It's the one day I look forward to every year but never really celebrate. *Note: How on earth would i celebrate Halloween here anyway?
This year I couldn't be home for it. I had originally plan to try making some mini pumpkin shaped cakes. Just my personal celebration. However, I wasn't home today. Instead I was there with 90% of my fellow factory workers having our Annual Dinner. I was the host and I made myself dance onstage to this song..........
All you single ladies.......put your hands up.....woo.....hoo..... :-)
Sure.....I made a total baffoon of myself. In front of 90% of my fellow factory workers no less! But at least I was a cool baffoon.....ha.....ha...
The only thing that made me sad was the way I looked. I was slapped with this vampire-wannabe makeup. Silver eyeshadow with black accent, fake lashes and pale lips. It was awful. All the other girls who got the free makeup from our event sponsor looked beautiful but I ended up looking like I just stepped out of a failed audition to impersonate Lady Gaga.
Well, many people said they enjoyed it. So, I do have a reason to smile. Now I'm home sitting in front of the PC and it's Halloween. yeah! So, I'm happy.
So, the old folks' tale says that the spirits of the dead come back to visit us on Halloween. So, in case any of them comes back, I certainly want this Teutonic cutie to visit me. Love u Ingo :-)
Let's just say that when my Division management instructed us to 'relocate' our workspace according to our Sections, I was far from thrilled to hear it. I was happy with the location I had been occupying since 2005. It was perfect. I could see people at the corridor. I had easy access to our pigeonholes. The air-conditioning vent wasn't too cold. Also, most importantly, I was surrounded by my closest officemates whom I shared banters and laughter with everyday. 'Relocating by Sections' meant we would be separated.
I came on Saturday on OT hours and helped around with the relocating. The guys had already 'relocated' our desks accordingly.
I am now seated by the door to the gent's room. That's restroom if you're American. That's the boys' toilet if you're from the rest of the world.
Got to tell you, the new location was my own request as I refused to sit right under the air-conditioning vent they originally planned for me. I can't stand cold temperature. My years in the UK had failed to take the Tropical girl out of me.....ha....ha.
As a compromise to my 'unwilling move', I cunningly asked for a computer at my workspace. The Management had no problem with it as my title actually had given that privilege which I never took advantage of. I shared PCs with everyone else.
The floor is dirty coz apparently the synthetic tiles have been there since mid-90s.
Anyway, this time I asked for a PC for my own use with the excuse that the new location did not have enough space for 5 PCs. Only 4. So, 1 had to go to my desk. Yes, with the LCD screen too. Yes, our factory can be such cheapskate that CRT monitors and 1st Generation Pentiums from the 90s are still used. hey, they ain't broken. So, why throw 'em away?
So, here comes the surprise.
I think I actually like my new workspace despite loathing the idea originally. This is why.....
I finally get to have my chosen wallpapers on the Monitor after years of staring at that blue Windows standard desktop display. Wahey...!
I think I'm going to change wallpapers everyday. I think anyone who's familiar with my ramblings here will know that those wallpapers will definitely feature some Teutonic cuties named Ingo and Tom and a Seattle-ite named Chris.
Today is the day that I declare that the Alien shall be deported back to Planet Zeug that he came from for good.
Oh...I wish.
For those who are new to this blog, The Alien I'm referring to is my HR Manager.
I should have ranted about this weeks and weeks ago. I tried to think that it's not important but today I have reached the almost-breaking point.
This year, my management had chosen me to be in the company Annual Celebration committee. So, with a heavy heart, off I went and immediately got picked by The Alien, who heads the team this year, to be the Secretary as he was familiar with my work as the Secretary for Canteen Committee some years ago.
Then, my nightmare began when The Alien also picked me to be one of the Emcees for the Event. Pairing me up with a guy who is so quiet and untalkative. By the next meeting, I managed to fight to get my colleague, who's loud and lively, to be the other Emcee. Thank God, the Alien relented. I thought the problem was over. I was wrong.
So, today we have our hmm....8th(?) meeting? I remember the Alien telling us, the Main Committee members, to do some sort of a performance this year as it was something that had never been done in previous years. Damn it! He also had the nerve to suggest doing this mega stupid "poco-poco dance" that has now become some sort of a staple in the itinerary of many government and state functions in this country. That fact alone is enough to trigger "allergic reaction" in me. Every nerve and every piece of hair on my body must have resisted the idea that each of them seems to have sent information to my brain that says "vomit, vomit, vomit".
What angered me was that he asked us in previous meetings for ideas of what to do for the performance.
I did the initiative and picked a song I thought would be very easy for us to do. No singing, just waving our hands and clapping. Length of the song is just several seconds over 1 minute. It's the TV theme to the show Happy Days. That one with the Fonz and Richie. It's a great happy song. The best thing is, the song is short and sweet.
Happy Days Theme song
ABBA - Thank U 4 the Music (on Swedish TV)
Then, somebody in the committee replied to say he preferred something without dancing. Just singing. So, he and I agreed on ABBA Thank You For The Music. Classy song. No need to fool ourselves onstage.
I even emailed to EVERYBODY in the committee last week about the two proposals. I thought they would get discussed in this meeting. I was wrong again.
The Alien had the nerve to say in our meeting that "No choice! We have to do the poco-poco".
I felt like bopping his head with an anvil. I tried to speak up. Thankfully some members did try to back me up. However, The Alien kept on talking and talking and totally shoving his words down everyone's throat. I was livid. See, I'm not the type who likes to hide how I feel. I'm sure my facial expression was obvious to those who saw me at the time.
After the meeting was almost over, I finally got to butt in asking for my proposals to be considered. Only then did he loosen up a bit. But it was useless because the people from the Entertainment company were already gone by that time.
It's so annoying that here is someone who can barely walk straight. Limping all over. He has a few serious illnesses. He also is hardly here at the company premises. It's always business trips to Indonesia, the South, the capital city, the government offices bla...bla... He can barely stand like a human. Let alone have the time to practise how to dance. Now he thinks he can dance the "poco-poco" which is basically line-dancing for people who can't afford real dancing class.........and WITHOUT rehearsals. Yes, he flatly refused to let us have full-rehearsal the day before the Event to cut on cost as using the Hall even the day before still incurrs cost. Unbelievable!
What about my emails? Wait, come to think of it, he never replied to my emails. Everytime I sent him the meeting reports, he'd just call me instead to tell his comments. His fingers probably limp too that he can't type. I don't know.
Should I say that the example video that the Entertainment company showed us was a decent one. However, this Chairman conveniently ignored the fact that the people dancing in the video were a group of young female lawyers with tiny waists and flowing dresses. Of course, they looked good!
Now, the HR guy thinks he can do what those ladies did. He really thinks he blends in when he sticks out like a sore thumb. He really IS an alien.
OR......
Maybe he already knows he looks silly and he just wants to drag everyone else to look just as silly along with him. Hmmm....
To top it all off, he crushed my spirits when I found out in the meeting that the radio-controlled helicopter gimmick I was excited about was slashed from the agenda due to his refusal to make way for extra cost. I'm so sad as that helicopter thing was the one I was eagerly looking forward to in this year's celebration.
The helicopter gimmick was initially planned as we wanted something extra special for the 20th Anniversary. The copter would be flying carrying the number 20 to the MD for him to put it on the backdrop of the Stage. I had already prepared the script and the scenario for it. I even had prepared the theme song to the TV show Airwolf to play during the copter entry into the Hall. Wouldn't that be cool? A copter (albeit a tiny one) flies into the Hall to the stage with the Airwolf theme playing? It's never been done before at any of our Anniversary. Then, I'd love to have Van Halen's instrumental version of Jump to mark the Grand Opening as the MD put the No.20 on the wall. Hey, even the national media station uses excerpts of that song sometimes.
Airwolf Intro
Van Halen - Jump
Can you believe what they had as alternative to the copter? Someone carrying the number 20 on a tray and hand it over to the MD to pin on the wall. Boring-a-mundo and Crap-tastic if you ask me.
OK. So, now there would be NO Airwolf supercopter to save the day. My Happy Days seem to go down the drain and there seems to be slim chance of Thank-ing You for the Music.
So what is my only way of saving myself from this misery? OK. The Committee members shall be wearing dark trousers and black vest. We will be just a-jacket-and-a-pair-of-dark-glasses away from being "Men In Black". Maybe I can try infusing THAT into it.
