Think I got off work ard eight plus, reach home abt nine then went out for dinner.

It's been terribly long since I've been to the windmill county. Everything looks diff! But it was a gd nite. I miss those lazy uni days of jus hangin out there or droppin by da paulo for food and jus lettin time slip by without a care in the world.

Yes, I wasn't a very driven student. Very content to come what may.

Currently hooked on Switchfoot. Listening to The Blues. Interesting chord in it.

Wondering what the day ahead will bring. Yes it's 11.30 and I'm late for duty.

Fast forward 2 years later. There you are, cursing and swearing. You hate the boss. You hate your colleagues. You wish you never joined these bunch of wackos.

What happened?

You fell out of love. Along the way you might have turned to self-help books to cope. How to deal with difficult people. How to avoid the 10 mistakes. How to think positively. Well, none of them worked did they.

Think back to the day when you accepted the offer. See how you broke out into cheer, jumped into the river and then panicked when you saw the alligators coming. In fact, you didn't even know they were there until one bit you. Did it ever occur to anyone to scan the area first before you jumped? Did you know that prevention is better than cure works on jobs too?

And that's exactly what I'm going to recommend. When you get a job offer, please reserve the celebrations till after you've done your homework.

Here's the homework. You look at 3 things. First, the position they offer. Why did the previous guy leave? Second, the ceo. What sort of leader is he? The company culture (i.e. how people behave) is often a direct reflection of his personality. Third and most important, your new immediate boss. What sort of leader is he or she?

If you can't find answers to the ceo or the guy you're replacing, just vet your imediate boss. That's good enough. The reason is simple. If the company is full of crocodiles and if you are protected by the biggest crocodile of all (your immediate boss), then life is still bearable. But just so you know, even big crocodiles migrate to bigger rivers and leave you stranded. That's a risk you'll have to take.

Having managed talent before, I know that companies will vet you before they give you an offer. That's why we ask for references in your CV. Well, you have every right to vet them too. And I say you should. Your advantage is companies leave bigger tracks for you to find. Blogs and forums should make vetting a little easier.

One last point. Some of you might think beggars cant be choosers. You might even think you could go in and change the system to your liking. Or who knows, there might be a change in management. Yes it may happen. Or it may not. But here's the thing. No matter how the pieces move, you can't escape one fact. The number of unhappy employees out there far outnumber happy employees. If I was a betting man, I would bet on choosing the right battlefield to fight rather than go in hoping the enemy would somehow change his mind.

I do know that i'll be starting this new job next Jan 2009 if all goes well, as in their terms, conditions and job package/ benefits.
So once i pick up my offer letter next Mon, i'll be discussing ALOT with my parents and husband to whether this offer is worth going for (although we've talked about it before)... Goshie! My heart is seriously pumping crazily.. *wide smile*

Mooore thinks to do next week! And will surely update by next week if i'm up for this adventure or not! And reveal the country/ city i'll be posted in (though i'm sure most who'd followed my recent work posts may somewhat have guessed the location).

Today saw a pink envelope on my table when I got to office. First thought was, hmm unrecognisable handwriting. Is it some PR person?

Then i opened it and saw a note that was not signed off. 

And after unraveling the ton of paper, found a necklace.

But being very smart, I realised I know the seller of the necklace. So I called her and tried to find out who ordered it from her.

To no avail. Sigh. Customer privacy policy is overated.

How strange, why did the person order from someone I know if you don't want to reveal yourself? And why order from her??

So, whoever knows who is this mystery person - or if YOU are the mystery person - kindly raise your hand and let me know please. :)