Nike run anybody?

10k run on 16th Oct , interested?

I'll sponsor the reg fee of 32 pounds for anybody who's willing to fly here : )

www.runlondon.com

Working on Weekends...again....

Sunday, 11th September 2005

I dunno why i always end up wif jobs requiring me to work on weekends..AND having me to wake up much earlier on sundays..it used to be 'some' jalan/lari thingy which gets me up at some unearthly hours every other sunday..& now, thorpe park - it opens an hour earlier on weekends..

This being UK..meaning public transport run at much much much reduced frequency on sundays..meaning i really had to plan my journey down to the last second to ensure getting to work on time..

Anyway, i ended up catching the first tube out at 6.45am(compared to 7.27am on a normal weekday)..& even then, i was still late for work..sigh..

It's not much of a surprise tat the park is lot busier on weekends..i ended up doing the q-line today..supposed to make sure they meet all the ride restrictions..such as height limit..chest limits(yes, there's such a thing) for this specific roller coaster ride, pple with >51 inches chest(both male & female) are not allowed since the harness wun be big enuf & trust me..they are really quite a no of pple out there who fail this requirement..etc etc..basically kinda like a bouncer if u wish to call it so..haha

For those who have done crowd controlling before & think it's tough work..try crowd controlling with a crowd made up of predominantly ang mohs..imagine trying to shout & slang at the same time..not easy..

And there was this big black guy who came up & insisted tat his son be allowed on the ride..his son is way below the required height (1.2m vs 1.4m) I told him no & he got really furious and started to raise his voice & demanding to be thrown out of the park & stuff..in fact, at one pt in time, i was quite sure he's gonna start punching me in the face..one of my colleagues heard the commotion & came to help me out..after several more mins of 'no, we really can't let ur son on for safety reasons'..the guy walked away wif a totally disgusted look on his face..

After about 30 mins later, this guy reappeared & i was so afraid he's here to 'seek revenge'..he was like 'are u the person whom i argued with just now?' 'err..yes' 'i'm here to apologise to you cos i realised it was my mistake..i had checked with the info counter and they re-confirmed about the height restrictions..sorry about just earlier on'..i think my expression must have changed immediately from tat of fear to relief..

Oh well..i guess this is just another day of work for me..

Tube - Train - Bus

Saturday, 10th September 2005

I was 45mins late for work today..all cos the stupid tube was delayed for a whole of 7mins..this is wat i hate about travelling with connections..anyway, this is wat my typical journey looks like :

7.24am - Depart from house on foot

7.27am - Tube out to Waterloo

8.13am - Mad rush for the 8.20 train

8.53am - Arrive in Staines for another mad rush to catch the 9.00 bus into the park

9.12am - Arrive in Thorpe Park

(Total travelling time : 1 hr 48mins)

So this means if the first part(or any part) of my journey is delayed by even 5 mins, it throws my whole journey into disarray..which was wat happened today v_v

Dun forget i'm paid by the hour..which means my opportunity cost is 5 pounds/hr..& of cos, it's not very nice to be late 3 days into the job..

Imagine if i repeat the above travelling process in Sg, i would be like halfway to Kuala Lumpur liao..

1001 rules at Thorpe Park

I had reported for work at Thorpe Park last thurs..had induction with 4 other guys..& mind u, it's a proper induction..with pple from HR showing us pwrpt presentation & stuff..lasted from 9-4..din think they had such things for seasonal stuff(yup, tat's wat i am..not temp, not part-time but seasonal..autumn season actually)

Aiyo..i din expect they have soooo many rules for their staff..from appearances to uniform to behaviour..u know wat i think is the most 'amazing' rule? Staff must not be seen carrying food from their lockers to the canteen..all food must be put into the company's lunch box & then brought to the canteen..i wouldn't have mind it so much if not for the fact i had to pay 1 pound for the stupid lunchbox..-.-

Yes, i do da bao my lunch to work..since they only have like sandwiches(& of cos, fish & chips) in the canteen(staff are also not allowed to purchase food from the outlets while on duty) i reckon i might as well prepare my own sandwiches..a sandwich costs an ave of 2 pounds here leh(as if one sandwich is enuf for me) & like i mentioned in 53 other previous blogs, i'm turning into a sour olive here..poor egg i am..wat to do..sigh..

While we're on the topic on food..staff are to drink out of the company's water bottle on the park premises(which most of the staff happily ignored, thank goodness)

Anyway, yes..i do have a uniform..it's a blue polo(not unlike the one my ex-colleagues would be so familiar wif) wif black cargo pants/berms..not too bad lah huh?

Shoes must be all black if long pants are worn or all white if berms are worn..i have neither, so i ended up buying a pair of all-black trainers from them for 15pounds..& guess wat brand is it? Hi-tech.. -.-

To be continued...

The terminal

As most of you would know, airports are always the first & last point of contact for fish & I..still, it felt a little strange sending her off today..reason being it was always her sending me off at Heathrow ..never the other way round..

Airports can be interesting places..where a wide array of emotions are on display..there’s sadness(sending a dear fren off)..there’s joy(seeing a fren after a period of time), there’s also surprise(seeing a fren returning with ‘extra baggage’ on her – no, I’m not talking about myself)

I think arrival hall is the ‘happy’ hall whereas the departure hall is the ‘sad’ hall..for the very simple fact that arrival hall is where people reunite & the latter is where people part..

Something needs to be done..

..about my weight..

Yea yea..i know i've been blogging about my ever-increasing weight ever since i came over to UK..but this time i'm serious..VERY serious..as serious as Bush is about sending aid to New Orleans..

There've been 2 moments in time over the past 2 days which made me determined more than ever to go on a diet..

zxlworld-shattering moment 1 - i walked past a shop the other day & caught a glance of my side view..gasp!! did i just see a small tummy staring back from the reflection?? yes, i know for a fact tat my waistline has been expanding..since my jeans & shorts were getting tighter..but a tummy??!!!

i dun claim to have a 6-pack when i was back in Sg..but my abs or rather, abdominal area, was still acceptably flat..no way this offending protuding piece of flesh(or fats) is gonna gain PR status on my body..1 mth visitor's visa at the very most..after which, it must disappear from my sight..forever..

zxlworld-shattering moment 2 - i paid 10 pounds(!) to go to the gym today..it was usually 8 pounds cos i always went wif fish, who's a member..but today i went alone & it was 10 pounds!! shocking enuf for me to spew ¬!"£$%^&* but tat's still not the earth shattering news for the day..

In fact, it was the final 5 secs of this gym visit tat jolted the life out of me..it goes like this :

countdown 5 sec - press button

4 sec - remove shoes

3 sec - take a step

2 sec - beep

1 sec - 3 digits flashed on the monitor..this is followed by a loud thud *zxl fainted*

Wat do u know? I've gained a grand total of 5kg(!!!) over these 3 months..whoever betted i've put on 5 kg..well well, congrats to u(reminder to self : find out if such a pax exists & then, sever all ties wif her) It may not seem like a lot but hey, it's almost 10% of my total(original) weight..



Extra extra!

Some of u might have already known by now(thanks to the multiplier effect)..i've just gotten a new image..cheapo me was shopping for the cheapest hairdresser & found one whose signage says '7.50 - 12 pounds for a haircut'..& so i went in..

I was immediately ushered to a chair by this italian guy, towel wrapped round me..& this conversation ensued :

(spore accent) : 'erm..just a trim..same pattern please'

(italian accent): 'how short u want'

'just take an inch off'

'oh, u want ur hair to be one inch long'

'nono! just trim one inch'

'okok, no problemo'

& then the shaver went to work..

Since i dun wear my glasses when i cut my hair, i can't really see wat was going on.. the 'zzz' sound went on for quite some time & i was getting a tad worried..not once did he change to using the scissorss & this usually means bad news..

Next thing i know, he led me to wash my hair(& i dun usually do tat)..it wun be so bad if it was those 'spa-kind' of treatment..no lor, it was more of like 'splash-scrub-splatter'..& i ended up with soapy water all over my face..

As if the shaver is not enuf, he actually used a blade(those for ah peks leh) to 'scrape' my sideburns clean..dun like >.< i like some hair on my sideburn one..

When he's finally done, i put on my glasses.. @_@! Definitely shorter than wat i bargained for..& the back of my head..really left with one inch of hair..

'Tat will be 9.50 pounds please'

'Isn't it 7.50'

'7.50 without wash, with wash 9.50'

'....................'

Oh well..at least this hair cut should be able to last me more than a month..

Gong xi gong xi gong xi ni!

Congrats to 0.5 who has just came in first in a karaoke competition..so proud of her..this is esp true when urs truly's singing can best be described as 'dual-toned' - nan ting & fei chang nan ting..

And of cos, special thanks to Ms Privacy who called me on my UK mobile so tat i can listen to 0.5's 'live performance'..

~喜欢听歌 感人的歌 它让我觉得 爱是对的~