absolut ginger

From: Chu Mak
To: All
Subject: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ~ FRIENDLY REMINDER (must put CAPS meh?)

Dear All Staff,

We write express our appreciation to all shareholders (staff) who attended the AGM of XYZ today (too hungry is it? Till omitted the word “to”). It was successfully chaired by our Chairman, Mr ABC and attended by members of Board of Directors. (kiss ass sucker!!!)

As you are aware, the numbers of our External Shareholders who attended the meeting today has increased. (How we know? We do not control the attendance list)

It was a surprised for us to observe that some of our staff (non-shareholders) enjoying the lunch, while the external shareholders are still around. Making the situation worst, while some of our guests and external shareholders intend to re-fill, the food had reduced with minimal choices for them. (Good what! Nobody should eat too much! Have to practise moderation)

We do understand during previous years; if there was an extra food, we will invite the staff to eat. However, this afternoon, with No invitation, staff joined the lunch with No Priority extended to the guests and external shareholders. (Eh! You think we all self invite meh? Got people ask us lah! Please get your facts right before pointing accusing finger!)

Please be reminded that AGM was held for the shareholders. (NO… you are wrong.. it’s also for guests, the press, directors and proxies). In the future, we seek your cooperation to observe manners (I wonder who is the one with bad manners here) and giving priorities (bad English grammar, consider revision) to them to enjoy their meals.

Please do understand our intention and in the future, we will not tolerate to bare (bare? Buka kain? Semi value meh?) the embarrassment on the above issue anymore.

Hence, we seek you full co-operations and understanding. (Me no understand coz me no speak bad England)

Regards,
CHU MAK

*** anyway, our “makan’ were served for every assembly.

Gasp!!!

First of all, I would like to apologize to traumatize you people with such bad English. My bad!

This is an e-mail from the group corporate communication and PR department. Can you beat it? It’s written by someone who has been working here for so many donkey years and has yet to improve her diplomatic skill. Wait a minute.. how to improve if she doesn’t even have the skill at the first place, huh?

The mail was sent after the fateful company’s AGM and sent everyone into fitful fury frenzy. In fact, everyone questioned the need to include the last sentence (highlighted in red) into the e-mail. Is it entirely necessary?

As retaliation, many decided to boycott the buffet breakfast this morning. I bet I could hear “V for Vendetta” screaming in my head. It was rewarding to see further strain in her perpetual scowling face when there was no usual beeline at the buffet table.

On a serious note, as someone who represents the company in major events, she could have been more tactful in addressing the issue. I mean, okay… we admitted, out of confusion, we had gone to help ourselves earlier than planned and we were in the wrong, and we apologized. But.. is it necessary to use such nasty manner to tell us off?

Instead of using demeaning and degrading words, not to mention childish and unprofessional – as if we were all so hard up for the food; she could have written a truly friendly reminder, advising the staff to wait for instruction from top management and seek our cooperation.

It was an unfortunate incident that, things went out of control when some staff who were also shareholders invited other staff who are not; to join in their makan session as friendly gesture. Heck. We even saw external shareholders bringing their own Tupperware to pile up the food! I have been to numerous AGM and food is NEVER ENOUGH because shareholders and proxies would bring their own utensils to pack to feed the entire family. A friend shared with me that, when she was in the hotel line, one company even ordered food for 600 people when the hall could only fit 300.

I hope this would teach the moron that, basic etiquettes and modesty are required to draft even the simplest letters and the importance of treating work colleagues with respect; even if she does not have self respect; hitting below the belt with her “well-meaning” “friendly” reminder.

P/S And.. she doesn’t have to bloody bold and highlight some of the “important” points. We know what to read.

6 Comments | In: Drama, Office Affairs | | #
Posted by Gina

I received this e-mail some time ago, and I felt it’s good to share.

—–Original Message—–
From: AW
Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 12:22 PM
To: Gina
Subject: depression

Dear Gina,

A good friend of mine committed suicide on last Monday. She hung herself in her bedroom.

A few years ago she attended a motivational course and after that she was besides herself. Staring into space, talking nonsense at times but she recovered after a few months.

After this incident, she did fall into bouts of depression at times but she always managed to pull herself up.

An aggressive lady (she is in the advertising line), bubbly and also one who speaks her mind, we still do not know what were the reasons for her depression. Come from a good family background, close knit family and financials are not the problem either. Family is well-to-do.

Blame it on the motivational course? You know some of these courses will really make you feel rotten, pull you real down and they will slowly pull you up and you are supposed to feel really positive and supposedly found the real meaning of life, blah blah. Do think twice before you attend all these courses. They could have failed to pull her out of the pit.

But we as friends and the family will never know. She did not even leave behind any last message.

What was she thinking of when she decided to take that ‘route’? She has so much going for her. It is just not worth it. Easier said than done.

Anyway I hope that she would have a happy life in another world.

AW

I myself have been to numerous motivational camps. Some were from my ex church, from offices I worked with, from college and there was one from direct selling.

I could remember vividly a particular one from direct selling seminars. Don’t ask me what has gone into my head for agreeing to attend such seminars – but I did, maybe out of boredom.

I was pretty relieved that I came out of it alive. During the seminar, they had us do some pretty ridiculous stuff but somehow not entirely impossible to foster mind over matters and team spirit. There was one where they told us to convince them to let us through, with barriers acting as check points in our lives. With tears and courage, I fought on. It was some 8 years ago that I went to this seminar. It didn’t make me rich like I hope to, but at least, it changed my perception that everything is possible, even if sometimes, in certain areas, I do remain cynical.

If you have read Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad, you would probably know what I am trying to say. Not everyone would be suited for the Business Owner Quadrant. That explains, there are only 3% super duper rich people in this world, in the likes of Bill Gates and Tiger Woods. If everyone could be strictly disciplined, work extra hard and focus, there would be more people contributing the Business Owner Quadrant in this world.

With all due respect, these seminars do teach you to know what you want in life and work hard to strive for it. But sometimes, it doesn’t suit your purpose or couldn’t work the way you wanted it to be, so you would have to learn to let go.

My friend who died a few years ago due to depression because she set unrealistic goals for herself was one good example, as well as AW’s friend who committed suicide two years ago.

It was also sad to read about some direct marketing companies caused rift among family members with children disowning their parents because they did not want to give them the money they wanted to start their own “business”.

I do hope people who are attending such courses would exercise their rationale and discernment on how it might impact their lives.

It’s not wrong to pursue our dreams and goals with hard work, discipline and a little luck. But bear in mind, we are also merely mortals, and being human is to err.

What I am trying to say is, we sometimes have to learn to live a little and appreciate the simplest things in this life. After all, with all the riches and material wealth, how are you going to bring it with you when you pass on?

5 Comments | In: Contemplation, Journey of the Soul | | #
Posted by Gina

Not too long ago, I think I read something about a cult emerging from the cave they were hiding due to stench from corpse rotting in the same cave they sought refuge from the predicted doom’s day on 27th April 2008. I rolled my eyes in disgust that there are actually some idiots believed in such thing and have simple minds that, they think by staying in the cave would keep them alive.

When I was little, imagine, a little girl at age 7, having insomnia because the Sunday School teachers planted a fear in us that, the end of the world is near. I cried myself to sleep every night thinking of my ah poh, ah mah, papa and mama rotting in hell because they are not believers of Christ.

I embarked on a fierce mission to convert my parents, relatives and siblings to believing in Christ because I want them to have eternal life. My burning passion was being jeered at as an unhealthy obsession. It took me years to realize that, probably I can never be good enough and probably, I was not even guaranteed a place in heaven.

I started to take matters more lightly and never have I ever felt so liberated in my life. I was practically living in fear and hopelessness during my adolescent years, no thanks to the bad approach from the church to instill such great fear in a child.

I know there is no explanation on how God works. With all due respect, I would not question the work of God. I know He does exists, it’s just that I don’t think we all should be overly concern on what He does because we will NEVER understand. I have given up entirely the need to understand Him. And I believe all religions only teach their disciples to be good. Problems only arise when people misinterpreted the teachings in any religion in accordance to their greed and in order to benefit themselves.

The recent earthquake and catastrophes brought about many doomsday soothsayers on how the catastrophes happened. Some blamed it on karma, some blamed the Olympics mascots, some were harping on their mistakes for not taking the Lee Bai’s poem written 1,000 years ago predicting the earthquake seriously, some even came up with a list of coming disasters circulating over the internet.

In my layman’s understanding, I do feel the world is coming to an end. The abuse of mother nature’s resources should not be taken lightly. Wastage of water, soils, endless pollution, poaching of animals that otherwise would act as a balance in our world ecosystem, human evolution that caused even more problems to the world – sometimes, it does make one wonder whether evolution is a good thing or otherwise.

Ah.. these are things can cause severe cerebral damages if I keep on thinking about them. Meanwhile, I guess, as long as we play our parts right – minimize wastages whenever we can, use a fan instead of an air conditioner, donate money to victims (this is the best we can do), pray for those who are suffering and lend a hand to people who needs them; I think we are good enough.

If all these fail to make some merit points in order to get to heaven (if it does exists, that is), we could always join our other friends for BBQ in hell.

13 Comments | In: Contemplation, Journey of the Soul | | #
Posted by Gina

Deco at Dragon-I

The long weekend catered for only one thing: sheer gluttony. It was a good, long weekend to catch up with friends over food and drinks. After all in my world, this is life – eat, drink and be merry. So, this would be a photoblog of pure gluttony.

Siu Long Pao

Friday night out with the girls at Pavillion. Since we were at lost of what to eat, we just go for the safer choice; Dragon I.

Saturday night, to celebrate one of the friends in the famed post on the organic horror of the seven spinsters and we went to Queen’s Park, Cheras for pumpkin porridge steamboat and seafood. We ended the night at one of the girl’s house for kick-ass coffee and juicy gossips.

Sunday night, I was at another friend’s place and each of us cook some dishes. As usual, since I only know how to make two dishes, I made both.

Sweet sour chicken, from moi

Roasted chai ngor from moi

Cheese bake rice, courtesy from AH

Fried Wanton, courtesy from LL

Seafood tofu, courtesy from JK’s mom

Pasta Carbonara, courtesy from SG

*AJ brought drinks only. Yawn.. haha!:D

Today, I was at ONE U with Taufu Pok and had my late lunch at one of my favorite food haunt – Just Thai for phad kebao kedao.

This sums up my long and sinful weekend. Hope yours was just as eventful.

9 Comments | In: Makan-makan | | #
Posted by Gina

As I am typing this, my sister and the rest at her floor were busy talking about switching off the handphone tonight at 11 pm.

Earlier this week, I received an e-mail from the Too-free-nothing-to-do-moron in my office and dismissed it as plain lies.

Just forward - Penting. Baca sebelum malam ni (13 mei)

HANDPHONE malam ini dimatikan. Menurut METRO TV, pada jam 11 malam ini akan ada gelombang radiasi yang besar yang berbahaya utk manusia. yang akan tertangkap oleh semua hp & pemancar. Beritahu yang lain/teman2 jgan taruh hp dekat kepala..

It would be stupid to even believe this. I still sleep with my handphone on as who knows; there might be an emergency. You would need to call the police when criminals break into your house. It would be too tedious to switch on the phone, key in your password (if you can remember that during emergency).

When my sister called me awhile ago, she sounded distressed.

She: Tonight ah, have to off handphone you know.

Me: Don’t tell me you believe that stupid b*tch lah. It’s over already lah.

She: No no.. not her! A supplier called up our colleague just now and inform her that, her friend’s friend’s friend died in Puchong yesterday. He answered the phone call at 11 pm and he died.

Me: How? Maybe he so ngam died of heart attack?

She: No no.. it says ah – if you get a phone call at 11 pm, if you see it’s a call from overseas and the numbers blink in red, please do not pick up! She said, the man died because his life got sucked out of him – by some bomoh from Indonesia. She said, even her maid’s mom called her all the way from Indonesia to inform her this. It’s true.

Me: *Thinking of Predator movie yesterday - sucking life out of the body* Err… okay…

Apparently, this news were published in the local newspapers – Harian Metro. If anyone has the clippings, please send it to me… I want to have a good laugh. Millions of handphone users’ lives will be at stake tonight.

Anyone harboring a death wish for a long time, well, this is probably a convenient way to go. Haha! Just kidding!

Have a good weekend, people! Remember ah! Don’t pick up call tonight at 11 pm if it’s from overseas and the numbers blink in red light! *Chuckle*

14 Comments | In: Drama, Humour | | #
Posted by Gina