Preposterous!

I'd like to update whoever is bored enough to read my blog that i am going to Taipei for a work trip. No doubt i do not have to fork out a single cent and i get to gain invaluable experience but the horror of the entire idea is just......appalling! Why? Ok, let me tell you why.

1) I am not booked on a direct flight. I am booked on CX (ok, fair enough) to Hongkong and transit to an aircraft (Dragonair? WTF?) which already feels like a dubious mode of transport via a mystical creature.


2) I am expected to go to work on the date of departure despite the the flight time of 1625hr. So i have to heave my luggage to work and look like an idiot when i show up for work in the morning.

3) I am made to share a room with a guy. Yes, a guy. A man, a fully grown man and i am absolutely not comfortable with that! Not that i would be any more comfy with a girl/woman/lady/auntie/grandma but hell no, i am impossibly anal when it comes to personal space. I know, i am a selfish, anti-social hermit but i can't help it. But thank my lucky stars, the Man has a Taiwanese girlfriend who of course would rather have him back at her place for disgusting hot action, leaving me happy as a clam in solitary bliss.

4) For the 4 days that i have to be there, i would only need to attend 2 days of seminar. Each seminar lasts only 2.5hrs. I bet you with all my might that everything will be conducted in Mandarin. Shit, now how am i supposed to know how words like "acid, alkali, pH level, cool/warm tones and depth, cortex, cuticles, keratin, collagen, neutralize, sulfates, silicone" sound like in Mandarin??? I am rather positive they have their own words for many technical terms without sounding like they blatantly translated them from English. I foresee myself switching off after 15 minutes of both sessions. God give me strength to be smart enough to decipher through instinct.

5) Left with way too many hours to idle away for 2 days, i am pretty sure the event organizer would plan ice-breaking meals or outings to let us mingle on an international level. Hell no, please, no. I don't play well with others. I think i already have quite a reputation in my industry that i do not socialize. I just wanna head back to my room for cable tv and room service. Even if i were to explore/shop/eat out, i'd rather do it all by myself. Call it social phobia if you want because i have concluded that anti-social is an understatement. The event organizer must really, really hate me.

6) Lastly, i was wondering why i was the CHOSEN ONE to attend this seminar. I thought the other possible candidates might have had personal commitments planned out and were unable to attend. But no........the company management said, "Oh, your overall performance for 2010 was so impressive that without a doubt, you totally deserve this trip." Shoot me lah. Did i just dig my own grave by giving my best at work?
Isn't it ironic? I give my all and now i am the whipping boy/girl.

Damn. If you all understand hokkien, the apt idiom would be: Gia Lan Kah Tao. Go figure.