yinny_lai's Xanga

Difficult times...

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:01:39 GMT

Today is the beginning of very tough times at work. No, actually it started getting tough about several months back, but it's starting to get real bad real quickly.

We are facing massive staff shortages because our health system is broke (of course) and they ain't replacing any positions which have been vacated for whatever reasons (resignation, maternity leave etc). So our boss is planning a massive reshuffling of the whole department to address this issue.

The problems which irk me the most are:

1. They are not consulting any of the seniors about how to do the reshuffling. They're just doing it their own way and it's so secretive that they haven't been speaking to anyone.

2. They are not wanting to listen to any suggestions, recommendations that we put to them.

3. They are behaving like they do not appreciate our work and our dedication to work. Basically, we're treated like a robot, we must do as we're told. If not, we get shuffled aside.

4. Lastly I'm most angry about the fact that when I go on leave next week, I get NO cover at all. So what...my area is not deserving of any cover when the senior is away? We are expected to carry on with the usual caseload with less staff, while the other areas do get some sort of cover? They could have given me a)full cover, which I know is impossible or b) half cover, which was the original plan but for some reason, they took that away!??. So now I'm stuck with no cover for 2 weeks. And to make me feel worse, they didn't even write 'no cover' on the roster. They wrote my colleague's name who is supposed to be in my area anyway!!! I was soo angry!! I'm still fuming as I write this!!

What a fucked up place it's turning out to be. ...

Reflection...

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 04:12:04 GMT

I was inspired to write this post upon reading so many different blog entries, reflecting on the past year.

2008 came and went really quickly. Here I am sitting on my desk, looking at my wall planner for the whole year. (I bought my new wall planner for 2009 from Kikki K...bright red one!)

My achievements in 2008 would more or less be:

1. First and foremost, starting a brand new job (don't I do this every year though?) But this is different. This job happens to be more challenging than I thought it would be. I encountered quite a few different obstacles especially in the first half of the year, trying to overcome issues at work and with certain staff members. But, I believe accepting this job was a wise choice for me, and till this day, I am still learning so much to be a better therapist, a better senior and more importantly, a better person. Having said that, I'm starting to have issues again with my career direction but that's another blog entry altogether!

2. Visited Cambodia with my family. Such a historic and beautiful place. Love the country's history and background.

3. Played host to several friends who visited Sydney over the year. Firstly, being Cherrinee, my gf from high school, who came and stayed with me for 4 weeks. She fed me with food every night and kept me company when I was feeling down and lonely. Then Charlene came to visit for 2 weeks. In the last month, I had Carolyn and Celestie coming over and my brother was just here for about 10 days too. I love having people around me, mainly I enjoy their company very much, also because it makes me happy and feel less homesick!

4. Went skiing for the very first time and I loveddd it soo muchh!! Would love to go again every single year so that I can get heapss good!

5. Have become a bit more domesticated at home. I am a freak when it comes to cleanliness. So when I clean, I really clean everything till it sparkles. Been attempting to cook simple meals too...mainly coz I need to feed myself but I think I'm slowly getting the hang of using kitchen utensils!

6. Been taking more initiatives in keeping in touch with friends. Well, friends are all I have in Sydney...so been hanging out more with them, unlike before I used to be quite lazy!

7. Organised my first Tupperware party at home!!! It wasn't too bad....I think people had fun...but I would not do it again though...only need so much tupperware in the kitchen...:))

8. Tried a new hairstyle. Well, not entirely new....just got my hair perm-ed. And I quite like it.....I got tired and bored of the usual straight layered long hair.

9. Bought a new camera..after days of researching online and speaking to too many people for their opinions!

10. Watched my first ballet performance at the Opera House. I liked it very much!! But everytime I watch a ballet performance, I wished I continued my ballet lessons....

The last few achievements start to sound quite trivial...so I will stop here.

Let's look at what I regretted doing or failed to do in 2008:

1. Failed to keep fit. I quit my gym membership because it wasn't convenient enough and did not join another. I did a few runs and pilate classes here and there but not enough!!!!

2. Still suck at managing my finances. Have not much self-control when it comes to spending.

3. Did not do much reading. I promised myself to do at least 1 hour of reading every day...journals/books etc....but TV was much more entertaining...:((

4. Still have no idea what I want to do in life. Having this new job didn't inspire me enough to reach for the sky and the stars. I.am.still.lost.

5. Still temperamental and moody. There is seriously something wrong with me. I have a hypothesis: I may have some sort of mood disorder because I am a beta-thalassamia carrier. In some research I have yet to track down, they found some correlation between having abnormal red blood cells and mood disorder. I am positive that this is why I am this way. I upset a lot of people because of the way I am and I always....always feel VERY bad after that.

In light of these very pressing issues, in 2009, I woud like to:

1. Get fit.

2. Have a proper financial planning/goals.

3. Find a direction in life.

4. Be happier. And be nicer to people around me.

5. Stay healthy.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:11:53 GMT

I'm such a crybaby.

When I leave KL to fly back to Sydney, I cry.

When I leave Brisbane for Sydney, I cry.

When my brother leaves Sydney, I cry.

When Cherrinee leaves Sydney, I cry.

When I drive home alone from the airport after dropping off my family, I cry.

I think I am NOT capable of handling being separated from family at all.

After 7 whole years, you'd think I get better.

Not a single bit.

Sometimes I think that's the downside of having such a tight knit family. Some people have no trouble getting far away from their family for a long period of time.

Not me. My mood will hit all time low, before it starts picking up again slowly.

What a lovely thought - I spent the first day of 2009, crying at the airport and in the car on the way home.

Worst dinner ever

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:57:13 GMT

On Saturday night, Pete, Edlyn and I went out to dinner in the city. This was probably partly my fault that we ate bad food coz I chose the restaurant, which was out of the entertainment book. I was flipping through the book and came across 'Wolfie's Grill'.

Now, WG is located at The Rocks..technically Circular Quay West. It's right next to the water where the Park Hyatt Hotel is. Great location really....with the view of the Opera House and everything.

However, that was all they could offer. Great view. Everything else was terrible!!!!

Firstly, our food took ages to come out. The place was fairly busy but the couple next to us who came later than us had their food served way before. It doesn't get better from here. Actually I should mention what we ordered. Pete and I argued about this but still decided to order the same dish. We ordered the Wolfie's specialty which was the mixed grill. According to the menu, it has lamb cullet, sausages, steak, kangaroo fillet and few others which I can't remember. So the mixed grill came with a massive skewer with the poultry hanging from it on a plate of roast potatoes. The meat all looked massively overcooked...like charcoal black!

I took one or two bites of each piece and put them aside. Seriously, it was so disappointing. I wasn't expecting much....perhaps a decently cooked meal to satisfy my tummy? NOT tough, bland and dry meat that made my teeth and jaw worked so hard that night.

Not only the food was bad, the service was atrocious!!! They didn't give our change back. It was only 2 bucks or something and we would have not taken it anyway. But aren't you legally meant to give me my money back even if it was only 10c??? I also wanted to ask for the receipt and the reply I got was a short 'I don't have the receipt'. No sorry, no I will get one for you, NO NOTHING.

SERIOUSLY.

If you think you can bank on the 'great view' to keep your customers, think again! COZ THAT'S ALL YOU'VE GOT GOING FOR YOURSELF!

I've never felt so strongly about any service before. But when I do, I realise maybe I am willing to go lengths to put this place out of business!!!

Grrrr...still fuming about it!!!!

This is the time of the year...

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:26:49 GMT

When the most expensive bills have come to 'rob' me.

When I have to place my latest 'shopping list' to the very bottom of my priorities.

When my heart aches as I watch huge chunks of my paycheck come and go.

Urghh...why is everything so bloody expensive?!?!?!

Want a free handbag?

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:11:01 GMT

Handbag Planet is a new online store which will be launched on Oct 15th. To celebrate the launch, they will be giving away handbags (what else?!?!)!!!

24 handbags in 24 hours!!!

So...ladies and fellas, what are you waiting for???

Go to http://www.handbagplanet.com to try your luck!!! Girls never have enough bagss!

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:01:49 GMT

In the span of 3 weeks, I've had:

- my phone flushed down the toilet

- my camera died on me.....forever

- my car broken down and had to be towed to the mechanics

- no water supply in the house...now Day 2 and counting.....

I wonder what's next.......

Randoms....

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:46:18 GMT

Everyone knows what happened to my phone. How silly and stupid I was...yes and yes....I got a new phone by the way.....so my line is up and running!

I was just looking through folders and folders of pictures and I thought I'd just put some up to show some snippets of what I've been up to in the last........hmm....3 months?

Going from the most recent ones......

Emily, Sharon and moi on Em's birthday. We had a grand plan to dance the night away at Ivy Bar, but Emily and Ian couldn't get in!!!! What a shame....it's a bit slack if we leave the birthday girl outside...so we adjourned to Argyle instead...!!! ( Ivy Bar is sooo beautiful by the way....love the place)

Me, with the newlyweds, Malu and Mukund. It was my first full blown Indian wedding...and boy, was it full of colour!!! The function hall was decorated with beautiful Indian silk cloth and the music was of course...Bollywood kinda style....and tasty Indian cuisine! Malu looked soo gorgeous in her Sari and we had so much fun that night!! Congrats Malu and Mukund....you guys look soo cute together!!!

Syl, Mary and moi camwhoring while waiting for food to be served!

This is me, Sharon and Grace on Grace's birthday.

Charlene came to Syd as a faithful WYD pilgrim and spent about 2 weeks here. It was really good catching up with her....as if she'd never left Sydney! She even knew some of the streets better than I do!! This was us having dinner with Peter at Kingsley's Steakhouse. Yummyyy steak!!

Getting into some of the WYD action as well...Yvonne had VIP tickets for the Pope's final mass....Let's just say it was the longest mass I've ever been to!

This was Anne-Marie's house warming party. The theme was winter and I was going as a polar bear. Except that the only polar bear visible was the hair tie on my head and some furry stuff on the hood of my jacket! The really white thing you see in the pic?? It's Shamala as a snow angel...hahhahhaa....

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:54:21 GMT

I flushed my phone down the toilet.

And my friend dug her hand in and got it out for me.

Sony may not survive....

Fish therapy

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 07:30:44 GMT

When I was back in KL earlier this year, I've been visiting Pavilion quite frequently. I love it not only because it's now standing where my old beloved school used to be, also because there are good restaurants, brand new cinema theatres, RedBox Plus! and of course, the excellent shopping experience.

Official opening ceremony of Pavilion by the Prime Minister

Another experience that is unique to Pavillion is of course Kenko Reflexology and Fish Spa. This fish spa is the first in the world to be built in a shopping mall. I dragged Charlene one day to try out the fish therapy. It costs about RM 38 for 30 minutes and you don't need to make any appointment.

One of the fish tanks...

The fish are called Garra Rufa and they originated from Turkey. They were first discovered there for their healing power in skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema.

Before we entered the Fish Spa, we were required to clean our feet in a washing area. We went on a weekday, so there weren't many people there. After choosing our spots, we sat down and prepared to start our fish therapy. As we dangled out legs into the tank slowly, immediately hundreds of tiny Garra Rufas started pecking at our skin. Instintively, we both lifted our legs up because it was just soo ticklish!!!!

I had to submerge my legs slowly the second time around, still very ticklish but bearable. Charlene was worse.....she couldn't handle the tickling sensation, she spent half the time with her legs up in the air than in the tank!!

The fish continued to nibble away my scaly and dead skin. Apparently they only eat dead skin, leaving healthy skin alone. Their repeated pecking started feeling more intense, giving the effect of micro massaging. Apparently, they are toothless, therefore would not cause too much harm.

Look at those tiny fish!!!

The water in the tanks are changed regularly and are treated with 2000W UV Sterilisation to kill virus and bacteria. So it's fairly clean and safe.

My feet does feel smoother immediately after the treatment. But it didn't last very long. I probably wouldn't do this regularly, but then if I do have loads of extra cash lying around, why not?

Anyone up for fish therapy?