working in a petri dish of germs

Why can't some people just take a day off when they are not feeling well.... It doesn't prove anything to anyone if u come to work sick! I feel myself getting more and more infected by the second, i'm trying not to breathe so much today.

I also don't want to offend anyone by moving to a different seat. I don't want to be treated differently cos i am pregnant. But i feel like i shd be treated differently cos i'm carrying an extra person.

what an ingrate!

this is one of those rare occasions i bitch about a colleague.

in the spirit of speaking out and not supressing myself like before, i did it. i msn quarrelled with a colleague. i told her to "relax" and "take a chill pill". It's the most insulting phrases i would every use on anybody, and it definitely got her ruffled. cos she's still rambling on MSN and i'm ignoring her. haha!

She doesn't realise tt i've been saving her ass the last 2 years, whenever my boss wants me to give her a review, i've always spoken well of her, defending her attitude problem. She thinks i like fixing her broken english so i feel good about myself- she doesn't know tht her boss can't stand looking at her work and wants me to fix it before he looks at it.

Sometimes i tell her to do A and she does B. She's the kind who makes up new english words like "mainstorm" and "infulence", and today she dares to claim tht i beat around bush when i'm ask her for something? Wake up her idea ok, if i can understand half of wht she says, i won't need to be diplomatic and try to be nice when i ask her for clarifications. I just had to tell her "honey, have u put yourself in my position before, i have a hard time understanding you".

ok enough rambling, back to work.

ouch!

no this is NOT the latest make-up trend. It's the result of a blundering fool last night, me. I've been working 14 hrs straight everyday since monday. Tired is an understatement... when i got into the cab last night, i banged by specs into the car hood, and my specs smashed into my left eye.. OUUUUCCCHHH. I woke up with this. My eyeliner and brown eyeshadow cannot cover the purpleness of it.

and as u can tell, i have no time to pluck my eyebrows. it's very very ugly... but i got nice lashes. And this is without mascara.

Les miserables

Day 8 in SH and the crap continues. alone, stressed, and now i'm super sick. I've been popping OTC drugs, I'm putting my life in the hands of this very heavily made-up pharmacist, hoping she doesn't kill me with her recommendations. So far so good.

The hotel bed is giving me severe body aches and restless sleeps. I just need to be home.

Johnny and I

I'm back in Shanghai again. As much as i love the city and the friends that i have here, I hate being here alone without Mountain Man. Especially when i'm feeling the weight of work and stress all over, i kinda need someone around to complain to.

So now, it's just Johnny(Depp) and I. He entertains me tonight as Cry Baby Walker, the acting is super OTT and the plot is super bad but hey, it's Johnny. He makes Danny Zuko look like an angel.

Work was pretty rough today, i want to quit. i literaly don't have the strength to rant about it. But something i saw made me smile abit. I've had my sunglasses for a while now but this is the first time i noticed the words on the casing...

It must be a message from the higher powers.

Ask and you will receive... sometimes.

I did my first peer review today. A colleague had asked for a review, and she/he could pick people whom she's worked with to assess her. It's based on 5 criteria- Job knowledge, Reliability/Problem Solving, Efficiency/Effectiveness, and Leadership. I didn't give full marks but it was a very good score overall.



In 1.5 years of working for the company, i never knew that i could ask for a peer review. I jokingly told my boss that i wanted one from this person whom i think is not very fond of me. Of course the operative word being "jokingly". He replied "Sure, u can ask for one." in a very serious tone.



Anyway, i think i'm already my harshest critic, i don't think i can handle getting a bad one from someone else... It's a very typical characteristic of a virgo, I and ONLY I can criticise myself. Obviously such peer reviews are a bit political right. I would pick the people whom i think i work best with and like me the most. Why would i pick some person who'd give me a lousy score.



This brings me back to a recent conversation i had with a friend. We were talking about the life of a salaryman. Sometimes we feel afraid to ask for what we deserve cos we fear to appear greedy or discontent. But he reminded me that "if you don't ask, you don't get". Alot of us don't have a clue about the P&L of the company, they make craploads of moolah and it all ends up in the deep pockets of the people who are C/D/M level, occassionally also to the people who actually ASK. Asking for a raise is really the fundamental survival skill of a salaryman. Why didn't i learn this lesson sooner. need to start pulling up me socks.

on working...

It's one of those days i don't want to see the world, and the world wouldn't want to see me. I want to stay in my PJs and watch DVD all day. I want to have my space, and be worried about absolutely nothing.

But i can't. It's only tuesday. I want to smile, but no actually i really want to sleep.

It's been a hard 2 weeks. Saturday and Sunday were full work days, 14 hr schedule per day... A business trip the week before, and one more looming in 3 hrs.

I don't know how some of my colleagues can work overnight till 9am in the morning, go back take a shower and come back at 12noon. It's not what the body is built for. Unless i have jet lag and can't get to sleep, i protest working by midnight. I am not saying that the company makes us do it, but i don't understand why there can't be better time management on everyone's part. Timelines, deadlines, progress reports are all in place for a reason.

I tend to respect those who are balanced in this respect. Knowing when to retreat, knowing when to take a break, and when giving 120% is not worth it.

Working

My newly manicured fingernails...

I have wrinkles...

Anyway, my work life is colourless as compared to Les who works 7 days a week, 15 hrs a day. NOT.

I am just having one of those down weeks, can afford to fool around in the office, take pictures of myself on the phone, leave office on time to go for manicure appointments or dance lessons.

For the record, i do love my job. I have a great boss (who doesn't read my blog so i'm not sucking up), wonderful colleagues who are helpful, interesting vendors tht spices up my life, and clients high profile enough to give me a good portfolio. So really i am not complaining.

Working in the same company as Lester isn't really that bad either. For one thing, i don't report to him, we never attend meetings together, we never work on projects together,and the only time i see him is when i walk to the toilet. I am actually disappointed when i walk by his office and realise he isn't there.

3 most important things working in the same company...

1. Don't take each other for granted. U may see each other 24 hrs almost, but quantity time is not quality time.
2. Acknowledge that others acknowledge you're a couple and don't be overly shy about it. The more u try to "hide" the more scandalous it may seem.
3. Respect each other. Duh. this applies to ALL occasions.

=)

1

Its my 1 year anniversary in China... It's also 1 degree in Beijing, and exactly 1am on my clock...

Lester is also in Beijing but we're at different hotels cos we're here on different accounts.

My mind is in alpha mode at the moment, ready to rant off nonsensically. You know how in the night ur mind just works differently, you get all these bright ideas and tell urself how brilliant it is but then the next day it just doesn't make sense anymore.

Anyway, i conquered my greatest fear today. I presented in mandarin to a room of 30 over people. i didn't think the day would come so soon. Luckily i only had 4 slides to screw up, even if i did it would still be a small screw up.

ok good night.