All this while I wanted to write something here about Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur and originally planned to write about my traning days(yeah it was way back then haha) but due to coming home practically a zombie I find it a bit difficult to conjure up something meaningful. Hmmm maybe it's also just because I was too lazy to write haha.
Five months had passed and a lot had happened. Plans had changed and here I am now, sadly I wont be able to grace that very establishment anymore. I will now focus my attention to hopefully complete a Masters degree and ultimately be a lecturer. However I feel that a proper goodbye is in order and therefore I summoned my "rajin" self to finally write a piece about the hotel. In a way this is my very own tribute to a place that i can truly say that it was my home away from home. I was so attached that I had my very own favourite toilet haha Toilet number four hahaha
Five months had passed and a lot had happened. Plans had changed and here I am now, sadly I wont be able to grace that very establishment anymore. I will now focus my attention to hopefully complete a Masters degree and ultimately be a lecturer. However I feel that a proper goodbye is in order and therefore I summoned my "rajin" self to finally write a piece about the hotel. In a way this is my very own tribute to a place that i can truly say that it was my home away from home. I was so attached that I had my very own favourite toilet haha Toilet number four hahaha
****
During my tenure at Traders, I had two status. First I was the "Trainee who everyone thought was a Permanent" and then I was the "Permanent who everyone thought was still a Trainee" haha So yeah I was a confused fella haha. Maybe it's the look haha as one guest told me when I told her that people usually say I look older, "Nah, East you don't look old..You just have that sophisticated look, that matured look" haha well A fresh graduate with a sophisticated look i guess maybe that was the cause for the whole confusion haha
I am grateful to have met a lot of different and unique characters during my time at Traders. Met new acquaintances and made many more friends. When I came back after a months worth of holiday, the moment that I step one foot on the compound of the building, I was instantaneously swept by a a sense of belonging. It really felt like I was back at my hometown after years in the city(figure of speech k haha). Hahah well I can't help being all sentimental. Imagine as you walked and someone shouted "Weh Is aku rindu kau"(not in a creepy way k haha). To be acknowledge is a great feeling so yeah I was ecstatic to be back with my friends, my family. Owh If your wondering who was that chap who missed me a lot and surprisingly he misses me a lot of times because he'll usually say that to me haha Well he's the person who has three unique names but people know him by another name, he's none other than Mr Yogi haha
Talking about making friends at Traders, try and guess who were the 1st few friends that I truly connected with. Nope it wasn't the FO staff neither was it the F&B staff. They were none other than the security personnel haha Min, Man, Chaudry, Full, Bed and occasionally Charles. During my 1st month of training, they were the ones that kept me company because i was stationed near them. Answering and attending to any of my queries and doubts. I'm not saying that the FO staffs weren't of any help at all. They do take some time to talk to me once in awhile but at the same time I understand that they're really busy with their work. I mean the hotel business is always run in a really fast pace. So yeah no biggie I understood the situation. Although that's the case, I do enjoy listening to all the seniors advice especially from Fahim. Somehow, underneath that playfull and cheery exterior, I do believe that he is a great senior because of all the advice that he is willing to give to the more junior staff but mostly to the female junior staff la hahhaa no la kidding.
Well back to talking about security, I'm actually feeling a bit sad because I won't be able to be there for Min's farewell. Min was the first person that I proudly treated as my 'brother' haha He just got that friendly personality but sometimes its hard to understand him because he speaks too fast hahah You could always depend on him being there to help you no matter who you are. I remembered one time, I lost my socks after Friday prayers. Apparently someone liked them so much that they might as well take them hahaha no la most probably it was an accident. Well anyways..When I got back to the hotel, I was thinking.."AIYA how la to work without socks". Then I saw Min and I told him what had happened. So I asked him whether Housekeeping got any black socks that I could borrow. Without any hesitation he said that I could borrow his extra socks haha What a life saver. Sigh I never got to repay his favour. So yeah, next time you come back to Malaysia bring your wife la and I'll treat you guys dinner haha
****
Once I was asked, "why did you choose the hotel industry?" I duly answered each and every time that it was because that I liked the idea of making people happy and also by the fact that I get the chance to meet unique and different characters. With each answer I was referring to the external customers i.e. the guest of the hotel but as I spent more time in Traders I come to notice that..Hey there are some weird characters internally as well hahaha and by weird I meant that in a good way ok haha.
So yeah if you haven't guessed it already, in the next section we will delve deep into the profiles of these weird characters hahaha Well I guess I'll start with the most hyper I suppose haha so yes that means you Maxine hahah
Maxine was the very first face that I remembered when I entered the HR office for my interview haha I still remembered it very clearly and initially I really thought that she was Yvonne and that I'll be having the interview with her haha. She had that annoyed look on her face most probably through the built up stress that she normally gets(she probably didn't know that she'll get more when I'm with her haha) and the same time she had the "who-are-you-suppose-to-be" stare haha I found out later on that she wasn't the "bengis" type haha and apparently she's the hyper type-far from what I've imagined hahaha She is one of the people at the hotel that I truly salute and respect. She has tons of patience when dealing with the staff, an attribute that is needed in her position. I managed to give her a real headache when I was there haha asking her all kind of questions about the system, about the hotel's procedure, anything that I could think of because I was really interested in learning more and to better myself. Being the great person that she is she provided me with great knowledge and humor too, mostly was laughing because of her clumsiness la and also those funny sounds that she tends to make in any given situation hahaha She really did inspire me to be a trainer/lecturer. Thank you
When I resigned, my thoughts were really directed to her because somehow I've grown accustommed to her presence that I've become close. To me she was really like a sister and her feelings mattered just as a family member's feeling did mattered. I felt that I've really let her down in one way or the other. After all the time that she spent in nurturing me to become a good hotelier but I'm really sorry that things didn't turn out to be more favourable. I'm Sorry.
Next I'd like to thank Ian for being my very first buddy there in Traders. Although he was then a senior of just three months, he was a great senior. He gave me a great experience of being left alone to face the guest all by myself and he also dumped all of his work to me like a great senior hahahah no la. Ian was a great buddy. He stood by me until he saw that I was capable enough to face the guest all by myself and he was patient enough to indulge in answering all of my questions haha. He went through a lot of changes since then. Being transferred around and finally settled in a spot that I saw him doing well in. Although there's a ton of stress that comes with job but I can honestly say that he has that natural ability to brush it of at the end of the day. I'm sure he'll do great there. Thank you
Now we come to my very first boss, well my supervisor la haha. Mr Keane Lai. The first time I met him was at the Front Office Back Office. I forgot whether it was for a tour or something else but all I can remember is him being scolded by the security and was told to move his car hahaha At that time I was not aware that he would be my supervisor so I just laughed it off(inside of course haha). He was one of the many colleagues that helped me to feel more at home there at the hotel. He showed to me that you don't really need to be to stressed out whena t work or else you'll die young hahah He also 'helped' in getting me to know more about the OPMS that the hotel used by giving me tons of his job to me hahahhaha no la kidding-kidding. Thank you
Then its the other Tai Ko at the back office, Mr Darrel Hor. My first impression of him was, "Fuyoh such gangster looking fella is a Service Leader" hahaha He was you know but I come to know that was just on the outside. Never would you see him explode err make it seldom haha because I just remembered the other day when he exploded like an atomic bomb hahaha Ahem..Anyways~
Darrel Notes(for old times sake)
-------------
- Prefer to be called Darrel not boss and likes to eat banana. FORaja/301109
- Has a secret affair with Ian although he would vehemently deny it every time. FORaja/301109
Haha jokes aside, I spent one month helping(don't know if helped meuch haha) Mr Darrel(on purpose) with his work which to me seemed never ending. Naturally, I saw it fit to help him with the best of my ability because prior to the one month stint, through my observation -yes ladies and gentleman I did use my eyes and observe stuff haha- he was one of the good people at Traders. Good in the sense that, whenever it's possible he'll lend a helping hand to anyone who needs it. After a whole lot of sacastic remarks and "I'm-going-to-kill-you-stares" la..Hmmmm or was it just only directed to me..Anyone?? haha He's a great guy and he's would be a great manager. Goodluck Darrel and try not to sound like a kid when people contact you through your dect phone hahaha Thank you
Now, on to the team that made me enjoy life as a hotelier, well two of the team. The Concierge and the Traders Club. I've enjoyed myself the most when I was at both places due to the ammount of interactions one can get with the guest. I know that most people would most often than not pray that they don't have to deal with any guest or customer in their line of work. Their fears hightened with every word that comes out of the guest mouth and ultimately fearing the responsibility placed upon them with every guest request. To be honest, I was one of those people once and coming from an introverted background it was even nightmare for me haha We tend to create a mental picture of what would happen and at the end we will be fearing fear itself. It's like one of the motivational posters in one of the training rooms in Traders, the greatest mistake you can make in life is continually fearing that you will make one.
So yeah, I took it as a challenge and slowly, I began to enjoy having that space in time to converse with the guest and sometimes I feel that it was too short haha. You do sometimes feel like a tourist yorself when you delve into their own culture. Cultural exchange I guess haha. To know that you can help to make someone's day is very rewarding. Whether its by helping to give recommendations or even simply by cheering up the guest. I remember one time, I was having a conversation with a guest talking about the Petronas Towers and the KL Towers. Nearing the end of the conversation I asked him where to next as it was their last day in Kuala Lumpur. Kota Kinabalu being their next destination I asked him, "So are you planning to conquer Mount Kinabalu?". He duly said yes, thats part of the plan and carried on to ask me on the degree of difficulty of the hike. You see the thing is I've never even ever set foot in Sabah so yeah I was clueless but at the spur of the moment I simply said to him, "For a person as fit as you it surely wouldn't be a problem" and he immediately smiled from ear to ear and thank me formaking his day haha. To me, these were the special moments that I cherish during my time at the hotel.
Guest aside, the Concierge crew and the Traders Club crew really made me feel at home. Because somehow I do feel a strong sense of camaraderie whilst I was working there. These were the places that you need to have a great teamwork and where selflessness really matters because you need each other to support each other's back. It was also a very fun place for me. I've really enjoyed the company off all the staff there. Lets proceed in listing them in detail shall we haha. When I think of concierge one person stands out from the rest, its none other than the very talented Mr Fizzy Ezwan haha To me he was really made for the concierge position because of his bubbly character. He can always make me laugh with his "tidak tanya pun" and his general ability to make all the people around him feel at ease. Having saying that, fun and work is two different thing and he's good at both. When it comes to work he'll be one of the top performers. When I first came to concierge and wanted to buddy up with him, I was expecting him to be lax in his work ethics but I was suprised at the seriousness that he applied in making sure that he is doing a good job-with the occasional jokes of course haha Thank you
Next up is Mr Iskandar(the more huggable and cuter one) and Mr Yogi. The thing that both of them have in common is that they are both great seniors and that they will always find time to help the juniors in any way possible. I am greatful to have them as my seniors and to be able to ask them if there were any confusions. Haha talking about Iskandar, I still remember there was once a group of guest wanted to see me before they checked out but at that time I was on the afternoon shift so I wasn't there. So they asked at the Concierge counter to see "Iskandar" so the concierge called the other Iskandar. When he came to the group they said, "Not this one, the taller one" hahah Sorry Is. That's why I decided to use the name East there at Traders so that there wont be any more confusions haha Thank you
Owh ya there's one more event at Concierge that is worth sharing. I was at the concierge helping out as usual when I heard the news, at that very time a trainee had messed up doing one of the concierge task. Later on I was asked to help them. I asked Ben(one of the Service Leader) "Are you sure you want me to go? Not they said that trainees are not allowed anymore??" Then he just said that if its me then its ok haha they used to joke that I was the experienced trainee haha The thing that I want to share here is that in life there is a need for acknowledgement from the persons around you. It doesn't matter if he is your colleague, your boss or your employee. A little acknowledgement of their work wont do them any harm, infact it even may increase their job satisfactory which can lead to higher job efficiency hahah Kinda like Im writing one of my degree's essays hahha but it is really true so Thank you Ben.
It's no secret that Service Centre was the last place in my mind when I was to be posted and I'm sure you guys can see by the reaction and generally the condition of my face when I got the news that I was to be in Service Centre haha I was like OWH EM GEE(shout out to Samson haha). One thing that I need to clear up though. It's not that I dislike the place but its just that all my life I don't really like the telephone hahah I really prefer communicating to the person face to face. The first two days really stressed me a lot, I was like sweating, mistakenly pressing this and that..well you get the picture haha but I can truly say that the crew made it less stressful for me. Especially when I was with Liz, WeiWei and Xuan. Liz with helped by being cool and ever calm in handling any situation which brought me confidence too. WeiWei and Xuan helped by well being their crazy self haha By being wacky and crazy all the time made me feel that you can have fun too and that don't be so uptight hahah. Not to say that the rest did not help in making it less stressful but these three people made me think to myself, "Hey, it's not really that bad, just got to get use to it". Owh ya how can I forget my buddy at Service Centre, Ms Candice. I would like to say osrry because you need to bear with all of my repetitive questions haha and also sorry for sometimes being stubborn hahaha. Thank you
How can I talk about Service Centre without even mentioning their Tai Ka Jie Ms Diana Pang hahaha. The first time I met her was during my first orientation(first because I had two of them haha). She was handling one of the session. Ah yes the Tribe X story session. During that time I was totally oblivious to her ferocious nature hahahaha kidding-kidding. People tend to think that she would always eat anyone who works with her. I still remember when I was posted to her in Service Centre, my heart was going 100 beats per second hahaha To me its not that she likes to find faults in others each and everytime but it is the fact that she believes in everyone and that they can achieve even more with the extra effort. After being with her for a few days, my heart slowly beated at a regular healthy pace and I saw her face changed from being ferocious to a more cute and adorable Ms Pang hahaha I was at ease with her till the point that I can joke and tease her(which comes with a slap from her la haha) Ah~ yeah those were the days. BOSS!! THANK YOU FOR NOT SCOLDING TOO MUCH!!! hahah Thank you.
Another person that's worth mentioning is the General Manager, Mr Richard Cooke. The very first encounter that I had with Mr Cooke was quite err well awkward I guess haha I was on my way back to my training when I saw a Caucasian figure walking through the corridor. Not recognizing who he was I just flicked a smile to him and the same time a friend of mine acknowledged him and had small talks with him. Afterwards when I caught up with the friend, I asked him who was the person and apparently he's the new General Manager haha The thing is prior to me getting employed, the General Manager was Mr Brea. So yeah I was unaware of the change and it caught me off guard haha I always believe that a person can never demand respect but a person can command respect. Meaning respect is always earned and it is always mutual. The thing that made me start to respect him was during he's first introductory speech to the new intakes. No, it wasn't the fact that he is passionate about Arsenal that he spoke of the club as his religion haha it was these few words, "I do not like to swear and people who swear". I've always respect a man who sticks to his priciple no matter what(Even though he's an Arsenal fan haha)
Another awkward/funny encounter that I had was during one of my breaks. I went in TJ's(Traderian Joint/Cafeteria) just as usual and my eyes were solely piqued at the buffet line. Slowly digesting with my eyes the days meal one by one. As I neared the noodle and pastries section, my attention was suddenly derailed by a figure manning the waffle thing-a-ma-jig(I don't know what its called haha). I thought to myself, "Hmmmm since when do we have a giant of a man as a chef and caucasian too??" hahaha Yeah, you've guessed it, it was Mr Cooke. Apparently, the day was the day that all the Executive Members showed their appreciation towards all the staff by taking turns serving the meal. Honestly, the general atmosphere at that very moment was kinda awkward to me but with that said I understand and appreciate the sentiment shown by them. The thing that I regretted was..not having the chance to eat the waffle hahahha because I was to "segan" to approach Mr Cooke haha. I wish you all the best Mr Cooke in taking Traders to newer heights. Thank you.
So yeah if you haven't guessed it already, in the next section we will delve deep into the profiles of these weird characters hahaha Well I guess I'll start with the most hyper I suppose haha so yes that means you Maxine hahah
Maxine was the very first face that I remembered when I entered the HR office for my interview haha I still remembered it very clearly and initially I really thought that she was Yvonne and that I'll be having the interview with her haha. She had that annoyed look on her face most probably through the built up stress that she normally gets(she probably didn't know that she'll get more when I'm with her haha) and the same time she had the "who-are-you-suppose-to-be" stare haha I found out later on that she wasn't the "bengis" type haha and apparently she's the hyper type-far from what I've imagined hahaha She is one of the people at the hotel that I truly salute and respect. She has tons of patience when dealing with the staff, an attribute that is needed in her position. I managed to give her a real headache when I was there haha asking her all kind of questions about the system, about the hotel's procedure, anything that I could think of because I was really interested in learning more and to better myself. Being the great person that she is she provided me with great knowledge and humor too, mostly was laughing because of her clumsiness la and also those funny sounds that she tends to make in any given situation hahaha She really did inspire me to be a trainer/lecturer. Thank you
When I resigned, my thoughts were really directed to her because somehow I've grown accustommed to her presence that I've become close. To me she was really like a sister and her feelings mattered just as a family member's feeling did mattered. I felt that I've really let her down in one way or the other. After all the time that she spent in nurturing me to become a good hotelier but I'm really sorry that things didn't turn out to be more favourable. I'm Sorry.
****
Next I'd like to thank Ian for being my very first buddy there in Traders. Although he was then a senior of just three months, he was a great senior. He gave me a great experience of being left alone to face the guest all by myself and he also dumped all of his work to me like a great senior hahahah no la. Ian was a great buddy. He stood by me until he saw that I was capable enough to face the guest all by myself and he was patient enough to indulge in answering all of my questions haha. He went through a lot of changes since then. Being transferred around and finally settled in a spot that I saw him doing well in. Although there's a ton of stress that comes with job but I can honestly say that he has that natural ability to brush it of at the end of the day. I'm sure he'll do great there. Thank you
Now we come to my very first boss, well my supervisor la haha. Mr Keane Lai. The first time I met him was at the Front Office Back Office. I forgot whether it was for a tour or something else but all I can remember is him being scolded by the security and was told to move his car hahaha At that time I was not aware that he would be my supervisor so I just laughed it off(inside of course haha). He was one of the many colleagues that helped me to feel more at home there at the hotel. He showed to me that you don't really need to be to stressed out whena t work or else you'll die young hahah He also 'helped' in getting me to know more about the OPMS that the hotel used by giving me tons of his job to me hahahhaha no la kidding-kidding. Thank you
Then its the other Tai Ko at the back office, Mr Darrel Hor. My first impression of him was, "Fuyoh such gangster looking fella is a Service Leader" hahaha He was you know but I come to know that was just on the outside. Never would you see him explode err make it seldom haha because I just remembered the other day when he exploded like an atomic bomb hahaha Ahem..Anyways~
Darrel Notes(for old times sake)
-------------
- Prefer to be called Darrel not boss and likes to eat banana. FORaja/301109
- Has a secret affair with Ian although he would vehemently deny it every time. FORaja/301109
Haha jokes aside, I spent one month helping(don't know if helped meuch haha) Mr Darrel(on purpose) with his work which to me seemed never ending. Naturally, I saw it fit to help him with the best of my ability because prior to the one month stint, through my observation -yes ladies and gentleman I did use my eyes and observe stuff haha- he was one of the good people at Traders. Good in the sense that, whenever it's possible he'll lend a helping hand to anyone who needs it. After a whole lot of sacastic remarks and "I'm-going-to-kill-you-stares" la..Hmmmm or was it just only directed to me..Anyone?? haha He's a great guy and he's would be a great manager. Goodluck Darrel and try not to sound like a kid when people contact you through your dect phone hahaha Thank you
****
Now, on to the team that made me enjoy life as a hotelier, well two of the team. The Concierge and the Traders Club. I've enjoyed myself the most when I was at both places due to the ammount of interactions one can get with the guest. I know that most people would most often than not pray that they don't have to deal with any guest or customer in their line of work. Their fears hightened with every word that comes out of the guest mouth and ultimately fearing the responsibility placed upon them with every guest request. To be honest, I was one of those people once and coming from an introverted background it was even nightmare for me haha We tend to create a mental picture of what would happen and at the end we will be fearing fear itself. It's like one of the motivational posters in one of the training rooms in Traders, the greatest mistake you can make in life is continually fearing that you will make one.
So yeah, I took it as a challenge and slowly, I began to enjoy having that space in time to converse with the guest and sometimes I feel that it was too short haha. You do sometimes feel like a tourist yorself when you delve into their own culture. Cultural exchange I guess haha. To know that you can help to make someone's day is very rewarding. Whether its by helping to give recommendations or even simply by cheering up the guest. I remember one time, I was having a conversation with a guest talking about the Petronas Towers and the KL Towers. Nearing the end of the conversation I asked him where to next as it was their last day in Kuala Lumpur. Kota Kinabalu being their next destination I asked him, "So are you planning to conquer Mount Kinabalu?". He duly said yes, thats part of the plan and carried on to ask me on the degree of difficulty of the hike. You see the thing is I've never even ever set foot in Sabah so yeah I was clueless but at the spur of the moment I simply said to him, "For a person as fit as you it surely wouldn't be a problem" and he immediately smiled from ear to ear and thank me formaking his day haha. To me, these were the special moments that I cherish during my time at the hotel.
Guest aside, the Concierge crew and the Traders Club crew really made me feel at home. Because somehow I do feel a strong sense of camaraderie whilst I was working there. These were the places that you need to have a great teamwork and where selflessness really matters because you need each other to support each other's back. It was also a very fun place for me. I've really enjoyed the company off all the staff there. Lets proceed in listing them in detail shall we haha. When I think of concierge one person stands out from the rest, its none other than the very talented Mr Fizzy Ezwan haha To me he was really made for the concierge position because of his bubbly character. He can always make me laugh with his "tidak tanya pun" and his general ability to make all the people around him feel at ease. Having saying that, fun and work is two different thing and he's good at both. When it comes to work he'll be one of the top performers. When I first came to concierge and wanted to buddy up with him, I was expecting him to be lax in his work ethics but I was suprised at the seriousness that he applied in making sure that he is doing a good job-with the occasional jokes of course haha Thank you
Next up is Mr Iskandar(the more huggable and cuter one) and Mr Yogi. The thing that both of them have in common is that they are both great seniors and that they will always find time to help the juniors in any way possible. I am greatful to have them as my seniors and to be able to ask them if there were any confusions. Haha talking about Iskandar, I still remember there was once a group of guest wanted to see me before they checked out but at that time I was on the afternoon shift so I wasn't there. So they asked at the Concierge counter to see "Iskandar" so the concierge called the other Iskandar. When he came to the group they said, "Not this one, the taller one" hahah Sorry Is. That's why I decided to use the name East there at Traders so that there wont be any more confusions haha Thank you
Owh ya there's one more event at Concierge that is worth sharing. I was at the concierge helping out as usual when I heard the news, at that very time a trainee had messed up doing one of the concierge task. Later on I was asked to help them. I asked Ben(one of the Service Leader) "Are you sure you want me to go? Not they said that trainees are not allowed anymore??" Then he just said that if its me then its ok haha they used to joke that I was the experienced trainee haha The thing that I want to share here is that in life there is a need for acknowledgement from the persons around you. It doesn't matter if he is your colleague, your boss or your employee. A little acknowledgement of their work wont do them any harm, infact it even may increase their job satisfactory which can lead to higher job efficiency hahah Kinda like Im writing one of my degree's essays hahha but it is really true so Thank you Ben.
****
It's no secret that Service Centre was the last place in my mind when I was to be posted and I'm sure you guys can see by the reaction and generally the condition of my face when I got the news that I was to be in Service Centre haha I was like OWH EM GEE(shout out to Samson haha). One thing that I need to clear up though. It's not that I dislike the place but its just that all my life I don't really like the telephone hahah I really prefer communicating to the person face to face. The first two days really stressed me a lot, I was like sweating, mistakenly pressing this and that..well you get the picture haha but I can truly say that the crew made it less stressful for me. Especially when I was with Liz, WeiWei and Xuan. Liz with helped by being cool and ever calm in handling any situation which brought me confidence too. WeiWei and Xuan helped by well being their crazy self haha By being wacky and crazy all the time made me feel that you can have fun too and that don't be so uptight hahah. Not to say that the rest did not help in making it less stressful but these three people made me think to myself, "Hey, it's not really that bad, just got to get use to it". Owh ya how can I forget my buddy at Service Centre, Ms Candice. I would like to say osrry because you need to bear with all of my repetitive questions haha and also sorry for sometimes being stubborn hahaha. Thank you
How can I talk about Service Centre without even mentioning their Tai Ka Jie Ms Diana Pang hahaha. The first time I met her was during my first orientation(first because I had two of them haha). She was handling one of the session. Ah yes the Tribe X story session. During that time I was totally oblivious to her ferocious nature hahahaha kidding-kidding. People tend to think that she would always eat anyone who works with her. I still remember when I was posted to her in Service Centre, my heart was going 100 beats per second hahaha To me its not that she likes to find faults in others each and everytime but it is the fact that she believes in everyone and that they can achieve even more with the extra effort. After being with her for a few days, my heart slowly beated at a regular healthy pace and I saw her face changed from being ferocious to a more cute and adorable Ms Pang hahaha I was at ease with her till the point that I can joke and tease her(which comes with a slap from her la haha) Ah~ yeah those were the days. BOSS!! THANK YOU FOR NOT SCOLDING TOO MUCH!!! hahah Thank you.
Another person that's worth mentioning is the General Manager, Mr Richard Cooke. The very first encounter that I had with Mr Cooke was quite err well awkward I guess haha I was on my way back to my training when I saw a Caucasian figure walking through the corridor. Not recognizing who he was I just flicked a smile to him and the same time a friend of mine acknowledged him and had small talks with him. Afterwards when I caught up with the friend, I asked him who was the person and apparently he's the new General Manager haha The thing is prior to me getting employed, the General Manager was Mr Brea. So yeah I was unaware of the change and it caught me off guard haha I always believe that a person can never demand respect but a person can command respect. Meaning respect is always earned and it is always mutual. The thing that made me start to respect him was during he's first introductory speech to the new intakes. No, it wasn't the fact that he is passionate about Arsenal that he spoke of the club as his religion haha it was these few words, "I do not like to swear and people who swear". I've always respect a man who sticks to his priciple no matter what(Even though he's an Arsenal fan haha)
Another awkward/funny encounter that I had was during one of my breaks. I went in TJ's(Traderian Joint/Cafeteria) just as usual and my eyes were solely piqued at the buffet line. Slowly digesting with my eyes the days meal one by one. As I neared the noodle and pastries section, my attention was suddenly derailed by a figure manning the waffle thing-a-ma-jig(I don't know what its called haha). I thought to myself, "Hmmmm since when do we have a giant of a man as a chef and caucasian too??" hahaha Yeah, you've guessed it, it was Mr Cooke. Apparently, the day was the day that all the Executive Members showed their appreciation towards all the staff by taking turns serving the meal. Honestly, the general atmosphere at that very moment was kinda awkward to me but with that said I understand and appreciate the sentiment shown by them. The thing that I regretted was..not having the chance to eat the waffle hahahha because I was to "segan" to approach Mr Cooke haha. I wish you all the best Mr Cooke in taking Traders to newer heights. Thank you.
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Fate can be funny sometimes. It never stopped catching me off guard every single time haha. On my official last day in Traders, I was apparently signed up for the Traderian Talk which was conducted by the ever charismatic and ever smiling Mr Quay. As I sat for the talk, a certain melancholic feeling started to engulf me. It was like he was telling me things that I'll miss when I step out of the hotel. At the end of the talk he shook my hand and wished me luck and asked me to do my best. It was just like one of those family moments and I'm going to miss them. All of them..
It took me quite a while to finish this post..Guess I didn't really want it to end, I didn't want my time at Traders to be just a distant past. When I told Diana about my intentions of pursuing a masters degree, I told her that I made the decision with a heavy heart. Once she heard me utters those words she snapped and scolded me kaw kaw hahahah No la just kidding Boss. She disagreed with that cute smile of her's haha saying that I've only been at Traders for awhile so it is quite improbable that I would feel that way. Yes, I agree that it's only been a short stay but honestly and this is the truth, nothing but the truth, within the time that I spent there I fell in love with Traders Kuala Lumpur. There I said it haha and yeah it was that hard of a decision to make.
I've always enjoyed being the hotel's ambassador -albeit an unofficial one at that- when I'm around my friends. It always fill me with pride(pride without arrogance that is) when I get to share how great it was at the hotel. So before I end the post, I just hope you guys would allow me to be one of your GC members. Without the benefits of course haha Although I might not be worth as much as the Elite members but I'll carry on the good word of mouth.
Thank you and I'll miss u guys. TRADERIAN ROCKS!!!
Regards
Raja Iskandar Putera/THKL0876
*Presses F8*
