i was just checking out my previous entry and realised it was posted in Nov! i hadn't realised it was such a long time ago! and do i have lots to blog abt! haha..ok so lets do it in parts
Work:
tis is on everyone's lips whenever i meet up with relatives and friends..my reply - ok lor
fact is, as with all other matters, it can always be better but i am not gonna complain coz i think my closer friends have had enough of me lamenting abt work..haha..but i will move on and find something for myself..
previously, the job was always for a purpose..which was to pay the bills..besides my 1st job and my last job, i never really enjoyed the others..it all turned out unsuitable for me..even tis current job..i cld like tis job - my colleagues are nice and funny and my direct supervisor can be quite lenient with timeoffs and leave (she wldn't jump at last min leave applications) and is rather understanding toward the fact that i have to take care of my mum..
it's just the work scope. i like the marketing (which wasn't made known to me when i went for the interview) and coordination of advanced level courses coz it allows me to interact with pple but it caught me by a huge surprise when i started work and realised tat i will be doing finance as well. it is baffling to me, coz nowhere on my CV does it show i had done and am ready for taking over the finance portfolio.
during this time with this place, i realised that the job scope is very wide and requires a lot of multi-tasking. I am quite fine with multi-tasking if it all falls within the limited job scope, which will allow me to multi-task more efficiently, unfortunately, not here. the job scope is so wide, i guess it makes it difficult for a person like me, who was never really good at multi-tasking.
2 weeks ago, i was tasked to take over the organising of a full-scale 3 day seminar which involved overseas instructors. i had a lot of help from my colleagues which made this seminar a success and I am truly grateful for that. behind all that, it was a lot of hard work, tears and sweat. and during this period, i found out many things.
one of the most impt issues i identified was my satisfaction in knowing that my hospitality was appreciated by the instructors. the 1st day, was a day of discovery - knowing the instructors' preferences. there was no-way i cld satisfy every one of them but i tried to manage as best as i cld. i like it when the small actions i do, is appreciated even if they do tell me directly. for eg. i noticed that the instructors were suffering from jetlag and they loved having coffee to keep them awake, so for the next 2 days, from the time they stepped into the seminar site, i made sure coffee followed them everywhere they went. and once, i overheard the team leader tell the others, "she's a mind-reader", and another, when they stepped into the rest area and saw a pot of hot coffee, the team leader smiled and said something to the rest of them.
and though it was all tiring and i even broke down once during the prep of this seminar, things like that make it all worthwhile, and perhaps, i shld start looking for openings in the service industry where i will be able to exercise extending hospitality to visitors.
Family:
my mum is due for retirement this aug and seemed to be looking forward to it. few days ago, she told me she might reconsider coz she is afraid she might not know what to do with a sudden amount of free time.
my grandma will be celebrating CNY eve next sunday. time to get the CNY snacks and food out!
my cousin checked in to army this week, wont be seeing him till June. hohoho
Love:
my colleague asked me how the "yuan yang ya" was working for me. My housemate from university days gave me this very cute pair of Mandarin ducks made of rose quartz, sitting on a leaf (green crystal but I am not sure of it's name) and is supposed to represent marital bliss and enhance love luck. I have been having the Mandarin ducks with me for at least 2 years and nothing stable has worked out.
my colleague was baffled coz the position was right (SouthWest) and after a few days of thinking, i went to her and asked if the surroundings where the ducks were sitting is impt. and she asked what i had around my ducks. I said it is sitting on this plastic cabinet which i use to store my bags and necessities. and behind the ducks' bums were a stack of books and....my rubbish bin. no wonder i have been having rubbish guys appearing in my life! and especially to the sceptical ones who do not really believe in fate and feng shui, everytime i wash my ducks in salt water (the usual routine to cleanse crystals), someone from the past will appear again (and guys from my past all have a past). they will contact me again and come back into my life. duh!
i have since shifted the ducks' position out of the rubbish bin's way. now sitting behind their bums are photos of my galfriends and me, to which my colleague has advised me to change to guys' photos. erm, i am on my way to develop some drop-dead gorgeous guys' photos. and also the red flowers she has so advised to display too. hey, i hope these work manz!
Playing God:
the 2nd thing i learnt from preparing for the seminar, was how true the saying, "what goes around, comes around" was. I was always a firm believer of kharma and as best i can, i always wanna treat people nice and with sincerity.
the day before the seminar, i was stressed trying to have the seminar materials printed and filed. 2 of my colleagues were helping me with this, while another and my DD went out for a meeting. i was not aware of this meeting they had till the day before and I thought i wld be having full strength (except for my recently pregnant colleague who is on long MC).
so well, i had to work around 3 manpower strength and by mid-day i was concerned we cld not get the materials done. i texted my colleague and asked for her to quickly come back to the office to help out. but she said my DD wanted her to help carry the thermal flasks (these flasks were bought after my CEO commented that the ones from the caterer weren't presentable at all - another last min rush), and that she is ready to stay back to help out.
they returned to the office at 3plus and i wasn't impressed at all. i knew it cldn't have taken them such a long time to get the flasks. but i was too tired and too focused on getting the task done to think too much abt it.
On the last day of the seminar, my colleague confirmed my 6th sense and said my DD deliberately stopped her from coming back to the office early. I shld've fumed and had my blood pressure go up, and i will not deny that i get pretty upset now as i am recollecting it.
but the next day, which was also the 1st day of the seminar, my CEO came to me and asked to see my opening. i showed it to her and she wasn't happy abt 1 of the paras she saw. she immediately cancelled it off, which made me happier, coz i didnt have to say so much then. later, 1 of my colleagues told me my CEO called my DD on her mobile and ticked her off for putting in that para, even after she gave instructions to keep the opening simple.
i felt kinda bad that my DD got scolded for helping my draft the opening BUT after my colleague confirmed her actions towards me, i didn't feel guilty at all. I mean (i am finding reasons for not feeling guilty), my CEO did give instructions days before the event to keep the opening simple but she chose to play the smart aleck and added in some debatable info.
I understand she wanted to let me learn not to underestimate the time needed to prepare the materials but it was already mid-day the day before the event and my panic could've been felt a hundred miles away. BUT she chose to play God. It cld have been her maternal instincts to teach her kids the same way but kids and adults have different make-ups. She shld return to her books and distinguish the difference between andragogy and pedagogy. Hmm, mayb she doesn't even know the existance of either.
Somewhere familiar:
in late Feb, i re-visited Brissie. It certainly brought back lotsa memories for me. During the time in brissie, i had lotsa happy times and a fair share of sad memories. events and experiences that made me grow up fast. times I will always treasure.
i bunked in with my cousin who is working there and has her own apt. the 1st morning in brisbane, i just lazed the whole day and cooked my own lunch, reliving student life again.
i re-visited QUT, Club Lodge and Queen St Mall and other new places that had sprung up the last 10yrs. I had a ball of a time shopping and breathing in aussie air. I certainly missed brissie a lot and I was really happy to be back again.
I walked through so many familiar streets and shops. Though some shops and things have changed, the memories stay so strongly with me. I still find them familiar. At times, i will be walking the streets alone, but i never felt happier, to be back to familiar sights and sounds.
at the same time, angie and tri brought me to places I had never been before when i was studying there (yes, I was that unadventurous), like Gold Coast casino, Westend and Sunnybank. The HK roast meat at Sunnybank was even better than sg's!
student life was so much simplier and with less worries. I guess I had a very easy student life - i didnt have to worry abt fees and living expenses. I am very grateful to my dad for giving me such a blessed life. And i wanna thank Angie for giving me accommodation during my stay there :) there were a couple more things I haven't gotten round to doing on this trip, so i will definately be back to visit again!
People from the past:
there was someone i saw in brissie 9 yrs ago..and i visited her again this trip. She is a tarot card teller from the weekend market at Southbank. She is terribly accurate and never fails to awe me.
this time, she told me that i was ready for a move and shld be making a decision soon. she cld tell that career-wise, i was moving up but i was not happy. I am unhappy.
she told me, my past r/s have never been good for me. I never felt love and coz they were all so short, i cld never experience the true meaning of being loved. she said i will meet someone soon - someone nice, gentle and will prob be for long-term, but i forgot to ask her if it's someone new or someone i already knew.
before i left for brissie, someone from the past texted me. he was just released from jail and wanted to rekindle what we had b4. it was someone from 2yrs ago. he said he had my number all along but was too ashamed to look me up again and he took a lot of courage to text me again. we spoke again when i returned from my trip and claims that he loves me and wld like to get back in a r/s with me. the last time i spoke to him was 10days ago. he promised to contact me on Monday this week.
another heartbreak? i dunno, i wish i knew. i wish i knew what the tarot card lady was trying to tell me. i wish i knew the truth to what he said to me.
