pics and work.

Today i uncovered more treasures from the past. unpacking stuff which was packed without looking through it, i found my kindergarten class photo! i wasnt very close to any of my kinder classmates though i remember vaguely playing with a few. the boys just didnt mix with the girls
yet when i saw the class photo, a number of names just came to my mind. some of them like alvin, neythan, maureen, i could match to their faces with much certainty. some when i see the face, the name just pops up but without a clue of certainty. like for this big girl called Ing Ing (what a lame name), that name came to mind when i saw her, but i thought, must have confused with another big girl classmate in p3 called Yin Yin. and when i look at the whole class, more names come up but i just cant match them to the faces. some of their faces ring a bell but no clue to their name.

Well but then for those names i remembered and matched, they all turned out to be correct, including all the uncertain ones! So it seems as a small kid when i was hardly able to store info, these things like names (even for those ppl i hardly had contact with) are being recorded and stored vaguely in the corner of my mind long term, and can still be ignited so many years later. so exposure and influence on a toddler is very important...
Oh and i also found out Tisha and Sarah Ho were in my class! that i never knew till now!

I have so far worked 2 shifts at Sushi Tei, and somehow i seem to be quite happy with the job. happier than i was with my previous waitering job at The Wharf. comparing the 2 jobs:

Wharf advantages:
Wharf provided dinner before the shifts and supper after. good food that is also offered to the customers. wharf pays $1 more per hour, thats comparing their salary then to ST's now. doesnt even give consideration for inflation...
better scenery - can see the sea and some boats.
western restaurant, easier names, less procedures.

Wharf disadvantages:
further and less accessible.. but that didnt really matter.
only can work fixed shifts 6 to 10 on fri to sun.
the uniform was ugly. blue shirt with white shorts, yuck.

Sushi tei advantages:
got 3 ex clasmates working there as well, got chance to work with them.
aircon! it really helps at times.
when i work the night shift, there may be leftover sushi which would be given to the staff! these food sure beats the supper given at the wharf.
warm and friendly supervisors, and a really nice manager.
a better sense of camaraderie between the staff, cos there are more roles and tasks, so more interdependence and collaboration.
we are allowed free flow of green tea.. wharf only gives water. oh but just by stuffing myself with green tea, i was able to eat only 4 biscuits at 5+ and not go hungry for the whole shift.
we are able to choose when we wanna come for work. we can choose our shift timing and even the days to work. very flexible, just need to give 1 week notice of schedule.
$2ph more on weekends, but only for non-trainee staff.
more staff to tables ratio, though we are not necessarily less busy.


sushi tei disadvantages:
no dinner provided, expects us to have very early lunch or dinner and see food for the next 4 hours but cant eat it...
we need to take care of, bring back and wash our own set of uniform! so cheapskate.
pathetic pay... lower than most restaurants. plus this is a higher class restaurant sumore...
complicated names, more procedures, more variety of menu (disadvantage for us), more formal requirements (like in dressing)
most of my colleagues speak chinese. very few can speak fluent english.
small cramped restaurant space.. can get very annoying.

i look at it and wonder what so nice about it.. well i really dont know. its like im busy and may be tiring, but its not stressful. i would say the nice supervisors and manager really contributed alot to reducing the stress. like im not so scared of getting scolded if i make a mistake. they also probably not deal with me so harshly. the flexible schedule also saves me a lot of worry if i will be able to make it, and i can reserve time for other activities and plan ahead. the experience, company and the sense of fulfilment i may get would totally override the low pay. so yeah, i guess i would wanna continue on this job as long as i dont get too busy with other stuff. that would be probably when my new term starts. oh, i dread going back to school...