what a day.... i'm just glad to be home

it has been 2 crazily hectic days work. matching contractors' timesheets and invoices to get them paid may sound easy, but it's not. firstly, you gotta open the fax and print them out. and the bloody printer doesn't print all the faxes. some faxes just doesn't get printed and you gotta print them on another printer.
after that, you got to sort out the faxes into the different regions. london, city, south west, north west, scotland, thames valley, midlands and others. if you are lucky, the timesheet and invoice will arrive together in a single fax and then you can then enter them into the system, pay the contractor and that's it.
otherwise, if you've only received the timesheet, then you gotta wait for the invoice to arrive and match them and vice versa. (btw, you don't sit ard and wait for the other copy, u continue doing work and wait for the fax at the same time)
and most of the time, the 'kiasu' contractor will also send their timesheet and invoices thru the ever reliable royal mail which means that you usually get duplicate copy of everything.
these are all the easy part.
the tougher part of the job is when contractors call every now and then to ask if they will be paid on time and why aren't they paid on time... when they already know what are the reasons why someone is not paid on time. firstly, we can't pay if the week-ending date is wrong, the timesheet was pre-signed by the client, when we received only a partial printout of the timesheet, when the invoice does not have an invoice number, company registration number and if you are claiming VAT, a VAT registration number. it all sounds very simple, but trust me, there are lots of people who make such mistakes. and honestly i hate to answer phone calls coz 90% of the time it's a dumb question and it gets on my nerves which doesn't help when i am doing my payroll.
but i admit that i do make mistakes and i've made 3 mistakes so far. 3 mistakes in 6 weeks isn't that bad right. since there are 2 payrolls each week, and i pay bout 100 people each time, that means that 3 person did not get paid on time out of 1200 entries. it's quite a good record if you ask me.
i think i have said enough. i shall not waste my precious few hours at home talking bout work. i shall bath and get ready to watch the england match. *chill and relax* *strength and honour*

btw, i thought of an invention a few days back. someone could invent a device that will use magnetic field to destroy cash-withdraw cards and credit cards in your wallet/purse when you get robbed or pickpocketed. though i have no idea how it will work or it should be activated and not accidentally. what do you think of my moonshine idea?

time flies

time really flies this week, it has been almost 7 days since my last blog entry and i didn't even notice it.

anyway, it's a short working week this week. 4 days of work and then it's easter friday, the weekend and a bank holiday or aka public holiday on monday.

although it's good to have the holidays where i can sleep and wake up later, but i would still prefer to be working on the weekdays. the reason is simple and practical. i would love to earn a few more quid. holiday or no holiday, life goes on and i need to pay my rent, bills and food. as much as i would love for money to fall from the sky, it obviously doesn't. so because i am only paid when i work as a temp staff, too much holiday isn't really good for my surival in london. but enough bout it.

because it was a short working week, work was a bit more hectic. payroll was brought forward to tues and thursday. which means that i have only monday to settle tue's payroll and wed to settle thur's payroll. but everyone at work did well and we knocked off at 4pm yesterday and proceed to the pub... some things just never change =)

i was suppose to play counter-strike with my colleague online last night. but i had problems logging unto the network for some unknown reasons which i am still trying to figure out. what a disappointment.

oh, and last but not least, try this game, <<http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/j2o>>. i haven't try the one for the opposite sex. =)

CASINO

my colleague had a bbq with his friends last night... and i'm thinking, wouldn't it be great to have a bbq in london right now in such great weather! *so who's going to organise one and invit me*

i wanna talk abit bout the casino issue in Singapore. I think that it's inevitable that the casino will be built. 10 years ago, it wouldn't be possible, but now, it think we have to accept the fact that it might be build. and if it's going to be built, we gotta make sure that it benefits the country.
it's natural that the first thing that comes to everyone's mind is the social ill of gambling and the social cost that it can bring. i won't talk bout the social costs coz i am not a social science student. i want to talk bout the potential benefits of having a casino in Singapore in today's context.
having a casino does alot of good to the economy. *i've got lots to say bout the economy, but i don't have much time now*
but here are some things that i hope the casino would have for non-gamblers' interest.
1. a lounge or restaurant with a bird-eye's view of the gambling floor and the singapore skyline/coastline... depending of where it's built.
2. a big botanic garden that has 25% humidity and an average temperature of 20 degree. i know that i am asking alot for a greenhouse with such conditions to be built. =)
3. nice function rooms and halls. so that singaporeans can have another venue for weddings!!! *think along the line of THE CHAPEL OF LOVE in Vagas dude*
4. maybe a water-theme park will really work at a casino entertainment centre this time. *anyway, with the revenue the casino earns, they shouldn't have a problem maintaining a water-theme park*
5. blar blar blar, i just hope that the casino will be an entertainment centre not only for gamblers but for other people and kids as well. we can get them to build a bumper-cars rides, water-theme parks, chapels of love, ferry-ride... lots of stuff for us and we might just find Singapore abit less boring then.

i'm looking forward to the casino. i hope to be able to go there for coffee, drinks, chill, meals and ride on the bumper-car! =)

bye bye weekday

i am glad it's friday. somehow, friday just seems good.

no matter how ur week went, friday just seems good and everything will be alright. or at least everything will be quite alright.

and here's what i did today:
work of course. and my colleagues and i also played lots of games. here's the link. <<http://www.astercity.net/~jackal/pingu/leapfrog.html>> i think there are many versions of pingu, i did 18981.4m for pingu version 4. have fun trying to beat that! and someone also attempted to swap the keys on my keyboard, but i was too good to fall for that trick. and i took 'revenge' by setting my friend's screen saver to be activated every min. hehe.

it was also katie's last day. she's a very nice girl, it was her last week at the workplace and she kept asking for work becoz she was bored. it's really nice of her. we had a farewell lunch with her, bought her dvd and farewell drinks after work.

and when some of us went to get katie a present, i met a friend whom i have not seem for more than 10 years! it's really a pleasant surprise! *shocked* but it was really nice to meet a friend out of the blue whom you've not seen in a long time.

yeah, all these little things ended my weekday in a good note. sort of positive for the weekend. cheers mate.

i played alot of games today.
there was the helicopter game which i scored 1044 i think. <<http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/copter.php>>
then there were the pengu games. in which there are 3 versions.
the first version, which is the basic and original version, the yeti has to bat the penguin and let the penguin fly as far as possible... and i scored 597m for that.
another version basically had a minefield added to it. so the penguin that u bat fly for some distance and hope that it will land on the landmine, the explosion will further propel the penguin forward... btw, there will be lots of blood and only the penguin's head will be flying thru the air.
the other version is called, rocket-in-the-arse. basically, it's similar to the original version except that the penguin bounces for something like 5-10 mins. so your penguin can basically fly 10,000m. i did 12314m but someone at work had 19xxxm. but the game gets quite boring after awhile coz it takes very long.
so, have fun with the helicopter game. it's quite good. my colleagues and i will always be playing it during lunch... and unofficial breaks. =)

nice weather again today, it's lovely. maybe i'll go to the park and get some sunshine... and look at the scenery if you get what i mean.

somehow fustrating

i didn't have a good day. it isn't exactly shit, but it was bad enough to make me feel quite lousy even when i'm at home right now.

the best thing that happened today was the 60 seconds in the toilet in the morning and the good weather when i went out to get lunch. it's really quite pathetic if you ask me.

i wonder if most people who are working feel this way. a feeling that something else is lacking or not right. i'm not really complaining coz where i'm right now, i'm really grateful for having a job. but i just wanna know how does everyone who's working feels bout working.

Lebanon vs Syria

-Syria leaves Lebanon
-a power vacuum is created
-power struggle arises
-leads to civil war

just another monday

interesting things that happened today:

-towards the later part of the afternoon, the toilets on every floor of the building was spoilt. thankfully, i took a dump in the morning. but i still had to walk to mac along regent street and used their toilet once.

-and it's getting warmer in london! bye bye cold spell and hello sunshine and lovely weather. but i heard that it rains alot more in the summer. it doesn't really make much sense. and one more thing, sunrise is freaking early now! 6am and the sky is already damn bright! damn irritating.

-i started packing lunch to work since the beginning of the year to be more economical. but i don't think i will do it anymore. the reason is not becoz i'm now richer since i'm getting a higher pay in the payroll department. but the reason is becoz it's sort of anti-social. my colleagues go out for lunch and i think it isn't nice not to join for lunch. it's out of those things that u can't really 'save' a few cents or quids on.

blackhawk down

"i'm not a war-junkie. it's not bout being a hero. no one wants to be one. it's bout the person beside you."

*chill*

hey maggie! if you are reading this, i just wanna let u know that i love the music on ur blog! it's very nice... much better than tom's 'upyourodds' yakking. coolz!!! =)

it was a very tiring day at work today. and feeling ill for the past few days doesn't really help. that's why i didn't go for OCF today. i just needed a break, sitting on the sofa, watching tv, using the computer sort of relaxes me... and i bought 2 shirts from topman to boost my morale. i actually wanted to buy 5 shirts, but the other 3 doesn't really match me.

*take a deep breath*
*closed my eyes for a few seconds*
*stretched*
*yawn*
*SHIOK*

last year ard this period

looking back, i remember myself and some friends sitting inside the library and studying for the final year exams. and on one particular day, when we looked outside the full-length window, the entire koi-garden area was filled with people dressed in their convocation gowns, taking pictures with family and friends.
the feeling we had back then was hard to describe!
the first thing that came to my mind was that i was very envy of them coz while i've been preparing for the final exams, these people were having their convocation. but it also dawn upon us that it could be us standing there at the very same spot next year and it encouraged the few of us who has been mugging for what seem like an eternity.
fast forward... it has been a year since that day and now it's our turn!!! 'Our' represents the many of us, the friends that i've gotta to know in SIM. too many to name, but hey, what the heck! i'll try and name the guys and girls. augustine, iggy, edwin, michelle, tom maggie, wayne, ben, weng hin, gary, victor, 2xjimmy, kenneth, keith, 2xkelvin, vivian, huiling, zijun, christine, melissa, chelsea, charlene, joyce, angie... and those who graduated earlier or later... shaun, clarice, jean, shawn, anita, cherylene, melvin, christopher, esther... and anybody else that i've missed out. a real pity that i'm unable to join them coz i damn sure that it will be really fun... *sigh*
wishing the guys and girls the best in all their future endeavour.
catch you all when i am back... at winebar right? =)

ship recce

i'm trying to refresh my memory of the ships that i learnt and recognised during my air force days. there's nothing classified bout them coz it's available on the net.

however, recognising a ship from 5000ft in the air and not getting into it's MEZ or GEZ is another totally different thing. and trust me, it's not easy. (MEZ is missile engagement zone and GEZ is gun engagement zone)

in the navy, the name of the first ship of a particular design built will also determine the 'class' of the ship.
i.e. Singapore navy decides to build corvettes of a new design. the first corvette is named Victory. subsequently, all the corvettes built of this design will be known as the Victory class though the name of the ship might be Valour, Vengence, Vigilance, Valiant or Vigour.

Singapore
Endurance Class (amphibious landing ship)
Victory MCV (missile corvette)
Fearless PV (patrol vessel)
Seawolf (missile corvette)
Bedok MCMV (mine sweeper)

Malaysia
FS2000 aka lekiu (frigate)
Kasturi aka FS1500 (frigate)
rahmat (frigate... and i totally forgot how it looks like)
Hang Tuah (training ship)
handalan aka spica-m (missile gunboat)
perdana (missile gunboat)
jerong (gunboat)
newport (amphibious support)
musyturi aka OPV (offshore patrol vessel)
lerici (mine sweeper)
MPCSS (multi-purpose command and support ship)

USA
Kitty Hawk, Nimitz (aircraft carrier)
Arleigh Burke (a destroyer that's capable of destroying the entire Singapoe, Malaysia and Indonesia air force with it's 200mile range radar and 100mile range missiles)
OHP (frigate)
LA (submarine)

Indonesia
Cluad Jones
PV57
Van Speijk
Tribal
Fatahilah
Parchim
kondor
Frosch
Tripartite

UK
type 42 (frigate)

Australia
Adelaide (similar to the OHP coz US sold it to them)
Anzec

how much worse can it get...

i'm feeling under the weather right now... the entire office is coughing and that includes me, i've got a blocked nose which is also running (aka dripping), i'm still having a headache which started on sunday though it's not as bad as was initially, my body is very tired and aching, but i didn't sleep well for the past few nights even though i turned in early... and life still goes on.

i wanna get well!!! and i am determined to!!! so here's my plan: no more than 2 cups of tea or coffee a day, drink lots of water, sleep at least 8 hours, buy a tube of that vitamin c thingy which dissolves in water and finish it and hopefully, i'll recover by sat or sunday. nothing else i can really do anyway...

another deal!!!

39 quid for a return ticket to Oslo on Ryanair over the easter period!!! 25th March to 27th March!!! it's pretty cheap for flight over the bank holiday right?! grab it while it last!!! once again, i am tempted...

Berlin... take my breath away!!!

finally! Berlin, here i come! 28th to 30th April for 40 quid!!! absolutely no idea how to get to stansted nor from the airport to berlin... =)

btw, anyone wants to go Dublin on the 9 to the 11th of april, it's only for 29 quid, inclusive of taxes!!! i just found the deal on ryanair website. i am so tempted to go, but i've already applied for leave to berlin... *how how how* should i or should i not...

i should have done better

after all the contemplating for the whole of last night and this morning, i decided to go ahead and play soccer today.
and i really should have done better today. i had something like 8 scoring chances and i shot all over the place except towards the back of the net!!! what a freaking waste! i should have done better! main composure at the goal front! it's such a man u thing... lots of chances and not scoring!!! i tell u, it's the cost of being a man u fan... such that the fate of my club influences mine...

and going over to my lunch, finn and i decided to buy oven baked chicken pieces, fries and coke on our way home. it's a superb way to end the day. though both of us will not be too happy when we watch the EPL hightlights becoz Spurs lost and Man U drew! *life's not perfect i guess*

one more thing to add, my back and legs are aching and i'm not sure if i'm just 26 years old... with the pain that i'm feeling, i think i'm much older...

friday!!!

timesheets and invoices had been matched.
'payroll' has been done.
'greens' have been checked.
emails for 'holds' have been done.
doing the faxing right now...
making coffee and tea for one another...
waiting for the beer at 5...
basically, just spending my time, watching the days go by...

what shall i cook tonight

-since i've cooking for the past 3 days, i might as well set a personal record and cook again for tonight. i've cook pork-belly, drumsticks, mincemeat... so what shall i cook tonight? i feel like cooking something salty and tasty... but i got no idea what i should do and can do... any ideas/suggestions?