When I was young I like to have a job that allows me to travel and so I chose to take up auditor as my career path but instead of being an external auditor I somehow landed on internal audit field. Well, it was not in my original plan (seriously I have no idea what is internal audit all about back then) but of all the jobs hunting that I been to, this job pay the highest and of course I knew I can learn something better compare to book-keeping work. And when I found this job suits me very well, I continue with this path.
It was the people that I met in my 1st job that got me landed on Cambodia and Hong Kong which I spent 6 years traveling between Cambodia (80%), Hong Kong (15%) and Malaysia (5%). Yes, I only spent about 5% of the 6 years in Malaysia. How ironic that the 5% can get me a girlfriend and later a wife (and of course that were 0.0 something % where I traveled other countries for holidays).
As my relationship with my wife (back then my girlfriend) is getting more and more serious, the feeling of stop traveling has become my top priority. There are times where my wife and I had fight due to my heavy traveling schedule. It was such a headache that I sometimes tried to avoid such discussion. But at the same time I do hunt for jobs that do not require traveling or at least minimal traveling. It was not easy getting a job where you have to undergo a 50% pay cut, many companies question my commitment due to the large pay cut, and some even accused me for looking for a stepping stone which allows me to return to Malaysia. Alas, I was unable to find a suitable job after more than year of hunting. And I broke the promise that I made to my wife that I will be back in Malaysia for good at a promised date.
But all was not lost, I had a good talked with my boss and he agreed to allow me to based in Malaysia with a condition, I have to travel at least once a month for 7 days and if need be up to 14 days. Pay cut is still 50% but I was given a US$50 allowance per day if I travel (including weekends) with foods, accommodation and transport all provided for. It was a good start and my wife was happy. And it is also this opportunity that allows us to made wedding arrangement together. Yes, it is tiring but it was fun when you do things together with your love ones.
Few months after I returned to Malaysia, my wife and I plan to have children, which make me re-think of my traveling schedule again. While my wife did not really complaint anymore but being a husband and a father I want to be at their side most of the time. And so again, I hunt for new job, but this round it does not take long. I got a new job within a month of hunting. And so I quit my job of 6 years with great colleagues, which I do not know whether I will find such a wonderful colleagues elsewhere, for the sack of my family.
Working in the new company was really a disaster, my previous job gave me so much freedom that, I guess, I was pampered, so much so that I hate jobs that require to record working schedule (well, all audits line do anyway) and no flexibility on working hours, punch card for a Manager!!?? You got to be kidding man!!!! Worst, I have to work on weekends and travel (within Malaysia) more often. And my scope of work as a internal auditor is greatly different from my new boss, who is from external audit firm, hack what do these people know about internal audit anyway?? Those originated from internal audit background know that Manager level do not travel unless they conduct an exit interview (means meet clients to discuss about the audit report) because Managers level is as good as junior partner in audit firm. So, if a Manager need to travel to conduct audit work then it is very obvious the head of department (HOD) came from external audit background.
As for my new colleagues, they are alright but none is brave to voice up freely, why simply because the HOD (male) has PMS all the time. A typical Malaysian own company with a typical Malaysian bosses.
But I kept on telling myself, do it for your wife, do it for your children. All I need to do is suffer for a year then look for a new job (a year is because no company want to hire a person who like to hop from one to another company to often). But I started to feel the heat when I spent more time on work and less time with my wife, it deceive my main purpose. And so I called up my previous company and hope they will take me back, well, with such ex-bosses that I have, it has no problem at all for me to go back. But I told my wife I have to stay for at least a year or 2 before I can change job again and my wife agreed. Still, even though I was happy to go back, I was deeply disappointed that I can’t stay in Malaysia without having to travel so often.
But God got his plan, He really does. Only one month I returned to my previous company I had to resign again. And this time it is because 2 of my ex-bosses are going to have their own consultation firm. What’s more, it was the same own colleagues that I’m going to work with, they gave me 5% of the shares which makes me a director and a shareholder and most of all flexibility working hours and more time to spend with my family. And plus great bonuses.
But the most important thing is, since I have worked with my bosses before, we all share the same goal in life. Family 1st the rest is secondary. For that, I was able to take a month off when my wife delivered, take the morning off to take my son and wife for their routine check-up (not counted as off-day), work from home when my son is not feeling well and much more that I will never ever get no matter what company that I work for in Malaysia.
Looking back, I always got what I wanted, I struggler a little but still at the end I got what I want and most time even better than what I ask for. My luck or God at work? Well, I do not think I alone got so much luck, but with God, my luck is unlimited. And for that I count my blessing.
Thank you my Lord for your blessing.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Falling ill is no fun at all
Being a parent is sure no easy job. Last weekend my son, who is only 1 year and 8 months old, had a fever, and it went as high as 40C. My wife (who is now 7 months pregnant) and I went in and out of the hospital for 3 times within 2 days. The 1st time we brought our son to the hospital, the doctor (a general doctor attended to my son) said it is too early to do a blood test as we need to wait for 2 days (48 hours) before his blood shows any abnormal movement/activities (i.e. any sign of bacterial/virus infection). So we took our son home after the doctor gave him some medicine which able to control the fever for the rest of the day. The following day it happen again, fever went up high and we were unable to control it even after we gave him the medicine. Normally, after giving our son a sponge bath his fever will come down, but this time is does not work, on top of that he split out most of the milk we gave him earlier. And so we went to the hospital again at about 5:30am. Another general doctor attended to my son and said the same thing, too early to do blood test, only able to give him a stronger medicine and sent us home.
After that, he was fine for the whole day, playing with the maid, running around the house, the only thing he had was diarrhea. By about 8pm he was sleepy. We thought that well, he must be recovering, no fever for the whole day and with some diarrhea must have made him tired. But ½ hour later his temperature went from 36.6C (his normal temperature) to 38C and keep on claming every second. He had never experience this before. He shivers, his feet were cold but body and head were getting hotter. And so we rush him to the hospital again, and this time I insist to admit my son. The doctor agreed. This time, the doctor (same doctor that we see in the morning) said we can go ahead with the blood test. She even called my son’s pediatrician.
After a night in the hospital, my son was very uneasy with that hospital mainly because he had his circumcision there (due to infection) and kept on crying and asked to go home, we decided to go home. The result was negative on dangerous infection and his diarrhea test did not show anything dangerous as well. There are still some other test to be done, just to make sure everything is save, but the result will only come out in 2 weeks time. And my son did not show any sign of fever after 24 hours. It was a big relief for my wife and me, we are really tired from the whole episode. With the current outbreak (the H1N1 outbreak) it is better to be safe than sorry, beside, the other disease that I’m worry is dengue.
Went we reach home the only thing he has was diarrhea. Not very often, about 2-3 times but was quite greenish. The following day the diarrhea stopped and the fever has been gone for 48 hours. Now we can get some sleep. The only thing is I really pity my wife who is already 7 months pregnant and has to run up and down. And yet our boy wants his mummy very badly especially when he is not feeling well. I feel so helpless. All I can do is to make sure both my son and my wife are comfortable.
After that, he was fine for the whole day, playing with the maid, running around the house, the only thing he had was diarrhea. By about 8pm he was sleepy. We thought that well, he must be recovering, no fever for the whole day and with some diarrhea must have made him tired. But ½ hour later his temperature went from 36.6C (his normal temperature) to 38C and keep on claming every second. He had never experience this before. He shivers, his feet were cold but body and head were getting hotter. And so we rush him to the hospital again, and this time I insist to admit my son. The doctor agreed. This time, the doctor (same doctor that we see in the morning) said we can go ahead with the blood test. She even called my son’s pediatrician.
After a night in the hospital, my son was very uneasy with that hospital mainly because he had his circumcision there (due to infection) and kept on crying and asked to go home, we decided to go home. The result was negative on dangerous infection and his diarrhea test did not show anything dangerous as well. There are still some other test to be done, just to make sure everything is save, but the result will only come out in 2 weeks time. And my son did not show any sign of fever after 24 hours. It was a big relief for my wife and me, we are really tired from the whole episode. With the current outbreak (the H1N1 outbreak) it is better to be safe than sorry, beside, the other disease that I’m worry is dengue.
Went we reach home the only thing he has was diarrhea. Not very often, about 2-3 times but was quite greenish. The following day the diarrhea stopped and the fever has been gone for 48 hours. Now we can get some sleep. The only thing is I really pity my wife who is already 7 months pregnant and has to run up and down. And yet our boy wants his mummy very badly especially when he is not feeling well. I feel so helpless. All I can do is to make sure both my son and my wife are comfortable.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Age 35 and still playing games
Few weeks ago I managed to locate a friend who I have not seen for ages through internet. Well, to be precise, it was his blog (which makes me want to start one for myself) that I found and not the person in physical form. And so I spent whole night reading his posts, trying to see what has he been up to during all this years.
He was 3 years younger than me and yet he finished his professional course faster than I did. You see, I’m not a very bright student and I failed many times on my professional course, and it takes me 5 years to complete compare to an average student that takes about 3-4 years. I have to re-sit the same exam papers over and over again before I can proceed to another paper and there are times I do feel that I am the oldest student sitting for a particular exam paper. And that is also how I met a guy 3 years my junior.
He was just an ordinary guy when we met and we become close friends, but within one year he became so famous that he was appointed as a student president of the professional course that we were taking. The college that we studied recruited him even before he graduated.
After graduate, we went on a separate path, we still meet regularly then but it stopped after some time. He was married the last time I heard but something terrible happen (I do not wish to disclose what happen here) not long after his marriage. Anyhow, from his blog, he seems to have got over with the incident and now back on his own feet. But he also seems to stay low now. What I meant was he no longer the type of person who seeks for glory (unlike when we met long time ago). I guess the incident hit him very hard.
But compare to him, I never search for glory at my entire life. While this guy have tea with some billionaire at some restaurants (that this what he claimed), I play online games in office. While the 1st thing he looks for in the newspaper is the business section, I look for the comic section. He enjoy being famous, while I enjoy staying low (but I do feel envy sometimes), even thought he claimed that he stay low now yet I somehow feel he can’t stay there for long.
Sometimes I wonder, am I too simple? I sometime feel ashamed of myself, a person holding a managerial position and never read business section and yet his staffs do? There are times when I hang out with my friends and all they talk about is the current business/market situation and I would like have no idea what there are talking about. Age 35 and still act like a child yet I have 2 children at home, silly isn’t it.
But then again, looking back at what I have achieved, I am not all that bad. I don’t have to go through the pain that he had, I have a beautiful family, my own house, well more on this on my next blog. Well, yes, I may not be as rich as he is (in term of money) but I’m doing things that I like, I do not have life-schedule to follow (resolution is life-schedule for me), I do things as and when I feel like to and I bring foods to my family and above that my family need not think twice to spend (of course I’m referring to average stuff, not too luxurious stuff). Well, at least I’m looking at the business section in the newspaper now, although it is not the 1st thing that I will look at.
He was 3 years younger than me and yet he finished his professional course faster than I did. You see, I’m not a very bright student and I failed many times on my professional course, and it takes me 5 years to complete compare to an average student that takes about 3-4 years. I have to re-sit the same exam papers over and over again before I can proceed to another paper and there are times I do feel that I am the oldest student sitting for a particular exam paper. And that is also how I met a guy 3 years my junior.
He was just an ordinary guy when we met and we become close friends, but within one year he became so famous that he was appointed as a student president of the professional course that we were taking. The college that we studied recruited him even before he graduated.
After graduate, we went on a separate path, we still meet regularly then but it stopped after some time. He was married the last time I heard but something terrible happen (I do not wish to disclose what happen here) not long after his marriage. Anyhow, from his blog, he seems to have got over with the incident and now back on his own feet. But he also seems to stay low now. What I meant was he no longer the type of person who seeks for glory (unlike when we met long time ago). I guess the incident hit him very hard.
But compare to him, I never search for glory at my entire life. While this guy have tea with some billionaire at some restaurants (that this what he claimed), I play online games in office. While the 1st thing he looks for in the newspaper is the business section, I look for the comic section. He enjoy being famous, while I enjoy staying low (but I do feel envy sometimes), even thought he claimed that he stay low now yet I somehow feel he can’t stay there for long.
Sometimes I wonder, am I too simple? I sometime feel ashamed of myself, a person holding a managerial position and never read business section and yet his staffs do? There are times when I hang out with my friends and all they talk about is the current business/market situation and I would like have no idea what there are talking about. Age 35 and still act like a child yet I have 2 children at home, silly isn’t it.
But then again, looking back at what I have achieved, I am not all that bad. I don’t have to go through the pain that he had, I have a beautiful family, my own house, well more on this on my next blog. Well, yes, I may not be as rich as he is (in term of money) but I’m doing things that I like, I do not have life-schedule to follow (resolution is life-schedule for me), I do things as and when I feel like to and I bring foods to my family and above that my family need not think twice to spend (of course I’m referring to average stuff, not too luxurious stuff). Well, at least I’m looking at the business section in the newspaper now, although it is not the 1st thing that I will look at.
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