Had dinner with the bf last night and after we finished our meal, the both of us still feel that our stomachs were not filled up right. Just a quick explanation to everybody, I usually wouldn’t be able to finish my food unless I’m famished. I guess I must be feeling famished last night. Oh, well. Back to the story-telling. The bf suggested to go for dessert but the both of us had no idea where to go next as we were having dinner in one of the ‘warungs’ in Kelana Jaya and didn’t want to go too far.

I was hankering for some ‘cendol’ but the bf pointed out that it will be tough looking for it since it’s 9+pm. The alternative is getting some doughnuts from Big Apple in NZX but we’re both kind of sick of having doughnuts so soon again. The bf was craving for some ice-cream and suggested that we go to Swensen’s and it was my turn to point out to him that Swensen’s is an overkill cause the both of us will end up feeling too full. As we ding-dong ideas around, the bf’s friend, S, called and wanted to meet for drinks. When the bf told him that we want to have dessert and have no idea where to go, S suggested McD’s sundaes. Bless him for making that suggestion because McD’s sundaes have always been heavenly and you never feel that it’s too much for the tummy.

There we were, enjoying our sundaes and catching up with S when the bf suddenly pointed to a poster with potatoes and fries. Both S and the bf were asking why the word “potatoes” is spelled with “es” in the end and why the word “tomatoes” is spelled with only “s” in the end (note that I spelled tomatoes with “es” in the end because it’s the correct spelling, though I was tired and blur last night, that’s why the lack of attention). It was then that I got into my “moment”.

Now, my “moments” does not appear all the time. It’s few and far in between. Yet, when it does make an appearance, it can leave the people around me in stitches, especially the bf. Anyway. My “moment”.

I started explaining to both S and the bf about how when a potato is left alone, especially in a damp, dark place, it will start growing shoots out of it. And those shoots look like toes. And that’s the reason why “potatoes” are spelled with “es” in the end. S looked at me with dumbfounded look for a few seconds before asking me what I’m on. He thinks that I’m high on something! After all of us had finished laughing (and my face had stopped turning a funny shade of red), S asked me about the missing toenails on the potatoes “toes”. To which I answered that potatoes are special, so they do not have nails growing on their toes.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, that is the reason WHY “potatoes” is spelled with “es” at the end of it.

I can’t believe I took this long to blog about changing jobs. Then again, what’s new with me? My posts are always late and I doubt much people visit this page much anymore.

Anyways, months before the new manager joined the company, I was playing around with the idea of changing jobs sooner than planned. That was back in March or April. Back when I first graduated, I had a plan. A plan to stick with my first job for at least 2 years, building up the experience and learning the ropes before I move on to a new job with better pay and perks. Boy, did that plan evolved quite a bit.

After being bullied and attacked on my quality of work by a Senior Management staff due to personal reasons that only she knows, I’ve felt really miserable staying in the company. The misery lessen considerably when she left the company and things did get better for me work-environment wise. But, there was still no manager in my division and my colleague and I both practically had to keep the division afloat. I got to learn a great many things during that duration, making the learning curve quite high. Yet, the restless feeling of staying cooped up in the office the whole day long and doing in-house PR is gradually wearing me down. I told myself that I’d stay a few more months until the new manager comes in before I abandon ship. I was seriously considering changing industry to experience different things. I still want to work in a media-related field but something different from PR for a change. I knew I had to take the risk and learn the ups and downs while I’m still able to.

I started looking for jobs during that few months before the new manager of my division comes in. I sent resumes to jobs that interest me but without much care if they were interested in me immediately. I started talking to friends about wanting to change jobs and before long, a friend recommended me to her boss, which turns out to be my new boss currently. Anyway, I was just looking around casually for a new job while keeping things running in the old office. All those time, I was just waiting for a new manager to fill in the position and take the lead. Even when we finally found someone to fill in that position, I was telling myself that I’d give it another month or two before I aggressively start looking for a new job.

The new manager only joined the company for 2 weeks before I decided that I NEED to throw in the towel and call it quits. The new manager’s behaviour and work ethics were just something that I could not accept and though I tried as hard as I could, I just cannot find within myself to work with her without resent or contempt. She was the main catalyst for my wanting to leave the job ASAP. It was also around the same time that my friend informed me that her boss would like to meet with me (read that as interview) on possibly working for her in her creative content development house.

So. I met my friend’s boss. There were two positions available and she left it up to me to choose which position I feel more comfortable and prefer working in. One was to be a marketing executive and the other was to be her Executive Assistant. After a week of sleeping on the idea, I opted for the latter position. The marketing executive position does have a high learning curve where I would be able to gather experience of working under an ex-CNN staff and getting regional exposure. However, the role of an Executive Assistant will allow me to learn everything from A to Z - from the conceptualisation of an idea to the final product. After deciding on which position to take up, it was just a matter of discussing contracts and agreeing on the dates for me to begin work.

We agreed that I’d start work in early August. Considering that I only need to give 10 working days’ notice to leave my job, I tendered in my resignation in mid-July. My last day of work was on 23rd July. And boy, was I happy to get a whole load of weight and job lifted away from me. Can you believe it? The manager was still dumping work assignments on me on my last day of work when I should be concentrating on completing any pending tasks and hand-over list! Even at the eleventh hour, she was still asking me to liaise and coordinate a few things with suppliers - things that she should start taking over because it was my last day of work and I wouldn’t be around to handle those tasks anymore. That woman was just being impossible!

Despite the misery and impracticality that the new manager showers on me, I was pleasantly surprise to find out that there were people in the old team together with some of the entrepreneurs I’ve liaised with, who find it hard to let me go. I received many emails telling me that I will be missed and that it’s a great loss to the company for letting me go. Some entrepreneurs even wrote thank you emails to me for getting them the media attention that they so rightly deserved. And there were some partners who mentioned that we should keep in touch and meet up one of these days - as friends. I didn’t know that people actually appreciated the work and effort I’ve put in in the last 10 months. It just gives off a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that my work has not gone down the drain at all.

Although I still feel very deeply about my work in the company, although I still care about the progress of the entrepreneurs in the development of their project, life must go on. I need to do this for my own sake. For my own career purposes. And I’m glad I did. LoL. Not quite sure if I’d still feel the same way a few weeks down the road as there’s already a long list of things to do and complete within the next 8 months. Still. I’m here mainly to learn and gain experience. To explore my own capabilities. To carve a pathway for my career. Let’s see how things go after the end of the first quarter of next year, eh?

Disclaimer: This post is filled with vulgarity due to super high venting mode.

Out in the working world, it’s almost always essential to command a certain degree of respect from your colleagues, be it if they’re your juniors, your peers or your superiors. You do not necessarily have to like one another but you do have to respect them to a certain degree.

I have a problem respecting my own divisional manager at the moment. And it’s not because I am not trying at all in my part, rather, she has done nothing at all to try to gain my respect. I may be alone in the way I feel about this issue but to me, even when one is a superior or of a higher rank than everybody, one should ALWAYS try to gain the respect out of one’s subordinates. Not come in to work and start pissing around the place to mark one’s territory and assert one’s power before getting to know one’s subordinates.

If she’s really the best manager around, I would have respected her somewhat despite doing it begrudgingly. But she’s not the best manager around, in fact, she’s not even good. Yes, she may be able to execute tasks at a short period of time, but in a very disorganised way without stopping to think about the impact and end result. For me, when one is in a managerial role, one should be able to do all that, even if it’s within a limited area.

Months before she came in, I was adviced and asked repeatedly not to benchmark her against the previous manager and I’m proud to say I have never did anything like that before. Not once. But she came in with her nose held up high, going about doing things without even keeping her subordinates in the loop, can’t even write properly, credit MY work as her own without any mentions of me or my colleagues at all, doesn’t even bother to understand what the company, the product and the processes of how things work in the company and the biggest no-no of all things, she always, always points her finger at me when things go wrong.

I do not hate her for hate is a terrible word to use. However, I do dislike her intensely and it’s slowly making its way into the core of my soul. I have dreams of wanting to slap her around for being such a bitch. And mind you, she’s ditzy. And she’s only good at giving instructions to people and not executing certain things herself, even when it falls within her job scope! Oh yeah, speaking of giving instructions, sure she can give instructions, but she’s lousy at them! And when something doesn’t go the way she expected it to be, she actually had the nerve to say that I don’t understand her instructions at all?! She tried to put the blame on me again and I’m pissed off, I really am! Things that she never instructed at all, she said she did. F**k her! If she’s so good at everything, then do everything herself! Don’t freaking get me to do it and then take credit for my freaking work!

Sure, she’s the manager and all, but one should always give due credit to people who deserved it! Not grab all the credit from other people! If she’s such a good freaking manager, then she doesn’t even need to bank on my work and passed it off as her own! BITCH!!

Frankly, I’ve tried so hard to work with her and not take all those bad attitudes into account. I really try so hard on my side, working to make sure that things at work will go on smoothly. But you know what, she’s not doing anything to try to get me to respect her and as long as she continues the way she does, sorry la, I won’t be able to ever find it in me to respect her in the professional sense.

I really do hope that things will work out for me at the other place where a position was tabled out for me. If everything goes well, I’ll start work at the new place on 1st August. The bitch will just have to write her own pieces and can “credit” for her own shit.

Disclaimer: Nonsensical rants ahead. Read at your own accord. The writer will not be responsible for any added stress or combustion out of hilarity.

I don’t know if it’s just me or other people. I think it may be me. My intolerance for irresponsible, double-standard, know-it-alls and plain bitchy people is at an all time high lately and I find myself getting into that dark, sulking corner more and more often. I hate what I’m turning into!

Gone are the days where I’m just another bubbly blond (hidden in a Chinese girl’s body) going on about life. I find myself getting more worked up about things that concerns me greatly and that may not be a necessarily good thing for me. Am I just a busybody who likes to nose her way into things? I don’t like to think so but I guess some people may regard me as such. Argh!

Personal life is going fine - the bf is good to me, friends are good to me, life is treating me well in that aspect. Now, work life on the other hand is going not so fine. There are many ups and downs working in my present office but the downs seem to bogged me down a lot, a bit too much than I would like to allow it to. I put down to my passion for the work that I’m doing, for the people who benefits out of what I’m doing. Yet, I’m gradually allowing it to take a toll on my health, without my really able to control the stress that builds up considerable.

I’m having nightmares about work again. Quality of sleep is lacking considerable as a result of that. I find myself ever so tired even with 7 hours of sleep. I tried detaching myself from my work but it’s not easy. Some of the people whom I have to work with is not conducting their work professionally, at least in my opinion. Things are constantly rushed through without proper procedures and for such an anal person like me, doing things without at least half the proper procedures just gets to me greatly.

Yes, I admit, this is my very first professional job after graduating from Uni. But it doesn’t mean that I know absolutely nuts or I’m lacking in common sense. The bf thinks I’m too sensitive for my own good, especially in my working environment and I wonder if he’s right in that area? There is a possibility that my sensitivity makes me take things seriously, even though some people may not entirely mean what they say.

I’m feeling miserable with work for quite a while now. It’s not the work per se that I’m miserable about. It’s the stupid people and situation I have to deal with everyday. Don’t anybody mistake me for being condescending or more superior than the rest cause that’s exactly NOT how I’m feeling. I’m not being condescending nor am I feeling more superior. I just feel that although there are many ways trying to get one thing done, we should do our best using the best possible way to get a task done. Not going around pushing everybody, wanting the job then delegating the job and once the job gets done, take credit for one’s ownself and ignoring the rest who helped one do his/her job.

I hate it when that one person says that we are all working as team when he/she clearly is not being a team player. Don’t freaking come to me and admonish me by saying that I’m not a team player when I’ve clearly kept him/her in the loop of all the things that happened! I was kept in the dark about his/her work and no one knows exactly what that person is doing. There’s just no quality control with the work and I found out today that that same person may have cheated off a designer’s pay just to prove how capable and good he/she is at his/her work! That’s very, very unethical and it’s something that does not sit down nicely with me! Gosh! There’s so many things that I’m upset about it’s not funny.

Sigh…I wonder…if I’m being too sensitive for my own good in the bigger picture.

Face it, people. Malaysia is now officially a poorer country compared to its glorious rich state 10 years ago. It’s evident when the Government have to cut down on the subsidies no? Changes have to be made in many areas, especially the comfortable lavish lifestyle that everyone is used to.

I know I have to change my lifestyle. Even more so if things should go according to plan. There may be some good news somewhere next year.

All answers are optional and dependent on the readers’ own personality. Answers may not be necessarily right. Pointers below are based on the writer’s own experience/choice.

1. Smile and keep quiet.
2. Smile and politely make a joke out of it.
3. Ignore it.
4. Play dumb.
5. Change subjects.
6. Return the favour by spewing a catty remark back.
7. Oh…I don’t know! What else do you think it should be?

The negative vibe at work has lessen tremendously since a certain person decided to exit from the company. Her konco-konco are still around but without her presence, they seemed to have lessen the fuss that was created earlier. I’ve received practically nil in catty remarks since her departure. The only thing which I’ve received thus far was being completely ignored by her one staunch supporter and believer.

The work environment is finally bearable and it really does provide great relieve to me, especially when I was helplessly verbally attacked for weeks and months for absolutely no reasons at all save for guilty by association. Despite the environment being bearable these days, I still can’t wait to get out of this place and try something different for my own career sake. Hopefully, something good will come my way soon.

May 2008 has really proven to be a really bad time of the year for me.

After the recent neck and shoulder muscles sprain which happened earlier of the month, things started to look brighter for me. I had a great time in Bali with BB and there was nothing to do there except to eat, sleep, sight-see, shop, going for spas and visiting the Hard Rock Cafe and Hotel at night (BB has a friend working in Hard Rock) for some music and fun. The whole entire week in Bali was just pure relaxation for both BB and I and I came back feeling very much rejuvenated. The rejuvenated and relaxing feeling dissipated in less than 4 hours when I got back to KL, all because of work stories which reaches my ears.

I tried to resist absorbing the stories from work as much as I could but to no avail. My source wouldn’t stop yapping about work and before I know it, *wham*, I can feel the stress from work gradually seeping into my being. As I returned to KL from Bali on a Friday, I had the whole weekend to recover from any jet lag that I may have. And the whole weekend was somewhat of a torture for me because I was torn between switching on my laptop and checking my work email out and the determination to enjoy the rest of the freedom I temporarily have away from work. The latter prevail, only to a certain extent because the mind refuse to not think about work.

Went back to work on a Tuesday because Monday was Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. The moment I got to my cubicle, waaaaaaaay before I even had time to set up my laptop, work started pouring in left, right and center from my colleagues. Took a few deep breathes and composed myself before I dive into the pile of work. Went around to my colleague from my own division, my HoD and the CEO to gather bits of information on work updates during my absence. You may wonder why I had to go to my CEO for updates - he’s quite a hands-on person who likes to get involved in the Corporate Communications Division’s affairs especially when it comes to marketing and branding matters. I think he just doesn’t quite trust us with our advice and opinions especially considering that I’m a freshie out of University. I can go on about how I’ve proven my worth as an employee and colleague to others but let’s just leave that for another day’s story.

Anyway…after gathering all the updates and information that I needed, I sat down, analysed the workload in front of me, and suddenly realised that I’m taking on extra workload fit for another 2 people because the company is currently understaffed!! Pushing the growing panic aside, I breakdown the workload to a few parts so that they are more manageable and arranged them based on urgency and priority. Started to work on the load almost immediately and I’ve been working til late in the office for the past 2 weeks.

Now, working as the internal PR person for a company doesn’t require the PR person to work til late all the time. We’re only required to work til late when we have events (which is far and few) or when we have a certain deadline. Internal PR people always have a much flexible working schedule compared to those attached to hardcore PR agencies. Hence, for me to work til late nearly every night for the past 2 weeks means there’s a very, very, very tight deadline and there’s just so much work to do! I know, work is neverending but I was near to frustration and tears when the deadlines seemed almost impossible to achieve. It didn’t help when there were other internal and external factors that got into the way of work. Factors which could have been avoided if some people were not so petty with me.

2 weeks of hard work and late nights and *wham* again, my shoulder muscles decided to strike a protest and put themselves and myself in agonising pain for the weekend. The pain was too much to be handled to the point where the bf insist that I get it treated at Damansara Specialist Hospital. So there I was, on a Saturday evening, waiting for my turn to see the MO in A&E. There was surprisingly A LOT of people in the A&E and for a second, I thought I may have enter into a hypermarket instead. Yep, it was that noisy and crowded! When the MO finally got around to attending me, she only prodded my poor muscles a couple of times, grunted a few words and prescribed me with some painkillers. I was asked to return on Monday to see the orthopaedic surgeon if the pain persists.

The weekend flew by with nothing interesting going on because of the pain I was in. Poor bf had to accompany me the whole weekend doing nothing except for a bit of reading and watching DVDs. Before either of us realise, Monday morning was upon us and I decided that I’m feeling much better compared to the weekend. I proudly declared to the bf that I’m a ok now. Guess what did the bf do to me? Nag, nag and nag before deciding to threaten me with him breaking a promise he made to me. Yep, I can be such a stubborn cow sometimes. The bf was only successful in getting me to go to the surgeon’s after the threat was issued out.

Went to the surgeon, got myself checked and was informed by the surgeon that I had a recurrence with the muscles pain. The surgeon proceeded to explain that the muscles are weak and I have too high a demand for them. I was then instructed to continuously perform simple exercises that will help strengthen my muscles for the long term and prevent a recurrence so quickly.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was what happened to me after I got back from Bali. No time to enjoy the post-holiday relaxation a bit more before I had to immersed myself in work. Work my poor muscles into agonising pain. It’s Thursday today and I’m still on painkillers and muscle relaxants to help me sleep peacefully throughout the night. I have no choice but to slow down on work this week despite the deadlines for fear of provoking the pain to heighten further.

Hopefully, my burden of workload will lessen tremendously when the new PR manager comes in tomorrow. I know certain people are questioning her abilities to lead and perform (I am one of the guilty parties) but I’m more than willing to give her a benefit of a doubt not only for my own sake and sanity, but also for the division’s and company’s sake.

*fingers crossed*

Life has been pretty miserable for me in the past nearly 2 weeks.

First, I sprained my neck muscles and had to take MC for a whole week. Sure it was great to get a break from work. All I did was sleep most of the time. Yes, it’s nice to finally get to catch up on my sleep without any worries or interruption for once but after doing nothing but sleep for 2 weeks, the mind starts craving for something more substantial. Tried doing some work at home but there was not much done due to the ache in the muscles when I sit too long facing the lappie. The bf suggested that I do work laying down with the lappie propped on my bent legs. I was not keen on the idea and abandon the thought from my mind without a moment’s hesitation. Speaking of the bf, the sprain neck muscles happened because of him.

Before anybody’s mind start theorising on how I sprained the neck muscles, let me put the fire out for some of the outrageous and saucy thoughts that may be racing around your minds now. No, I did not sprain the muscles because we were trying position 187 in the Karma Sutra. No, I did not sprain the muscles due to some strenuous activity. And no, I did not sprain the muscles because I slept on the wrong side of the bed. I sprained the muscles while trying to load my bags in the overhead luggage compartment in the plane. Yeah…I know.  A boring and uninteresting excuse.

It all happened because the bf wanted me to accompany him in his business trip. A trip that he decided unexpectedly at the last minute due to the late arrival of the invitation card. He could have chosen not to attend the function but that would mean losing the chance to meet a VVIP who could help his company finally move on with their plans. We took the plane to and fro and it was during the trip back when I sprained the muscles.

I did not realise that there was a sprain until I sat down on my seat. Felt a sharp pain on the left side of the neck and knew immediately that I must have pulled some muscles. It did not help that the pain kept increasing throughout the whole flight to the point where I cannot even turn my head to the left at all. The painful spot was immediately treated with some Yoko-yoko to help relieve the pain. It did work, somewhat. At least enough to help me sleep through the night. Had to go to the doc’s and was prescribed some painkillers and muscle relaxants for it. After taking MC for 2 whole days, I felt fit enough to go back to work and that’s exactly what I did. Work. Bad idea.

My muscles have not exactly healed when I went back to work. As a result of the long hours facing the lappie at work and the freezer I called ‘office’, the situation deteriorated. My shoulder and upper back were in pain and the whole of my left arm was numb. I was not able to drive and even carrying my handbag in my left arm hurts. Because the situation went from bad to worse, the bf insist that I go to the specialist instead of visiting a GP again.

So, there I was on an early Monday morning last week in Damansara Specialist Hospital getting myself prodded around by the good doctors. I’ve been diagnosed with sprain neck muscles due to long hours in front of the computer. The explanation is simple. My neck and shoulder muscles are used to staying in a particular position due to my long hours in front of the computer. I’ve not been utilising the other parts of my muscles for other activities. The sudden stretch of my muscles while trying to put away my luggage has pulled my muscles out of the “normal position” and ladies and gentlemen, I sprained my muscles.

The orthopedic surgeon gave me stronger medication to help with the pain, muscles and nerves. At the same time, I had to go for physiotherapy every alternate day to take the pain away from the muscles. The physio helped tremendously. It also dented the piggy bank considerably. Nevertheless, the muscles now feel fit enough to for the bali trip this weekend.

Thinking the worst is over, I finally got back to work on Monday. Wednesday morning, I started to develop a slight rash over my body. But the usual blonde that I was thought that it was nothing serious. I regretted it immediately when the rash started to itch after lunchtime. Not only has the rash develop to the whole body from the arms, it was itching so badly I found myself scratching and scratching and scratching non-stop! I must have looked like a monkey then. Sigh…

Colleagues said that it might not be an allergy. My Senior Management personnel all thinks it’s measles. And so, once again, I made another trip to the doc’s. I was diagnosed with atypical measles because there was no fever accompanying the rash. I was given MC for 2 days meaning I’m not in the office today and tomorrow again. However, both the doctor and the nurse said that the spots should subside in 2-3 days which means I can still go for my Bali trip! Yay!! The only downside to the whole thing? I may not be able to don on my bikini. But heh! Bikinis can always be worn another time. It’s the trip that counts and I’ve been looking forward to it for quite a while.

I’ve been down and out the past 2 and a half weeks because of the sprain muscles and now the measles. But come this weekend, things will change. Oh yeah baby! I can feel it in my bones. Bali will be a good change and I can’t wait to go for this vacation! Crossing my fingers and really hoping things will be good for me once again. I really do not want the whole of May to be miserable to me. Pray for me, people!

Gosh…I haven’t been blogging for the longest time possible. Lots of reasons for that but I’ll save it for a later story to tell.

The newly preggy Mei tagged me with this meme not long after her wedding reception. The rules are:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share 6 non important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag 6 random people at the end of your blog post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

Well, here’s 6 non important things about myself:

1. I was born with the umbilical cord around my neck.
2. I love to use the blanket to wrap myself up like a cocoon when I go to bed.
3. I earned the nickname “tikus bungkus” (wrapped mouse) from a love one as a result of the above.
4. I’m terribly self-conscious and have low self-esteem half the time.
5. I’m in love with colourful and decorated frosted cupcakes.
6. I love spicy food.

I’m not gonna tag anybody here. Whoever who’s interested in doing this meme, please go ahead!

It’s really, really exciting to see everything that you’ve worked so hard on and written being published in the newspapers. Even when you’re name was not published.

I’ve been doing in-house PR duties for 4 months now and it has given me many opportunities to meet up many people and listen to them tell their story on how they got their ideas and especially on the hardships that they face on their journey in entrepreneurship. One good thing that came out from working in this company, especially a GLC, is this particular opportunity. Listening to the entrepreneurs talk has arisen a passion in me to highlight their stories and help them garner publicity, which in the long run, will help them get investors interested in their products or services, which at the end of the day, will be commercialised. Think about this. The ICT and high technology products or services that are all Malaysian innovation will be used by international companies like Microsoft! How cool is that?!

Trying to get our entrepreneurs featured in the media is no easy task. Yes, it is in my job scope to do so but because I care so much about getting them into the media, I’m always bugging my entrepreneurs to give me the relevant information that I need and I’ve been liaising with the media constantly, especially one particular English paper where they have a weekly column which works very well to promote and feature my entrepreneurs. Monday was the first time ever where that column featured one of my entrepreneurs and I was so excited and happy to see the article printed out. Best of all, I saw nearly every word that I wrote was published, especially in the company profile section. It gives me so much satisfaction to see that article and I know that what I’ve been doing thus far in the company for our entrepreneurs are well worth it.

It saddens me a little to think about leaving these entrepreneurs when I leave the company in the future. But until I line up another job, I’ll continue working hard for my entrepreneurs who really deserve all these attention after all the hard work they’ve put in and all sorts of problems that they’ve faced, even bankruptcy.