The Hive's Journey : May 2005

End of month outlook

I had just reviewed our takings for the month of May. It is definitely better than the previous months. Many thanks to those who have referred others to us. We really appreciate it.

For the whole month, I was seriously fighting the Zzz monster every single night. Every night will see me sleeping no earlier than 2am in the morning. Imagine i had to wake up at 7am! So what i did was wake up at 7am, clean the kitchen a little and head for the couch at the lounge. I had to be "operationally" ready. What i mean?

I need to mend the phone since the reception's operating hours starts at 7am. I also have to act as though i was awake whenever someone walks down. So now i am pretty sensitive to any sound made from people walking down the stairs. I will then get up and act normal. But i think my hair gives me away. Haha...pls dun blame me...i am really shag. Why? Private message me and i will tell you. It's a long story....

Up coming gathering:

48/02 Platoon 2
52 / 03 ORD party
56 / 0 4 gathering

If anyone of you out there want to celebrate your birthday and cant find a suitable place for that, consider The Hive as an alternative. It can accommodate a small family function with a pax of 30. Call Spencer for more details

Chillout area @ The Hive

Been busy the whole day cleaning up the gallery space to make it into a chillout area. It took me pratically the whole day. It then set me thinking that to really clean the hostel is really tiring.

Sweeping, mopping, wiping, washing, vacuuming, drying, dusting...phew...it is alot. If Thilak was reading this, he would say "You say story touches my heart"...and yes...it tickles his b***s too. So i shall not go on telling my sad story.

The chillout area is almost ready. It's just short of some cushions, glass for the table top and a lan cable for the computers. Right now, the housekeeper's computer is my laptop. Big sacrifice huh? Hehe...nah...it is pretty under-used so i thought i could use it for the hostel and then free up 2 desktops for the guests. The demand for them is rather high u see...Living on your satisfaction remember?

So, when it is ready it is gonna be a place to relax, read, surf the net, listening to the radio and...chillout. Frens of The Hive and frens of frens of The Hive, drop by and check it out. We serve finger food, drinks and snacks. Strictly closed to the public!

*whisper*...my survival depends on this...=p

Dreaming...Dreamy....

Remember the old man in his fifties i was telling you all about in the previous entry? He said he'll be back (definitely not the way Arnie sound in Terminator. His was slurred and weak) and usually I would not be bothered by such statements. So time came for me to go to bed. It was around 1+ in the morning.

The door bell rang. The door bell rang agian. For a while, i thought i was dreaming (I really thought i was dreaming! cos only the irritating tenant's daughter would ring the bell so late in the night but she came back already). I did not know how many times the bell rang before i opened my eyes (still insisting i was dreaming). When your eyes are opened and you hear the bell, it has to be for real!

I jumped out of my bed (and this must be a record speed cos i don't think i'd ever gotten out so fast. Not even during turnouts in the Army) and rush to the window. There i saw an old man, that old man reaching out to his handphone. I guess the next thing he was going to do is to try to call me on my mobile. He saw me at the window.

Still half awake, i went down to receive him. Did the processing and everything and decided to go back to sleep. He wanted a morning call @ 7am. When i went back to bed, i could not sleep although i was really tired. I was worried about the old man. He had to use a magnifying glass to read and looks like his legs would give way anytime so i think that would make anyone worried. Decided to check on him. Asked if he was ok, he said yes. Then he tried inserting a key for the locker. I saw that he was not using the correct key. He was using some other key he had on him. So i had to tell him that the locker key is the one with the yellow tag. Ok...everything should be ok now. I went back to bed. But not long after, i got up and went to see if he is still up. The lights were off. Great. He has settled down and i can get my sleep.

What a night....

Security glitch

No worries people....we didnt waste the 900 bucks on the security access system

What happened was that we had 2 unnoticed visitors in the span of less than 15mins.

1st unnoticed chap - A man in his 40ties and bearded to the max! Sounds foreign and i asked where he is staying now (cos he is not carrying anything and said he will be back later) and he said he just arrived. Must be foreign right?

2nd fella - In his 50ties, local, well groomed and polite. Asked me about the place and my name. Told him my surname was Han and he asked if i was Hainanese. I expected it i tell you! Every elderly person who knows my surname will ask the same question so it was nothing new. What was new is that he started listing all the Hainanese surnames and mentioned a few ex-ministers in the 60ties who had a Hainanese surname. Then he went on telling me about these ministers, about how they received bribes and then were either jailed or sent out of the country. Went on and on....and then he when he had nothing more to add, he decided he should take his leave.

Now...where was the security srew up? Why nobody noticed thier entry? It was like this....

A contractor was here to mend the leakages so i left the door open as they would need to walk in and out. And i was facing my computer at my counter thus didnt bother about the people walking in and out. That was when the foreign man walked in.
Once a while i would check the door and see if there was anyone and then the foreigner gave me a shock. Damn! He was really quiet moving around. God knows where he went before i noticed him.
So lesson learned, i closed the glass door at the side. But....it didnt occur to me that Louis left from the front door and did not lock it after him. So...yes...that's where the other man came from

From where i am at the counter, i could only see half the door and it was pretty dark in the gallery. Again, i was facing my computer and then when i looked up, i see the man standing between the lounge and gallery. F**k! If it had been later in the night, he would have scared the shit out of me. The rest you would have known.

The morale of this story: You tell me

1st Massive Gathering

Well, the much awaited gathering was held yesterday. About 60 people turned up and the place was really packed at around 8plus. Everyone was busy catching up and updating one another about their happenings and about their future plans.

I didn't ask if the food was sufficient but the drinks were quickly exhausted carton after carton. The only regret last night was the air-conditioning. It disappointed us when it matters the most. You could feel the heat and people are pespiring. Some had to sit outside the walkway which is alot cooler even though the weather these days were on the high side.

Still, I am very happy to see all of them. Some of them i have not seen for a year. I am very sure everyone enjoyed the conversations. I could not talk to everyone yesterday but would love to do some catching up with these people. If you are one of these people and is reading this, you may want to drop by The Hive and we can chat.

Of course, anyone can drop by anytime. I have had some offers to use The Hive for birthdays and definitely, the place is available if notice is given in advance.

And, ORD party!!!! Will try to organise it in platoon level so that it's not so packed...will update in due time.

Right now...it's quiet...really quiet...l.o.n.e.l.y.....=)