TGIF

Friday, May 20, 2005

If there's anything that I'm most looking forward to here, it's Friday. I love the weekends more than ever now. In fact, I cherish the weekends. I'm relieved from all the pressures of work. I can temporarily forget anything work related. Well, not unless we're given some assignment or project. Nevertheless, the weekends give me the much needed break that (I think) I badly need and might I just add, I so badly deserve (hehe). After a week's worth of work, just the thought of having "free" time to myself excites, enlightens and energizes me in many ways. Except for the group's usual happy hours and occasional get-togethers and outings, we're pretty much on our own on weekends. So my weekends are strictly reserved for some serious R and R and R - rest, relaxation and recreation.

On weekends...

I get to wake up a little later than usual and stay in bed for as long as I want. Well actually only long enough until it's time for the housekeeping lady to clean my room.

I get to do my groceries. I have to replenish and stock up on a week's worth of food. And I don't know why but I just enjoy my time in groceries.

I get to go to the malls and do a little shopping. Aaaah...therapeutic.

I get to catch up on my favorite TV shows. Marathons of The O.C., Desperate Housewives and 24 season 4 are my numero uno stress-relievers. Local TV also has Survivor and The Apprentice 3 on every Saturday.

I get to go watch movies. I don't get to watch as much anymore as when I was back home. Most people here don't watch as much movie as we do in Manila. Aside from having limited movies to choose from and movie tickets being more expensive, coming attraction movies are shown a month or a few weeks later as compared to the now showing movies in Manila. Since my colleagues aren't really regular moviegoers and being the huge movie buff that I am, I couldn't resist and pass on whatever may seem like a good movie to me at the moment. So inspite of having some hesistations, one fine day I went ahead and decided to just go watch by my lonesome self. Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad and scary at all. I actually even enjoyed myself. So far, I've only watched The Pacifier, Miss Congeniality and The Interpreter that's because there aren't any new English movies to choose from here.

You see, I make it a point to find simple ways and means to unwind and amuse myself regardless of whether in the company of others or of myself. Nothing really fancy. No need for big happenings or whatever event. Weekends should be refreshing. I personally believe that we should strive to work hard but we should not forget to play hard as well. We owe it to ourselves. Thank God it's Friday!

Have a nice weekend y’all. I know I will.

Mind over Matter

Thursday, May 19, 2005

I'm feeling much better now. I have to thank my colleagues who helped me BIG time yesterday. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have finished our assignment at all. Yesterday, I was an emotional mess. For some unknown reason, I just felt like crying. I was actually crying! Throughout the day, I was feeling down. My morale was at its all time low. I really don't know why and couldn't explain "the feeling." As far as I can remember, I've never been like this before. I'm usually not the type who would openly cry in front of everyone else and I don't usually resort to crying whenever I'm down or troubled. There seems to be tons of reasons but ironically, I couldn't come up with one solid explanation.

Maybe it's because my family who's just visiting over the long weekend (FYI: Monday was a holiday here in Hong Kong) was already leaving for Manila. But what I couldn't understand is, it has already been my 3rd visit from family and so far, I never actually cried. Maybe homesickness is starting to set in. I really don't know. Maybe it's because I'm going to miss eating really really good meals (hahaha). The past few days that they've been here, I think I ate way too much. No complaints though (hehe sarap kasi! and it's good food).

Maybe it's because of the pressures of work. I'm having some difficulty in absorbing every new information. Work is hard as it is already and what makes it even harder is having to work with people who are already several steps higher than you. No matter how hard I try to convince and push myself, I couldn't match their years of experience. Coincidentally, we were given an assignment the other day that was due this morning. I was sort of struggling to create my program and felt so lost. But what I couldn't understand is, I've had even tougher assignments and somehow I was able to surprisingly hurdle all of it in the end. Maybe pent up frustrations are starting to pour in. I really don't know.

Maybe it's because of hormonal effects. Maybe I'm just PMS-ing. I'm not so sure either.

Maybe there are other subconscious reasons unknown to me. Who knows?

Whatever the reason, I'm okay now. I'm going back to my two-and-a-half-month old routine again. And yes, I'm trying to get my so-called groove back again. I guess it's just putting mind over matter.

I want a Roadster

Thursday, May 12, 2005

This I like!

The HK Experience

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Other than the hassles, stress and pressures of work, I’m actually enjoying myself here in Hong Kong. Not in the superlative sense though but enjoying myself nonetheless. I mean who would have known that I’d get to experience this kind of opportunity and what an interesting experience it has been so far. Nothing really big or exciting though. I’ve always wanted to live abroad for a while – whether for work or school but I didn’t have the initiative to make it all happen. And like lightning in the sky, this job offer came literally flashing right before me. So they say lightning strikes only once in one place – hence, I took the plunge regardless of the innumerable uncertainties. It’s strange how opportunity knocks or how good things come your way when you least expect it.

I could hardly believe that a good whole 2 months have already gone by since I left Manila. Sigh, time flies. I’m immersing myself with the new culture around me – work, the environment, the people, and independent life. Within only a span of 2 months, so many things have already happened – a fair mix of good and bad experiences. Either way, valuable lessons have been learned and taken well to heart whether with regards to work, people, myself and life in general.

Needless to say, I’m taking pleasure in this so called temporary change. I needed this change. As a matter of fact, it has been long overdue. I think there’s no better time than now. However, change can sometimes be a pain in the butt especially when we lose the comfort and sense of familiarity. It can be difficult. Sometimes it feels as if we’re starting from scratch again. It can be risky as well. There’s the risk of not knowing what's ahead and of creating a negative chain reaction. It can also be frustrating. We fumble and find our way. We try to fine-tune every little thing and a whole lot of adjustments have to be made accordingly. But one way or the other, change can be healthy. It can do us good depending upon the attitude we have towards it. Change can actually make us stronger, wiser and better persons. And here I am now, somehow changed by this whole Hong Kong experience in more ways than I’ve ever imagined.

Yehey! Day

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Yehey!

Today and tomorrow, our topic will be on Project Management which is something my field of interests covers. At least, I wouldn't have to worry for the next two days. I'm rest assured that it's something that I wouldn't fret over. I can take a breather in the meantime. It feels more like a two day break or an extension of our May 2 holiday.

I got to thinking last Friday night or as I would like to refer to as my so called Eureka moment. From being undecisive and not knowing what I really want to do for work, I think I know now. Yes, only after an hour of watching the very late second season rerun of The Apprentice. I want to try to be in something that's sort of in the same line of work. I want the kind of work that Donald Trump makes his "apprentices" do. Looks fun and challenging. It's something that I think I'll enjoy to some extent.

Another Yehey! moment...I finally have internet in my room (with the help of Ta and Brian - thank you!). It's such a hassle to go down the lobby everytime and my laptop's battery going empty all the time. And what's even better is, I get to pay only half the price! It's a bargain. Ahh...wi-fi is one of man's greatest inventions. Okay fine, maybe I'm exagerrating.

So...yehey! yehey! yehey! I hope this Yehey! moment of mine will last long...

I know what you're thinking...

Pure kababawan.

But what the heck...

No matter how babaw, if it makes me happy...

Why not?

....

Coconut? =P

Moving Day

Sunday, May 01, 2005

It’s moving day for me. I’m now officially transferring to my very own apartment/room. I finally get to have privacy – no more sharing of the bed and bathroom. And being the neat freak or OC that I am, I won’t have to worry about cleaning up after somebody else’s mess. I’m also getting my internet hooked up since it’s such a hassle to go down to the lobby every single time. If everything works, I might try sharing the internet connection with the Thai guy (or “gay” - not yet confirmed though, hehe) whose room is exactly right under mine (he’s one floor down). We can split the bill and save 225 HK each every month. Not bad, right? Supposedly, all we need is a router and we’re good to go. On the one side, I’m really going to miss our old apartment since it’s located in one of the “better” floors. It’s newly renovated and I like the modern and minimalist feel to it. Our new apartment totally fails in comparison. Alright, it’s averagely fair and passable but it's still a far cry from our old apartment. I inquired about the studio type rooms located in the “better” floors and was willing to pay for the difference that my company was paying. However, according to the front desk people, they would still have to check with my company and have them sign a new contract again. After all the brouhaha last March and after the “sermon” that we got from the regional HR head on our very first day of work here, I was like forget about it. I wasn’t willing to take the risk again of creating trouble because of the room setup. I don’t want to give them the impression that I’m such a big whiner or I’m feeling VIP and wanted to be treated differently from the rest. After all, everyone else stays in the same floor where we just transferred to (except the two who’s staying on the 16th) and so far, nobody else inquired about the “better” rooms so I think I should have no reason to ask for anything different. Things are so different now – this is work. I’m working now for somebody else and I don’t have the bargaining power (or more like bargaining rights!) to demand for anything or ask specifically for something anymore. I can’t expect for things or conditions to be the same as what I’ve always been used to or as what they usually are outside work. I should even be thankful that our accommodations and terms aren’t that bad as one would usually expect from corporate trainings like this. I mean what more can you ask for…training in HK, living in a hotel/apartment (with housekeeping twice a week!) and getting paid with a hefty sum. I say, we’re so much better off already.

Transferring to our own apartments/rooms is kind of exciting while at the same time, it makes kind of hesitant as well. Excited because I get to have my own place and do my own thing and hesitant, because I sort of get scared easily (hehe). Okay fine, I’m a scaredy cat. Thank you very much to my overactive imagination! So from this day onwards, I’m officially on my own. Well, only at least for the next 3 months. Nothing really permanent. Nevertheless, I'm learning to live the independent life. It certainly has its ups and downs. But I have to savor the moment while it lasts. So here's to my so called temporary independence! (hehe)

All in a Day's Work

Friday, April 22, 2005

After two weeks of sheer stress and pressure, it feels good to have finally finished and presented our individual SAS projects. It wasn’t easy for sure. Literally, my brain has never been so overworked and to think, college life (most especially my major subjects in Economics) for me was already tough. I guess there’s the added pressure of being in a different country, working with people of different nationalities and being one of only three from the Philippines to be sent here in Hong Kong. It feels like I'm representing my country ala Miss Universe (haha). Aside from having many years of experience and masters degrees under their belts, my fellow management associates (MAs) are anything but underachievers. Really, I’ve never felt this much pressure in my life. It feels as if I have to constantly prove myself and act as if I already know or understand what they’re talking about. In short, act like a K.I.A - know it all to put it bluntly (hehe). When in fact, half of the time I’m clueless. They’re all fairly nice but when it comes to work, they mean serious business. Suddenly it’s every man for himself – survival of the fittest in its truest sense.

As the culmination of two weeks of SAS programming sessions, we were given individual projects. Programming is something that I’ve never imagined learning and doing. It’s not exactly in my list of interests and it most certainly is not in my field of expertise. The lectures are fast-paced as if having the presumption that we all had some sort of background on programming already. Well, unlike my fellow MAs who have some sort of prior knowledge on the subject matter, I never had any background whatsoever so it was difficult for me to catch up and absorb as much information all at the same time. It’s even harder since I’m not as familiar yet with the ins and outs of the credit card business so I’m lost when it comes to having to formulate my own analysis framework for my program. I mean I’m barely out of school and here I am with a high pressure job where the circumstances are very different from the usual or from what one would normally expect from a fresh graduate. For someone like me who’s so laidback and uncompetitive by nature, I don’t like to be in an environment where there’s just too much stress and pressure of having to be the best and in full battle gear all the time. At the end of the day, you get so worked out and no matter how worn out you feel, you still get that feeling of dissatisfaction with everything that you've accomplished and worked so hard for.

Sticky Set-up

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

As difficult as it is to keep, maintain and nurture relationships, it's even more difficult to create and jumpstart new ones. Hardly are we able to connect right away with some person whom we've just met. Not often are we able to fully establish a comfortable and open relationship with people whom we've known all our lives so what more can we expect with some random person?

The typical situation would have been first getting to know each other in the hopes of getting pass the so called awkward stage and moving on to a blossoming friendship. Finding some common ground is where it initially starts. However, we can't expect budding friendships and/or relationships all the time with every person who crosses our paths. Some acquaintances remain nothing more than what they are. However, sometimes it takes a longer period of time for fate to play out and in some special cases or instances, all it takes are second chances.

The atypical situation is when you're forced to live with some person who you barely know. Imagine not just sharing an apartment or having to share a bathroom but think worse case scenario - having to sleep in just one bed (yikees!) and the situation worsens as personalities start to "silently" clash. As if having entirely opposite personalities isn't bad enough, it couldn't get any better as you begin to discover that the other person have some really weird habits and annoying traits. I'm not ruling out the possibility though that the other person may think and feel negatively towards me too. I suppose she may have some hidden disliking towards me but the truth of the matter is, I don't really care. We surprisingly get along just fine but I don’t think our so called friendship can withstand the test of time – I’m referring to my patience that is. I actually have nothing against the other person. Although the other person is usually nice and occasionally chatty and we’re more than okay, but the problem is as simple as having two very different personalities and having to force yourself to get along perfectly well with that person day in and day out and forge what will supposedly be termed as a non-friction/smooth-sailing relationship. In all fairness though, it's not all bad. We have some good days too. Who knows we might end up being good colleagues after all and overcome our differences as fate would have it. In the meantime though, I have to suck it up and deal with the situation in the best possible way that I can. Real tough luck but whoever said it was going to be easy anyway?