Dai-guai's funny story (2) Dai-guai is not stupid

o Dai-guai of today, enjoying 'sunbath'

30th December 1993, a day before moving house.

In that evening, we were cleaning our old home and preparing to move to new home the next day. There were rubbish and saw dust all around on the floor, not yet been swept. May May who always walks freely at home was crawling out from toilet to balcony, and was crawling over the doorsill towards dinning room. I stopped her immediately.

I kneeled down and spoke to her, "Don't come here, you cannot eat the saw dust on the floor, it would hurt you. We are moving to our new home tomorrow. You have to remember, if you heard Daddy Momi say 'We are leaving, bye-bye', you must come out immediately, otherwise they will forget to take you away, no one will feed you and you will die. Understand?"

May May was looking at me.

I asked, "Do you understand? Nod your head if you understand."

May May nodded and looked at me.

I said, "Understand? Then go back to the toilet, don't come out."

May May turned and crawled toward the toilet, she looked at me over her shoulder when she crawled over the toilet doorsill.

I reminded her again, "Remember to crawl out once hear 'We are going, bye-bye'!"

May May went back to the toilet. I was not sure if she was really understood.

I went to the new home alone next night. Daddy Momi and elder brother delivered the last few cartons of stuff to home at about midnight. Once the door was opened I could not wait and asked, "Where is Dai-guai?" Momi opened the carton on top right away, there came our unfailingly cutie Dai-guai extending her neck. I was so happy.

"When we were leaving we said 'Goodbye old home, we are leaving, bye-bye. Anything left?' we heard 'bang bang' from the toilet, then we saw Dai-guai rushing out madly, I said, 'Aiya, I nearly forgot Dai-Guai!' She knows we are leaving, she is so smart." Momi told me.

Haha~ Dai-guai really understood my words, she was waiting for them to say goodbye and come out.

Who say terrapin has no spirit?

What an Interview!

I went to a very big buying office for interviewing for assistant merchandiser one afternoon recently. The interview was pretty bad. I had a feeling of not liking the company once I stepped into the reception area, it was too cool that have no feeling of belong to. My strong six-sense foretold me I will not work that company.

After 90 minutes of writing, excel and typing test, I was led to the interview room. As soon as I started my self-introduction the HR interviewer blacked face and frowned and started judging me...

That woman asked a load of questions that I was asked when I had interview with current company. But the HR of current company asked in a much warmer way and did not criticize me. That woman's tone and manner were too bad, it seemed she did not know other questions apart from judging and criticizing me for no work for half a year, then have interview after working two months. She was so icy, unfriendly and "inch".

I told her I would like to handle client independently from procurement till end shipment when she asked what I want for my career. Then she said something made me lost my temper-

(All her conversations were said in a very inch manner)

"Assistant does what an assistant have to do, that is to assist merchandiser. We won't let you an assistant to handle a billion dollar account, it is impossible. If you want to be a merchandiser, you have to wait for years." I said "Of course I know!" She questioned "Have you ever handle a client independently?" I replied firmly "YES!" I did! If I did not how could I did the writing test about shipment problem that was merchandiser's duty to solve?

When she heckled me with having that interview after working two months, I said to her "I applied this job early this year but had no news from you. Then Sxxxx hired me in March and so I work there. Until yesterday night at 7 pm you called me if I am interested in this job I said yes because I am still in probation period and so I come for interview." And "I knew your business nature when I applied for the job but after months I cannot remember any, you called at 7pm yesterday and I OT till very late and reached home very late so had no time to browse your website. So I know nothing about your company now." I know it is very bad I am but I do not need to be polite to the HR. She criticized me for no work for 6 months (not all my fault) but assumed I am still unemployed? What is in her brain?

That was only a first interview, and that HR asked questions of second interview.

That company is very big. It is a merger of several international buying offices and retailers. The first sight I read its' powerpoint intro stated it has over 250,000 employees, in my mind was a worldwide layoff of Ford etc. For some people might think it is great to work in that company but not for me, that's too big.

Besides, in my point of view, receptionist and HR/Admin represent a company. If they are not nice not friendly, so do the rest, that company is not good at all.

Dai-guai's funny story (1) the clumsy terrapin

I think Dai-guai is clumsy at all time. She does not know how to eat if no water; she holds the food in her mouth, searches for water, then looks at you and asks for help if the water is not deep enough. She just does not know how to eat.

Furthermore, every time we feed her, she only looks at us or our fingers, then crawls like asking us to feed her, she just does not know the food drops into the water already. So we often say her, "Clumsy."

On the contrary, my friend Guai-Mui's over 10 terrapins are all so smart. They need a little water and fight for food, some even do not need water to eat. It is such an opposite of Dai-guai... we can only say she is cute.

That is the reason I objected strongly every time my parents suggested to free Dai-guai to a park, since I had seen a terrapin being eaten by a group of other terrapins. My terrapin is such a clumsy naive simple darling, I am afraid she would not only be bullied but also be eaten!

No day and night

I have been so busy for over a week that I hardly know the day and night.

Every morning I get back to office at 8.30 a.m., have breakfast and a glance of AM730, then start my work. Firstly my colleague and I go to the other side of the office for handling over dozen cartons of testing samples, then back to my sit for clerical work. Every time I receive a call about more testing samples arrive, I immediately jump to the other side.

There is no easy job. Especially for those have square-shape face, who is said belongs to work hard type, wherever they work they are always busy. Wherever I get to work, just meet the busiest period the colleagues say they have never had. No matter the last two companies, or this company.

The General Manager of 2nd last company would have lecture with you if he saw you were about to leave office at 10 p.m. (already OT for 4 hours)

The Miss LV who was promoted from receptionist to Merchandising Manager always told you to OT urgently just when you shut down the computer.

The manageress now is a Taiwan Chili. She goes home early to wash her underpants (my colleagues say so to give vent to their anger), but gives order "you have to OT till midnight or stay at office to finish the job." Can any job ever be finished? She disliked the colleague of US office because they do not work fast, so she took the job which they need one month to finish and promised we can complete it within two days. Unfortunately, the information given by US side were repeatedly wrong, plus our computer system, even the outlook and excel were down several times a day… just she did not listen to our explanation, only replied, "I don't care. Don't you finish it, don't go home!”

At last, we OT for a week and got it done. That devil manageress still dissatisfied, "you have taken it for over one week!"

She is too brutal.

My colleague said Taiwanese are very harsh, that never appreciate your hard work no matter how good you have done a function or a project, because OT is the basic requirement. Oh~ Those Taiwanese who work in Taiwan are so poor~

As a result, we have OT till about midnight for almost two weeks. I heard that there were thunderstorms but I knew nothing about days or nights since I was too busy at work. My colleagues were so healthy and strength but now are all torn out, with dark circles, big acnes, red eyes, headaches every day. (For myself, my skin is never good and now has more acnes, eczema together even on my eyelids) My colleagues say, they have never been so busy though they have worked here for years.

More unfortunately, the arm of my eyeglasses was broken during OT. I need to pay much before I receive my salary.

Is it because of my hard life, or am I flourishing the company, so have good business?

Busy April

I am so tired because of work. Our department enters the peak season this April. I have to work over time every night till after 11 p.m. that I have to call a taxi home. It was already midnight when I arrived home.

Besides handing clerical work, I have to unpack dozens of cartons of samples every day for checking quality, packaging and all details then, pass them to QC department for lab testing. The samples are so dirty. I can hardly know how come the tree skirts, hanging ornaments and additional materials for lab testing can be so oily, dusty and sticky, that made me and my colleague sneeze and itchy. Every time we finished checking the samples, we became 'black hands gang'.

Also, I have to type over 400 pieces of purchasing orders before 23rd April. However, about 70 pieces are still on hold by the US buyer that I can do nothing... (my team have to handle a double number of items than other teams) Then we are required to split each item on purchasing orders into 16 break-flows that include 16 ports, ship dates, in-store date, quantity, and else. Our manager tells us to finish within 2 weeks, but we cannot, because the buyer changes the details every day so we have to retype every day. We are so angry and one of the merchandisers said she would send the buyer a virus email if she changes the break-flow again.

That's why our department have to work overtime every night till very late... why the manager does not require us to work on Saturday (we are 5-day work), because then they have to give us compensation leave instead of taxi fees (we have no OT paid).

The merchandiser said we have to OT till after 11 p.m. the whole April...

It's really tiresome to work OT every night. One of the assistants said when she first came to work she had to OT till after midnight for a successive 3-month two years ago, that means I am luckier. That's why she can handle all stuff by herself relaxingly now.

It is a felicity of being a dog in Japan

I watched a TV program not long ago. It stated that Japanese treat their dogs like a family member, they love them so much. What people have, so do their dogs.

The dogs can wear pretty lovely clothes; they can enjoy massage and sleep so comfortably (well, and that Aromatherapy…); they can swim in a pool with pretty nurses; they can have birthday party, with tasty cakes for doggies, their owners hold buffet for them, makes meals for them, which the food look so delicious; they can have beauty treatments, that owners have their hair made aside, dogs have their own hair made here, but the outlook does not look so good. That doggie was frightened, it screamed all the time.

What if the owners have to work abroad? Send the dogs to the beautiful hotel, which there are TV playing videos the owners recorded in advance, that can comfort their dogs; some people fixed the clock of a feeding machine, which helps arranging meals on a certain time set, doggies would know it is time for meal and wait beside. There is a CCTV connected the machine and owners' computer, so that the owners can watch their dogs when they are working busily at office; the owners can set a video which their dogs love to watch before leaving home, and their dogs really sit in front of the TV and watch it.

I know that dogs love playing with water but scare of bathing, because my friend has a battle every time she wants to bath her dog (but better than bath a cat), a Japanese invented a doggie bathing machine, which let the owner sit it with his dog and bath together for 30 minutes… so meaningless, why don't they bath together in their own bathroom?.

Just like in Hong Kong, Japanese live in small flats, with long working hours, they do not have time or room to keep a dog. So here comes a business called rent a dog for holiday. That is, people can rent a puppy home for two days, and return to the shop on Sunday evening. That shop will try to arrange the same puppy for the same client. So, the puppy has a good relationship with the client. It is good to have such a shop. However, I would not rent a dog for holiday even there is such a shop in Hong Kong and if my home is allowed to keep a dog, because it is already tired to keep my terrapin Dai-guai.

It worries every owner if the dog is ill. There is a veterinarian paid a special visit to Mongolia for traditional Chinese medical science and acupuncture-moxibustion therapy. He went back to Japan and heals patient dogs with acupuncture-moxibustion and cupping therapy. I can see the dog did not feel anything uncomfortable, this proofs that veterinarian's practice is good.

Lastly, owners are very sad when their dogs died. Mobile undertaker's service just fit their needs. A host will hold a funeral on the lorry which with a mini hall within, then cremate the body. The facility is very environmental friendly designed that would not form any stink. The whole ceremony will last about one hour, and then the owner can take the ash back home for their own shrine.

Momi says these Japanese have done too much to their dogs. To an extent they are spoiling their dogs. I do not totally agree with her. Don't talk about other pets, dogs are our loyal friends, they deserve our love. These Japanese respect life, though it is a little bit extravagant.

I did not care about how much I had to pay the vet when Dai-guai was ill.

I remember that some years ago I watched a RSPCA advertisement in the UK. It was about a family kept a puppy because it was lovely. However, when the puppy grew up, its' loveliness and naughtiness became annoyance and disaster. That family used the loyalty and trust of their puppy, led it into a traveling bag, then, cruelly, threw it into a river. This advertisement gave a message that we need to think thrice before we keep a pet, we have to respect life. However, there are many such merciless owners in the world.

My left eye has become inflamed, again

My left eye has become inflamed quite often in these recent months.

Sometimes it is because I accidentally put the eye cream into my eye; sometimes it is because dirty water splashed on to my eye when I am bathing my Dai-guai May May; sometimes it is because I remove my contact lens uncomfortably; sometimes it is because I have greasy eyelids that cause irritation easily.

But most of the times there is no reason at all. My left eye has the itch so suddenly when I read books, use computer or watch TV. I rub my eye naturally and make it even itchier. I pick up a mirror and look into it. WAH! Blood capillary burst. My eye gets bloody red with excretions around.

Is it because of my feculent fingers? No idea. My hands never touched my eyes at all, it is just suddenly has the itch. Is it some dust blew into my eyes? No idea.

I was sitting on the sofa and watching TV yesterday night. My left eye had the itch again, so unexpectedly. I looked into a mirror, my eye was red again and flooded with excretions and tears. How come it happened again? I think I have to heal it with "traditional way" – close my eye and wash it with light salt water.

I wish I will never develop inflammation in my eyes again!