:: jotting the lines ::

It’s only recently I learned to master the language of love. And I am still learning. It’s not that I am stunt in love. Many of times, I do not know how to get out from a situation where I had crush with someone I shouldn’t be liking. This time round is different. Someone special appeared in my life. No, he is not the knight in shining armor. He is way too far for being one. But he makes me very happy. He filled my days with so much laughters that I had never been so happy before!

I really wish he is the one. People often say, “Trust your instinct, trust your soul, your mind, your heart and when you meet him, you will know he is the right one.” I really do feel he is the one. But feeling is vague and it can be wrong too. Maybe afterall that is just my wishful thinking only.

Now, he is becoming someone else’s fiance soon. And I am surprised by myself not being disappointed nor getting upset about it. On the contrary I am happy for him because he is stepping into another phase of life with his loved one. That’s going to be exciting right?

No tears soaking my pillow. Only smiles filled the night. Thank you my platonic friend, for bringing so much joy and making each of my day count!

Just when you know how to give, you’ll know how to love.

It’s a leap year!! Therefore, I must write something on this very special day before we call it a night!

I only left with 19 minutes before the clock tick to 00:00 of 1 March 2008. I just want to say…. I am happy and grateful with all that I have and all that God has done for me, for my life and for my family!

Thank you Jesus! Hugz

There is also one more person I like to extend my gratitudes to, he is my colleague - Mel.  Thanks, for guiding and mentoring me. I’ll remember this day and always cherish the joy we share together!

I thought I could spend this very special day with my other colleague, DS. Unfortunately, he was sick and couldn’t make it today. But it was very nice of him to ask if my throat is ok. Thank you for being so caring too.

And, Becky…Thank you Becky for your kind and encouraging words.  You’re my light when I can’t see what’s ahead.

And…Liz, Jess, Jeff…Thank you for adding so much fun to the team.   We are truly a bunch of people with great mix of chemistry!

Thank you for making my day bright and special today!

I struggled to write about what had happened in the past few days.

Life has been extremely crazy since the beginning of the year. It has only been revolving in work and just work. I suppose this is only because I had projects due in January and on top of that I was pretty tied up conducting full year reviews with all clients under my care. Just a few days back, I was worrying of not able to fulfill my deliverables to this particular client since I had made the appointment to see them on Friday. The stress was double up as I remember our first time meeting with them wasn’t a pleasant one.

It was nerve-racking imagining how can I manage to put all data analysis on to the slides 12 hours before the actual meeting time, it was almost impossible. Usually I wouldn’t request help from my colleagues, but this time I had to ask my neighbour sitting next me to help me filling up the slides with the generated figures. I thought he would tease me relentlessly or possibly telling me that he is knocking off. Up to my surprise, he nodded and helped me to copy all excel data to the slides. For one moment I was really touched by his kind gesture because that was a big task and he had almost helped me with 50% completion of the work. In fact, I wouldn’t blame him either if he did not help me since he has no obligations to do that.

We knocked off around 8 p.m. with unfinished review deck. It would be better to complete it back home since it’s getting late. That night was unbearable. I don’t know about my other team members but I always get stress up when there is a client review on the following day. Moreover, this client is an unhappy one.

I woke up fairly early the next day and left the house at 7.30 a.m. On the way to work, I prayed God would anoint me and grant me wisdom as I meet up with client. I prayed for favour and definitely, His grace to carry me through.

You wouldn’t believe me if I tell you there are many other odd occasions that happened to me during my meeting with clients. One of the unforgettable one was I accidentally pressed the POWER button instead of an ESC key! My laptop just went dead in front of twenty over people. And the worst part was my laptop couldn’t restart due to faulty finger sensor print! So I prayed and asked God to be merciful to me, at least the client would have mercy on me this time.

Upon my arrival at client’s office, the person in charge told me I only had an hour to run through everything as the manager and director had to attend another meeting later at 11 a.m. So I thought how could this be possible when the meeting room was not even ready and our meeting was supposed to start at 10 a.m.? Subsequently I had issues showing the slides on the LCD projector, the screen say “Detect No Input”. Gosh …Thank God that the device was working fine later. And client’s meeting was postponed to 3 p.m. Hence, that gave me more allowance to cover all topics in 2 hours time.

The review meeting was not as bad as how I thought it would be. I couldn’t help expecting for the worst knowing the circumstances they had encountered with my predecessor. Just as I doubted my ability to perform, God had turned the hostile meeting to an affirmative one. I never thought client would praise me and accept me as their team player.

“You’re by far the best account manager” Man…I am flattered. I had almost let the tears roll off my cheeks in front of the clients. That was the most emotional moment I had thus far for being in the travel management company. It was not because of the praise alone that made me emotional. It was because the final acceptance and recognition of the hard work we had put together.

To my teammates out there, you’re the best. I wouldn’t be able to make it if without your support. Thank you.

Today marked a significant day in this season of my life. This day may not seem remarkable to others, but it will be a day I will not forget.

It has been five months since I relocated and started a new career in Singapore. Time flies and I have pretty much adjusted to the working lifestyle here. Everyone who is close with me would know very well that I am not an early bird. I used to wake up only 15 minutes before my work start, officially at 9.00 a.m. So you could anticipate I was always late for work. Now I can proudly tell everyone that I am early rise. It is so refreshing to wake up earlier, take a hot shower and spend devotional time with Him. I enjoy the early conversation with Him and enjoy the bonding I start building with Him. It was never the same like before.

I am truly grateful for all the people He has surrounded me with, whether people with nice, nasty, good or kind personality. But above all, I really like to thank a person who gave me the opportunity to work and start afresh in Singapore, a foreign and sometimes could be quite an intimidating place to be due to the demanding working environment. This person is my ex-boss. As today marks his last day with the organization, it was quite emotional to accept the fact that he will not be sitting in front of me anymore. I still remember when he broke the news to me back in three months ago, he apologised to me as he could not be here to take care of me anymore. I am very well aware of the corporate cultures, with people resigning is just part and parcel of life. The time when I can’t hold my tears was when the memories flash back of what he said to me, asking me to take care which I can truly feel the words were from the bottom of his heart. Likewise, I wish him all the best in everything he does. Like he said, our status has been upgraded from colleagues to friends which is another level higher.

The best is yet to come, for you, for me and for everyone.

Year end is approaching and Christmas is just around the corner.

So did you fulfill what you have written on your piece of “New Year Resolution 2007″?

I did not. I only lost 4 kilos which it certainly had not met the expectation. Of course not, how do you expect to lose the extras by not doing anything? Some people say “Hey, it’s not too late. You still have another month to go.” Well, I have learned not to be too naive these days.

What else have I not fulfilled let alone the weight issue? Hmmm……

Nonetheless, year 2007 is considerably a gutsy and meaningful year to me.

Q1 - It was a remarkable start of the year. Thanks to Malaysia spending million dollars in Titiwangsa Lake or a.k.a Eye on Malaysia. It’s my first time viewing such spectacular fireworks for 30 nights or more consecutively. Of course the pleasure took place only when you were with your special loved ones. Work was also equally challenging as I was assigned to implement and manage an account with nation-wide presence. A lot of coordinations need to be done among the headquarter, branch offices and of course the client themselves. Hence, I count Q1 as my peak in travelling, flying in and out the states to coordinate with the business move for my ex-company.

Q2 - That’s when the roller coster started rolling of the edge. Despite given the opportunity to develop in my ex-company, I was not really satisfied with the way it was executed. The change in place wasn’t in line with which I had intended to do. Moreover, I did not acheive a certain degree in persuance of my personal goal. So after given much thoughts and evaluations, I chose to look for job else where. Escapism? No. Judge me not.

Q3 - Everything moved incredibly fast between July till September, from the time I was called for job interviews in July to my tender of resignation and acceptance of new offer within the same month. Subsequently, the commencement on my new job at Singapore in August. The fact of being single makes no difficulty to get uprooted to a foreign land.

It was tough to cope at first, especially with the unfamiliarities. You have heard so much about Singaporeans, the general perceptions of them being rigid at work or demanding all the time. It is quite intimidating when you step into an unknown zones and to start getting yourself familiarize with the surroundings or adapting to a new culture. Frankly, my blood pressure shot up to quite a fair bit due to anxieties. I hardly know a lot of people in Singapore besides my housemate and some churchmates. My new job scope was narrowed down if to compare to my previous job though it is a same title I carry. The only difference make to my current job is the portfolio of clienteles I handle, they are greater in dollar cents and with more sophiticated requirements. It’s more demanding, period. I was really anxious and worried if I could even pass the initial period. Subsequently I had lost confidence in speaking to others ‘cuz I didn’t want to appear like a fool in front of others. Hence many of times I tend to be the quiet one, isn’t it good to observe? Oh, by the way… It’s exciting to get your wisdom tooth extracted! But just make sure you meet the right doctor/dentist who is nice to kid and keep you entertained while pulling your tooth out!

Q4 - And of course, needless to say, I manage to pull through and get to adapt to the new environment. Passed my birthday in November, another year older and hopefully another year wiser too. Birthday is no biggies nowadays, it was however well spent and lovely memories embossed in heart.

Workwise, I am still catching up with its pace. It never appealed to me that I am the business owner of the clients I manage so far. What I meant is I have never learned to think of it as a business owner, to consistently review on the profitability of my own accounts. It’s really interesting when you have client making some requests which you ought to think twice before committing to it. Every single decision made would lead to adjustment of your P&L, just a matter if you want the excess to be on the left or right. Hmmm, I start liking the trading business!

That’s my year so far, how about yours? Equally interesting I suppose? I’ll be back wrapping up the entire Q4 since 07 hasn’t finished its last chapter. Till then, take care. Adios.