2017 Week 38 Update

What happened this week was a reminder to me to keep listening to my intuition or gut! I am going to put it here, maybe someone reading it can advise me?

This week, almost exactly three months and a couple of weeks to the date I joined the organisation, I was let go! It was quite uncanny that almost immediately after I finished doing the signature event and helped them move office. I was asking HR about my confirmation which was due to happen in three months when my reporting manager called me for a meeting with HR and said they will not be confirming me. I was shell-shocked! It took me around four days to come out of that shock and then think back to all the red flags and that’s when I realised what my gut was telling me all along!

The red flags in order of appearance were: having only one interview before an offer more an a month later (which almost never happens, and knowing the CEO as I do now, it seemed very strange since this person was personally arranging the stationary cupboard when we moved, this after someone else did the job first). The next came the week I joined – I had to chase manager for a week before they would sit down with me for a chat to discuss the role, which was extremely vague. Then after that, at the end of month one and during all of month two, I kept chasing for a one-on-one, which would either be ignored or if scheduled, would be cancelled at the last minute (after I have prepped for it). I kind of gave up during the third month, when I knew it would never happen. Other red flags included pinpointing at every small mistake I did (others could do bigger mistakes and it was inadvertent, but not me) and making sure I was always under stress. I was never given the time to learn the new environment I was in and the processes they followed, I used to joke to myself that the role needed psychic abilities in addition to the ones advertised. In fact, the biggest red flag was that I had no real experience in the role; I had done similar roles, but nothing like what was expected of me. I actually wanted to ask the manager during the exit process why I was hired but kept quiet because I didn’t want to burn bridges.

I was super unhappy there and from the first month itself, I was looking to leave. I have actually psyched myself that I should stay a year for it to look good on my CV but looks like the forces above me had a different opinion. I now believe that this was a God-sent opportunity to get out while I still retained my sanity.

So what now? I restart my job search again, this time with a hope that something good comes up and soon! An organisation where I can stay for a long time and be proud to be a part of.

My parents are here for a few months and I am looking forward to spending time with them. Thanks for reading my rant and have a blessed week everyone!

 

 

Secondary 2 Week 38 Update

This is the start of a week to two weeks of stress for the children.

BB’s exams started and he is done with a couple of subjects but the bulk is still to be done, which will happen next week. GG’s exams also started, but after two days of exams, she will have regular school for three days and then this will be followed by the remainder of exams.

The children also got their Hindi exam results (which they had taken on their birthday). The results were predictable – GG passed while BB failed, miserably!

In about an hour my parents land in Singapore and the children are really looking forward to spending time with their grandparents once the exams are over.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

In My Hands Today…

Northern Girls – Sheng Keyi, translated by Shelly Bryant (Translator)

15699664Qian Xiaohong is born into a sleepy Hunan village, where the new China rush towards development is a mere distant rumour. A buxom, naïve sixteen-year-old, she yearns to leave behind hometown scandal and joins the mass migration to the bustling boomtown of Shenzhen. There, she must navigate dangerous encounters with ruthless bosses, jealous wives, sympathetic hookers and corrupt policemen as she tries to find her place in the ever-evolving society.

Hardship and tragedy are in no short supply as her journey takes her through a grinding succession of dead-end jobs. To help her through this confusing maze, Xiaohong finds solace in the close ties she makes with the other migrant girls – the community of her fellow ‘northern girls’ – who quickly learn to rely on each other for humour and the enjoyment of life’s simple pleasures.

In My Hands Today…

The Lucky Gourd Shop – Joanna C. Scott

686524When an American mother’s three adopted children reach their teens, they grow curious about their Korean heritage. A much-anticipated letter from Korea fails to satisfy them but sparks memories in the eldest. So begins the heartbreaking and inspiring tale of their birth mother’s life as their adoptive mother imagines it.

Abandoned as a baby and then, again and again, Mi Sook is raised in a Korean coffee shop by its string of owner-mothers. She grows to adulthood fiercely independent and eventually comes to manage the shop. But her marriage to Kun Soo, with whom she has three children, begins a series of events that ultimately wrench her babies from her arms. Deceived by Kun Soo and his well-intentioned mother, and unsupported by a rigidly Confucian culture, Mi Sook emerges as a tragic and heroic figure who embodies the rich complexities of a nation – and of the heart.