Sunday 12 October 2008

Batam fund raising programme through Cafe Latte and bouquet of roses :)

I wonder Seafield still remember me or not after leaving them for about a month. 

I am working now. Taken two different jobs at a time. I come home late everyday. Tired and not much time to think. Craving for good sleep and more sleep.

I work as barista in the morning til evening then as florist in late evening til night. This is my every day rountine and time schedule. I have a rountine yet I have to meet unexpected needs for 3 different bosses and serve different poeple with diverse intention, request and taste. I switch in minutes to contrast working environment and serving people. I am thankful that the poeple I work with are nice and polite to me. It is much better compare to my previous working experience in Metrojaya, Pizza Hut and A+3 boutique in Penang. 

Rough, fast and SOP in the morning and noon then delicate, gentle and soft in the late evening til night. As barista, I just have to follow sop BUT I have to memorize many and it is always subjective to make coffee and it is always not the same. My hands are burnt due to the 200 'F or 90 to 98 'c of hot water when making expresso and latte from Cimbali. In fact, most baristas encounter this burnt on their hands and fingers. As florist, I have to think to be creative and gentle to each things I touch. Each customer comes in with a heart to buy beautiful and fragile fresh flowers for special poeple and occasions, we will help them to find the right flowers and hampers for the right personality and occasions. Each time I introduce our fresh and unique imported fruits in our florist to customers hoping that they would purchase and feel worth it to buy them.  

The Craziest thing I have done as barista:
1. Drank 4 shots of expresso and cappucino (still sleep at night :P ) 
2. Stole bread in the kitchen coz I was super hungry... the manager laughed at me... but I was REALLY hungry coz it was a busy day of work.
3. Made my own latte and ran to toilet after 30 min... LOL! I learnt my lesson... follow SOP is the way. 

The craziest thing I have done as florist:
1. First day of work, I welcomed and talked to a ham sap lou! I did not know and served him politely as customer... until... he left and the lady in our shop... told me... the following days til now, he only wants me to serve him and always pretends to wait until I enter the shop then here he comes to buy things! That is CRAZY AND CRAZY!
2. I nearly yell back at a unreasonable customer... I was so frustated that I pretended I do not know anything and left it to my supervisor to settle it... I felt like throwing my apron on his face and called my boss... I want to quit and run home... coz that is the rules and conditions set by my boss... not me! But, poeple tend to forget that and yell back at me when they do not agree with the price... In the end, I hold it back knowing that I was emotional coz this is life.
3. I told a customer that the  fruits are organic but the fact is... I read wrongly! The upper shelf is not organic fruits... only the apples and oranges on the second shelf... and the cuttest thing is the customer believed in me... LOL! my collegues laughed at me so hard that they cried... LOL....

The Hottest thing I have done as barista: Hot til I burnt my own soft and delicate hands  :,( scar...my hands used to be known as soft and gentle... I lose my crown for that already... so, it is the hottest fault, isn't it? 

Poeple yell at you at work sometimes... customers complain with weird weird reasons... Sometimes I made mistakes... feeling bad and hide myself in the kitchen... 

I empathy more for foreign labourers and Indonesian maids. The stress and helpless situation are more or less the same like I feel. In fact, they feel more difficult as they do not know our language most of the time. They have to work and please their masters every day for their every work yet getting a low salary. At the same time, some of them do not have healthy and clean working environment and their welfare is not taken care of. I have to fulfil the expectation from different bosses and I have to response and behave according to their mood and things they want. You could have brillant ideas yet they would not even bother coz you are just a worker, you could make mistakes and being blasted the next minute and you could even make mistakes that you did not know and others, who do not give you chance to learn, poke you at your back. I could still blog about it, tell friends and family how I feel and friends who are supportive to help and comfort me. But, what about those who have no friends in this foreign land? What about their welfare and their feelings? They signed the 'no turning back' contract to be labourers or maids. Sometimes some of us tend to forget that they are just as forgetful or unskillful as many of us so we being wasteful and unreasonable. They are also human who are equally the same like others in God's presence. 

:) This is so far I want to share... lots of things to do ... gotto go to bed first... night night to all of you... all the best for revision and exams... miss you all

It is so late now... I really have to go to bed... night night all of you :)

No comments: