Downtime

Tengga na naman but I am not complaining. May mga pagkakataon talaga na magbibilang ka na lang ng oras. At meron naman panahon na nasa bahay ka na or kagigising mo pa lang, sumasagot ka na sa email or tawag ng mga tao. Depende yan sa kung nasaang phase na kami sa project.
Masaya ako kapag ganitong nakakapahinga ako, kasi I use this time to do personal things like doing research on my trade, finding the best deal for items that we've been planning to purchase, and most importantly, reviewing/ figuring out how to make the most of what we have and hopefully, to pay off our remaining debts.

Sabi nga ng kaibigan kong PM/BA na nagtatrabaho sa isang NGO, dito lang sa malapit sa opisina namin, kaya nga lumipat ka dito sa NZ kasi ayaw mo nang mangarag sa trabaho. Actually, hindi ko naman alam na ganito ka-laid back ang trabaho dito. Kailangan talagang makipagay ka at sabayan mo lang ang pacing nila. Otherwise, they'd get stressed and will complain kasi di nila kayang sabayan ang effort mo. I think dahil sa Pinas na ako tumanda, it does take a lot of effort to de-couple old habits. Basta conscious ka lang sa culture sa workplace, I think you're going to be fine.

Milestone today: Jogging during lunch

I finally had the guts to put on my running clothes and sample the route that I surveyed last week at the Domain. I'm definitely out of shape coz it only took 10 minutes for me to start panting. I had to walk every now and then. It's sunny and the heat (at 23C) was a bit too much for me. Maybe I need to get used to it but I don't know how without putting myself at risk of having another migraine. So there I was panting, getting distracted with the trees, and the relaxing feeling whenever I go for a stroll there. I'm quite pleased to be this close to the Domain. My entire work life was often situated in commercial areas, where a building sits next to another building. And where the only sign of nature are the potted plants or the "fake" trees that were planted in commercial spaces just so it would look nice. Here you know that the trees has been around for a while and that buildings were erected around it. I actually enjoy taking walks around the neighborhood, or all the way to the Domain during lunch break as it helps me clear my thoughts and pump some blood into my system. Can't help but feel grateful for having this as a daily experience.

http://walksinauckland.com/auckland-domain-museum/

Farewell Morning Tea

There seems to be a steady stream of people leaving the company that I currently work for since I started about two years ago. What I noticed is that leaving can be a bit awkward. Coz firstly, there's the morning tea where the team comes together for cake after a speech from the manager, and other people who would like to say something, and of course, from the person who is leaving. (It's a big team, about 60 or so). Then there's the social thing again wherein you would have to go around the desks, at least to the folks that you want to say good bye to before you actually leave the building. I think it's a very nice gesture but I just can't help feel a bit queasy as I'm obviously not the chit-chatty social butterfly. I've only been with a few companies and I do remember saying thank you and goodbye to my colleagues during my last day at work. I had a farewell merienda with my team from Trend Micro and the courtesies of saying adieu took me about two weeks as I had to go through each of the business units that I worked. It seemed simple back then. I wonder if it's just a culture thing.

Work and People

It's tough to be away from hubby and my two small kids. I'm already missing so much of my daughter's many firsts. She can already say Papa and No. And I think I heard her say Mommy yesterday over Skype. She just turned 1 when I left home and I really felt crushed when they couldn't make it for Christmas. Have received similar reactions when people find out about my situation, especially my colleagues. They're often surprised to find out that I have kids, and even more surprised when they find out that I'm away from them.

Over team lunch yesterday, I realized that the tenured folks are more comfortable with seeing and knowing management, and not having one who is overseas. And that they're not too comfortable with continuous change as it really shakes up their comfort level. I guess it's coz we work in a Kiwi-built company which was sold to a Canadian multinational with headquarters in the US. As with everything else here, it's a small and tight community with a strong provincial vibe. And this already being in Auckland, the financial capital, people are still laid back and moves at their own pace. They completely understand family time. I even moved schedules and resources around so people can leave early to attend school/ their kids' activities. In a way it's good that my manager understands this. She'd tell people that they should go attend to their kids otherwise the kid won't make you forget that you've missed that important event for the rest of your life. Hmm, I wonder what was it that she missed coz of work that made such an impact to one of her kids.

I've seen the personal side of people. The big old man had to rush early for a kids' birthday party. Once they go on leave or if it is a weekend, they're absolutely untouchable as people here respect time off. Non-work time is spent on fetching kids, attending school events, gardening, traveling or simply going on training for the next football season or the next marathon/ triathlon or what have you. Another one likes to carry his camera every time he goes out for lunch so he can shoot. There are those who come in on a motorbike, wearing a full suit and helmet. The Moms are hands on Moms and the Dads are hands on Dads. Having extended relatives to help with the kids are a luxury otherwise, smaller kids are left daycare while the bigger ones are ferried to and from school.

Work is just that, work. I see how personal time is valued here.

My version of a Work-Life Balance

Work is anything that concerns my current employer: inductions, interviews, meetings, calls, planning, presentations, negotiations, consultations, having a chat with colleagues or simply just settling in.

Life includes hosting friends on a Saturday, finding rental properties online after work and on weekends, arranging for property viewing and applying for tenancy, applying for a loan, working on INZ docs by arranging a few visits to the printer room, the JP and the post plus a few phone calls here and there, checking out clearance and on sale items, my weekly laundry and grocery shopping and of course, my daily chat and call from home.

Friday lunch:
Bacon potato salad and Veggie quiche at Columbus

It's been so overwhelming these past few weeks. I spend at least 1 hour everyday walking as part of my daily commute, on top of the daily 2 hour train ride. It can really be exhausting to juggle all these things, to be physically and mentally drained.

This is why I give in to little treats from time to time, ice cream after dinner and lunching out on a Friday. It's only during meals outside the office where I can really clear my head. And yet I still try to take advantage of the free paper in this coffee shop and at home to scour for home deals.

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!

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!