I Rock ...

My ex-colleagues and my ex-boss have been calling me over the last few days. They were so eager to share the good news with me, they were practically buzzing with glee.

Seems that all the work that I'd put into the business in the last 2 years of my tenure there was now paying off in spades. We used to have trouble managing growth over the year before, don't even talk about hitting our targets. We had to beg, plead, cajole, bribe and grovel to just to break even with the year before.

But now, we are double digit growth over the previous year, and actually OVER-achieved on our sales targets. Absolutely shocking.

My ex team was very kind in acknowledging that I was instrumental in driving this growth, and that the business was enjoying it because of the foundation I had painstakingly laid down, and the plans that I had created and set into motion.

They could easily have said that it was my successor's excellence in execution that made this happen, but I'm glad they are giving credit to me. That's the beauty of real narketing (not that SALES crap that most people think is marketing), when you understand how it works.

Marketing, or rather, BRANDING, doesn't pay off immediately. You set the foundation, make it strong, develop sound strategies based on what you know of the market, and if you did a good job, you will reap the rewards 2 years or so later. If you're still there.

The same goes if you do a shit job. If you run off quick enough, the new brand manager will come in and be blamed for the crappy business that's crumbling around his ears, even though it was the doing of the shitty brand manager before him.

So, the business is on solid ground now. All my lost health, hard work, planning and personal sacrifices were worth it. Sort of. I still wish there was some monetary reward for me, but ah well, that's the story of my life.

Work like a dog, and the next person comes along to reap the benefits. It's happened too many times to me for it to be coincidence.

Whatever doubt I may have had of my abilities before, I have none now.

I rock.

I really am the dream employee that any company would be lucky to secure.

Gotta update my resume now! Whoopeee!

Something's wrong with this picture

When do you know your nation's in trouble?

When one of its leading telecommunications company dedicates a rather expensive mass campaign (both on press and outdoor) to reach NOT a typical Malaysian with a household income of RM2,500 and above, but rather, to reach another apparently growing source of business.



I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this campaign.

A multi-hundred thousand ringgit campaign like this indicates just how big this target market has become. Not because of their spending power, but because of their sheer, bloody masses.

Yeah, seems like we're doing a GREAT job of controlling the tide of foreign workers. So great that telecommunications industries have acknowledged the existence and importance of this target market enough to spend money communicating promotions to them.

Unheard of.

Have you ever seen MASS media campaigns targeted at Vietnamese in Australia? Call home to Vietnam for less than 5 cents a minute. Or in Singapore, to the masses of Filipinos working there?

At best, stuff like this is targeted to areas where they hang out. But, in Malaysia, it was a MASS media campaign, which shows just how bad it's gotten.

Thanks for the bad restaurant service. Thanks for the robberies / break-ins. Thanks for making me feel afraid to walk in my neighbourhood after dark.

(Well, guess I shouldn't blame the robberies entirely on them. Plenty of Malaysian motherfuckers are responsible for that shit too, more so than the foreigners. Lazy motherfuckers. At least the foreigners have a JOB!)

Somebody do something.

Broken Break

Ah, my honeymoon is temporarily over. I planned for a 6 month break, but seems God has other plans.

Just as I was starting to get used to the fact that I am FREE from the evils of 9am - 5pm work (or in my case, usually 9am - 11pm), I'm going back into the jungle next week.

Since the wedding, I've had about 1.5 months to get used to freedom. And I really was only just starting to get used to it. Got me my little routine : Make breakfast for my man, send him to work, chit chat with my momma in her house, surf the net, run errands, watch movies that I had no chance to watch before, move into my new apartment, pick my man from work, cook dinner together, finish all the post-wedding stuff that we still haven't done. It was nice.

We also did our first wedding PAID job in Singapore recently. Came out pretty good, if I say so myself. Much better than the shit I've seen some "professional" photographers take. The actual shoot itself wasn't tiring, but post-processing the photos take ages!

I think at best, this will be a part-time money-maker for us. The work is too seasonal, and competition is fierce (though they're not necessarily that good). Most people can't tell the difference.

Will post some of our shots up in my next post.

But ah, going to start freelance work next week, for 3 months. And this type of work means I will not see daylight for the time I'm working there. Depressing. But the money will be most welcome!

Guess I feel depressed about this because I've been enjoying life too much to want to give it up again for a "career". Can't believe I've was ever that gung-ho about my career, giving up all that was important to me to get the job done. Giving up a part of ME.

Well, I'll have time to rediscover myself and re-focus on my marriage again once the 3 months are over.

MyVis - the new Kancil

It's official. The MyVi has replaced the Kancil as the most irritating car, hated by all motorists, in Malaysia.

I don't have a car anymore, and my hubby's was in the workshop. So we borrowed his sister's MyVi for almost a month.

For almost a month, I was road bullied. I could not drive home without at least one person honking at me for (good Heavens) making a LEGAL turn, with my indicator light on. Or cars rudely cutting in front of me, or not giving me way despite signalling and moving in at a safe distance.

Everyone was pre-disposed to being an asshole to you if you're driving the MyVi. This is despite the fact that I was driving slowly, and safely, at all times, in an effort to conserve precious fuel.

This happened with such regularity that I began to dread getting behind the wheel of that stupid car. When I was in it, I felt vunerable and hunted, like a gazelle separated from it's herd, standing in the middle of an open field, with staring lions at its fringes. I was in an accident waiting to happen.

Now, if you didn't know me, you would probably think I was just a bad driver who got what she deserved. But ha, I made an empirical study on the matter.

Once my hubby got his car back (NOT a MyVi nor a local car of any sort), I took the same route and waited for the road bullying again. But surprise, surprise, everyone was exceedingly courteous. They let me cut in without a fuss, they waited patiently if I had to take a turn, they displayed zero aggressive behaviour.

It was a pleasure to drive again.

So my theory is this. The MyVi is such a vastly proliferated car in Malaysia that the likelihood of it being driven by shitty drivers are much higher, given the fact that almost every household has one.

Add the fact that it's a very popular car with the ladies, and female Malaysian drivers tend to live up to every negative stereotype about female drivers.

So if you've had a bad road experience, the person who pissed you off was highly likely to have been a WOMAN, driving a MyVi.

Hence, despite the fact that I do not drive like the other air-headed bitches on the road these days, I had fit the outward criteria, brought up everyone's prejudice about female MyVi drivers, and inspired them to vent their latent anger on me before I even did anything.

Prior to this, most of the curses were reserved for bitches driving the Kancils. But it looks like the MyVi has overtaken that stupid excuse for a car to be the winner of the Car-Most-Likely-To-Be-Driven-By-Assholes race.

Because of this, the bloody MyVi is the most dangerous car you could ever give to your children. Buy them a fucking Volvo. People will leave them alone.