The 90s beans

It is shocking how I can go months on end without giving a thought to The Passing of Time, until some experience triggers it - like lunch with interns who are born in the 1990s.

When I first looked at application resumes to fill these positions, I nearly fell off my chair at the fact that we are now seeing the graduation of beans born in the 90s. Eeps. I mean, these are kids that were in diapers when I was completing my secondary education. Double eeps.

Having said that, I have noticed these youthful bean (sprouts) possess a confidence that surpasses their age. They are also a very vocal and articulate bunch - far more than what I was at the same age. They have the smarts and the looks and are definitely not afraid to be proud of it. They are very aware of the world around them and very eager to embrace change - be it a change in the direction a task is taking or a change in their life choices.

A lot has to be said for this future generation. I am impressed. And they do inject a tinge of fun even during a work meal.

English Language Club & Me

I'm waiting for time to pass.

Not cos I am idling at work, but cos I had promised to attend our firm's English Language Club as an expatriate English speaker. And also I was promised free food. Nah. Of course its the former.

I think its fun that the firm tries so hard to provide so many recreational activities for its staff, going to the extent of hiring a full timer to run the recreational club. It really shows committment from the firm's end.

So the event starts in 15 minutes. I think I'll troop up earlier and eye what food I want.

Yeah, I'm hungry.

5th year work anniversary

Today marks my 5th year of service in my current firm.

Its like WOW. Huge revalation for me. Never thought I'll be in ONE place for so long.

I have only held two jobs after graduation, both in very different fields, roles and in fact different countries. In this world where many in the secular world switch jobs every other year, it does seem rather unusual to stick to one firm for so long.

Anyhow, I pinged the man who hired me and told him about my achievement. To which he responded "good on you for sticking to this so long" and after which, he gave me a speech about how I actually worked out to his expectations and have done well.

Sometimes, that's all I need. A pat on the back from someone I respect.

Progress at work

A mentor passed this on to me many moons ago and a copy resides on my hard drive as it left an impression on me. Cute isn't it?

Reorganisation at work

We are undergoing an operational review of our department at work. This has caused the workplace to be, at times, become a lot more tense than it has before. As someone who's been on this team a lot longer than many of my mates, I have become a touch point and I realise what I say and how I behave in reaction to the changing situation carries a lot of weight.

Personally, I think reorganisation can be a good thing. If its done in a fair and proper manner. While I am aware that the definition of 'fair' can be subjective, I think that the end game of reorganisation is to help streamline processes and achieve better, more efficient results.

Well, at the end of the day, I can't tell if I will still have a role to play in my team after the reorg. I pray that I do, but I am encouraged by the people who surround me and remind me to leave this situation in His hands...that even if I do get worked out of the team, that the consequence maybe a good thing as it will allow me to have some space to focus on other aspects of my life. I agree that its best not to fret about it, or try NOT to fret TOO much about it, and continue to just do what I need to to do to get my work done.

I just hope that no one in the team that I know and care about will have to leave though, cos I actually do enjoy working with each one of them. Nice, responsible and loyal mates. Very rare, at least from my experience. Sounds like the ideal team doesn't it?

Either way, we've been told that we'll know the results of the team by the end June, early July. So I can only wait.

Shortened work week coming to an end

I have been taking every Friday off for the past few weeks and I find that it does me a lot of good. For one, I feel like my work/life balance is much better and I am better able to enjoy time spent with my daughter and husband. The rationale side of me reminds me that its just 8 more hours of work - not that big a difference! But the emotional side of me loves the idea of not being at work!

It is coming to an end though, just two more Fridays left.

Mr B has suggested that, since I like this arrangement so much, why not just use up my leave for this year this way. It is a pretty tempting idea but it'll need more thought.

What to do on a one month no pay leave?

Himself and I have decided to take a one month no pay leave to comply with my company's no pay leave policy that was put in place to manage costs through this financial crisis. Now comes the decision of what to do with this down time since I really need activities planned to keep me occupied.

The original plan was to spend the entire month in Singapore, coinciding with Himself's need to work one month out of China for tax reasons but we realised last night that R is only out from school on 26 June, that means that we can't leave Shanghai if we don't want her to skip any more school.

Oh the agony of it all. What can I do with this 1 month of "rest"?

- Plan a short holiday (but it will be so lonesome since Himself needs to work and we both don't feel its right to leave R alone in Shanghai with the Nanny)

- Go for a short course (what and where?)

- Visit my brother in Seattle (a possibility but he lives with 2 other men)

- Pay my dues by working for the family back in Singapore (another possibility but I'll miss R so much)

But one thing to keep in mind...no income for one full month!

2008 annual dinner

Due to one reason or the other, this is my first Annual Dinner despite being around for 4+ years in this firm. It was high time I showed up at one of these events, and so I did.

The theme was Far East Area Night, in recognition of our firm's recent integration. Held in various locations in China throughout end November and December, its a time for the entire firm to sit down and eat. We were asked to dress to reflect the theme but the best I could contribute was a red flower. Festive at the very least.

It was a passable event made a whole lot better with lovely company. And MacDonald's was really yummy that cold winter night.

Work has been very busy the last 2-3 weeks, more so than usual. We have recently hired a new guy, D, to be based in our Beijing office and due to a variety of reasons, I have been asked to handhold from our Shanghai office.

I normally love assignments like that as I enjoy teaching and mentoring. Being physically in different offices is not that big a challenge normally, since our entire team works virtually based out of different offices anyway. But this time around, it is proving to be harder.

Not just becuase he's a guy, or that he's about a decade older - but D basically put himself in a very difficult position with his attitude and the things that he says. The team up in Beijing comprises entirely of females as well. And they are really lovely people to work with and talk to. They are chatty and helpful. I've experieced that first hand.

Well, D was smart enough to piss some of the women there by commenting over lunch that some assignments should be left for females to do. Errr...hello ??? Knock knock...did he actually LOOK around to see who he was talking too?
Needless to say, that got under the skin of half the team up there.

It was also wierd as I was given feedback that D would ask for help on the most simple task like how to insert an extra sheet into an excel file. And he would ask this not once, not twice but three times on different occassions. He also commented that he's not "suitable to do research and analytical work" when they post we had advertised was Research Analyst. Irony. I had asked him to do something and had suggested that he refer to the Telephone directory on Lotus Notes to which he asked "What's that?"...this was about 6-7 weeks after he started work. I am just glad that I wasn't speaking to him face to face cos I was so frustrated I had to walk out of the office for a breather.

I actually went back to see what his background was in order to try to understand him and his capabilities:
- Investor Group in Canada as a financial consultant
- Global Telecom Company as a business analyst
- Securities firm in BJ
- Actuarial and systems analyst for the largest insurance company in China
- MBA and 2 Degrees
plus he passed a 3 hour rigorious writing exam. So how come har?

So now, I've been asked to make a trip up to Beijing to sort D out, on top of providing further mentoring to another staff. And to make the trip worthwhile, probably do more team training up there.

Really need to pray for wisdom. Its not an easy challenge this time.