New friendships ...

[This is the second photo from our time dining at Mahek]

Tonight, I went to the airport with Kristen to pick up Didier Gerval. Then it was on to Bravo at Eden Island for a scrumptious dinner. And this time, we ordered something different. I had spaghetti carbonara (rich but not good quality bacon and cheese though) while Kristen had the ribs and it was a different style of ribs with a different menu. Overall, it was still good!

Then we dropped Didier off and waited for Dustin's arrival.

So if there is one thing I will remember when I leave this place, it will be the friendships I have been fortunate to make. Tonight it will be Didier. He is such a nice, polite fellow. I have no idea why my boss seemed to have issues with him

And Dustin is Mr. Recreation and always up for a good time. Now if only he could be more in-line with his people ... hah ... but hey, if you ever need someone to get something done, he is your man

On separate issues, I heard from Berjaya Head Hunter. She said the client had a smaller budget which is odd cos the ad says up to RM25k but I only asked for much less than the max. Then I talked to my mate, Az and he said I can always offer to negotiate with other perks thrown in. I dropped a note to Ken and he called me up tonight while I was at Bravo. He told me what the boss is supposedly receiving - which is a bit shocking ... as in shockingly low! If it is true ... hmm ... anyway we are going to meet up at my place for dinner tomorrow night ... so it's all good ... friendships new and all

But I am still keeping fingers crossed and hoping to move on

Almost showtime ... I hope

[Photo was taken in Jan at the Mahek Indian Restaurant of Coral Strand Hotel at Beau Vallon, Mahe Island, Seychelles - it's the best restaurant for Indian foods - you get a lovely starters of papads when you are seated with 3 different dips/ condiments]

So predictably workwise, yesterday was yet another shitty day. This is the third week now I am waiting for just a normal busy day but guess what, it doesn't exist in this hotel

The good news is we have our licence approved and issued for North Beach. This means the hotel entire. So we can finally legally get it on with the business of selling to guests. Next up is insurance. Now if only a certain boss outside of Seychelles would actually reply his emails one way or another, we can move it on and close the case ... sigh ...

Resignation - we had 2 junior staff and 1 sous chef resigned ... so the stats for yesterday is 3 ... we can maintain 3 a day by Friday ... it will be a new record! Hah!

On a more personal front, I had a nice quiet dinner at the Barrangers. It was omelette, salad and coffee. Simple but lovely especially omelette. I missed my fried eggs. I have been having too much unhealthy foods lately and need to start cutting down on meats and fried stuff, sugar and smaller portions and INCREASE THOSE DAMN EXERCISES

Ummmmmm ....... what's next? The interviews. The first one from Shang ... came nearly around 1100am when I thought it wasn't ging to happen. But it did. Mr. Tay was nice, the interview was short, I don't think I flubbed it because all questions were asked and answered without any hiccups. We talked about $$$ and he didn't seem surprised so I may have asked within budget or too low. At the end, his point of contention was the notice period. But that happens everywhere. And he requested for a photo which I have sent to him

Second interview came within the hour from Ian of Saujana. That was pretty much in the same vein which I found odd ... pleasant, short, questions asked and answered with no difficulty. Even the salary range seemed to go smoothly and again the main point was notice period. And he said if I have any questions, to drop him a note ... which I did ... just to keep the momentum going ...

Well I am hoping one of them do offer me a post. I would leave for RM15k and preferably RM18k. Each has its positives and negatives. Shang will be difficult to settle in as it is old hotel but it is Penang so that's nice and a great group even if there is a chance I will be in a dead-end job. The KL Saujana is going to be difficult if I have to do month-end closing but not impossible and it is for a short time before we move on. I just have to ensure I survived the 2 years and it is KL so there is room for my personal life to be great and of course, the future is bright if they expand like intended

Whatever God decides, I will submit myself to His will

Time is a straight line

Much as I want to go back and fill the gap ... maybe some day ... when I decided to take time out and do a full auto biography yes? ... I have no choice but to continue recording new stuff here ... otherwise ... I will always fall behind ...

So why the long period of silence? Was it another bout of my lack of discipline in seeing things through? No-uh. I have legitimate reason this time around ... as soon as we moved into the staff housing complex ... there goes internet completely ... Oct until last week ... no communications ... pure torture I assure you ... hehehe ... never realized how connected we all are until it's gone .... we were only given access to work related sites at the office and nothing at home ....

Not just internet but no TV and no Phone ... frequently we do not have water, power, drinking glasses, plates, cooking ware, etc etc etc .... what an odd life yes? A sort of prison ... or is that a prison of sorts?

Anyway, what's exciting for us to exchange news? Well, we finally got the licensing people along with planning, fire, health etc coming to inspect our North Beach wing ... and we were told that we will be granted licence tomorrow ... so it means it's time to open that tomorrow officially as well ... thank goodness we can be legitimate now! Hah!

Do I dare type everything here? Anyone in Seychelles especially the government reading in? Hmmmm better not since I am still in this company and country ... hahahahahhaa ...

Aside from that, the Finance team had our beach outing .... we wanted to do this since Jan 2010 but work is a bitch ... anyway ... we finally decided that enough is enough ... otherwise we would never get around to it ... it was nice ... beer, vodka and whiskey .... coca cola ... junk food etc ... and it was nice to get to know them on a more personal basis ... at least now I know my new store porter was an ex-firefighter ... and that Liv likes to attend gatherings without his other half, Jan controlling him ... and that he has a son from years ago ... I also found out that Medna is shy about her smoking habit while G (the thief?) and M are loud old hags when high on alcohol ... hahahahha ....

A little high point is ... I got another interview appointment ... from Azvil's new company VP of Finance IAN ... he also wanted the same slot as Shang ... so we re-arrange to a later time ... it means I have 2 phone interviews tomorrow! Hehehehehe ... I am rolling ...

At this point, I just pray, truly pray that God Almighty will guide me through ... and that if I am meant to leave ... He will guide me towards the best possible decision ...

As for me, I want a job where I can be myself and go all out and not only do a good job but do something meaningful and right ... not just a paycheque ... or exploiting anymore ... there must be more to life than this, isn't it?

People say that there is no perfect company, no this and that, but if we all give up, then there is truly no hope. If we try wherever we go ... then there will be a chance that things will get better somewhere somehow ... no?

Anyway it was nice to be back to this good old blog ... take care all!

(Copied and posted from MSWORD)

(Note: the photos have nothing to do with this diary entry, okay?)

Dear Diary,

What monumental event happened today?

The CANTEEN. I was there at about 12:30pm. The queue was unbelievably long until it went into second rows around the counters. We had to wait for 20 minutes before we could go in through the doors and when we were inside, BANG yet another queue of more than 20 people for rice alone!

(The DUST man at our initial fave burger place)

The sandwiches were finished for the meal period. Desserts were some miscellaneous outside purchased lumps of cake. I had a simple lunch and walked out. Because we had SCR1,000 left and I took Ahmad and Sebastian for a nice dinner at Kaz Kreol instead - grilled fish with rice and chutneys, mixed appetizer of chicken wings, calamari and spring rolls, pizza and noodles. Yummy, right?

(The unique rock cropping in front of Fairyland)

I sent $$$ to Cory for his motorcycle as well

Workwise, Mr Gitz is now in Mauritius. Let's wait and see what happens when he comes back - are we opening? Are we not? What dates?

(Beach to the left of Fairyland)

Nite

(Copied and Pasted from MSWORD)

Dear Diary,

Wow! Last night's entry was 10:31pm and tonight is 11:31pm. One hour difference - exact! What a coincidence of sorts, eh?

What is the highlight of today? The DUST Man's birthday! I messaged the Dust Man last night at 8:30pm while at Opera just to psyche him up. And today, I got a call from Valerie to go to their party in the morning but I couldn't make it. Why? Because today at 7:00am I had to go to town to bank to get small change!


(That's Shanta's head peeking at the bottom of the photo - these are all Pirates Arms)

Darn it!

Remember yesterday's incident? Well, today was no different. I went to MCB with Jacq-Jacq. We got there early and as the bank wasn't open, we decided to have a cup at DoubleClick. As fate would have it, we ran into a white lady with 2 black kids. She started talking to us about the Resort & all that shit. And we found out she knew Kareen my Night Auditor. Kareen later confirmed that the lads were both adopted. So hey, coincidence? I want to adopt kids too although I need mine to look either geeky or adorable! HAHAHAHAH!

Aside from that, it rained ... and rained ... and rained!

(See? Another Pirates Arms - oldest restaurant)

Work was a complete nightmare! It was yet another day spent on payroll only. Tomorrow I have to really get cracking and worked on other matters that are piling up. But tonight, we had an awesome blast at Le Meridien celebrating the Dust Man's birthday. The food was not great, don't get me wrong. What was cool was that there was traditional performance and they got a few of the folks from our group up and dancing and running around and kicking their heels!

I am so sleepy now that I will definitely continue tomorrow with the highlights

Night

(And the road outside Pirates Arms)

(Copied and Pasted from MSWORD Diary)

Dear Diary,

Today is a day of in-betweens. It's like when I was in high school during exam period. There I would be cramming for days on end, worrying like a worry wart about the worse until I would have these splitting headaches in the afternoon right in the middle of a test paper. Then would come a break of a day or two in between one test and the next or just after all the exams were over and done with

And I would be listless, my routine snapped. I was indecisive on the next charging course of action I would take

Does that make any sense to you?


(Fairyland for a beautiful buffet luncheon)

Today we finished the bulk of the payroll nightmare! Today is the first day after the 2 Mauritian auditors left for the holiday season! Today is the first day where the training of the past 10 or so days ended!

So all I did was clear emails and waiting for the phone call from my mate, the Rolls (Corvina Accountant) to go to town and collect the $$$ for payroll distribution. Anything exciting happened? Well ... yes and no

The craziest thing happened right in the bank. I was there with Meds (payroll officer), Aggie (Security Manager) and her no 2, Simie. The teller was a hoot. We were waiting for her with the cheque and full denomination breakdown. She counted, used the adding machine and somehow kept on not tallying. Then she blamed the machine and changed to another machine and still couldn't balance. Forty minutes we had to wait for her to finish everything!

(The lights @ Our somewhat fave restaurant, Opera)

I almost wanted to offer her a helping hand but the poor girl already looked so stressed and embarassed that for once I kept my mouth shut! HAHAHAHA!

To our surprise, who we thought was a machine technician turned out to be her superior/ bank officer of sorts. The dressing sense, the facial hair, the stature! I kid you not. The chap was in something that looked like what a car techie would wear!

And also while I was in the bank, I received a call from another bank officer in the same building looking for a job! Can you BEAT that? Hehehe! I told her to come out into the banking hall next to the Christmas tree. Boy was she surprised! HAH!

(View of the beautiful Seychelles)

Anyway, when we got back to the hotel, to our utter shock and disgust, there was insufficient smaller denomination! Now that pissed us off no end because now we have to go back to the bank tomorrow!

Aside from that episode, nothing else of importance happened

My evening ended thus - I went to Banyan Tree after reading the ad in the paper about the sale and did my Nov 2009 monthly shopping there again like last round when I bought a cap for USD20. This time I spent about USD40 and could buy so many things. Hehehehe!

Then it was dinner at Opera before coming home to the here and now typing this entry

See? Nothing major :)

Good night!

First Real Day ... and the truth continues

Dear Diary,

I woke up this morning and ARGH the gout is there. As there is no definite schedule on what to do today or who to meet, I hobbled to the lobby and met Agnes, Security MISTRESS (hah). We had breakfast together and then she went off as she had her agenda all spelt out. Me? I hobbled around, back to room and out again


Thought to check out what's going on in the Finance department only to find out that most are not in yet. Apparently they have a "unique" schedule. This is going to be a recurrence throughout the rest of my stay. Ah well each country has it s own culture and each company its own as well

So the rest of the day was spent in quiet frustration talking to people here and there and that's about it. Lunch was around one of the poolsides and I ran into a bunch of other head office people. Seemed like a great number of them exists for such a small group - oddly reminded me of my just ex-employer, Meritus. So if they are not careful ...

What happened in the evening? Nothing.

Nice to sit out on the balcony and watch the sunset and sipped on drinks and doing nothing

Wish my foot is not aching so I can actually go out and DO SOMETHING - luckyAgnes!

[COPIED N PASTED FRM MSWORD]

Dear Diary,

I am typing this in Belle Mare Plage, our flagship hotel in Mauritius. It's such a beautiful room, unique in its design. I was definitely wowed when I stepped down from the car. If there is one thing I want my parents to enjoy, it is this - the wow factor of really nice hotels instead of just those where we go to sleep and head out the whole day. I want them to experience true luxury just once!



Anyway the day started optimistically until I reached office. Koshi sent me an email that said he was not joining - another Senarath! Apparently, after sooooo many months of silence, BT recalled him for RAK! And he supposedly got a whopping salary increase from them! So we are back to panic button

Other than that, nothing much happened except I went to the airport, waited and flew off to beautiful Mauritius

All along the journey, there was not a single cutie anywhere in sight - adult, that is

When we touched down in Mauritius, the ride was bad. The car we had was dirty and run-down. The driver was less than pleasant. Aside from the initial greeting like a word and that was it the whole way until we arrived at the hotel. He must be in a real bad mood. So that pretty much spoilt the journey. Oh yes! I was travelling with our Security Manager, the lady.

Thank goodness we were greeted with such a great WHAM view of the hotel and the people when we arrived. Now that was more or less great all the way through

Then came the "somewhat" cutie JCJ the guy who first interviewed me for this position and whom I had such a lovely chat with. He is definitely good-looking. If he is a PLU and wanted one with me ... well I don't know if I am able to resist him. That body, the smile, the hair, the voice and I already know the personality. He is quite frankly adorable.

After the pleasantries were done, we were given the rest of the evening and day off. Dinner was in the buffet restaurant. Not a single dish was nice. And the macchiato that I ordered was ridiculously bad. It comes in a tall thin glass with 2 straws. I mean, this is a hot drink, mind you! Freaky!

And of all the bad luck, my gout is giving me a nightmare of all days! It hit me just now!

Going to rest, good nite!