Tuesday, November 23, 2004

2004

I worked a shift at Baku with a girl who I hadn’t seen for many months. When she saw me on Sunday she said that in 1 year I had ‘matured a lot’ and that I was different. I’d have to agree. Reading Matty’s recount of 2004 provoked a lot of thought about my own year.

I’d have to say this has probably been one of the toughest years to date. While I was still at uni, my biggest worry was finding a good job with decent pay. I’d whinge about life at Baku and watch TV all day long…..in retrospect life was pretty good.

2004 saw me propelled into the corporate world working for a large company, where deals are made quickly and you either succeed or fall flat on your face; there’s no in between and there’s no second chances. After a lot of hard work June proved to be a great month as I managed to bring in over $40k for the company. The managers were my best friend and the general manager congratulated me on a ‘sterling effort’. But when you do well, the bar is raised and higher expectations follow. How quickly managers change.

In the months that followed, I had to deal with clients that were racist, sexist, obnoxious and just plain rude. In the worst case scenario I had a client tell me that he ‘didn't want an Asian woman working for him’, his excuse? He didn’t want to offend their traditional Chinese values… funny, when the candidate wasn’t even Chinese.

Just when you think clients are bad you meet candidates who have quite possibly escaped from the mental asylum. Not showing up for interviews, pretending to have cancer and calling me at 2am in the morning to see if I received their resume. After telling one candidate to wear her best suit when meeting my client she turned up to the interview wearing pink ugg boots…go figure.

And just because you work your arse off to find jobs for people, doesn’t mean they appreciate it. Candidates use me to get pay rises off their boss and pull out on my role at the last minute; but hey, that’s all in a days work.

I am different. I don’t tolerate incompetence and I don’t trust people as easily. When I look in the mirror I feel like I have aged 40 years, I feel sad that I’m not as naive as I used to be. Ignorance is bliss.

I hit budget again last month and December is looking good. To be honest I’m over it! I’m tired, I really need a break. I need to find myself again and have a bit of fun.

Thank you for listening.

Saturday, November 20, 2004

Happy Birthday to me...again

Got a nice suprise from the girls tonight, a big thank you for my birthday present! I love it!! I know it's a bit belated (seeing that my b'days in August) but you sure made up for it.

To the person who is my KK don't worry about buying me the bikini as i've ordered one in for myself. And to my KK a nice suprise will be coming your way soon....


Friday, November 19, 2004

Destiny's Child

The First time that they came I was in Hong Kong so I couldn't go. This time I'll be in Melbourne, and no I can't watch the show there because they fly into Melbourne the day I leave......spewin.

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Idol Mania

TICKET CONFIRMATION

"Congratulations, your request for tickets to 'The McDonalds Unforgettable Outdoor Concert' to be held on the steps of the Sydney Opera House on 21st November 2004 has been successful.

Tickets and all relevant information will be forwarded to you today via Australia Post to the address you nominated on your application"
Won tickets to idol, not sure if I can go....

Thursday, November 11, 2004

The Day After

The corporate challenge went really well yesterday, I made an effort to enjoy myself and power walked the 5.6km race in just under 55 minutes. Not bad considering that I’m a self confessed lazy ass. After the race I went to check out Patrick Rafter and hunt for food. My friend Betty took an extra wrist band from work and got me into the JP Morgan Marquee which was way better than ours. It didn't matter that I didn't know anyone because I kept myself busy by scoffing down their sandwiches, sushi, pizza and spring rolls.

There was an awkward moment when Betty pulled some big Aussie guy over and said ‘Hey Emily remember Doug from uni??’ I looked at him blankly and it was obvious that neither of us had a clue who the other was despite spending 3 years in the same classes.

Jacky being the Prince Charming that he is, picked us all up and gave us a lift home leaving us to live happily ever after ….. That was until I woke up this morning … it hurt to roll over in bed and I experienced pain and aches in places I didn't know I had muscles. I wish I brought my camera but my company might release some pics at a later date.

My Hi Fi broke. This is Jacky’s attempt to fix it, it’s been sitting on my desk for 2 weeks.


My latest ebay purchase -More Lancome Juicy Tubes, I love this stuff!

Congrats to Luke who bought his first property last night!!




Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Don't stop till you drop

I’m doing the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge today, a 5km run (or slow jog in my case) with all the proceeds going to Patrick Rafter’s Cherish the Children Foundation. Why I signed up I’m not too sure… I never exercise and I’m rather lazy. It may have been the incentive to get off work early, doing a good deed for charity, or Betty’s threats to inflict great pain on me if I didn’t do it.
While I’m running my thoughts will definitely be with my work buddy Luke, who is going to an auction to buy his first property. He’s only 23 and has travelled all over Europe, lived in Norway for a year, has nearly completed his degree and has managed to save enough to buy his own place. The auction starts at 7pm - fingers crossed.

In other exciting news my Assistant Emma has gotten engaged to her long term boyfriend Darren, Congratulations Emma!!
I know this post is all over the place, but i'll fix it up when I get home.

Monday, November 08, 2004

Vote!



Hi peoples need a new bikini for Thailand and came across this Paul Frank one, help me decide between the dark pink or the blue? Vote in the comments below.

Saturday, November 06, 2004

Shall we dance?

After work yesterday a few of the girls and myself met up at Betty & Lisa’s house to Brain storm for a certain some ones farewell gift. Roula dropped by looking stunning as usual making me aware of how frumpy I was looking these days (note to self - must do something about that).
I was some how later dragged to the cinemas to watch Shall we Dance? starring Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon. I found the movie to be really cheesy and cringed when Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon started making out. The other girls seemed to enjoy it, but I wouldn’t recommend paying $14.50 to see it – just wait for the DVD.

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So who’s the woman/man of your dreams? – I got Brad Pitt!

http://www.magnum7sins.com/theSun/ddate.html
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An interesting breakdown of the results of the US election, note the IQ levels. http://img125.exs.cx/img125/6640/2004election_by_iq.jpg

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Getting to know me

I was reading back on some old emails and came across a survey that my friend had sent to me ages ago. I'm sure that you have all filled one out one time or another, here goes...
1. What time is it? Thursday 8:30pm
2. Name as it appears on your birth certificate? It’s actually all written in Chinese.
3. Nicknames: in primary school it was ‘M&Ms’, high school ‘EmChong’ and these days I seem to be known around the office as ‘Chongie’. On the net I tend to go by the nick of PiCkLeS or Pickos it all started off as a bit of a joke but stuck.
4. Parent's names: Daisy and Phillip
5. Number of candles that appeared on your last Birthday cake? Actually I think that everyone forgot to buy candles so I had like 1? But to answer the question I’m 23 this year.
6. Date that you regularly blow them out: 28th August
7. Pets: I don’t currently have any due to the hours I spend at work, but I have been seriously thinking about buying a goldfish! I’m a big animal lover and in my life time I’ve had 6 guniea pigs. If I ever move to a house I’ll but a dog.
8. Height: I haven’t actually measured myself in years, but from memory I’m just under 170cm.
9. Eye colour: dark brown
10. Hair colour: black
11. National Heritage: Born in Hong Kong and came to Australia when I was about 2.
12. Tattoos: I’ve actually always wanted one but mum would get really upset.
13. How much do you love your job?
Hudson – it’s a tough job and I’ve really had to step out of my comfort zone and grow balls. Despite the hard times I really like what I do, but I wish the hours weren’t so long.
Baku - I get to design jewellery and get nice discounts, my boss pretty much lets me do what I want.
14. Birthplace: Ngau Tau Kok (HK)
15. Hometown: Sydney, Australia
16. Current Residence: ditto
17. where would you like to live? New York or Canada
18. Where have you visited?
Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Vegas, LA, New York, Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara Falls, London, Paris, Bangkok, Pattaya. This year I’ll be adding Tokyo, Malaysia and Phuket to my list.
19. Where would you really like to go? Other parts of Europe
20. Been drunk? Twice
21. What’s something that we don’t know about you?
I’m very good at scrap booking! But it’s very time consuming so I don’t get the chance to do it much these days. It’s been over a year since graduation and I still haven’t done the album.
22. Been in a car crash? Yes
23. Croutons or Bacon bits: Croutons I guess
24. Coke or Pepsi? Coke
25. 2 doors or 4 (on a car): my car has 2 but I don’t really care.
26. Coffee or Coffee Ice cream: coffee gives me a good caffeine fix in the mornings.
27. Blanket or Stuffed Animal: My old dressing gown
28. Dumper or Dumped: neither
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE....
29. Salad Dressing: Paul Newman’s Balsamic Vinegar
30. Colour: Blue!
31. Number: 8 – not because it’s the Asian thing but I was Born on the 28/08/81 and it seems to pop up in my life a lot.
32. Movie: gosh that’s a hard one, I can’t possibly choose.
33. Quote: it's stuck on my desk at work - I don't know it off by heart.
34. Favourite Holiday: Christmas – although any time off is a bonus
35. Foods: anything that isn't low fat or diet!
36. Day of the week: Saturdays!!
37. TV show: I love all the Crime shows! CSI, Law and Order, The real world and Sex in the City.
38. Word or phrase: A really high pitched “Brilliant”
39. Toothpaste: I really I don’t care
40. Restaurant: depends on the weather and my mood
41. Least Favourite Subject: I didn't really like maths in highschool
42. Alcoholic Drink: Cocktails or Baileys and milk
43. Sport to watch: Basketball and Swimming
44. Type of Ice: frozen's always good
45. Zoo Exhibit: I love the zoo - I don't like the snakes
46. Sesame Street Character: Ernie
47. Fast Food Restaurant: KFC
RANDOM QUESTIONS
48. When was your last hospital visit? Don’t recall
49. Favourite drink? Lemon lime bitters (if non alcoholic)
50. What colour is your bedroom's carpet? Grey
51. What do you think of Ouija boards? Hehhehe we had our fun
52. Where do you see yourself in 10 yrs? I would like to get really good at what I do, have a house and most probably married with great abs.
53. Obsessions: ebay
54. What time is it now? 10:00pm

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Melbourne Cup

I just lost all my money!
Placed a bet for Vinnie Roe to win due to the wet weather - lost my money there.
Placed a bet for Distinction to win (no idea why) - lost my money there.
Got Roman Arch in the office sweepstake (lucky draw) - didn't turn out to be very lucky.

Oh well, got to be in it to win it!