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Wrapping up 2024!
posted : Tuesday, December 31, 2024
The yearly recap! And whee left it late, with just about 7 hours to go.
Cliche but yes the year zoomed past, once again. Overall there wasn’t really any life milestones other than the fact that I am now halfway through my 30s, which in itself was a minor jolt to me - it always feels like we lost three years to Covid. I wasn’t as sentimental this time round, maybe a bit resigned, but I like to think that I am mostly living in the moment and not thinking much about what’s to come. Which may not necessarily be a bad thing I guess. So what else happened? ************ Work, well. March came and I was sorely disappointed. Angry, even. For about a month and maybe a bit more I had trouble concealing this (which probably wasn’t wise), and I did seriously consider just leaving it all behind. But as always with time the feelings dissipated, I got busy and before I know it I was slaving away again doing free labor. The damage was done though, and motivation wasn’t great for the rest of the year - I am definitely not proud of the effort I put into a couple of projects that I was tasked with. I was promised greater things next year but I have been restraining myself from even holding out hope - perhaps wary that my performance this year was not deserving of it. Here’s hoping that I can magically turn things around in the new year and restore that motivation, because as it stands, there are even more people looking up to me now and I always believe in setting an example. ************ This is one of my favorite sections to write and especially this year because very early on, I had the entire year all planned out and even with that, I managed to add in a couple of impromptu ones, including one that I hope I never ever had to repeat. Leading the highlights was the finally revived Switzerland trip, along with the Suites flight. Miles game bearing its first significant fruit (I only claimed one Business flight last year to burn expiring miles, and boy what a good starter it was). And minimal regrets aside, it was hell of a good trip and I’d do it all over again. And frankly which trip wasn’t good? In other news, made 4 trips to KL in total this year, reinforcing the idea that it was a great location for an affordable weekend getaway. Hong Kong I planned last year too and I had a good time pigging out there (and will do it again tomorrow lol). Bali with the BFFs is a rare one that made it out of a group chat and any time spent with these 4 is always something I cherish a lot. And of course the two standard trips back home. Had more redemptions secured for next year and even after I redeemed them…miles balance is still pretty healthy so expect more to come hehehe. Only limit is leave days I guess, and I would want to start expanding my horizon to other frequent flyer programs too. ********** The wellness section, well there is sort of an update in that I have engaged a PT and is actively going for regular sessions. I suppose there’s progress in that I can lift a lot more than what I was able to at the beginning, although I don’t feel that it is showing much yet. Maybe that’s just because I don’t take pics and compare often, but I do have plans to get started on a strict diet regime to force those muscles to show lol. Had a small taste of this throughout the year trying to figure out what works best - tried nutrition plans which are costly and while enjoyable at first, I got bored of it and would probably not go back to it. Self prepared meals seemed to be the way to go and the goal is to get in decent shape before my next (bigger) trip messes things up - so I have sort of a 2 month window to try to get into a consistent habit. Skin wise, nothing to update but at my last visit doctor asked me if I want to consider biologics which…I think I will think about it. And the other health episode I had which was the colonoscopy to verify that everything is indeed okay, but that had me slightly worried for a while. Though I did fall sick a few times in the second half of the year which was kind of out of the norm, and I wondered for a while what contributed to it. I don’t know of course, but hopefully body stays strong. ************ What I was a bit conscious of though, is the fact that I have been spending more than usual this year - multiple concerts, multiple impromptu trips, and the PT sessions actually do cost quite a bit. Throughout the year I was occasionally fighting off temptations to buy a car but logic (and wallet) took over and I reasoned that it really wasn’t a need. What I do want to do next year though, is to finally go through the master bedroom toilet makeover which was overdue, and the water logging issues underneath the tiles are getting worse so I think that’s forcing my hand. ******* Social life. What social life? Hahahah. Section that I always say maybe next year is the year but it never happens. Had a couple of friends who are trying to pull strings but let’s just say…I don’t really know how to do this. So just let nature (and fate) take its course, I guess. ********* Ok so that’s about it for 2024! Frankly I have some reservations about next year because of the whole 本命年 thing but, come what may. Things will work out. Labels: milestones, thoughts, wrapping up |
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35
posted : Sunday, June 23, 2024
So I forgot about my annual birthday post hahaha.
35, halfway through the 30s now. A milestone too but oddly, unlike my 30th, I didn’t make a big deal out of it. Heck, I didn’t even buy a cake this year on my own, but I ended up getting a few celebrations which I fully appreciated. Birthday was actually sandwiched between two trips - Bali with BFFs and KL with CVE Servants. Guys planned a surprise birthday dinner on our first proper night in Bali, and the second night we half heartedly asked and got something too lol. KL one was more open in a sense that they were openly discussing with us June babies on which cake place to go to. Then team celebrated for me on my actual birthday which I went to work for a change (because I used my birthday leave for KL trip), and dragged KahSiong along for dinner which I indicated the occasion when booking and restaurant obliged with a birthday dessert hahaha.  Felt like this is the most narcissistic post I’ve ever done, here’s celebration number 1 at Alma in Bali  Then another one the next night at Merah Putih, both courtesy of the BFF gang  One in office by my team on my actual day  One at dinner with Siong, Colony finally gave me the cake they owed me last year (coz i “only” booked through Chope last year)  And one with the CVE Servants gang in KL I sort of didn’t get myself a present this year, but I reasoned that I had all the trips and company as present and that was enough. Unless splurging on the PT package counts as one? It’s loosely related to turning 35 (remember how I started on my fitness journey upon turning 30?) but well that’s another story for another post. I think the last 5 years went by quickly partly because of COVID. We kind of lost 3 years to that so that’s 2 proper years which isn’t a long time I guess. What have I achieved? Work wise, nothing much, I learnt a good lesson on stepping out of comfort zone. Life goals, I bought my first home which was heck of a big deal. The family goal didn’t happen, and if I were to be honest I didn’t try very hard despite it being something I wanted. But I know I’d be fine till then, living at my own pace and finding positives from it. Have I become too comfortable with it? Perhaps, but what’s wrong with that? So off to my 36th revolution around the sun and may it be a good one.
Labels: milestones |
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Wrapping up 2023!
posted : Sunday, December 31, 2023
A yearly staple!
Did a check and wow I have been writing this since 2012, which was the year I started working. Didn’t feel like it has been that long tbh. Brb imma add a tag to all of these posts coz they are growing in numbers. Honestly this year passed by in a flash. Partly because work has been busy, also partly that I have things to look forward to and countdown quite regularly. For instance I would be like “oh, 50 days left to my next holiday” and after I come back from said holiday, I would be like “oh, 50 days left to my NEXT break” which certainly kept me sane. And I am so grateful for that. ****************** Starting with work as usual. And oh how fast the year passed by. I remember counting down every month during my two year stint in Planning and in stark contrast, one and half year back here passed by effortlessly (the time passing, not the work which was the opposite of effortless). Right off the bat I had fires to fight this year, and said fire lasted for about an entire quarter, then another one started just as the first one faded away. It all turned out well in the end, but the process was certainly energy sapping like never before. Then there were also these couple of times when I was part of the receiving end of unpleasant dressdowns from two different bosses, which was certainly new to me and was downright demoralizing. I certainly felt like I am missing a step or two sometimes. I felt like I have maintained my usual standards of guiding, advising, coaching, decision making, even with a bigger team(s) now as compared to the past and I think I have earned their respect. I thought I have settled down well. But could I have been more watchful, focus on more correct things? I looked back at the couple of episodes that blew up (and a few others that could have blown up) and I did think that I could have done more. Last year I thought that this redesignation was long overdue and I was more than ready to step into this role. At multiple occasions this year I think I was ready to step up again because I was comparing to my peers, and those who have overtaken me. Are these missteps then an indication that I am not ready for bigger things? But it’s not my fault that goal posts got shifted and I am wary that I may be stuck again as a result, which was not pleasant. I did deliver an important project this year so I hope that counts for something (even if it doesn’t seem like I am being blamed for the delay…yet). If nothing happens next year…well, I think I need to remember my 初衷 though it’s getting harder and harder with each passing year. Fingers crossed for a better year! ****************** We have officially stepped into post-COVID era, or rather an era where COVID has been normalized because it is still very well and alive (by the way, I maintain the belief that the initial lockdowns were not an overreaction, though the pace at which the Asian world normalises is). Which meant travels resumed in full force and I, for one, couldn’t be more glad. I haven’t revived my ill-fated Switzerland trip from 2020, but I opted for multiple short(er) trips this year, and somehow they are all clustered around Eastern Asia - Japan, Seoul and Taipei. And there’s the usual Bangkok and home of course. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them. Like I said in the earlier part of the posts they were so important in playing a role to keep me sane. I remembered my boss randomly checking in on my mental health (it was really random because it was as if he was trying to find a topic which was sort of not about work to talk about during a long cab ride to a meeting with SA) and I told him I am doing ok, just need regular breaks. Japan and Seoul were solo trips, Taipei was a mixture of both family and solo trip. In particular Japan was my first solo trip since what, 2019 Melbourne? And it reminded me so much about why I missed such trips. Strictly speaking all of these three cities I have visited before and some of the spots I revisited this time round too, but still managed to find new experiences. Bangkok and home trips were a much welcomed resumption of our familial traditions. Though I don’t get to spend as much time at home this year as compared to the last two COVID years which was such an irony, but parents and sister do get to visit me now so I guess that cancels it out. And for the first time I had lined up and booked my tickets for all my trips next year even before this year ended, even the trips back home, and I can’t wait for them - especially the epic October/November one. All the miles collection finally being put into (very) good use. **************** Work stress (what an excuse) meant that I put back a fair bit of weight though I think (or hoped) that a fair bit of it is muscle weight because I think visually I can see some difference, though at the rate I was eating (and binge eating sometimes) mean that it wasn’t obvious at all. I do feel like I want to get some help and I feel motivated to though procrastination is still winning over for now. But I am hitting the next milestone next year - 35 - so that sounded like another good time to start something different, similar to how I started my exercise regime when I hit 30. Let’s do this. Skin issues are still there, still under control although I find myself needing my oral meds at the beginning of the year to bring it down. Still trying to get rid of the discoloration which wasn’t working well so might just ask my doc in my upcoming appointment - I had initially convinced him that I only need to see him once a year but I chickened out in the end coz I spotted these couple of patches appearing - not like my usual psoriasis patches but these are just rashes that appear whenever my body heats up after exercising, and fade off once I cooled down so I wanted to know what exactly are those or would they mutate into something more sinister. So fingers crossed too. COVID found its way to me for a second time too (and perhaps a third time, even though I didn’t test that time but it felt suspiciously like it) and it was so mild that I was really surprised when the second line appeared, but it came at an inconvenient time (or not) that I had to bail out of a presentation. But I had a few episodes of minor ailments throughout the year which usually don’t get too serious but took a while to recover fully from, and that was certainly out of the norm for me. Wonder why. But like I said, body isn’t getting younger so really needed to take good care of it. ***************** The last section of this review is always the one that sees no progress. Unfortunately that remained the case this year, even if I started the year feeling, dare I say, somewhat hopeful of a change this year. But lack of action on my part meant that you are now reading a very boring paragraph bye. Yeah. We’ll see. ****************** There are some goals next year, work wise and others. We’ll see if they materialize. To a better 2024!
Labels: milestones, thoughts, wrapping up |
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34
posted : Saturday, June 10, 2023
To be honest these days birthdays are less about milestones but more about an excuse to treat myself well.
Not that I haven’t been treating myself well usually, but it’s like…a reason to go a bit overboard on this day? Haha. And I do my yearly reflections at the end of the year anyway. And ever since I turned 30 I do feel like every year is the same now. Like it would be great if I can achieve xxx by xxx years old, but no pressure and if it comes, it comes. So in that sense there’s less of a panic when the birthday rolls by and you grow one year older. Though of course it’s nice to have. (My mother will be seething if she reads this lol) Anyway, got this brilliant idea to spend my birthday in the skies this year. I elaborated about this and the planning for it in the other posts, but gist is that I really enjoyed it and totally wouldn’t mind doing this again another time. Though actually I would classify the entire trip as the birthday present this year - to just get away from work a bit and recharge. It was also a pretty eye opening trip in a sense that I get to see Seoul in a different light and I enjoyed the experience. And I guess that’s about it? I basically spent the rest of the day recovering from my very early start to the day and a slightly fancier tapao dinner. Commiserating the fact that my holiday ended and starting to count down to the next one which is less than 100 days away haha. Till next year.
 생일축하합니다! Labels: milestones |
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Wrapping up 2022
posted : Saturday, December 31, 2022
Time for annual post!
Felt like this year similarly flew by. Suddenly we are into our third year of living with COVID, and thank goodness many aspects of life have finally returned to somewhat pre-COVID normal. There was some sort of warning that this entire thing will last 3 years and at that time I sort of laughed it off but look where we are now. So this year is all about adapting again. Be it adapting to something of a mixture between old and new normal, and also adapting to changes to work again. ******* Why, I shall start with work again. Because realistically this has been a year of two halves. The first half of the year I was basically counting down to end of June. No heart to stay on at all. It really wasn’t a bad job scope or role, but familiarity won over and I really just thought I didn’t want to spend another 5-10 years building up that sense from scratch, at least not at this age. There is also this sense of being an outsider all this time, not being appreciated, so I made up my mind pretty early on. There is a tinge of regret for not making full use of the stint, not forging closer relationships, but it is what it is. That said, there was still plenty to do in the first half of the year - secretariat role, TMP in end April and after that was basically tying up loose ends, and went off to my long break. Coming back to TSDD, I definitely felt that I settled down way faster than I think I would. Sometimes it almost felt like I never left because everything felt familiar. Found my groove pretty quickly. But these are the technical aspects of the work - the people management part of it posed brand new challenges. Unfamiliar faces in the team - this is basically a team hastily put together in response to the spree of resignations throughout the past couple of years and I think I am still working out things, enduring a couple of drama episodes along the way which I never had to deal with in the past. I suppose I am as unfamiliar to them as they are to me, so it’s probably gonna take a while to gel. Oh well. Part of the game. Then there was the redesignation which could have happened rightaway, but I guess I’m not complaining. I do feel like it’s where I belong though, which was a confidence that I didn’t have two years ago. The role definitely meant more responsibilities, I don’t know if it meant higher expectations but as usual I am just gonna do my thing and if I turns out well, good for me. The important thing is just to never lose sight of your purpose, and to do the right thing, and that shall continue to be the mantra going forward. ****** Traveling has resumed! Many steps along the way starting from VTL, then the multiple testings, but eventually everything got scrapped. By the time July came around I was able to go for my month long break without needing to worry too much about restrictions, though there remain the odd ones like insurance and declarations, which got done away eventually too. But the break. I must dedicate one section to this alone because it was such an important one. It was the longest I have ever been away from home (1.5 years), because I decided to skip CNY this year owing to work commitments and travel restrictions, so I was really looking forward to it. It was also my longest break ever, and it allowed me to reset, it definitely helped me when I got back to work a month later because I went in with a refreshed mind, and it literally is a once in a lifetime thing unless I switch jobs. But I had a blast at home, snucked in a trip within trip to KK with the homies, without having to worry about work at all. At this rate I am going to have high expectations of my future holidays hahah. Though that also meant I couldn’t take long travel trips for the rest of the year because I burnt all my leave for this break (well I could, but I prefer to save those for next year) and watched everybody else travel as the world opens up. Did manage a short Phuket trip with the Brunei duo which was as relaxing as it can get, though it came with its own set of drama no thanks to an untimely COVID infection. Next year! Barring any resurfacing of restrictions (touchwood), I already have a few plans up my sleeves, and hoping to execute them. ******** Fitness, I think I made some inroads? Gym at my new place is better equipped than the previous one so that meant more effective workouts. Weight wise I have gained back a bit, though I hoped it’s mostly muscle weight coz I still can fit into my size S shirts (though not as comfy). I guess my biggest achievement is being able to do a pull up, finally. I focused on doing all the groundwork beforehand and when I finally attempted and executed one, I was a bit stunned that it happened and wasn’t sure if it counted haha. But confirmed it soon enough and I have since progressed to 4-5 pull ups hahaha. I do think the entire year’s worth of work has some results, in a sense that I am now stronger, but body shape isn’t really what I hoped it would be by the end of the year. PT next year? Hahaha. Gotta think through if this is really what I need. Skin wise I think it worsened a bit, with some new patches though if I were to be honest, I wasn’t super religious about my cream regiment. Stopped oral meds some time last year to go for vaccination and never resumed it, so it may have played the role a bit. Spoke to doc a couple of days ago and I’d probably resume it to help control a bit, but otherwise, not a major concern. And COVID. Finally caught it, and it wasn’t fun for a couple of days, but pulled through. ********* Settled down in my new place for a year now. Still pretty happy with how it turned out, though there are some things I have procrastinated for a while which I would probably need to work on now - like revamping my master toilet which is showing signs of needing repairs - the tiles looked like they are about to crack, suspect that it wasn’t tiled properly and water seeped in somewhere and accumulated, expanded etc. And I never got around to doing up my balcony properly. Always thought it’s an element that I can maybe work on later, maybe with someone else hahahah but oh well. Definitely not getting any younger. I remember the time when I was all anxious about turning 30 but I am now approaching 35 even and….ha ha. I mean I have no doubts that I can survive on my own, I do enjoy the freedom of it all and I am independent that way, so it’s never something that I want to force to happen. But it still doesn’t hurt to have someone to share it all with you I guess, especially when you are down with COVID lol. Which was something that didn’t occur to me often because in the first place I was generally blessed with good health and don’t fall sick often to have these thoughts surfacing. 随缘. ******** All in all, not a bad year again. But always room for improvement. To a better 2023! Labels: milestones, thoughts, wrapping up |
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33
posted : Friday, June 24, 2022
Well birthday this year was a quiet affair as usual. Though of course I still went out of the way to make it out of the ordinary, coz it’s a good reason to hahah. Which is a birthday staycation!
Had a free night stay courtesy of credit card sign up, and I only had up to 30 June to redeem it so it was an easy decision. Though it’s Andaz which I had stayed before but hey, it’s free. So duly went ahead and booked it, actually on the day before coz birthday fell on a Monday this year. The only other thing on my agenda was birthday lunch, at 665 Fahrenheit which I had wanted to try the last time I stayed at Andaz, but couldn’t get a booking. Considered doing it for dinner the night before but after comparing the menus, decided that it wasn’t worth seeing that I don’t eat beef anyway and I can easily go for a set lunch at a cheaper price point. Actually the other place I was considering was the new Chinese restaurant in Andaz, 5 on 25, but they don’t have anything suitable for one person and they don’t offer any takeaways either so scraped the idea. The actual staycation was kinda disappointing, actually. The room was alright, but I had expected more from service considering I reminded them on multiple occasions that this was meant to be a birthday stay, and I had to ask for the birthday amenity a couple of times. And when it was finally delivered, it was two measly pieces of macarons. Was expecting a cake which was standard issue in the past but nope. I did get early check in coz I showed up early, but late check out got turned down and I was very sure the occupancy wasn’t full to the extent that they can’t accommodate.  Room this time round  Proper king bed this time round, decent view too  Toilet and vanity  View, still annoyed by the dots but that is meant for privacy apparently  Said measly macarons  Took away dinner from Italian place nearby  Night view Ditto the lunch. No acknowledgement of birthday, service was okay but towards the end I got into an argument with them over using Kris+ to pay when the server refused to even check further despite being unfamiliar with the policy, instead acting like a broken record which led to me requesting for the manager sigh. In the end payment went through (of course it did) but service gets zero points from me because of this. Food was so so I thought, the petit fours was particularly disappointing though entree and mains was decent. And I only have myself to blame for accidentally ordering still water rather than tap water urgh.  View from the restaurant  Bread course, I actually am not a fan of sourdough but oh well  Starter, foie gras crème brûlée with mixed berries, tarragon and brioche  Went for cedar plank king salmon as my main, with salsa verde, sumac and mixed herbs. Pretty decent, but also very herby lol  Creamed spinach as my side  Petit fours which was really disappointing IMO Buffet breakfast was decent though. Managed to get a dip in the pool too. Post-lunch, went to collect my cakes and decided to just head home (coz cakes needed to go back to the fridge asap) and ended up not heading out for dinner altogether coz was a bit full from breakfast and lunch, so that’s the day hahah.  Typical “morning after” shot lol (不要想太多)  Fav item from breakfast, surprisingly good  Views from pool #1  Views from pool #2  Views from pool #3  Loved the cakes from Kura. Mango basil, La Vie En Rose, Noisette Orange and Raspberry Earl Grey It did seem like I just turned 30 not too long ago and I remembered it was a big deal that time, but suddenly three more years had passed by and I felt like nothing had progressed, if you know what I mean. No thanks to Covid, but last two years in particular really flew by. And can’t help wondering (but not taking any action to address it) how many more birthdays will be quiet affairs like this.
Labels: holidays, milestones |
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Farewell Nottinghill
posted : Saturday, February 05, 2022
Closing the chapter on my old place.
Because of procrastination I do have to extend my tenancy one more time, though I asked for a short term extension to give myself a bit of urgency on this front. The end result is a rental hike of $50 - even though retrospectively I think this is the best I could have asked for considering that the next tenant that came in after me paid a whopping $2100. Yeah I know rental market is thriving but really? The conditions aren’t fantastic leh. But who am I to complain about it. Fast forward to moving out - the only contractual obligations I had was aircon cleaning and curtain cleaning. But I am also supposed to clean it and return it in good condition la, even if it wasn’t stated contractually - just in case my security deposit was withheld or something. Agent tried to con me into hiring a professional cleaner, I refused and told them I’ll clean myself. And after the experience with Helpling for my new place I’d rather do this myself, seeing that the surface area to be cleaned really isn’t much (and frankly, I wondered what’s the point of it in the end because the week after I handed over, agent arranged for painting of the whole house which would have messed up everything? But oh well). Shifting out, I’d covered in the other post. Cleaning took one whole afternoon (and more) during which I uncovered quite a number of random secrets I never knew, for instance there’s another power point hidden behind my bed, behind my shoe rack and so on. But I did take longer than I expected too because I was quite thorough knowing exactly which are the spots which I had put up with for a long time (unlike the Helpling guys). Even spent extra to take care of the bedroom aircon which had been haunting me for a while. So I am quite pleased with the result, I think I’d thank myself if I were the new tenant too. Handing over - agent asked me if I would want to hand over earlier which I was actually ok with considering I’d moved into my new place by then, and I asked for a partial refund of the rent. Apparently landlady turned down saying I had a choice to NOT handover early to begin with. Alright then, I shall fully exercise this choice - which meant I only handed over on 31 Dec as per my tenancy contract. And eventually agent said they were held up and couldn’t come over on 31st, so it happened on 1st Jan instead. I did plan to go for a dip in the swimming pool which, throughout my entire tenancy, I never did - skin issues and the very fact that I couldn’t swim to begin with being the reasons - but I forgot to bring a change of clothes so oh well.  The pool which I never got to hung out in  An infinity pool of sorts?  Nah...dipped in pool. Handed over, went through the inventory checklist (and I made sure I had everything on the list), everything in good order (I mean, if they were to be very strict they’d find that the TV’s pixel issues had resurfaced). I did come clean about the split seams at the sofa, but the agents decided not to do anything about it too so *shrugs*. And that concluded the stay.  Kitchenette, which I think I made the best out of it. I hated the days when I cook anything with garlic, even though I found a workaround for fish. And I am missing this fridge so much right now.  Living area restored. Left the miscellaneous furniture i bought behind - couldnt find a use for them in my new place and in any case they dont quite match.  Study area, which I repurposed as a storeroom partitioned off with a curtain, restored.  Balcony with the (very noisy) washing machine, which was used solely for laundry purposes. West sun is fabulous for laundry but not so much for WFH. The rain does come in quite a bit anytime it rains so it's not ideal for chilling or anything.  Bedroom, nuff said.  Slight downside of the bathroom was that it is only accesible from bedroom, and the fittings took a beating by the time I moved out - the shower tiles, cracked basin and stained toilet bowl (which, I still cant figure why the new tenants dont find it an issue).  Handed over! Honestly speaking I really liked this place. It's the first place in which I get to live on my own, and it checked a lot of boxes, especially for introverted singles like myself. The size is more than comfortable, it’s in a quiet locale, and not too far from office. The appliances that came with the condo is actually quite decent (especially after I contrast it with my current set). Neighbours are mostly tenants and mind their own business. It’s a small condo so there’s not much competition for the facilities such as gym (for the most part anyway). Amenities nearby may be a bit lacking but in the earlier parts of my stay I don’t do groceries all that often anyway. In the later parts of my stay when WFH kicked I find myself enjoying traveling to nearby neighbourhoods like Clementi and JE for my weekly necessities. And speaking of WFH, having a place like this is a godsend - I cannot imagine otherwise. There are cons of course, but relatively minor ones I’d say. The condition of the place worsened as it goes though it’s nothing a minor spruce up cannot fix. The lack of storage space too, though I fashioned out a storage room or sorts at the designated “study area”. The kitchenette is not designed for major cooking since it’s not enclosed and the exhaust isn’t the best (it feeds right back into the kitchenette itself) so whatever you cook lingers around for a bit - in the early days if I ever pan fry fish the smell lingered around for days I kid you not. Eventually it’s anything with garlic which stayed for a day - relatively better. Workaround for fish is to use my air fryer in the balcony lol. But I’d say I did quite well for limitations of the kitchenette. I guess the big issue with the place is the fact that it’s not mine. As with my previous place I faced the possibility of being evicted when my tenancy agreement is up, perhaps an increase in rental, and so on. Buying property is always on my radar, but I told myself this wouldn’t be “the one” for me even though it’s a good price for a freehold property and I could more than afford this place - financially and also in terms of longer term planning it wouldn’t have made much sense. Hence the hunt, and the whole multi part series. Farewell, Nottinghill! Has been a good 4 years and 7 months.  Bye (the doorbell never worked, btw) Labels: Beauty World, milestones |
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Wrapping up 2021
posted : Friday, December 31, 2021
To be honest, amidst the flurry of activities (or maybe just that one major event) happening in November and December…I only remembered that I am supposed to write this post at about 4.30pm, as I was trying to recall what happened on NYE last year.
So 2021! It’s disappointing that the world hasn’t quite returned to normal, and living with the new normal isn’t going as planned either. Disappointing because at this point last year our cases were under control and there’s so much hope with first shipments of vaccines arriving. One year on and two highly transmissible variants later, we have taken one step back even in terms of things like socializing. So lesson learnt, not gonna have high hopes for 2022. But otherwise - what else happened in 2021? ************ That big event I mentioned above - taking the plunge and buying my first home. It was something that has been on my radar for a while, and ever since I got citizenship last year I have started looking, with the intention of shifting in by the time my ongoing rental lease ends. It didn’t happen because I procrastinated a bit (and my heart was in Brunei since Aug last year) so timeline would have been a bit tight. So negotiated a new short term lease (came with increased rent oh well) and effective set myself a deadline of 31 Dec. This gave the whole project a bit of urgency and thus I function a bit better. Long story short (because the long story is in other posts), place found, sort of got pushed into it but I think largely no regrets. Renovation or rather sprucing up the place was unexpectedly draining, but I think I’m rather pleased with the results so I think that’s worth it, though I still wouldn’t want to go through that anytime soon. Still very thankful that this happened while WFH which made a lot of things easier to coordinate. The house is now a home! There’s this niggling feeling about being in debt from now on, but managed to convince myself that this is not too different from paying rental, at least from the perspective of my bank account. And of course a couple of years down the road I can be on the lookout for another place again once I became eligible, age wise or partner wise hahah. For now, hoping all goes well in the new place. ************ Work wise, I think I am in a much better place as compared to this time last year. No more random panic attacks and self doubt of my capabilities, and I think my vision cleared up. It does help that I have a lot more to do than this time last year, helped by the fact that a colleague resigned and I had to cover. But the extra exposures I was promised never came, either due to the same reason or D’s lack of faith in my ability (wait, what happened to no self doubt lol). Well, their loss. But either way, I know the path I want to take. It’s the understanding and acceptance that it’s ok to prefer to stay in comfort zone and not strike out. That if you are not going to learn further than there’s not much point. Just that it’s my nature that sometimes I can’t help pondering if it’s gonna be the right one, considering the climate. Will I be able to tune out the unfavorable parts of the job and focus on the good ones, making sure it outweighs the other? We’ll see in 2022! ************ So travel is mostly still ground to a halt, at least in Asian countries - western world is just happily going around. Honestly if you ask me if we are going to live with virus in an endemic stage, all travel should resume without any tedious restrictions - because the idea is that this is nothing more than a flu which nobody gave a hoot. But lo and behold we are still stuck where we are, going through cycles of loosening and tightening restrictions. Went for a couple of staycations which were similarly disrupted zzz. It’s the stress of having to change plans and adapt on the fly that is deterring me from flying when some restrictions are loosened. Not to mention the idea of your stay overseas getting extended unexpectedly because you are not allowed to board the flight home if you happen to test positive. Ironically, not so much about actually catching the virus itself because I’m vaccinated and I got my health in order. That said, extremely relieved to be able to travel home at the beginning of the year. Was in a mess mentally at that point, and that’s all I wanted to do. I got what I needed, and that long break did wonders in terms of resetting myself. I was eyeing another attempt at Switzerland/Austria as a in-between-job trip again for 2022, but like I said I don’t have high hopes for it - instead it’s looking like another long trip at home during that period. Unfortunately there’s a high chance that I won’t get to be at home during CNY because work commitments meant I couldn’t afford more than a week off and situation is just too volatile now. But oddly I am at peace with that. I am not too upset about it (this would have triggered a full scale meltdown last year) and I am not even sure why - but I am not going to question it. Or maybe family/friends can visit me if situation permits, now that there’s room hehe. ************ About health - no major scares. Fitness level have stalled and I think I basically stopped pushing hard post-CNY. Partly because the feedback I got when I went home was that I was too skinny lol. I was like "there's no such thing as too skinny" but sometimes I do get that sense when I looked at photos of myself. So let go a bit, and it's about maintaining the range of weight I want to be at and switching focus to building up my frame instead. But I guess there's not much progress on that front either because most of the time I dont really know whether I was doing things correctly and if my form was right etc. And I still can't do a pull up properly sigh. Let's see if we can improve on that next year. Skin on the other hand...also nothing much to report on? Stopped phototherapy last year, stopped oral medication altogether this year which was meant to be temporary initially in preparation of vaccination but doctor did tell me I can stop if I dont see any major issues so I just decided not to continue with it after vaccination. And there wasnt major flare ups so I guess I am off meds as well. Even though the discolorations are still attracting unwanted stares so tried to ask doc for something, but it didnt really work out well sigh. So still gotta live with it for a bit and try to find a solution for it. ************ WFH is not helping with social life, though I think I am starting to revert back to my anti-social self and dread returning to office. Maybe that was just a phase last year hahah. But now that there's home...where's family? ************ If I were to be honest this year does seem to fly past. First quarter was about before/during/after going home, second quarter was about house hunting and going through with the buying process, third quarter went by without much happening, final quarter really just sped past with all the house stuff going on. Not that I am complaining though. 2022...is going to see changes again. Fingers crossed it's for the better. Labels: milestones, thoughts, updates, wrapping up |
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posted : Sunday, June 06, 2021
今年生日，又是平静的一天。
去年拜阻断措施所赐，过了不一样的一个生日，当时我就说希望今年一切能回归正常，不然就代表疫情还没过去，这世界也就完蛋了。没想到疫情虽稍有好转但又还是冒出一个高警惕解封，最后生日也就和去年大同小异。 和去年不同的则是今年没收到任何的礼物或惊喜，大概是因为去年大家都觉得这玩意很新奇吧，今年也就算了。原本自己也有度宅假的计划，也因为高警惕解封所以决定推迟计划。 最后计划演变成早上外出取餐买蛋糕，下午瘫在家，晚上跑到老地方坐一坐，反思这几天的经历，一天就这样过了。未尝不是好事，主要是因为这几天动用太多脑细胞，说真的能休息一阵也不错。 近几年每年都希望明年的生日不再是一个人过，无奈每年都未能实现，虽说没有特别的在意但还是会有点惆怅啊。有人说今年有机会，疫情之下社交比往年还要糟糕，哪来的机会呢？ 不过老实说，今年庆祝生日庆祝得有点心不在焉，主要是因为心思都跑到所谓的“生日礼物”去了。 说到这份“生日礼物”，嗯，这一世应该不可能会有更夸张的了，更霸气的了。这几天也没睡好，心想会不会太仓促下手，有没有看漏什么，考虑周不周到。不过现在一只脚踩下去了，不能，也不该回头了。想了半天，反正再拖下去，以我优柔寡断的个性，应该也不会有结果，还是果敢痛快些，那我就可以进行下一步啦。 所以总结今年生日，因为有了这份“礼物”，还算是难忘的。 但愿明年生日一切能恢复正常，也能有另一份重要的“礼物”。 Labels: milestones |
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Wrapping up 2020
posted : Thursday, December 31, 2020
Latest in the wrapping up series! Well, 2020. Sure went EXACTLY as what everybody is expecting it to. Much as I didnt want to...everything that happened this year revolved around this, save for the first couple of weeks of the year I think. And it's such a global thing that there is no escaping from it no matter where you are - one way or another, someone's life this year would have been affected by it. So the typical sections of my annual review - each of them inevitably featured COVID's impact, either as the main or supporting character. ************ Maybe let's start with the big one. To be honest, I have to be very grateful here - certainly there is a segment of the population whose livelihood have been majorly affected, and others to varying degrees, but mine is more towards a lower scale. For one, have stayed healthy - as with the other 99% of the population - because we got things under control to start, then when all hell breaks loose - the CB did its job to allow us to regrasp control which we have hung on to it for a while. Sure, there's the initial messaging that masks are not required (because we chose to believe in CDC - what do we know, wow) and the occasional odd and inconsistent application of policy but overall the numbers speak for itself. And may we never lose control of it again. People lose jobs, sectors of the economy shuttered completely (think travel industry), many stopped working during CB and never got their jobs back...none of it happened to me. Iron rice bowl indeed - the performance bonus in March still came against all odds (even though that turned out to be the last one we received this year and the rest got cancelled), no salary cuts etc. We are even able to move swiftly to a WFH mode and work as usual. Of course a lot of improvisation is required but everybody just have to make it work - because we realised soon enough that we arent returning to office anytime soon. So it ran so smoothly that I think it is now something that will stay in the long term. It certainly changed people's perception and changes a lot of things in future - office spaces reimagined, heck, office use itself reimagined. In some ways it forces people out of their comfort zone and showed them alternative arrangements can work - they just needed to adapt. For me, WFH was a novelty to begin with - I remember the excitement in spite of everything else that is going on around me when we were told to start split team arrangement and take turns to work at home. That first week was fun, then it morphed into a full WFH mode and CB started. Waking up 5 minutes before work starts, and being at home the minute we knock off. The weekly grocery trips which comes with bubble tea (until bubble tea shops are ordered to close sigh). The frequent Grabfood orders which became less frequent coz it's not cheap urgh. Experimenting with various recipes and eventually got bored of it and now I am just repeating recipes which I am familiar with (and worked). Getting bored of WFH and actually craving for social interaction to the extent that I am the one organizing catch up sessions imagine that. So I definitely think that our future working mode should be a hybrid and highly flexible one. Maybe a couple of days in office per week, and other days at home. Would be useful to attend to home issues e.g. I can easily get the air con guy to come in on a weekday now. Schedule deliveries etc. ************ Speaking about forcing people out of comfort zone...when I think back about 2020, undoubtedly the other big thing that happen is my transfer. Making changes at work is something that popped up in my mind every once in a while, but it finally happened this year. Not that I actively sought it out (had that been the case, it probably wont happen because of my usual fear for change) but nevertheless, I was happy to welcome it. 8 years in my past job, I was feeling kind of jaded towards the end and fed up at several things that I felt a sore need to shake things up. In fact towards the end the vibe was very much "bye I am outta here and never coming back". I think I kinda send out my farewell email in that tone lol. But dont get me wrong - I am proud of the work I have done, especially for RAG. It got on my nerves sometimes, there are a couple of times when I was very upset about it and ranted, but I am mostly thankful for the opportunity. And I do look back fondly on those days in the second half of the year. There's always a basis for comparison now - be it the work, or the leadership. I have preferences in different aspects. I like the very much shallower structure, but I miss the camaraderie. I miss being in control and being able to send out an assessment on my own - either because I am now unsure, and at any rate that is my boss' style anyway. WFH meant it's almost impossible to gel with your new colleagues, though I am half glad that majority of my new teammates are not unfamiliar faces even if we only knew each other professionally in the past. It's a lot harder to also pick up subtle nuances such as your boss' preference (really, the email can sound agressive but she probably dont mean it), or when she is free for discussions etc. At the end of the day, I think the work is meaningful, I am able to apply my past experience in some aspects of it, but for some strange reason the workload sharply declined towards the final quarter of the year that I don't learn as much, and so I never really felt that I have settled down fully because you really only learn from cases. At some point I got all depressed about not contributing much and wishing that I was back in former division (which, btw, was VERY happening) - to the point that I contemplated throwing letter without a follow up plan - but eventually came around it. Which was good news because my December was....let's just say, I am glad to be WFH during this December because I wont get judged for my lack of activity. So happened that I had a chat with my D just this morning - and at the very least I know what to expect now. This conversation really should have happened before I joined if I had my way, but oh well better late than never. I now know that there really was a plan in place for me to be exposed to different aspects that will be helpful to me when I move on (which I clarified that it may or may not happen), so I find that generosity very heartening. Unlike COVID - I think my workload will spike magically at the turn of the year. And I think I am mostly looking forward to it. ************ So with travel restrictions left right centre - no travels for most of this year. I think coming in to the year I was actually envisioning this year to be one where I put in a couple more travel plans than usual...and in the end there's nothing. Not even home sigh. Which played a part in why I got all depressed some time in Aug and Sep, traditionally my half-yearly break at home. Obviously not my planned break before transfer either - which was a shame. I mean I dont think it made much of a difference in the end, but it's still a bummer. On a positive note, did manage to squeeze in two trips at the beginning of the year - though barely made it for both. The first one, the usual BKK+home CNY trip, very nearly didnt happen too as cases are starting to trickle in and we already had to make more declarations than usual - to HR, for instance. The second trip, to KL for San's wedding - was nothing short of miraculous. I had jokingly declared that I would make the trip even if I had to resort to 偷渡, but there are already clusters of cases by then although they can still all be traced, and one week after we returned from the wedding the mega tabligh cluster in KL broke out (which spreaded to Bru too). And we all know what happened after that. So I was very thankful for that bright spot in an otherwise downright dreadful year when it comes to travel. And you know what else there is to be thankful for, as the year came to a close? Barring a disastrous pre-flight test, I am all but clear to be home for the next CNY :))) Praying very hard that situation remains stable in both countries. ************ This would probably rank higher in my review had it be a normal year, but 15 years after first stepping foot on this island, I am now a citizen. On the surface I dont see major differences - it doesnt change my roots, my character, but I guess it's nice to called a citizen in the country you reside in for once. COVID played a part too, but as it turns out I didnt have to wait too long for the citizenship ceremony where you receive your new IC from the MP, maybe because it was Sept by the time I took my oath and officially became one of SG. It opens the door to a few things - property ownership (without an extra 5% of stamp duty), for one. Though some procrastination later and I now no longer have time to do so before my latest tenancy expires (in part because I planned to be away for a month soon). But that shall be a project for 2021. ************ Health and fitness! Kept up my routine from last year and I think I am where I wanted to be, so eased up by May and it's all about maintaining it now. And building up shape which isnt progressing very well actually. I dont see much difference even after months of effort though admittedly, I dont quite know what I was doing. Fiddled around with the idea of having a PT but I dont think if I really needed it, like, is that really what I wanted? It's just nice to have. And more like "if they can, why not me?" Still, its amusing sometimes to bump into someone I havent seen in a while (there's plenty of them, at this rate) and observe the varying reaction. Another milestone is that I stopped going for phototherapy. Doctor agreed with my self-assessment (really I dont know why I am paying him so much for consultation when I am the one assessing) that my condition has stabilised and I can cut back on my medication (now just one pill per fortnight) and stop phototherapy altogether. The bad news is that there's a bit of localised flare ups, the good news is that it is very much controllable so I suppose we can stick to this routine, which is what I will propose to doc for the next review. ************ Well COVID isnt going away magically at the turn of the year, so I suppose next year will be largely similar in that we are just going to have to keep finding ways to adapt, to get used to the so called new normal, and not lose hope - vaccinations are starting even if more convincing will be needed, and so COVID will go away eventually and life will return to normal as we know it. It must. Labels: COVID, milestones, thoughts, updates, wrapping up |
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From blue to pink
posted : Thursday, September 17, 2020
So my citizenship application was approved some time during end June. Came about 13 months after I submitted my application (timeframe was supposed to be 6-12 months but to no surprise it came late, seeing how my PR application back then took much longer than other Malaysians I know too). Not that I couldn’t/didn’t want to talk about it earlier, just that I thought I would combine it into one single post after completing all formalities haha. As if anything will happen in between, but oh well. I guess the fact that it also came during a very eventful period where I was struggling emotionally with work transition played a part. This time round because of COVID (sigh, you again?) there are obvious deviations from the usual process - for one, “Citizen Journey” which would have been a Learning Journey kind of experience is now online which actually sped things up, a lot. I mean the whole thing always felt like a show to me anyway, and if the whole point is to allow new citizens to integrate better culturally I don’t suppose I will need it, so I got it settled over one weekend and not too long after I was cleared to initiate renunciation of citizenship. This was the part which unexpectedly took longer because, again, COVID. This time round you had to write in to book an appointment slot because of capacity issues. And I kind of underestimated the amount of people who needed to visit the consular section in MHC on a daily basis (or maybe overestimated their productivity level) but appointment slots are apparently full all the way till a month plus later, which ate into the ICA appointment date so instead of bringing forward my ICA appointment date (because I envisioned that it would be easy to get an appointment date at MHC), I had to delay it instead. And in the end when I reached MHC on my appointment date - I mean, if this was the crowd level with capacity restrictions, what would have been the crowd level without capacity restrictions? The queue outside stretched for more than 100m without much safe distancing..sigh. Anyway I suppose it was a good excuse to take two half days off for, and both days I got in and out within an hour plus because majority of the crowd are there for passport renewals (ok, I guess maybe it’s coz nobody can go back to Malaysia for it) so I had ample time for the other activities I planned for my half day offs. And a third half day off today to complete the formalities - taking oath. Half expected to be asked to do pledge too hahaha but nope. So yep, completed without much fanfare. There’s supposed to be citizenship ceremony organized by your local grassroots presided by your MP, but so far during this period it obviously hasn’t happened yet according to what I read online. Not that it changed me much as a person but I did thought I wanted to take a step back and reflect about the whole decision and what it meant to me now that everything is over. I have always said that I never felt at home in MY - even though I hold citizenship there by virtue of my parents being one (and the fact that being born in Bru doesn’t mean you will be a citizen so it’s not as if there’s a choice). I don’t think I have even spent more than 2 weeks in any part of MY in one shot. Nor do I think I will ever settle down there at any point in my life (I do think back to the time when I was at the crossroads, and one of the path led towards studies and possibly life in Malaysia - how that would have turned out I will never know but no regrets). Contrast that to the first half of my life (so far) in Bru and the other half in SG - these two are really the countries I call home. So I didn’t really think that I need a citizenship status to validate that fact, but it would be nice not to be seen as a foreigner in your country of residence for once. And so renouncing Malaysian citizenship, unfortunately, wasn’t a difficult decision at all. That said, I thought I was grateful to have been recognized as Malaysian since birth - I could very well be stateless given how Bru regards people who are not one of the 7 indigenous race, even if they are born there. Achieving Bruneian PR status is hopeless enough, so at least I had a country that recognized me as a citizen and offered me very basic rights. And like it or not, it forms part of your identity, and gave me a sense of belonging to a community. Think case in point, at least from my perspective, was how I was able to be included in a group outing by Malaysian seniors a few days into my life in SG by virtue of my nationality - probably would have been excluded if not for it because I was obviously not a very sociable person haha. Which probably helped a lot in terms of eventually settling down to life in SG - not saying that I will not have befriended all these people eventually, but it maybe made things a lot easier by having something in common, so I guess I am thankful for that, too. But what I am getting at is that at the end of the day, changing nationality doesn’t define you or your preferences. I will still support Malaysian sports teams over Singaporean ones (oops what about the oath I just took) and Malaysian Chinese accent will always feel comforting (because these is how my closest family and friends speak). And do I even start talking about Malaysian food hahah. Because all these are what you grew up doing/liking and will not change overnight. I will not suddenly be a fan of bak chor mee (urgh) because I am now Singaporean. So it’s mostly for practical reasons at the end of the day. That said of course now there’s more reason to give back to this country who has taken me in, and I can definitely do that with the work I am doing now. And can’t help feeling that the decision does chart a part of my life course. So that concludes a life changing process, worth recording for future references hahah. Labels: milestones, thoughts |
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#lifeastrafficengineer
posted : Wednesday, July 01, 2020
Where do I even start.
In many ways this was a dream job of mine. It’s the best I could ask for from the moment I took up CVE, because being a structural or geotechnical engineer simply wasn’t an option. Those were the aspects of CVE I hated most (even though I consistently score well in geotech, and let’s just say I don’t know how I scored decent grades for struct modules). Transport was literally why I decided going to CVE was ok (that alongside the fact that I preferred NUS). Going through internship strengthened that resolve. It’s a pretty limited career choice in a way, because it’s a very specialized field and I don’t see how the technical experience I have gained here can apply elsewhere. I started out thinking I wanted to do road design, but my preference had shifted to traffic by the time I ended internship and so happens that traffic was one of the first few that came knocking on my door so I took it. And just like that, spent the first eight years of my career in it. This has been some ride. I loved the technical aspects of it. I loved problem solving, how small adjustments can lead to major impact (not so much on negative impact tho). Reviewing traffic plans are my favourite. Watching traffic plans translate to life, traffic schemes working as they should, is indescribable. Sure, I am not the one constructing the road per se but to be directly involved in it, gave me a lot of satisfaction. Being a stickler for details meant reviewing plans were never a chore. Touching virtually every aspect of road planning, design, construction and management, even rail projects that almost always involve road elements. Dealing with external consultants and agencies. I can go on and on. That said, it’s of course not completely rosy - my major pain point was dealing with complainants. There is no sugar coating this - you always try to put yourself in their shoes, but complainants will never bother to understand where you are coming from - customers are always right, they say. It’s this notion of treating them as “customers” that I had an issue with. Internal customers that mastered the art of taichi and will always want you involved (yet never listens to you) just so you can be a convenient scapegoat. And don’t get me started on political pressure applied, which meant that sometimes principles are not upheld (which is just a vicious cycle, really) and there are times we literally had to find excuses just so people get their way. Those are the most tiring battles, because you spend time and effort on something against your principles, and it’s just so easy to lose heart when it comes to that. There are multiple times throughout the eight years that I have considered letting this all go because I got tired of it all - but a combination of reminders of what I loved about the job, and miraculously each time round a big change happened led to the thought dissipating. The first one was when I got tasked to lead a team, and the second one was when I was put in charge of THE project. It never escaped me that how privileged I was to be put in a position to lead a team, a mere 2.5 years into the job. Going in I had a lot of doubts - biggest of which was my relative “juniority”. It doesn’t help that I concurrently have my own area to run, while shouldering the heavy responsibility of RTC all at the same time (maybe it does help in that I got too busy to have any negative thoughts). But the exposure to all other areas, new challenges including people management, proved to be enough to keep me going. I never really saw myself as a leader kind of person. My last experience leading any sort of team was PhoenixPress, which was pretty much a disaster (though the yearbook was published in the end, yay?) but I guess that’s because it didn’t quite mean much to anybody (really, what hall spirit?). But quite literally 天时地利人和 combined powers and there I go. It took a while for me to really be comfortable, making decisions, guiding based on what I know bosses are looking out for, and above everything, teaching them what I know. I settled down on the idea that I should focus more on coaching rather than leading, and the moment I decided on that I started really getting comfortable with the post and shutting out other thoughts. And to be very very honest - and I repeated myself quite a number of times - I am also blessed to have this team. No big egos (maybe some at the beginning but tamed down after a while) amongst the team, very stable team in that I almost had the exact same team for about 2-3 years, and no major dramas. I like to think that my instructions are usually sound and hence they listened. There are those who performed, those who improved over time, those who got too comfortable (and hence don’t complain). Team camaraderie was there, because that’s their character. Things went smoothly, much more than I imagine. I also never liked the whole appraisal responsibility of the role but it’s just something I had to roll with because, who else if not me? I thought I cannot let them down. Of course it’s not gonna end well for everybody, so it’s no surprise that it’s a thankless job. At the end, I almost felt like a teacher - few students appreciate a teacher’s effort after they left. And I got over it. A couple of years later after I got into a groove - somehow there are quite a number of work days when things were so effortless - those earlier thoughts resurfaced. But RAG came along and I got thrown into it - and you know what happens next. I may have ranted a lot but I have also looked back and realized how much I have done and how fruitful most workdays are. And I will always be very proud of it. Getting included into the program was something I didn’t see coming. I had no idea it existed, first of all (and apparently if I have been doing well over the past 6 years, why was I only included now?). And it goes back to the very fact that I still don’t see myself as leader material. Even now I still really hated how elitist the whole idea is. But I looked at the positive side of it - firstly, I made it clear that my preference is a specialist track rather than a management track. And I saw the benefit of being exposed to other aspects of the traffic cycle, and how often does an opportunity to transfer without getting at odds with the division you are leaving behind, come knocking? Very rare, actually. So amidst my hatred (and fear) of change, I took it up, even turning down a possibly tempting bargain along the way (I wasn’t at that point in life where the offer will become that tempting). Though I did ask for more time so that I can ensure that RAG is in a good state (exact words I used was that I have “unfinished business”) and succession plans are in motion. The former happened, much to my relief; the latter didn’t materialize despite my effort (and a fair bit of drama along the way in which my plans went awry), and it will remain as a personal regret. COVID and CB meant that plans got delayed for a bit, though not by much because it wasn’t a good excuse after a while. So that brings 8 years to a close. Have had a lot to think about over the past week as I reflect. Part of me thinks that maybe I am overthinking this and it really isn’t a big deal, changing jobs (essentially it’s a job change even though it’s internal). Some job hoppers go through it regularly like once a year. But I guess part of the sentimental feeling I have been getting throughout this week is because I genuinely loved parts of the job. It’s not as if I am parting on bad terms and can’t wait to go off. And the length (ok maybe this differs from person to person) meant a strong sense of attachment to them which I will probably find hard to shake off. As of now it’s still difficult to say if I will definitely be back (ironic because the reason why I agreed in the first place is to come back with more knowledge) because, a lot can happen in two years, work wise and personal life wise (I hope). But I know for sure I have learnt a lot from the last eight years and given the right opportunity, I would want to give back. There’s a bit to say about my last day on the job too, but I suppose I will leave it for another day and post. So tomorrow, a new chapter begins. I remember the same feeling of apprehension close to eight years ago, the night before I started this job. The unknown I stepped into then turned out well. And I hope it will happen again this time.  Thank you for the last 8 years. Labels: milestones, thoughts, work |
