Last month

 Last month draws a conclusion. Absolutely there’s cigarette theft. That is what I wanted to find out. Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore but I felt hundred percent sure that I have made the wrong move to stay la. They played all year long. Some a bit here and there but I think succumbed to somebody’s else influence.

Sigh. Tiring day just thinking about it. Some people you just have fun working. Thinking back, I used to complain how my dad’s factory set up. Everytime you arranged, the next day, it was back to rojak… Mum’s shop was ok. I can arrange all I want. Arranging things just make you feel like tidying up your thoughts. Imagine I used to arrange a whole wall full of 5L Nippon Paints by numbers and types. I have to climb all the way up and took the 5L tin and sometimes 2 cans down. I wondered where all my strength came from. Back then I was skinny though. Now I am fat but I don’t feel the weight as light anymore. Old probably. I liked it face out according to numbers and I can easily find when customer wants. Except for the white and black which is more popular, we put it below. During chinese new year, order more red. Red for Chinese’s God worshipping. Green or Yellow for Hari Raya. What people like is hard to tell but the regulars will always buy the same stuff every year. When they built the hospital, we were there too. Paints, spray paints and so on. Back then, everything was like free style. Even money, our cash register never connect to the socket. I just spontaneously find back the change. Receipt also handwritten. Drawing also drawn by hands. Accounting by typewriter. When I go back to time, what were the things I would change? Even now, we couldn’t. The shop was now rented out to a person who sell shirts. We went there to collect rents because Dad cannot drive out. We drove to his other shophouses where the workers stay. We have to provide shelter for them. The shop was used as store but never went inside. Dad just asked me to drive there to check on what the workers were doing. Apparently, they have been using our resources to do work without my Dad knowing. They drove our lorry. I used to be furious with some of them though. They could drill holes into the engine. Steals stuff when we were closed for break without any fear. Passing 20 foot aluminum frame over the closed gates. Our cctv took forever to install. Our pc took forever to buy. It was all fun when we first had it, and everyone surrounded the pc to look at someone playing solitaire. I wasn’t allowed to touch it because I was eight. I was good at typewriting was because I found a keyboard not attached to anything. Probably not working anymore. I just sat there typing away. Dad would ask me to follow him to the factory. Sometimes, I was really tired, I slept on the chair. Sometimes, I helped to cut metal strip. I only cut glasses when I was in secondary school. For playing, I do cut things out of unwanted piece. Sometimes, I just talk to some talkative customers. Well, I think I have two types of personalities. The one that liked people and the one that don’t. Or just say, I liked to talk to nice people. Sometimes, I just played with the calculator. Dad’s cashier box is working though. Sometimes, I counted how many times the clock ticks. Sometimes, I just listen to what Dad talked to his customers in the office. Sometimes, I went upstairs to help my eldest brother washed his dishes. It was always a big pile. When I was younger, I enjoyed washing dishes. I saw my neighbour washing and it felt fun. I started hating it when people took things for granted. Until I was older, I looked after my niece and nephew at the factory or at the shop. We sat in the shop or factory or went upstairs when they needed to nap. My niece would sometimes sat on my lap on an armchair to watch tv while I fell asleep. Once I sat down on a sofa, I will definitely go to dreamland. I slept on the sofa during uni time more than my bed. My bed would usually be stuffed with books. I have to push them aside to sleep. The place that I talked about no longer exist. I actually grew up in that factory until I came to Singapore. 

Workers depend on all sorts of stuff. Dad paying for their air tickets back and they have a month or two holiday. The good workers were really good but they were good at cheating my Dad too. Some never come to work and the only reason they come to work is to borrow money. Some has maybe a hundred grandmother. His grandmother passed away was the excuse every-time. Of course, we never asked for certs. My mum was like so concerned and asked him about it. Giving baijin. For the next hundreds time of the same lie, we just know he didn’t want to come to work. Well, why gave him money to sit all day. Most customers came for custom made things. He cannot do most. We just let him carry stuff and most of the time I carried with him because a 50 kg cement bag was really too much. Sometimes the customer would carry with him. In that town, you can see kids behind desk to help with parents business most of the time. So, when you see a kid asking what you wanted to buy or car for repair, don’t feel awkward. I feel awkward anyway. Not used to it anymore.

I told Dad I sell shirts online too. I guess he wasn’t very please about that. Dad rather I helped him than selling shirts. Not exactly. Just design. Anyway, not that successful because tonnes of people are selling them. For the fun of it, I wanted to try out designing them. Still, my main objective is to make my own app. Still in a progress that has been in progress for sometimes. 

Gotta sleep. Too late to do anything now.