What's That Smell?

Last Friday most of us moved desks to align with the new team assignments. It was only this morning that I noticed something different. There was a faint scent in the air, like stepping into a guy's bedroom! I was a bit bothered by it but since I was seated in a "central" location, then I just have to bear it.

I'm used to working with guys but at least our Pinoy men shower everyday and change into clean clothes everyday.  We do have a shower and I have noticed some of the guys using it coz you can smell them as they'd pass by. Across me sits a Russian, on my right is a Singaporean, across the floor are some Asians: Chinese, Japanese, Indian, a Canadian was seated at the end of our cube while the rest are Kiwis, a German, a South African and I don't know what else. Everyone has an accent so I feel ok not to carry the Kiwi accent. But regardless, I still have to deal with that certain smell in the air! And it's not even summer yet. Oh no!

But despite the distraction, I finally had the time to do some paperwork. I like working with Visio. I'm not really a big fan of PPT. There's just so many Smart Graphics that it makes me feel dumb coz I can't pick the right one for me. What a day it's been! No meetings and I had the whole day to myself! Bliss!

Tomorrow the meetings start again. Argh!

Anzac Biscuits

Marlene packing away some biscuits for me

It was a warm and sunny Saturday. I got my laundry done, and the dishes washed. I've dropped my docs to the post and still had time for afternoon tea with a friend. I brought some grapes with me so we can nibble on it while we chat. 

I guess if you're older you tend to focus on people more. Work I suppose didn't matter if you're 60. What matters to Marlene nowadays is the well-being of her friends. There's a house along View Road that was falling apart. An old man lived there and he didn't have electricity. The neighbor gives him food while a common friend checks in on him whenever she could. Marlene, bit teary-eyed, feels sorry for him and she said she didn't understand why he had to do that to himself. He's depressed and he's alone.

There's a commercial on TV that talks about a group that supports people who are depressed. Depression seems to be the biggest problem here. Kiwi attitude is a can-do attitude, independent and likes DIY things. So perhaps, when people grow old, they try their best to go about things as how they usually would. Their kids had moved and started a family of their own. But maybe not all children wants to look after their old folks. My clueless kababayans mock depression. They couldn't understand why most Kiwis are affected by it. I mean how could they. They're young, and have just started their adventure here as a migrant. They're probably too busy living their lives that they may have not even thought about their aging parents who're left back home. It's a big thing and I hate it when it's just being brushed aside by clueless folks.

So Marlene packed away some anzac biscuits that she made. She said it's time for her to do some baking anyway. Those were Al's favorite. Al just arrived while I was stepping out of the door. He had a pack of biscuits for Marlene. It looked like it had chocolate coating. Al drove his dingy to Charlie's. That boat had been sitting in their backyard for ages and he's only used it once, then fell over. He and Marlene were too busy working that they didn't find the time to take the boat out in the water. And time just passed away until it was too late for him. He suffered a stroke a few years ago and both he and Marlene are just living out their days in their lovely home along Waitake Road with their old dog.

I guess he was curious about how I was faring with my job. I told him that I was doing ok and was just trying to get used to the people that i work with. He did say that I shouldn't be affected or offended by how Kiwis talk. They sure like to use the word "rubbish" and say it roughly, pirate style. That's just them being Kiwi expressing themselves without a care on whether they sound offensive or not. So that's well noted.

I'm just glad to have spent the afternoon at Waitake and not in my room. I get so homesick being in this house.

Lunch and the Feeling of Isolation

It's the last day for one of my colleagues. He's moving to another company and is getting married. I noticed plenty of differences from how we do lunch with the team from back home. Of course we just walked for a couple of minutes to the restaurant. Most of them had beer. Nobody was carrying a camera and everyone was just chatting and being social. Nobody was on the phone. People started to eat as soon as their food came. It was lunch as usual and people did not linger in the restaurant for more than an hour. In fact, it was ok to leave early after finishing your meal. And since it's a farewell lunch, and not a company event even if it meant 90% of the R&D team being there, we had to pay for our own meal!

Lunch was ok though I did feel a bit tipsy since I was hungry when I had my wine. Food arrived a couple of minutes later. I was amidst people who just talked. I didn't feel like talking to them though I did say a few words. It was boring. I didn't think I was productive today since upon returning to the office, we had to move desks. By the time I was already settled in, 4:30pm was looming. I was sleepy and got this headache.

I had a conference call in the morning at 9am. When I returned to my desk, people began to disappear! I thought it was too early to be leaving for lunch, then I figured, maybe they all just went to the lounge. I checked and yes, everyone was there. It was a farewell speech and best wishes to our colleague. Now why didn't I know about this? Was it because I was I was in a meeting, talking to people in the US? It wasn't even in my calendar. I really felt disconnected that time. I have a unique role hence I need to push myself to people. This is the only way for them to know me and me to know them. They seem supportive but who knows how things are going to be like. I never felt so much like an outsider, the new girl. But I'm no longer the new person. Scott just started this week and a few others are starting this November. Oh well!

Office Induction

I had a full calendar on my first few days at work with the company induction program. I did find the chance to talk to my primary stakeholders. I restrained myself from charging into crisis-like cases. I have seen enough to be able to assess the state of the team. And I have concluded that there's still plenty of work left for me to do before I can be comfortable with things being BAU (business as usual).

First impressions: People are very helpful. whenever I'd ask somebody on where someone else sits, they'd stand up and take me directly to that person even if she's in the middle of work. This seems to be rather consistent with the folks there since I've been to the office a few times before.

Pinoy portfolio: There are three Filipinos in the company. One is my boss, who claimed that everyone else is scared of her during my interview. There's me on a management role. Then there's the Senior Test Analyst who pretty much just keeps to himself. I have felt the pressure on my job on my third day at work. Now I just need to strike a balance between meeting expectations without causing a rift on the relaxed Kiwi work environment.

The Social Scene: Yes I'm guilty. I have missed the pizza and drinks night of the social club last Thursday. Well, I do live far from the CBD and I don't have a car yet. Then I decided to skip Friday afternoon drinks at the lounge. I just hurried home just like of them since it was a long weekend. Not that I had to rush. I'll  take a peek next Friday.

Friendly Folks and Crazy Folks: I've got batman who helped setup UMC in my Outlook and in setting up my laptop to be able to access VPN. He's a kid and I guess he enjoys what he's doing as being part of IT support together with his mate. A man with a kind face and a built like Santa Claus approached me and introduced himself since he passes my cube everyday. A nice young lady with an interesting name "Ekta" spared a couple of minutes of her time talking to me. Then there's the overstressed Kiwi customer who's now based in the US. I guess it's difficult for a software engineer to transition into a customer-facing role as they seem to panic or get stressed easily with the demands of customers. I appreciated the effort of one of my stakeholders who approached me after her meeting so we can proceed with the induction. She's got a strong personality like my boss and somehow I think she's great. And the whole time I've been working closely with Dan who's accomplished a lot for the team and has been guiding me towards the ins and outs of one of my roles. He's very talented and I think he's on the right track and will go far. I have met a lot more not just face-to-face but on emails as well.

Short term goal: So the company may be smaller compared to those that I've worked with before but the environment is still similar. The work is somehow the same but of course, the organization is different. I will keep the engine running smoothly and figure out how else I can make things more efficient. And yes, I will do great!

My Daily Walks

 I now take the train to go to work everyday and just getting there, to and from the house takes about 20 minutes of walking.Plus an additional 11minutes of walk from the train station to the office. I took a few shots to share my scenic route which I find interesting. The walk helps me clear up my head from the pressures of work. And even if it's only been just a week for me, I know I've got plenty to think about already. Lotsa things needs to be sorted and customers need to be tamed.

So off from the platform is a quick walk up the path and on to the left, crossing the bridge towards the Oratia Stream Walk and Cycle path. I chose to use this route on a daily basis instead of following the main roads since it's more quiet and I'm less at risk of being run down by stray vehicles. Cars drive fast in these roads and I do see some crash marks in the roadside reflectors. It could be fatal if a pedestrian is caught in the middle of it.

I rarely chance upon people who use this path. Once or twice I did came across a cyclist running towards the opposite direction. At past six on a spring evening, the path is still bright as the sun won't be setting until around 8pm. The trees with their dancing branches are the ones who greet me everyday. Sometimes they cast a shadow, other times they send a silent howl. Sometimes I see a kid or two playing with their dog within their backyard. Yes, people do live inside those houses bu you can't tell from the path if they're there or not. It's weird but I do feel a sense of comfort when I see a homeowner mowing their lawn or trimming their bush. It feels sad sometimes whenever I pass by this path. I can't help but think about all this space around me. I can't help but think about how my kids would love to run around the same path. It'll be a delight to see them thrilled with the open space, running and stumbling and then standing up and running again. That's how I remember Max when he was younger during our walk along Riverbanks. This is a much better place for him. And knowing that Rose is now busy on her feet. I'm sure both of them would be thrilled.

Now this looks like a common bush with pink leaves and I have seen this in other houses too. I could've composed this photo better but it's windy and my fingers were getting numb. I did try to capture the contrast of those pink leaves against the usual greens. I like that the picture came out nice and soft, though it looks a bit overexposed.

Somewhere near the end of the walk are these benches. I saw an old man sitting in one of those benches previously. He did look like a bum but I thought it's nice that you can always opt to sit down, relax a bit before you head on to the remaining 10 minutes of your walk. The path forks as you approach this part. I turn right to where the Millbrook Garden is, towards the exit to Millbrook Road.

Crossing the very busy Millbrook Road isn't easy but it should be safe because kids cross this road everyday to get to school. The Sunnyvale school sign tells me that I'm almost home which is great coz that means I'm just a few more minutes away. There is also another entrance from along Awaroa road but this is closer to the Oratia exit. And the view from here is great as you walk up towards the school. You're lead to a wide opening with a lovely grassy hill on the left. Sunnyvale Primary School is painted yellow and you know that it's for kids because of the artwork displayed on classroom windows. The pathways are open to the public and I did see some signs saying that the premises have security. And that there's a neighborhood watch around the place too.

Now after I cross the school grounds, I then exit towards Ribblesdale Road. I find the houses here as big and they usually have a few cars parked outside. It's the barn-type looking green house over on the left side of the road that caught my attention here. That isn't common in terms of architectural design but I guess the owner did a great job in maximizing their small space. I do see my neighbors here especially on weekends. One of the houses n the right loves to play loud music on a Sunday morning. And you do see people & kids hanging around on the deck. At the end of this road is View Road, and just a minute from the corner is the dairy and just across it, is our house.

Meeting Marlene

After mass, an old lady picked up a mail that may have been blown off by the wind. We were standing across no. 45 and the mail was for no. 21. It's a bit off our way so she just placed the envelope in the mailbox right next to her. She sounds Filipina and when I asked, she is. Her name's Marlene, short for Maria Elena and she lives along Waitaki. We had a bit of a chat right there on the corner of James Laurie and View Road. It was getting cold just standing there so I decided to walk her to her street. She invited me in for tea as soon as we reached her house. So I thought, why not?

Her husband is Alan Evans and both are senior citizens. Alan's a Kiwi and is just about my father's age while Marlene just turned 60. She is from Iloilo. They have a 14 year old dog who kept barking since I stepped in. Their house, as she warned, smelled a bit like their dog. She has a wild garden, and she says that it's better to have flowers that tend to themselves. She's not getting any younger. She offered me coffee, while she and Alan had tea. It came with some homemade cookies.

We talked about everyday things, about how her brother has come down with a kidney disease, and how her sister turned out to be anemic. Her concerns were centered around health which she admits is something that you're likely to get used to as age starts to creep in. In between she'd ask how many teaspoons of coffee, or sugar, and if I'd like some milk with that. I shared a bit about myself too and on how I'm still new to the place. She talked about her neighbors like how that young family across the street often goes out every weekend. Maybe they have itchy feet she says. She told me about how they brought a friend who lives on the same road to the hospital since she has breast cancer. She's still very careful with her comments and I guess that's the best approach to be able to get along well with others. She'd often say that well, to each his own.

Marlene has silver hair. She told me that she's the only Pinay around here, or at least from those that she knows, who doesn't dye her hair. She has allergies and she'd rather not put herself at risk with hair dye. She also tells me how she's willing to pay a little extra for sugar-free and saltless dry goods. She came here to NZ when she was about to turn 37, back in 1989. Her political views are still left with the Aquino - Marcos era. She didn't tell people that she was pro-Aquino when she arrived here coz there might be Marcos loyalists who moved here too.

It's also quite rare for me to find people who's never used the computer before. They don't have a computer and they only use a mobile phone for emergency. They still are the type who would ring people at home. She had to convince her husband to get themselves a microwave. Her life nowadays seemed to be centered on their dog, the tooks (chicken) which still lays some eggs for them, the pigeons, and neighbor's cats which she feeds, and her garden. They ran a business for a while, plastering, and she used to work at Rustan's doing accounting work I think. I didn't ask for those info. She just shared things with me as I have with her. It's not the first time that I've had a casual conversation with an older folk. Yes they have their views but they too are very open to hear your side of things. It's different when I talk to people who are younger or is within my age group. They usually find it compelling to have an opinion or a say in the matter. I guess I'm like that myself sometimes and I just couldn't help it. So does age make you go step back a bit, and this time, keep quiet and just really listen? Or maybe I myself am getting older. We exchanged numbers and here's another person in my very short list that I look forward to visiting again with hubby and the kids.

Getting Job Offers after 8 Weeks

Since I arrived about 8 weeks ago, I spent at least 8 hours a day working on my applications. This includes customizing my CV and cover letters to fit the job, calling recruiters and HR, searching and registering at LinkedIn, Seek, the careers section of the company website, TradeMe, emailing new acquaintances and googling. I've attended migrants seminars and I did went out a bit to introduce myself to people. I stayed in touch with fellow new migrants via email. I could've slacked a bit especially during my first few weeks of arrival here. I got a very tempting offer for a free 3-day vacation trip just outside Auckland. I get regular invites to chill out time with my friends here which I welcomed whenever I finish my business at the city just so I maximize my long trip to the city. But of course I had to keep focused so oftentimes I had to decline those which seemed to me like distractions and unnecessary expense.

Determination and Focus is key

When you attend seminars for migrants, they'd often encourage you to volunteer so you can get that local experience that some employers are looking for. Recruiters on the other hand can present you with contractual roles which are definitely worth thinking about especially if you're running out of funds. I'm fortunate to have been presented with these opportunities even if I didn't pursue them. The volunteer work meant shelling out money for me because the location is too far and that the honorarium of $7 a day is not enough to cover my transport cost. The contractual role could've been great if it was presented to me a month ago wherein there weren't any progress with my applications. It was just a week's contract and the expected return is perhaps enough to sustain me for the next two months. The recruiters are a big help in terms of presenting you with opportunities that aren't advertised yet. They'd help you work with your CV and will give you all the support needed to help you prepare for that interview. I did see how they get to push employers to act fast to speed up the recruitment process. Internal HRs does work slow and it does help if you push your way forward so that they'd notice you or at least give you feedback on the status of your application. It did help that I copied the hiring manager when I asked for a follow up. I got the feedback that I needed almost instantly.


For the past week, I've been working on 4 job applications that progressed to interviews almost at the same time. I managed to squeeze three interviews in a day. These series of interviews actually helped me gain more confidence and also helped me practice in giving effective answers during the interview. I then progressed from the first to the second interview up to the verbal job offers in less than a week.

At this point, I have already withdrawn my applications from the other two and I will be giving my acceptance and decline to the remaining two employers this Monday. It's been quite a ride and I definitely look forward to starting out again in the employment scene.