it's not just me

the worst conversations involve two things:

- a person who doesn't listen

- a person who interrupts

So, the admin now knows about my frustration towards the team leader's laziness and irresponsibility - not much on his incompetency, yet.

Last week, our internal reviewer reviewed my report and added some comments to it. When the comments were sent through, Mr. Slack told me to 'have a look at the comments and make changes to the report accordingly'. 

Duh??? I know what I should do. Don't instruct for the sake of instructing. It only makes you look redundant in the office. Please speak something people don't already know.

After I finalised the report to include the comments, he told me he actually do not 'really' agree with some of the comments the reviewer made. Like wtf? After changes have been made, only then he realised he doesn't agree with the comments? Wonder what was he doing for the past 2 days.

Only when the deadline is near, he decided to be 'knowledgeable' and 'critical' with his thinking. He started commenting on and disagreeing with petty little things implemented by our internal reviewer. 

I told him to go and discuss with the reviewer as I don't find anything wrong with those comments. 

As they were discussing, he was busy interrupting (as usual). Can't just let people finish their sentence. zZzz. 

Then the reviewer started doing the same to him. Both were busy talking and no one was listening. Lol!

Then the admin secretly handed me this note:

Yeah. It seems like it's not just me.
People would naturally end up in a heated conversation with him because he is so darn irritating. He doesn't listen!!! And the things he argues about are petty and insignificant, just like the mind who speaks it.

It makes me feel so much better because I'm not the only one who thinks he speaks a funny mind.
Finally, people are noticing.

be nice. be considerate.

it's the thought that matters

Went to The Missing Piece at Macquarie Centre for the second time.

The first time I had the Hashtag, it was juicy.

This time around, it was dry.

Overall, the food's okay.

Their cronuts were good.

Love the mocha!

$7 cronut

The table next to ours happened to order the same food as us.

The waiter mixed up the orders and sent our food to the next table so we had to wait longer to get served.

Though we didn't make a fuss out of it, when we were paying at the counter, the lady gave us a little token of apology.

Very sweet of them :)

Thanks for the free cronut, we certainly didn't expect it.

Little gesture like this tells us that nice people will be surrounded by even nicer people. So we should always be nice. Haha. 

Perhaps our willingness to forgive makes them feel more apologetic and all the more to be nice to us.

sweet apology

the free-of-charge cronut

On the other hand, at the carpark, someone decided to be a d**khead.
Car too posh that it needs more than a metre space from other cars?
This is as bad as when an 'able' passenger parks on a disabled parking spot.
He was lucky that there are less uncivilised people in this suburb that his car would be left unharmed.

the yellow writing says: you're a f**king tosser

This is when it's handy to have pen and paper in the bag. Hahaha.

Hope he improves his parking skills next time around.

1 extra spot in the carpark does make a lot of difference, dude!

baking for the happiness of others

cookies are made of flour, butter, and love

matcha shortbread cookies

I never liked baking.

Because baking is a complicated thing.

For a successful product, you have to get the measurements, temperature, timing, sequence, ingredients, and everything else right.

There are too many ways to fail. 

Even if the recipe was followed 100%, there would still be chance for failure.

Engineers hate risks.

I guess the root of it is, I can't stand rigidity. Hahaha.

I like to be able to bend rules as I wish, add flavours as I go, and still end up with a yummy dish.

The only things I've baked for the last 10 years were:

- Shepherd's pie

- Banana bread (pre-mixed from the shelf)

The reasons I baked this time around were:

- Because Miss petite said the recipe is easy to follow (means less room for failure)

- For the sake of friends who love food and matcha, and can't be back home for CNY

- Because my sis baked and failed twice, and blamed me for giving her the recipe. Lol. I'm the best candidate to prove that the recipe is noob-proof.

in the making

the burnt batch. still yummy.

Though the outcome was successful, I need a break from baking!
Lol.
So much standing, washing, cleaning...and worrying from start to end.
And oily hands the whole time!
Went to bed with backache.
Woke up with backache.
Told the admin I have backache, and she said, 'Ok, I'll buy you a back support.'
Few mins later, she told me she has placed the order online.
Sometimes, she's just like a mum (when she's not mad or grumpy). Hehe.

I found the happiest and most satisfying thing about baking is not the outcome, it is knowing that it'll make people's day in one way or another.

#behappy

Recipe here: Matcha Shortbread Cookies

never burn bridges

keep bridges well

no river will only be crossed once in life

I have to admit that I've been blessed with helpful colleagues and seniors in my previous job.
Of course, they were a few nasty ones but they're not worth to be mentioned.

Those who helped me grow.
Those who inspired me to think and solve problems like an engineer.
Those who taught me to be tough.
Those who covered my ass when there were holes in my pants.
Those who helped justify my sickies to the boss when I wasn't really sick - just sick of work.
Those who came up with excuses for me when I decided to 'work-from-home'.
Those who shared their experience unconditionally.
Those who shared knowledge on investment, insurance, tax return, etc.
Those who served as my talking encyclopedia, allowing me to be reliant on them for quick answers.
Those who taught me to save on household bills.
Those who made working hours seem short and fun.

I miss them all!

Everyone who has asked about my new job - family, friends, ex-colleagues - would have heard stories about my current incompetent team leader.

While family and friends provide a pair of listening ears, a pair of reading eyes, and some words of wisdoms, ex-colleagues have come about with job opportunities for me.

Each time I speak to my ex-senior, he'd ask if I'd like to return to the company.
The answer is always No. Haha. I can't see myself turning back to the path I left behind.
Though I really miss working with them, the key is to advance and not look back.

A senior I've worked with in a joint venture project has also told me about job opportunities in his company. I've missed the Linkedin message until 2 months later. Woops...

Recently, another ex-senior has informed me of a job opening in his company. I've decided to try my luck this time.
It's not a guarantee that grass will be greener on the other side, but where I am now, the grass isn't any greener either. I've got nothing to lose.

People say, wherever you go, never burn bridges.

My experience proves that any river would be crossed more than once in life.
Keep the bridges and keep them well, so no repair is required when you need to cross that particular river again.

strange fate

something more than stranger

For 3 Mondays in a row...

Same time.

Same train line.

Same 4th upper carriage from the front.

Same 3 grannies.

Different starting point.

Different destination.

Different reasons for being in the 4th carriage.

Different concerns for choosing the upper carriage.

Funny how little things like these, could make people cross paths.

This scene is a kind of comfort which reminds me of popo at home.

They've unintentionally become my 'companions' to start off the week. 

Hope to see them for as many Mondays to come, in healthy shape and size.

leader with ego

ego and good leadership don't function together

So, we haven't spoken more than 5 sentences in the 3.5 days since he came back from holidays.
A very apparent sign of a strained work-relationship. Hehehe.

Him: How was your Melb trip?
Me: Ok.

Him: Are you checking those drawings?
Me: Yes I will. But not now.

Him: Have you submitted the form?
Me: I did.
Him: You didn't copy me in the email so I wasn't aware.
Me: Ok.

Me: You can have a look at the Appendix first.
Him: Ok. I'll look at it tomorrow.

There's nothing healthy with the way we're communicating now.
He is obviously pissed at something.
But who cares? LOL.

The story is, he did a crap job on one of the projects and it attracted few criticisms on the work he produced. As a team leader, even if you didn't produce those crap, you automatically absorb the blames anyway. What more the situation now is, he did those crap and he is also the leader. Double shot. Lalala.

The criticisms were raised when he was on holidays so we picked up his mess and got it sorted before he returned. For him to apply the silent treatment on me (specifically) is totally understandable. He must have thought I'm all above his head now and he has nowhere to stand as a leader. So it's a mixture of embarrassment and ego in his attitude. He's also 'punishing' me silently by refusing to assist me or provide input/comments on anything.

Now, he doesn't bother checking on the progress of the amendments under way - started the crap and won't participate in rectifying it. He doesn't bother checking on the progress of all other projects. He just sits muted and rooted to his desk. That's okay. The more jobs I got done without his assistance, the more he would feel he's hopeless and redundant in this office.

I'm enjoying the sight of him:
- Being emo at his little corner
- Being very uninformative (as usual) that no one bothers asking him anything
- Being not useful to the team cos he can't give proper technical advice, he can't lead the team, he can't guide the team, he can't do his own work correctly, he can't convince us that he knows his stuff.

Somehow he has to wake up from his slackness, recklessness, and hopelessness.

What a start to 2016.....it's just the beginning.

randomness

be naturally random

Yesterday, the admin very randomly asked if I know who Coco Chanel is.

I said yes.

I thought she was going to say something along the lines of 'you are what you look'.

She then read out loud to me.

'Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.'

I quickly took a look at my attire.

Ok. I don't think I'm dressing shabbily. At least not today. Haha. But I shall bear this quote in mind.

Today, I went to her to take a photo of the Coco Chanel quote.
It was already in the bin.
She is someone who keeps no rubbish and deals with no shit.
Someone who dumps things (and emotions) easily. The good thing is she forgets them easily too.

She then told me today's quote was rubbish but Monday's is meaningful.
I couldn't agree more. :)

Around tea time, I heard minor explosions from the kitchen.
A suspicious blue packet was popping in the microwave oven.
It was her and her randomness again.
She said when she ordered milk this morning, she came across popcorns and decided to add them into the cart.
Suddenly, the office smelled like a cinema. Hehe.

Things won't be the same without her in the office. 

I like randomness.