Sunday, September 30, 2012

Mid-Autumn Festival

Here's wishing everyone a very happy Mid-Autumn Festival. Enjoy the day with your family and friends and enjoy eating yummy mooncakes.


Wonder if anyone has tried any nice mooncakes and can recommend me to try next year. For me, I have bought Regent's mooncakes from my colleague's daughter. Quite all right.

 Regent's moon cakes.

My Mum has bought Mao Shan Wang durian mooncakes from Home's Favourite (http://www.homesfavourite.com). It is REALLY nice!! Forgot to take a photo of the mooncakes when she just bought it. Only managed to take a photo of a slice before I ate it.

Very good! You all got to try this next year. 

Troubled

Haiz~ Perhaps I should just listen to my boyfriend and I won't feel so troubled. He has helped me to make a decision so I should just follow lah! Everything resolved. No need to worry.  

Friday, September 28, 2012

Don't Understand

I don't understand why the bus is so crowded at this kind of hours or that why smrt doesn't deploy a long bus since this bus service is usually crowded/full. Or why some people simply refuse to move in automatically and need the bus drivers to shout at them and some people standing at the door and didn't back down when the bus is already full.

Gosh~ wanna rant again!! I am soooo against the 6.5 million population thing. It's simply too crowded.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Good Luck for PSLE

All the best to all Primary 6 students who are taking their PSLE. Good luck!!




Are teachers overworked?


Read through all the comments/posts. I know that teaching is a stressful career but didn't know that teachers are so overworked and stressed up. Alamak. What is the MOE doing? Actually, I don't know why teachers have to do all the admin work, etc. The schools cannot employ admin staff to do all those admin work meh? What the.. =.=

However, I still see many current school teachers teaching tuition, etc. Since a lot of teachers complained about their heavy workload, how do they have the time to teach tuition? Hm.. Then I saw this comment/post below.

Quoted from one of the comments/posts in the forum:

"My advice to teachers. Take the D and earn cash outside. Don’t depend on the PB and leverage on a second income. You will be pissed initially but then you’ll be happy because the control doesn’t work on you as you are NOT IDENTIFIED with their cunning way of getting you to be a hypocritical and pretentious money luster. It takes courage to have a work-life balance in MOE schools but it’s courage that is worth investing it for a healthier you. Don’t worry about labels. You spent more time seeing the kids than your HOds or Ps. The kids are a better judge of your performance. Keep your conscience clear."

Guess many such teachers just take a D for their appraisals and simply just teach and forgo their performance bonuses? Anyway, teachers can charge a high price for tuition. Ah yoh. These are the smart teachers! Also, I must salute them for being able to withstand the stress and pressure from their HODs, VPs, Ps, etc.. and just keep getting Ds! It really takes courage to stand up for oneself.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Johor Bahru Day Trip - City Square Mall

Do you feel that you are so sick of Singapore sometimes? Like don't know what to do around here? If you are feeling this way, you can always cross the causeway to our neighbouring country - Malaysia JB. It is so convenient to go to JB. You can take public buses, taxis or drive there.

Rather recently, Robin and I went on a movie date at City Square in JB. I love watching movies there. The cinema is comfortable and the price is cheap! Much cheaper than in Singapore anyway. If you dearies are free, you can always plan a movie marathon there. By the way, City Square is currently under going renovation. Not sure when it will finish. Will probably go there and shop when it has finished its renovation. Haha.

Saw this rather authentic Char Chan Ting there and decided to try it. Not bad.






I tried the Si Wa Nai Cha. Haha. 





These fried cheese chicken wings are too cheesy to my liking. 




Even the popcorn set is cheap. Can't remember the exact price but it is definitely less than that in Singapore.

Here are the movies we watched. Nice =) 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Siao Liao

Omg!! I have 101 things to do. Going crazy with so many things/being busy. Haiz~ Have been neglecting some people. I really didn't mean to but I just can't spare the time. Anyway, it's coming to year end so I will rearrange my schedule then. My new year resolution got to be "just relax and enjoy life". Haha. Hope that I can do it lah. And another resolution is same as Diana's, which is secret for now =)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

NuffnangX



Aloha. Have you heard about NuffnangX (http://www.nuffnangx.com)? NuffnangX is a smartphone app that allows you to discover new blogs, follow your favourite blogger's update and have conversation with them. Sounds cool right? If you haven't downloaded the Nuffnang X app on your hp, faster go and do so. Then come and follow me on my blog okie?

More information can be found here: http://timothytiah.com/2012/09/18/what-nuffnangx-can-actually-do/

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Sakae Sushi offers $3000 for a dishwasher job

The news has been spreading like wild fire and the smoke and haze is making it a tad foggy.

We are talking, of course, about Singapore-owned sushi restaurant chain Sakae Sushi’s recruitment of dishwashers and its offer of a S$3,000 monthly salary that has set aflame the “passion” of Singaporeans who seem to be mostly unhappy with their jobs and looking for better ones.

The online furore apparently began after its CEO Douglas Foo was interviewed by a radio station and talked about how difficult it is to hire people for cleaning jobs and to wash dishes. He spoke on how even when told of how tough the work is, job applicants stoutly said they were up to the challenge but later found it too demanding and quit. He then said he was looking to hire dishwashers at $3,000 a month.

No one believes – or wants to believe - it is for real no matter how much it has since been reported in the media and online platforms, including the company’s own Facebook page.

Yesterday, Sakae Sushi’s communications team posted on the page: “We would like to confirm that we are recruiting Singaporean or PR dishwashers for SGD 3000. Interested applicants and for enquiries, contact us via email: humanresource@sakaeholdings.com or call us at 6438 6629. We look forward to hearing from you.”

Even then, the first of the now more than 220 comments were: “Are you sure?”

Who can blame them, when the perception of the “market rate” for a dishwashing or cleaning job at food centres and eating outlets has been at or below S$1,000 a month.

So we asked Mr Gregg Lewis, branding and communications manager at Sakae Holdings, to respond to some of the burning questions people wanted to know.

Interview in Q&A

1. When was the job advertisement put up? Or was the topic broached during a press interview and CEO Douglas Foo was just talking about challenges he faced?

The topic was raised during the press interview. Upon its release, we have received an influx of enquiries and applications well before we could release an advertisement on it.

2. Is the job offer for real? If so, how have you advertised it?

Yes the job offer is for real, and we have acknowledged this FAQ on our Facebook fan page.

There has been no formal advertising on paid media as of now, however we are accepting applications all the same as we do have these roles to fill and since we have received an overwhelming response.

3. How has the response to the offer been so far?

It has been very overwhelmingly good. We have received quite a number of applications (about 300).

4. Why is Sakae Holdings paying this salary? How long has the company been looking for cleaners/dishwashers?

It's a physically daunting role requiring the washer to be standing the whole day. It's not easy and there is very little career advancement opportunities, if any.

If we were to engage a contractor or agency, we would find ourselves paying about the same amount and the foreign worker/dishwasher would be taking home much less as the agency would have a cut/commission for administrative duties and logistics and disbursements. So as a homegrown brand, we are trying to reach out directly to Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs) to hire directly. This will benefit them as well with that kind of a salary, because it is equivalent to what we would normally pay a contract agency to manage cleaners or dishwashers.

Over a year, we have been trying to figure out the best way forward, to cover this under our headcount. So we had a pilot programme where we tried to hire our own dishwashers, a small pool of people. They didn’t last very long. There were challenges hiring our own dishwashers. People fall ill, we need to find someone to stand in, etc.

We have about 30 dishwashers including this pool and those from the contractor. We are in the midst of working towards a framework to handle this.

5. Are the 10 cleaners you are looking for just for one outlet?

Ten is just an estimate. We may require more as we are expanding with the opening of new outlets. And no, it's not for just one outlet.

6. How many dishwashers do you need per outlet?

I cannot disclose this as we are still fine-tuning the details and reviewing applicants.

7. What were the reasons for cleaners leaving the company?

It's a physically daunting role and it's definitely not for everyone. By offering S$3,000 a month, we are hoping to attract and be able to retain personnel who would fit the role.

8. What is the job scope for the cleaner? What are the working hours like? Is it a fulltime job?

It will be from 1030 to 2230, that will be the working hours. However, it includes breaks and mealtimes. They will NOT be working the 12 hours straight. It is a full-time job, but we are also exploring the feasibility of employing part-timers as well. It will be a six-day work week.

We are not trying to sensationalise this in the media, so we don’t want to reveal too many details since it is a human resource matter. We will talk to serious applicants on a one-to-one basis, and we will give these details to interested applicants when they come down and discuss at interviews. But yes, the jobscope will include general cleaning.

9. Are there any requirements for the applicants? You mentioned they would be standing long hours.

As long as they feel they are up to it, we will accept the applications and review them. We need to be fair and we do not discriminate in terms of age. Someone who has experience as a dishwasher would be good, but we also welcome anyone who doesn’t.

10. Many who have seen the news and the offer are wary that there may be some catch. Are there any hidden terms?

The misconception and doubts are probably due to the "S$3,000" and "dishwasher" being taken out of context. We want to put things back into perspective. As I mentioned, this is around the amount being used for engaging contractors who handles the workers washing dishes. So we may as well include Singaporeans or PRs into our headcount and allow them to benefit from it, as I said earlier in Question 4.

11. Does the dishwasher get the same benefits as other employees? If so, is it possible to give us one or two examples of these benefits?

I can't disclose this, however as there is not much possibility for career advancement for the dishwashing role, it may be justified to offer this amount.

12. Critics have also said that it is a publicity stunt to raise the profile and business of the company. Is there any truth to this?

We would like to acknowledge that, yes, it is a genuine recruitment exercise. We are quite fascinated ourselves that it has generated this much interest.

13. What about the view that Sakae Sushi is “spoiling the market” with that pay offer?

We would rather not comment at this point.

======================================================================

I like this Singaporean first concept. Hope that they are really paying $3000 to Singaporeans. Washing loads of dishes is no easy feat. It can get quite tiring! By the way, I wonder what are the existing dishwashers at Sakae Sushi getting.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Blogger

It is really not easy to maintain a blog. Much time and effort is needed to blog and edit the photos. To blog a long post, I need to spend 2-3 hours editing the photo sizes. Can't imagine how those bloggers who still need to photoshop their photos. Really admire them! =)

Kuala Lumpur (KL) Trip

Kuala Lumpur (KL) is the federal capital and most populous city in Malaysia. The city covers an area of 243 km2 and has an estimated population of 1.6 million as of 2012. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the country, in terms of population and economy.

I have been to KL tons of times. I love going to KL for cheap stuff/shopping and food. Yummy!! Besides, going to the same place with different people brings a totally new experience. Anyway, this is the first time I've taken a budget airline. Can you believe it? Budget airlines are so popular nowadays. As our flight is at 7am, Jiamin and I slept over at Onyee's house the night before so that we can take a cab to the airport together.


Day 1

First time flying with Jetstar!



Taking the skytrain to Terminal 2 to look for breakfast.

Gosh~ I looked so tired. Didn't sleep well the night before. 

Burger King breakfast!


Onboard the flight. The seat is not bad. Can consider for short flight trips. 


Unglam photo =.= 

Landed!!

Previously, I have always taken the coach to KL as I find that the KL airport is too far away from the Bukit Bintang (main shopping) area. I used to think that it is less troublesome taking the coach as the coach normally brings us to the front of our hotel. However, I would really recommend all of you to take the aeroplane (especially budget airline since it's so cheap nowadays) because it only takes about 35 minutes to reach KL compared to the 4-5 hours coach ride. Moreover, you might be stuck in a traffic jam at the custom if you are unlucky.





KL airport. Quite crowded.


We took the KLIA Express to KL Sentral to change to the monorail to our hotel. The train takes about 30 mins to reach KL Sentral.

The train is quite clean, quiet and comfortable.

Bought water from Dunkin' Donuts instead of donuts. Lolx~ I wanna eat Krispy Kreme donuts lah!!

Token to take the monorail.

As we were too early, we were unable to check in to our hotel. Left our luggage at the concierge and we went shopping!! Whee~!! But before that, we needed to eat our lunch. Famished!!

Huge Sephora store with plenty of things. However, the price of the stuff is almost similar to that in Singapore so didn't get anything from there.

We had our lunch at Tonkatsu located on the top floor of Pavilion. Onyee recommended the place to us. The place looks high-class but the price is all right =) The food is not bad as well. Can go













Quite funny. Two students approached us to help them do a survey. We rejected initially but they were rather persistent so we agreed. But they wanna use a videocam to record the survey. We declined but they said can just videotape a part of our body - just our hands. Jiamin agreed but ended up, their videocam has no batt. LOL lah.


Time to check in after our lunch. The hotel which we stayed at was Radius International Hotel. It is not bad. There's free wifi in our hotel room. We were lucky to be on the 17th floor as there is free wifi in the rooms at the 17th floor. Probably because ours is a deluxe room. However, the room is a bit dirty - the bathroom/toilet area especially and the sound proof in the rooms is really lousy. Can hear other people in other rooms talking =.=







After checking in, we took a short rest before proceeding to Petaling Street for some shopping and dinner. Wanted to take bus there but we waited sooo long for the bus - about 40 mins but the bus didn't come. Ended up, taking a cab there. Quite strange. The last time I was there with Diana, most of the cabs go by meter but this time round, the cab drivers don't wanna turn on their meters. WTH lah.

Petaling Street.



Had seafood at one of the eateries there. Yummy! I love the coconut there! Almost as fresh and delicious as the one I had in Bintan but only cost RM5. 






My loots for the day =)

Suddenly, saw fireworks from our hotel room window.




Day 2

Had breakfast in the morning at the hotel before heading to Batu Caves. They are the sacred place for the Hindu's in Malaysia. They consist of three main caves and a number of smaller ones. The caves are made of limestone and 400 meters long and 100 meter high. They were discovered in 1892. We took the monorail to KL Sentral before changing to KTM to Batu Caves - Sentul Station. We had to climb 272 steps to reach the top of the cave. Wow~!! But we made it okie. Haha xD


The hotel pool looks nice but I didn't bring any swim suit along =.=












See the amount of steps we had to climb?




View from the top. 



We have made it!!! Good morning exercise for us =)







Need to share something about the KTM Commuter. There are some cabins only for ladies!! How cool is that? Hope that Singapore will have such cabins on our MRT! Didn't see it on our way there but saw it on our way back. Definitely have to sit in the ladies only cabin xD


Coach for ladies only. Cool right?


After Batu Caves, we went over to Berjaya Times Square for SHOPPING!!! Times Square is a really great place to shop. Got plenty of cheap stuff and rows and rows of shops. Haha. Onyee suggested trying the Old Town food in Malaysia. Not bad! 




 I quite like my Assam Laksa.


After shopping for some time, we decided to take a break and have some dessert. 


 The mango is really yummy!!

Next, we headed to Krispy Kreme donuts. Yay!! I love Krispy Kreme. How come no one think of bringing it to Singapore? I'm sure there are many other Krispy Kreme lovers in Singapore.






 Satisfying teabreak =)

After a day of shopping, we headed back to our hotel to put down our stuff and took a short rest before going for dinner at Jalan Alor which is located very near to our hotel. Guess what we had for dinner? By the way, we ate dinner till about 2am. Tired out.









Day 3

Had breakfast first because Jiamin was taking such a long time getting ready. Ah yoh! I thought that I am a slowcoach but there are many other even slower coaches. Seriously.

 I love the chicken nuggets there!

  Sorry guys, can't rotate my photo again. Very weird! Anyway, tried the noodles at the hotel for breakfast. So-so only.

Initially, we wanted to take cab to KL Sentral to take the KLIA Express to the airport but it is actually cheaper to just take cab to the airport directly. It cost RM80 only. (KLIA Express ticket is RM35 per pax.)

 Lunch randomly at the airport.

 Food is so-so and rather expensive. Can't remember the price now though =.=

By the way, I almost missed my flight back to Singapore! Was in the toilet when I heard an announcement calling my name. WTF lah. I ran like mad (even took off my slippers lor) to the gate. Needless to say, I was the last passenger onboard. OMG!! Heng, I managed to catch the flight back! All of you must really be at the gate at least 20 minutes before the departure time okie? To avoid the mad rush and panicking. Really very scary leh.

Some of my loots for the trip. The grey top is for Diana =) I especially love my boots!!