PHEW....

Phew..finally, the weekend is here..i can finally breath...Joy! A chance for me to rest my aching limbs and finish reading my book. The stories of old are true indeed. Working life is definitely NOT a bed of roses. And I thought people were just saying it to scare us kids..sigh.

Where do I even begin. Let’s see, I guess the thing that irks me the most about working life is that I don’t really have any time left in the day to do my own stuff. Work begins at 8 and ends at 6, so that practically eats up most of my day. By the time I’m home, it would be a little past 7. After the usual bathing and dinner, if I’m lucky I will have some time left to flip through the papers and perhaps read a page or two of my book. I don’t usually last until past 11pm. By then my brain would have shut down automatically forcing me into deep slumber regardless of what I’m doing at that time (not a pretty sight!). On a lighter note, I think I’m immune to insomnia. I’m of to dream land as soon as my head touches the pillow, no kidding!

Oooo..waking up at 6.20 every morning is DEFINITELY the worst part. Absolutely dreadful! In fact, the sound of my alarm clock every morning sends me into a bout of depression. I would be staring at the zombie with eye bags in front of the mirror pinching herself awake. Pain is a good way to jolt the brain folks, try it :p Mornings are the time when I would like to kick myself for accepting to work in a place so far away.

However, after a week I am now used to the distance. It may be far (an hours drive), but there is no traffic jam along the way. So it’s a smooth ride with the trusty car radio blaring away to keep me company (and..ahem..awake). I must be very careful on the road too. There are huge tankers and lorries traveling along with me and they drive so ruthlessly sometimes, cutting in front of me out of the blue. Conditions of the roads in port klang leave much to be desired. They are filled with port holes which I try my best to slow down when I come upon them to minimize damage to the car. My dad will definitely make me pay if the car needs repair..eeps. I would also have to wash the car more frequently now. Probably every weekend. Only a week and the car looks like it has not been bathed for a month, dust and dirt all over.

Petrol consumption is ridiculous! Even a full tank is not sufficient for a week. I think I will need to put aside RM200-300 monthly for petrol. Not forgetting the expenses for toll, which is ridiculous as well! RM 4.40 perday..phew. Now that I’m working, I have to plan a budget and adhere to it. Sigh, I wonder how much of my salary would there be left to spend on myself at the end of the month. Thank goodness the company provides free breakfast and lunch. Oh, not forgetting free company T-shirt, one new design every month according to the product of the month. Everybody has to wear it. So i get to save money on office clothes..hmm

Putting all the cons aside, I feel that it is all worth it. I have learnt a lot in the last five days. Familiarizing myself to all the steps involved in making something from their raw materials to the finished product. I am in the QC department. Basically, I am in charge of the raw materials. My job? I have to make sure that all raw chemicals ordered are really those claimed by the supplier. If the laboratory tests confirms the identification of the chemicals, then only can the raw materials be allowed to be released for production. Until then, production can’t proceed, thus stalling the manufacturing of the finish product. To put it another way, I am in the beginning of a very long line. I have to know which chemicals are urgently needed and test them according to priority. I am frightened, because it is a huge responsibility. Should something go wrong, or if I lack behind the production schedule, I really don’t know what will happen. It is important that I am alert and work fast but efficiently.

Working environment is all right (air conditioned :p ). I have a desk of my own in the office which is located next to the laboratory. There are other chemists and technicians. People there are friendly and helpful. I have been bugging the technicians these few days on well, everything! Ever so nice, they took time to help me even when they have their own duties and deadline. I realize that there is so little that i know, and plenty that I have forgotten. This weekend I have to revise back some of the stuff I learned in university.

Emm, I think that I have ranted a lot...(can't help whining you know). Next Friday I have something to attend to. I know that it will be hard to succeed on Friday, but I think that I will just be myself. After all, even if I don’t get it, at least I know that I have tried. If I do get it, well, it will really change my life.. Although I do feel that it has changed already!