Last week

I'm officially into my last week in MS. 3 months has passed by so fast, can't believe it myself. Today my boss came over to officially tell me in person (previously I was only notified through email) that my contract would not be renewed. And of course the reason is that MS is cutting cost, so they are doing away with the temp staff for now. So with no head count, they can hire me... well, its ok. Although I lost my job now, but I guess the experience here will go a long way....

Singapore River Regatta 2008

Last weekend was the Singapore River Regatta 2008!!! I've join the MS Dragonboating team for slightly more than a month (and I'm gonna leave soon *sob sob*), had loads of fun with them. Really enjoyed my time with the team. Just regret that I didn't join them earlier. Anyway, I took part in my first regatta ever last weekend. It was a dragonboating competition for tertiary institutions as well as corporate companies. We of course took part in the corporate event. In all, we participated in the 10 (men) and the 10 (mixed) events. We didn't really train very hard for this regatta (everyone was busy and we had really little time), so expectations weren't high, it was more of an experience gaining outing. And we really didn't regret it. It was super fun, and not to mention super tiring. Much more tiring than I had envision it to be. My whole arm was numb after we crossed the finish line. And to think that it was only a 300m race. Our men didn't do well in the heats. We came in 5th in our heats (just in case you were wondering, there are only 5 teams in each heat, haha) ... We were a little disappointed then, but it was still ok. Then next up was the 10 (mixed) event. I didn't row for that. We took away all our disappointment and went all out for it, and we came in a proud 2nd for that heats... That gave us a place in the semi-finals, woohoo... Everyone was soooo happy... So we had to come down to the Singapore river a 2nd time on Sunday for the semis, hoping to make it into the finals... Haa.. This time I was allocated to drum for the team, I was really pretty happy, didn't think I had a chance on the boat again after the men's race. Although I wasn't rowing, but I could really feel as a part of the team, counting with them, encouraging them, and beating the drums for them during the race. I even scratched my hand, which still hurts a little now. But I think it was all well worth it. The entire event was just fun, fun and more fun... I throughly enjoyed myself throughout the regatta. Sadly I down to my last week in MS, probably will have to leave the team as well, hmmm... wonder if the next company that I go to will have a dragonboating team as well. Well here are some photos taken during the regatta by one of our colleagues... still waiting for the group photos... Kudos to MS dragons, Well done!!!!

Thats me getting on the boat

Back to the old drawing board

Yup, in 2 weeks time its back to the old drawing board. Its been settled, everything is as expected, I'm gonna be jobless again in 2 weeks. MS has decided not to renew my contract. Of course I would like to believe that it is because of the bad economy and the lack of head count that lead to me not being able to retain this job, but a part of me has a feeling that the words of some people had a lot to do with the management's decision. Well whatever it is, it has all be settled, and it will go ahead as planned. So time to look for a job again, haiz. What an exciting start to my career. First I got a job in a huge company like MS, doing finance which is like miles apart from my degree. Then the financial crash came and I was right in the centre of it. And now, the show is coming to an end. Well, I wouldn't put it that way. Maybe just that this chapter is ending soon. Time to start another chapter. Of course I leave this place with lessons learnt, which I'm sure is going to help me in my future job (remember the lessons I've blogged about). Good luck to me!

Lessons from the corporate world

Yes I'm compiling a list of the lessons that I've learnt from my short stint in the corporate world. I've really been too naive, thinking that the world was still and nice and beautiful, where everyone will treat everyone nicely and will only compete based on their work performance. That will only occur in an ideal world, and the problem is, we are far from an ideal situation. So here are 3 essential rules that we must observe when in office:

Rule 1: There are no friends in office, only colleagues.
I came into the working world, thinking that I'll make many new friends and that we will be able to work together happily and have fun at work. But noooo. This is not the case, people can be so evil and scheming at times. When you see someone looking at you with a smile, you really cannot be too sure if he is smiling with you or smiling at you. One wrong move and you could become his stepping stone upwards. In the working world, it is really to each his own. At the end of the day, whoever survives, wins. Always watch your back, you never know who will put that fatal blow on you.

Rule 2: Emails
I've learnt that in the corporate world, it is not about working hard, its about working smart. It is not the person who manages to complete his job well that gets commended, but the person that knows how to broadcast what he is doing to the entire world that gets the recognition. Whatever you do in office, make sure that the whole world knows that you are doing it. Big or small is not the issue here. Gone are the days where you can go behind the limelight and just do your job well, whatever you do everyone must know. Emails are one of the essential tools that will help to let the whole world know what you are doing. In office I've learnt that the number of emails sent is an indication of whether you are doing your job. Whether you are just replying with a 'thanks for your email' to the other party, or 'hi, how are you doing today', make sure you send them to the entire department. Of course you need to practice discretion. Like in our office there is an email group that binds our department email addresses together. So always makae sure that you send the email, cc to the department account so that everyone in the department knows that you are sending an email. And also, reply to everything. Every big or small email, send a reply. I mean sometimes, there are really no emails for us to reply, so to make sure that you hit you daily 'email quota', you have to reply to every big or small email there are.

Rule 3: Know who is your boss' friend
This is very important. Knowing the who's who in office is essential to not only survival in office but also promotion. If you have the boss's friend on your side, and this 'friend' helps to put in a good word for you in front of the boss, then your chances of promotion would like shoot up tremendously. Be nice and 'friendly' to these 'friends', put on the brightest colgate smile when you see them. If possible get into their click.

Well hope this will be helpful to anyone out there who is entering the coporate world soon. Good luck to you, and remember 'Watch you back'.

Awaiting judgement day

My contract will be up in the first week of December, till now I have no idea whether MS will offer me an extension to my contract or offer me a perm position, or even not continue my services at all. If in the same situation, but it was about a month ago, I would probably be really worried. Not because I'm going to lose my job, but because I was really beginning to like the working atmosphere. But of course now, with the recent happenings and not so happy experiences in office, I really don't care whether they offer me a job. Of the organisation, I'll probably miss the people there. There are nice people around. Even up till now, I do not know them super well personally. But from what I see, and getting to know them, I can feel that some of them are really true people (as in they do not play those games with you, and will treat you as friends). There are not many of them lah, but then again, I haven't been here long enough.... Lets see.... there's Hanson, Brian, Jason, Mark, Louis, Pato (she's just cute, as in her character). These are the people I will miss when I leave this place. Because so far, they have been very true to themselves and to the people around them. I'm sure there are alot of other nice souls in office, just that I do not know them yet.

I had posted earlier that recently I've been bogged down a little by the politics in office. And some times I really do not know what to do about it. Just 2 days ago, D ask me to go over to his seat and he asked me what I was doing, so I said I was checking invoices. Then he again went on to say that previously he was having lunch with our VP and the VP was saying that she felt I was under performing because she don't see a lot of emails. And of course went on to tell me how good the previous 2 people before me were again. Then he made one statement, he said, "you know that I'm doing receivables right. But I can't be chasing for money the entire month. So usually I will chase them for the first 2 weeks only. So do you know what I do for the next 2 weeks? If I am free for the 2 weeks, I will help with the payables. And if I can help with the payables, then we will not need you already. So I do not know if the VP has decided to continue your contract a not, but whether you continue the job, you have to be more pro-active." So to me, this is a pre-warning, to give me preparation mentally that my contract would not be extended. I have no idea the entire conversation between D and the VP but I can only guess that probably the VP asked him for his opinion on me. So after he said all those things that he felt about me, the VP asked him if I were to go, will the 2 of them be able to continue their job well (well of course he would have said yes). So right now, I am mentally prepared for D-Day to come. I can only hope that they will let me know earlier that my contract would not be extended. Just to let it be official, rather than leaving me in suspense for another 2 weeks and maybe tell me only on the last week.

Haiz, I must say that I've learnt a lot about the corporate world in my short stint with MS. These lessons will be valuable to my future job, wherever that may be. Hmmm... think I'll write an entry on some of the essentials and lessons that I've learnt. Maybe just a reminder to myself not be so naive and to watch my back.

Tired

Been pretty tired for the past one week, and this week too (although the week has only just started). And of course, plus the added politics now, its tiring me even more. Haiz, have I already got tired of working already? Now it seems that I'm losing the steam and passion I had when I started working. Now everyday I go to work, just hoping for it to end. I'm not enjoying what I am doing. And I start asking myself, is this my ideal job? Is this what I want to do?

Of course most of the people in office are nice, and I get along pretty well with most of them. But I'm just tired of what I am doing, and it seems that the work I do is not getting recognised, and I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I mean at the rate its going, I'll probably still be a small analyst, it seems that I won't be able to progress anywhere. So I guess sub-consciously my mind has realised this, and because of this, it is not as willing to put in the effort to do its best for my job. Haiz, I don't know... For now, I'll just how far this will take me. I'm just 2 1/2 weeks away from the end of my contract, although Molly did ask me if I'm interested to extend my contract, but still nothing has been confirmed till now, neither has anyone else approached me to discuss my future in the company. So I'm keeping myself upbeat of the entire situation. I mean in the worst case, I'll just leave the company in December, and look for another job. Well, I'm taking one step at a time now, trying not to think too much. Some people have told me that a bank job really don't quite fit into my character. As in its too 'business-y' for me. Some suggest that I should be looking for a job that is more creative, like advertising, tourism, events etc. I don't know... Haiz, let me think about it. I don't even know what my future holds for me. Or what I really want to be. Right now, I just hope to quickly find back that fire and passion I have for working as when I just started. I think that will help keep me going on. Well at least for now.

Politics

Of course I do not mean some Obama vs McCain presidential vote or PAP vs SDP lawsuit... I am talking about office politics. After starting my work for a few months, I've now more less started to taste some bits of office politics around. And the part that saddens me is that it is coming from the very person who introduced me to the company (lets just call him D). Initially I really did not feel anything, but as time passes by, with more and more things happening, I begin to think that something is not right here.

The first instance was about a month ago. I got an email to ask for the status of the invoices, these have already been done, so I just left the invoices behind and did not respond to the email. Since usually, such emails are responded by Seng. Then the next day, D sent an email to everyone in the dept, to ask me if I had checked the invoices already. When I saw that mail, I was like "What the fuck". I mean if the email was cc to the external party, I could still understand. Because it may be that he wants to show the other party that we are looking through their invoices. But nooooo, the email was only sent to the people in our dept, asking me if I have checked the invoice. I was sooo damn pissed then. I mean come on lah, what are you trying to show, that you have the authority and power. I'm just sitting opposite you, you could just ask me straight or jam me. To me, the email is just to make me look bad, and to show that he is in control and has the 'power' here. And this just pisses me off to the core.

Nevermind, that already happened long ago. Then today, D asked me to go over to his work station and he asked me where are all the invoices I've reconciled. How come I do not send out emails to keep the other parties updated on our progress. I was momentarily dumbfounded. I took all the invoices I've finished checking to him, and he looked through some of them, then asked me how come some of them have problems and I did not ask... I was soooo pissed off then. It is not that I did not ask, I kept asking. Just check with Seng, I kept asking to a point that Seng almost could not find time to do his own stuff. And did I not go to look for him a few times with my questions. And majority of the time he would tell me to wait first because he is busy with something else. And then the sending of emails part. That really brings my blood to a boil. Did I not send emails out to the other parties. I have been constantly sending emails to them. Whenever they ask, if I can reply, I will reply to them to tell them what is the status of their invoices. If you don't bother look at the emails that I send, then don't come and fault me. It is not that I want to sit on some of the invoices, but I am awaiting for information for some of them. If the people do not get back to me, what do you want me to do. You want me to send out emails just for the sake of sending, what bullshit is that. I don't buy this type of tactics. Why send out an email just for the sake that your boss can 'see' that you are working. Come on lah, we're adults here, don't come and play this kind of games with me. And then when I told him that my email somehow cannot send attachements to external parties, he ask me how come never say earlier, tell me go to look for IT to settle the problem. And this is not an excuse for me.

From what I see, D just wants to be both the angle and the devil altogether. He is the one who told me to 'just DK anything you cannot find, then wait for them to come back to you', and then the next min he'll say 'how come you DK so many, you must try to use all kinds of available resources to find the trades. Only when you have exhausted all resources and you still can't find then DK'. So everything you say wan lo.... You win lah.

Really it is this type of people that does make life in the office unbearable. I'm really sorry that it has to be him, because he's my aunt's friend. But I really don't like to play these games. I really don't feel like talking to him much, so I've decided that I'll skip all lunches with him this week. After this week, see my 心情 then decide. Seng faster come back, I really miss you man, I'm trying to keep my cool now, but I can't confirm how much longer I can take this. hmpf

There's always a reason for drinks

The drunked mafia strikes again. There's always a reason for a drinking session. Today its the celebration of birthdays for Huan and Beng. As usual its the drinking and ktv session at Halo bar. Had a great night, met a lot of new people there tonight. And of course, the target for tonight is Beng and Huan. Even before 12, the 2 of them are more than 1/2 gone already. The power of team work. Even right now, I'm typing this blog entry 1/2 sober. So excuse me for any typing mistakes or if you see any funny writing, hahaha. Well we had our usual ktv and drinking at Halo Bar, SIM. Cy and already put everything in place, messaging everyone to not kill each other, and remind everyone than the target for the night are Beng and Huan, and I must say that tonight the objectives were pretty much met. Huan was of course the first to go. Beng was close behind. Hahaha. Huan being not a good drinker (though he as improves tremendously thoughtout this period of constant drinking) still could not out play the stronger corhot. The allies were just too strong for them. After he was gone, we concentrated on Beng, who was still pretty much cober by then. I was the first to go to give him his 2nd birthday shot. In just less than 2 hrs, we had cleared 4 bottles. Which was pretty amazing, because usually we would finish only at most 3-4 bottles for the entire night. But give credit to everyone. I think everyone's 酒量 has improved already. I was pretty much sober throughout the entire session. Didn't drink as much as anticipated. Which was also good. I have wanted to cut down on my drinking and smoke. Really cannot take that much, need to reduce my intake. After the reality check last week (where I only got silver for IPPT), I feel that I really need to cut down on my 'drugs' intake to improve my body condition. Well all in all, it was a pretty fun sesson. We had like close to 20 people today! Once again Happy Birthday Huan and Beng, well I'm not meeting you guys next May, you can go fuck ourselves then, hahahaha.

Work is pretty fine, but for the past one week, its been quite tiring. I don't know why, but I just kept waiting for work to end thoughout the day. Been feeling really tired. Think I really need a good rest. Now waiting for my hair to dry before going to bed, and have my much deserved rest for the week. Lets just hope that next week will be better, feeling more fresh than the past week. My VP did ask if I'm interested to extend my contract, of course I said yes. In these dying times, just by having a job is good. So I'm not expecting much. My VP told me that the earliest that they can hire is next year when the next FY opens, so I'll just wait and see how it goes. Even up till now I'm not sure if this is what I want to do in my life. I'm still bidding my time away, and taking each step at a time. Well I just hope I do not make a mistake and waste my youth away. Of course its still a bit different from my ideal job, but it'll do for now, kudos, and hoepfully I can get a good job thats fits my liking soon.

Halloween

Last night was halloween night... Initially met up with Beng at Ceasers for drinks and to celebrate xmm's birthday, but then later they say wanna eat don't drink liao... so in the end change over to Beauty world for zi cha... Well I took the opportunity to slip off to Emerald hill to meet my colleagues who are at No. 5. Well, only Brian and Hanson made it there... And the rest were just friends and ex-colleagues of MS. Had a pretty good time though, got to know a lot of people in the industry. And of course came to know the importance of marketing myself... hahaha. And being halloween, the entire place was covered in 'ghost' and scary people. But the people just lacks creativity lah... there were just too many ghost brides around. They were at Bugis, and Orchard Road, and Zouk, and Emerald Hill... In fact I think just Emerald Hill itself, there were like at least 5 brides around. Creativity people... We need you to come up with more imaginative ghostly chracters. Well of course I didn't dress to the occassion. You do need some time to prepare the clothes and make up and all that... I just don't have the time for that. And the thought that I'll have to wash off the 2 inch thick make up on my face and body after everything is like.... ewwww... hahaha...

But all in all, had a great night (the first with my colleagues)... To the next happy hour guys...