Exhausted

I was scheduled to start my first day of work at Settlers on Sunday night. However, Friday saw a large influx of customers and I was asked to come down to the cafe 3 hours before opening hours. Ended up working full shift... That's 2pm-12am. It's fine though. Cuz I really do enjoy working there. Though we haven't even work there for a week, we feel like we've worked there for a long time. We go to the cafe at least 4 times a week. Sometimes we'd even help out for free!

Halfway through my shift, Terence and Timothy asked Kh and I if we would like to join them for a mahjong session at the cafe that very night. Well, I have completely no discipline when it comes to fun and games. I was so exhausted after a very busy day at the cafe, and I didn't sleep well the previous night, but I said yes anyway.

Kh and I cycled to my house, bathed and changed, and went back to the cafe again. Tim closed the cafe and brought lotsa food and drinks from the kitchen to the room upstairs, where we camped there throughout the night for mahjong. Mahjong session: 3am-8am. We played really fast I tell ya. But it felt like the longest mahjong session ever. Only 1 round, but it went on and on and on cuz Tim couldn't stop winning until I broke his winning streak. As such, the 16 sub-rounds turn out to be at least 20. Zzz.

I got home at 8plus in the morning, slept till 1pm and went to church for multimedia duty. I was so tired, I felt like I would knock out the moment I close my eyes. I didn't even feel this tired when I slept only 3-4 hours a day burning midnight oil during the exam period.

It was fun though. Staying overnight at Settlers. The guys do it quite often. You can even bathe there. Well, that's what the boss told us to do anyway.


Off to bed now...

Pretty lazy to blog right now... long story. Anyway, to sum up everything that's been going on, I've just got myself a new bicycle and a driving license. Yep, I reckon I'll be going for night cycling/driving trips now.

The joke of the day...

I was at the counter with Uncle Alan to apply for my license. Uncle Alan knows the malay woman who was attending to me. They were joking with each other. This is how the conversation went:

Her: You got bicycle license?
Me: Huh?
Him: Bicycle license arh? Yah she got. Always ride bicycle one.
Her: *a little puzzled*
Him: Bicycle license haf. Motorcycle license dun haf.
Her: =.=

I'm now a Settlers staff!

I've had real fun today. Za, our operations manager, called us down to the cafe for staff training. We learnt some rules and regulations of day to day operations, signed a contract, and learnt how to make some drinks! As I was reading the contract, I was a little amused because I saw an exemption clause I was familiar with, having studied commercial law myself. I couldn't put a finger to what the actual name of the clause was until I got home. Unable to resist my curiosity, I flipped through my law book. Ah there it was. Contracts in Restraint of Trade. Enforceable if terms are of legitimate interest to the covenantee, time period within reasonable scope, and the restraint is of public interest. Cool.

It's a huge privilege to be a part of the Settlers family. We get free flow drinks and games, on and off duty, as those off-duty periods can be counted as training for us. We don't even need to go for promotions anymore. We can just go anytime we like, and help ourselves there. There's even better news. Now, you guys, our friends, can get a 10% discount off the total bill when you come during our working hours. Otherwise, you get a 20% discount if you come with us when we're not working. Yay! So everyone do come and visit us! =) Cuz we're allowed to personally host the games, serve and play with you guys. VIP treatment really.

Za said Kh and I can expect a pay rise faster than the rest because having been regular customers ourselves, we already know how to play many different games. That's a huge headstart because it means less training is required.

After he ran through all the important stuff with us, he taught us how to make a few drinks like strawberry comfort and blueberry milkshake. Then, we were left on our own to learn/play games.

As it's a weekend, the tables were quickly filled up, and Kh and I had to go home because there was no more room for us to play. We went to Aston's for dinner (just 3 shops away). When we were finished, it started raining very heavily and we couldn't go home cuz our bikes were parked outside and it was all wet. So, we went back to Settlers and just hung around the kitchen (there was no place for us to sit outside). Seeing the rest (who were on duty) so busy, we decided to help them make drinks! They were obviously very pleased to see some extra helping hands. First hands-on practice we've had. Haven't even been scheduled for our first day of work and we were already doing the kitchen stuff. Woah.

It was all independent work. We were only shown how to make the milkshake once, and when the order came in, we just did it. When we asked the staff how to make certain drinks (if we should follow the recipes or not cuz some are printed wrongly), they were like,"Just experiment with it yourself. If not nice, just make again." Woah. I love this job. Hah.

Settlers' tagline: I play games for a living. Do you?


P/s: I'm eligible for the progress package! Yeah!

Blogger was not working well for the past week, so I didn't get to blog. Anyway, I'm not really in the mood to blog now. Somehow, I've been feeling really tired and stressed although my exams are over. Like, when I'm playing games or watching movies, I'll feel like I shouldn't be doing this. I still get the feeling that I should be studying. Weird. Maybe it's my upcoming driving test. Just thinking about it spoils my whole week. I feel like I've enough of it. I'm constantly thinking of quitting although everyone tells me not to. Yes I won't. But I'm probably gonna stay this grumpy for the rest of the year. hmph.

To those who don't already know, I've got the job at Settlers already. I went down to the cafe for training today. We were playing this reflex game when suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my hand. I turned to look at my hand, and there I saw RAW FLESH. Ouch. That girl with the long fingernails scraped a piece of my skin off when we were all diving for the bell. It felt a little numb for awhile, when I was washing my hand. Then, blood started oozing out. I had to paste back my skin and put on a plaster. But it wouldn't stop bleeding. So I had to apply some antiseptic cream and change 2 more plasters. =( Thank God for the first aid kit there anyway.

Meanwhile, I've been looking around for a new bike cuz my current one is in a very bad shape. The tire ripped apart, the chain is rusty, the brakes aren't working properly (yikes!), and the gear doesn't seem to be working.

Anyway, everyone's been talking about the progress package which I'm most probabaly not going to get. =( Cut off date 1st July right? My birthday leh... So that means those born on my 21st birthday onwards don't get the money? =( So sway...

New movie blog

Yes! I'll no longer update my movie blog here. For future references, please go to www.moviefanatics.wordpress.com. And do link this blog up! Thanks!

My Movie Blog 2007

Movie Rating Guidelines
1-2.5 stars: Seriously a waste of time. Zzz Only watch it if you have nothing better to do.
3 stars: Very ordinary. Nothing special but OK to watch if you've $$ to spare.
3.5 stars: A little better than ordinary movies. Worth watching.
4 stars: A must-watch!
4.5-5 stars: No $$ also must watch!!!

Spiderman 3
This is definitely not as good as the first and second one. I did not like the storyline and ending. I think one reason why people love watching Spiderman is because they can sorta relate to the characters in some way, and it is after all, one of the most realistic superhero ever created. Spiderman 3 kinda takes a bit of that realism away. I'd rather they work on the story properly, than try to pack the long storyline into 2hrs 40mins. It makes the whole show feel too fast-paced and underdeveloped. It was so funny to see Toby Maguire acting cool and all that though. Kinda reminded me of The Mask.
3.5 stars

Fracture
The "perfect" murder is just a small little trick and of course it has its loopholes. I don't understand the whole plot. How exactly did his wife die? How did he pull the plug on her when he wasn't even there to do it when she died? Why was the lawyer holding a gun at the end? What is the ending of the story? No answers. Maybe someone would like to watch it and tell me.
3 stars.

The Reaping
Uh... this is a bit confusing at first. That little girl is supposedly an angel, yet she does scary things to frighten people and looks at people with sinister eyes. Angels are nothing like that. Sure it is nice to have a twist. But to have a twist by misleading people first? No good. Set aside the strange and unbibical bibical plot, the movie is not bad in the sense that there's reasonably good acting and timely suspense.
3 stars.

Sunshine
Only watch this if you kinda like Armageddon and The Core. But then again, Armageddon is good, and The Core is okay. This is pure crap. Nothing about it makes any sense. I can understand the possibility of exploding an asteroid, but trying to revive the sun by throwing a bomb at it? No way. Come on, where are all the good sci-fic movies now?
2.5 stars.

Shooter
This fast-paced action flick is about a US army sniper who got betrayed by his teammates during a mission led by corrupted high-ranking officials. Then, after a series of events, he decides to take revenge and seek justice. Excellent movie. Excellent acting by Mark Wahlberg. Really worth watching. =)
4 stars

The Number 23
I totally agree with what Tay Yek Keak of ST Life said about this movie in StarsnGripes. After watching it, you'll go a little insane, trying to associate everything with the number 23. But after awhile, you'll just get sick of it, because there's hardly anything you can find that adds up to 23. It can be confusing to watch at times, when the scenes alternate between past and present. I like the twist at the end although its quite unrealistic. For a moment, I almost believed Kh when he said the movie would end with Jim Carrey having rabies. -_-"
3.5 stars

Meet the Robinsons
Seriously one of the best Walt Disney movies ever made. Enough said. Everyone go watch it.
4 stars.

300
Kh thinks this movie is better than Troy. I don't know about that. Haven't seen Troy myself. Anyway, I love the graphics and the Spartan spirit. I love the part when the king asked the Greek soldiers,"What is your profession?" One said,"Goldsmith", and another "Potter". And when the king asked,"Spartans! What is your profession?", it was responded by a loud "OOH-AH!" (meaning 'warriors' I guess?). Impressive film. I never thought I'd enjoy a war movie this much. =)
4 stars.

Mr Bean's Holiday
Among the 3 Rowan Atkinson comedies--Bean, Johnny English, Mr Bean's Holiday--this one's the least humorous, IMO. Or maybe I'm just immune to Bean's antics already. I think the only part which really made me laugh out loud was when he busked in the middle of the marketplace. He stole someone's speaker and black jacket, and used that as props for miming as an opera-singing nun. Still, the whole movie is no different from the regular low-budget comedies. Not funny enough to make me wanna watch it again, if you know what I mean. =\
3 stars

Protege
I thought it will be like Infernal Affairs, but honestly speaking, it was more like a well-made documentary. I didn't understand why the undercover cop waited for 7-8 years before he finally got the "wholesaler" arrested. He knew what was going on all along yet he only reported when he saw his friend die from taking drugs. And the stupidiest thing is, after all that has happened, he attempted to take drugs himself. Weird. There's no good plot in this movie but it sure lets us see how people suffer from drugs. Quite educational if you ask me.
3 stars

Just Follow Law
Lame show! The whole thing about following the law is so exaggerated. It gets worse. Fann and Gurmit's character switch bodies when they get involve in a car crash, so Fann has to act as Gurmit and Gurmit as Fann. Really stupid actually. Too little substance.
2.5 stars

Pan's Labyrinth
Sounds like a children's movie but now I know why it's NC-16. There was just so much violence, and most of it was really unnecessary. I watched this with the girls and we were all squealing and clutching each other's arms. Also saw the girls in front covering their mouths in disgust. T__T Violence aside, it was a pretty good movie. Kinda reminds me of Narnia.
3.5 stars

Blood Diamond
A must-watch!!! Something like Hotel Rwanda, Tears of the Sun, and some other movie (I can never remember that title). Love Leonardo's acting. ^__^
4 stars.

School for Scoundrels
Stupid but hilarious. I especially like the saying,"You can't help yourself cuz your SELF sucks!" LOL.
3.5 stars