Tuesday 28 December 2010

Letter to thyself – Round 3

15 people entrusted me with their letters in the first episode.  2 years ago, only 6 subscribed to the idea with 2 asking me to send the letters back to them only after 2 years. I hope they are surprised by what they have written 2 years ago.

As another new year looms, I reckon it’s time to resurrect this again. 

It’s a pretty simple exercise…

You write whatever you want to write to yourself in a word document. Typically, people tend to write about their new year resolution but you should use your imagination.

You save the word document and password protect it (and remember the password).

You send it to me via e-mail telling me how long you want me to keep it.

I will send that e-mail back to you after your prescribed time.  Preferred time is 1 year, have received 2 and I am hoping people will send me asking me to keep it for 5 years.

The best effect is that you have forgotten you have sent me this e-mail and when I return it to you, you will be in utter shock reading what you wrote to yourself years ago.
For the first blog entry about this exercise, read here.

Hope to receive many many many mails… and Happy New Year!


1 year ago… The squid storyChicken ass


Monday 27 December 2010

Social Network - Christmas version

Spent some quality time catching up with family and friends back in KL during Christmas break... Dread going back to work tomorow but one must face reality...

My pastor showed this video and I think it's really cool... thought you should watch it too...

Saturday 11 December 2010

6 months post-mortem

6 months have passed since I arrived here in Singapore.  If I have to go through probation, I will be facing the moment of reckoning.  But since it is somewhat an internal transfer, I am a confirmed staff the moment I arrived in Singapore. 

And you know what? I am actually quite glad I don’t have to go through probation…

When I first got the job, and knowing that you were selected from a rather big pool of people both internally and externally – top that up with a bit of self-belief that I was above average in terms of thinking outside the box, a relatively fast thinker and fairly technical, I did felt a bit almighty about myself.

But, I was in for a shock. 

Like I mentioned earlier, I was swimming very well in the Malaysian waters and Straits of Malacca, and I thought I would definitely survive if they decide to throw me into the South China Sea.  Instead, I was thrown into the Pacific Ocean.  

And now, I found one something else… everyone who was thrown into the Pacific together with me seem to be able to swim and float much better than me!

What I am trying to say is… the world outside Malaysia is freaking big, much bigger than I imagined it to be.  The working individuals around me are a collection of crème-de-la-crème.  Everyone is good at what they do, everyone is efficient, everyone works hard. I do not like to use the word “competitive”, because I don’t think my colleagues are such.

Somewhat sad to say… the knowledge, expertise and experience I gained while in Malaysia is not that useful in the international scene. Even in certain situation where it was useful, the knowledge and expertise of those gained by people from Europe and America seems to carry more weight.

For a few months, I was struggling just to keep my head above the water, trying to avoid being drowned not by the quantum of work given to me, but rather the complexity. 

And while trying to solve these issues, I am often left amazed by my colleagues.  Everything that I thought I was fairly good at, most of them are better than me.  And those one level above me are really geniuses.  I dunno… maybe I am just dumb.

I am beginning to find my footing in this new world, or should I say… building enough muscles and stamina to swim and float in the Pacific Ocean.  But certainly, there is plenty to be learned.


1 year ago… Read

2 years ago… To capture the rapture

3 years ago… Appreciating life