It’s really difficult to bring myself back after setback. When it’s almost impossible, worse situations come in, throwing celebrations for a rugged man.

I went back after a day of escaping from the hellish place. The absence of the duty clerks started the day unpleasantly. A set of new rules caused frustration, which I’d chosen to ignore. Just at the first storey, the scene of clients outside the office told it’d be a busy day.

It was a scary moment and luckily no big shot was around. We could have got there earlier if only the main office was opened earlier and we could draw the keys in time as well. It was an unusual case that none of the CAI personnel was around and I’d to help them issue their rooms.

I didn’t like the idea of Kwang Han being called back when he was promised of a off day since a few weeks back. However, he was handy and it was great to have him around to help settle things, especially when the office was kind of like a thrash place.

The cupboards to the expensive equipments like laptops and projectors weren’t even closed, not to mention being unlocked. Uniforms and boots were left in the middle of the “resting” place.

I checked the loan books and there was this laptop being issued out the day before, without the serial number or recipient’s number. The worst thing was the name without rank in front that was telling me he wasn’t even from the camp. Luckily we found a laptop on the front which matched the brand. So, I concluded the person didn’t clear it after the client returned.

I sensed a comeback of the same old problems. The book was in a mess with missing items like contact numbers and signatures, some equipments returned weren’t cleared. Perhaps, it’d never been better since last time, except that some of us were present months ago to lessen the disasters but now we weren’t in the office sometimes.

Of course, the charts on the wall weren’t updated; someone must be expecting souls could embark there when physicals weren’t around. Three projectors went missing but actually they were sent to workshop a day before and nobody had informed everyone.

Upon realising the number of the projectors left, I tried to get back the expired ones. Suddenly, the air-con servicing men arrived and claimed that they had informed Jonathan the day before that they were coming down. I stopped everything and accompanied them up to each room, on the way saw the threatrette’s door opened widely with the air-con on. Luckily the equipments inside were still around.

I was going for lunch when Warrant Ng came in and claimed that he had indented a laptop from Staff Quek. Again, Kwang Han and I weren’t informed of anything and we’d to make phone calls. We tested the set, which was found on the floor earlier on and there was problem with the power connector – obviously someone had received it without checking.

After lunch was self initiative to pack up the office, but it was painful to see others not contributing. And when someone stepped in, the only person not idling had to do the entertaining. It wasn’t only about setting good example.