朽木百哉のブォグ

I could not wake up as planned for my run; as I went back to sleep soon after I woke up at 545am; it could be the overdrive from the intensity of work on top of the weights training that was done before work. An hour which many are not accustomed to; sometimes I just wished my energy level could go even further.

It's so great to see dearie's eyes brightening up after she saw the bright orange furry pal in a big red bag. My gesture of making up to her as she was pretty upset yesterday.

Hope this big Pooh can keep her cheerful :)

A two-man show today as 2 of my colleagues are not in; so the work today is naturally more packed and we almost forgotten lunch. I had lunched with my manager and had quite a series of casual conversations with him and he shared about various opportunities about specialising in the insurance field, such as Energy, Aviation and the like; and also about certification like ACII and ANZII, which are specialised insurance qualifications.

Degree will be an opportunity-opener, which is something I should be looking at after I've learnt the ropes firm here.

Although the day had been mentally challenging for me, the experience gained and being able to work along with my manager had been good; just that I need to make sure I slow down my conversational speech...could that be due to occupational hazard from my previous role?

Time flies. In just a short moment, I have already reached almost the end of the week. Somewhat used to seeing my office, systems, people and the time anf pace I work at. Only on days when my senior are npt around are when I need to wrap up on double pace...so far, all manageable.




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A Friday has reached, and each day had been done fruitfully at work.

Lunched with Jannie today; a friend whom I had not met for almost 6 years as I had only seen her during my direct sale days. Those days had given me adequate exposure to all walks of life. Done at Yoshinoya and had a good catch up; shared broefly with her about the last happenings at work till my last day. Well those days are surely remarkable, and am glad they're over.

Was briefed by my RO in depth of things that I need to take note when handling cases, and there are also fradulent cases which had been given to the right hands.


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Another day at office and getting more exposure to handling more indepth things at work.

My RO is back and he does have a very different personality at his level.

I'm still trying to get used to the system; there are many sections which are differently arranged, so with more practise, I should get the hang of it.

The lunch hours here are flexible; as long as there's a claims person standing in to support the staff, we are all good to go; and furthermore, zero chance to have shortened lunch on a compulsory basis.

Weather had somewhat been good so far...and with the number of choices around to eat along with the lunch schedule, there's no worry about being stuck to eat something "quick" and also, not too far to travel.

Lunched with Phyllis today and learnt she had left my ex co since Mar 2010; such coincidence as I saw her going up office yesterday before I was brought around the office by Albert.

Travelling time is somewhat increased, but mentally less strenuous as I don't need to concentrate behind the wheel on the road conditions.

Today's my first day at my new employer's office; quite a walk from the nearest MRT station as it's not economical to drive to work.

My new colleague, Albert showed me around as my RO wasn't in as he was on leave; the team is quite small here as things are still newly set-up. I was soon shown to my desk; it's back facing the window, but anyhow, it's fine for me. 19" screen and the CISCO phone, which is somewhat identical to what I had been "tied" to the past 3 years.

As the role encompasses a totally different scope of responsibilities, I had started with some intensive reading on operation manuals and some policy information.

Overall the environment is less tensed; and I simply love the layout of our office, my desk.

Early arise and had been greetdd by a few pigeons on the window sill; they seem to have a liking for standing on high-rise buildings' window sills.

Breakfast done from 8 - 930am; quite a spread before we continued exploring the vicinity. There was the IT Mall. - Lau Watt that wasn't open yet, so we took a walk further to Lot 10 and the shopping malls nearby. Quite alot of festive decos were found around and managed to get some shots.

Dearie continued her shopping at BB Plaza, which, was bigger than expected; as it was linked to Sungei Wang, and another mall. Lugging around was quite a challenge as I carried dearie's non-slingable bag, while backpacking mine and my D300S ready for shots. Was looking for a minature model but have not managed to find anything I like. There are actually quite a number of camera shops around but I didn't get anything as no homework had been done prior to this trip.

We decided to have Subway before going to wait for our coach. It was the first pickup point so we managed to get in the coach first.


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Here it is finally...

365 by three,

Before it hits 1.2 Grand,

I have finally left this place, what a place it is!

Wings of Liberty have sprouted from my back as I leave this place with dignity and honour, for a better purpose I move forth.

No more auto ins, shortened lunch without prior notice, imbecilic reasons for disapproved leave, and valueless long hours of work, KPI which really means Killing People Index. Irate agent and brokers who seem to try to test water and barging their way.

Those whom I hold close to my heart, shall be kept in good memories.

Hereby I rise to greater heights of a role of more value.

Eternal farewell to call centre life I bid; a place I will never ever want to be in.

We had set off early at 6:20am to catch our bus to KL; a trip that had been planned long ago without success on a longer period of time; a result of the immbecilic leave management from my previous co.

We had managed to rest only about 4hours prior to our journey, but had already got quite a substanial rest in the coach with the journey to reach Checkpoint 2, and another hour to reach Malaysia Customs

The journey to Yong Peng took us another hour and we had bee hoon and noodles to refill our stomach before the long bus journey up to KL.

It was after unknown moments and soon, we saw the outskirts of KL, indicated by the slowdown of traffic by a long queue at the toll station...we are finally reaching our destination.

Dinner after checking in is A&W; a long-vanquished fast food outlet in Singapore. The aircon was really chilling and meal enjoyable with a root beer float. I miss that A&W bear too...managed to get some shots with the big and small models.

Post dinner activity - make our way to Petronas Twin Towers via rail. We boarded from Bukit Pintang station to Bukit Nanas, and by foot, to subway from Jalan Keraya station till KLCC. From there, just exit Suria KLCC mall and we can se Petronas Twin Tower.

The night view of it illuminated is so fascinating! I'm still not able to get the best composition as my lens is still not wide enough; considering the height of this building.

Reexploration of BB Plaza at night before we retired for the night; the place we stay at Federal Hotel contains so many shopping area nearby. The fatogue wasn't because the bus journey, but rather, the massive walking and stairs climbing.

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It's my final leave before I call ORD next Friday.

The runny nose with sneezing spells are still at large; could it be a lack of Vit C that had crippled the recovery phrase?

I had met Nicole for a photoshoot as planned, and she's on PM leave for the day. Fortunately, weather had been good and we were able to carry out the landscape shoots pretty smoothly.

Bumped into Jamie when I was going to look for dearie after her work, and we sure had a good catchup prior to her friend's picking up. Dearie and I made it in time for booking a KL trip just before it's closed with 5 Stars as WTS already had no vacancies at their coaches / hotel rooms for our desired date of travel.

Quite a energy depleting day as I walked alot for the shoots; somehow realised that public transport is a cool thing, as I can take more pics with where I set foot than by self-piloted wheels.

I need a good rest tonight as we'll have a long day at Ubin tomorrow. It's already past 1 after settling down everything for tomorrow's trip.

The 2nd part of the long weekend is gone at last; with the 1st day of implication of the $4 overnight parking charges...a 100% increase compared to the current rates...

Since it's already effective, what more can I do?

The FTP still can't work after some reattempts to make it work...so more reworks need to be done.

Lazy Friday.

I had awoken after a 5.5hr rest after spending a late evening processing some pics yesterday.

Spent most of the day at dearie's place processing pics and eating with her family - home cooked food is always the best. Good to have such gatherings every weekend.

Dinner was arranged 7pm considering the following day is a public holiday. I had picked up a few, including Maricon, Cyril, Katrina and uncle Chia as we made our way to Fish and Co in Tampines Mall. This was for an incentive for the team for one of the campaigns.

The beginning of the meal was rather quiet as we awaited for more to join us. Heard Lim Li, Crystal and Christopher will be coming too. That spells FUN since we all are a jolly bunch.

I had my favourite - swordfish collar, which was a big serving that filled me after finishing all the fish and some rice by the side. As we conversed, we also caught up with Sal who couldn't join us as she was admitted to A&E due to some discomfort in the appendix. Chris as usual, was the jollybean that made all of us laugh when he teased Katrina for causing Sal's admission to A&E with her whining.

It's the first time I really get to talk to Linda and the rest of the DM team on such informal grounds after work. Lim Li and Crystal, we have chatted during the late hours in my past working schedules...all that have come to an end since 2 weeks ago.

Learnt about many unspoken things that had taken advantage of Linda's kindness in office that is quite saddening; fortunately she's moving out from this place.

I could feel that we all will miss her when she leaves effectively next Friday.

Can't wait for tomorrow as this will be a short week and we will all be having a team dinner.

I'm still planning for the KL trip with dearie, but with so many things coming up, we have to take time to materialise each part of the arrangements...hopefully price doesn't hike up too much, or even drop when the date is nearer.

I am beginning to feel that the fun we have at this place will be missed soon; the people, the "classic callers" we handle and all the time we share talking them out.

2 more weeks. Just 2 more weeks for me to endure and I'll be out of this place soon.

A week which power is downtuned even further. I had still been bugged with those netsend messages even when I was attending to some matters. It seemed that people were either desperate to meet SLA, or simply taking my efficiency for granted...that really pricks one's mind especially when we are already challenged with the challenging-velocitied system.

Oh well...that's how those people work. I just have to endure for awhile more...

Another nightfall had arrived. Caught Resident Evil: Degeneration after dinner and workout; certainly well done as the CGI was identical to FFVII: Advent Children.

Usually Mondays will be slightly mentally more tiring than usual as the tension is quickly picked up from the more relaxed weekends.

A smell of the soil tells that the night will be one of deep slumber from the cool temperature. I somehow look forward to reaching the gates of dreamland somehow...

The excitement of leaving the Sunken Colony is nearing with each passing day...

Just counted the absolute number of days left; excluding off days, it's actually 11. On top of that, the most unliked TL among most staffs, who had taken over us, is on long leave. That can very well be a good sign as it's a torment to work with him.

Can't wait for 5pm when the 'ceasefire' will take place..

Managed to do some catchups with friends and that certainly made the day much easier to pass.

The afternoon is so sleepy after lunch - probably effects of too much carbohydrates, but I guess in no time, will all be digested.

Man, I missed my workout this morning...could it be that unpleasant dream about working night shift in NSP be a contributing factor?

Another day into my ORD mood as I still have to endure another 3 weeks; further reduction in my speed as I see no more value in answering calls all day - these will not bring me anywhere.

Weather is somewhat spikingly hot this lunch hour; the vision of myself working back in NSP was a bad vision as those days does somehow felt like prison - imagine having CCTVs in our own office. Many rules had been laid down since I had left many years back. An update of the vision will arrive later.

A familiar phone system is seen when I opened my eyes; grey body with lots of buttons, and a 2-liner dot-matrix above the mass of buttons.

It is my previous workplace and I was on night shift; somehow I didn't know how to operate the phone system; seems unusal for me to be the only staff on duty; calls came in non-stop abnd I was juggling between the calls and emails.

I wasn't feeling flustered but rather lost at that moment.

Another opening of my eyes, I'm actually laying in my bed.