THE CLOCK STRIKES 8: MEDIOCRITY CREEPING IN

it is my eight day in singapore, and things are turning for the mundane. i am starting to develop a pattern of activities: breakfast at eunos crescent, take-away for lunch, bread for dinner. and then there's the occasional travel to either aljunied, bugis or the esplanade. i didn't expect that the chinese new year fever has a grace period of 15days (the celebrations will end thursday next week, and so expect the occasional lion dancing and drum beating in street corners and in front of commercial buildings here).

yesterday, i went to dhoby ghaut for a walk-in interview with a telecommunication company. they were supposed to open at 11am, but i came 30 minutes earlier. so, i decided to wander in the mall the office was located at. i chanced upon an appliance store, and started looking at the netbooks and laptops and found a cute silver netbook for a little less than S$600 (it was the cheapest). and so i vowed to myself i would buy one when things start turning out better. (i also attempted to buy some clothes hangers but decided they were way too bulky and heavy for me that day.)

when the store opened, i queued with everyone else, and was issued a number: 1012. i sat momentarily, and looked at the CSOs that lined up the service bay. they were all women. and were conversing in filipino. i panicked. i don't know what came over me. i suddenly felt like i wanted to run away and find a small cave where i could hide. i was annoyed with the fact that i wanted to back out. well, ten minutes of cringing later, i went back to the store and waited for my turn. when my number flashed on the board, i approached the CSO and greeted her in filipino. she was surprised, meeting a filipino at the service bay, and so i told her my reason for dropping by. she smiled aptly (btw, her name was diana - said the tag on her desk) and said i shouldn't have queued anymore and went straight to her when the store opened (i couldn't tell her i chickened out early in the day). she bade me to sit in one of the empty cubicles, and went to the office at the back of the service bay. minutes later, i was filling out an application form which he handed me.

a few minutes after i handed her my application form, a tall indian guy bade me to come into a small conference room. he was the attending supervisor for customer support. he was very amicable, explaining to me thoroughly the rigors and requisites of the job (it was quite funny how he emphasized that "some" customers complained and demanded from the store just for the heck of demanding LOL). at the end of the interview, after we exchanged some thoughts, he told me he was going to refer my application to the manager, and asked me to wait for a call until afternoon today. (honestly, i don't think he's gonna call back).

*** FLASHBACK

that morning, before i went oto dhoby ghaut, i received a call from one of the assistant supervisors of the person i am meeting thursday. she told me that the boss was apologetic that she called me up at 6 in the morning. i told her it was no biggie. she was also looking forwards to seeing me thursday. in all honesty, so am i. the possibility of working, writing and teaching all the same time thrilled me a bit. i hope the offer would be good.

***
i had some bee hon with tofu for breakfast. haven't had lunch, since i'm still feeling kind of full. i guess this is how singapore has affected my eating habit. now i hope it pushes me to lose weight LOL oh, and i bought my first pair of pants here, for a measly S$10. yey.

still here. hey.