The So-So SinGaPoRe TRiP

After my graduation trip in December 2007 to Wellington, I finally had another over-the-sea experience last 30th November.

Unlike the majority of my Degree mates who went to Europe, Australasia, East Malaysia, and other countries in Asia for their vacations, I could only afford a day trip to Singapore..hahaha! That is good enuff already for a full-time student right? ni pun dh cukup x sedar diri...wuhuhu..

I took a long time to share with you about my Singapore trip in this blog coz I want to have all the pics with me first. Without the pics, it's difficult for me to remember every possible significant detail along my trip, Finally, I manage to collect all, although I now realise that I didn't take as many pictures as i normally would on a trip. What had happened to the vain me? haha..

This trip was made possible by Zira. It was her idea to go to Singapore since her bf would also be coming to Malaysia at that time. And when she pujuk-ed me to go along with them, I was kinda tempted... Singapore actually didn't tempt me that much, but I thought to myself "When else will I have the chance to go to Singapore after this?... everyone else has been to Singapore.." I have been to other countries but never had a real trip to Singapore, the nearest country to Malaysia. So despite clearly being the 'third party' and a so-called pest between the two lovebirds, I accepted Zira's offer.

We went there by train from KL Sentral. The journey was about 10 hours. We departed at night from KL and arrived early morning in Singapore. We chose the bed seating for both ways so that we could just sleep throughout the journey. Plus, this is the trick to having a trip to Singapore without spending any money on accommodation..hahaha. Financial constraints obviously made us creative.



So our trip to Singapore officially started around 8 am (we managed to bathe at the Singapore Railway Station) and ended around 10 pm of the same day. Without having any plans to venture out to Pulau Sentosa, 14 hours of going around Singapore city centre was more than enough.

Then, we bought an insanely expensive map at the Railway station (no choice ma...) and went to the nearest MRT station to start our journey on the foreign land. To be honest, from the moment I stepped my foot on Singapore until the end of the trip, nothing impressed me that much about this developed country. In fact, we were kinda tired at first finding our ways on the streets and following the directions at the MRT stations since the signboards were just as unreliable as Malaysia's. Not really tourist friendly la... But it amazed us how fast the travelators in Singapore were. Maybe this explains their fast-paced lives and why the country's economy is sooo far ahead from Malaysia.

After hopping on and off a few MRTs and following the not-s0-helpful map, we managed to find the Merlion Park. Zira and I were so eager to take pics there, coz it seems to be one of the must-see attractions in Singapore. Macam x sah la pi Singapore kalo xde a pic with the Singa yang terngaga luas2 tu...huhuh.. Here are some pics around the Esplanade and Merlion Park. Click for bigger view.






OK, continue... as we were taking pictures around that area, the city was suddenly pouring with rain... we waited for a while for the rain to stop, and when it drizzled, we continued our journey to the nearest MRT station and went to Orchard Road. We were beginning to get used to taking the MRT (and the super-fast travellator), its deposit system for all travel cards (we needed to pay extra $1 first for each card and then retrieve our deposit when we reached our destinations. Our journey was made easier since all of us bought the 1-day travel card for MRT of about 8 Singapore dollars each. If not, buying one ticket at a time, and retrieving our deposit for all of the tics for each journey would surely consume our golden time. Thank God!













I thought Orchard Road, which was said to be the shopping heaven, would impress me. Again, I was disappointed. Yes, I didn't plan to shop at all, but I was hoping that it was special in some ways. I hope it was different. Na-ah. In fact some Malaysian malls still impress me more... huhu.. Maybe if I were to visit Singapore 20 years ago, I would find Singapore city sublimely awe-inspiring. But now... nah, in fact I didn't exactly feel like I was in a totally different country where the currency exchange rate was about 2.5 times higher than our Malaysian ringgit.


Then after realising that nothing was so special about Orchard Road, we decided that it was time to experience the cultural side of Singapore by going to the Little India. It was still pouring at that time but we didn't really care. We just HAD TO make full use of each minute we had there.


So we strolled along a few streets there, and found some pretty cool Indian shops. In fact, Zira bought a preee-tayy Punjabi suit! Finally!

Then by MRT again we went to Chinatown. At first we faced a bit of a difficulty finding the real Chinatown. But later on, when we discovered it, we went CRAZY!!! It's like the bigger and less-dodgy version of Petaling Street with VERY cheap items, especially souvenirs! We spent quite some time there and were tempted to buy lotsa things.. I was so terrifyingly close to buying my most favourite Vera Wang Princess perfume there.. hahah.. it was said to be original.. dunno la... But later on, after more rationalising... I resisted the temptation. Gila hebat kan?? haha.. It's alright, For the time being, I should just stick to my Haiku Avon perfume which just costs me only about RM 30.

We also stopped for a while whilst shopping, had real Coconut drinks in the middle of the Chinatown... and lastly found the famous temple there and snapped a few more pics! Weeeee! Chinatown is surely the must-visit place in Singapore. and it made our trip worthwhile. It was probably the only place that might tempt us to go to Singapore again next time.





After having a pretty difficult time leaving Chinatown for good, we decided to go to the Chinese Garden. Actually we were running out of places to visit..hahah! Could you believe this happened to us DAY TRIPPERS???

It was pretty far from the city (little that we realised this until our feet sore standing all the way in our journey there on the MRT). And to be honest, there was nothing much there. The garden was not spectacular... but since we were already there, we still snapped a few pictures. According to the signboard, there were Chinese and Japanese Gardens there. But we still couldn't tell which one is which even after our 1-hour stroll there. Told ya the signboards were confusing...
















Then, after the sun set... we didn't have any idea of where else to go except Orchard Road, since the only place we could think of having dinner was the Burger King there, where we had our lunch. So we had a 10-minute dinner there..and rushed back to the MRT station to return our travel cards by 9 pm. If not, we would not get back our deposit.

Then we walked back to the Railway station and hopped back into the KTM train to return back to our beloved country (cewah..). So by then, officially, our trip had ended.

All in all, it was a so-so trip... if it wasn't for Chinatown, the trip would not be worth it at all. I enjoyed the experience nonetheless. After this, I could at least say that I have stepped my foot on the land of Singapore, which was once a part of Malaysia.

Thanx Zira n Warren for making it happen!

Malaysia's Next Top SalesGirL!

I started to go MAD about shopping when I was in Form 4.

Since then, I've been buying unimaginable number of items in malls (mostly tops)...and experienced the typical metamorphosis of a young timid cautious young teenager into a more daring, dressy, adventurous, and vibrant mature lady (in terms of dressing ya...)

and since then too, I had this one DREAM.

To work in a boutique and be a SALESGIRL!

Why?

Because I'd surely be immersed in an environment that I adore.

Are you kidding?? A shopaholic being surrounded by trendy clothes ALL the time.. That couldn't be un-cool in any way..

PLUS...

I expected the oh-s0-anticipated staff discounts!

I begged my mom to let me work in a boutique after my SPM ended in 2001... Instead, my mom chucked me in British Council to polish my VERY poor conversational English.

Yerp, I was forced to join something academical rather than de-stressing myself by being a salesgirl after the super-stressful SPM.

No regrets though. British Council was 'cool' in its own ways, coz at least I got the chance to mingle with foreigners without having to go overseas. and yes, my spoken English at least started to show a sheer chance of improvement.

The moment when I was 'allowed' to work independently was when i was in Wellington, NZ. But back then, still, I didn't get the chance to work in a boutique since applicants there were expected to have experience with EFTPOS, handling cash and some other retail experience. Plus, the boutiques would prefer locals to represent their local labels. So what happened? I explored other paths that also weren't cool... like cleaning, folding envelopes, interviewing people, counting vehicles on roads, distributing flyers and what not.

So again, I missed my chance.

And I had also stopped dreaming.

Clearly, I thought I would end up as a school teacher. The chance of being a salesgirl whilst working as a teacher is even more impossible than hoping that KPM would be more 'wise' in the posting of newborn teachers (this is the only comparison I could think of at the moment).

To cut short, I re-lived my teenage dream about 5 months ago after breaching the contract, working as a lecturer for one semester, and starting my new life as a PostGrad student in UM (no I didn't breach the contract just to be a salesgirl. This dream is not worth 100K!).

I was pretty much bored...so I sent an email for job application as a salesgirl..and POOF! I became a part-time salesgirl in Bangsar! My 8-year-old dream suddenly seemed so easy to be achieved.

and how do I find the job so far???

Fulfilling!

Yerp, I know... it's not a job that relies at all on my degree that I worked my skin and brain off to get for the past 6 years.

And yes, I am extremely under-paid. I could have been paid rm 50 per hour just to teach students some English in a college or home-tuition.

But I choose not to...

Coz I want a light job... a job that doesn't use up much of my currently deteriorating and degenerating brain cells. Because, I still consider myself a FULL-time student. i don't want a heavy job where the time isn't flexible, which I need considerable planning, which I hold responsibility upon my students, which requires me to mark papers and do other clerical tasks.

I DON'T want an academical or other serious part-time jobs!!!


My main focus is not money, although that's what is lacking in my life now. My focus is just the retail experience, to de-stress myself from my postgrad studies, and to get some extra money to lessen my burden a bit, especially to pay the room i'm currently renting (plus some money for a lil bit of shopping..ahahaha). That's all, for now...

I'd rather be standing and moving back and forth finding and hanging clothes --doing something fun, light, and ehem...stylish for 9 damn hours, just to be paid the amount that I could have been paid for, for just one hour of teaching elsewhere... but that ONE hour of teaching is even more stressful, in terms of brain usage. Well, at least to me.

To me teaching is a heavy professional job that uses up my brain cells to the max... I still remember how the mere 2-hour of teaching (and all prior planning and on-going stress pre + post- lectures) in UiTM managed to make me feel so damn tired one whole day everytime I returned back home from work. It was so tiring to the extent that that I said to my roommate "if I were married now... my husband would be the unluckiest person on earth...." (if you know what i mean...). I was THAT tired!

Thus, I'm pretty sure such an academical job will jeopardise my current studies. Yes, I am THAT skema! hahaha... as un-cool as it may sound, I CARE about my grades..!!! I dun like the feeling of looking back at my academic transcript and think "I could have done better".. I like the satisfying feeling and being able to smile and say "That's already the best that i could do"...

So far the part-time work has not disrupted my studies at all. In fact, i am pretty (not VERY) satisfied with my results. But nothing is official yet.. so I am still keeping my fingers crossed...

OK, back to the entry's title (mak ai jauhnya menyimpang...), I think some of the best Malaysia's Next Top Salesgirls are produced in the place where I'm working part-time now. Perhaps, an overstatement since it's the only boutique I have worked so far... but I don't care. Based on my strong shopping experience background and history, I think my opinion counts.

My manager and colleagues make me realise that it is possible to be a fun, helpful, friendly and all-time smiling salesgirl. The manager always reminds us all to treat customers with utmost respect. She is very professional as a leader and is also a good friend with whom I could trade stories, jokes, and gossips! Customers are always greeted with a friendly 'hi' and we will always try to smile and entertain customers' wants and needs as much as we can although we are tired and starving!

In other words, salesgirls can be the people that customers LOVE and NOT annoying! Seriously, salespersons could wait a few more extra seconds to re-fold or re-arrange whatever that the customers have just taken, so as not to make them feel offended. So it grates on my nerves even more now whenever I go shopping and the salesgirls annoy me by re-arranging every item I have touched the second after I de-touch it. and it annoys me so much that most salesgirls follow customers all the time like within 2-centimeteres distance and 2 inches radius and no doubt sooo entering the customers' comfort zone! What is the CCTV for?? You can't treat all customers like prospective robbers! There should be more wise ways of detecting customers who might or who have just stolen your items. It's so freakin annoying and I now could (proudly) say (silently) in my heart, "I am a salesgirl too, and I don't do that to my customers!!!"


And I hate the unwilling face and audible decibel of sigh that some salesgirls make when we ask for certain items, perhaps in different sizes, colours, design, etc etc. That's what your job is! So it's unjustifiable to even complain, unless the customers seem to be having fun asking you to bring out the whole stock of the shop before them. If the requests are feasible, just do it! with a sincere smile! Customers will love u more and most likely will come again.

I am the kind of person who believes strongly in good customer service. In fact it's a bit unhealthy. Even if I dun have that much money, and I am not really MAD about a particular item, I would most probably buy it out of the good service provided. So the smiles, willingness, and friendliness of salespersons WORK for me. and I strive to provide all these too...I have faith in MY 'species'...


So everytime any customers ask me to take some stuff, for example, I will try my best to do it with an open heart... and the smiles on their face when they get to see the items they want, are priceless!... i know how a shopper feels... and it's even more flattering when the customers still remember you and your hospitality the next time they visit the store.. so x rugi apa2 pun if u layan customers elok2..



I have some tips for shoppers out there when you go shopping, for the benefit and convenience of both shoppers and workers...:

• Always wash the clothes that you have just bought before wearing them, even though they are claimed to be new from the stock. Sometimes other customers had actually worn them already and then decided not to buy for many reasons. So we salesgirls would just put the worn clothes back into the stock. I had seen people who seemed to have serious and disgusting-looking skin diseases and tried so many clothes in the store. So seriously, wash your newly bought clothes first.
  

• If you like a top, for example, and it comes in so many colours, try not to be tempted to ask the salesgirl to find all of them without even trying one of them yet. Try one first, and check out the cutting. Only if you really like the cutting and how it looks on you that you ask the salesgirl to take the same top of different colours for you to try on... there's no point asking the salesgirl to find all the colours of the same top, when you might end up not even liking the cutting of the that top at all. and we salesgirl will need to re-hang the hardly touched but difficult-to-be-searched items.
  

• What looks good on the mannequin doesn't necessarily look good on you. So when the shop has a no refund/exchange policy, PLEASE try the items first, even though u think you have the absolute same perfect size as the mannequin. One reason would be the mannequin does not have the same skin tone as you. It would either be dead pale white or come in freakinly other unhumane tones. I am a very colour-coordinated person and I believe we look better in certain colours.. And if it's obvious that you won't be able to stuff yourself into the minuscule size dresses, get real! don't force it! you'll ruin the dresses/tops, and you'll end up having more body issues...
  

• When u take an item from the rack.. and then decide to put it back, please put it back exactly where you took it. If you forgot, don't try to be a superhero or psychic by putting it where and how you THINK it should be put. When unsure, give the items back to the salesgirls directly or in the box or rack especially dedicated for 'tried' clothes. It's our job to put it back where it belongs. You are not helping by putting it wherever you like. Besides, other customers might not have the chance to have a look at it and buy it and salesgirls will have terrible problems re-locating it if it is requested by other customers. PLUS, we will swear when we need to do the straightening of all the racks and find wrongly placed clothes everywhere. hahaha. Like my working place, clothes are hanged according to colours. So the placement of clothes is essential. In short, wrongly placed clothes make everyone else's lives harder, except the 'wrongdoers'.
  

• Try not to give TOO many 'tasks' to one salesgirl at one time. Salesgirls are just human beings and do not have a computerised brain to be able to retain a bulk of information at one go. Ask different salesgirls for different things. or if u like a particular salesgirl to attend to you, ask her 1-2 things first...when those have been achieved...add more requests ya, bit by bit, in small chunks.. i once faced an experience where this customer asked me to find 5 clothes and 3 shoes all in different colours, similar designs, particular sizes etc at once! I ended up successfully finding all of the things she wished for, but forgot who she was.
  

One thing I want to add. Surprisingly, fashion and latest trends are not the only thing I have learnt from this retail experience. i learn about business, different views, different walks of life, and value of friendship. I learnt so many things from unexpected group of people. I come to realise that we learn heaps of things from different people we meet, may it be about friendship, social issues, politics, family, love, or even religious issues. So always value all the people around you although they may seem less significant to your life rather than those you have known for ages. The quality of friendship is not measured by time, but rather by the experience.

Above all, I love working as a part-time salesgirl. It was not only about staff discounts and being able to see the new arrivals before anyone else and being able to reserve what you like for longer periods... It is the whole package of FUN-ness!

(but i reaaaaaallllly have to tahan iman while working coz naturally i'd feel like buying EVERYthing!!!)

I mentioned somewhere before in my blog entry that my different myriad of friends allow me to view life from countless angles. This retail experience is surely one of them!

And I realise how this job improves my memory a bit, since I need to remember a lot of things as many and accurate as possible, so as not to be scolded by either the manager or customers. This positive pressure pushes me beyond my mental limit. and I am now more multi-tasked than ever before!

Although, frankly, I don't know how long i will be working 'there', but this is definitely an unforgettable experience for me that i will cherish till my golden age, and the friends I have made there will be my friends for life! Thanx peeps!


* will be having annual dinner with a small group of colleagues from 'my' boutique in Damansara this Sunday! weeeeee!

**there are still some dreams of mine that are not achieved yet. Wish me luck plsssss....

RooM MaKeOVeR!

As most of u have already known, i'd bade farewell to hostel-life for good, about 2 weeks ago. After temporarily residing in a different room for about a week, i have now moved into my own REAL permanent room! i had to wait for the girl who occupied this room before to move out first before i could get to live in here. so i moved in here only after i got back from Singapore last Monday. and even so, it took me almost 2 days after that to move everything from the next room since i was still terribly tired from the non-stop walking in Singapore a few days earlier. It was a lil bit of a hassle, having to move in n out 2-3 times within a week, but it's all worth it. The bed is nicer and it has a ceiling fan. oklaaa... oh btw, my backpain had indeed ebbed away.. Thank God!

As much as i want to transform this plain room into my dream room in an instant, i have to take things pretty slowly.. i need to plan how to arrange things, what to buy, and how to decorate the room, one step at a time. One, because of my financial issues (need to survey for the cheapest stuff). Second, because i am not a professional interior designer whom can miraculously transform a horrible looking room into an elegant and cosy one in just a few hours within a very frugal budget. This is sooo not Extreme Home Makeover. i am not trying to impress anyone or advertise my skills for a living.

So, only when i think i'm satisfied with this room's looks will it be ready to be viewed by my fwens. so plsss dun take it personally if i havent invited u to my room yet yaa... it's still pretty chaotic in here currently. wuhuu..

so far living in this house is pretty ok. ya, i admit it's pretty boring not having a roommate.. but im starting to get used to it. i bought a TV and my landlord (the indian makcik) is VERY talkative. She talks n talks all day and then complains that her mouth hurts so much, as painful as her debilitating knees. i pity her soooo soo much coz her husband had long died and she does not have any children.. so as much as i can, i wud try to help her out. who knows i will end up like her one day... no sweat really,, coz i go out almost everyday, and the only favours she asks for so far are helping to buy some food for her and a lil bit of groceries.

I thought i cud 'tumpang' her astro. After living here after 2 days, i realised that it was an impossible dream coz the only channel she watches is ASTRO Vaanavil. and she watches almost every single drama on it from day to night. i once tried to 'mingle' with her by trying to show interest in what she was watching by sitting with her in front of the TV.. but then, i realised that it was also not an easy task, coz she didnt put the subtitles on. yeah, stupid me..hahaha...

but she is a very nice lady, very caring..oh btw, she's 73 years old, and despite her weak joints n knees, she does all of the household chores herself, and most of the times, refuses to accept my offer of help.

she freaks out about almost everything: from her fear of the stove gas being leaked, to the lizards crawling into the kitchen drawers, to the Indonesian guy she saw walking around the neighbourhood for 2 hours, to snatch thieves, to me not wearing slippers inside the house (she's afraid that i will suffer from weak knees n joints when im 70 years old later), to me not having breakfast, to me lifting heavy things (quote: "Girls should not carry heavy things... u will have problems giving birth later la girl... it will affect your fertility"), to having sleepless nights worrying that i might be kidnapped in a parking lot and burned to death whenever i go out, to "girl, cut the tags of ur house slippers, or else u will slip and fall down"(yes, i finally bought my first ever house slippers and yes, she cut off the tags for me when i went out), to NEVER uttering the word 'bank' out loud when i intend to go to a bank coz someone will follow me and rob me, and to always be cautious of malay and indian guys on motorbikes coz they might rape and kill me (yes, she is still racist..hahaha).
have i said that she is caring?

it's no biggie deal really. i wud so much prefer living with this eccentric, psychotic, hygienic, babbl-ish n paranoid grannie rather than having cube mates who can't even pee properly.

oh btw, she is still having problems pronouncing my name correctly... i said 'azrin', she couldnt pronounce it well, then i said, "auntie, just call me 'rin'..." But she ended up calling me "annnniiieee, annnnieeee..".... (does this mean sth in tamil?? ). This kinda reminds me of Zira's ex-housemate in Stafford House before who kept calling her "Zerrrrooo..."...hahahaha..

oh yeah, i call her auntie, altho she is older than my grannie...tatau la nk panggil apa.. hhahaha.

about housemates, starting from last night, all of the rooms are finally occupied. before this it was just me and another Filipino (who is 62 years old and has 2 jobs).. yesterday, 2 Myanmar girls moved into the other previously vacant room. The auntie didnt really want to accept them at first, since they could not even speak English (what more Malay!).. but out of pity, and because the girls were recommended by a friend of hers, she just has to let them live here...

so it's official now that for the first time, i am having very2 international housemates. An international experience in the house where i rent a room, in the familiar area of Bangsar, and in my own country, Malaysia! hahaha... i thought i wud have a Japanese roommate in Kolej 11, UM last semester... but that didnt happen. now i'm having housemates of different nationalities, races, religions and even languages (in fact i need to use sign language with the Myanmar girls....huhuhu). . isn't this amazing?

my life is always just full of surprises huh..?

*will update about my Singapore trip once i got all of the pics from Zira yaa...