Chronicle 99 - New beginnings, old environments

And now even LAB has left. And then... there were none. It was incredibly sad for me as she was the last of the gang that I had grown really close to. On the last train ride home, I'll admit to feeling rather sentimental and it was the first time I hugged a girl goodbye in the train. Ironic that I had a hand in it since I helped her with the writing test when she was applying for the job.

My boss sat me down as usual and asked me what was happening. She also asked me what we should be doing as a business. She must be pretty worried if she's turning to me for commercial direction. I did point out certain inadequacies in system, culture, and infrastructure which have to be addressed if we are to proceed with our expansion. She agreed.

Anyway, we went through quite an elaborate hiring process and eventually settled on one. The new hire is due to start in December and she is quite pretty, although I swear I did not vote for her based on that attribute! Her interview and writing test impressed me. Oh, one more thing... For the office Secret Santa gift exchange, I got the new girl. Ok... that is difficult.

LT seemed to be struggling to adapt to her new workplace and had built up some frustration. She must be feeling really disheartened as she was even entertaining the idea of returning to Tulchan at some point. Anyway, she is now looking at a post-graduate programme by an MNC. The application requires some sort of a writing test which I helped her with. Fingers crossed as we await the results. Maybe I should set up my own business where I just help people applying for jobs with their writing tests, or students with their academic essays.

I met D for a catch-up ramen dinner and some late night drinks a couple of weeks ago. Interesting catch-up. And no D, I still do not know which church she attends.

I went for yet another grappling competition early this month and got a silver medal. It wasn't that satisfying since my round 1 opponent was disqualified for a no-show so I had a free pass. Thankfully, this competition ended without any significant injury on my part. On a separate note, it seems the wife of a friend saw me at the event and somehow recognised my name. She told my friend and it was then that I realised my friend was a martial artist as well, and agreed to help each other train next time. So much for retiring...

A colleague kinda challenged me to a fight recently. Well... not exactly... I suppose I saw it as a challenge. What he said was that he acknowledged that I have some kind of technical superiority but he thought that he could make up for it due to his advantage in size. I mean... IS THAT A CHALLENGE BIG GUY?

I have also been shopping for new job opportunities with the help of some headhunters. One in particular caught my interest. It was a position at Cohn & Wolfe in their tech and corporate communications team. I had met the MD for an interview and really liked her, and the job that she described seemed to fit well into my interests. For some context, the headhunter had told me that their budget would most probably not allow them to match my pay. However, I decided to go for the interview and take the writing test anyway as I had thought that if I can showcase my ability, it might provide the justification needed to raise the offer. Long story short, I aced both the interview and the writing test and Cohn & Wolfe made me an offer. They raised their original budget for me but it was still a decrease from my current pay. Stripping away bonuses and just looking at base pay, I would be getting about S$5,000 - S$6,000 less a year. I was rather conflicted as it was a matter of interest versus monetary reward at that point and I was unable to reconcile them. The pros and cons method doesn't work as you would struggle to place a value on a certain pro or con at times.

I did turn to a few people for insights and advice but still could not make a decision. Under the impression that I only had one night to make a decision, I called my ex-lecturer, P for some advice. She helped me to analyse the situation and gave me some insights based on her experience in the industry. After speaking to her, I decided that I shouldn't be afraid to walk away at this point. I then informed the headhunter and the MD of my decision. I was certainly not prepared when the MD called me personally to try and change my mind. She basically told me that they are very impressed when they interviewed me and when they saw my writing test, and that they are very keen for me to join the team. She explained that her hands are tied due to budget constraints but offered a review of my pay upon successful completion of my probation, although she stopped short of quoting any figures. She also pitched the working culture, the clients they have, and the mentorship programme etc. Although the time in which I made my decision was rather short, I like to think that it was a considered one, so I wasn't really prepared when she called me. She told me to think it over over the weekend and agreed to extend the deadline by Monday. I have given it much more thought since then and I think I have my answer...

Outside of work and other stressful stuff, I am still finding some time to play quite a bit of Pokemon Go, although that also means that I have stopped playing Dota for months now. Sorry Dota, you take up to much time whereas I can play Pokemon Go anytime and almost anywhere.

I also went Bintan for a short trip with C and F last week. We didn't do much except chill at the resort, massage, and eat. What a life.

[Quotes]

"That's always seemed so ridiculous to me, that people want to be around someone because they're pretty. It's like picking your breakfeast cereals based on color instead of taste." - John Green

"I couldn't find my cup of tea. So probably, I've been simply taking a sip from everyone else's cup. Maybe it shouldn't matter as long as there is tea to drink. Or should it?" - Sanhita Baruah