2003 年 11 月 28 日 星期五 【晴】

Fai and I with eleven other TDAs had dinner last night. It was a farewell dinner for Christy Mak. She was one of the TDAs. The lady is expected to leave Hong Kong in the early of December. I will miss her very much. It was a very good night. Fai and I paid a hundred bucks. Even though the meal was so expensive, we are willing to pay it.

I have been a supervisor of the TDAs for three months. My contract have only three or four months left. I don't know what I should be done when my contract is expired.

>>November 28, 2003 at 1:49:19 PM GMT+8

2003 年 11 月 18 日 星期二 【微冷】

I heard a very bad news yesterday. Two of my subordinates, Christy Mak and Kwong Lau, are going to quit. They are expected to leave the Christian Action by the end of this month. Thay have set their heart on pursuing their studies. I miss them.

>>November 18, 2003 at 10:41:45 AM GMT+8

2003 年 11 月 1 日 星期六 【晴】

I learnt a good news yesterday. My partner, Fai, found a job he liked eventually. God bless him. On the other hand, I have to face all the problems by myself from now on. God bless me.

>>November 1, 2003 at 9:52:11 AM GMT+8

2003 年 10 月 16 日 星期四 【晴】

New diary should be posted soon.

>>October 16, 2003 at 8:34:53 PM GMT+8

2003 年 9 月 28 日 星期日 【晴】

New diary is expected to be posted within two weeks.

>>September 28, 2003 at 9:22:27 AM GMT+8

2003 年 9 月 16 日 星期二 【綿綿細雨】

New diary should be posted within two weeks.

>>September 16, 2003 at 9:17:27 PM GMT+8

2003 年 8 月 24 日 星期日 【雨】

Every one hears what you say.
Friends listen to what you say.
Best friends listen to what you don’t say.

It has been a long time since my last diary. I regret that I am unable to keep my promise to post my diary on time. The new diary is finished. I hope all of you enjoy reading it.

Days in the finance corporation (23/6 — 4/7)
I have mentioned in my previous dairy, I was a financial consultant in a finance corporation. I worked for that finance house for more than a week. The company offered me one-week training. I learnt a lot during that week. However, I tendered my resignation on 4th July 2003. I would like to share a story about myself to all my readers.

There is a very strict pecking order in sales sector. Junior sales are expected to follow their immediate supervisor with unquestioning loyalty. The guy at the bottom of the pecking order takes shit from everybody. While I was only a small potato in the company, I had to eat humble pie for this or that.

Yuke Suen, she is also known as “Miss Suen”. She is one of the senior staff. To be perfectly honest, I dislike her because she is in the habit of putting on airs. She is hard to get along with. One night after work, all staff gathered together in a pub. All of them drank like fish. They intended to drink me under the table, but I refused to do so. No one did that before. I was the first one and the only one who refused to drink. I became an attention-getter at the moment. Everybody stared at me. Miss Suen was red with anger and chewed me out for my rudeness. At last, I left the pub with my boss permission. Everyone gave me a dirty look when I left. I came back to office the next day as usual. When I greeted Miss Suen with a smile, she gave me the cold shoulder. I could hardly put up with it anymore. Finally, I tendered my resignation on that day.

What I learnt from this event is that dignity is most important thing for a man. No one can force you to do something you don’t want to. A man's dignity depends not upon his wealth but upon his character. You could lose everything, but dignity.

Days in a Telemarketing firm (21/7—19/8)
Two weeks after leaving the finance company, I found a job in a telemarketing firm in Tsim Sha Tsui, just opposite to the Kowloon Park. I was a telemarketer again. (* I had been a telesales in Hung Hum at the beginning of this year, from 21st January 2003 through 7th February 2003.) Frankly, I don’t like that job. I was hired as a telesales after the probation. The salary is not good, but it is enough to keep body and soul together. I have a thousand bucks for fortnight. I worked for that company for almost a month.

It is a rather big firm with thirty staff at least. My supervisor called Kevin. He is a Singaporean and he often makes a fuss about trifles. Having said that, he is quite easy to get along with. He taught me a lot of sales techniques. Most importantly, he treated me quite well. On the whole, I like him.

I was responsible to promote a hotel membership. It is a four-star hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. To be perfectly honest, the hotel is notorious for its services. It is not a good hotel at all. However, I had to promote the hotel to clients. Sales always make empty promise. Every salespeople must, if he or she is to out-live rivalries, become some kind of professional cheat or hustler. Success always belongs to the Janus-like personality. I cheated my clients into joining the “VIP” club. In fact, no one treated you as a “VIP” after becoming a member.

I would like to tell a story which happened in that marketing firm. It is a story about the top sales in my team. Her name is Bonnie Ng, also know as the “Kowloon Queen”. It is because she plays the role as the leader in our team, and she did most sales in the team. Everyone likes her, so do I. She is the “Queen” of the team. She is thirty something with curly hair. One day, Bonnie was crying when she found one of her sales was cancelled by the manager, Kevin. Bonnie vowed to get to the bottom of the cancellation of the sale. Finally, she knew that the sale was done by another team. Bonnie flew off the handle when she learnt the truth. She took French leave in the afternoon and took a sick leave the next day. All staff worried about her and wonder whether she would quit. At last, Bonnie showed up a few days after. Everything seems okay. But nothing can compensate her for the loss of the sale. It is not the problem of money, but dignity. All sales should be respected even though it was just a storm in a teacup. “Sales never cheat sales”. Anyone who moves the goalposts is a prize bastard.

To tell the truth, sales are down this month. Kevin would be canned in the cards if he could no longer do more sales. On my last day, all staff tried their best to make sales, but only one sale could be made in the whole morning (That sale was done by me). We were at the end of our rope. Kevin was eventually suspended on the same day which I tendered my resignation. On the same day, an Indian woman replaced Kevin as the new supervisor of our team. The new manager treats me kindly, but it seems to me that she is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Boss is always blowing hot and cold. She would fly into a rage at the drop of a hat. Nobody likes her. She is riding high now, but I think this won’t be long. When a salesman left his position, no one would follow his job. The favorite game in telesales sector is passing the bucks. Everybody refers you to somebody else. Complaints may be made by clients. What I left behind after my resignation was just a can of worms.

Oasis (31/7)
Oasis Wong rang me up on 31st July 2003. Oasis is a lady who is nice and smart. We first met in the HKBU. She is one of smartest women who I have ever seen. She is going to leave Hong Kong. I miss her.

Hong Kong Book Fair 2003 (3/8)
On 3rd August 2003, John Shek, Alan Lo and I went to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai attending the Hong Kong Book Fair 2003. After the breakfast at McDonald in Fu Shin Estate, we took the Bus no. 271 to go to Tsim Sha Tsui, and then took the MTR for Wan Chai.

This book fair was held once a year. This is my twelve times to attend the book fair. We hung around the exhibition centre for about six hours, from eleven to five. The book fair was held in the dog days of summer. Many exhibitors gave discount of 20% to 40% for most of the books, especially those slow-selling books. A chance like this is only once on a blue moon. I spent money like water. I totally spent over seven hundred bucks for buying books while I could only earn a thousand dollars within two weeks. With me, it’s easy come, easy go. I bought one religious book, one economic book, one detective book, three English books, and five history books.

When Telesales met Telesales … … (15/8)
A telesales who promoted magazines phoned me in the afternoon. As I was a telesales, I do know that all telesales are full of bull. I know every back-alley. She tried to cheat me, but she failed. On the other hand, my heart went out to her and all the telesales as well. They all worked hard but only have low wages. All I can do is to give her some nominations. Hope she made some sales.

Hamsters (16/8)
Last Saturday I bought two hamsters from a pet store in Tai Po Centre. It has been a long time since I reared pet. I decided to rear hamsters at first sight. Long time ago, I reared two squirrels. One of them escaped from the cage, another one was released. I spent a hundred and thirty dollars something to buy two hamsters, a cage, a pack of grain, a pack of woodchips, a drinking bottle, whatnot.

I think hamster is one of the most lovely pets in the world. Most Hong Kong people like hamsters because they are easy to rear. Most importantly, it is cheap. One hamster could only cost you a few bucks to thirty bucks something. They can be picked up on your hands. One day, when I cleaned up the cage, one of the hamsters was pissing on my hand. What a lovely pet!

Supper with Connie Yeung and Jimmy Law (19/8)
I had a supper with two of my best friends, Connie and Jimmy. It is second time we have dinner together this year. They are going to leave Hong Kong in a couple of weeks. I will miss them.

Coming back to the Hong Kong Central Library (21/8)
I paid a visit to the Hong Kong Central Library in Causeway Bay on 21st August. I met all my ex-colleagues, including Arvin Cheng, Eliza Kwan, May Wong, Paul Yu, Ricky Yu, Thomas Lai, Vivian Kan and so on. I did not meet Alice Kwok while she is away on holiday this week. For all I know, the library staff got an across-the-board pay cut. They are planning to organize a union in order to represent their labour right.
But I think the plan is hard to come truth.

A New Job (Start from 22/8)
The 18th August 2003 is a red-letter day for me because I was informed to be hired by the Christian Action. I am no longer a salesman, but a youth worker. It is a well-paid job but the contract just lasted for half a year. The project is new and temporary in nature, and so we have to start from scratch. The job suits me to a T. It is really a fat job.

On 22nd August 2003, all new staff have a briefing in Sheung Shui. I am one of them. At the briefing, I met Lok Tang and Fai Lau. We were acquainted with each other. They are both fresh graduates from university. After the briefing, we had lunch at KFC in Sheung Shui. We are on good terms with each other.

Long chat with Ricky (22/8)
The day before yesterday Ricky Yu and I had our tea at Delifrance in Tai Po Centre. I like drinking coffee in that café. The coffee is good to the last drop. I spent the whole afternoon with Ricky (from three through eight in the afternoon). He looked blue. I shared my experience with him and what I had done after leaving the library. We talked about jobs, career, family and so on. We share the same likes and dislikes. He spilled his guts to me. He was afraid that he might lose his job. I tried to comfort him. But, I could give him no comfort. After the meal, we hung about the Tai Po Mega Mall.


>>August 24, 2003 at 4:04:05 PM GMT+8

2003 年 8 月 1 日 星期五 【晴】

The new diary is supposed to be posted in a week.

>>August 1, 2003 at 7:47:56 PM GMT+8

2003 年 6 月 30 日 星期一 【晴】

On Tuesday 10th June 2003, I had my lunch with a few cronies, including Arvin Cheng, May Wong and Ricky Yu. We had a nice time in the Nam Fung Kwok Restaurant in Tai Po Mega Mall. The meal lasted for four hours, from two to six in the afternoon. We were chatting away nineteen to the dozen. It was a wonderful meal. We were all filled to the gills. Ricky picked up the check. After the meal, Arvin left us. Being at a loose end, we spent about an hour hanging around the Jusco in the Tai Po Mega Mall.

Steve Kwan was one of my ex-colleagues in the Central Library. Steve is a regular guy that I have ever met. I would like to introduce this guy to all my readers. Steve was only a freshman when I had already prepared to quit. He is not my ace buddy, just arm's-length relationship. Someone may think he had an attitude problem. Steve did some off the wall things when he was on duty. Somebody may think he is always making all kinds of trouble. What's more, his remarks sometimes seemed flat-out ridiculous. But I don't think so. To do his justice, some of his comments really hold water. His remarks always hit the nail on the head. Steve and I are always on the same wavelength on most matters. Even though he got the sack, I still stand by him.

I caught a flick by myself in the UA Shatin on the day before yesterday. The film “Incredible Hulk” is one of my most favorable movies following the “Spiderman” and the “Daredevil”. I have longed to this movie. This film was worth watching. It lasted for two hours and eighteen minutes, and it just cost $40. Sometimes I have to go to a movie to get it out. I prefer Hollywood movies to local films. The standard and shooting techniques of the Western are far more advanced. All marvel movies, especially the “Incredible Hulk”, are my hands-down choices.

After watching the movie, I rushed to a seminar, entitled “French Food Culture”, in the Hong Kong Museum of History. I made it at three o'clock on the nose. However, I could not attend the talk because I was late and the seminar was full. I was absolutely bummed. I have longed for this lecture for a month. But I was not allowed to enter the lecture room. After grabbing some lunch in the restaurant of the Museum, I paid a visit to the Star House Book Centre of the Commercial Press, and then spent half an hour in the HMV in Tsim Sha Tsui. Finally, I was on my way home before night fell.

I am used to go around alone when I was free. While I was looking around a bookstore in Shatin (after watching the film), I came across a book which I have yearned for, entitled “Yes, prime minister”. At that moment, I really wanted to take it. But come to think of it, I put it down. The book is worth HK$150. This book is worth reading, but it cost an arm and a leg.

I am now a junior financial consultant in a finance corporation in the Central Plaza of Wan Chai. It sounds great to become a “consultant”, but it is not so good as people think. The salary seems attractive, six thousand dollars a month plus commission, but I don't want this fast buck. Some people regard that it is a cushy job, it is not the case.

My boss taught me a lot of things about investment and the financial sector, all that jazz. But I could not care less. When it comes to finance, I am all thumbs. It is not at my finger's tips. I am still getting my feet wet.

The boss understood me I am not the best bet for the position and this is as plain as the nose on my face. Whatever, the company took on me at once after the job interview. Telemarketing, real estate, insurance and financial house, all these kinds of company are suffering from a continual brain drain. They have a very high turnover of staff because of tough work and long working hours. Some financial consultants worked their fingers to the bone in order to get more clients. They worked around the clock in order to fulfil the quota. Frankly speaking, I hated the job right off the bat. I am just a clock-watcher in the company.

The boss is so buddy-buddy with the new staff. It is a unique characteristic of the sales sector. The staff tried their best to butter up their superior in order to secure their job. I am not accustomed to kiss up my boss. Most of staff are too cocky. Their arrogance really turned me off. The working environment is absolutely driving me up the wall. For one thing, my boss asked me using the gel. That is only a banana problem for most people, but it is a great big problem for me. I never even combed my hair out, much less using the gel. I felt like an endangered species in the company. I felt I did not belong among those people. I don’t know why, it just a feeling in the bones. By the look of it I am going to quit the job before long. It is only the problem of time. Someone may regard that I am just jumping off the deep end if I quit the job so easy. In addition, most people believe me I am a pessimist. But in fact, I am a card-carrying happy-go-lucky fellow.

I know nothing of the salesmen except one thing, they are all chain smokers. I wish they could cut out smoking. Many salespersons have stars in their eyes, thinking that they will one day become rich. In fact, they just wait till the cows come home. Every salesman always look out for number one. Most of them are cold fish. They like to shoot off their mouths about their telephone number salary. In reality, it is difficult to make both ends meet. They are always asking for the moon.

In my book, all salespeople are swindlers. They are full of hot air. The financial consultants always tried to put one over their clients. I will never listen to such a fork-tongued fellow. Many people got clipped in financial market. Most lambs lost a lot of money in the stock exchange. Some investors lost their shirts overnight. It goes without saying that I don’t like being either a salesman or a financial consultant.


>>July 1, 2003 at 2:11:09 PM GMT+8

2003 年 6 月 6 日 星期五 【陰】

Today is the longest day for someone. Today is indeed the most memorable day for anyone who lived through World War Two. Fifty-nine years ago, a band of brothers landed in a beach of Normandy. Many paratroopers died in this battle. They saved the world at the cost of their lives. Those daredevils all fought for peace. They made it finally. I look up to all the soldiers who took part in the Second World War. The battle dated back to 6 June 1944. Today is the longest day for everyone.

On the forth Saturday of May, Jimmy Law, one of my best friends, called at my apartment. I laid out all my cherished stuff, including books, jigsaw puzzles, VCDs, CDs and VHS, etc. I was only too glad to share my favourite belongings to my confidant. Jimmy was the first one who saw all my assets. And, he may be the last one who I can share with.

On the last day of May, I attended a seminar held by the Hong Kong Museum of History. The lecture entitled “French Delight”. I attended the seminar out of curiosity. The speaker gave a brief picture on the French lifestyle and culture. The talk was quite good, not to say perfect. In comparison with the previous seminar that I had attended, I think this seminar was worth attending.

I hammered out a quiz, “Friend Test”, the other day. The quiz that I decided was to test how well do my friends know me. Connie Yeung was the second person who took the quiz. She got the highest mark among all the participants. It seems to me that she is the one who know me best, even though she only got 40 marks. Arvin Cheng was another participant who scored the highest marks on the test. He may be another one who knows me best. However, no one score well on the quiz. Although nobody “passed” the test, I thank all my friends who participated in this game.

Nevertheless, I think the “Friend Test” is unable to evaluate how well do my friends know me. Did higher the marks, more you know someone? Did anyone who scored the highest marks know someone best? It may not be the case. I don’t think we can judge a person by quantitative method. Linda Lau was the first one who sat for the test. A nice young woman I acquainted with her in the Rotaract Club. I think she is the one who know me best, even though she only got a low score on the quiz. Though she only scored twenty marks, she answered the last two questions correctly. The last question is the most difficult one among others. Frankly speaking, all questions are difficult to answer. It is because the options that I provided are so closed. It is hard to make a correct choice. Most of my friends were trapped. No wonder many participants failed to answer the questions correctly.

I like the "Friends" very much. It is one of my most favourite series drama. I made believe that I was one of the leading characters in this situation comedy, such as Ross or Joey. I think I am as silly as Ross or Joey. But, "Ally McBeal" is my most favourite TV serial. I like the character of Ally McBeal very much. Maybe I can share my views on those TV serial next time.


>>June 7, 2003 at 12:58:04 AM GMT+8