The AIA Fly
Yes... I had another fly-like encounter yesterday.. This time its this fly I call the Annoying Insurance Agent (AIA) Fly... And no prizes for guessing which insurance company he works for... AIA of course!!!
Yup... its my misfortune to have known him... Actually I have to blame my sister for this. AIA Fly is my sister's insurance agent, but he was so annoying that my sister decided to 'share' her burden by introducing him to me. So he started pestering me to buy insurance from him, and to get him off my back (for a while), I had purchased my life insurance from him a couple of years ago.
Till this day he is still pestering me to 1)increase my premiums. 2)buy hospitalisation cover. 3)introduce to him my friends and family. 4) join him in his direct marketing ventures. 5) buy direct marketing products from him. All of the above, he calls it as part of his service...
So last Thurday, I'd received one of his service calls again...
Jolll: Hello
AIA Fly: Joanne. As usual, AIA Fly does not say the usual greetings, and waits for me to make the first approach - Damn irritating...Jolll: (in the sternest voice I could muster) Yes, what do u want? No I am not buying anymore insurance from you.AIA Fly: Just want to say how r u. Part of my service call. Sure you don't want to get hospitalisation coverage? You know its very important...Jolll: No. I don't want lah... no money. (In actual fact, unbeknownst to him, I already have bought a comprehensive coverage from another company a long time ago...)AIA Fly: Eh, I wanna tell you something... But you don't get angry hah..Jolll: What is it? Just say it out lah ( My patience running very low...)AIA Fly: Actually I just want to tell u that you look good in Lingerie.Almost chokes on my saliva. And worst of all, I was, at the same time, browsing Victoria Secrets' Website..AIA Fly: Want or not? I am selling lingerie, very good one.. All the aunties all say its very good and makes their bodies very shapely...Jolll: What?? So u r saying I need these body enhancement s**t?AIA Fly: Eh, I only introduce good stuff to you only... Women swear by this product.. and it only costs RM 2000 plus...Jolll: What?? So expensive? I can buy more than 10 pairs of underwear with that kind of money. No i am not interested!AIA Fly: Can lah, can buy and try...Jolll: No.AIA Fly: Ok then... Eh.. introduce me to your dad larJolll: Why do u wanna know my dad?AIA Fly: Wanna sell him my products.Jolll: No. (No way am I going to introduce anyone to you. These people are gonna hate me if I do)AIA Fly: Joanne, u r such a nice lady.. Wanna join my downline or not?? U will definitely do very well..Jolll: I told u already, I am not interested in your products and not interested in selling your products!AIA Fly: OK. If u need anything, just give me a call.Jolll: Bye!AIA Fly never gives up...
Golf.. Anyone?
My friend had just asked me if I were interested in another round of golf at the driving range tonite... I couldn't give him an immediate answer and said that I would consider...Two weeks ago, after much persuasion and talking to, I finally caved in (see.. When it comes to sports, I am as unmovable as a boulder... or u can call that plain lazy) and agreed to try my hand at swinging the golf club... "No harm trying", I thought to myself, and besides, this would add some spontaneity to my otherwise monotonous and somewhat unexciting life... So there i was all geared up with my closest possible golf attire, ready to hit some balls...And a bucket of balls I did hit! Of course not all balls ended up flying in the air, some (err.. ok quite a few..) were rolling off the platform into the range... But I must say, the overall experience wasn't too bad, it definitely felt good to be able to hit a good shot. And my swing ain't that bad for a beginner too...!However I might have to retract that 'no harm trying' statement - My body was terribly sore the following morning. Arms, shoulders and waist were aching so badly, that i didn't want to get out from bed... I guess the upside is that it had gradually subsided in just 2 days (yup, being the ever-unsporty person, i thought the soreness will last for a week...!)So, this brings us to my question: Shall I go tonight? (Or rather shall I make the effort for more spontaneity in my life?)
For those who know me personally... I think you guys know the answer already...! To convert Jolll from a couch potato into a golfing enthusiast is akin to moving a great big boulder with your bare hands. Thats not to say I will never ever play golf again.... Just perhaps another time lah...
Atypical Day
I’m back!! It has been such a busy month – so busy that I hardly have the time to blog! And when I do find some quiet time, I can’t seem to find the words to express my thoughts, because my head is still buzzing from a hectic day at work… So what entails in a day for Jolll? What is her typical day at work like??
For starters, my work is based on a per project basis, and for each construction project that I am involved, I am responsible for:
1) sourcing and ordering materials
2) preparing monthly progress claims (which I call it as ‘counting dirt’ as I mainly calculate earthworks these days)
3) certifying my suppliers’ and subcontractors’ claims to us
4) writing and managing correspondence to and fro my clients
Multiply the above by 3, which is the number of ongoing projects I have on hand now, and you’ll get the idea of my typical workload…
In addition, I am also involved in tendering for additional projects. And for each tender, I’ll have to:
1) source for material prices again
2) do my quantity take-off i.e. calculate how much material is required for a certain structure, for e.g how much formwork, steel and concrete is needed for a certain drain.
3) Calculate and establish prices to put into our tender for submission
On a typical month I would probably get an average of 2 tenders a month, but this past month, I had completed 4 (with 2 more to go…)
So u can imagine what its like for me in the last month – My phone is ringing constantly every 5-10 minutes. I get calls from my sites wanting me to order materials for them; I call up my suppliers to enquire about prices and availability, and order them. I get calls from suppliers and subcontractors chasing me for payment, I said I will check and call them back. I get calls from my site again asking me when the materials will be delivered; I call up my suppliers to check on the delivery status.
At the same time, amidst all this calling, I have to prepare my progress claims, calculate my tenders, entertain suppliers that pop in unexpectedly to my office for service calls, draft letters and correspondence, deal with angry and annoying suppliers and handle disputes between my site personnel (??!) Yeah that was what happened last week, and I was dragged into it unwittingly…
So I guess you all can understand why my head is still buzzing after a day’s work, and why I was unable to write anything decent. Anyway, this is all part and parcel of this industry, and I have learnt to manage it and take it into stride. The main thing is: I am back!!
