information overload...

This first week at my new job has been quite the roller coaster ride. The first few days have been slow and all of a sudden, at the end of the week…… BOOM! There were meetings, teleconferences and training to attend.

On Friday, I had too much information coming to me that by 5pm, my brain was tired. It seems my ‘processor’ speed, ‘RAM’ (Random Access Memory, for those who are wondering) and my ‘disk’ space require either upgrading or replacement, considering that this ‘machine’ was built in 19 blah blah. I am sure you know what it is like when you are mentally tired – it is worse than being physically tired. When you are physically tired, you can just hit the bed and sleep. When you are mentally tired, sleeping at night can be a problem. Your subconscious would continue to work while you sleep and leaves you more tired when you wake up. I hate that. I pretty much spent much of Saturday resting my brain i.e. not doing much, that is. There were minimal conversations and nothing that requires any thinking. I guess it is time to admit that my parts are wearing out and this is part and parcel of aging. Oh lordy!

it is a small, small world...

Since I’ve been in this new organisation, not only have I met some nice people but some of those people are familiar faces from the past. You know the saying that goes, "the past may come back to haunt you." But not in this case. I am glad to have met these people again.

So, on top of those people who came from the organization I have left (there are quite a bit of them here), there is J. We attended the same course in the early nineties. Then, there is Fifi. We worked with the same American MNC back in the late nineties. Perhaps there could be others who I may have known but this moment, only the above which I have mentioned. I am so glad to have met both of them again, especially Fifi because I saw some old photos with her in it recently from when we worked for the same firm.

It is a small world after all.

caffeine city....

That sleep last night must have been good because yours truly is in a seriously good mood today, despite not having any work to do. Mind you, this is the calm before the storm. I have been told that the project will only kick off end of August. But hey, I am up for the challenge! Give it to me, baby!

I had my new boss came up to me late this morning and said to me, “Go for lunch now and come back at 2. You might as well enjoy it now.” And on that green light, I went for lunch and ventured around. That was when I discovered that the area around my office is a coffee haven. Gasp. Saliva dripping. Well, I am, after all, a caffeine addict.

There are varieties of coffee establishments here:

Starbucks
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Spinelli’s
Pacific Coffee
San Francisco Coffee
The Coffee Connoisseur (TCC)

Man, I am spoilt for choice. However, I have told myself that I am going to allow myself only a cup of caramel or Irish cream latte once a week. And that is what I am going to stick to. At least now, I can rotate from one coffee establishment to another. I am excited already.

Oh my, this is my second post in one day and I have not even had more than one dosage of caffeine today. What is going on??? :-)

new beginning...

So, on the 17th day of the 7th month (7th month? Based on the Chinese calendar, it is not a good month, innit? Oh god!!!) was my first day at this new organization. It was marred by lack of sleep and hormonal issues. Yesterday, I began to wonder if I have made the right decision to move to this new job. But after a good night’s sleep, I am different person today and my perspective on things has been different – more positive I would say. I guess when you make a new start, there is a tendency of not knowing what to expect.

However, working in the heart of the financial district is something which I am going to have to get used to. I have never worked in the financial district before – downtown yes but not here in crampy Raffles Place. I don’t fancy the crowd, the train ride or the lunch hours. It is a total nightmare! Sigh, what did I get myself into??

Anyway, I will have to make the best of it. Things are pretty slow at the moment. Perhaps that is why I got the time to think about all the things that I should not be sweating about. I better enjoy this honeymoon period before the going gets tough. And the other thing I need to do is try as much as I can to ignore the politics here, if there are any going on. So yeah, it’s time for a new beginning and I am ready for anything coming my way!!

au revoir...

I've made up my mind
It's time for a new beginning
I'm living my life, yeah
It's time for a new beginning

There's a new day coming
I'm getting ready for a change
Yes, I am
Yes, I am
Gotta keep on running
Gotta be a better way
Yes, there is
Yes, there is

(words from Stephen Gately’s (formerly of Boyzone fame) song, New Beginning)

So yes, after almost six years at my current job (yes, a job and not a career. Who has a career these days anyway?), I am moving on. It was at the end of November last year when after moving from the office downtown with a spanking glamorous address to a business park in the suburban east, I had a feeling that I was not going to be there for long. (My friend, Moh, felt that I was just bragging about this but it is true! I did feel it!) I had a feeling that 2006 will be the year that I land myself a new job – and I did!

And so, last Friday was my very last day at the company where I have spent almost half a decade (according to my friend, Noridah, six years is not long. If you are talking about ten or twenty years ago, yes it is not long. These days, people don’t stay in their job for long). I didn’t do any work that day. Well, considering that it has been crazy the last few weeks, not doing any work for one day is not going to matter. Also, the other thing was I forgot to bring my laptop to work – never had this happened in my working years. By noon, I was rushed for lunch and a so-called off-site team activity with my teammates all afternoon. I didn’t even have the chance to say farewell to some of the other people from other departments who I know.

As I begin my new journey tomorrow at the new organization, I begin to think about the good times (and bad but try not to think about that too much), which were had. As with every story, there has got to be an ending. As I’ve told some of the people before I left, this is not goodbye – it is see you again soon!

no, the italians didn't do it better!

Here is the text, which my friend, Moh sent on my mobile this morning:

“I shall not drink Italian wine for a month. What? Penalty to take the cup?”

Well the penalty shootout was a last resort but for a team who has been spending most of the second half and extra-time playing in their own half, defending, they totally don’t deserve to win the World Cup. I would have given the same strategy too if I were a team manager - just hang on till penalty shootout!

The French were unlucky. They were great but Buffon was standing in the way of them getting a goal. And when it had to come down to penalties to determine the winner, I just knew that Barthez could not make one save – it was a gut feeling. No offence to the Italians – they have good players but they were not playing like champions of the world would be playing last night.

No point dwelling about this because the champions have been crowned. I am joining Moh on a strike – no Italian wine and also Italian food for at least a month!

40 years on...

Heads hanging low were not only observed in Gelsenkirchen but also all over the world when England failed to win on penalties yet again. The England fans, yours truly included, set ourselves up for disappointment every four years and not to mention, the European Championships. Last night’s match was like the 2002 World Cup Quarter Final’s match between Brazil & England all over again. Heads hung low that day too. Getting over this disappointment will take a while. It has been almost 8 hours since the match ended and I still could not believe that it is over for England. The Portuguese were controversial! The match against Holland got me all nervy, what with all the yellow and red cards and I was rooting for Holland for that match.

Did you see Beckham cry after he was substituted? I feel sorry for him (I feel sorry for him for having such a bitchy wife too!). He is a great player and deserves to win something at this level. However, a team cannot win with a talent of one player. They are other talents in the England squad but I guess maybe their talents alone are not enough to win this tournament.

On the bright side, England’s closest rival across the Channel managed to get one over Brazil! No offence… Brazil is a good team with the likes of Kaka and Ronaldinho but I think I just have enough of the samba team dominating this major tournament. At least this World Cup, for once, we are not seeing a Latin country in the final! It is a nice change.

So, while all of us were cheering for the likes of Brazil, Argentina, England, Portugal and what have you, some of us in Singapore were cheering for the Singaporean referee! He is our only representation at this international stage, so we have to give him our support. I don’t mean to be unpatriotic but I don’t think we will ever see our Singapore team reached the World Cup finals. Hence, cheering on our Singaporean referee is the closest thing we got to cheer for our country at this event.

Four more matches to go before the end of this tournament. We were so used to having 2 to 3 matches in one night since 10 June 2006. Those nights without matches after Round 16, we were at lost at what to do. After 10 July, it is going to be worse! We have to wait till at least end of August to see any LIVE actions when the club league starts. Well, it is better than having to wait 3 months after the end of the club season during a non-World Cup or the European Championships year! For now, we just have to wait for the World Champions to be crowned on 9 July 2006. Let's just hope it is not Portugal!