our manager, Chris, left us for Canada. no farewell or anything. it felt very odd. i felt he really was a very nice guy, albeit rather anal at times. but hey, being anal is a good thing for the customers. if he weren't around - the level of hygiene at cedele would be for crap, honestly.

i've been learning a lot from my colleagues. from sandra, who swears every other second and who says things like, 'if you have a better chance, why not? you tell me, US dollar you don't want to earn?' (on Chris leaving and me going in shock, 'what? why?') i like her a lot actually, though we're very different. she's a lot older though she looks youngish because she's so petite. and when i told her that i was working with Cake at night because i might want to study drama in university she didn't say, 'why?' or give me the 'are-you-crazy' look that i expect most people would give. in fact she said, 'that's a good course to take' and i really appreciated that.

my favourite colleague, yanti, quit today. she asked to exchange numbers but i really wonder if we'll ever end up talking again. it was really nice having her at work though, it made things a lot more fun.

the FnB business is very transient. i still don't understand a lot of the things they say, but i'm learning.

everyone is quite enamoured with the dishwasher, who is from china and is, well, very good-looking (i confess that seeing him makes work a lot easier sometimes). he cut his hand pretty deep over the weekend while washing the dishes and was on MC for a few days. i wanted to ask him if he was better and if his hand was better but most of the time i feel too embarrassed to talk to him in my awful chinese, so i didn't. i do feel bad about it. i kind of hope sometimes that when i do have to communicate with him (am appointed translator a lot by my malay colleagues) that he thinks it's a singaporean accent and that's why we have a hard time understanding each other though we're speaking in the same language. i wonder about them a lot, these young guys from china (he's one of four, the other three are working at different branches. obviously he got it the worst being at the most hectic one) and i feel sorry for them. they're definitely getting exploited by the bosses, pay-wise. it's such a mystery - were they flown in specially from china to work for cedele? it seems incredibly funny and warped - like a sort of dishwashing scholarship. it also makes them sound like produce, like they're 'imported', which i hate. and i wonder about their hopes and dreams and all these people who come to Singapore hoping to find 'a better tomorrow' (ming tian hui geng hao, indeed!). i wonder if they get a rude shock and realize Singapore isn't all they expected. i saw one of the bosses hand him a green coloured ic thingy today and i guess that's what a lot of them want - PR or citizenship. it still strikes me as ironic how much some people want to be a part of this country while everyone here just wants to leave all the time.

there must be something really strong that drives them - he's able to work FULL days, 6 times or more a week and still give smiles to everyone he sees. at times i notice when the grin is waning, but it's only natural. and i feel sad thinking about the people they've left behind for the life that they've chosen to lead here. is it worth it? i wish i could get the chance to ask him all these things, if only he didn't work so hard and would just take a break sometimes.

also, he has a tattoo, and i'm absolutely fascinated by it. i can't really see it because it's always covered by a watch or something or the other but i'd really like to know the backstory on how that tattoo came about, seeing as he has such a cleancut image right now.

i find tattoos on 'cleancut' looking people to be very intriguing (because they're so incongruous) - it's like a little memory of some kind of past which they try to hide but aren't ready to erase yet.

+ posted by M @ 12:58 AM