Life in BookXcess / Big Bad Wolf Books Sdn. Bhd.

As usual, I have neglected my blog after a while. I could easily blame it on the country or the authorities for limiting the events, raves and parties. But those will only be lame excuses. There should be no reason that the blog is left abandoned. There are always parties elsewhere. I just need to go for it.

For the past 11 months, life has been really crazy for me. I have been introduced into a company as Crazy Susan in December 2015. Up to date, I am still Crazy Susan.

For years I have been in the teaching industry. Last year, I decided to break all boundaries and start doing something I have never done before. I called up for an interview at Big Bad Wolf Books for a job opportunity. To be honest, I did not know what to expect. I just went there asking for a job. 

All my life I have been asked to work in their company. People called me up offering me a job. This was my first time applying for a job, what more, something that I have not done or experienced before. The interview ended with me, being hired as BBW social media executive. My first full time job after so many years.

What exactly was the job scope for a social media? I had to sit in front of the computer searching for groups and sources to post our ads or promotions on. It was not as challenging and fun as I thought it would be. As my job was too flexible back then, I helped everyone in the office whenever they needed help. Marketing, business development, operations, etc. I definitely learnt a lot from them.

After 2 months, the General Manager asked me to help him out in some operation related matters at BookXcess retails. Helping him out also meant gaining more knowledge as he brought me into retails every day, giving me pointers on how retails should run. It was an eye opener for me as I never knew retails meant so much work and so much focus. There were so much that needed attention as you run a retail that it never did hit me.

In June, I got promoted to Retail Operations Executive. I step higher to learning more than sitting around the office clicking "post". That was also when our GM left us and I had to cope with work on my own. I was given the choice to drown in the deep sea or swim to safety. 

July was a hectic month for me as I had to handle contractors, designers and open 3 outlets within 1 month. On the 2nd week of July, our outlet in 1Utama was opened. 4th week, Centro Klang. 1st week of August, Courtyard. All these happened so quickly. I thank God for having a crazy team with me to help me with all the openings. I will never forget the nights we spent til 4 in the morning getting work done. Up to date, I am very blessed to have my boss alongside with me til 4am, helping set up the outlet. Without the team, I think I would not have made it. Seeing the outcome definitely paid off.

When my bosses came back from work overseas in late September, they called me into their room. I was expecting the worst as I did not know if I was doing right in the retails. I was surprised when they offered me a promotion. It seems that I did swim to safety and earned it. I was promoted as Assistant Manager for 3 Retail outlets with effect in October. What a sweet 29th birthday present for myself.

It was also then that I offered myself to help out in BBW Surabaya. They flew me to Surabaya for Big Bad Wolf Books Sales. I was in Surabaya for a total of 18 days.

That's how I spent my first birthday working. I have never worked on my birthday, what more, abroad! It was my first work experience overseas and being away from home for so long (not for vacation). I have never studied abroad in my younger years. It was truly very different. I got to understand the pros and cons of working overseas. I actually felt homesick for once. I do not know if it was the birthday greetings on Facebook and whatsapp or my nieces calling me and video calling me, wishing me happy birthday from the screen. I really wanted them with me at that moment. I knew then how parents who work away from their children felt. My colleagues at work were so nice to buy me KFC to celebrate my birthday. Such loves.

 

My shifts at Surabaya were 12 hours based, 8pm to 8am. For the first few nights, I couldn't keep my eyes open from 3 to 5am. It was really suffering til the 2nd week. It was a work, eat, sleep, eat, work cycle everyday. Fast food joints were everywhere. We walked from our hotel to work, passing by KFC everyday, which was a stone throw away from Starbucks and Pizza Hut. Giant was the only place we went for "shopping" and it wasn't too far neither. Oh, Pizza Hut there has such a big variety of choices! The pizza there seems more delicious than it is here in Malaysia!

 

Starbucks was a place where I visited most this trip. I had to stay awake all night. Even colleagues had me do deliveries for them. The cards I purchased there were pretty. Good for collection. I managed to score free drinks, free birthday cakes as I spent my birthday there. It was a pity that there wasn't any nice tumblers to buy. And as usual, my name would be Suzan than Susan. I was such a regular there that the baristas knew me by heart and greeted me by my name whenever I stepped in.

        

There was a fast food place called Richeese. I would recommend those who loves to compete with others on the spicy level of their tolerance. They offer chicken with 5 levels of spicy. For me, I went for 0 as I can't take spicy. Watching my colleagues cry and get all soaked up with sweat makes me laugh a little inside. I'm evil.

As for accommodation and all in Surabaya, I would say it was ok. Breakfast was always repetitive food but it was good enough for us to not go to sleep starving. I had my eggs cooked the way I wanted everyday, just not half boiled eggs as it is not known there (or maybe it was just the language barrier). As for the room, it was perfect for me. I would love a room like that. I have always loved the concept of an open bathroom, or rather a see through bathroom from the bedroom. I could see the sunset from the bathroom and also watch tv while taking a shower. It gives a very clean feeling, til it's time to clean the glass of course. The water pressure of the shower was awesome! I never wanted to leave the shower ever! I had room service for the first time of my life on the last night of the trip. I felt like a queen. Such a lazy brat who just wouldn't get out of the room, watching movies on TV one after another.

Laundry has been very cheap. I paid only about RM5 for a bag of clothes worn for 2 weeks plus. I have never been to a laundry but this is really cheap. Certain things are pretty cheap there. I heard from the PA that even cigarettes are 1/3 of the price in Malaysia! It's a smoker's paradise there. A&W there still serves root beer float in a glass mug! How I missed the good old times.

If there's one thing I dreaded most everyday? I would say the traffic. For us to get to work, we had to cross 3 major main roads with crazy traffic and also 1 railway track. People there are so used to the "Power of the hand" that they would hold it up and just cross the road. So far, we have not seen anyone being ran over. On the days when I was on my own, I usually waited for a local to do the magic and I just tag along, trying to act cool.

Overall, the trip was tiring but I learnt a lot from it. We all definitely couldn't wait to get on that flight to go back home. Everyone felt homesick during the trip. Many calls were made home, pictures and videos exchanged, tantrums let out. Most of us even had the cravings of pork. Nevertheless, it is definitely great to be back home.

My journey with Uber

This is not a sponsored post. This is just merely a post I randomly thought of blogging on since I have not been updating my blog frequent enough. This blog post has been written without any research online but based on experience and what I have understood from it.

Uber, a service worldwide which operates like a taxi, has been a very good "friend" of mine since the first time I got on it. I came about Uber at an event a year ago, 22nd March 2014 to be exact. I still didn't have much of an idea what it was all about. I just followed instructions of downloading the app, applying the promotional code of RM100 and got a FREE driver for me and my friend to the event since Uber was one of the sponsors of the event I attended.

It didn't take a Uber driver long to reach my doorstep. I had my first experience in a Nissan Teana with a humble driver. He had very good service and also treated us just like loyalty. He even offered us 2 bottles of complimentary water. I took another Nissan Teana back home safely without the hassle of driving.

Back then, we had not much of a choice for cars and services from Uber. We only had Uber Black to choose from. Right now, we have more options. There are Uber Black, Uber SUV, Uber LUX, Uber Taxi and Uber X. The difference in all these Ubers are the pricing and car options available. Although you do not get to choose the driver or car model which you desire, you get an alternative which is in the same category as your expectations.

For me, I personally love to take the Uber X because it is actually cheapest and could be even cheaper than local taxis. They are also reliable as you can detect where they are via GPS on the application. As soon as you have made a booking on the app, you can see the car model, car plate number, driver name, driver picture and where he is at the moment. You could even share the information to your friends for safety reasons. 

What I dislike about the local taxis nowadays is that they overcharge customers by not using the meter whenever they like and even reject you when you call out for them. Some reject you after knowing the short distance that you require to go, knowing they won't earn much from it.

However, at Uber, drivers have told me that it is not a problem for them to travel short distances as they are being paid by trips and do not have an option of picking customers based on their distance. The driver will never know where the customer is heading to until he/she boards the vehicle. I think this is a very good idea.

Uber drivers are very humble. I have not encountered any unfortunate events with Uber so far. They were all friendly and being the talkative person that I am, I make the most out of my journey with the drivers, knowing more about Uber and also about the world. Funny how much you can learn from strangers.

Every time you end a trip with Uber, they would ask you to rate the drivers. From what I heard, based on your ratings, the management would actually enable the driver to drive a more luxurious car in the future. I personally think it is very important to rate and also leave a comment so they could provide us with good and reliable services.

What about cancelling trips? You could cancel a driver before he arrives your doorstep. For the first time, you will not be charged for it. Chances only come once. After that, you would be charged a small sum to make it up to Uber. I think it is only fair to do so. Drivers have told me that there were people who were selective of drivers based on race, car model, etc. Why be so choosy when you can get a driver at a cheap price? If you are to be that choosy, buy a car and drive yourself. For me, the importance of using Uber or any other taxis is only to get me from point A to point B safely and in one piece without me being stuck in jam behind the wheel and without having to navigate myself to a designated location.

There are promotions once in a while with Uber. Your trip could be free if you depart or alight from a selected area. In January, I had a few weeks of priviledge for having free rides since I stayed in Bandar Utama and worked in Sunway Giza. I always travelled in that area and using the promotional code given and got to my destinations free!!! I was glad to see an improvement in Uber in the sense of them having more cars in my area compared to when they just started. I no longer have to wait more than half an hour for a driver.

There was also another charity drive few months back by celebrities. RM20 was donated to charity if you get to be driven around by local artistes and also Youtubers/Radio DJs. Some famous models were also featured in the event. They drove a VW Beetle around and I was not lucky enough to get any of them. 

With Uber, you can always ensure your safety and also comfort of sitting in the car with a driver.Looking for a promotion? You can put in my promotion code "3JGZ4" or "susanh1092" to get RM30 off your first ride!!! Just remember to put in the promotion code before you get into the ride. 

You could also track your old rides and history of rides on the app and website!!! Here's mine!!!

I hope you will enjoy Uber as much as I am. What I hope to see in Uber? A SERVICE TO BE AVAILABLE IN IPOH TOO!!! We Ipoh-ites need a reliable transportation. Please, Uber!!! Come and have some old town white coffee?

For more information on Uber, download their app or go on to https://www.uber.com/ !!!

Dream Trip to Macau

I finally had the chance to visit Macau last month. However, it was a very short trip as I arrived at noon and I was rushing back to Hong Kong the next afternoon. I did not get to do much around Macau and I hope to go there again soon.

As I came back to Malaysia, I found out that there was a contest that is held by Nuffnang together with the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO). 3 Nuffnangers with the most interesting Blog posts on their dream trip to Macau will be flying to Macau to experience a 3D2N all expenses paid holiday (including return air ticket and 2 nights accommodation at a 4-star hotel). This is my opportunity to try and win a holiday back to Macau to continue my uncompleted tour!!!

What exactly are the three most amazing things that make me want to revisit Macau? It would be nothing more than Sightseeing, Food and The House on Dancing Water.

Sightseeing. This is the one thing I missed out a lot during my trip. I had no clue what to expect in Macau as my friends told me to leave it all to them. Little did I know that there were not much on their minds. 

Buildings are very unique in this city, even the floors. You can find many kinds of buildings here, from historical to modern architectures and all the casinos are colourfully lit up at night. How could one visit this city without a camera to capture all the beautiful images? I definitely could not.

   

As for food, many have told me Macau is a food paradise, not just for its Portugese Tarts. With the help of my friends, I managed to find some places with good food that could not be found on travel magazines. There were local delicacies and also desserts that gave me a foodgasm.

Dim Sum in Macau is very different compared to Malaysia. They are absolutely delicious.

  

I also had the chance to have some street food by the beach!

Last but not least, House on Dancing Water is the highlight of the trip. I was late for the show previously and missed about 10 to 15 minutes of the show because we were not allowed in for being late. I was so sad. However, it was a very good show, money well spent. It was amazing how water could fill up the entire stage in seconds and also vanish the same way! What made me tear up was the bikers and their stunts. It was so amazingly dangerous I couldn't help my excitement. It was a great birthday treat for myself.

I love travelling and I also love travelling at my own pace. I do not like to rush in holidays and so in my previous Macau trip (click HERE to read about it), I didn't get to enjoy much. So please, Nuffnang and Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), grant me the chance to revisit this wonderful city and see more of its culture at my own pace. 3 day would be the best ideal time to spend at Macau.