The Months That Was.....

Okay, okay, it has been ridiculously long since I last updated this very, very dusty blog.

In fact, why do I even bother. Who reads my blog anyway?

But then again, that's the actual purpose of a blog. Blog originated from the word weblog, your personal online diary in cyberspace, which is only meant for your eyes only or for people you wish to share with by giving them the URL.

Whatever it is, the break from writing was a cross between intentional and unintentional.

Honestly, (here I go again), I was buried with work. Hahahahaha! The overstatement of the year, which coincidently, is coming to an end in less than 48 hours.

My God, we are ushering in 2010! How time flies (again, an overused expression.)

Where were we? Ah yes, work. You see, I was promoted and transferred to a subsidiary of my company on 1 October 2009, so its been close to 3 months now. As the Head of Department, my responsibility is heavier and job scope is broader by leaps and bounds. Expectation from management is also high. Don't even ask about how I am managing the stress level ever since taking up this new appointment.

But hey, I'm not complaining. I call it progress. I got a promotion which means I get a handsome salary increment (as soon as I pass the higher job grade assessment in April). I got a bigger cubicle now (which is one step away from a proper room if I get one more level of promotion in the next few years) and I have cool colleagues in the department. Well, subordinates actually but I prefer to see them as colleagues (because I am the new generation managers - cool, dynamic and think out of the box, chewah).

The first month (October) was hell. I had to travel a lot and I hardly saw my wife and kids. My new position required me to constantly travel to Kertih, Terengganu and Segamat, Johor as the subsidiary's core operations were located there. October is the worst month to transfer in my company because it is halfway through the fiscal year. That is the time when everyone is busy finalising their departmental and divisional budgets for the next fiscal year and also busy with the dreaded mid-year performance review. On top of that, my department was at the tail-end of a major audit exercise and although the audit period and scope covered a duration well before my time, I was pretty much involved, by virtue of me being the new Head. Let's just say I was unfortunate enough to "inherit" some problems left by my predecessors and them tight-fisted auditors just didn't care or symphatised with me. On top of that, my immediate superior was also new and eager to be up to speed with the current operations of my department which was parked under the division of which he is the head. So, it was a whirlwind first month for me and I tell you, the learning curve was so steep, I felt like crying at times.

If October was hell, November was hell deluxe! Just as I was about to settle down and thought that my travelling schedule has finally stabilised, I was slapped with a major and urgent assignment. It was like my cheek being pushed to the side of an express train! I was instructed by management to handle a ground-breaking ceremony in Sabah for a major project undertaken by the subsidiary which was a joint-venture with a state government-owned entity. And we had less than 3 weeks to pull the whole thing off! Hence I was zig-zagging to and fro Kota Kinabalu as if I had a second wife over there for most of November until the event itself which was on the 26th of November, one day before Hari Raya Haji! It was a miracle me and my team managed to get a flight back to KL on the night itself to enable us to be home in time for Hari Raya Haji. The event went well and I was thankful it was done and over with. For that, I thank my team for a job well done (you know who you are, I don't mention names in my blog).

And finally, December, ah yes, good old December, I would say was the best month since I joined my new outfit. I attended a forum for managers of the company in Kertih (at my favourite hotel Awana Kijal of course which was really a well-deserved retreat) and also presented two major papers to members of the subsidiary's management committee at their monthly meeting held in Kuantan (that was a two-hour ordeal which I thought would never end). I also spent one week alone in KL as my wife and kids went back to Johor Bahru to spend time with my mom-in-law. I really bonded with my house, hehehehe. Accomplished lots of things when I was alone - installed a new ceiling fan in the master bedroom (the old one had its sensor stuck as the slowest speed), cleaned the bathrooms, mopped the floor, vacuumed the carpets, serviced both my car and my wife's car and watched lots and lots of tv. Oh, I also made arrangements for a short vacation to Phuket, Thailand which I'm taking in mid-January 2010. Yeahoo!!!! (This is a solo vacation and my wife is cool about it.) I'm so excited about this trip that I've read two travel books on the exotic island and have mapped out my itinerary for the four days I'm there.

So, there, that's what happened in the past 3 months during which I abstained from writing. I'm going to start writing again, in this blog, in Facebook and also in NST where I'm a regular contributor to the Letters To The Editors section. I have a lot to say actually on current affairs but like I said, I just didn't have the time. I'm certainly going to try and the fact that I wrote this post is already, yes you said it - progress.

So here's to 2009 which has been a great year (for me and my family at least) and let's usher in 2010 with hopes and prayers that it will be better - financially and emotionally.....

p. s. Arsenal is doing so well in the English Premier League! I'm so happy!!