meaningful unemployment

it has been almost 6 months since i left my previous company. i will start work next week. looking back, i am glad to have spend time well catching up with myself, consolidating a lot of things, as well as catching up with with family and friends, many of whom i had not been able to catch up for a long while. it was indeed a good break. 

this week is my final one before i start work. and since i got the offer, i have been inundated with many calls asking time for lunch, tea, dinner etc... and it seemed like suddenly i do not have enough time for myself and people around me. and coincidentally, my supervisor in the university also called me up again asking me to meet up for lunch. and knowing that there is no such thing as a free lunch, i was sure his intention was to get me to conduct lessons for him again cos the new academic semester for his masters course would be starting soon. i told myself i needed to prioritize.

and gladly, i think i managed to do this part relatively well. there were 3 priorities for me this week. firstly, i need to give thanks and show appreciation to those who matter, to spend time with bee and to spend time with mum. so, i bought the friend who gave me the connections to get this job a lunch on monday. i thought this was most important and necessary. we need to forever remember to give thanks for people who help us. secondly, i made time for bee and for mum. for bee, we have not gone for a break since our perth trip in jul 2009 before i left service and i felt it is very important to spend good time with him. but things did not turn out well as he came faced with some difficulties at home last minute. nonetheless, we managed to spend a day out together yesterday. as for mum, i wanted to create something meaningful for her. i had originally planned to bring her to kl/ ipoh. but this did not materialize for all sorts of reasons. nonetheless, i am not too disappointed. i will still be able to make this weekend a meaningful one for her as we (together with my brother and his family) will head to the columbarium to pay respect to my grandparents and dad as part of this year's 清明 observance.

other than that, every other appointments can wait.

many have asked me if i am excited about heading back to work. frankly, i don't know. on one hand, i can say i am not really excited per se cos it means an end to my carefree lifestyle, one that i have gotten used to somewhat over time. from this angle, going back to work is quite a chore. yet, i know i have to given the practicality of life. after all, i need to bring food to the table and as it stands, if i do not start work, i will have to start borrowing monies to sustain my livelihood. on the other hand, i am a little anxious about it given the fact that it is the first time i will be working in a corporate environment, and that i will not have many subordinates (actually only one) per se. but well... things will come. like it or not, i will start work next week. and yes, all things said and done, i look forward to it.

:-)

picture from http://www.hartlandmassage.com