It feels good that I am not obliged to return to the office today.
May 2, 2010 Me, Myself & I
Working in the printing/events line definitely has its perks and benefits, but to wake up on a Sunday morning with total detachment from your job is definitely not one of it.
And it feels damn good, this feeling of near zero work burden and it’s going to be a simple Sunday that will be spent quietly with the family.
Dils and I are gonna go chase after an ice-cream evening later today, and at this point of time I must specifically point out that I am not an ice-cream person — but an ice-cream evening does seems like the best avenue to chill, pun intended, and relax this time round.
Plus, on the bright side, I get to spend a little bit more time with her, and I don’t ever get to spend much time with people I’d like to, ever since me and my colleagues launched the company back in July 2007.
Btw I’m still not the big balls boss: to my close friends who seem to think that just because I was one of the founding partners. But there’s never been a more comfortable working level than ever, and this much I’ll confess a little.
There’s never been more sacrifice than ever as well, mostly of time spent with family and friends.
I’ve often been asked why do I have to work on days and ends, and it’s not even like I’m trying to make ends meet, so why?
Well, building bridges, pipelines, opportunites and such, and these, takes plenty of time.
I’m a preacher of that family is more important than work, but of late however, I’m in irony of that as I have been spending more time in the office than, say with my brother, who’s preparing frantically for his wedding in a few weeks time, which means he’ll be moving out already.
No more Winning Eleven nights, or what other games that might tickle our fancies, for a long time now — but all’s good, because games have to take a backseat while we mend to other priorities of our adulthood.
I’ve also been neglecting, a little bit, with my sister’s job hunt, but thankfully, a few of my friends, well customers actually, have vacancies in their company where I’ve managed to convince them that my Sister’s a scintillating prospect for their office.
Is this right? This getting a job through contacts? Like is this fair? I’m pretty sure that thousands of jobseekers who’ve gone to countless career fairs will be crying foul of this move.
She’s just graduated a month back and she’s probably going to be confirmed with a job, without much hunting to do — all thanks to her brother’s, well that’s me really, contacts.
In fact, in this real world, there’s a saying that to be successful in life, it’s not about how much or what you know, but rather it is who you know.
Now I’m not asking anyone to put down their textbooks right now and start going around and shaking strangers’ hands — actually it could turn out to be good, but mostly you’ll be seen as siao (which means crazy in Mandarin) — because that won’t work but do go out there, absorb as much knowledge as you can, continuously upgrade yourself and build as many wokrable bridges as you can, and opportunities will present itself in manners that you’d probably had least planned for.
Also, neither am I recommending on being a suck-up, just to get into the right books, because everybody hates suck-ups, and where a boss finds the time to give attention to suck-ups, it’s 99% true that they’re using them for their own benefits only.
The other 1%, they’re just ignorant, and when your boss is ignorant, find yourself a new boss.
Oh, and if by some inexplicable manner, you find that all bosses that you’ve worked for are jerks in one way or another, then there’s really only one thing left to do — be your own boss.
How about starting your own ice-cream parlour?
Whatever it is, work hard, work smart, and go have an ice-cream evening with someone you desire on a Sunday evening once in a while.
Sometimes you just have to take action and things will click in place.
Mar 29, 2010 Me, Myself & I
Not since the former Dragonscage days have I woke earlier than 9am on a Sunday morning.
Heck, I don’t even wake earlier than 9am on weekdays when I go to work, but last Sunday morning, I woke extra early to prepare myself for a unique soccer game.
I woke at 7.30am, and that is indeed newsworthy, for me.
It was my maiden game with Andi’s health sciences lab friends, and no they’re not mice, but they’re rather nice.
They’re a bunch of professors, staff workers, and lab assistants of NUS, and Andi roped me in for the day to help out with the numbers.
It was a really good game, imho, but we lost 12-0! Oh well, it happens some times.
Despite the damning loss, the waking up early thingy and morning exercise seemed to have riled me up for the rest of the day, as I furiously scribbled and doodled on my notebook, the paper and pen kind, and tried to put my thoughts into ink.
Pretty soon, ink turned into punching my keyboards for almost half a day and though the idea have been lingering with me for a few weeks now, I’ve very much procrastinated in taking actions all these while.
Playing Zynga Poker on facebook took much of my time, in previous weeks, and so did distractions like updating of blogs here, here and here.
But that afternoon, that lovely Sunday afternoon, somehow I managed to finish in a day, what I’ve been delaying for weeks.
MAR.sg is reborn, and reconstructed after countless massive surgical operations, and I’m actually quite happy with it.
Not so much of trying to promote the site, but more of hustling on the point that whenever you feel like you’re not going anywhere or not producing anything..
JUST DO SOMETHING!
Go ahead, take that first step of writing something down, or drawing something up, and who knows what it might lead to.
In fact, I didn’t even plan to finish the website, but merely to conjure more ideas and directions that it can go.
It clicked for me, and I know it’ll click for you too.
So if you feel like you’re stuck, as if there’s nothing going on for you, take action.
Do something, instead of grumbling or whining, and simply challenge yourself to make a difference.
Writing things down on paper, that won’t hurt.
Brainstorming for solutions, that won’t hurt.
Taking little actions, bit by bit and one step at a time, that certainly won’t hurt.
Do you know, if you gave a mouse a really big piece of juicy cheese, how it will finish eating that really big piece of juicy cheese?
One bite at a time.
Sometimes you just have to take little actions and things will click in place.
So, despite losing by a huge margin in that soccer game, I’m sure I gained invaluable new friends and possibly regular Sunday morning games.
Hmmm.. I wonder if they’ll ever need a website.
Tags: Actions, Brainstorming, Football, Sunday, Websites
Ooizit (Who is it), whose life isn’t hectic, isn’t chaotic and isn’t a mindless routine?
Nov 18, 2009 Me, Myself & I
Wooot! 4 days of non blogging, mind didn’t really went blank but it seems like there were just too many things going on inside my fragile house of cards, that is my wandering mind, and if really a wandering mind was made of cards, any drift that comes in will simply blow everything away.
Whose life isn’t hectic, isn’t chaotic and isn’t a mindless routine, please put up your hands?
Sometimes we just have to give in to the momentum, that is life, and let ourselves get carried away, because resistance is futile.
Like how I had to tuck in at home on a Sunday ‘cos Dad and Ma are hosting a family and friends gathering-cum-well wishing occasion at home, and was made to overturn the huge, bulky, grey sofas from the living rooms and temporarily put them outside by the common walkway.
I’m amazed that I actually did some physical work at home that Sunday. *Pats self*
Did I mention that Dad had to barge into my room 7 times, before I actually got up and made the lazy effort towards the bathroom, only to find my relatives busying themselves with cooking in the kitchen? And it was only 10am! Who wakes up at 10am on a Sunday anyway?
By the time I became fully aware that I’m awake, it was already 11am and I realised that suddenly there’s so much time in my hands, except that it was all spent in tidying up the house in preparations for the incoming crowd later.
You see, Dad n Ma will be going for their pilgrimage trip to Mecca this coming Monday, which I’ve dutifully taken a day off from work (and not because I intend to spend the day gaming away though — and not that I probably won’t~) to fetch them to the airport with Bro and Sis.
Anyway I wished I had taken pictures of that Sunday, when throngs of unkown people in my eyes, walked in, made friendly noises and friendly gestures, before leaving without their empty paper plates and paper cups, which some have kindly left for me to clear away — thank you!
That aside, it actually was a good day for me, meeting up my relatives which I probably would not have met up, not even during Hari Raya ‘cos of my erratic work schedule, and that I actually saved a few pennies by spending time at home instead of shopping, or gaming away (no, not gambling but computer gaming..).
That Sunday was actually a peaceful day, despite all the welcomed ruckus that the visitors brought — it was a peaceful, yet noisy Sunday afternoon, just the perfect tonic that my mind required, even if it meant that my beauty Sunday sleep was cut short.
Somehow, by helping out at home I didn’t seem to mind about having to update my status online, or think about the next post for my blogs, or read up on some forums or explore new markets and such, and that despite the chaos, it all seemed focused and peaceful.
So you want a non hectic, non chaotic and non mindless routine?
Then go randomly volunteer your help for a random event.
When all else fails, maybe this Ooizit website showcasing underground music artistes might help you uncover a few hidden gems n blow you away instead.
Tags: Ooizit, Pilgrimage, Sunday
