Sitting at the central courtyard at Raffles Place, I enjoyed my 15-minute smoke-break.
I had rolled two cigarettes while I was in my office on the phone with my clients so that I could save time spent on rolling during my break. Efficient time management, yeah?
Smoking is an interesting activity that can teach you loads about multi-tasking. You can do so many things while smoking: watch a movie or the teli, talk to people, listen to music, finish assignments, read, write, or even play Squash. And then, you can always do what someone likes to call 'people watching'.
You see them enter and leave the buildings in packs of five or three if they're in groups. Most of them are alone though. Dressed up in black suits and usually on the phone. Corporate whores, Aesa would call them. It's lunch break for most people, but many of them line up at ATMs before heading on for lunch. Some girls dressed in white walk about distributing tissue papers with material promoting the upcoming Boat Asia 2008 event.
A young man and a woman walk out of the OUB building, chatting away. They look like they would be discussing sub-prime rates. Then a slightly older white male joins them and engages the young man into a spirited conversation. The woman feels neglected, so she pulls out her phone and pretends to sms someone. Then the older man, who by now looks like he must be their boss, starts paying attention to the woman (who forgets all about the sms she was pretending to write and pushes the phone into her purse). The man tries to crack a joke to regain attention, but it falls flat. Promotion prospects fly in the air, I think to myself.
On the other end, a serious-looking woman appears, wearing stilettos. What a waste of good shoes, I think. If only she knew how to control her gait, that stern look would've done her some good after all. I quickly looked away.
A man stands in the middle and keeps looking at his watch. He had just come out of Clifford Centre. I guess he must be heading for lunch but then he stops in the middle, clueless, as if. A woman appears walking towards him in the distance. A smile appears on the man's face. They hug and kiss as they meet. I tell myself: young love - how sweet.
A shipment of what must be a few hundred thousand Today newspapers arrive. I grab one and head back to my office.
I had rolled two cigarettes while I was in my office on the phone with my clients so that I could save time spent on rolling during my break. Efficient time management, yeah?
Smoking is an interesting activity that can teach you loads about multi-tasking. You can do so many things while smoking: watch a movie or the teli, talk to people, listen to music, finish assignments, read, write, or even play Squash. And then, you can always do what someone likes to call 'people watching'.
You see them enter and leave the buildings in packs of five or three if they're in groups. Most of them are alone though. Dressed up in black suits and usually on the phone. Corporate whores, Aesa would call them. It's lunch break for most people, but many of them line up at ATMs before heading on for lunch. Some girls dressed in white walk about distributing tissue papers with material promoting the upcoming Boat Asia 2008 event.
A young man and a woman walk out of the OUB building, chatting away. They look like they would be discussing sub-prime rates. Then a slightly older white male joins them and engages the young man into a spirited conversation. The woman feels neglected, so she pulls out her phone and pretends to sms someone. Then the older man, who by now looks like he must be their boss, starts paying attention to the woman (who forgets all about the sms she was pretending to write and pushes the phone into her purse). The man tries to crack a joke to regain attention, but it falls flat. Promotion prospects fly in the air, I think to myself.
On the other end, a serious-looking woman appears, wearing stilettos. What a waste of good shoes, I think. If only she knew how to control her gait, that stern look would've done her some good after all. I quickly looked away.
A man stands in the middle and keeps looking at his watch. He had just come out of Clifford Centre. I guess he must be heading for lunch but then he stops in the middle, clueless, as if. A woman appears walking towards him in the distance. A smile appears on the man's face. They hug and kiss as they meet. I tell myself: young love - how sweet.
A shipment of what must be a few hundred thousand Today newspapers arrive. I grab one and head back to my office.
Labels: Call Centre, Raffles Place, Smoke Break
