interesting for me.I went to Bugis Street with my army buddies and guess who did I met ? I met someone from my class,Jing! As usual she is with her clique doing window shopping .If I am not wrong ...hehe .I watched the movie ALexander the great.. Oh My God.. I totally cannot fathom what is the show about .. More like a gay porn movie to me ..hhahah .That is what my buddy agree with me. Ya you can say I have no class or whatever. But it is not my fault..(Ya which it is always the case) haha. So please review my critics about the movie before one end up wasting 165 minutes of your precious day.. Aniway gtg to bath now ..