Aah. Recently (i mean, in the past 2 months) i have been feeling this intense, exhausting, but at the same time fulfilling, bombardment, of my senses (including commonsense) + mind + body (i am feeling the sleep debt. There was a period of 2-3 weeks where i happily wake up at 8am automatically. Now cannot liao.) I feel so stretched, in all directions, and i wonder if i'll just be the same when i bounce back.

Ok but that's technically impossible, after all the experiences and simply, living each day. Do you believe that you are changing everyday, every moment, with every contact with everyone else? Just by thinking that, you have changed.

Anyway.

After the startling start of the day (where Alex asked me, "Hey, *grapples with my name* Any idea why you're here ah?" after which i got stunned into mild shock) i spent the first half of the day getting paid for breathing (and talking to and distracting Liyan) and it was only after lunch then i started on the phonecall thing.

Alex did it once and i was observing/listening to him, and then he left me alone to do my first call. To be honest, i was nervous as hell. But i also know that after i get past the first, it should be okay. I dont know how to explain it, HM it's like, this sense of super/epi-awareness of myself? Hm i know it sounds weird. I know i must do it. There will be That First Call that i have to make. After which The Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth Calls, will be fine. So i just took a deep breath (HAHA this is something that i'll always remember from Mr Sim. "BREATHE.") and dialed.

Seriously HAHAHAHA after i dialed the number, i was listening to it ring and hearing my heart beat in double time. The first call didnt go through. Funnily enough, it was the most "convenient", coz it went into the "For English, press... For Trade, press... To speak to a Trade Officer, press..." then i got auto put on-hold 3 times in a row and then i decided to give up.

The 2nd call went through. I was stuttering like mad. Try saying "Asia Oceania Geoscience Society" HAHAHAHA even after practising for so long, the first time i said it to a stranger, over the phone, i cannot make it.

Then halfway through my 3rd or 4th call, Alex came into the room. Actually i could hear him on the stairs, then he knocked, and he came in. All in about 5s. Then i panicked.
HAIII.
Siasuay myself. While listening to my phonecall, he started writing stuff on the board (HAHA yes there are 3 panels of those Ikea glass that you can use markers to write on) When i hung up, i saw and he explained/talked/taught:
a) SLOW DOWN!
b) Promote conference AND EXHIBITION.
c) Contact person/department

True, i admit the speaking fast part. HAHAHA especially when i'm nervous. Zzz. But admittedly my internal metronome/tempo (i think i recently mentioned it) also sucks?! Whether i'm playing guitar or piano, i will always rush and end up going faster and faster.

Anyway at the end of the day, in about 3h (i only really started at about 3pm) i finished 30+ phonecalls. And i learnt:
1) Embassies are surprisingly small. From about 3-4 phonecalls, i get the feeling that their office is as small as or smaller than us, and i even got a person who told me very honestly (after i requested to speak to their Trade Development Dept/Person-In-Charge) "There's no such person. It's a one-man-show here, there's only me." HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA?!
2) IT IS VERY EMBARRASSING TO NOT BE ABLE TO DECIPHER A THICK ACCENT. And to let the other person realize that i'm struggling to understand what she's spelling for me.
3) Sales is all about selective facts and information. And, knowing how to pre-empt tricky questions, and KNOWING A HELL LOT OF SYNONYMS. Trade Development Office/Commercial Events/Business Personnel and Conference/Exhibition/Annual Meeting.
4) (this seems to deserve a bullet of its own) SALES IS ALSO, SOUNDING LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, WHEN YOU ACTUALLY DONT.

Apparently i was supposed to have learnt a valuable How To Be A Good Salesperson lesson from Alex today. He was grumbling that i get paid to learn that, from him. Hurhur. I probably didnt do it well, but i did it anyway. Ok will improve on Thurs.

But one thing i must say is, i admire his total switch from Normal-Talking-Mode to Phone-Calling-Mode. He really sounds damn convincing and damn professional. SOUNDS. He said i should speak slower and softer, and just be humbler and take on the inferior position, when i'm making these sales calls, coz after all i am (sorta) asking a favour from them. The way he talk normally and the way he speak on the phone is really, 180 deg change. HAH. It's quite a skill. Albeit a rather heretic one, because i am still trying to justify it being professional rather than hypocritical.

JOKE OF THE DAY: AHAHAHAHAHAH I CANT BELIEVE I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT IT.

Somehow Dalong sent Alex something in HYPY. Background info: The latter cannot read HYPY nor Chinese characters, but he speaks and understands Mandarin. Though he speaks with a funny Malaysian accent but still. (HAHAHAHA!)
So the message was to be read "ze3 me4 reply ta1 men2" but i think Dalong just typed it without the notations for the tones. Ok he probably typed it wrongly, like "zen"
So Alex read aloud "EH, WHAT IS ZEN MEE REPLY TAR MEN!?!?!?!?!" PLEASE IMAGINE AND SPEAK IT LIKE TOTAL ENGLISH.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA OMG LIYAN AND I WERE LIKE 0.0 *BURSTS OUT IN EXPLOSIVE UNCONTROLLABLE LAUGHTER*

Then another joke, also regarding Chinese. Somehow they were discussing mo4 xie3. Like, dictation. Then Alex started talking about last time, he used to prepare the ink and brush...
AND AT THIS POINT, LIYAN AND I WERE LIKE 0.0 AGAIN AND *BURSTS OUT IN EXPLOSIVE UNCONTROLLABLE LAUGHTER*
HAHAHAHAHA actually Dalong also quite bad. He just listened on!? Unless he honestly didnt know the difference as well. HAHAHAHAHA DAMN FUNNY. And ok of course, i couldnt control it and intervened and corrected them.

Aaah omg... This has gotta be the funniest joke, ranked 2nd after Mr Ng's "WHERE'S MYSELF"

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And hahaha heartwarmingly, when i put the "ZE ME REPLY TA MEN" on my nick, Eileen started convo and asked me "WHAT HAPPENED! I may be able to help!" WOW. OMG. WOW! :):):) It was really. :):):):):)
OK I JUST DREDGED THROUGH MY ARCHIVES AND FOUND THIS. HAHAHAHA yes indeed, Eileen never fails to make me feel better. :):):) Thank you.

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I received an SMS from my Aunt (whose daughter is that cousin that i brought to piano class last week) saying
"Ms Foong talked about you... You told her after class that the class is very interesting! She said you're welcome to join her class any time. :)"
WOW. Hahaha i wonder if what i said really helped her mood for the subsequent classes. :)

Actually this also reminds me of Galileo Suspect X. It's amazing that a casual convenient gesture of one person, can have a much greater impact and effect (than the former intended) on the receiver.

The world works in wondrous ways.