Is it time for a mutiny? I know I have been complaining about my work for as long as Denamania was created but alas, obviously, the problem does not lie with me alone. The tension has been brewing increasingly over these few days, or shall I say ever since I came back from Ex Orion...

Well first of all, one of the CSOs has been asked to take unpaid leave (more of like a suspension) till end Dec, so the remaining staff will have to clear her long list of backlog (which is the cause of her suspension) as well as taking over her duties...

Then, there is this overall incompetency of the management... Its being like 6 months since the re-org but there has been no deliverables, we are the biggest branch in the whole organisation and boasts the most number of staff but things are still not moving the way it should. Job scopes are unclear and people are being piled with work and more work, so much so that none can afford to go on long leave, reason being that whoever is supposed to be covering duties will simply die of work overload... Take for example, Auntie Leng Leng who was covering my duties during my reservist, has to work an average of 12 to 13 hours daily, and she has to work from home even on Saturdays and Sundays...

And there has been speculations that some of us are gonna leave after the bonus, with or without a job (yes, its that bad), and as I had mentioned earlier, the duties will just be piled on those who are left, and with the financial year-end fast approaching (and that translate to super peak period for us), its no wonder everyone is feeling extremely demoralised, not just the support staff but some of the accountants as well, it will take just one resignation from the branch to spark off the domino effect and no, I'm NOT exaggerating here...

I guess the final straw came yesterday when our manager (for those who had been reading my blogs, you would have already known that he is the most hated human being in the office, besides the Dowager) openly berated some of the older aunties over something quite minor during our branch meeting. I mean so what if you are the manager, at least show some respect to your elders, man... Excerpt of what went on during yesterday's meeting (may not be the exact words but the gist is there):

Manager: So you see, this staff has been totally uncooperative and irrespponsible, so all of you
please help to clear the backlog by this Friday and lets move on. Its enough to deal with
one such staff and I hope there won't be any repeats.
Also, I want to stress that if ever the management passed down some instructions,
please just go and do ok? If you want the rationale why we want you to do it, we'll
tell you later but don't make me supervise you over things like shifting boxes can?
I would rather spend time on something more productive, so don't make me say more
than once hor.

It was at this point that he asked if one of the aunties had taught the other some procedures. As can be expected, the poor auntie had forgotten. And so, came the next round of belittlement:

Manager: So just how long are you going to take to pass over the duties? Is it so difficult to just
teach? Can do it by today?
Poor auntie: *Nods timidly*
Manager: Good. *turns to face one accountant* Can you ensure that she goes teach whatever by end of today?

What the fuck is that for? If you ask me, that is totally uncalled for. Sure, its absolutely witin the manager's right to reprimand staff for not performing well, but shouldn't it be done behind closed doors rather than in front of everyone? How could anyone has such low EQ?

Its really interesting if there is really gonna be a mass resignation in Jan after the bonus =)

These are some common used office phrases but little do people know what they really mean:

1)For your information. (FYI) - - I don't know what to do with this, so please keep it.
2) For your action. (FYA)-- - I don't know what to do with this, so I'm passing this shit to you.
3) Noted and returned. -- - I don't know what to do with this, so please keep it for a little while.
4) Review and comment. --- Do the dirty work so that I can forward it and sign off with my
name.
5) Action please . -- - Get yourself involved. Don 't worry, I'll claim the credit.
6) For your necessary action. --- It's your headache now. Woohoo!!!
7) CC to -- - Here's a share of the headache.
8) BCC to -- - I'm telling someone important that I'm working and sharing the headache with
you.
9) For your approval, please. -- - Put your neck on the chopping board for me please. :D
10) Action is being taken and will revert in due time. -- - I lost your correspondence and still
trying to locate it. I'm busy! Bother me next week!!!
11) Please discuss. - - I don't know what this is all about. So please brief me.
12) For your immediate action. -- - Do it NOW! Or we'll all get into trouble!!!
13) Please reply soon. -- - Please be efficient. It makes me look inefficient because of you!
14) I am investigating/ processing your request with the relevant departments. -- - They are
causing the delay, not me! (Eyes open big big, innocent look)
15) Thanks & Regards. -- - Thanks for reading all this bullshit .....

Its being like 3 weeks since my last RO session. It feels really good to hear the members shouting my name the moment I stepped into the hall... Seems like I have been missed... hahah

Actually wanna do boccee with them but the rainy weather made outdoor activities impossible. Ended up having a telematch instead but they seem to like it all the same...

The gang had dinner at Carlton's after that, followed by the regular bowling session at Kim Seng. Too tired to join them for the practice so hitched a ride back with Peter after dinner.

The thought of going back office tomorrow really puts me off. After a 3 week's break, it's back to boring work again =(

Anyone miss me yet???

Finally back from my 5th in camp training... Actually I'm not supposed to blog about my overseas training but heck... almost everyone knows where the SAF trains when they send troops overseas anyway, so I guess as long as I dun give too much details, I shld be fine bah...

So anyways... First of all, I prefer the climate from down under...Its not as humid so basically we dun really perspire, unlike here... Its supposed to be summer now so the day is hotter than here, 35deg in the day but the temp dropped drastically during the nite, Umm... out in the wilds anyway. It was said that the temp was around 9deg during one of our nite missions and it sure was freaking cold!

The trainin wise was damn siong... more so than while I was serving out my NS... My mates were all cursing and swearing... The toughest was a 6 day 5 night mission out in the fields, surviving only on combat rations and having to walk through the night on full battle order for 16km before attacking our objective... Thats like twice of what we went thru during NSF... Has the freaking SAF forgot that we are now uncles approaching our 30s soon and not young 18 yr olds anymore??? The brigade commander gave us crap like since we are the first Guards battalion to achieve RECON1 status during ATEC, so that's why everyone is having high expectations on us and wanna see wat we are made of...EXCUSE ME... we are part time soldiers ok???

Speaking of which, its kinda cool seeing my mates annually during in-camps and exchanging news of how each has been doing during the past year... And its amusing to see how some of their waist line keeps increasing as they get older... Think I'm among one of those very few who's still maintaing our physique... hahah

The R&R was boring... we were supposed to be in this small town over the weekend before the flight back to Singapore, and it was damn boring... We reached the town (not supposed to reveal the name wor) on Saturday evening for dinner and then its free and easy... But the stores were already closed after 5pm so there's practically nothing for us to do... In the end, the whole battalion went clubbing... The clubs were pretty slow as well... The only cool thing is that they ban smoking inside the clubs, so breathing is made easier... Can't wait for Singapore to implement this... Booze is dirt cheap so basically, we were boozing whenever we were not in the fields for training.

So we went to this strip club where there's pole dancing and if you pay $20, the dancers will perform a 2 min strip tease on you (and thats in the public area in the club, so actually its a free for all, although the one paying will get a closer view, dats all) , but its strictly can see cannot touch, there's a $75 package, where the dancer will dance for the paying patron in a private room for 15min, inclusive of 'controlled touching', watever dat means... hahah I know what you ppl are thinking but nope, I din opt for dat... its all for clean fun, hahah ... the dancers were very 'professional', unlike certain massage parlours back here... Anyway, it gets boring after a while cuz its the same routine, juz different dancers... So we ended up club hopping but surprising, none of us really got drunk, muz be due to al the drinking we've had...

Sunday was really boring... The whole town's dead... it's like Chinese New Year back here... We ended up in a club house (like those soccer clubs here) with nothing except a cafe, a bar counter and lotsa jackpot machines... We were there for like 6 hours before heading to the airport for our filght back home...

We took lotsa pix but due to the sensitivity, not all can be posted, so I'll load some once I go thru them