The Management and Staff of yikai.blogspot.com would like to wish every reader
Happy New Year!
Have a joyous 2009 and a smooth year ahead! . . . AND!
The Management will also like to inform every reader that starting 2009, yikai.blogspot.com will be moved to a new site(think of it as expansion) at pagefiveparasix.wordpress.com.
Today is the last day of 2008. As the hours passed, my emotions become more complicated and starting to mix together. It is the new year dude! Furthermore, next year is 2009 leh!
Looking back, this year is the first year i went through as a civilian after ORD-ing from NS and i love every moment of it.
For now, let us just do a simple review of the year, A.D. 2008.
Jan: On the 19th, I attended Jay Chou Concert at Singapore Indoor Stadium. Need i say more? Haha
Feb: On the 6th, i ORD officially, ending my 2 years of service to the nation and merge back to the civilian society. On the 17th, i took part in NUS Biathlon, my first ever and hopefully not the last. On the 18th, i started my tertiary education officially, becoming a student all over again.
Mar: Mas Selamat escaped and he is still on the loose. WTF? On the 15th, Singapore first ever Nichiren Shoshu temple opened and High Priest was here to officiate it. On the 16th, Kickoff Meeting was conducted and more than 3000 believers packed Expo to hear High Priest give his guidance.
Apr: On the 11st, my brother's son (my nephew la!) by the name of Rayne Tok Qi Hong was born. Woohoo!
Jun: Went over to Kukup on the 1st, my first overseas trip since i ORDed. Furthermore, i laid my (clean) hands on my first iPod and first laptop. Wee...
July: My brain cells were brutually murdered by my Graduation Project for my Advanced Diploma.
Aug: Went over to Genting with my mum. The last time i went overseas with my mum is at least 4 years ago. Beijing held the 2008 Summer Olympic Games successfully, Singapore won an Olympics Silver after 48 years and the whole world witness the birth of a legend, Michael Phelps.
Sep: Celebrated my 21st birthday with my close brothers and friends over at East Coast. Lee Mei left us... for Germany. I started my degree modules while F1 cars zoomed past Singapore downtown.
Oct: Went for my first ever commercial diving trip. Shiok sia!
Nov: Went for my first reservist while Obama start planning for his term next year. Everyone mourns the death of the first Singaporean to be killed by a terrorist.
Dec: Spent the whole month planning for Kenshu and luckily, Kenshu was a success with no major cock-up.
Today is the second day since school started and still i can't find the mood to study. I guess it is either a hangover from Kenshu or i am too used to having breaks that i can't switch my mind back to study mood.
Whatever it is, i got to find the mood back fast cause my current module is psychology.
Yes, you got me right. Psychology.
I am equally shocked on the first day of school. I mean, look, i have little sleep over the Kenshu and straight away after Kenshu i got to go back to school without any rest day. And the last thing i really expect to hear is the current module is about psychology.
Wah piang. I mean, yes, having a bit of psychology knowledge is useful in my future career path but i still can't believe i am studying psychology. Really, it feels very odd to carry the textbook around and tell people my course of study is mass communication.
But! I kind of like the module cause, really, psychology is something interesting. Maybe, just maybe, i would pursue a graduate diploma in psychology...
First of all, three cheers to all the planning teams who have put in their best efforts to make this Kenshu a success. You guys rockz!
During the planning stages, there are laughter and inevitably, there are conflicts too. But i am glad you guys have been forgiving enough to resolve the conflicts in a mature way and not let the conflicts defeat us. Thanks guys.
I dare say this is the Kenshu that i have the most feelings. Maybe it is because i am the logistics head but whatever it is, i am glad it is finally over and it is a success and it didn't screw up too much.
The overall feeling that i took away is appreciation. I have truly learned to appreciate things and people. I really appreciate anyone who is willing to go out of his/her way to help me. Really thank you. To you, it may seems like a small gesture, but to me, it is something big. Thank you so much and i really appreciate your effort.
Okay, as 2009 approaches, we should look forward and strive hard in our faith and attend 2009 General Tozan without fail, no matter which batch you are in. Let us all pledge to make it to Taisekiji no matter what, even if we have to swim or crawl there.
Busy, busy, busy. I don't know why and what i am busy over.
True, being the logistics head for the upcoming Kenshu means tonnes of work and shite. But i don't know why, i don't think that is the source of my busyness. Rather, my arrogant mind of wanting to shine and be involved in everything is the source i think.
I am so caught up with things to do that really, i am hardly at home over the past week. Not only do i have to go to work, i have to plan for Kenshu logistics, plan for the RSAKR study part 3 presentation, plan for I Journalist, a CNA organised thingy and another secret project with my classmates which i can't reveal much here. Initially, i thought i can manage. But, when every thing converge, i crumble, totally, literally like landslide.
Suddenly, i feel that there is still so many things to do for logistics. The worries have definitely worn me down and my life is in a mess.
I screwed up work during my shift on friday and really, i got to respect my manager for having such a high level of tolerance.
I screwed up a friendship. My starting point is definitely not to harm her. But apparently, the damages have been done and a close brother told me that the damages is worse than i can ever imagine.
Looking at my schedule, i feel tied down. I got to do this, go there, do that, meet him, call him, ask for his help etc. It does not help that i have not much people to share my load and problems with. I feel i am doing a one-man show and really, i am starting to fall, down and down a bottomless pit. I wanted so much to just have a day to myself without worrying about anything. But next week is the crucial week and i don't know whether i can survive.
I really want to cry it out, to share with someone my pain, my anguish. Alas, i don't think i have the chance and i guess i can only keep my pain to myself while ensuring everyone that i am okay.
A young lawyer, starting up his private practice, was very anxious to impress potential clients. When he saw the first visitor to his office come through the door, he immediately picked up his phone and spoke into it," I'm sorry, but my caseload is so tremendous that I'm not going to be able to look into your problem for at least a month. I'll have to get back to you then." He then turned to the man who had just walked in, and said, "Now, what can I do for you?"
"Nothing," replied the man. "I'm here to hook up your phone."
The following letters are taken from an actual incident between a London hotel and one of its guests. The Hotel ended up submitting the letters to the London Sunday Times!
Dear Maid, Please do not leave any more of those little bars of soap in my bathroom since I have brought my own bath-sized Dial. Please remove the six unopened little bars from the shelf under the medicine chest and another three in the shower soap dish. They are in my way.
Thank you, S. Berman ———————————————————————————————– Dear Room 635,
I am not your regular maid. She will be back tomorrow, Thursday, from her day off. I took the 3 hotel soaps out of the shower soap dish as you requested. The 6 bars on your shelf I took out of your way and put on top of your Kleenex dispenser in case you should change your mind. This leaves only the 3 bars I left today which my instructions from the management is to leave 3 soaps daily. I hope this is satisfactory.
Kathy, Relief Maid ———————————————————————————————– Dear Maid - I hope you are my regular maid.
Apparently Kathy did not tell you about my note to her concerning the little bars of soap. When I got back to my room this evening I found you had added 3 little Camays to the shelf under my medicine cabinet. I am going to be here in the hotel for two weeks and have brought my own bath-size Dial so I won’t need those 6 little Camays which are on the shelf. They are in my way when shaving, brushing teeth, etc. Please remove them.
S. Berman ———————————————————————————————– Dear Mr. Berman,
My day off was last Wed. so the relief maid left 3 hotel soaps which we are instructed by the management. I took the 6 soaps which were in your way on the shelf and put them in the soap dish where your Dial was. I put the Dial in the medicine cabinet for your convenience. I didn’t remove the 3 complimentary soaps which are always placed inside the medicine cabinet for all new check-ins and which you did not object to when you checked in last Monday. Please let me know if I can of further assistance.
Your regular maid, Dotty ———————————————————————————————– Dear Mr. Berman,
The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder, informed me this morning that you called him last evening and said you were unhappy with your maid service. I have assigned a new girl to your room. I hope you will accept my apologies for any past inconvenience. If you have any future complaints please contact me so I can give it my personal attention. Call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM. Thank you.
Elaine Carmen Housekeeper ———————————————————————————————– Dear Miss Carmen,
It is impossible to contact you by phone since I leave the hotel for business at 7:45 AM and don’t get back before 5:30 or 6PM. That’s the reason I called Mr. Kensedder last night. You were already off duty. I only asked Mr. Kensedder if he could do anything about those little bars of soap. The new maid you assigned me must have thought I was a new check-in today, since she left another 3 bars of hotel soap in my medicine cabinet along with her regular delivery of 3 bars on the bath-room shelf. In just 5 days here I have accumulated 24 little bars of soap. Why are you doing this to me?
S. Berman ———————————————————————————————– Dear Mr. Berman,
Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stop delivering soap to your room and remove the extra soaps. If I can be of further assistance, please call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM.Thank you,
Elaine Carmen, Housekeeper ———————————————————————————————– Dear Mr. Kensedder,
My bath-size Dial is missing. Every bar of soap was taken from my room including my own bath-size Dial. I came in late last night and had to call the bellhop to bring me 4 little Cashmere Bouquets.
S. Berman ———————————————————————————————– Dear Mr. Berman,
I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen, of your soap problem. I cannot understand why there was no soap in your room since our maids are instructed to leave 3 bars of soap each time they service a room. The situation will be rectified immediately. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience.
Martin L. Kensedder Assistant Manager ———————————————————————————————– Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Who the hell left 54 little bars of Camay in my room? I came in last night and found 54 little bars of soap. I don’t want 54 little bars of Camay. I want my one damn bar of bath-size Dial. Do you realize I have 54 bars of soap in here. All I want is my bath size Dial. Please give me back my bath-size Dial.
S. Berman ———————————————————————————————– Dear Mr. Berman,
You complained of too much soap in your room so I had them removed. Then you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all your soap was missing so I personally returned them. The 24 Camays which had been taken and the 3 Camays you are supposed to receive daily. I don’t know anything about the 4 Cashmere Bouquets. Obviously your maid, Kathy, did not know I had returned your soaps so she also brought 24 Camays plus the 3 daily Camays. I don’t know where you got the idea this hotel issues bath-size Dial. I was able to locate some bath-size Ivory which I left in your room.
Elaine Carmen Housekeeper ———————————————————————————————– Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on my latest soap inventory. As of today I possess: * On the shelf under medicine cabinet - 18 Camay in 4 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2. * On the Kleenex dispenser - 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 3. * On the bedroom dresser - 1 stack of 3 Cashmere Bouquet, - 1 stack of 4 hotel-size Ivory, and 8 Camay in 2 stacks of 4. * Inside the medicine cabinet - 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2. * In the shower soap dish - 6 Camay, very moist. * On the northeast corner of tub - 1 Cashmere Bouquet, slightly used. * On the northwest corner of tub - 6 Camays in 2 stacks of 3.
Please ask Kathy when she services my room to make sure the stacks are neatly piled and dusted. Also, please advise her that stacks of more than 4 have a tendency to tip. May I suggest that my bedroom window sill is not in use and will make an excellent spot for future soap deliveries. One more item, I have purchased another bar of bath-sized Dial which I am keeping in the hotel vault in order to avoid further misunderstandings.
Starbucks is in the news again, this time for something worse than the water tap incident.
Apparently, a customer visited a Starbucks outlet in Taiwan and ordered brewed coffee and requested to put the beverage in a paper cup. Well, soon after, he discovered something wrong with his coffee and the story in short is that his coffee contained cleaning solution and the paper cup was corroded.
Well, i can tell you honestly it is simply an oversight of the closing partners. You see, the brewer is cleaned every night after closing. Our brewer consists of two parts, the funnel section and the container section. Coffee grinds is put inside the funnel section and hot water is passed through it, dripping into the container section. That is how we brew coffee. When we clean, we empty a pack of KAY-5 sanitizer powder into the container section and as usual, let hot water drip through the now empty funnel section into the container section, dissolving the sanitizer powder and cleaning the container section at the same time.
My guess is, the closing partners forgot to let hot water enter the container section to clean the container. So the powder is left in the container overnight and when the opening partners brew a new batch of coffee, the coffee is of course mixed with the sanitizer powder and hence this is why there is cleaning solution in that particular customer's coffee. I dare assure you this is a stand alone incident and definitely an oversight on our part, definitely not part of our SOP. I mean, anyone in the right frame of mind don't brew sanitizer powder and coffee together right?
