Double Friday Five 26-February-2021

[elusivek]

First the questions from thefridayfive

This week's questions are in honor of engineers week, the letter e and the number 0...

1) What has been your favorite job?
I assume by "job" here it can mean "mini-project". The favorite one I did in my work life... in my very first full time job (over 14 years ago, wow) I was given a task to translate a set of Standard Operating Procedures on Chinese Tea Ceremony. At that time, my Chinese reading wasn't really where it is right now, and I needed the "Tea Master" lady to read the Chinese text to me, then I would write it in English. I had just graduated from Uni at that time, so was still savvy in essay writing and all that. The Beverage Manager (he is the boss of the "Tea Master") is an English guy, and he says "oh geez. Finally someone writes English that is so easy to the eye!". It was a hell of a task but I enjoyed it well enough.

2) What did you like about it?
In fact, that project wasn't really assigned to me. I was in a bad place at that time (inter-departmental heads fighting for power and I was a lone chess piece that was caught in the middle, each head tried to fight to get me not because of my capability, but they were just fighting for headcounts). In the end, one of them won and was in the process of transferring me over, but didn't assign me any jobs because they were already at full headcount already, and had no spare work for me. I had been chatting with the Tea Master and she asked for help, and so I helped her. I guess it was the most gutsy thing I'd ever done (got into a job not assigned to me). Later I had to work with the official "Technical Writers" department to get the entire photo shoot done for the step-by-step SOP. The lady did seem as if she wanted to transfer me to her department, but I guess they were full headcount as well and so I had to stay where I was. They then finally assigned a job to me (coordinate the annual performance review for the entire section), and got high praise because our section was the only section that submitted over 80% of complete performance reviews, with annotated 10% of non-reviews due to resignations.

3) How can a kid become like you when they grow up?
I don't know. I wasn't put on any particular career path. I started my job because my last year of Uni was night school, I had nothing better to do during the day, so got a part time job. Then I graduated and they put me on full time. Got fought over (story above) then ended up in that department. Then my supervisor left and took me to the current company, then she jumped departments and left me alone. Then I got transferred to the Executive Office, and since then it was all "assigned transfers" that I didn't ask for. *shrugs*.

4) What safeguards do you use to avoid mistakes?
Everything in black-and-white. Don't let people strong arm you and just reply you verbally. Force them to put in writing. If they refuse, you make a note in your task book.

5) What's changed in the world that you've had a hard time keeping up with?
Probably more for engineers but I have something to say on this too. Electronic Payments. With credit cards, I could help my boss do his shopping with his credit cards. But now with those mobile phone payments, I can't. If it is to charge from his account, it has to be paid via his phone. Oh well. The thing I do is pay for him first then month-end I'll write myself a check (showing him an itemized expense list of course). But it's always risky to pay for someone else first.

And now the questions from F.riday5.com

1. What is the longest you ever spent on the phone on one call?
I think one time a friend talked to me on the phone for 4 hours. My friend was going through some issues and needed someone to vent.

2. When you were a teen, how important was the phone in your daily life?
Not important at all. We were never allowed to use the phone for an extended time anyway (land line era). The longest phone call I had at that time was when somehow a Mormon preacher lady somehow got my phone and talked to me on the phone for a long long, time. I trying to hang up, she trying to keep me on the line. Mom was livid then coz it was dinner time and the house rule was to hang up the phone during dinner.

3. How much do you use the actual telephone function of your phone today?
For private matters, not much at all. I tend to do any question asking via WhatsApp, WeChat or Facebook Messenger if those shops support those. It's for work related things that I have to use the telephone function.

4. How well do you handle phone calls at work?
I suppose I handle them well enough. So I have a very nice extension number, say double-double and my name is Katherina. My colleague has a different name from me, but I have no idea why over here, these 2 names are classically mixed up. Alright, it's Kristine. I have no idea, variations of Katherina (Catherine/Katarina/etc) are always easily mixed up with variations of Kristine (Christine/etc), and this colleague's number is single-triple. So people are always dialing 1122 (random number used here) and asking for Kristine. Then I'd just say "This is Katherina, Kristine is one-triple-two".

Well yesterday there was the mother of all confusing phone calls. The lady had wanted to call me. And she dialed my number, but on speaking she asked for Kristine. So I said my usual, but something in her voice made me ask, "are you looking for Katherine or Kristine?" And she thinks for a bit "ah... I'm looking for Katherina". So I had to tell her she got the right number. But when she explained what she needed? "Oh, then you should be contacting Kristine." LOL

5. What are some good telephone-themed songs?
I have no idea if it's good or not, but if it's telephone-themed songs, this one is the first one that popped into my head.

Comments

[scrivener (from livejournal.com)]

Ah yes. The friend-in-distress call! I remember those well. I actually used it as an excuse for not doing my homework once in a while. Some of my teachers were actually sympathetic! :)