Long long update
Again, another while has passed from my last blog entry. I have no excuses except blaming the usual laziness. This time, quite a lot of things have happend in between, and it is down to how I can organize the happenings and deliver them in a proper, cohesive way.
August 2008. Visited a new country from a new continent
Actually, it was part of a longer trip that included 3 countries, of which one was new--France!! I finally stepped on Europe! Woohoo~~~
Aya and Laurent's wedding in France was the sweetest and warmest ceremony that I have attended so far. Seeing all their family relatives and friends that flew in from 10+ countries says it all, there's no need to emphasize how special the newlyweds are to us and how we wouldn't want to miss their wedding for the world!
It was lots of fun, too bad I couldn't stay there for long... I didn't even have the chance to see Paris! Eiffel tower... sniff sniff. But it's ok, I'm sure there will be other chances, I know it.
One very important lesson learned from the wedding: to ALWAYS get a wedding planner! No matter how ridiculous is the money they ask, just pay, so you have someone in charge of all the tedious details of a wedding. It will save a lot of time and trouble, really. Thanks to Laurent's mom, who did an amazing job planning all the details, the wedding incorporated all the right elements that accentuated the merger of both cultures.
The biggest thank you goes to A&L, for not only giving me the chance to visit Beijing, but also for helping me visit France and for meeting your wonderful families!
Another checkmark off my list =D
August-September. Finally visited Seattle!!
So I finally went back to Sea-town after 3 years. Gosh I missed the emerald city badly!
This time around, I had more reasons missing Seattle and was eager to go back because there is where my special person lives. I can't explain how thrilled I was for meeting my dear person in my dear city. =D
Meeting with old friend was another thing that I longed for and look forward to ever since graduation. This is the tearful part of having successful and/or international friends: upon graduation, they get scattered everywhere; and it's nearly impossible to gather everyone again. Sigh.
That's why it's so nice to see old pple, and knowing that they are doing great with their jobs/lives makes me even happier. Thanx to all of you who took time to join me for the evening! I hope I can visit you again! And perhaps stay a little bit longer in town...
Anyway, this visit to seattle was short. Way too short. But it did satisfy parts of my 3-yr craving: Jamba Juice, Eizel's chicken, Sephora, AE, Seattle seafood... I also tried new goodies like Red Mango, Dick's burgers (FINALLY!), and balsamic strawberry ice cream. Next time go in town, I have to stay for 1 whole week so I can enjoy the rest.
September-October. My entire team and I worked non-stop for a 2 day conference...
0830~2200 (normally later) on wkdays, plus 8+ hr OT on wknds, and extra working day on typhoon breaks. Marvellous. Bravo. The temporary office was located in the middle of cheap food paradise, we couldn't properly sit down and savor the food at all! Everyday, when it's around mealtime, each of us would receive a bento + drink on the desk. And without asking, without lifting our heads, we would naturally grab the bento, open it, and blindly shove large bites of food into our mouth. All this, was set in auto-pilot mode, and with our eyes still glued to the screen. The point was to not loose any second of time, because there was so much work to be done, so the earlier we finish the bento, the sooner we can get back to typing/calling/writing.
Luckily, after many hiccups and drama, the conference ended smoothly as planned. Apparently, the guests were pleased and our efforts have been acknowledged and accredited, but sadly, not that much response and appreciation from our direct bosses. Thanks a lot, you ungrateful bunch!
October. Brand new path
After staying in this job for almost 3 years, I figured it was about time to start something new. Now was the perfect timing to switch jobs as well! With the big conference over, I know the amount of contribution that I've input in the event and that my responsibilties can put to a stop after this. So I officially left TAITRA in October.
I didn't leave that place because my team was having the toughest time communicating externally; many factors were taking into consideration before I made my decision.
Pros: great team synergy between teammates, rich resources within the company, friendly co-workers, wide opportunities to be in touch with different tasks, chances to be stationed abroad.
Cons: team's unsure future path, lack of proper encouragement and/or reward system (from upper mgmt) to encourage team's spirit, strong corporate bureaucracy, weak voice to express negative situations, can't say no, top management constant empty promises.
When I handed my 30-day notice in, some told me "...it's a very stable job for a woman, you know? Do you want to re-consider it?" Their intentions were nice, but I was a bit pissed. Pissed for thinking that women are better suited for stable jobs, for thinking that I, being a woman, am suited for a stable job. I'm not looking forward to jumping off bridges or doing $1 trillion trade everyday, but it's only normal for people to face challenges for self-growth. And one the best timings to do such thing would be now, when I'm still young and driven, when I'm still at the beginning of my career path, when I don't have that much to loose yet.
The weekend after I quit TAITRA, I started the new job. I can't speak much of it right now because, well, it's more like a 1 person company in Taiwan at this moment. Maybe more updates can come up later once I get my training end of this month. So yup, I'm not longer a semi-governmental slave, but a corporate biatch. Show me the money! Muuahahaha~~~
August 2008. Visited a new country from a new continent
Actually, it was part of a longer trip that included 3 countries, of which one was new--France!! I finally stepped on Europe! Woohoo~~~
Aya and Laurent's wedding in France was the sweetest and warmest ceremony that I have attended so far. Seeing all their family relatives and friends that flew in from 10+ countries says it all, there's no need to emphasize how special the newlyweds are to us and how we wouldn't want to miss their wedding for the world!
It was lots of fun, too bad I couldn't stay there for long... I didn't even have the chance to see Paris! Eiffel tower... sniff sniff. But it's ok, I'm sure there will be other chances, I know it.
One very important lesson learned from the wedding: to ALWAYS get a wedding planner! No matter how ridiculous is the money they ask, just pay, so you have someone in charge of all the tedious details of a wedding. It will save a lot of time and trouble, really. Thanks to Laurent's mom, who did an amazing job planning all the details, the wedding incorporated all the right elements that accentuated the merger of both cultures.
The biggest thank you goes to A&L, for not only giving me the chance to visit Beijing, but also for helping me visit France and for meeting your wonderful families!
Another checkmark off my list =D
August-September. Finally visited Seattle!!
So I finally went back to Sea-town after 3 years. Gosh I missed the emerald city badly!
This time around, I had more reasons missing Seattle and was eager to go back because there is where my special person lives. I can't explain how thrilled I was for meeting my dear person in my dear city. =D
Meeting with old friend was another thing that I longed for and look forward to ever since graduation. This is the tearful part of having successful and/or international friends: upon graduation, they get scattered everywhere; and it's nearly impossible to gather everyone again. Sigh.
That's why it's so nice to see old pple, and knowing that they are doing great with their jobs/lives makes me even happier. Thanx to all of you who took time to join me for the evening! I hope I can visit you again! And perhaps stay a little bit longer in town...
Anyway, this visit to seattle was short. Way too short. But it did satisfy parts of my 3-yr craving: Jamba Juice, Eizel's chicken, Sephora, AE, Seattle seafood... I also tried new goodies like Red Mango, Dick's burgers (FINALLY!), and balsamic strawberry ice cream. Next time go in town, I have to stay for 1 whole week so I can enjoy the rest.
September-October. My entire team and I worked non-stop for a 2 day conference...
0830~2200 (normally later) on wkdays, plus 8+ hr OT on wknds, and extra working day on typhoon breaks. Marvellous. Bravo. The temporary office was located in the middle of cheap food paradise, we couldn't properly sit down and savor the food at all! Everyday, when it's around mealtime, each of us would receive a bento + drink on the desk. And without asking, without lifting our heads, we would naturally grab the bento, open it, and blindly shove large bites of food into our mouth. All this, was set in auto-pilot mode, and with our eyes still glued to the screen. The point was to not loose any second of time, because there was so much work to be done, so the earlier we finish the bento, the sooner we can get back to typing/calling/writing.
Luckily, after many hiccups and drama, the conference ended smoothly as planned. Apparently, the guests were pleased and our efforts have been acknowledged and accredited, but sadly, not that much response and appreciation from our direct bosses. Thanks a lot, you ungrateful bunch!
October. Brand new path
After staying in this job for almost 3 years, I figured it was about time to start something new. Now was the perfect timing to switch jobs as well! With the big conference over, I know the amount of contribution that I've input in the event and that my responsibilties can put to a stop after this. So I officially left TAITRA in October.
I didn't leave that place because my team was having the toughest time communicating externally; many factors were taking into consideration before I made my decision.
Pros: great team synergy between teammates, rich resources within the company, friendly co-workers, wide opportunities to be in touch with different tasks, chances to be stationed abroad.
Cons: team's unsure future path, lack of proper encouragement and/or reward system (from upper mgmt) to encourage team's spirit, strong corporate bureaucracy, weak voice to express negative situations, can't say no, top management constant empty promises.
When I handed my 30-day notice in, some told me "...it's a very stable job for a woman, you know? Do you want to re-consider it?" Their intentions were nice, but I was a bit pissed. Pissed for thinking that women are better suited for stable jobs, for thinking that I, being a woman, am suited for a stable job. I'm not looking forward to jumping off bridges or doing $1 trillion trade everyday, but it's only normal for people to face challenges for self-growth. And one the best timings to do such thing would be now, when I'm still young and driven, when I'm still at the beginning of my career path, when I don't have that much to loose yet.
The weekend after I quit TAITRA, I started the new job. I can't speak much of it right now because, well, it's more like a 1 person company in Taiwan at this moment. Maybe more updates can come up later once I get my training end of this month. So yup, I'm not longer a semi-governmental slave, but a corporate biatch. Show me the money! Muuahahaha~~~
posted by nongi at 12:00 AM
3 Comments:
a corporate bitch? i´m gonna need more details on this new job.
and i am envious about all your trips! congrats :D
Good job!
Sounds like you did a lot in the past few months!
Shoot me an email if you're ever in the NY area.
ooo that's exciting! kudos to you for making the career change...sounds so...secret service/VC-like ;) it was good seeing you when you came to SEA; I'll be moving to SF end of year. You should come visit!
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