Chronicle 100 - New Year

The 100th post! I could say that I deliberately missed the November post just so I could tie in the 100th post with a nice wrap up of 2016, or I could be honest and say that I didn't have the discipline to write an entry last month. Still, it's the 100th post and that has to be symbolic somewhat.

I think that after the girls left, I felt rather lost at work. I will of course still fulfill my work responsibilities but something just wasn't the same anymore. I think the benefits of having a supportive workplace culture are severely underrated. Anyway, I decided to take the exercise of exploring alternatives offers in the market a bit more seriously. I went for a few interviews and had a couple of offers. I was quite tempted by one but eventually turned all of them down for various reasons. I called up my ex-lecturer for some advice and my decisions were in part due to her insights.

Some ex-colleagues have also gotten in touch with me, offering to make introductions to other agencies for me. I'm thankful that everyone is looking out for me, but I think I might have to put the job search on hold for a while, while I figure my next steps. The communications industry is that small, and there are only so many agencies that you can reject before you gain a notorious reputation for wasting people's time.

JZ recently asked me out for coffee. I had already sort of guessed that she would be giving me a heads-up on her resignation. Turns out it was indeed true. Now that she has resigned, I'm not sure how her three months notice period is going to play out. It must be really annoying to be forced to remain in a place which you want out of.

VA recently started work and I guess she is doing fine. There is just this difference when it comes to new people. The chemistry and the working style, it's just not the same as with MC, LT, LAB, and AS. Maybe it takes time to get to that level, but I am not very optimistic that such an environment can be re-created.

As for the colleague that challenged me to a fight, he told me that he wasn't serious and wanted to back out. Tsk... I was actually looking forward to chopping that tree. Oh well.

I also met LT, LAB, and AS individually for either lunch or dinner over the past month or so. LT didn't seem to be doing very well at her new workplace. I just had to make an insensitive comment then. I should learn to keep my mouth shut. LAB seems to be doing very well while AS is also doing relatively well.

I also met PL for dinner. This D told me she would have some insights for me if I got some information off her, but when I really did find out that information, D told me she couldn't help. Tsk...

For our company Christmas Gift exchange, I got a pair of slippers from GK. I was surprised that he got something I wanted and even got the size right too. I eventually realised that he had help from LAB. As for another gift exchange with my University friends, I got a back scrub brush? Everyone was praising its soft bristles and all, but when I tried, I realised that they can be damn painful. Forget a smooth back... I might actually make it rougher.

I caught Rogue One: A Star Wars Story sometime back and I enjoyed it very much. For the most part of the film, there were no Jedi, no Sith, no lightsabers, and no force powers. Everything was building up perfectly for the ending Darth Vader scene. When Darth Vader appeared, lightsaber in hand, cutting through everyone, I was reminded why I am a Star Wars fan. If I wasn't in the cinema, I would have cheered. It was a celebration of my childhood and my fandom.

Anyway, it seems I might make it into a feature in The Straits Times sometime in mid-January. My lecturer whom I had sought advice from asked if I would be willing to feature in a story for Kaplan. Apparently, ST is planning a "Beyond O Level" feature in mid-January to tie in with the release of the O Level results then. I agreed.

For New Year's eve, I had hotpot dinner with C and then we met up with F to chill at Mind Cafe. The game we were introduced to "Pandemic" was rather interesting. As usual though, F was dying late into the night and could barely stay awake.

I'm not so sure how 2017 will pan out. But in the short-term, it looks like it might be incredibly busy for the first few months. Let's get over those first.

[Quotes]

"I would rather be able to appreciate things I cannot have than to have things I am not able to appreciate." - Elbert Hubbard