Thursday, June 25, 2009
Interesting Interview TodayThe forms and characteristics of job interviews do differ
between government organizations, large and small private companies.
Just went to this private company today,
considered small though it has several overseas offices.
The job position:
HR Executive
Key requirements: degree, with
min. 5 years of experience in HR.
That's why I wonder why they asked me down for interview
when I'm just a fresh gradudate.
They told me the reason being that they are considering fresh graduates,
with an open mind, and part of being flexible in recruitment.
They would like to see what a fresh graduate can offer
in terms of new ideas being contributed.
The boss mentioned that the reasons they shortlisted me
was because of the internship experiences that I had,
which might be of some use,
and partly because...
I know Thai language (speaking and listening wise lah)
hahh.. cos the boss knew a bit of Thai lolz.
It was indeed the most interesting interview I had ever been to date.
Less structured and more importantly,
it gave me the feeling that the recruiters appeared to be seriously interested in knowing more about you,
rather than view the interview session as one in which they are primarily assessing your abilities.
There's a subtle difference between 'knowing more' and 'assessing'.. if you get what I mean.
Anyway, they said they would really consider to shortlist me if I'm willing to take up a dual position during the initial stage of employment - customer service/sales/marketing together with HR.
Lack of experience, that's why...
Since the Tuesday that has passed, and until next Tuesday,
all my days were spent in interviews and taking some assessment tests.
Every day lo..
Hah..hopefully that other particular organisation would give me a job offer soon!
mngtalk ^___~
6:22 PM
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Had a lovely Saturday night (or Sunday midnight).
Saturday afternoon was spent shopping along Orchard with dear sw.
Reached home about 9pm and thought that's the end of my Sat night.
But... hahah.. due to some 心血来潮 with HT,
I gathered wj and he persuaded Jus,
and we were off !
To where?
Thanks to Jus for her recommendation of a night hang-out place.
It's called Bliss Restaurant, at Punggol Park.
Lovely ambience by Punggol Lake,
to chill, drink, eat and chat.
Blissful indeed.
We entertained ourselves by savouring the drinks,
(me & Jus ordered Rambutan Freeze and this cocktail with gin, strawberry sauce and lime juice comby),
playing Bridge,
and chatting here and there.
Fun and relaxing.
Hah.. didn't know they were so ON still, at around 2.30am+,
we headed to airport T3. Lolz.
Night at the airport is definitely a different experience,
with all the quietness as not many people are around.
We 'relived childhood play' by doing some woodblock colouring,
and me riding on the luggage trolley (oops..).
Sat at the comfy food court seats and chatted for a while.
Time flew...
5am was our breakfast at Ya Kun..
hehe..
and.. home sweet home..
p.s. thanks HT for offering to drive us! =D
mngtalk ^___~
5:48 PM
Sunday, June 14, 2009
I finished watching the Korean F4 idol drama!
Okay...maybe I'm considered very slow to have just watched it until now.
It was indeed an emotion-filled show.
One of the shows which I had cried along with the main leads,
Jandi (or Shancai) & JunPyo (or Dao Ming Si),
especially towards the 2nd portion of the 25 episodes.
I cried when JunPyo said all those nasty things to her while she was at Macau,
wanting to see him.
I cried and pitied JunPyo, seeing him feel so hurt being in the predicament
(caused by his witch mum and family background).
Burdened by the loads of his family business
and his mum's constant command/threaten,
he had to suppress his feelings and stay away from Jandi.
Deep in him, you can really feel for him as he cried in despair.
Nonetheless, the audience would still love his silent concern for Jandi,
and how Jandi believed him for so long,
though she gave up once when faced with the threat of causing troubles for the ones around her (Ga Eul, Ji Hoo).
One of the many things that JunPyo did really touched me.
It's the part when he went to learn swimming so that he could be the one to save Jandi when she faced some difficulties in the waters.
Although it might not seem so WOW! to some of you,
it somehow made an impact on me..
Oh yeah... and JunPyo's expression would always display how much he 疼惜 Jandi.
There was an aura around him that seemed to say "I'll always be there to protect her."
Hah.. okay.. maybe I'm biased or maybe I'm not,
with all the focus on JunPyo..
Well, realistically speaking, I doubt such a person exists in real life -
someone who loves a person so much that a loving aura is found around him.
mngtalk ^___~
2:34 PM
Monday, June 08, 2009
Final post on Taiwan Grad Trip.
Decided not to continue accounting for the day-by-day trip activities.
So... in sum:
What I like about TAIWAN!
Top 6 Favourite Attractions in Taiwan
1）Danshui & Lover's Bridge
This might be one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen or been to.
The sunset view over the Lover's Bridge.The faint sunlight illuminating it.
And the bustling night activity along the Danshui street,
with the shops' billboards & neon lights creating a brilliant image,
while the shoppers adding on to the lively atmosphere.
Some interesting local finds in the shops as well.
2) Hualien beach, rocks, and rapids & Yehliu
Natural creations.
The greyish sands spanning the entire beach.
The rocks allowing huge waves splashing over it.
The above-land underwater life.
Simply love the rapids formation as well. =)
3) Jiufen
Not much of natural scenery in the inside (of cos).
But what captivated me was the string of shops opened on the mountain.
The stretch seemed to be neverending.
Every shop brought about some degree of anticipation.
If I'm not wrong, there weren't many repeated stores.
But a maximum of 2 for some specialities?
Here's the place to find the local produce and
to eat numerous delicious 小吃.
4) Rapids near Cihmu Bridge (Taroko)
That's the best part of Taroko, to me.
Perhaps due to the severe fogged sky,
we couldn't view the mountainous scenery.
Thus, as we travelled along the winding (and giddy) mountain roads,
sometimes zooming through blurred stretch of paths,
this 'finale' destination point gave us a refreshing eye-opener.
5) Qing Jing Farm
You couldn't have missed the many many sheeps while in the farm!
Tons of them. Big and small.
So cute and cuddly.. =)
6) Taipei 101
So much for natural scenery.
Let's slot in some city landscapes.
And one would say it's the Taipei 101.
Really really tall...
The bird's eye view was wow!
We were there at night,
so all we could see were lights shining and blinking here and there,
but they all combine to form a large panorama depicting city life.
I was quite amused to be able to identify some lights from the mountains
cos they were like hanging in the clouds.. Nice..
Top 5 Favourite Food of Taiwan
1) 阿宗面线 at Xi Men Ding
Too delicious that we went back to savour it on the last day. =D
2）珍珠奶茶 (everywhere)
Drank for at least 3 times?
Dun think I had enough of it!
3) 葱油饼 at Hualien
Unique rotiprata-like dish.
But made with eggs.
4) 阿婆芋圆 at Jiufen
Refreshing dessert..
but filling to the stomach.
5) 鸡排 at Shihlin
Who can miss this?
Very large piece, as compared to those found in S'pore.
6) 地瓜酥 with sour plum powder at Yue Lao
I guess it's the sour plum powder that made it nice.
In general.........
I like the people there, at least those who had met
somewhere along the trip,
especially Auntie Liu of Stone Minsu,
her hospitality was indeed remarkably excellent.
She really attended to most of her guests' needs
and made it a point to help us take photographs and videos
while we played our sparklers.
It was really fun staying at her house-'hotel'.
Night activities include playing of sparklers, kong ming lantern
and exercising our artistic flair on pebbles..
I like the weather there then..
Luckily it wasn't the hot period yet.
In fact it was alternating between 21-23 degree celcius.
As for the food,
oh well.. i like some but not used to some, e.g. the taiwan-style oyster omelette.
Some amusing discovery..
THe single-ticket for metro is given out in the form of a token,
and not those cards as used in S'pore.
Some of the bus stops in Taichung are really hard to locate!
And you can actually board a bus in the middle of the road??
Lolz..maybe for tourists only.
It's kinda hard to find a dustbin on the streets or public places.. hah
And...
Kiss and ride??
What I don't really like?
One is the confusing roads, especially in Taichung & Hualien.
It took such a risk and caution just to cross about less than 50metres of road to the opposite side.
The vehicles just zoom past...endlessly..
And I had been wondering what's the job of the 'traffic controller' with the luminous light stick
who stands in the middle of the road.
Second is the extremely packed train,
for those without seated tickets,
you can only stand and be part of the pushing crowd.
Packed to the brim.
You can't move a single step..
and thank god we didn't suffocate lolzz
Anyway,
applause to our Free & Easy 10-day Taiwan Trip! Yay!
mngtalk ^___~
2:01 PM
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
INTERESTING ENCOUNTERS IN TAIWAN DAY 3: FORMOSA ABORIGINAL VILLAGE
Travelling many kilometres eastwards (I think) towards the Puli county,
we reached Hakoune Onsen, the 2nd accomodation of the trip.
Was quite disappointed with it though.
it wasn't as nice as I thought.
But shouldn't expect much.
We chose this place because it has a hot spring facility,
but unfortunately, 2 of us couldn't enjoy it!
We could only 眼睁睁see the other two emersing themselves into the hot pool.
Nvm... shall 泡温泉 the next time! =)
The day was packed as we 'rushed' to 2 places of interest.
The first was the Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village 九族文化村.
There were 9 aborginal groups,
each with their own man-made village,
Featuring the interior of the hut they lived in,
the activities they did.
I vividly remember we 3 gals each holding on to a coloured rope,
and we were supposed to make a plait
but moving ourselves left and right.
Aiyah..the pictures not with me ..
Nvm.. we were rewarded with a coupon to redeem either 小米酒 or mochi.
We had a little hands-on experience in making mochi,
like the picture below (though not the actual pic).
And u know what? The mochi that the old uncle made was erm..
not soft?? Lolzz.. Quite a 'tasteful' experience hehe
We also tried our hands in pottery.
My first time.
The touch was... gentle... fragile...
though you would need a little force (amidst the gentleness) when shaping the clay.
Another eye-opener was the performances we were treated to.
One of it depicted the process whereby a man of age 35 years or older was made a chief or something.
DAY 3: SUN MOON LAKE
Thought you only know a 黄俊雄 in Singapore?
There's the Taiwan version!!
He's the driver who drove us on a tour of the Sun Moon Lake (SML).
Hehe
The weather was quite foggy on that day.
So there went the beautiful scenery which we could have taken.
Nonetheless, I guess the most memorable was the long climb up to the pagoda.
Not counting the climb up the stairs to the peak of the pagoda itself.
Spectacular bird's eye view if not for the fog.
mngtalk ^___~
5:50 PM
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
INTERESTING ENCOUNTERS IN TAIWANDAY 2: TOUR IN TAICHUNG
Stop 1 - Confucius Temple
It was quite an arduous journey to the Confucius Temple.
Unfamiliar of the road and public transportation.
All we could rely on were the map in our hand
and some directions given by the hotel conceirge.
In the end we had walked down and up a stretch of road,
in search of the bus stop,
only to flag that particular bus we were looking for in the middle of the road,
because, there wasn't any bus stop there in the first place.
Confucius Temple,
the temple to visit if you are praying for intelligence,
and to do well in your exams..
An intriguing discovery, told to us by the temple attendant,
was that some people would do their study revision in the temple.
Although others would be there to read books, newspapers, etc.
Never in my thought that temple would be a place to study, hehe..
Stop 2 - Taichung Metropolitan Park
Basically, it's just a big park.
Nothing specifically special.
Stop 3 - Yue Lao
Ah... before that was the Place of Intelligence.
Now we made our way to the Place of Love,
where your love wishes are said to be heard,
where the cupid arrows shoot in your favour.
The Auntie at Yue Lao mentioned an instance of a heavily pregnant woman
personally travelled to Taiwan
to thank Yue Lao for granting her wishes,
now that she's happily married and expecting a kid.. =)
[this is the place where Miss Wendy & Justina directed a video of me & wj.. dotzz]
Stop 4 - Feng Jia Night Market
The first night market we went!
And I guess one of the best ones we had visited.
Ma la stinky beancurd, ji pa, 棺材板, etc
Yum yum..
But I met with a mini accident.. boohoo..
while outside one stinky beancurd stall,
I reversed myself and accidentally brushed my right leg calf against the exhaust pipe of a motorcycle.
No ouch though cos there wasn't any pain.
Just a mere stunning sight of a small patch of my flesh being burnt out,
revealing the inner surface of my skin...eeks..
Then it turned a little red, but still no pain arh... (thankfully)
So there went my hopes of going to the hot spring.. =(
mngtalk ^___~
1:37 PM
Monday, June 01, 2009
INTERESTING ENCOUNTERS IN TAIWANDAY 1: Arriving in TaiwanAfter the 4-hour plus plane ride,
we finally set foot on the land of Taoyuan,
where the Taoyuan International Airport resides.
Luckily prior to this, I chanced upon the free shuttle bus (uBus)
to the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THRS) station.
During the one plus hour before our scheduled THSR ride,
we roamed the station for at least 2 times.
It was then that we came to a decision on where to get our dinner.
It's not Mos Burger, it's not a cafeteria. But dinner boxes from 7-11. =p
Justina was making the payment for our food & drinks. The cashier asked, "Do you want a plastic bag?"
We wavered for a while and then nodded our heads.
Plastic bags are usually given free in Singapore for each purchase.
Little did we know that NT2 was charged for that plastic bag we nodded our heads for.
Lesson 1 : Plastic bags were charged in Taiwan.
Half an hour on the THRS. A while long on the public bus to our final destination.
We still had to cross the underpass to our hotel entrance.
We walked down a flight of stairs to the underpass,
then much to our 'horror, there were more awaiting us along the underpass,
not including those upward flights of stairs.
Not a very good sight for 4 persons hovering around with the luggages.
mngtalk ^___~
11:41 AM
