Memories and Thoughts

22 April 2014, Tuesday

Today is the day I resume work after a long weekend of holiday. Friday was Good Friday, and I took OIL on Monday. The long weekend definitely made me feel so dreamy and I was really reluctant to come back to work.

And... Today is the beginning of a new drama sequel! For those who have watched Startling Heart (步步惊心) would know about the long-anticipated sequel 步步惊情. The former is a time-travelling Chinese traditional drama which features the main lead travelling back in time after an accident. The story unfolds the love story between her and the various male leads in the ancient Qing Dynasty.

The sequel, mainly consisting of the same cast as the former, continues developing the story with all main characters of the former in the current century. The story gets more intense with the introduction of new characters and other aspects of business, love and relationship, not forgetting the love between the male and female lead even in the 21st century.

The trailers of the sequel has been uploaded over the past week, and honestly as a fan of the drama sequel, I cannot help but squeal in excitement for the release of the sequel. I went back to re-watch the drama again and it brought back so many memories of the show. And towards the end, I concluded my thoughts and emotions from watching the show.

Looking at how the female lead, Ruoxi, traveled back in time and developed herself from an innocent and ignorant girl to a careful and witty lady to survive in the ancient times made me feel like it wasn't an easy journey for her. From being a little nobody in the palace to being the royal servant to the emperor, she put in so much effort before she got that position. She was well-liked by the masters, and known for her cheerful never-say-die attitude. She was popular and often got special advantages and privileges that no one else in her position got.

But because of one small mistake, she got sent to the laundry department for the rest of her life as a form of punishment by the then emperor. It was definitely hell for her, from staying in the royal house and serving the emperor, receiving gold, jade and jewelry from the royals to washing clothes manually in cold water even in winter. From the very first day she entered the laundry department, rumors already started spreading that she was a royal servant but got punished for something she did. These rumors were not in her favour, and she wasn't well-liked by the people there. The head of the laundry department received many concerns from the various masters asking to take special care of Ruoxi because of her special status as everyone knows. Ruoxi was given special treatment because of this and the others were jealous of her. They stole her jewelry, dissed her and left no food for her during dinner. She kept quiet despite all those treatment because she accepted her fate.

The laundry maids do not usually have chances to see the masters since the palace was really big and no masters would come by the laundry department for no reason. Every time Ruoxi hears others talking about the masters, the sense of familiarity hit her and it was obvious she missed them.

Same goes for the masters too. They often dropped by the laundry department on purpose just to speak to her or look at how she is doing. Everybody knew of Ruoxi as a "big shot" as masters would specially make a trip to the laundry department to catch up with her, bring her food and even letters. She was once the apple of everyone's eyes; but now she is nothing but slowly servant. Yet she is still receiving the royal treatment she used to receive from the masters. It all just felt like seeing myself from a third party's point of view.

I started out in F&B as a waitress when I was just 16. It has been four years since then, and I am proud of my journey till today. I put in my best effort, received compliments from my guests, received the largest amounts of tips, got scolded by my guests, got complained and yelled at, broke plates and even charged the wrong bill. All these made me grow and develop into a better person and I had a good reputation.

During that three years of my working journey, I never fell sick and was never late. I always finish up my tasks even if it means staying back late. Back then when I was still young, my stamina could last me more than 12 hours a day. And of course, I was of great help to my bosses and managers. I was flexible and efficient. I never rejected their requests for help especially when its busy. I really did my managers proud and they always feel at ease when they know I'm there. With that, I climbed my way higher as my bosses trusted me more and more.

No I wasn't promoted. But I was given much more opportunities than I would receive than a promotion. I moved on from The Line to Banquet, and they soon allowed to do VIP functions and events. My friends and I were not regular banquet staff already; we would usually be asked to do certain specific tasks that is not for everybody.

Pre-function cocktails were usually done by girls, but we were always not involved because we would be asked to do something else. Like staying in the ballroom to light the candles or accompany the organizers to even doing checks on the set up. We were just different.

Banquet managers got to know me, and I was always picked out of everyone to do some random tasks like running errands for managers. My friends and I got to attend so many VIP functions and I felt really appreciated by them. When they call me up specially just to ask me to work because they specifically need me; when they call us for bookings instead of the other way round; when they arrange special transport or accommodation for us; or when they give us leeway to go home early/come home late/longer lunch or dinner breaks. All these is enough to show that we were really given a lot of leeway at work. I loved them for giving me opportunities and making me feel appreciated and they loved me for helping them when they needed help.

I was given an opportunity to work for F1 at the venue itself as a waitress and a supervisor for the second year.