A Warm Welcome

26th June 2006, Monday

The big news over the weekend would be that my lass would be coming home a week earlier which of course sent me to delirium after waiting such a long time...but now I am in the fix that I will have to apply leave just merely a week after starting work...
Nonetheless I will see what I can do to resolve this issue...

I woke up at 3 knowingly that I will need to report for my official first day at the new place to catch the grudge match between Holland and Portugal...
Ooh yes, a game of shame with 16 yellow cards and 4 red ones and my beloved Dutch was woeful to lose with an early Maniche goal...
There was no nice slick football I had been anticipating with a Cocu blast which came off the crossbar been their best chance...
Now they would be looking back on a mediorce World Cup with 3 goals scored and 2 conceded with only Robben, van Peirse and van der Sar the best overall performers.

I wouldn't mind Portugal be the rightful winner because they had been more superior so far in the tournament and will meet England in the quarterfinals who dispatched Ecuador tamely with a Beckham's free kick...
But now they are likely to be without 3 star automatic starters in Deco, Costinha and Cristiano Ronaldo through bans and injuries against England whom I hoped someone who beat them soundly as a WC wannabe doppelgangers...
Meanwhile Argentina beats Mexico in extra time with a classy Maxi's volley and Germany demolished Sweden in 12 minutes with a Podolski brace to meet in a tasty quarterfinals tie which I hope Argentina who now becomes my next best-supported team will beat the host nation who is priding with their new found form ....

My prediction would be Italy beating the Aussies tonight perhaps 2:1 but the Socceroos may perhaps pull the biggest shock thus far...
Then Switzerland who soundly beaten S, Korea in the final group game square up against the Ukraine which is the most even match in the 2nd round and it's hard to call but I am going with the Ukraines...

BY went to bring one of her street cat to the vet so I was without the key literally to the new office if I report early...thus I have the liberty to wake up at 7 and report to the admin on dot at 8.45am
As staff started to stream in wearily this Monday morning, there were a few others waiting to be initiated by this nice lady from the HR known as Alison...
The mark of professionalism is evident from the file they prepared for us with all the crucial information which I believed my former workplace wouldn't be bothered to conjure up...

Alison briefed us through some vital informations about the company and what to look out for as well as the e-portal for employees which of course had been what I was so used to which led me to bring out some comments which I hoped the fellow new recruitments made up of fresh graduates wouldn't feel that this know-it-all defector just wanna showed off his knowledge to the organisation...

Then the part which made me really feel special about joining when Alison bring the whole lot of us around the admin office to be introduced to all the staff there including a few big shots...perhaps my new director who adopts this friendly environment in which anyone even the lowest ranked personnel to feel welcome in this big family...
They even post photographs of everyone the company's webpage...
Such a stark contrast to been treated as "dispensable consumables"....

There would be way too many superiority on this 1st day alone to make it honour to serve this new company than my previous shit-hole...
The safety meaning was a very elaborative session...maybe a bit too elaborative but was crucial for the greenhorns....
The accident hall of shame lasted till 12 when we were released for lunch...and I took the opportunity to hit the gym since we had 2 full hours to dispense...

When we were back, more on fire safety before a tour around the lab with full frontal of what all the safety features there are around the place and my first safety tour which was 4 years too late....

After we bidding the knowledgable safety officer, Cheong farewell for covering almost every aspect of the lab safety which makes the 2 useless counterparts from my previous poo-bowl who really was receiving wages for doing nothing..
talking about wages, I can really forget about getting what was owed to me for at least a fornight more...God Damn It....

Anyway we were finally issued temporary passes which will enable to manuveur around the place with such ease and the final part to make me feel at ease in the new environment...
The hospitable Mr Wong who is in charge of allocating the passes and our workstations really ensured we know where we are to be resided not just dump us to thrive on our own....
My French supervisor who was so caught up with work, showed her consideration when she had planned where she would want to be located...

Well I surely had been singing the praises for my new workplace but the real test will be put through when I actually get to work..but not today as I spent the remaining less an hour chatting with the "Beauty" mentor once more who BY warned me can stabbed me on the back if I made any mistake due to his negligence in supervision as he did with an attachment student before...
However, we really seemed to clicked when we chatted and BY did agree he is okay when work is not involved directly...
A guy living on the high life, he even went shopping with suspected gay-friends on a Monday evening like this...
Well in days to come I am hoping for similar warm reception from more colleagues....So far things are looking rosy...

Japanese word of the day:歓迎(Welcome) Not once in the last 45 months of that shithole when the admin people bother to come say hi to me...just be glas they remembered to pay me on time...