Monday, September 22, 2008

Review of the Month (2): Bitch and Me

On 10th, an 8:00 pm meeting of the production staff for a Japanese singer’s concert. Though there was a sufficient amount of time for the organizer to introduce me to the staff who had come from Japan, she did not do so, and the meeting started with me no knowing which persons were Japanese. Soon after the meeting began, it was apparent that the Singapore production chief was not well prepared and he started presenting half-cooked ideas frustrating the Japanese staff. Moreover, he began speaking in Chinese. Luckily for the meeting and unluckily for me, there was a lady from Taiwan, who was very fluent in Japanese and had experience with the singer’s concerts. I had nothing but standing idly. The meeting was scheduled to end at 11 pm, but there was no sign for it to close at 11:30.

My schedule for the following day was to be decided by the result of the meeting. As the people were deep in discussion in Chinese, I asked the organizer’s boss about my schedule by pointing the schedule sheet that said my day would start at 12:30 or 6:00 pm.

She looked at me and said, “9:00 am (changed to 9:30 am later).” I pointed at the schedule sheet that said my day would start at 12:30 or 6:00 pm. She looked at me again and her answer was, “Are you listening to me or are you listening to the paper?” How rude!! By then, I had not uttered any word for 30 minutes. I decided to leave the venue. Bullshit! What a bitch!!

On 11th, I arrived at the site at 9:30. Another argument between the Japanese staff and the production chief of Singapore. It seemed to me that they were going around the same thing. Around and around. I myself got a bit frustrated with the responses of the chief and got louder. The bitch shouted, “XXXX (my name)!!” “Don’t be aggressive to my staff! You must be neutral. Just translate what is going on. Don’t change the (emotional) tone.” Bitch then convened another interpreter too and said to both of us, “Report to me (when you arrived at the site, idiots). Report to me even if I’m busy.” One of those company bosses who doesn’t know how to talk.

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