Thursday, May 31, 2007
I've been pretty quiet on this blog, so I'm posting this in case any of my dearest friends forget who I am.
Living somewhere else far away from home is something new to me, in fact I hadn't really lived anywhere else in my lifetime. I miss so many things, yet there's also the excitement of experiencing new things you'll probably not get exposed to on our safe sunny island. I wouldn't say it's been radically different, it's America after all; still, you'll be surprised how well humans adapt to environmental changes.
I never imagined myself being able to cook. And now I'm whipping up steak that tastes as good as it looks. I can stir fry so many things with just garlic, onions, oil and a bit of commonsense. I do the laundry now, I log all my spendings onto an excel sheet, I now compare price/quality ratios between Brand X and Y when I do my groceries. I also got really tipsy in a club/pub and now understand how the brain/body works in such opposing directions you'll wonder if you were really you.
I drink more than I do in Singapore. After all, beer costs only 60 cents a bottle. I do control though, and it's only for the occasional gathering. (don't worry Esmond) Most of the time I've become very domesticated. If I have off days I'll probably be on a date with Claire at the nearby cinema, or grocery shopping, doing my laundry, doing dishes, and of course cook. It's a matter of survival actually; the food here's really expensive and they are all junk.
Anyway, since our posts here tend to have philosophical undertones, my post should rightly have one also. After a month spent in America, and I believe I can say the same for Vic and Es, is that you'll never realise what you can achieve unless you break out of your "no I can't do that", or "it's not for me", or "that's impossible" shell. The little world we live in gives us a false sense a security, in many ways also hinders us from maximising our potential because it provides what's considered "sufficient" to us.
Working like a bangla here for a month of so now, doing very menial tasks that just screams hard labour, you also find out how unfair the real world is. Despite doing my best, during ride operations, to smile and greet every single customer, never leaning on the railings, dressing neatly, and even cheer with the kids that take my ride until my voice went hoarse, I didn't win any of the recognition awards that they give out to the employees. Claire had quite a few and she deserved all of them, just that some other people I don't even know how they can win this daily award time after time when they don't do anything spectacular, and I daresay I am on par or more conscientious than them. I'm not raising this up to whine or whatever, I've been reflecting on the psychological effect it was having on me. When I felt my hard work wasn't appreciated, I decided to slack off, but after a while it made me realise that I'm letting no one else down except myself, and that feeling is so much worse than not receiving any recognition.
To be able to recognize yourself in the mirror every morning is more important than any rewards that others can dish out to you.
Hopefully all of you can remember that in your work, particularly those who are having internships now. Whether the internship is slack or siong, whether the boss is nice or fucked up, always maintain a work ethic that makes you proud of yourself. If the boss assigns you a job, do it till you are satisfied with it, not just to meet his/her minimum requirements. If you always try to just meet minimum requirements, you'll always be receiving the bare minimal remuneration, be it monetary, moral, physical or emotional. And let me tell you this from personal experience, every effort you make will make you walk a little bit taller.
I know this is quite unconvincing coming from someone as flippant as me, but just hope this bit of insight helps you get through this summer, at least.
-sq
Living somewhere else far away from home is something new to me, in fact I hadn't really lived anywhere else in my lifetime. I miss so many things, yet there's also the excitement of experiencing new things you'll probably not get exposed to on our safe sunny island. I wouldn't say it's been radically different, it's America after all; still, you'll be surprised how well humans adapt to environmental changes.
I never imagined myself being able to cook. And now I'm whipping up steak that tastes as good as it looks. I can stir fry so many things with just garlic, onions, oil and a bit of commonsense. I do the laundry now, I log all my spendings onto an excel sheet, I now compare price/quality ratios between Brand X and Y when I do my groceries. I also got really tipsy in a club/pub and now understand how the brain/body works in such opposing directions you'll wonder if you were really you.
I drink more than I do in Singapore. After all, beer costs only 60 cents a bottle. I do control though, and it's only for the occasional gathering. (don't worry Esmond) Most of the time I've become very domesticated. If I have off days I'll probably be on a date with Claire at the nearby cinema, or grocery shopping, doing my laundry, doing dishes, and of course cook. It's a matter of survival actually; the food here's really expensive and they are all junk.
Anyway, since our posts here tend to have philosophical undertones, my post should rightly have one also. After a month spent in America, and I believe I can say the same for Vic and Es, is that you'll never realise what you can achieve unless you break out of your "no I can't do that", or "it's not for me", or "that's impossible" shell. The little world we live in gives us a false sense a security, in many ways also hinders us from maximising our potential because it provides what's considered "sufficient" to us.
Working like a bangla here for a month of so now, doing very menial tasks that just screams hard labour, you also find out how unfair the real world is. Despite doing my best, during ride operations, to smile and greet every single customer, never leaning on the railings, dressing neatly, and even cheer with the kids that take my ride until my voice went hoarse, I didn't win any of the recognition awards that they give out to the employees. Claire had quite a few and she deserved all of them, just that some other people I don't even know how they can win this daily award time after time when they don't do anything spectacular, and I daresay I am on par or more conscientious than them. I'm not raising this up to whine or whatever, I've been reflecting on the psychological effect it was having on me. When I felt my hard work wasn't appreciated, I decided to slack off, but after a while it made me realise that I'm letting no one else down except myself, and that feeling is so much worse than not receiving any recognition.
To be able to recognize yourself in the mirror every morning is more important than any rewards that others can dish out to you.
Hopefully all of you can remember that in your work, particularly those who are having internships now. Whether the internship is slack or siong, whether the boss is nice or fucked up, always maintain a work ethic that makes you proud of yourself. If the boss assigns you a job, do it till you are satisfied with it, not just to meet his/her minimum requirements. If you always try to just meet minimum requirements, you'll always be receiving the bare minimal remuneration, be it monetary, moral, physical or emotional. And let me tell you this from personal experience, every effort you make will make you walk a little bit taller.
I know this is quite unconvincing coming from someone as flippant as me, but just hope this bit of insight helps you get through this summer, at least.
-sq
# posted by eastsidebackstreet : 10:57 am
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