What's for lunch today?

So you think working in a bread shop is nice? Afterall, we get free bread to eat every day right? Well, think again! While yes, we do get bread to eat everyday, sometimes, I get so fearful just looking at bread every day. Here is what I had for lunch today.

Sometimes, my colleages feel the same too. We see bread everyday, from the way they are made to the time it goes into the oven, to the time when it is all done and just freshly taken out of the oven and onto the display shelves that we prefer to just pay a few dollars to have something else, like a bowl of noodles or a plate of rice. Yes, it's not free, but at least its something different.

Bread smells really wonderful when it is just out of the oven. However, being a non-paying staff has its disadvantages too. We only get to eat the cold ones! Hmmm!

As the saying goes, "Man does not live by bread alone!"

The boutique where I worked in China

Some post back, I mentioned about working at a boutique in China. This is a really nice boutique selling men's clothes, although it is rather far from the country side where I live.

I have to take a bus every morning at 6am to reach my working place at about 7.30am although work starts at 8am. The buses comes once every hour and if I miss the 6am bus, I will be late for work. This picture on the right is how the boutique looks like inside and the two girls were my colleagues when I was working there.

Here is a picture of me in my uniform. It was difficult for me to take a picture of myself in the whole uniform, so this is the best I can manage. I quite like the uniform as it makes us look neat and professional. My colleagues are nice and my boss (lady boss) treats me well (except for the RMB500 which she kept as my first month's pay but I got it back when I resigned at the end).

Here is another picture of the boutique looking out the main door so you know what the view looks like from our work place. Enjoy the view!

My sister works here!

My sister is a beautician in China. While she is very keen to come to Singapore, we have not found a good job for her to come yet. This is the Beauty Salon where she works. The picture on the right is the entrance. Just in case you start to have wild ideas, this salon is only for women! They offer services like body, face and foot massage, trimming of eyebrows, waxing, ear candling, make-up services etc...

The salon is clean and very nicely decorated. Clients have to remove their shoes before entering the premises. Here is a picture of me sitting on one of the massage beds when I visited her. It's so comfortable, I almost did not want to leave. However, most of us country people will not pay for such services out here as it cost as much as RMB100 for a massage. This RMB100 is only SGD20 but it is alot to us when most of our salaries here a just about RMB800.

Here is another picture of my cousin who also works there but she is shy and did not want me to take her picture. Hmm... I wonder why, as she is actually very pretty! You can see her pic on one of my previous post about line dancing. And her uniform is quite cute too... don't you think so?

Line dancing in China!

I know that Line Dancing is very popular in Singapore as I often see it in open spaces at HDB's and even shopping centers. In China, we have our own version of Line Dancing and we have lots of big spaces to do them in. This one shown in the picture was done at a local school. During the off-season (non-harvest), my mother wants to exercise and three times a week, she participates in these Line Dances.

One of the evening, about 2 weeks before I came to Singapore, my sister, cousin and I accompanied my mother to the Line Dance. While we did not dance, we sat there and chit chat as well as watch the dance. It was quite an interesting site. In fact, many people came by just to watch rather than dance.

The picture above shows my sister and cousin eating an ice-cream while watching the dance. For those of us not dancing, it's just gossip and catch-up time. In fact, I met a few of my ex-classmates there too.

You can see that as the evening gets darker, more and more people joined in the dance and despite the light rain, they continued enjoying themselves. Maybe they were shy and needed the darkness to cover for their shyness. Maybe there were just too many spectators around. This picture below shows some guys peering over the wall just to have a better look.

Funny how my mother who is so old enjoys these dances while we younger people just prefer to sit down, relax, gossip and watch!

Generous Singaporeans!

An incident happened some time ago when I first started working in Singapore at Tanjung Pagar's Raeburn Park. A Chinese Singaporean who is quite a regular customer came by one morning to have his usual morning "Kopi O" fix. I turned around to make the "Kopi O" for him and when I handed the cup to him, he smiled broadly and gave me a dollar for the coffee. H tentatively looked around to see that there were no one looking and then handed an envelope to me and said, "This is for you!"

"What is it...?" and before I could finish my question, he turned and walked to the table to drink his coffee. Morning is usually quite a busy time as many of the people come by to have their breakfast and coffee and so, I did not think much about the envelope and just stuck it into my back pocket.

At about 9.30am when it is quieter, we normally have our own breakfast together with the rest of the workers. I remembered the envelope and took it out to open it and to my surprise, there were two crisp SGD50 dollar notes inside. I quickly put it back in the envelope as I did not want my colleagues to see as thoughts ran through my mind. "Why did he gave me a hundred dollars?", "What am I suppose to do with it?"... and on and on. As I pondered a little longer, I decided that I have to return the money to him. I had already planned what to do. When he comes the next time, I will hand him the envelope with the money in it and say, "Thank you... but I cannot accept your money!"

The next morning, he came by again but my colleague was standing next to me and I could not carry out my plan. Then again, the next morning, he came by for his coffee fix and I did as I planned. After he paid for his coffee, I handed him the envelop and said, "I cannot accept your money but Thank you anyway!" He looked a little hurt but still smiled and took it back. If not for another lady standing behind him, he might have resisted a little.

That evening, I recalled the incident... and wondered... if I should have just kept it???

Follow me on Twitter!

I've just set up a Twitter account and now my Twitter, Facebook and Blog are all linked together. If you find it hard to following me on my blog or facebook, follow me on Twitter!

My Facebook presence...

A friend of mine introduced me to Facebook recently and helped me to sign on an account. She told me it is a better way to reach out to people. While I am new to this, I am willing to learn, so if you are following my blog, you can add me on as one of your friends as well. Every time I post a new blog article, it will appear in my Facebook as well.

Looking forward to seeing many of you on my facebook account. I promised to update with many new pictures and posting, although you have to forgive me if this is slow in coming as it may take me a while to learn this new toy!

My cooking

Recently for the first time, I had the opportunity to cook my own meal. Here is what it looks like. Nothing exciting actually. I mean, what can you really cook for one person. Just some rice plus some vegetables. More importantly for me, I think it is more healthy than eating out all the time... and eating bread all the time (since I work in a bread shop!). It also cost less too, especially if you cook for more than one person.

Well this time, I happened to be the only one at home so I only cook for myself. Otherwise, if others are home, we will normally take turns to cook. However, my current job hardly gives me any time to be home these days and as such, I do not always get the pleasure of eating home cooked food.

Nevertheless, I am going to enjoy this very simple meal! I haven't had a home cooked meal for such a long while, I am going to savor this one! Join me?

The Old Lady next door!

This old lady looks after the lavatory at the Tampines Central food center and I see her all the time when I use the the lavatory. She is such a wonderful lady, always helpful, courteous and cheerful and she keeps the toilet sparkling clean. Sometimes I will just indulge in a short small talk with her when I am not rushed for time.. like when I have 10mins left after lunch!

The other day, she came to buy a bun for lunch and someone gave me some mooncakes earlier, so I gave her two pieces. She was so grateful that she thank me profusely!

The next day, my boss wanted me to go to their new branch in Sengkang and the day after, I had to go back to Punggol to work. When I got back to the Tampines branch the following day, this nice old lady came by to see me again. She told me she came by the last two days and was looking for me... and she won't buy anything when I am not around. How flattering! She told me she wished she had a daughter-in-law like me but her sons are all married.

She then asked me if I wanted some bowls and some clothes. I was very touched but I told her, "Auntie, you should keep them for yourself as I have lots of clothes. Besides, I am renting a room with a few others and do not have a place to keep too many things."

Life has its twist and turns. Treat people nice and they can turn around and make your day! You never know. This lady sure made my day!

Travelling 15km to take a bath?

Many countries are so fortunate, and particularly so in Singapore. Many houses here have 2 to 3 bathrooms with hot water available at the turn of the tap, 24 hours a day. Do Singaporeans take this for granted at times? Most people who have been to China see the progress China as made over the years. But head into the country side... and you will still see parts of China that is still relatively undeveloped... where electricity and water are hard to come by!

Back home where I come from in the countryside of Liaoning province, we do not have hot water... at least off the tap! When we want hot water, we have to boil it. However, it becomes a problem in winter when you want to shower with hot water. That's because it is freezing cold here and our bathroom is a short walk away. So even if you boiled the water, you have to transport it to the bathroom to take your shower. And if you take too long, the water is going to cool down very, very quickly and you'll end up with cold water again. Not to mention that transporting the water is going to be a very heavy job!

So what do we country folks do?

During the winter, we "dry clean" ourselves with a towel and hot water at home. Even this is a chilling experience as our homes are not heated. And every week or so, we take a bus, go on a 15 to 20 minutes ride to the nearest bath house where we can have a bath. It cost 6RMB to take a bath and you normally do this with friends or family members. Also they have separate sections for male and females. Quite often, since we travelled all this distance (about 10 to 15km away), you'd usually want to savor the moment and stay a little longer to enjoy the space and nice warm water.  After all, you haven't had a bath for one whole week... you might as well have a super long bath and make sure every nook and cranny is sparkling clean!

See how fortunate you are now?

My off day!

I had my second off day after working here for almost a month now! How time flies! When you are working seven days a week with only 2 days off... you literally don't know what to do when you suddenly are given a day off!

While I truly value this one free day in 2 weeks of hard work, I was just suddenly at a lost. What makes this day even more valuable is that it's not a fix day, so I cannot plan for it. My boss arrange the day off and will just tell us a few days in advanced. So all the more, I should value it!

So, what did I do all day? Well, I woke up a little later than normal. Had my bath and went to the supermarket to buy some stuff. I had always wanted to cook at home to save some money but till now, I did not have the opportunity to do it.

In the afternoon, I decided to visit my old friends at Chai Chee Technopark. I took bus no 3 to Pasir Ris followed by a train to Chai Chee. Was I glad to see them again! After 2 years of working together, they are like a family and friends. And the place has not changed much. I felt so at home I almost wanted to walk behind the counter and start working again! Incidentally, this might be the last time I am able to see them here as my ex-boss will be giving up this place by the end of the September.

Interestingly, a few customers came by and recognized me and came to have a chat with me. A few saw my article in the Lianhe Wanbao and one even saw me while he was jogging in Punggol. What a small world! The lady sitting in the picture above is "Yan Jie", my favorite friend, mentor, "mother"... she's everything to me! The man to the right is her husband who comes by to help her at the stall everyday.

I had a wonderful day-off and I really did not want it to end! However, as always, all good things do come to an end. My only regret was that my ex-boss was not around or I would have loved to see him again and tell him how much I appreciate working for him after all the experiences I had with other employers!

In the evening, I went to Bedok to see my ex-landlord and had a light dinner with them before heading back to Punggol. They were good friends too and I recall the good memories I had while staying there. Sure, there were arguments, and other unhappy events... afterall, we had almost ten people crammed into a 2 bedroom unit... but the good times sure outnumbered the bad! Let bygones be bygones!

Enjoy the few photos I took of all my ex-colleagues that day! They were great colleagues, especially the lady on the top left who had been a great friend, mentor and mother to me while I was here all alone. What wonderful people. I am going to miss them all, for sure... and my customers too!

A little disturbed!

This morning, my sister called me and said that an agent told her that he's got a job for her. It's a job as a beautician in the city and the pay is SGD1,000 without any other allowances. I know my sister is really keen to come to Singapore, especially now that I am here and I am fearful that in the haste, she may make the wrong decision and end up SGD8,000 poorer. My first experience told me that this SGD8,000 will take as long as a year or more to earn back... and the pressure builds if you have to borrow the money too.

My colleague tells me that Beauty Centers are sprouting up in Singapore because the barrier to entry is low. However, many of them don't last more than a year or two. Is this true? I really don't want my sister to fall into the same trap as me... ie just when you earn back your agents fee, it's time to go home!

Isn't it interesting in life that the more we know, the more we worry? When I came out here the first time, I wasn't worried about anything. I just paid and went... because I did not know a thing about Singapore! But now that I know a little more and also a little more experienced, I am a little concerned. I'm not sure how I should advise here as far as this is concerned. Even while taking my breakfast with my colleague, I am thinking about it!

Played out by an irresponsible employer - Part 3 (final part)

The next day, I called the manager again and he agreed to meet me at China Square. He was late for almost an hour. When he finally arrived, he said he will arrange the documents but I need to pay him SGD500. I was furious... and refuse to do so! Imagine! They promised to do this for me and if I had not checked, I might have become an illegal over-stayer! I might even go to jail for this... and yet he as the cheek to ask me for more money. Well, even if I wanted to pay, I don't have the money! Interestingly, when I was there, another more elderly lady of about 45 and a pretty younger lady of about 25 also came to meet him.

When I finally gave up and left, the elderly lady told me I was very lucky. She told me her sad story. She had worked for 3 months without pay. The younger lady, whom I later found out was a singer from China performing at Hot Pot City was not paid for six months! Only then did I realized indeed, how lucky I was. Both these ladies had to leave the country within seven days and they were almost sure they will not have the time or money to pursue this irresponsible employer! I know what they will do... they will just delay payment until time runs out and the two ladies have to leave. I thank God... that I was only owed one day in salary, although I had lost about SGD1,000 in coming over.

I wonder if the Singapore government knows of such errant employers, preying on the weakness of migrant workers who came here to earn an honest living? Here is a picture of me finally leaving Singapore again (circled in red), SGD1,000 poorer but counting my lucky stars all the same! I could not help wondering what happened to the 2 poor ladies!

Played out by an irresponsible employer - Part 2

When I arrived, they promised to prepare all the necessary documents for me and I started work the next day. It was quite interesting as there were very few customers. I worked from 10am to 10pm. After one day, the boss spoke to me and said I need not come to work the next day until they call me again. I asked them about my documents as I was afraid of overstaying-staying illegally and they told me not to worry... they assured me that all documents will be in place... and I believed them.

For the next few days, I kept calling back but they told me there is no need to come to work yet... which left me a little confused... and suspicious. One of the managers who helped me arranged my medical check-up did tell me that business was bad and that they may close. However, he told me not to worry as they will find a job for me as they have a few other businesses.

After a week, I decided to take matters into my own hands and called up a few agents specializing in China job placements. I gave my details to a very helpful agent and explained to him the situation. He said he will check for me. Within a few hours, he called back and said that no documents were processed and I had to leave the country within seven days. I was desperate! What should I do?  What worried me more at that time was that I have barely enough cash to buy my own ticket back! I was counting on getting a job and making some money along the way and now... How can an employer who looked so prestigious on the outside be so irresponsible?... (to be cont'd)

Played out by an irresponsible employer - Part 1

Just before my first contract ended when I was working at Chai Chee Technopark, my boss told me that I had 7 days after my contract ended to leave Singapore. I was desperately trying to extend my contract but unfortunately, the government had raised the quota requirement for foreign workers and my boss did not have the numbers required to keep me.

You may be asking, why me and not someone else? Well, it just happened that I was the first contract to run out after the implementation of the new quota requirements (this was in May 2010). I used this seven days to search for jobs. I bought the papers everyday, and I went for 2 to 3 interviews a day. It was really, really tough trying to see so many potential employers in the few days that I had, especially when you do not have much money left and still have to take public transport here and there. Finally after all the hard work, I had two potential employers who said they will contact me. I told them that I had to leave the next day and that once I was back in China, I will send them my contact details.

When I was back in China, the company, SKYE IMPERIAL HOT POT CITY at China Square called me and said they need me. Am I mean to name them? Well, I waited till they are closed before putting up their name.Anyway, we agreed on terms and they asked me to book a flight down as soon as possible. I immediately had to borrow another RMB5,000 and with another about RMB4,000 which I had, I bought a ticket and made my way to Singapore...(to be cont'd!)

A day in the life of a Migrant Worker!

Recently, a friend told me that Singaporeans have been complaining that the government has allowed too many migrant workers into the country. While some of these are high level jobs (where real "talent" is needed from other countries), Singapore is still flooded with "foreign talent" filling out low level jobs which can be filled by local workers. Well, after working a few years in Singapore, I am not sure if they will really want such jobs, even if they are available to Singaporeans. Here is what my recent typical day is like when I work on an 11am to 11pm shift.

0700hrs - Wake up, Wash up... and the usual!
0730hrs - Read a book, check my emails
0800hrs - Prepare some breakfast and have a quick meal.
                Sometimes, walk downstairs to eat and buy
                newspapers
0830hrs - Read the papers
0900hrs - Dress up for work
0930hrs - Walk to the bus stop (Punggol) to take Bus 3
1030hrs - Arrive at Tampines. Sometimes arrive at
                1045hrs depending on traffic
1045hrs - Walk into shop, punch card, change into
                uniform, get read for work!
1100hrs - Work
1330hrs - Lunch (usually eat a bun)
1400hrs - Work
1930hrs - Dinner (usually eat a bun)
2000hrs - Work
2230hrs - Close shop, clean up the place, prepare for
                the next day
2300hrs - Leave the shop
2315hrs - Board a Bus to Punggol
0015hrs - Reach home, shower, rest
0100hrs - Sleep

Occasionally, especially on an earlier shift, my boss may request me to work an extra hour, especially when there is a shortage of manpower. Still want my job?

Me and my glasses!

One morning recently, while still working at Punggol, I woke up and my eyes hurt. I'm not sure what was the reason but I decided to wear my glasses to work that day. It was quite interesting as my colleagues and a few customers commented that I looked like a teacher and started calling me "laoshi" or "老师", Chinese for teacher. I'm not sure I should take that as a compliment or not... as I am not sure how teachers are viewed in Singapore by the general public. Some friends tell me that the impression of teachers are that they are the nerdy type.

Certainly not in China though... teachers are a well respected profession there... maybe a view that has trickled down, since the days of Communism and Chairman Mao!

Wouldn't it have been nice if I was really a teacher? Then maybe I don't have to struggle that hard just to make ends meed! Actually about one year ago, while working at Chai Chee, a customer approached me and asked if I would like to tutor his primary four daughter in Chinese. I had to turn him down as I was not familiar with the local syllables and I will be doing gross injustice to her to take up the job and not be able to do it well, especially if her results does not improve! 

Now thinking back, maybe I should have accepted it. Chinese tutor for hire... anyone?

Just when I found a place...

When I first came back to work for Bread Junction, I thought I was suppose to work at the Tampines branch, since that was where I went for my interview the last time, before I left Singapore after my Chai Chee stint. As such, I decided I will continue to stay in Bedok, since I am familiar with the landlord and I still have some friends there. However, on my first day at work, my boss told me I will be working at the Punggol branch. The distance was way too far and I decided I have to find a place in Punggol to stay.

After one week, and looking at the papers almost daily, I finally found a place about a 15 minutes walk from work. Imagine to my surprise when my boss told me after my second night staying in Punggol that he will need me to help out at Tampines as Hari Raya is coming and many of his Malaysian workers will be taking a break (this was about 2 weeks before Hari Raya). I asked how long I was needed to help out and he said probably about a week... and one week turned out into two...

I really do not have a problem helping out at all... and as I always said, I'm used to the hard work. What is tough on me is that I have to tell my landlord at Bedok that I have to put up at his place for a week and then two... and  now I end up paying double rent for almost 2 weeks! Well, I could continue to stay at Punggol and make my way to Tampines but I will incur about SGD6 transport daily, not to mention the time lost. So, it's pretty much the same... so I'd rather lose the money all the same and at least save the time!

Well, who said live was easy anyway... and I really should not be complaining. In fact, I am grateful I have a job in Singapore.

Anyway, I've included two pictures of me here. One taken in my new room in Punggol and the other of me in a bus on the way to work in Tampines!

My broken hearted friend!

A couple of months after I started work at Chai Chee, a group of guys came by to buy drinks just after lunch. There were three Chinese guys and one Indian guy. While my colleague was preparing for them the fruit juice which they ordered, the Indian guy asked one of his Chinese friends to ask me if I had a boyfriend. I understood what he was asking his friend but of course, I pretended not to know.

So cheekily, his friend turned around to me and said, "My good friend here wants to know if you have any boyfriend?"

Interestingly, I had this discussion with my colleagues while having breakfast a few days before. We usually took a short break at between 9-10am where we had our own breakfast and small talk as this was a quiet period for us. My colleagues told me that there will always be guys coming by to ask about us and will want to know if we are attached etc... etc... Some were genuinely interested, some just wanted to poke fun at us and some were just being friendly. My boss warned us that it was best to just tell them we were attached so as to not attract further attention.

With this in mind, I replied, "Yes, I have a very good boyfriend whom I love alot".

This cheeky Chinese guy turned around to his Indian friend and said, "She says she has a very good boyfriend whom she loves alot!" I almost burst out laughing. The Indian guy put his hand to his heart and using two hands to signify that it is broken told his friend to tell me that he was very heart-broken! Ha ha. My colleagues and I had a good laugh that day.

It's a good thing we had such little funny incident happening every other day or so... otherwise, life can be so tough in little Singapore... at least for us migrant workers!

My Current Work outfit!

At my current work place, we have to wear a white Sun Shade to work and a white polo-T. Not sure what the Sun Shade is for, after all, it's indoor but it looks quite cute. Unfortunately, it's also hot, especially in the hot and humid Singapore weather! But just so you know what it looks like, here is a picture of me in the Sunshade... on my way in my Agent's car to collect my documents from MOM.