I am now blogging with my iPad again. Nowadays, i can only use my laptop in the late night, after mom has finished watching the Korean drama. The Telecom package i have subscribed costs NZD85 per month for a landline and 50GB of data. She is using 2GB on average every day now to watch those dramas online. I believe we will sure use over the cap. I have chosen in my package to have slower speed after exceeding the cap rather than paying for the extra usage.
The weather this week has been rather good. It has been sunny without rain but not too hot wither, with temperature hovering around 20C to 25C. I finally feel that this is more like summer. I could even start wearing short skirts without the thick pantyhose. However, i'm not sure how long this will last.
My hunt for a car hasn't been smooth. Saw one that fit my requirements on an auction site but it was auctioned off before i could do anything. For now, i will still stick to my budget and continue waiting for the right car even though i really hope to get one asap. Mom and i intend to visit car dealers this Saturday but we will have to take buses to go to the various places.
It hasn't been a smooth day at work either. The system was down for the project that has just gone live, and we could not get it up for the entire day. After spending the entire day troubleshooting, our IT guys found out that the problem was caused by issue with the network configuration, which was something not done by us but another vendor that the client engaged. The frustrating part was that we had reported the problem to that vendor in the morning but they conveniently pushed it to us simply because the users were not able to access our system while other applications were running fine. After going a big circle, we finally could prove to them that it was the server and network that were causing the problem, but that was after we wasted so many hours troubleshooting something that is not within our area of expertise, and also after one day of downtime when the client actually has a huge backlog to clear for the coming month-end closing. Sometimes i am really sick of dealing with IT vendors, forgetting that i am now at the same side of the fence too!
Anyway, i hope tomorrow will be a day that goes smoothly and with nice weather as well. After all, it is the first day of February. ;)
Cogito ergo scribo
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Random updates for the week
| Cogitated @ 7:43 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
| 
hehe, and so, here it goes again - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PinPin ! And here's a flash ecard for you
http://megaswf.com/file/2552762.swf
oh, the original resolution is 640 x480, you may view it here for better fit in size
http://megaswf.com/s/2552762
i'm so worried if the background music out of sync, it happens on slower system somehow so hopefully the card played through without any glitch, and must stick to the page until the end. ok ok, before you dismiss for ripping off snoopy and angry birds and even birthday quotes, at least PinPin is original. Err, not entirely original because she has the face of manga and your avatar ... it's not that i wanted to "torture" you having hands sticking up without sign of exhaustion like that, ... i made mistake in animating the arms shifting the cards, sigh, that's the problem of doing the old fashion way drawing and tweening when there could be simpler way and embracing new technology. and it's flash somemore, so outdated and obsolete and cannot even played on ipad and it could be better if it's a video file instead. oops, why am i writing all these in such happy day?????
happy happy birthday to PinPin,
a day gotta be delighting,
from fresh startof the morning ,
carry on into the evening,
filled with chirpy feeling.
and hope you like my flash drawing :)
3 candles? well, it's a wish for you best in career, life in NZ and new happiness. ok, kinda make this up for the drawing. oh, if you look closely at the stars in the background, it's your zodiac. Like what's said in the card, hopefully it puts a smile on you and a great start with chirpiness today!
oh, lastly, if you read this in the morning before to work - DO NOT USE THE TRAIN. Not to mention also wish you success in your car hunting in weekend. Cheers and remember, 一定要对自己好啊 :).
, at 1/2/13 4:45 am
Thanks Angel. That's very sweet of you to still spend time making me an electronic birthday card despite your busy schedule. :)
PinPin 彬彬, at 1/2/13 10:12 pm
gee, why there isn't any post for the day ??? guess the card is not good enough to make you chirpy, hmmm, or, oh no ... don't tell something's happened similar to the christmas eve. argh, think too much already. Everything gotta be smooth sailing for the day :)
weil, i'm the one gotta thank you for letting this psace of yours to pour out what's locked inside me since childhood - comic and animation, though i must admit i'm still an amateur. gotta blame it on being stubborn doing things my own way, lack of perseverance and also procrastination. thee are really really bad attributes, so if you once had dream and pursuing something, start rediscovering it epsecially when you think you have had the avenue to achieve it before it's too late and it really then be ended up as just a dream. and coupled with encouragement and motivation, like a blogger friend once feeling sad and the desire to make her happy and funny again :)
oh, wish you success in the car hunting too. cheers, and be happy, Pin! , at 2/2/13 6:18 am
Friday, January 18, 2013
Busy at work
Just a quick update before going to bed.
Sleeping so early, on a Friday night? I heard you asked.
Well, it may be Friday night but it is gonna be a working day for me tomorrow. I will need to go back to the office to work on data migration for the project that i'm handling. I hope to get everything done tomorrow so that i can relax on Sunday and Monday (a public holiday here).
It has been hectic at work. Spent Tuesday and Wednesday at client's site to continue the training, and then the other days were busy with go-live preparation. If all things go well, we should be able to go live on Wednesday as planned.
This is the first project that was fully handled by me. My boss totally took a hands-off approach and only asked me for updates every now and then. Sometimes i really wonder how he could be so confident about leaving a project entirely to someone who has just joined the company.
So far, all seemed to be going well. There were a few times during the training that i was unsure of some customised and new functions. I am not sure whether or not this would affect the client's impression of me, but i think my responsiveness and conscientious effort should have made up for it.
I've been working extended hours over these two weeks. It has been quite a while since i worked like this, and i hate to admit it but i kinda enjoy it. I guess my workaholic traits are showing again, which isn't a good sign at all.
Anyway, that's a life of a consultant - during the critical phases of a projects, we will be very busy and work like a dog; on other days when there aren't much going on, we will be wondering what to do and how to fill out the time sheets.
Ok, time to bed now.
Sleeping so early, on a Friday night? I heard you asked.
Well, it may be Friday night but it is gonna be a working day for me tomorrow. I will need to go back to the office to work on data migration for the project that i'm handling. I hope to get everything done tomorrow so that i can relax on Sunday and Monday (a public holiday here).
It has been hectic at work. Spent Tuesday and Wednesday at client's site to continue the training, and then the other days were busy with go-live preparation. If all things go well, we should be able to go live on Wednesday as planned.
This is the first project that was fully handled by me. My boss totally took a hands-off approach and only asked me for updates every now and then. Sometimes i really wonder how he could be so confident about leaving a project entirely to someone who has just joined the company.
So far, all seemed to be going well. There were a few times during the training that i was unsure of some customised and new functions. I am not sure whether or not this would affect the client's impression of me, but i think my responsiveness and conscientious effort should have made up for it.
I've been working extended hours over these two weeks. It has been quite a while since i worked like this, and i hate to admit it but i kinda enjoy it. I guess my workaholic traits are showing again, which isn't a good sign at all.
Anyway, that's a life of a consultant - during the critical phases of a projects, we will be very busy and work like a dog; on other days when there aren't much going on, we will be wondering what to do and how to fill out the time sheets.
Ok, time to bed now.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 11:56 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Where got ask? On contrary you should have the habit to sleep early, sleep early and wake up early for beautiful morning, pin, not at noon lor. Life should be filled with daylight, not darkness night.
Everybody makes mistake, as long one acknowledges it and has a quick good solution, I'm sure your client gotta have good impression on you. Prompt action/reaction shows rhat you care for the work and strive the best for the client, isn't that what client wants compare to other half hearted suppliers. of course the mistakes should not be very severe one :P. Hee hee, I wonder if your boss ever comes across this blog and knows you well already before hiring you. Your bosses must be IT experts one, and with your avatar so so familiar when your colleague chatted with you via Msn or fb, they must have learned about your blog already, hence the confidence on you. Okay, I make up the story. whatever it is, be the real you, don't doubt yourself and believe in your strength just like your boss(es) on you, as well as your fans. Ganbatte pin, don't over stress yourself and you will triumph against all odds.
Hey, hey, how's the hi comm enquiry, everything's ok? Oh, wait till you learn about engineer's life -every day's a dog life until numb already and lost touch with reality Liao. Wait, snoopy is a dog, and you love dog, oops I was going to say why dog's life then .. Well, when idle, you might want to explore and research innovative solution to improve efficiency, to add value in your job and then better impression on clients. And definitely not watching cat videos, err, I mean dog videos ( if you aware of the top programmer's outsourcing story, haha). Hope to hear good news from you next week. Cheers, keep the positive mood and stay happy :) , at 19/1/13 7:09 am
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Farewell gifts
Having worked at my previous company for such long time (5 years are considered long time in IT field) and being such "well known" person, my resignation of course came as a shock to many people, especially when there was a turn of event in my departure.
When my resignation had been confirmed and the news was spread within the company, a lot of colleagues asked me out for farewell lunch or dinner. Unfortunately, i was swamped with unfinished work and overseas travels and hence had to miss quite a few invitations, especially those from the colleagues whom i wasn't really close with.
Besides the usual farewell meals, i also got a few farewell gifts.
Before i show what those gifts are, let's make this clear first - i do appreciate the thought. Seriously, i do. After all, it is ALWAYS the thought that counts. No one is ever obliged to give anyone anything no matter what occasion or circumstance it is, or how you are related to the person. So whenever someone gives us something, we should always appreciate the thought, as it means that you are of some importance to that person or you are in the thought of that person; otherwise, he/she would not have gone through the troubles to get you the gift.
Having said that, appreciating the though is one thing, liking the gift is another. We do not always like the presents other people give us, nor do we always find those gifts useful. Look around your house and tell me how many gifts you have that are merely lying somewhere doing nothing and collecting dust, but you still keep those stuff because those are gifts from someone and you know that it is not right to throw them away.
Ok, i guess it is obvious that i did not particularly like the farewell gifts. It is easy to be misunderstood because people in general would just interpret not liking something as not being appreciative. But then, i am often being misunderstood anyway; sometimes i can only do this much to clear things up and for those who still do not understand, i can only say, "whatever".
Now i would better leave this digression to another post and go back to the farewell gifts.
First one was from our department and given to me by my ex-boss (who made it like an award ceremony of some sort) during the farewell dinner at KL.
I do not know what you call this (a trophy?) but a few of our colleagues said it was really odd that i was given a gift with a clock on it because it is a taboo in Chinese culture to give clock as a gift (which means to bid farewell to a person who passed away). I am not a particularly superstitious person and i do not mind it much, but i do find it rather strange that my ex-boss, who is from a country (HK) that is more superstitious than ours, actually did not find it inappropriate.
When presenting the gift to me, he told me that the globe signifies their wishes for me to continue see the world in future, and the clock is for me to tell time when i place this momento on my desk at my new workplace in NZ (as if i would bring it along!). And the plate was engraved with their appreciation of my contribution over all these years.
Another gift i received was from the regional management - an expensive-looking key chain.
I might have some use of this gift, but anyone who knows me in person should know that i do not like red colour and i do not use anything in red colour.
Lastly is the gift from my 6 team members - a photo album and an iPad camera connector.
The camera connector is the most useful gift for me. As for the photo album, they have printed a few pictures of the memorable moments we had together over the years. Even though i do not have the habit of printing out my digital photos and place them in photo albums, this is a meaningful gift nonetheless.
I also asked them to write something at the back of the photo album as parting words, just like what we used to do when we were back in school days (not sure how many of you remember those corny verses we used to write for each other - "头可破，血可流，学业不可不追求"... *shudder*).
Well, i guess it is obvious that i will only be bringing one of these gifts with me to NZ and the rest will be left behind in JB.
When my resignation had been confirmed and the news was spread within the company, a lot of colleagues asked me out for farewell lunch or dinner. Unfortunately, i was swamped with unfinished work and overseas travels and hence had to miss quite a few invitations, especially those from the colleagues whom i wasn't really close with.
Besides the usual farewell meals, i also got a few farewell gifts.
Before i show what those gifts are, let's make this clear first - i do appreciate the thought. Seriously, i do. After all, it is ALWAYS the thought that counts. No one is ever obliged to give anyone anything no matter what occasion or circumstance it is, or how you are related to the person. So whenever someone gives us something, we should always appreciate the thought, as it means that you are of some importance to that person or you are in the thought of that person; otherwise, he/she would not have gone through the troubles to get you the gift.
Having said that, appreciating the though is one thing, liking the gift is another. We do not always like the presents other people give us, nor do we always find those gifts useful. Look around your house and tell me how many gifts you have that are merely lying somewhere doing nothing and collecting dust, but you still keep those stuff because those are gifts from someone and you know that it is not right to throw them away.
Ok, i guess it is obvious that i did not particularly like the farewell gifts. It is easy to be misunderstood because people in general would just interpret not liking something as not being appreciative. But then, i am often being misunderstood anyway; sometimes i can only do this much to clear things up and for those who still do not understand, i can only say, "whatever".
Now i would better leave this digression to another post and go back to the farewell gifts.
First one was from our department and given to me by my ex-boss (who made it like an award ceremony of some sort) during the farewell dinner at KL.
I do not know what you call this (a trophy?) but a few of our colleagues said it was really odd that i was given a gift with a clock on it because it is a taboo in Chinese culture to give clock as a gift (which means to bid farewell to a person who passed away). I am not a particularly superstitious person and i do not mind it much, but i do find it rather strange that my ex-boss, who is from a country (HK) that is more superstitious than ours, actually did not find it inappropriate.
When presenting the gift to me, he told me that the globe signifies their wishes for me to continue see the world in future, and the clock is for me to tell time when i place this momento on my desk at my new workplace in NZ (as if i would bring it along!). And the plate was engraved with their appreciation of my contribution over all these years.
Another gift i received was from the regional management - an expensive-looking key chain.
I might have some use of this gift, but anyone who knows me in person should know that i do not like red colour and i do not use anything in red colour.
Lastly is the gift from my 6 team members - a photo album and an iPad camera connector.
The camera connector is the most useful gift for me. As for the photo album, they have printed a few pictures of the memorable moments we had together over the years. Even though i do not have the habit of printing out my digital photos and place them in photo albums, this is a meaningful gift nonetheless.
I also asked them to write something at the back of the photo album as parting words, just like what we used to do when we were back in school days (not sure how many of you remember those corny verses we used to write for each other - "头可破，血可流，学业不可不追求"... *shudder*).
Well, i guess it is obvious that i will only be bringing one of these gifts with me to NZ and the rest will be left behind in JB.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 3:19 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
You really have some problem with your mind.
Clock for chinese is not to be given during birthday! Other than that is ok to give clock as gift, don't you know that?
People give you farewell gift is to show appreciation, don't judge too much ok? , at 3/10/12 3:26 am
Ha, quite contrary isnt't it connector useful :). Either you have already decided for iPad or your (ex) colleagues are genius foretelling your decision. Yup, absolutely agree is thought that count, but sometimes it's kinda pai seh to accept the gifts when resignation is, er, like betrayal. Oops, maybe i think too much ler.. Actually, minus the superstitious, clock is common gift, another is mug.
The signature reminds me 2 yrs ago, got anyone signs happy birthday? You had a wonderful team, - the wordings have more than 2 lines! Hopefully you'll have great team, even better at your new work place. Be positive, Pinpin :). Cheers. , at 4/10/12 4:16 am
Haha! Sign "Happy Birthday" on Farewell Card? It rings a bell. :p , at 4/10/12 2:55 pm
Monday, August 13, 2012
Postponed
Last Friday was supposed to be my last day with the company. Well, to majority of the people in the company, it still was my last day because i did send out a farewell email.
However, the fact is that I have agreed with the management to postpone my employment for another week, on the condition that i do not need to go into office anymore. This means that my last day will be next Friday instead.
The system design work that i was fully in charge of could not be completed in time. No one could really take over my work effectively and my estimation was that another 3 days of fully focused time should be sufficient to complete the job, but just to be safe the management asked for one week. Since I wanna ensure the work is done and handed over in perfect form, and I also wouldn't mind the extra money, I agree to the extension. As i am working on the Group project and dealing with the people in UK, i also told the management that i would most probably be working on UK time zone so that the turnaround time can be faster.
However, I will still need to travel back to office tomorrow to submit my claims. I have not processed my claims for two months and tomorrow is the deadline for submission. Now that i gotta travel back to SG on my own and the new office location is so inconvenient, i would have to figure out the best travelling route from JB to office.
Besides this one-week extension, the management was also asking me to consider doing part-time work for the project. I have not decided if i would indeed take up the offer, as i am not particularly happy with what they intend to pay me for the work. If i am not gonna be paid right for the continual stress that i am getting, i'd rather take the time to recharge and have a good rest before starting a new journey.
However, the fact is that I have agreed with the management to postpone my employment for another week, on the condition that i do not need to go into office anymore. This means that my last day will be next Friday instead.
The system design work that i was fully in charge of could not be completed in time. No one could really take over my work effectively and my estimation was that another 3 days of fully focused time should be sufficient to complete the job, but just to be safe the management asked for one week. Since I wanna ensure the work is done and handed over in perfect form, and I also wouldn't mind the extra money, I agree to the extension. As i am working on the Group project and dealing with the people in UK, i also told the management that i would most probably be working on UK time zone so that the turnaround time can be faster.
However, I will still need to travel back to office tomorrow to submit my claims. I have not processed my claims for two months and tomorrow is the deadline for submission. Now that i gotta travel back to SG on my own and the new office location is so inconvenient, i would have to figure out the best travelling route from JB to office.
Besides this one-week extension, the management was also asking me to consider doing part-time work for the project. I have not decided if i would indeed take up the offer, as i am not particularly happy with what they intend to pay me for the work. If i am not gonna be paid right for the continual stress that i am getting, i'd rather take the time to recharge and have a good rest before starting a new journey.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 2:32 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
it's kinda hard to believe that after reading of stress and working late finally all these are over. Yes! Sure this is a very very hard decision to be made, and you still agree to hang on until perfect completion. Gee, that's what you are. It's waste the company to let go a calibre person like you,but like you said before you're too pampered liao. I think stress is matter of individual, if you are the person who strives to deliver best result, it's gonna happen in other job too. of course if the job aligns with interest (quite impossible leh) it will produce maximum satisfaction, hopefully not turning it into frustration and dread. why not of taking up the offer and try it out first until things become steady, hopefully the timezone doesn't ruin the new plan and lifestyle. oh, hope your mom has recovered greatly.
mind sharing the upcoming new journey? i wonder if it involves bakery. whatever it is, don't exert too much stress like the "previous" job - eat and sleep also not in good order. cheers, all the best :) , at 13/8/12 4:36 am
Better take a good rest than take up the part time job with your ex-company.
If you do open up Bakery shop. I will be your number one customer. :) , at 14/8/12 12:24 am
You must be very stress out because of all these extension. Actually you can choose to say no to all these requests. Knowing you, I know you wont because of the great sense of responsibility that you have.
Nevertheless, it is still better to ask the mgt to find out someone who "need" to take over. if you think another way, it is better to tell your ex-company that you are not extending so that they buck up.
May be better choice is to spend more time with your mother. :)
ym , at 15/8/12 3:28 am
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
First wave of change
This post should have come a lot earlier, but then everything has its timing.
On 1st Jan of this year, I told myself that this is gonna be a year of change for me. And amazingly God also gave me the sign that change is indeed the theme for this year.
More than half of this year has gone by and it may seem as if nothing has happened.
Yet, a lot have in fact happened. It is just that I did not blog about it for various reasons - besides the usual excuses of being busy and lazy, I have also wanted to only write about it when things have all been confirmed.
And today, I am going to write about the first change.
Well, i think most have already guessed it - yes, I have tendered my resignation and am now serving my notice.
My last day with the company is next Friday, and this week is my last business trip with this company. That was why I mentioned that this is a very special week for me in KL, for it is the last time i am gonna spend time with my team and colleagues in KL. It may even be my last time staying in The Gardens Hotel!
This resignation would have come in April if not for some events that have happened over that few months. It is gonna be a long story and i will slowly relate what has transpired that led to this decision. And also not to forget that there are more waves of change coming my way too. I will have a rather long break and hence i am sure i will have plenty of time to blog (if i don't get lazy again).
In the meantime, i will be blogging about other things in-between and so do stay tune if you wanna know what had and is gonna happen (now do i sound like a commercial or what).
On 1st Jan of this year, I told myself that this is gonna be a year of change for me. And amazingly God also gave me the sign that change is indeed the theme for this year.
More than half of this year has gone by and it may seem as if nothing has happened.
Yet, a lot have in fact happened. It is just that I did not blog about it for various reasons - besides the usual excuses of being busy and lazy, I have also wanted to only write about it when things have all been confirmed.
And today, I am going to write about the first change.
Well, i think most have already guessed it - yes, I have tendered my resignation and am now serving my notice.
My last day with the company is next Friday, and this week is my last business trip with this company. That was why I mentioned that this is a very special week for me in KL, for it is the last time i am gonna spend time with my team and colleagues in KL. It may even be my last time staying in The Gardens Hotel!
This resignation would have come in April if not for some events that have happened over that few months. It is gonna be a long story and i will slowly relate what has transpired that led to this decision. And also not to forget that there are more waves of change coming my way too. I will have a rather long break and hence i am sure i will have plenty of time to blog (if i don't get lazy again).
In the meantime, i will be blogging about other things in-between and so do stay tune if you wanna know what had and is gonna happen (now do i sound like a commercial or what).
| Cogitated @ 2:59 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Gosh, gosh .... This is what i suspected but least expected it to be happened lor. You had been flying over the globe past weeks, and even super busy more than before. I was hoping you got big jump in career and dispatched to oversea, like recognized by big shots in uk. No one is indispensable, but i think you are really one your company should treasure and never let go. Gee, why so many ppl resign one, my current company also got so many left, not to mention impending vss. Well, this must be a great change indeed! Change for the better it must be. Sigh, i was hoping i could bump in mid valley from the crowd by chance though i never meet you before, now the chance becomes multifold liao. All the best girl, always have faith with your decision. Cheers. , at 1/8/12 5:05 am
Oh, i was wondering if you cried when submiting the letter like your ex ex comp. Wait a minute, you sent it thru msn?! You're sure creative lot to have your avatar with the content .. hope blogging is not one of the reason lor, though it might be 1% lor it seems. Stay cheerful pinpin, and be positive! Cheers. , at 1/8/12 5:16 am
Congratulations! , at 2/8/12 1:33 am
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Jet lag and packed, AGAIN
Now, I don't know about you who are reading this, but I, the one who is writing this, am kinda sick of the similar title and content on this blog.
Uh huh, i've just finished packing a big luggage again. Am flying from Senai to KL tomorrow morning, and will be back in JB on the following Friday. I'll be staying over in KL for the weekend.
So, this is my life now - all about work and business trips.
Ok, maybe not ALL about these. I do have occasional fun with friends and idling time at home doing non-productive things such as reading comics, watching movies/drama series, browsing the Web...
I was back in SG on Saturday morning. I took a cab back to my rented place, unpacked all the dirty clothes, and packed those i wanna bring to KL. Then while waiting for mom to pick me up, i dozed off for a short while. I couldn't sleep on the flight despite the comfort of business class. I tried to go to sleep but my biological clock was still tuned to UK time and it was still day time for my body. What i ended up doing was a movie marathon; i watched 4.5 movies during the 13 hours flight - yeah, as usual, i always couldn't finish watching the last one and it was time for landing.
Anyway, I had only slept for not even an hour and mom was there to pick me up already. The Causway was horribly congested on that day and it took us more than two hours to reach home in JB. It was already 6pm+ when we got home and i decided to keep myself awake till night time as a means to adjust my biological clock back to Malaysia timezone.
I was really exhausted beyond words, as i had not slept for almost a day (except that short nap). So i went to bed at 9pm+, but woke up at around 2am+, still feeling tired. I went back to sleep and slept all the way until 1pm+ on Sunday!
I'm not sure if i slept too much or i was really burnt out, i woke up feeling as if all energy was drained from my body, and i had a bad migraine again. Overall, it was a miserable weekend working hard at overcoming the jet lag.
As i've already expected the bad jet lag from the previous trip, i took leave today and stayed at home. I had a good rest today and i think i have somewhat managed to adjust my biological clock back faster this time. Of course, fatigue was still all written over my face. I do not foresee how i can overcome this physical and mental weariness without making changes to my life.
And really, that is the only cure for me now.
Uh huh, i've just finished packing a big luggage again. Am flying from Senai to KL tomorrow morning, and will be back in JB on the following Friday. I'll be staying over in KL for the weekend.
So, this is my life now - all about work and business trips.
Ok, maybe not ALL about these. I do have occasional fun with friends and idling time at home doing non-productive things such as reading comics, watching movies/drama series, browsing the Web...
I was back in SG on Saturday morning. I took a cab back to my rented place, unpacked all the dirty clothes, and packed those i wanna bring to KL. Then while waiting for mom to pick me up, i dozed off for a short while. I couldn't sleep on the flight despite the comfort of business class. I tried to go to sleep but my biological clock was still tuned to UK time and it was still day time for my body. What i ended up doing was a movie marathon; i watched 4.5 movies during the 13 hours flight - yeah, as usual, i always couldn't finish watching the last one and it was time for landing.
Anyway, I had only slept for not even an hour and mom was there to pick me up already. The Causway was horribly congested on that day and it took us more than two hours to reach home in JB. It was already 6pm+ when we got home and i decided to keep myself awake till night time as a means to adjust my biological clock back to Malaysia timezone.
I was really exhausted beyond words, as i had not slept for almost a day (except that short nap). So i went to bed at 9pm+, but woke up at around 2am+, still feeling tired. I went back to sleep and slept all the way until 1pm+ on Sunday!
I'm not sure if i slept too much or i was really burnt out, i woke up feeling as if all energy was drained from my body, and i had a bad migraine again. Overall, it was a miserable weekend working hard at overcoming the jet lag.
As i've already expected the bad jet lag from the previous trip, i took leave today and stayed at home. I had a good rest today and i think i have somewhat managed to adjust my biological clock back faster this time. Of course, fatigue was still all written over my face. I do not foresee how i can overcome this physical and mental weariness without making changes to my life.
And really, that is the only cure for me now.
| Cogitated @ 3:54 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Haha. You are lucky to have business class. My company only allow economy class where I have to fly from Singapore to Amsterdam for 12 hours then transfer from Amsterdam to Geneva for another 1.5 hour :)
Anyway, we are expecting to read some of the post that you promise to put up :P
Have a good rest! Kanbateh! , at 3/7/12 1:18 pm
Yeah, really kinda sick already, haha. Why not blog about the idling stuff you did, perhaps it would draw your opinion and enlighten your readers :) hey, reading comic and browsing web are not really unproductive.. Anyway, wish your work in kl all the best! Sounds like very very important project you indulged in, look at the bright side - you're one indispensable gal. Ah, don't spend 500+ on your hair with minor minor trim again lor .. Cheers, have fun kl. Perhaps this will be a great opportunity to strengthen your teammates relationship.
Yeah lor, what happen to the good news. This quite a suspense .. . , at 4/7/12 3:39 am
Monday, June 18, 2012
All packed, again
Well, not exactly ALL packed actually. Still have some more to go, but decided that i should do a quick update first.
Am flying off to UK tomorrow at 12:45pm. Will be there for 12 days and will be flying back on the following Friday.
It is very likely that i will have to go to KL for two weeks after i've returned from UK. So, this means that i'll be travelling for four weeks!
Now, in case you haven't realised, such lifestyle is really not sustainable in the long run. A drastic event has taken place last week, which hopefully i will get to blog about it tomorrow when i am at the airport.
I will have to get back to my packing now. More to be revealed tomorrow.
Am flying off to UK tomorrow at 12:45pm. Will be there for 12 days and will be flying back on the following Friday.
It is very likely that i will have to go to KL for two weeks after i've returned from UK. So, this means that i'll be travelling for four weeks!
Now, in case you haven't realised, such lifestyle is really not sustainable in the long run. A drastic event has taken place last week, which hopefully i will get to blog about it tomorrow when i am at the airport.
I will have to get back to my packing now. More to be revealed tomorrow.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 3:58 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
How drastic event is that? Take it easy. I believe every decision make is draw by faith. , at 18/6/12 5:43 am
gee, sounds like the job to be envious of - free travel to UK in summer! hope this time you are much much prepared than last time, especially the lens and clothes. And importantly don't forget your glasses too. hmm, what other things else ... supplements, etc etc.
take care, all the best in work. gotta be serious and don't slack off. and don't overtiring yourself too. ganbatte pinpin! cheers. , at 18/6/12 6:41 am
Oh, forgot to mention about Big Ben, don't MISS it this time hor .. All the best ya. Cheers. :) , at 19/6/12 2:55 am
Monday, June 04, 2012
At Senai Airport
Going to KL again.
Uh huh, I only got to stay in SG for a week and am travelling again. Just the other day, a church brother said how nice that I get to travel for free on my job. I told him that as "glamourous" as it seems, it is actually very tiring and we do not really get to "travel" around as many people think.
Anyway, I am very much overloaded with work recently. It has been so bad that I have been working more than 12hours almost everday and yet am still unable to clear the backlog. I am really stressed.
Not sure if it was due to PMS or working excessive hours, I had a bad migraine again on Saturday, one that was so bad that I threw up again and slept almost for the entire day. Mom was quite worried for me.
I think I need a break, a long one.
Uh huh, I only got to stay in SG for a week and am travelling again. Just the other day, a church brother said how nice that I get to travel for free on my job. I told him that as "glamourous" as it seems, it is actually very tiring and we do not really get to "travel" around as many people think.
Anyway, I am very much overloaded with work recently. It has been so bad that I have been working more than 12hours almost everday and yet am still unable to clear the backlog. I am really stressed.
Not sure if it was due to PMS or working excessive hours, I had a bad migraine again on Saturday, one that was so bad that I threw up again and slept almost for the entire day. Mom was quite worried for me.
I think I need a break, a long one.
| Cogitated @ 12:37 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
from the surface, the job indeed seems glamourous - hague, UK, shanghai, (KL might be the exception) but when read microscopically of your postings ... oh well, job is job and it will certainly become worse if you treat it with negativity. instead of stressing oneself, if you take time off to ponder, rethink the strategy, and better idea will come up at spark when the mind is clearer.If the current way doesn't get anywhere, it should be restudied, revamped or removed altogether. i admit there are times colleagues are unreliable especially when dealing with bozos, and couple with the feeling of being unfairly treated would hold back performance. Then again it might be justified to push oneself for being responsibility, aiming good appraisal, glory, respect, dignity, perfectionism, survival of the fittest, and lifetime opportunity. Whatever reasons for the push, there's nothing be more important than health and family. Always remember - health is utmost important, what's there to cherish when health is jeopardized?! You gotta be real discipline in taking care of your health, i.e your diet, supplements, sleep hours. You're degenerating yourself, and it's going to make worse on your work productivity too. THis cycle has been going on and on, something must be done to come out of the loop. Hey, change for the better, remember? And stop making your mom worried ..
Hopefully coming week things become better. After series of complaints, indeed you need a timeout. Perhaps catching movie with your friends, colleagues - prometheus is at cinema soon. Work is not everything, at least instill a little happiness in it. All the best pinpin. gosh, i miss the baking post, and i hope there will be another one real soon. And is the "good news" still going on? Stop overwork yourself and please look after your health, for your readers sake. Cheers. , at 4/6/12 9:22 pm
Monday, May 28, 2012
Coming soon
Backlog at work continues to pile up, and all the travellings are taking a toll on me.
Tired, stressed, troubled, and apprehensive.
Perhaps the good news amidst all these is that the change that I've been hoping for so long will be realising soon... very soon.
Tired, stressed, troubled, and apprehensive.
Perhaps the good news amidst all these is that the change that I've been hoping for so long will be realising soon... very soon.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 3:56 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Stay positive, and don't let work frustration gets into you. May the good news be the light! Cheers, and take of your health too. , at 29/5/12 3:20 am
Saturday, May 19, 2012
At Heathrow Airport
I am now in the SIA business lounge at Heathrow Airport. The time is about 8pm now.
My flight back to SG is at 10:05pm, and i arrived at the airport at around 6pm. A UK colleague sent me to the airport, which was about an hour drive from the office. She was the lady who went to USA for the project implementation back in year 2009 and I got to know her at that time. We have been friends since then.
It has been an extremely hectic two weeks here in UK. I checked in and out of different hotels 5 times, and went to 4 different places for meetings - Cambridge, Gatwick, Dudley and East Grinstead. Even though there was a weekend in between, i didn't go into London city centre at all. This was the second time i came to UK, and i've not even seen the Big Ben at all!
Anyway, i really missed the food back home. I am quite sick of cold sandwiches now, which was what we had for lunch almost everyday. I normally would have very light dinner to maintain my weight, but i've decided to have all the good food next week when i am in KL and worry about the diet later!
My flight back to SG is at 10:05pm, and i arrived at the airport at around 6pm. A UK colleague sent me to the airport, which was about an hour drive from the office. She was the lady who went to USA for the project implementation back in year 2009 and I got to know her at that time. We have been friends since then.
It has been an extremely hectic two weeks here in UK. I checked in and out of different hotels 5 times, and went to 4 different places for meetings - Cambridge, Gatwick, Dudley and East Grinstead. Even though there was a weekend in between, i didn't go into London city centre at all. This was the second time i came to UK, and i've not even seen the Big Ben at all!
Anyway, i really missed the food back home. I am quite sick of cold sandwiches now, which was what we had for lunch almost everyday. I normally would have very light dinner to maintain my weight, but i've decided to have all the good food next week when i am in KL and worry about the diet later!
| Cogitated @ 6:58 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
my dear, when you come back to JB we meet up for good food.
Haha! it's so rare that you say want to have good food yoh!!!! , at 19/5/12 2:39 pm
home sweet home. if there be the 3rd time, you must set for the Big Ben then!
cheers, take care. , at 20/5/12 3:14 am
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Another week in UK
The time is 10pm+ now in UK... Yes, I am still in UK even though i am supposed to be on my way back to SG now.
I need to extend my stay here for another week because of an important meeting that will be held next week. This is an unexpected meeting that was only planned at the end of last week and hence they were not in time to inform me about it. Since i do not have anything important to do back in SG and MY for the coming week, i have no problem in extending my trip. There is however a minor problem - i did not pack enough for two weeks!
Ok, for undergarments and socks, i can always wash them myself in the hotel room. The problem is with my working attire and contact lenses.
I do not like to wear the same outfits to office repeatedly. I would always pack enough clothing to make sure i wear different outfit to work everyday. This can be resolved if i go shopping over the weekend. It's just that I am rather lazy and tired to go out. Furthermore, i have more than 10 documents to review and am supposed to work over weekend. If i don't get any new outfit over the weekend, then i'll just have to send the clothing for laundry in the hotel.
The other problem about contact lenses is more difficult to resolve. I wear daily disposable contact lenses and had only brought along 5 pairs for this trip. Now i am only left with one pair. I can go to work in the same outfit but i wouldn't be caught dead in my nerdy thick glasses, especially at our corporate HQ - for sure i wanna look my best!
You may be asking why don't i just go and get some from the shops. Well, in UK, you can't just walk into an optical shop and buy contact lenses off the shelf. It is by law that the person must have a prescription from an optometrist before being allowed to get the contact lenses. I had called a few shops and explain my situation. I asked them if they could make an exception since i am a foreigner but they said they can't do so. I must have my eyes tested (which is chargeable) before they can sell any contact lenses to me. How I miss the convenience in Singapore and Malaysia!
So what i did yesterday was to buy the contact lenses online and paid for the next day delivery charge. But then, i made two mistakes in my rush to purchase it online last evening - firstly, i didn't notice that i gotta place order before 4pm in order to get it delivered on the next working day. So i waited and waited today and didn't see the parcel. I then called the customer service and was informed that it will only be delivered tomorrow. I then asked her to change the address to the hotel since the office will be closed tomorrow, but she couldn't do so because the parcel has already been dispatched
Then, just as i was contemplating if i should go into office tomorrow (since i gotta finish up my work anyway), the customer service lady noticed that i selected the product wrongly - instead of choosing minus degree (for myopia), i actually chose positive degree (for hyperopia). How careless of me! She was smart enough to know that it was a mistake (probably i sounded too young to have such high degree of farsightedness) and alerted me about it. She said in any case, it would be wrong contact lenses for me and hence i will have to place a new order and will only get the lenses next week anyway. So, i had no choice but to place a new order; fortunately she told me that the product can be returned and i will get a refund for it.
As a contingency plan, i went to the pharmacy and bought the contact lens solution (which comes with contact lens case). Instead of throwing away the disposable lens i wore today, i carefully removed it, cleaned it and soaked it in the case for reuse. I know we are not supposed to reuse the daily disposable lenses, but this is a just-in-case measure. I hope i can receive the parcel in time next week.
Anyway, I will only be flying back on next Friday night, but then will have to fly to KL again from JB on Monday morning. Yet once again, I am travelling for three consecutive weeks. I am really not enjoying a life like this - it drains all my energy!
I need to extend my stay here for another week because of an important meeting that will be held next week. This is an unexpected meeting that was only planned at the end of last week and hence they were not in time to inform me about it. Since i do not have anything important to do back in SG and MY for the coming week, i have no problem in extending my trip. There is however a minor problem - i did not pack enough for two weeks!
Ok, for undergarments and socks, i can always wash them myself in the hotel room. The problem is with my working attire and contact lenses.
I do not like to wear the same outfits to office repeatedly. I would always pack enough clothing to make sure i wear different outfit to work everyday. This can be resolved if i go shopping over the weekend. It's just that I am rather lazy and tired to go out. Furthermore, i have more than 10 documents to review and am supposed to work over weekend. If i don't get any new outfit over the weekend, then i'll just have to send the clothing for laundry in the hotel.
The other problem about contact lenses is more difficult to resolve. I wear daily disposable contact lenses and had only brought along 5 pairs for this trip. Now i am only left with one pair. I can go to work in the same outfit but i wouldn't be caught dead in my nerdy thick glasses, especially at our corporate HQ - for sure i wanna look my best!
You may be asking why don't i just go and get some from the shops. Well, in UK, you can't just walk into an optical shop and buy contact lenses off the shelf. It is by law that the person must have a prescription from an optometrist before being allowed to get the contact lenses. I had called a few shops and explain my situation. I asked them if they could make an exception since i am a foreigner but they said they can't do so. I must have my eyes tested (which is chargeable) before they can sell any contact lenses to me. How I miss the convenience in Singapore and Malaysia!
So what i did yesterday was to buy the contact lenses online and paid for the next day delivery charge. But then, i made two mistakes in my rush to purchase it online last evening - firstly, i didn't notice that i gotta place order before 4pm in order to get it delivered on the next working day. So i waited and waited today and didn't see the parcel. I then called the customer service and was informed that it will only be delivered tomorrow. I then asked her to change the address to the hotel since the office will be closed tomorrow, but she couldn't do so because the parcel has already been dispatched
Then, just as i was contemplating if i should go into office tomorrow (since i gotta finish up my work anyway), the customer service lady noticed that i selected the product wrongly - instead of choosing minus degree (for myopia), i actually chose positive degree (for hyperopia). How careless of me! She was smart enough to know that it was a mistake (probably i sounded too young to have such high degree of farsightedness) and alerted me about it. She said in any case, it would be wrong contact lenses for me and hence i will have to place a new order and will only get the lenses next week anyway. So, i had no choice but to place a new order; fortunately she told me that the product can be returned and i will get a refund for it.
As a contingency plan, i went to the pharmacy and bought the contact lens solution (which comes with contact lens case). Instead of throwing away the disposable lens i wore today, i carefully removed it, cleaned it and soaked it in the case for reuse. I know we are not supposed to reuse the daily disposable lenses, but this is a just-in-case measure. I hope i can receive the parcel in time next week.
Anyway, I will only be flying back on next Friday night, but then will have to fly to KL again from JB on Monday morning. Yet once again, I am travelling for three consecutive weeks. I am really not enjoying a life like this - it drains all my energy!
| Cogitated @ 9:38 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
Oh my God!
So next time have to have contingency plan to at least bring extra a few pair of contact lens with you for your oversea trip lor!
Wish you all the best. , at 12/5/12 1:17 pm
gee, don't know how to say liao when you can actually wear the nerdy glasses at least for 1 day instead ofwasting money on the solution and trouble of reusing the contacts. sigh, so much so of the image ... still, i think it is better for you to bring along the glasses just in case if the contacts might cause irritation, just-in-case. it's kinda strange to have law to forbid one to purchase in shop without prescription and yet there's workaround to it via online ordering, i read that in UK they even charge tax for food that is heated/hot, you know like the pastry tax story .. so conclusion, MY is still best place to live :). i guess with prescription, customers (like pinpin, don't be angry hor) will get the right and most suitable pair, as if they don't know about their eyesights after wearing them for so long, or being ignorant to continue to wear the wrong ones. but then, shouldn't the optical shop at least have an optometrist ready to cater needy customer? hey, what happened to your LASIK plan?! you have already postponed it for 6 months! if only you have done it earlier, you would not be in this mess. oops, i hope i did not provoke you, but that's quite a true statement .....
don't tell that you plan to keep yourself in the hotel over the weekend. you should seize this opportunity to reward yourself with sightseing and at the same time shopping for the new clothes in UK. don't say lah not enjoying, you did not board the planes 6 times like last time, and this time you are in UK, summer somemore. cheers, and to the best, pinpin. you can make it. , at 13/5/12 4:33 am
Monday, May 07, 2012
Packed
Ok, I know I mentioned that this post is gonna be about the rally, but as usual, once I procrastinated on it, I'm not sure when I will get to it, if I do ever get to it at all.
Anyway, I've just finished packing my luggage. And I had a tough time fitting the thick clothings into my small luggage.
Uh huh, am flying again tomorrow... to UK. I'll be there until Friday and will be back to SG on Saturday. And of course, as per our company policy, I'll be flying business class again, and this time will be on SIA A380. Woo hoo!
(I know there was news about safety concern on A380, but I would still choose this over an old Boeing 777 aircraft.)
The schedule is very packed for this trip. I'll arrive at London on Monday evening local time, and will stay a night in the hotel at the airport. A colleague from UK will pick me up the next day and we will drive to Cambridge together. We will stay there for a night and then back to Gatwick (where our corporate HQ is) on Wednesday evening. Then we will spend the following 2 days at the HQ.
This is gonna be an important trip for me. Besides work, it probably is gonna be THE "defining moment" that I've mentioned before. If it indeed is, I guess I am gonna be spending long hours writing a long post, relating the entire story of what had transpired.
Until then, we shall just wait and see.
Anyway, I've just finished packing my luggage. And I had a tough time fitting the thick clothings into my small luggage.
Uh huh, am flying again tomorrow... to UK. I'll be there until Friday and will be back to SG on Saturday. And of course, as per our company policy, I'll be flying business class again, and this time will be on SIA A380. Woo hoo!
(I know there was news about safety concern on A380, but I would still choose this over an old Boeing 777 aircraft.)
The schedule is very packed for this trip. I'll arrive at London on Monday evening local time, and will stay a night in the hotel at the airport. A colleague from UK will pick me up the next day and we will drive to Cambridge together. We will stay there for a night and then back to Gatwick (where our corporate HQ is) on Wednesday evening. Then we will spend the following 2 days at the HQ.
This is gonna be an important trip for me. Besides work, it probably is gonna be THE "defining moment" that I've mentioned before. If it indeed is, I guess I am gonna be spending long hours writing a long post, relating the entire story of what had transpired.
Until then, we shall just wait and see.
| Cogitated @ 3:02 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
wow, Cambridge! that's wonderful, especially it's summer time! have a great time there, of course you are! hmm, something must be happening though ... look forward for the good news from ya. cheers, and make sure post lots of photos hor. , at 7/5/12 5:06 am
Wish you all the best.
Let's pray together!!! , at 7/5/12 11:41 pm
Friday, March 09, 2012
No working from home
As if two weeks of back-to-back travelling is not enough, now it becomes three weeks instead.
Uh huh, after i get back from Hanoi on 25-Mar, i'd have to fly to KL on 26-Mar for a week. That means i'd be in and out of Changi Airport every weekend for the coming three weeks.
Since i am rather tired from my work recently and also figured that the coming consecutive travelling is gonna drain me out further, i had thought of working from home tomorrow. So i gtalk my boss this afternoon and ask for his permission to do so. Then he actually rejected my request. Here was his reason:
Ooookaaay, fine boss. Whatever.
The amusing part about all this is that it actually serves no purpose at all for me to go into the office, other than talking nonsense and having lunch with the IT guys. My entire team is in KL and my work does not need to deal with anyone in the regional office at all. In any cases when i really do need to contact someone (whether my team members or the business users), it will always be via chats, emails or telephone calls because none of the people are located at the office where i am. Even for the meetings that i have to attend, more than 90% are done via teleconference or WebEx because the meeting attendees are all over the world.
Furthermore, for all you know, i may be physically in the office but spend the entire day making use of the company's Internet bandwidth to watch YouTube (no, i don't do that. This is just an example). Being in the office doesn't mean i am working, and similarly, not being there doesn't mean i am not working either.
So seriously, why do i need to be physically be in the office other than because this is the traditional way of how an employment and working style should be? All of us have always known that our boss is still pretty "cheena" style in many aspects of his leadership, so this should really not come as a surprise to me at all.
I have read some articles (with supporting research statistics) before that allowing employees working from home actually makes them more productive (time saved on commuting and less distraction), happier (better work-life balance) and also more committed to the company (employees felt trusted). Of course, this is provided the employee is someone who can be trusted to work on their own, the home is conducive for working (e.g. not having kids running about yelling and crying all the time), and also the job does not involve customer-facing role (such as sales or front line staff).
Of course, i won't deny that there is still advantage for working in office. The main benefit should be the social aspect - we get to build relationship with our colleagues.
For my case, every morning i will have to take about an hour to get ready for work and then another hour commuting to office. Yet when i am working from home, it takes me less than half an hour and i'm already in front of my laptop started working already. I do feel more productive whenever i'm working from home.
You may ask me what i would have done if my staff were to request the same thing from me? Well, i'd say, "sure, go ahead."
Yes, i have done so, and am still doing so. So far i have never rejected any requests from my team members to work from home, even when their reasons are not those that my boss stated (sick, family or fix the house). For instance, one of them have sms-ed me one morning and told me that she would be working from home because she couldn't fall asleep the night before. I also had one who asked me to allow her to work from home because she was too tired from a business trip. I was perfectly fine with these.
To me, i know my team members can be trusted with their work and there is no need for me to breath down their necks. As long as they get their job done and deliver the results to the best of their abilities, i really couldn't care less whether or not they are sitting at their desk and in front of the laptops from 9 to 5!
Oh well, i guess i am really more suited for Western culture. Anyway, i'll have to go to office tomorrow.
Uh huh, after i get back from Hanoi on 25-Mar, i'd have to fly to KL on 26-Mar for a week. That means i'd be in and out of Changi Airport every weekend for the coming three weeks.
Since i am rather tired from my work recently and also figured that the coming consecutive travelling is gonna drain me out further, i had thought of working from home tomorrow. So i gtalk my boss this afternoon and ask for his permission to do so. Then he actually rejected my request. Here was his reason:
I would like to show sympathy about the long distance and continuous travelling, but I have to be fair with the other frequent travellers as well, not just IT. I have no issue for you working from home if you are not feeling well or to deal with something at home like water leakage, unplanned child care, illness of family members etc.
Ooookaaay, fine boss. Whatever.
The amusing part about all this is that it actually serves no purpose at all for me to go into the office, other than talking nonsense and having lunch with the IT guys. My entire team is in KL and my work does not need to deal with anyone in the regional office at all. In any cases when i really do need to contact someone (whether my team members or the business users), it will always be via chats, emails or telephone calls because none of the people are located at the office where i am. Even for the meetings that i have to attend, more than 90% are done via teleconference or WebEx because the meeting attendees are all over the world.
Furthermore, for all you know, i may be physically in the office but spend the entire day making use of the company's Internet bandwidth to watch YouTube (no, i don't do that. This is just an example). Being in the office doesn't mean i am working, and similarly, not being there doesn't mean i am not working either.
So seriously, why do i need to be physically be in the office other than because this is the traditional way of how an employment and working style should be? All of us have always known that our boss is still pretty "cheena" style in many aspects of his leadership, so this should really not come as a surprise to me at all.
I have read some articles (with supporting research statistics) before that allowing employees working from home actually makes them more productive (time saved on commuting and less distraction), happier (better work-life balance) and also more committed to the company (employees felt trusted). Of course, this is provided the employee is someone who can be trusted to work on their own, the home is conducive for working (e.g. not having kids running about yelling and crying all the time), and also the job does not involve customer-facing role (such as sales or front line staff).
Of course, i won't deny that there is still advantage for working in office. The main benefit should be the social aspect - we get to build relationship with our colleagues.
For my case, every morning i will have to take about an hour to get ready for work and then another hour commuting to office. Yet when i am working from home, it takes me less than half an hour and i'm already in front of my laptop started working already. I do feel more productive whenever i'm working from home.
You may ask me what i would have done if my staff were to request the same thing from me? Well, i'd say, "sure, go ahead."
Yes, i have done so, and am still doing so. So far i have never rejected any requests from my team members to work from home, even when their reasons are not those that my boss stated (sick, family or fix the house). For instance, one of them have sms-ed me one morning and told me that she would be working from home because she couldn't fall asleep the night before. I also had one who asked me to allow her to work from home because she was too tired from a business trip. I was perfectly fine with these.
To me, i know my team members can be trusted with their work and there is no need for me to breath down their necks. As long as they get their job done and deliver the results to the best of their abilities, i really couldn't care less whether or not they are sitting at their desk and in front of the laptops from 9 to 5!
Oh well, i guess i am really more suited for Western culture. Anyway, i'll have to go to office tomorrow.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 4:53 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
|
don't tell this is one from speech recognition!
gee, i would have suggested you should stay in SG rather be in KL after the Hanoi trip instead:- 1) With excessive travel, surely it will drain you physically and mentally. Afterwards you fell sick again how, it'll be even loss for your company then? 2) it's not that we can't communicate and supervise your team via internet, webex, telephone 3) the amount you check-in, travel to airport, flight, klia to your office lost several hours there too.
sheesh, don't let your boss know about no one in the office otherwise he will relocated you to kl for good .... if the concept of working from home materialized, it kinda gives less job security, with company would employ freelancer instead. oh, you miss another benefit working in office - free aircond. by the way, you need to be more sociable and stop having solitude mind. cheers. , at 9/3/12 6:19 am
em...
I'm not sure how heavy your boss weight in your office lah! but for my aspect, he may need to think of what others think of his capability to handle his staff too.
For my instance, i really don't mind my staff on & off ask for time off since they'll work during lunch time or overtime in order to finish their work without pay. But if the frequency is too high, I might not be able to answer to HR and my director. For example now I'm quite lenient with my staffs for their lunch hour as long as it fall within any 1 hour from 12p.m. to 2p.m. as sometimes they are rushing for some report or serving customer, but my boss might not think this way especially when they can't find somebody during their "not lunch hour".
Although work from home may have the advantages, sorry to say that we are still in Asia which still not able to adapt it yet. So, you stil have a long way to wait. :p , at 10/3/12 5:34 am
All manager would said this kind of bullshit story to you.
When comes to their turn, they will work from home. Why? Because this is the benefit of the manager, they can do what ever they want.
My manager is the same. Oh, I have a very bad headache now, I can not work, I need to go home early, and there she goes, it's only 4.30pm. When you ask for half an hour early leave due to Children fever. She said, you know the official hour is this, if you leave now people will notice, blah blah blah.
You get it? , at 11/3/12 12:32 am
Very nicce post David Latona, at 8/5/22 5:09 am
Sunday, March 04, 2012
Hectic March
Was back in JB from KL on Friday late night, and am now back in SG.
I am now working on a design document that is due for release tomorrow. After that, there is another piece that is due on Wednesday.
March is gonna be extremely hectic for me. We have been under pressure to complete the process design for our project, but due to ambiguity of task ownership and some office politics at play, the progress was somewhat impeded. Now the target is to confirm the design by end of March, but we are still only drafting the documents. These documents will have to go through several iterations of reviews and validation by Asian and European businesses before the design can be finalised. This means that we will have to send out the first draft to all parties involved latest by mid-week. In view of the tight deadline, the task is now given to us, and our team will have to work our ass off to make it happen.
Other than rushing for the design documents, i am also having two back-to-back business trips this month - to Netherlands and Vietnam.
I was invited to join the design validation workshop at The Hague, Holland. I will be flying off from SG to Amsterdam on this Saturday (10/3) and then return to SG on Friday (and arrive on Saturday, 17/3). Before anyone is to utter any envious remarks, please know that if given a choice, i would rather not go.
First of all, i believe the attendees for the design workshop will mostly, if not all, be European guys of Director level (from UK, France, Portugal, the Benelux, the Nordic, etc.). I will be the only Asian there, who would be a young lady in their eyes. Having worked with these angmo men for so many years, i know how they view us. Our words carry less weigh and it is difficult to make ourselves heard unless you are in really high up position. I do not foresee my participation in the workshop will be easy.
Secondly, and perhaps a more compelling reason for being not so enthusiastic about the Holland trip is that i am supposed to fly to Hanoi on the following Sunday (18/3). This means that i'd get back to SG for just a night and then fly off again the next morning. Having such back-to-back trips will be really tiring, and i will need all the energy for the Hanoi trip.
Our annual Asia and departmental conferences this year will be held at Hanoi (it was at Bali last year). The conferences will last for four days, and a few KL colleagues and i are gonna take leave for Friday and extend our stay over the weekend. We will take the chance to go touring around Hanoi and we are all looking forward to it.
So, i will not be going back to JB (and not attending church) for the next three weekends. It's gonna be work work work, travel travel travel, and hopefully fun fun fun too.
I am now working on a design document that is due for release tomorrow. After that, there is another piece that is due on Wednesday.
March is gonna be extremely hectic for me. We have been under pressure to complete the process design for our project, but due to ambiguity of task ownership and some office politics at play, the progress was somewhat impeded. Now the target is to confirm the design by end of March, but we are still only drafting the documents. These documents will have to go through several iterations of reviews and validation by Asian and European businesses before the design can be finalised. This means that we will have to send out the first draft to all parties involved latest by mid-week. In view of the tight deadline, the task is now given to us, and our team will have to work our ass off to make it happen.
Other than rushing for the design documents, i am also having two back-to-back business trips this month - to Netherlands and Vietnam.
I was invited to join the design validation workshop at The Hague, Holland. I will be flying off from SG to Amsterdam on this Saturday (10/3) and then return to SG on Friday (and arrive on Saturday, 17/3). Before anyone is to utter any envious remarks, please know that if given a choice, i would rather not go.
First of all, i believe the attendees for the design workshop will mostly, if not all, be European guys of Director level (from UK, France, Portugal, the Benelux, the Nordic, etc.). I will be the only Asian there, who would be a young lady in their eyes. Having worked with these angmo men for so many years, i know how they view us. Our words carry less weigh and it is difficult to make ourselves heard unless you are in really high up position. I do not foresee my participation in the workshop will be easy.
Secondly, and perhaps a more compelling reason for being not so enthusiastic about the Holland trip is that i am supposed to fly to Hanoi on the following Sunday (18/3). This means that i'd get back to SG for just a night and then fly off again the next morning. Having such back-to-back trips will be really tiring, and i will need all the energy for the Hanoi trip.
Our annual Asia and departmental conferences this year will be held at Hanoi (it was at Bali last year). The conferences will last for four days, and a few KL colleagues and i are gonna take leave for Friday and extend our stay over the weekend. We will take the chance to go touring around Hanoi and we are all looking forward to it.
So, i will not be going back to JB (and not attending church) for the next three weekends. It's gonna be work work work, travel travel travel, and hopefully fun fun fun too.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 11:49 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
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Hope you can enjoy your Hanoi trip. Take care, try to have more rest and drink more water. , at 5/3/12 5:27 am
you got me, i almost say "Wow!" until i saw the rebuff.
come on, you should take this as one golden opportunity to meet the directors, to prove your capability. they knew your style, weren't you bragging before that one of the director got impressed with your report. take this as positive challenge, stop being a pessimist.
have fun in hanoi, it should be a reward for the hard work of yours. don't just always think of work and work only, and also play until you neglect your health. cheers, all the best :) , at 5/3/12 6:36 am
Monday, February 27, 2012
At Senai Airport
Going to KL today and will be back in JB on Friday as usual.
I have a new member joining my team on 1st March. This is a young boy at his early 20s who has just a few years of working experience. He will be doing mostly technical work even though we will also train him up on application side.
I have two additional headcount this year, which will make my team 8 persons (including me) in total. I still need to recruit one more staff for helpdesk function but it has not been easy to get the right people. I've actually made offer to two candidates before and both accepted the offers initially but then changed their minds later on (before signing the appointment letter). One received a counter-offer from her current employer and the other got a way better offer from another company.
It is really a pain for me to go through the recruitment process over and over again. As this vacancy is a junior position, my boss is unwilling to pay the recruitment agency for it (which costs a lot for a successful placement). He now even wants to consider candidates without the specific system skills and have us train the person internally instead. Well, you got what you pay for; since he's unwilling to pay the price, the quality of the people will sure suffer - just that the ones who will be suffering will be us, for we will have to couch, monitor and possibly clean up the shit of an inexperienced team member.
Oh well, I guess this is part of what we are paid for, so we gotta take in whatever shit resulted from the decision of the management.
I have a new member joining my team on 1st March. This is a young boy at his early 20s who has just a few years of working experience. He will be doing mostly technical work even though we will also train him up on application side.
I have two additional headcount this year, which will make my team 8 persons (including me) in total. I still need to recruit one more staff for helpdesk function but it has not been easy to get the right people. I've actually made offer to two candidates before and both accepted the offers initially but then changed their minds later on (before signing the appointment letter). One received a counter-offer from her current employer and the other got a way better offer from another company.
It is really a pain for me to go through the recruitment process over and over again. As this vacancy is a junior position, my boss is unwilling to pay the recruitment agency for it (which costs a lot for a successful placement). He now even wants to consider candidates without the specific system skills and have us train the person internally instead. Well, you got what you pay for; since he's unwilling to pay the price, the quality of the people will sure suffer - just that the ones who will be suffering will be us, for we will have to couch, monitor and possibly clean up the shit of an inexperienced team member.
Oh well, I guess this is part of what we are paid for, so we gotta take in whatever shit resulted from the decision of the management.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 1:30 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
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worse thing about hiring new recruits is boss doesn't care about them and leave the induction to the seniors who already busy with their workload. and even worse , the new hires do not show any initiative to learn and only react when they are only being told, as if they don't have mind on their own. and even even worse, nowadays with distractions from smartphone, tablet and internet don't expect to have them using their free time to polish up skills to catch up with the team. sigh, what's wrong with the new graduates these days. during my time when i was a fresh grad, i did ask boss for task and by self initiative to get involved in the hands-on to understand the job better. i supposed you should emphasize the new hire to focus more on practical and hands on rather than letting them stuck for months only reading notes like in school. THey are paid to work, not to study and read. Anyway, most people nowadays are employed not really related to discipline of their study. But then, if only they are willing eager to learn. some people really cannot do programming and if they are hired for software development for the reason being trainable, it will gonna be a disaster.
Oh well, perhaps with understandable capable and also reliable boss like you, the new hire must be a lucky guy! just show that you are a different boss from the rest. all the best, pinpin. cheers. , at 29/2/12 4:39 am
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Working from home
Had a 4-hour teleconference with UK today from 5pm to 9pm. I gotta give my boss an update tomorrow morning about what had been discussed in this meeting. Basically, from what i see, there is still not much progress on the project.
I have worked from "home" for these three days. Uh huh, i haven't gone into office at all for this week, and i am still considering if i should go in tomorrow or still stay at "home".
Actually it does not really matter where i work at all, for i do not need to meet customers or provide any on-site support for users. But then, bosses of course will still want the staff to go into office even when the work itself does not really requires so. I really wonder when companies here can finally accept the concept of working from home.
On an unrelated note, i did not have dinner today. I am hungry now and so i should go to bed.
I have worked from "home" for these three days. Uh huh, i haven't gone into office at all for this week, and i am still considering if i should go in tomorrow or still stay at "home".
Actually it does not really matter where i work at all, for i do not need to meet customers or provide any on-site support for users. But then, bosses of course will still want the staff to go into office even when the work itself does not really requires so. I really wonder when companies here can finally accept the concept of working from home.
On an unrelated note, i did not have dinner today. I am hungry now and so i should go to bed.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 4:53 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
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some people work from home have great deal of distraction. also, it gives the impression that there's no life except work. home is not for working, i would rather stare at the walls than bringing work back to home (though i did a few times for the latter, sigh). somemore, if everyone can work from home, there's even job insecure with competition from across the boundary.
gosh, how could you work until you skipped the dinner? I believe there should be still some hawker stalls/food court around the HDB that are still opened even at night. Else, you could at least make a sandwich instead going to bed with empty stomach. you just recovered from sick and yet you don't appreciate it, haiyah...
Health is more important, and you have just recovered and yet , at 24/2/12 4:42 am
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Back at home
Am back in JB already. My return flight was originally at 9pm+ but i changed it this morning to 7pm+.
The meeting with the UK people in KL wasn't too good. It wasn't that it was not smooth or there was any glitches. I was referring to the outcome and decision from the meeting.
It's gonna be a very long story if i were to relate it, and there are actually quite a number of things still up in the air. In a nutshell, our team here is losing ground because of new UK people being assigned to the project and also due to office politics at play on the top management level that has a ripple effect on us. Employees at lower level are always the victims of the power struggle of the top management.
Anyway, am very glad to be back at home sweet home. I am very tired because of the coughing and hasn't been sleeping well. I need some good rest this weekend.
The meeting with the UK people in KL wasn't too good. It wasn't that it was not smooth or there was any glitches. I was referring to the outcome and decision from the meeting.
It's gonna be a very long story if i were to relate it, and there are actually quite a number of things still up in the air. In a nutshell, our team here is losing ground because of new UK people being assigned to the project and also due to office politics at play on the top management level that has a ripple effect on us. Employees at lower level are always the victims of the power struggle of the top management.
Anyway, am very glad to be back at home sweet home. I am very tired because of the coughing and hasn't been sleeping well. I need some good rest this weekend.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 3:34 am by PinPin 彬彬 |
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gee, this is a bad news - i read the earlier post before this (purposely reserve this might turn out to be good), and not aware that it did not went well. must be bad for you especially you had worked until sick for this (to put it this way, if you did not travel to KL and caught with the contagious air, you might already fully recovered).
sigh, morale is really important to pull the team together. work is always like this, most of the time (not sometimes) there are decisions ruin our expectations and the more we look at it the more we feel the unfairness. so don't think anything for now as first thing first you need to get recovered. and perhaps you would get better idea to solve this once your energy meter is charged up at full level. don't give up, gal. be positive!
cheers. , at 11/2/12 5:54 am
Sunday, February 05, 2012
At Senai Airport
I am flying to KL later on the 6:40pm flight. Will be returning to JB on Friday night.
Some people from UK will be coming over for a meeting, and they did not know that Monday and Tuesday are public holidays in Malaysia. They only realised it last week but it was already too late since their flight and schedule cannot be changed anymore.
As such, i've asked my team members to come back to work and they will be credited with two days of off-in-lieu. Two of the members already have travelling plans and hence they will not be able to make it. Hence we won't be having the full team for the meeting, which is something not ideal but we just have to proceed with it.
The central air conditioning in the office building is shut down during public holidays. We would have to switch on our own air conditioning in our meeting room if we were to have the meeting there. The UK guy did not want that and decided to have the meeting at the hotel instead. Hence we will be having our meetings at The Garedens Hotel for Monday and Tuesday, but we will have to bring our own projector and extension cord because renting from the hotel is gonna be expensive. He told me that the hotel charges RM800 per day for the projector. We could have bought a new one with that kind of cost.
I am supposed to present something about the system to the UK guys tomorrow morning but i have not even started on preparing the presentation slides at all. Lately, i simply have no mood to work at all and have been procrastinating on the work that need to be done. Now this cannot be delayed anymore and i'll have to finish up the slides tonight. Sigh, serve me right for not doing it earlier.
Some people from UK will be coming over for a meeting, and they did not know that Monday and Tuesday are public holidays in Malaysia. They only realised it last week but it was already too late since their flight and schedule cannot be changed anymore.
As such, i've asked my team members to come back to work and they will be credited with two days of off-in-lieu. Two of the members already have travelling plans and hence they will not be able to make it. Hence we won't be having the full team for the meeting, which is something not ideal but we just have to proceed with it.
The central air conditioning in the office building is shut down during public holidays. We would have to switch on our own air conditioning in our meeting room if we were to have the meeting there. The UK guy did not want that and decided to have the meeting at the hotel instead. Hence we will be having our meetings at The Garedens Hotel for Monday and Tuesday, but we will have to bring our own projector and extension cord because renting from the hotel is gonna be expensive. He told me that the hotel charges RM800 per day for the projector. We could have bought a new one with that kind of cost.
I am supposed to present something about the system to the UK guys tomorrow morning but i have not even started on preparing the presentation slides at all. Lately, i simply have no mood to work at all and have been procrastinating on the work that need to be done. Now this cannot be delayed anymore and i'll have to finish up the slides tonight. Sigh, serve me right for not doing it earlier.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 10:48 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
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hee hee hee, I think it's more than mood, it's also personality and style. I'm also like that lei. Was off since Friday then sleep sleep sleep and relax only do my work last minute when I've no more time to play with! , at 6/2/12 3:46 pm
monday and tuesday are holiday and somemore have to work, this is certainly nuts! ha, it would take extraordinary people to shake off that procrastination. it would not be ideal too for things that are conducted in a rush though. hope you can pull this through and had a smooth meeting :).
oh, today's is the 14th day of the CNY, so if anything went wrong (of course not), maybe you can fix that by bringing them for nice nice dinner. all the best, pinpin, you can do it! cheers. , at 7/2/12 2:36 am
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
CNY lunch
Our office had the monthly birthday celebration yesterday. There was a birthday cake and everyone sang birthday song to the Jan and Feb babies. Surprisingly, there were quite a number of people born in the month of Feb in this office, which i found quite rare (if compared to the other companies i had worked at before). One of the Feb babies is our Asia Pacific MD, the topmost person in our region. I stood beside her during the birthday song singing and cake cutting. Perhaps i could get some good fortunes from her.
We also had the CNY lunch celebration yesterday at the same time. After that, the MD went around giving angpao (SGD50) and two Mandarin oranges to every staff.
Since Mandarin oranges are heaty and i can't take them, i drew smiley faces on the oranges and placed them on my cubicle as decor instead. (Uh huh, i've not taken a single Mandarin orange for this CNY!)
By the time i get well, i bet the oranges will get rotten already. At least i put them in good use for now.
We also had the CNY lunch celebration yesterday at the same time. After that, the MD went around giving angpao (SGD50) and two Mandarin oranges to every staff.
Since Mandarin oranges are heaty and i can't take them, i drew smiley faces on the oranges and placed them on my cubicle as decor instead. (Uh huh, i've not taken a single Mandarin orange for this CNY!)
By the time i get well, i bet the oranges will get rotten already. At least i put them in good use for now.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 11:09 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
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Tuesday, January 03, 2012
At Senai Airport
Am taking the 8:40 am flight flying to KL from JB. Will be there till Friday and then fly back to JB.
This has almost become my usual routine now for at least once per month - book a cab for 6:30 am, reach airport at around 7:00 am, put on my contact lenses and makeup in the washroom, check in, take breakfast at Coffee Bean, proceed to the gate, board, take off, touch down, collect luggage, and then take a cab to office.
These are just so predictable, but when we are talking about taking a flight and travelling, predictability is good. We sure do not want any unforeseeable situation.
This has almost become my usual routine now for at least once per month - book a cab for 6:30 am, reach airport at around 7:00 am, put on my contact lenses and makeup in the washroom, check in, take breakfast at Coffee Bean, proceed to the gate, board, take off, touch down, collect luggage, and then take a cab to office.
These are just so predictable, but when we are talking about taking a flight and travelling, predictability is good. We sure do not want any unforeseeable situation.
Labels: work
| Cogitated @ 1:12 pm by PinPin 彬彬 |
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I tot I am the only one who chose to put on makeup at the airport before boarding. But I din do it everytime. Only when I am running out of time and not manage to do it at home. ym , at 3/1/12 5:32 pm
haha, that's what I do also whenever I'm taking a morning flight! But for me is, breakfast come first before make-up! , at 4/1/12 2:15 pm
