A day in my working life

Morning I was feeling very down, thinking to myself why should I work here?? Have to eat bread this whole month to save my cost for lunch even though the subsidy from company is RM1 per day from the canteen… I have to travel with the Head Department of Logistics, Ms Lydia and I feel so uncomfortable to be such an inconvenience to her. [But I have to and there is no other choice].

Ms Lydia was being very nice and understanding and I should pay her back the travel cost once I have my salary. I feel so lonely in the company because almost everyone has been there for more than 3 years. And sitting on the temporary place given in the office, I just felt like crying… “Why am I here? I could have work as PR in some fun and crazy company… I could have just done what I have dreamt to do… my own lepak centre for youths…” I just prayed quietly and waited for the half an hour to pass before the siren sounded for starting work. Slowly one by one my colleagues came in.

Mr. Azam my boss told me to go outside for our department assembly area… every morning we will have a short exercise here including Ijima San and recital of our company’s quality policy. I realized that our technical department have only 8 girls and only 4 Chinese girls while there are more than 20 guys and only one Chinese guy, one Ijima San, 2 Indians and others including my boss are Malays - most of them were there since after Form 5.Then followed by housekeeping and Mr. Azam brief to Charlotte and I [the new chemist] about the morning habit of the company. Every Thursday both Charlotte and I have to undergo the Bomba Training for 7 weeks to learn how to use the fire extinguisher, fire hose and safety aids. Mr. Azam told us a little basic of some paint making instruments.

Whole morning Mr. Azam and the whole department were troubleshooting a problem with another department and they were all busy… Charlotte and I have not had anything to do, so we decided to get the training manual from the previous years to read. I read about the different components of paint and what is the function for each component… was absorbing as much as I could. Sleepy though… due to the sitting down and reading whole morning till lunch time…

For lunch, ate bread again that I packed from home and used RM1 subsidized from company for every day’s meal from the canteen. I am definitely broke and working for money while I do not want to borrow any from my parents because they are facing financial difficulties too. After lunch, back to office and sat reading the materials.

Mr. Azam called upon fours of us new employees [Charlotte and I = Chemists. Goh and Michelle = Sales for Prai Store]. He talked more on the technicalities of the paint especially on the problems of architectural paints and how to solve the problems. Then, Mr. Azam taught me from the beginning of basic paint making methods… My supervisor, a Malay guy in his late 20s, Didi, took over when Mr. Azam was not free. Didi and I will be doing a project together. Didi was specializing in Coil Coating and now he has to take care of General Industry, so he is also in the learning stage… but overall, my Boss, Mr. Azam had been so nice and had been spending all his time to teach me about the codes and IDs of each raw material and product, stages of the processes of making paint and so on… [I am happy with such a boss]

Our first Project is to come out with Shell Red.

I like this company actually because it practices transparency about each department and we are able to correct each other and learn with each other. Everyone has to know at least the basic stuff about every department. I like the way the whole company works together and help to grow each other. So far, maybe there were little politics in the company but at the very very very minimum so far… But I think that is why so many of them worked for more than 10 years in the company. Everyone works as a team.

Well, here goes one color chemist formulating paints for gas cylinders, toys, electronic goods and industrial uses… wish me the best and may God guide and guard me all the way. [*deep breathe…]

Contributed by Antonia