Second round of layoff happened today. Well, not that it wasn’t expected, but just everything happened so soon.
30% layoff announced, 18 people will need to leave at the end of the month, just before Chinese New Year. Some are good friends, and some which have worked together for many years.
Maybe I should be happy that my name isn’t mentioned, then again, remain at this company isn’t going to make me happy either.
Who knows when will there be a third round of layoff?
First day back from honeymoon, and company announced immediate layoff of 15% of employees.
A few of my colleagues, some are even good friends, were among the list. They had to pack and leave within 30 minutes from receiving the notice.
At that moment, for no reason, I hoped that I could be on the list. I mean why not? I get compensation for up to 4 months, and I hate my current job anyway.
Then again, what would my parents say if this does happen?
I was told there might be a second round of laying offs. Maybe I will be in the list then?
Back in my hotel room, at a rather less populated area near Tokyo called Ochanomizu, I noticed the Internet speed here was rather fast.
First I thought it was the new Google Chrome browser which made the difference. Then I noticed BT was working silently in the background. I opened it up and these were the figures at the time:
I have been using dial up back in Taiwan? This speed is incredible! The upload speed is faster than my average download speed in Taiwan, it’s just amazing.
This 2gb file suddenly finished downloading in a mere 15 minutes. Looks like I have something else to do tonight.
This morning boss came looking for me and informed me this:
You have been reassigned to another department.
The notice came very suddenly, and I was indeed surprised by the decision. Not that it wasn’t expected, but I just didn’t know the decision would be made so soon.
The change was a top-down decision, by big boss obviously. Boss told me it is a good thing, it is like a small promotion, but somehow I just cannot feel it. All I can see is more stress and more overtime work, and I do not see any additional benefits such as pay increase.
So here, I will be leaving the team that worked with me so closely for the last four years, and its hard not to feel sad. Not that I do not want to move on, but I just did not have much of a choice.
The only good thing I see in this change is challenge, and learn new things. I like challenge, but at least inform me earlier so I could get prepared!
A lot of changes are happening to me. Getting a car, getting married, and now new department and new objectives. Everything just seem so new to me.
Then again, I just hope everything can move on just fine.
I am referring to salary increase.
I guess I worked hard enough to get this increase, but I won’t say how much increase though ;).
Suddenly I don’t find taking days off anything to be happy about.
After spending three days in Hong Kong, what I got in return was a two full weeks of overtime work. I could not believe just how many things just became pending after only two days away from work!! First was 350 unread emails, then about 10 unanswered calls, and different people came looking for me first day back in office.
I still have more than 20 days of paid holiday this year, and it really makes me think twice if I should take them.
I found out my bonus today.
I never expect myself to get much. Like always, if I expect too much, I can get more disappointed too.
My boss wrote this number on my notepad. This one solitary number, I was like, whoa!!
More than last year, and more than what I expected. Considering how bad the company did last year, I couldn’t ask for more.
I am going to have a very happy Chinese New Year.
Maybe I shouldn’t include the exclamation mark, because I am not exactly excited at getting this phone.
It was in fact, free. I got it from a draw at yesterday’s annual appreciation dinner.
A BenQ T51. What a piece of shit phone.
Well, better than nothing. I think the first thing I do when I get my hands on it is to sell it.
I am back from Turkey.
It was fun walking under the snow.
Ten below zero in Ankara, under the snow, outside the hotel entrance, I had a quick reflection of my life over the last three years.
Sometimes, coming out of a meeting with some potential customers, whether I was in Bangkok, Hanoi, Manila, Sydney or Istanbul, I would catch my reflection in the elevator doors, in a shirt, and a briefcase in hand. In a blink of a second, I would imagine myself as leader of this industry, shouting out orders, closing the deals, before I remembered who it was that I really wanted myself to be.
People often say, Why Simply Win When You Can Dominate?
I don’t want to just be better than someone, I want to be the best as who I can be.
I am happy to be back in Taipei.
I was told at this time of the year, Turkey is cold.
While I was packing my stuff, I asked myself, just how cold?
Therefore, I checked The Weather Channel, and this is what it tells me.
Istanbul
Ankara
This is really really cold. Much colder than Taipei, and even Melbourne too. Istanbul might be OK, but Ankara is really going to kill me.
I really don’t feel like going anymore.