趁圣诞和新年，公司强迫每人休5天年假，有点不爽，但在家呆着怎么也比上班好，对吧？特别是坐在自己精心挑选的沙发里（沙发买多了，这个没地方放，没想到放这里正好），看着喜欢的杂志，吃着薯片，喝着橙汁......惬意！

 

Today I finally know what Huge Boxing Day Sale is. 之前，只是听说每年的Boxing Day Shopping人有多么多么多，可从没感受过， 今天我是知道是什么是‘买东西不要钱’了。早上不到10点到了QVB， 我顿时晕了。怎么那么多人？SWAROVSKI门口排了长长的队，security出一拨人放一拨人进，可能进商店的只是那么几个人，因为要保证每个客户有one-on-one sales服务。于是我与女友决定改去Myer，人很多，但起码人在流动，不是原地不动。试衣服，排长队；交钱，排长队，做升降电梯，排长队.....看上一裙子，想试，可实在不想排队了，于是当回乡下人，让女友帮我挡着，就试上了，好在裙子是片儿裙，走不了光！简单看了其他我们想看的东东，没收获。然后转向David Jones，先喝了我渴望已久的smoothie，然后进入商品区，还是人多！挣扎了一阵，我们决定去吃饭。小憩后，赶去位于Centre Plaza的SWAROVSKI店排队，因为女友要买礼品给朋友。喔塞！还是那么长队，没办法，排！反正我们吃好喝好，有劲了。队伍在挪动，可里面打折的好东东在减少，我们开始担心等排到自己是不是货架全空了，但还是执着地等…..好像等了不到1小时，我们终于进去了，但除了不打折的剩很多，打折的已经没什么东西了，我们只好失望地离开。队白排了，好在我们有的就是‘时间’J。我们又去名牌街，当时已经下午3点了，可LV, GUCCI, Salvatore ferragamo…都拍了好长好长的队，而且很多排队的人手里已经拎了大包小包名牌货。不知他们早上几点起床？？？（可据说，其实名牌店里没打折）。

 

今天8小时逛街几点体会：

*想买打折的好东东一定早上5点之前到商店排队

*排队买名牌、首饰的95%都是亚洲人，看来金融危机未波及那里，或者亚洲人还是比鬼佬有钱

*有钱人真多，有钱的年轻人真的很多，有钱的年轻小姑娘真的是太多了

 

But believe it or not, I won’t go shopping at Boxing Day.

 

I went to Kylie Minologue Concert last night and music and Kylie's image are still haunting around my head and remain fresh in my memory. As to the concert, I would say it:

---Super high
As you know, Kylie's voice is high pitched mingled with a little bit childish. Can you imagine her high-pitched sound is full of arena coupled with heavy bass?  Stunning! Frankly, my heart strongly beat went with violent rhythm, luckily I was not very old so my heart can stand itJ. I am not satirizing her voice but saying her song style could be more suitable for young generations. No wonder that the concert was extremely HIGH even on fire. On the halfway, the young audiences already stood up and shook the hands, singing with Kylie. It reached the peak as Kylie organised audiences to shake hand and pass on wavily from the end of arena to the other end, circle by circle.

---Pretty flamboyant
I remember Kylie had 6 costumes changed in the whole concert, each one kept Kylies' style looking very bright, shining and sexy. Aside from the stage was decorated by glaring lighting, backing dancing and singing were appealing and thrilling. Those back dancers were so hot to influence audiences as well.

---Very loud
For a popular singer's concert, it is pretty normal to be very loud and full of screaming, not like classic music concert it would be light and melodic and something has logic connection from beginning to the end. Kylie’s music makes teenager crazy with her and creates dizzily splendid atmosphere in the scene, so screaming and applauds fell and rose.

Anyway, I want to mention the pre-concert dinner I had. I got a VIP ticket, which means I was served free dinner and drink before concert in VIP lounge. I thought it might be finger food and never expected to have a formal dinner with entree, meal and dessert. When we walked into the lounge where was not big place just with a coffee table and two pub tables, so it only could be for maximum 20 people.  We were first arrival and then got immediate service with drink. I didn't order wine or beer but orange juice instead, then I started to have entree straight away including salad and cold seafood and bread topped with butter. It was really relaxing to sit in the couch and enjoy the food and music. Afterwards, other persons trickled in and they mostly ordered the wine or beer without a doubt not like me drinking juice. Due to not knowing each other, we didn't have too much talk except greeting. As VIP, we could stay in the room until the concert started 8:00PM that meant we had almost two hours to take and relax. Since that, I'd better slow down the dinner and start the main course until 7:00 PM actually it was ready earlier. Woooow! The beef was so good that amazed me who is a kind of person that don't like beef. Maybe you can't believe that was supposed to be the best taste beef I had tried.......nearly 8:00PM, we went out the lounge and took a seat in VIP audience section as there is a door between two places, where got me think box for rich men.

See! Not only did I enjoy an exciting concert, but also had good VIP service.

Company Xmas Party was again at the same place Acer Arena, there was nothing different to the previous arrangement such as 5-year and 10-year employee awards, MD end-of-year speech, singing and dancing, dinner, who is the best male and female dressing, lucky draw and etc. At the party, as usual I was still concerned about nothing than the taste of meal and never expected to win anything in the event, so I absolutely immersed the yum main course and randomly had a ear listen to who was the winner when the hot host took out of the scrip with party attendant from a box and announced it. The first one, Sony gigabyte hard drive…winner is ***! second one, Canon camera…winner is ***!third, …next…SALLY WANG! What? As the announcer uttered loudly my name, I didn’t have any response until Phil who sat to me next applauded and screamed. Is it true? I couldn’t believe it. Then asked Phil and other colleagues in the same table what I won, actually no one could tell me at all because most of us didn’t think there would be a lucky person in our table and just enjoyed the food. J No matter what it is, it is cracking amazing, amazing, amazing! Trust me, I will not miss to go to marketing team to take the prize Monday according to the host indication and will let you know what I got.

 

 

Monday arvo I was on the train, got a call from Nick Scali where I bought a 3-seat and two single sofas, and was advised that they will make delivery Thursday but they could not make it on weekend when I asked them whether it would be OK to do that. That's OK, I had no other choice. I asked them what about rough time on Thursday and then was suggested to contact with driver at Wednesday night. All right! Wednesday evening I did ring up driver cell phone several times, but no answer. The next morning I had to try again but no reach, afterwards my husband managed to call shop Nick Scali and hoped to get exact delivery time. Shop’s staff said that the driver went to Central Coast and will be back the arvo and he would be able to ring up 1-2 hour ahead of delivery. Since that, my husband decided to go to work and left home around 12:00PM, meanwhile I departed from office 12:30 PM and returned home. We reckoned we might not miss out delivery time since we hadn't got call from driver then. If the driver called me when I was on the way home, I could have 1-2 hours to go.....However I got a buzz from driver as I just jumped on the train. OMG! He was in front of my home. Geez! I told him wait half an hour, but he said he couldn't do that because he needed to hurry through to make next schedule. What goodness me! After 16 minutes communication on the phone, he insisted he couldn't wait that long time and might reschedule the next day but charge double. It was unfair! I argued with him for two points: 1. According to shop's commitment, he should have called us 1-2 hour before making delivery, but he didn't do. 2. From Wednesday to Thursday, why he didn't pick up my millions of calls. No matter what I tried to say, there was no hope to see couches Thursday and had to wait the next day and see how it goes. Subsequently we phoned Nick Scali to complain, then they let us wait their ring back after they contacted with driver. Until the end of the day, we didn’t get any call through from Nick Scali.

Anyway, we eventually got our couches this morning with that unnecessary time delay and money spending. To our lesson, we'd better have a person lock at home the whole day not absolutely believing what Nick Scali told. Heck! Saying anything is nothing.

I also want to tell you my story about bedding delivery. We bought it at Harvey Norman which is supposed to be furniture shop with good service. We purchased on 2nd Nov and it was saying 2-3 weeks delivery on the invoice. Actually, we didn't see it 3 weeks later. The end of November I had to call Harvey Norman in regards to where our stuff was and unfortunately was told the furniture will be done by the manufacturer at the first week of Dec and will be leaving from Queensland and heading for Sydney on 5th Dec. It sounded good, didn’t it?  Actually we put up with the saying by the phone answerer that delivery normally needs 5 weeks. OK, it was not unacceptable from 3 weeks postponed 5 weeks……went on waiting…. To make sure we could get the goods no later than the second week of Dec, my husband called up shop on 4th Dec to make sure the goods will be ready for being shipped out from the manufacturer on time. The answer was the furniture was on the way to Sydney. In the circumstances, we assumed we could receive the goods this week. Today, 12^th Dec, I dialled Harvey Norman and wanted to confirm delivery schedule tomorrow as we required weekend delivery. Guess what? The shop said they haven't got the furniture which was just left manufacturer 10^th Dec and on the transportation now. The insufferable thing was they said the delivery time would be 6 weeks. What the bloody hell! 5 weeks turned into 6 weeks. Then I asked them whether they will say 8 week delivery time if I call next week. Who can I believe? How dare Harvey Norman do it to us? I got stuck and extremely irritation. I don’t wanna repeat how I expressed my anger and disappointment on the phone. Mind that I have been hassling with Nick Scali and Harvey Norman recently. Okay, grabbing the person’s name who answered my call, told her I don’t wanna sleep on the mattress Xmas, otherwise I will be dying.

 

BTW, one of my friends had the similar experience with Harvey Norman that she got 3 week delay. What’s worse, her friend got 8 week delay and finally had to cancel the order. What the Harvey Norman!

I couldn't be happier when I have own apartment, away from era of renting and sharing with others. You wouldn't understand that feeling if you never experienced the change from renting to owning property. As renting, I had to be doubly cautious of making use of water and electricity not to waste a little bit in house owner’s eyes, I had to designedly buy groceries on weekend so as not to occupy too much space in the fridge, I had to collect all clothes and wash them using washing machine once a week, I had to battle with those numberless cockroaches day and night as the house owner rejected to use cockroach killer, I had to turn off TV no matter how much I like the TV show because the house owner went to sleep, I had to wait to cook until house owner finished doing......I had to pay rent to house owner every fortnight:-)

Now I can design furniture layout and change any decoration I don't like in the house. I don't worry very much if I break the door knob or attaching plug. Fridge is mine, washing machine is mine, furniture is mine, the whole room is under my name.......I can freely use kitchen at any time, I can put yum foods in the fridge as much as I can, I can wash clothes at any time. That is kind of spirit liberty and freedom, which causes inner relaxation. Although some basic furniture such as bed and sofa haven't been settled, I don't mind and started enjoying own space, like sitting at the north-facing living room and watching out tree top with full of purple flowers through the balcony, like cleaning up the room on bare feet to neatness and tidiness....on the other hand, I am opt for unsocial. I would like to run away from the office and hurry home immediately. I would rather to cage myself at home than hang out that I used to fancy. I do not hate cooking at home but alienate restaurants except still sick of that oil smoke might stain the carpet. Something certainly doesn't go on, something naturally turns up as your living environment and surrounding is changed especially possess own place indeed. You didn't expect it but it happens. I have to say it is magic.

It could be flicker of life particularly at current economic unrest, right? If you plan to buy a property, I strongly give full support and believe your life will be different and heading for happier and more peaceful if you have your own property.

In the past couple of working days I was assigned to CASHBACK team to do something like data entry. To accelerate disposal of heaps of backlog, every team has been got involved in it as BIG BOSS personally takes in charge of it. Don't think what an important thing really is and it would pretty much benefit for our business. No! It just got BIG BOSS's concern, so it upgraded to a company-level concern. The group members are from different teams and will undertake the responsibility 3 days every month since then. I am the youngest of working year in the team, so no wonder I am the person to be sent to join in.

 

What are we doing there? Our job is to check whether the documents posted by customers are correct and tick with 'yes' if it has no problem, then assumingly client's cashback claim application gets approved and will be going to be handed over to account payable to pay the customers. It sounds like pure mechanical processes without any technical requirement. Yes, it does.

 

It was a truly boring thing and drove us mad. We thought we were more like machines, keeping looking at computer screen and automatically clicking off the mouse. Could you imagine that you sit there and simply repeat an action for a few hours? After a day, I already realised that it was fairly hard to only focus on a thing the whole day without opportunity to change your mind. BTW, there were two funny things I would like to tell. One is our group got massive attention at the day because BIG BOSS's PA was working with us. She is in 50s and has been working the company over 10 years. I couldn't help laughing when I saw her with her presbyopic glasses closely watch screen and try to find where she could click, it looked cruel for her doing that. Meanwhile, BIG BOSS and some senior managers came over to look for her to ask something urgent, so she had to deal with it. What a poor woman! Another thing made me laugh. Our production refused to build machines and said they got short staff as some of them were working for Cashback. I didn't know which was more important comparing the two jobs---producing computer and Cashback. There would be no doubt to get the answer straight away by common sense, but at the moment, as if Cashback is the most vital, huh? No comment on the management decision then.