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read between the lines
post-work reflections am i the only coldplay slave around here or is x&y (the album) really good? i haven't sat through viva la vida yet even though i've bought it, but from what i've skimmed through it sounds like it'll take some getting used to 'cos it's so different. coldplay and dido are part of a stack of CDs i've splurged on since i ended work (my version of retail therapy). before i even realised it, i ended up getting a total of 15 CDs in a few days...crazy. not that i've never heard the songs from each album either; it's just that i never heard all the tracks.i finally succumbed to opening the only chocolate bar in the fridge while watching grey's anatomy tonight -- this episode was about addiction, ironically. speaking of ironic, the person i got paired up with during a discussion of loving people you find hard to love was -- you guessed it -- hard to love. what made it even harder was when she brought up (irony alert coming up again) a subject of which, was the very reason i found her hard to love. anyway back to the main subject of this entry -- my mini-celebratory post on having recently ended work. firstly, (and this is something my colleague brought up as a form of encouragement while i was still working) i cannot believe i made it through ten months, which happens to be the longest i've stayed at any place of work yet, despite the circumstances around me. don't get me wrong, i was blessed with the best, most understanding boss i've ever worked for and i really liked the job scope itself, but two things stood in the way. one was the extremely early mornings and strain of travelling long hours under exhaustion. there is a huge difference in travelling when you've had enough sleep and travelling when you haven't. and who knew mas selamat's escape was going to happen and cause the border to be consistently clogged with more pushy, nasty commuters than usual during rush hour? another thing was -- and this has put the most mental strain on me more than anything else -- the unfortunate sexual harrassment of a colleague at work as well as a factory worker at the checkpoint -- both middle-aged males. unlike previous similar situations, i could not avoid these two as the first one worked in the same room as me, while the other had this uncanny tendency of ending up in either the same walking route, same bus or same queue at the checkpoint as me, on either side of the border. all i can say is, i am heaving a huuuuge sigh of relief that i no longer have to see these two ever again (hopefully for the rest of my life) -- my thanks to the prayers of friends and my accountability elder during this ordeal. but mostly, thank god for providing supernatural sustenance to see me through to the end of my stint, on top of His daily protection, guidance and help with accuracy and speed on every working day i've spent there. and i really do thank god He provided me just the perfect colleague to get paired with. okay so it wasn't perfect and we had to iron out a few rough edges midway through (as with anyone who's had to spend several hours together every day with another stranger), but she's as perfect as she can possibly get as a working colleague. i was grateful for the fact that she was malay (which effectively meant we could both communicate in the same languages, thereby eliminating any frustrations i would usually have with a pro-mandarin person) and was only a year older than i (easier to relate for obvious reasons). not only that, we shared the same taste in music and even similar taste in clothes -- i really, really thank god for that 'cause i didn't want to have to deal with yet another cloned bimbo asking me stupid questions like why i listen to weird music or why i don't wear tighter clothes. that aside, now that i finally have time to sit back and reflect on how fast this year's whizzed (and how i've barely noticed because i was too caught up with the routine of work), it's been a productive learning experience, i'd say. i learnt how to appreciate the value of time, learnt how to exert greater self-control, learnt to be more patient with people and most importantly, learnt to cope with blue nights. i haven't got the latter down pat yet but every experience takes me closer to the end. it was tough and of course i do frown upon the times i gave in, was nasty, pestered friends, vented my anger or let my tiredness lead me into an exhaustion-induced depression, but...well i'm just glad i made it through (with a few lessons learnt) and now i get this break to relax, rejuvenate, recover and prepare. |
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