A-Z of surviving work in an overseas location..

im gonna try this again.. in my old blog which i deleted a couple of months back.. i had A-Z of surviving a breakup.. A-Z of being a senior.. cant remember what else.. but now.. i will try A-Z of surviving work in an overseas location..

 

Ask pple who have gone to the place on what to do there.. with the short time u have there.. considering at least 1/3 will be spent working.. and 1/4 will be spent sleeping.. u relli dun have much time to waste going to places that are not worth going..

 

Bring the proper clothing.. not in terms of weather clothing.. but make sure u know what the client wears.. dun stand out by being underdressed or overdressed..

 

Camera.. though u arent supposed to be on vacation or be a tourist, u can still bring a camera.. u never know when u have interesting things to take..

 

Drink.. haha.. im not an alcoholic lah.. but then drinking at night is quite fun sometimes :)

 

Extend ur stay.. esp if the place u are going is worth staying a little longer.. not like the place im in now.. go like near a weekend.. so that u can enjoy over the weekend..

 

Food.. eat the local food whereever u go.. dun keep eating macs.. haha ;) just kidding U.S. team :)

 

Get a local "tour guide".. if u know of pple who stay in that place.. call them and ask them to bring u out for local fun and food..

Hotel.. make sure u get a decent hotel.. in terms of quality and accessibility.. cos thats the place u go back to every night!!

 

Identification documents.. keep them.. ur passport.. ur credit cards.. ur identification card.. dun lose these overseas.. very tbsome ah..

 

Jaga ur belongings.. dun lose stuff.. else u will feel lousy for some part of ur trip..

 

Keep your working hours within the normal working hours.. shops do close.. so might as well finish work on time.. go shop and eat.. and then go back hotel and continue doing ur work..

 

Luggage bag.. make sure u bring a sufficiently big one.. else u might end up having to buy another luggage bag!!

 

Money $$$.. bring enuff cash.. or at least bring ur credit cards.. its very poor thing to feel poor when u r overseas..

 

Namecards.. get your clients' namecards .. cos u never know when u need some emergency numbers.. and of cos remember to bring ur own namecards lah.. pple give u means u must give pple also mah..

 

Overbudget.. dun underbudget.. get enuff staff with u.. and spend enuff days on the job.. no point killing urself working till the wee hours of the morning.. and u must always have buffer time.. cos u know how unlucky pple get.. things might not be done without any issues..

 

Prepare your work in advance.. before u go overseas.. see what u can cover in Singapore first.. then at least when u come here.. u can finish your work in a shorter period of time..

 

Quack quack.. duck chicken dog talk.. if u know u are not good in the language (eg chinese), make sure u get someone who is good at it (or better than u at it) to go on the trip with u..

 

Relationship with the client.. take time to tok to the client.. small tok will do.. it makes ur work easier.. dun step on their toes.. else u might just have to extend ur stay to complete the job..

 

SKYPE!!! remember to download skype.. its cheap or even free.. and its good... can tok for hours free of charge!!!

 

Taxi receipts.. remember to take them to claim from the company..

 

U're not there to play.. must remember.. the work still must be done.. dun leave everything to be completed when u go back to Singapore.. cos it will just burn u out then.. its a balance u have to play ard with..

 

Vroom.. if u can get a car.. i think its fun to have a car... especially if the company pays for it.. but be careful ah...

 

Weather.. check out the weather so that u will bring the right clothes and the right shoes..

 

X-ing the road... be careful.. in some places.. green man doesnt mean the pedestrian has the right of way.. i should know.. i have seen it with my veri own eyes..

 

You should check ur email often.. whenever u can.. cos the mail just builds up.. i have like 20 plus mails a day for the shipping company job.. most not requiring my action.. but equally as much mails requiring my reply.. dun accumulate too much.. else u might spend one whole day just clearing mails..

 

Zzzz... sleep enuff before ur trip.. else u will feel damn shack during the trip.. unless u r normally a night bird (like me) then it doesnt relli matter :)

 

shit.. i just saw a mosquito in my room.. cos the window was half open.. shit shit shit.. i think im gonna suffer tonight..