Queen Amidala fights Palpatine in the board room.

You have witnessed yet another "shooting star wars" episode unfold in the board room. This time, Queen Amidala fires first at Palpatine, Skywalker backs her up, like he was employed solely for that reason. Palpatine pulls out his killer statistics and fights back. Yoda finally steps in with his wise words, "Guys, let's look at what finance got to say." Silence restored, yet nothing gets done. During lunch, Skywalker actually goes up to Palpatine saying, "Did you watch last night's match? Wah lau, Man U ah..." Somehow, the earlier shooting session was erased from their brain. Peace restored(looks like). THE END.

As any budding young white collar, you must have wondered, "Why these idiots act like that?" The marvel here is that they don't just act upon something, they really act "acting upon something". "Do you really need to wear a mask to get on top?" was the common question here.

I was reading a biography on Confucius and realized that he at his time, which was 551 B.C.E., he too felt that the world was corrupted and full of selfish scheming people. The great Chinese philosopher of all times, he too wondered if people has to be scheming in order to survive. So who are we to have figured it out? My point is like it or not, things are gonna stay like this till God knows when. May I suggest my solution: wear your breathable mask and start learning how to dodge flying daggers. In short, "black & white" and "cc" are your best friends.

Be different.

Stand out from the crowd in your work place. Be daring and unconventional. Be different, but thinking.

The irony here is that people nowadays no longer fancy winning triumph over difficult times. They don't have time to listen to their all inspiring stories. They like mindless cheap thrills like Paris Hilton or bitchy fights that makes them feel smarter themselves. Foolish.

No Paris Hilton for me when it comes to career, unless you really got some substance to flaunt your stuff after a foolish public display. But to a certain degree, I do agree with being unconventional to leave a mark, even if it means that you need to bring the message across loudly. And as I was writing this, a phrase from the book "Marley & Me" pops up, guess it's worth sharing. Here goes: "He was the undisciplined, recalcitrant, non conformist, politically incorrect free spirit I had always wanted to be, had I been brave enough, and I took vicarious joy in his unbridled value. "

Think about it, what turns Marley into a winning novel then to a movie? It's that unusual hyperactive spirit in it and the wonderful lessons that it has taught its owners. Something so different that the publishers and movie makers believe that there is monetary value attached to it.

I guess we can do a little Marley trick in our career yeah? A little different from the rest, in a sensible way, of course. So start searching on what you want for your own branding and start reading to broaden your horizon to gain that perspective. I'm not saying that it's a sure thing, but different perspective means no harm right, you never know if it will make you one day.

CongratuIations, I got a new job. Now what?

Finally, I have accomplished the goal of all job seekers. I got a job. But like any hungry young 25 years old, I reckon that I should be looking at how the walk in my career path be like.

I chanced upon this career book that talks about building a branding for yourself in the course of your career. Say when I mention the name "Richard Brandson", you would associate him with the words, "daring, unconventional"; or when I mention the name "Lee Kuan Yew", you would associate him with the words, "intellectual, strategist". So what should be the adjectives of yours?

Perhaps we are all too young to have a distinct branding that revolves ourselves. My point is we should be looking deep within us to unearth what talents and interest we have got and start to plan on how we should develop those talents and interest, and work real damn hard and turns it into something that spells you, uniquely you. Store all those ammunition and when its time to shine, SHINE ON.

Call me paranoid, but at present times, who knows if we would be hit by the next recession or maybe at our 40s. Like it or not, chances of us getting hit by a retrenchment is too high to miss.

Gonna do something right? Think about it.

Celebration Dinner with Dixie

God . Dixie. Bf . Celebrating for my new job .

Celebration Breakfast with Dixie

I headed down to Coffee Bean for a celebration breakfast after signing the employment letter. I actually ordered the most expensive breakfast. Haha. No less for the winning mama!

Mum, Dad, I got the job!

"If the height of my jump indicates the level of happiness I am feeling, I guess I will hit the moon. "

FINALLY. After 6 months of ups and downs, I finally accepted a job offer. It was not my dream job that I was dying to have, but it did offer a fair amount of exposure within the realms of marketing. The managers seem just and looks like know their stuff, *fingers crossed* coz' they are ladies.

Having gone through for what seemed like forever, I have finally come to the end of the tunnel!
I have always imagined that I would enter into a "bouncy" mode when the day finally comes; but no, it wasn't like that. There was no "yeah", no "top of the world" feeling; in fact, I was like "You sure this is the right one for me?".

But the message sank in a little later, "Damn, I got a pretty good offer. I'm onto a new chapter. No more dragging my feet to work and bye to all you suckers at my current firm!" And suddenly, I swear it was really suddenly, there was this near-supernatural burst of adrenaline. BANG! The long lost grin was back! It was like the song, "I'm walking on sunshine wooohoooo,"
I bet I must have been grinning all along on my train ride while text messaging my friends on the uplifting news. It was a moment of triumph. The light has finally won the darkness.Perhaps it was the long grueling job search that made the moment all the more worth celebrating. Dixie is finally moving ahead!!!

P.S. To all out there, hang in there. I know you must have heard it from everyone else, but true enough, the triumph day will come. Keep sending those resumes.

We should never lose it.

I chanced upon the book "Marley & Me" in the library, and since I needed some "mindless reading", it was a good solution.

The story goes on about how an average family brought up a hyperactive eccentric dog that would create a "murder scene" in split seconds when left alone. It was a heart warming story and I ended up crying in a cafe, subtly, but long enough for others to notice.
Sucker. Its like my tear duct has this uncontrollable mind of its own.

Anyway, here's what I inspired me in the book that we should never let lose it.

"Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance & joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things--- a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew older and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly he taught me about friendship & selflessness and above all else, unwavering loyalty."

Sunset or Dawn? Fruitless or Fruitful?

Since this blog is about encouraging all the job hunters out there. I reckon some “self-help” books would help.

About 2.5 years ago, I had my first job hunt experience. And during one of my darkest job hunting moments back then, I happen to come across the self help book “What color is your parachute?” I made myself visit the library every morning to read at the study area, taking down notes whenever it inspires me.

Today, I’m on my second job hunt spree again and till today the “Flea Trainer” concept fr the book still lingers in my mind. Actually, that was the only thing from the book that lingers still.

Flea Trainer.

Fleas are known to be the best jumper in the world. They can jump 220 times their own body length and 150 times their own body height. They are longest and highest jumper among animals compared to body size.

If you place them in a bottle with a lid on, the fleas will jump and hit the lid. If you remove the lid within a day or two, the flea will jump & get itself out of the jar without any difficulty. But the interesting thing happens when you remove the lid a few weeks later, you will realized that the fleas were only able to jump to the lid level. This is “conditioning”. The fleas by now think that all attempts to jump higher than the lid level is fruitless, hence they start practicing to jump just high enough before reaching the lid.

So to all out there, get your act together. There is no point in being a flea. We must all be a flea trainer. Training the fleas to get out even after the “conditioning” effect, after all, the temporary lid can really be removed.

Rest & Recharge, fellas.

Special thanks to Tze Ming for the great photos. Super cool!