Living Out of A Suitcase

I have clocked over 50,000 air miles in the last 5 months.  If only they could be accredited under the same airline loyalty programme, I could well be flying free to Mexico, you know.  

I am not alone in this.  I mean, this is no surprise for a few of my friends and my sister who all work in consultancies.  The difference between me and them - I have been travelling for leisure, life is sweet but I earn peanuts.  Theirs - life is gruelling, bitter sweet but they earn tonnes. 

Their typical week starts before dawn on Monday with a rush to the airport and a flight to wherever their client is based.  They would then spend the majority of the week indoors gorging on minibar snacks and glumly texting their distant lover.   Add 18 hours weekdays plus 6 hours weekends will just about make their week fulfilled.  

For those bright young things out there (and the not-so-young ones) who are always worried that you haven't done enough work, not enough to pay for your mortgages and a decent grub - please - think again and get a life (and some sleep would help too) because any smarties would know working oneself to death in order to keep up and not having any time to enjoy the fruits of one's work isn't really success.  It is merely obsession.  

For the attention-seekers - if you think nobody really cares if you are alive or dead apart from your boss, how about trying to miss a couple of mortgage payments, you will then have the bank looking for you too!   

And for the rest of us who are perfectly normal, let's rejoice and muse with this inspiring quote.  

As for me, after a nice little career break, I am exhilarated to be back on a corporate payroll again!   Yes I am.  

Thanks Miss Mocha

One thing good about running a cafe is you get to meet strangers from all walks of life and out of the plain ordinary, they can bring colours to yours and sometimes, be able to create self-reflection of our very own.  

There was this customer who came to my cafe last week, she has been here several times, always on her own.  That day, while sipping her usual Mocha, she started telling me about her worry of job security and the danger of losing her income and not being able to pay her bills nor buy the things she enjoys.  And then went on wringing her hands about not being able to find true love and be forever lonely.  

I must have somehow came across as downright friendly for her to dish all that out!  Though I must say, her situation reminded me of someone I know fairly well. 

I can't speak for everyone but I think many of us are wasting time on one common thing - worrying.  We often spend time worrying about unimportant things.  I do. I do get bent out of shape over tiny insults; agonise over silly decisions that won’t matter next week. 

We often spend more time worrying about what we are going to wear, where we want to eat or what we are going to say, than we do enjoying our meals, experiencing what we are doing or having the conversations.

I told the girl, if you are wasting time lamenting over a lack of love, or loss of love, then I am pretty sure you are not spending time paying attention to the people who are already present in her life.

She nodded as if she suddenly got it. 

I told her I have spent a considerable amount of time sitting and ruminating on the nature of my existence and anxiously projecting what could have been.  But I realised just in time, that my time would be much better spent focusing on the work at hand, paying a tad more attention to the people around me, and reveling in the experiences that are happening in this very moment in time - which has proved to have been very rewarding to me.  

To all of us, some planning is necessary, taking action mandatory, but worrying…should REALLY be optional.  

I am grateful to Miss Mocha for giving me that bit of a kind reminder.  Could have treated her that cup, but too bad she insisted paying, left us with a generous tip some more!  

I love my job.     

Became Member of the Serving Class

My love affair with coffee began years ago and over time, I must have drank gallons, spent hundreds of minutes waited in lines just for the taste of my love.  

And for the first time in my life, I was standing on the other side of the bar, serving coffee.  Real coffee.

An exhausting job on a busy day as you can imagine, I discovered there is actually something meditative about coffee brewing process that I enjoy almost as much as the coffee itself.  

The rhythm of the grinding of beans, the sound of the running water, the slow-dripping of an espresso shot, the formation of a soothing layer of crema and then the wait - watching the bloom of latte art, smelling the aroma released.  Each step in the ritual helps awaken and calm me. 

I appreciated the easy way my friends and family have taken to the idea of me working in a cafe, and the positive way some greeted the discovery.  

Every sip of my two to four cups of daily coffee has reminded me of the luck, the fate, the fortune of myself having the sheer chance to engage in this leisurely business.  A new chapter of life for me that has so far, widened my horizon, a platform where I have met people from different walks of life over a simple connection of - coffee!

The Year of Change

I always think I have the best seat possible in the entire office.  I haven't got no window view by the way, and I sit right outside the entrance of the Finance Department. But precisely because of where I sit, I get to see and greet many passerby each day when they go in/out of the department of money matters.  Mind you, it can be very distracting - smelling all that cash flow but can't have no share of any of it - requires a bit of getting used to. 

Anyway...lately, I have noticed the traffic of passerby to the cash vault has increased incredibly.  They all came for one purpose - to settle their last pay cheque with payroll.  I knew because after they came out of the department, many would actually be courteous enough to stop by and tell me it's their last day.  We would exchange handshakes and I would also take that opportunity to tell them when my last day is, keep in touch, etc etc.

Among my circle of friends, I happen to know quite a few who have also recently quit their long-held positions, currently enjoying a career break of some sort.  I have always been a trendsetter in many ways but I can't help but wonder - but a trend of resigning?  What's going on?


It has to be the year 2012.  It has got to be the year of the Dragon spurring all these changes.  2012 is precisely - the year of the dragon. 

The years of Dragons have always been the most auspicious and powerful of the 12 signs of the zodiac they say - one associated with high energy, prosperity, change and mobility. 

I mean just look at 2012 as the world faces crucial presidential elections - in Russia, in France and later in USA.  In fact, I can easily google 40 countries holding presidential elections this year, and when taken together, believe it or not, that's half of the world's GDP holding elections or switching leadership this year!

In my case, after a rather petty, backbiting first 3 quarters of 2012, I am finally in for the ride of my life in this year of change. I can either get ready to rock and roll or, crawl under a rock till it rots. 

Right now, I know in comfort that I am definitely not alone when it comes to facing massive changes, because whatever the future holds, from derring-do, hell-raising to exorbitant fun - nothing against us at all, as we can probably blame the year of the dragon magnifying everything tenfold for us!  

I can only hope you will be in for a ride with me too.  

The Resignation

The letter has been rewritten, rephrased, proof-read, spell-checked. It was then printed, made sure everything was aligned.  

Cross-checked it again before it was signed with with a Mont Blanc Rollerball from the legendary Meisterstuck collection - a pen which seem ever so popular among the managerial rank when I first started working and therefore, I decided I have to get myself one using my first ever pay cheque.  And I did.  No better pen can have that honour to sign that important letter on this very special day! 

Folded the letter so perfectly and placed that into a fitted envelope with care, sealed with a kiss (you wish) and off I went to see my boss smash on dot of the hour. 

He had no idea.  

Like all Brits do, we started off with discussing the weather.  I mean you can never go terribly wrong with that, then we digressed a bit into the regional weather and then went global before we returned to the local, weather again.  Twenty minutes into the hour and we basically covered the whole climatic regime on earth, the unpredictability of weather forecasts nowadays and a couple of other things and that was when I handed him the letter. 

He looked surprised and I wouldn't blame him as we were nonetheless on the calmer side of the weather front the last minute and this minute, we found ourselves in stormy seas.  How predictable was that?  I was also probably the last person in the team who would be susceptible to resigning for that matter.  And practically because I'd imagine myself be rather rusty (the last resignation being merely more than 12 years ago), I thought I needed that 20 minutes or so staging effort, in which the bit on weather forecast came in really handy as a nice little cushion.

The next 20 mins of conversation went exceptionally well, I told my boss why I would like to leave and as far as he's concerned, I have a proper hand-over plan in place, we are good.  And I made sure I keep that door open (just in case I do need to return at some point down the road).

"Actually, all we need now is an email from you to your boss, copying HR.  Then you will be brought to a website and with a press of a button, it's procedurally done."

That was probably when I felt strongly the incredible efficiency working in a high-tech company - where everything is so automatic, systematic, hydromatic!   In one word - cold.

"But since you have that letter printed, might as well let me have a read now!"

"Good letter," he said (probably thanking good lord I haven't a word against him).   Frankly, I have no reason to.  He has been really kind - the kind that is almost too fatherly kind to be your boss, if you know what I mean.  

"You still need to go press that button, then it's all systems go, Bob's your uncle."


After all, I haven't had much experience resigning, the last time I did was donkey years ago and I did have to physically "tender" my resignation with a "physical" letter then. 

I returned to my desk and as I scrolled through that HR site step-by-step, I felt so old-fashioned like a piece of antique.  If I were to redo this, I'd still prefer a proper letter and a face-to-face meeting over an email and a button. No question about that.   

The thing is, whatever means it needed me to take, I finally did it.  Procedurally done.  I HAVE officially resigned. 

Pure Insanity

Have You ever had one of those days when you feel you are just completely spinning off the earth's axis?

Deadlines looming (or whizzing past), the phone keeps ringing, and your to-do-list just keeps piling up.  You have just spent the whole day dashing here and there and none of those on your list got ticked off at the end of the day. 

You go home, get some rest, and the next day you seem to have pressed the replay button of yesterday and you are haunted by the same scenario. Then comes the long-awaited weekend which is never quite long enough of course.  And then it is another week of the same. 

If this is too familiar - this serves as an alarm for you do something about this very contagious insanity. 

I don't have anything wicked to propose.  But since you feel like you are spinning off this crazy earth's axis anyway, why not try tilting the angle of your insanity and look at it differently, might be a sane idea for now.

Come back and tell me if this worked for you because if it worked for you, it might work for other human beings too! 

Vacation To-Do-List

Over dinner, my father was asking me what I plan to do for my upcoming long vacation.


I thought I had it all figured out and I happily told him the list of things I have planned for, the people I am meeting and the places I am heading to. 


"A whole lot of planning goes into this time of year, kid.  Why not put yourself on that list of things as well?"  

Right.  Point taken.

It's like what they say in the safety demonstrations on plane rides. 

"Please place your oxygen mask on yourself before you tend to your child."

To-do-list No. 1: An invigorating full body massage tomorrow is in order!

Email Etiquette

I come across this a lot at work: 

It is my job to respond to emails because some people expect an immediate response via email, even though it is not seemingly urgent. 
 
What a sad state of affairs - we have all become professional email responders, haven't we?  

Realistically, it is essential that we respond to emails but I never think email should be considered as an "immediate response" type of tool in a matter of urgency when you have something called IM, which denotes "Instant Messaging" and that's exactly what it is there for.  Alternatively, we can simply call the party by picking up the good old tool called a "desk phone"  - which probably has been taking up a corner of your desk collecting dust as we speak. 

You don't sit in front of your mailbox waiting for mail to arrive.  You will go fetch it when you can, deal with it in your own time and you are not going to let the pile of mails upset you when you see them.  Why should we treat emails any differently?

Hello...I hope we don't have to slap ourselves every now and then to remind us we are humans and that we are capable of dealing with things such as...electronic mails.  

Prioritising Priorities

I work in a large company where we “prioritise” everything.  In fact, we are so good at priortising that we can have multiple priorities at any given time without sounding too alarming.

I tend to be somewhat very straight forward when it comes to figuring things out because I know I am not good at handling complexities.  That’s why I love definitions. 

It is hard to talk about anything without knowing what that thing means.   So when someone told me a priority is a list of stuff in order of what is most important, I would be thinking...but important to who?  And how do we know what is more important than something else?

What deemed important to you might create zero interest in me and what concerns me could be none of your business.  So after long meetings to discuss what priorities are the most important, it feels like we are trying to meet the demands of everyone else and not ours.  

That to me - just didn't sound right and yet - I can't find what was so wrong about it too.
  
Edges weren't as sharp as they ought to be on a Monday anyway.  Let's revisit this topic again some other time.  The prioritising of priorities can wait (I think).   

You've Got Mail

Emails have crept into every part of our lives, from business to pleasure whether you like it or not and there are times when I can’t really tell if my emails are being read. Hate it when people at work don’t respond. 

I mean, I don't want to assume these people are throwing my emails straight away to the bin, but if they are reading them, this bunch certainly isn’t replying!  Not once, but always!

You then started to think if the problem lies in you and toy around with the idea of sending shorter emails, ask for a response by a certain deadline.  You even tried sending to nobody nobody but one person.  Thought that will fix it but still, you end in vain. 

A fruitful solution, anyone?

A Little Business Etiquette Is Too Much To Ask For

On one occasion like today, I had simultaneously three meetings to attend.  What would you do to prevent situations like that?  Would you try to prioritise and reschedule?  Or would you do what airlines do - overbook to compensate for no-shows? 

It is a no brainer for me - you wouldn't find double-bookings in my calendar at any time because if you are warranted a meeting with me, you get my full attention - as simple as that.  If for any reasons I can't make it, I let you know with the longest notice I could possibly give you. 

I have had to wait for someone who entered into the room fashionably late today for a meeting with me.  I got an apology - not for eating 35 minutes into our first meeting, but the honesty of admitting he has forgotten about this appointment entirely.  


Off to an unpunctual start but I must say, I like his honesty. 

Throughout the meeting, I can see that he's a man of great vision, simply judging by how unprepared he was in his stance.  He must also be a man with exceptional multi-tasking ability in order to take in what I had to say while replying emails on his laptop with his eyes constantly referring back to the screen.

His admin probably won't lose her job for not influencing her boss' punctuality .  It's his that I am worried. 

Or may be it's just me.

Conference Calls

Conference Call or Concall in short is a word many of us got used to hearing day in and day out.   Some might even get signs of phobia hearing the word because nowadays, it often means nothing but tedius business meeting involving many parties across several time zones, worst of all - carried out in wee hours.

I took a call today, not the most interesting one I must admit, but someone reminded all of us in the call how the function first came about. 

I first encountered conference call (and call-waiting) towards the end of the 80s and it was a cool thing to brag about having one installed at home.   We would spend hours on the phone gossiping and I even remember setting up a trap to make a classmate admit in the call that she was in love with someone. That someone was in the call all that while -smirking without making a sound on the other line!   I thought to myself - what a wicked way to utilise that conference call function!

Nothing much has changed, I mean, conference calls can still be fun.  Everyone has a part to play in a conference call, else we wouldn't be in there.  We just have to remind ourselves to enjoy a bit more in our next concall.

You Can Do It!

A few things I think you should stop doing at work, let's give it some thoughts:

1. Being too busy for breaks (you’re almost always better at everything when you’re rested).

2. Replying to emails instantly (if they’re really waiting, they’ll call you).

3. Getting caught up in politics (it’s rarely worth it and never fun).

4. Pretending you’re saving lives (if you actually are, no need to pretend).

5. Refusing to give yourself uninterrupted time for work (they don’t need you that much).

6. Complaining about how little money you make (the people you’re complaining to can’t change it).

7. Forgetting to laugh and have fun (this can take work some days but is always worth it).

 

Bonus track thrown in: Stop eating lunch at your desk. You really deserve a walk, conversation with a friend, or a quiet hour away from your desk.

Should Work Be Fun?

Many of us have a love hate attitude to our jobs. We need to work to pay our bills, feed the mouths and it can help us feel as if we have a purpose in life.   

This is definitely the fun part of my job today - much better than being stuck in one same office all day like most people.

Hard work, long hours but...I remind myself there is always a fun side of work. You should try to search for yours and derive joy from it.  

Volunteering

I have never been that charitable all my life and when I was made project leader for my company's volunteering program, I knew I was to embark on a challenge.

Today's the big day...I could not be more thankful that it was all over now.  Not only had it been completed, I could even proudly claim it a success too.

The entire team turned up punctually and I had a 100% attendance rate!  All volunteers brought with them lots of enthusiasm and a charitable heart - each and everyone of them has made my job as leader seem extremely easy peasy indeed.

Everyone in our team spent some quality time with singleton elderly living in one of Hong Kong's oldest public housing estates.  We went for a chat and lent a patient ear to those who wish to talk.  All of us helped make a difference by brightening their day, making the residents feel valued, included and informed of community developments. 

Not only I felt extremely rewarded and a job well done, I stole a few invaluable tips of staying young and healthy from two fabulous 70+ women! 

My day just couldn't have been spent any better.  

Show Your Badge

I am seeing everyone's proudly wearing their Oracle Open World conference badges.  Why is it so? 

It is purposely there for obvious security reason, but also because showing your badge in and around Moscone Center is going to get you various discounts in shopping malls, restaurants, museums and transportation in the city! 

By bringing in increased sales volumes, this has to be one of the wicked ways Oracle can make it up for the potential financial loss of cordoning off the roads (yes, not 1 but 2 main roads) for 1 week, 1 city, 3 conferences.

If only I have time to shop, I would do due diligence to contribute to this!

Oracle Open World Closes Street

The entire Howard street is now blocked and not many companies can get permission to shut down a busy street in the city for 10 days - for a commercial convention.

San Francisco down town commuters have to be prepared to deal with some grumpy carpool drivers who will likely be cursing Oracle, as the company has cordoned off the entire street in front of Moscone Center in order to make way for the 9th Oracle Open World starting today!

It's all set, ready to rock and roll.

Tree Killer

This morning, I forged with a multifunction photocopier/scanner/fax machine for at least half an hour, trying to make it churn out jammed papers!

While I was blaming the printer for its inefficiency as well as making myself a tree killer, I was also thinking, printers have to be one of the biggest ironies of the digital age.
 

Please take note: "paperless office" turned out to be a trope.

No, wait, on second thought...don't take a note. Don't use any more paper.

Just REMEMBER.

The Excitement of Oracle Open World 2010

There are just 20 days leading to this year's Oracle OpenWorld - an event which is extremely famous for bringing in the hottest rock stars (and the latest technology of course)!

We have seen smash hits from Aerosmith and Roger Daltrey, to celebs like Billy Joel and Elton John!  Last year, we even had California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in his keynote!  

It is, I have to say proudly and undoubtedly the funkiest event in the whole I.T. industry and I tell you this year's line up will be equally staggering: with Grammy Award Winners the Black Eyed Peas and Eagles co-founder Don Henley as headline acts. 

Free flow of food and drinks, everyone's going to be there on Treasury Island, it's basically THE networking party not to be missed.   Last year, the best line came from Aerosmith, they stopped between songs to ask the audience,

"What's the difference between Windows and viruses?   Viruses keep getting better."

LOL...

"What's it like to be in Oracle?"

Well, the thing is, the majority of Oracle employees were not invited to that event, so he could hardly get an answer from the audience!   In fact, only the board members and C-levels were there, along with a smattering of salespeople who were told to close anything they could, even if the customer has had a few beer and was on the ferris wheel!

Man, that's just insanely unfair.  

I am going to hold on to my wristband tightly, behave well and try to be extremely good to the security guards.  Let's see if I can get a back-stage glimpse of it all this year.   

Valediction in emails

In secondary school, we were taught that if we know the person, we use "Yours sincerely", and if we don't, we should use "Yours faithfully" at the end of a business letter.  Remember those rules?  


In any given work day, I find 30% of my hours consists of writing and responding to emails and so I slip into a routine of using the same finishing line in all my business related email correspondences.  Not that it matters that much what I put, I just don't think people care nowadays or would consciously read it. 

Recently though, I have been paying attention on how others choose to end their emails. 

They range from:

"thanks", 
"best regards", "Best Regards","BR",
"Regards", "rgds",
"cheers", 

to complex concoctions like:

"Thanks and best wishes" 

and...the most erupted way to end goes to "Best" - I guess that would be the internet-inspired, short for "Best Regards"?!

How do you end yours?  Enlighten me if you have any wicked ones you've come across.