Last Tuesday, I was called to attend an interview with SilkAir on Wednesday. Only one day notice! Ok… no worries… I think I can handle an interview…. but when I found out I was supposed to sit for a 5 hr test if I passed the first round of interviews, I wasn’t too sure. Anyway, the interview went well I think. I did get feedback from the interviewer that I smiled too much though. Kinda strips away a bit of professionalism. I appreciate the feedback really. It’s the first time I’ve gotten feedback and I’m glad to know my weak points so I can work on them. I passed anyway. The test had to be rescheduled because they did not have enough shortlisted people.

So today… or technically… yesterday, I went for the test. The test was held at the SATS Airfreight Terminal 5. If you remember, while I worked at Changi Airport, I had this pass that gave me access to restricted areas B (Baggage Claim) and D (Departure). We also applied for temporary A (Apron) passes for us so that we could see the area for a day. Today, I got access to C (Changi Airfreight Centre). Awesome. T and V left to go… haha…. sounds like I’m planning a tour and checking off places one by one, yeah?

I reached very early for the test and had to wait for the others to arrive. Much to my surprise, there were only 3 of us. I was expecting something like a hall of ppl really. Considering that they said they had not shortlisted enough ppl, I assumed they were going to shortlist more ppl after my interview. Never mind, less competition I guess. Or even better… we could all end up as colleagues!

The test comprised of 5 parts. An essay, a precis (summary), critical analysis test, numerical test, and IQ test. What scared me the most was the essay. An argumentative one. Like GP. I haven’t written anything like that since JC days! My worries were mainly that I would not have sufficient content to write about. It turned out to be ok actually. The summary was a little more tricky. The points were scattered all over the place. Had to do some MAJOR summarizing…. to the point that I might have over summarized. Well, I wasn’t the only who did. I didn’t manage to finish the numerical test though… shucks. I hate not being able to finish things. Oh well… in all, it wasn’t as tough as I expected it to be.

By next week, the 3rd or 4th Feb, I will know if I’m shortlisted for the final round of interviews. I certainly do hope so. If so, this will be the beginning of a career in an industry I’ve grown to like.

This post has been viewed 59 times.

My job now is to focus. Focus on myself. Me. My present. My future. It’s kinda difficult… coz I get distracted ever so easily! I’ve more or less figured out what I wanna do in life… or at least, I have a goal to achieve. Whether circumstances allow it or not is different matter. The past few months were really screwed up. It’s time for things to change.

This post has been viewed 35 times.

Kee and I were bored coz we didn’t really get to go anywhere this hols. Decided to make a short trip to Malacca on our way back to Singapore. We went totally trigger happy! Ok… rather, I went trigger happy. It was my first holiday with my LX3…and I realize that I have plenty more photography skills to learn. Malacca is actually a very old town but it is developing really fast. The malls there are waaaaaaaay better than those in Alor Setar. At least there’s MNG and FOS. Oh, and did I mention? A&W!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought that fast food joint was extinct! Didn’t leave Malacca without my fair dose of curly fries and root beer float.

DAY 1

Hotel Puri on Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock

It was great that my cousin, aunt and uncle were in Malacca. My uncle picked me up from the bus station in the wee hours of the morning, and my aunt and cousin picked Kee up later and brought us for lunch. They brought us on a quick ride around Jonker Walk so that we wouldn’t get lost in the maze of lanes there. Our hotel was a pretty little Peranakan styled place converted from an old house along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock…. just one street away from Jonker Walk.

On our first day there, we really didn’t have much time left coz Siew Kee’s bus arrived later than expected. So, we covered Jonker Walk and the riverside which was closest to our hotel.

The buildings there are actually old houses converted into shophouses. They still have much Baba Nyonya characteristics in terms of architecture though.

One thing we especially noticed was the wordings on the window shutters. Almost every house had these wordings. Also, the corridor outside the shops were all separated by a wall. Pedestrians have to walk on the road… pretty dangerous considering that Malacca drivers seem to drive through Jonker Walk as if it’s like an F1 circuit!

We saw lots of interesting stuff from antiques to colourful hand painted clogs. The artist was a really friendly guy.

He was actually painting his T-shirt while we were looking around in his shop. Many of the things in his shop were not for sale but for display purposes only… and that included his Beatles collection painted on some mini clogs. Kee bought one of his postcards with a sketch of Malacca streets.

Jonker Walk in the evening on weekdays is pretty dull. Shops close around 6pm-7pm and the place is practically dead soon after.

A pretty dead town at night

Malacca riverside

This post has been viewed 71 times.

It’s time for my faithful camera which recorded so many memories for me over the past 5 years to retire… courtesy of my sister who managed to destroy it in 1 day! :’(

Casio Exilim EX-Z55

The lens it jammed up halfway… can’t retract into the body…can’t extend out either… and it makes a really disturbing loud noise if you try to turn it on. Sigh… sakit hati giler. This was my first digital camera… worked at Aunty Chua’s nursery to save up for it… Good thing it wasn’t my brand new LX3… if not I will really yell blue murder.

I dismantled it and found that there are little broken bits inside the gears that enable the zooming in and out are stuck… something inside is probably broken and lodged somewhere jamming up the mechanism. Don’t know how to open the rest of the parts without forgetting how to assemble them back together again… so I just put everything back and closed it up.

Anyway… here are some pics if you’re curious to see what the camera looks like inside…

Casio Exilim EX-Z55

Gears

Some parts of the zoom and lens cover mechanism

The lens.. Pentax if I'm not mistaken

Is that the CCD there in the middle?

You’ve been a wonderful companion… May you rest in peace…

This post has been viewed 136 times.

It’s in the wee hours of the morning now… yeah… I know, my clock is totally screwed again. Welcomed the New Year at our church watchnight service. Very few ppl. Most probably comfortably snuggled in their beds at home. New Year in Alor Setar is pretty drab. No fireworks… no mass countdowns… no parties… What we have though are traffic police road blocks…. and really annoying mosquitoes. The friggin’ mosquitoes are having a party! I counted… I have easily 10 red spots all over my arms and legs. Stupid pesky things.

But nevertheless… I’m glad that 2009 is over. 2010 sounds refreshing yeah? So what are my new year resolutions? Hmmm…

1. Learn Chinese… if you can’t beat them… join them.
2. Get a job… one that I like or at least don’t mind.
3. Save up for an awesome holiday where I can go trigger happy… with my camera.. not guns.
4. Pick up a sport…. I need to burn fats.

Ok… four for now. If I manage to fulfill one out of them all, it’s really an achievement. I usually make resolutions for the sake of making them. 1st Jan, this that this that…. rest of the year, erased from memory. We’ll see how this year goes.

This post has been viewed 106 times.