all moved in! feels great to finally be here...the place is already more than i expected. i guess all the blood, sweat and tears that went into finding the apartment really has paid off. i can't explain it, but this place just feels like a better 'fit' than our last place. my only complaint is that we haven't been able to take advantage of the pool just yet, but that's the weather's fault. of course, today it's finally stopped raining and it's sunny, but the pool is closed on monday's. oh well, lots of time to get my swim on.
alongside the move and all these other changes are some personal one's as well. i've decided that it's time to really start taking better care of myself physically. we have a gym downstairs and i've already begun on the path to good health. been looking into workout routines and that starts today after work.i've also decided that i'm going to start cooking more, getting back into eating healthier and knowing what i'm putting into my body. this means giving up fast food and actually going grocery shopping. that part of the plan started on saturday...i already feel better but this might just be in my head.
i'm also going to ease up on the drinking as that has been the major theme over the last couple months on the weekends. just feeling lazy and feel like i'm missing out on life sometimes when i spend half of my sunday sleeping it off. of course, it's fun to go out on the social scene, but it's definitely time to change things up with some more activities other than raising a glass to my mouth several times.
on a different note, i've also decided it's time to challenge myself. i need to learn some more chinese, get back into photo/design and get serious about some career goals. i've got a lot of hours this summer, but when it's done i need to get some more writing happening, or go back to school part-time. it's not that i hate teaching, but i have to say that i really don't like teaching children at buxiban. just not my style and i find myself dreading work. it's been the same story before, only this time as it's my 2nd time doing it, a lot of the old irritations have reared their heads a lot sooner. for my sanity and what's left of my patience, i need to get out of teaching children and start doing what i want to do.
on a wholly different note (and just to see if i could do it) i've given up facebook for seven days. what's the big deal you may ask? well, i realized the other day just how much i actually log on to facebook and am trying to remind myself what the world was like beforehand. i'm on day 3 and not suffering any major withdrawal symptoms which tells me that i really don't have a problem....however, it is amazing how much facebook has become a part of my daily routine. when stopped at a traffic light, my first instinct is to go for my mobile and see what's happening in my news feed. i still have 4 days left and really have no worries about keeping my promise to myself. plus, i always have twitter to tide me over.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
for sale: a slightly-used life, but still got some miles to go yet! friendly, outgoing personality, sense of humour, polite - someone you'd introduce to your parents...bit of a talker with tendency to sidebar without segue....body a 'fixer-upper' for anyone interested putting in the work. life also includes mediocre job complete with low wage and crap hours. $1000 o.b.o. will also consider interesting trades.
i've decided that i need to go back to taiwan. the reasons are largely financial, with some of the blame being shifted onto professional growth and making just a tiiiiiiny bit of room for adventure. as soon as i came to this realization i really did feel a giant weight lifting off of my shoulders (as cliched as that sounds) now as i write i guess i've really never stopped thinking about how good life was while we were there, why we left, why we weren't going to go back, blah, blah, blah but i really should have just come to the conclusion of going back sooner rather than later.
the plan is to save, save, save...that also happened to be the plan before, but we opted for fun more than saving last time. this time i know that it will be different as i know awaits me here at home and it ain't pretty. it's not that i can't take life here....settling down actually sounds alright but i just can't see that happening on my current wage of $1300/month. back at our old salaries, we would be able to survive, pay all bills back home, and still save a a third of what we'd make.
overall, the improvements to life would be significant, if not downright vast....we'd be back in a city we love (albeit noisy & dirty at times) we'd be able to shop for things again (yah stuff!) we could eat excellent, cheap food and take excellent, cheap holidays as well. while there are arguments on the other side of the pro's (aren't there always?) lest we forget the retraining and improvement of chinese language skills, with the possibility of attending university to study graphic art? who knows. elisha has also considered doing her masters in education which would definitely help when she gets home.
more money, cheaper, improved lifestyle, more travel, cultural experiences around every corner, the promise of a brighter tomorrow....what can't this change do for us? considering this is the first blog i've written in this haphazardly-updated blog in a while that contains any enthusiasm whatsoever, i'd also have to say it would improve the quality of writing and pique my creativity.
the one and only thing that could darken our decision is the way we are going to finance our new life abroad. the family is planning our reception for this summer, so we expect to receive some wedding money. not really expecting anything, but it would definitely give us our start-up capital and allow us to advance these plans to this summer. the question then is how you look at the situation. the money will be given to us to spend as a couple in order to start our lives together. the traditional way of thinking assumes that the monies will be spent on household items, not international travel. some might think it rude to claim the money under the pretense of starting a life, only to abandon said "life" a few short weeks later. some may even think of asking for a refund.
then again, some may have a different outlook. the positive way of thinking about it is to remain neutral. once the money is given, the couple should be able to do whatever they want with it, irregardless of what that want is.
the last stance on the issue is also favourable but will take into consideration initial shock at hearing of how the wedding money was spent. after that first bit of surprise, understanding will take place as the person will realize that the cash was an extremely helpful tool to invest in our future (plane tickets) which we will then be able to increase that money. after that, we'll come back with the means to realize some dreams.
i've decided that i need to go back to taiwan. the reasons are largely financial, with some of the blame being shifted onto professional growth and making just a tiiiiiiny bit of room for adventure. as soon as i came to this realization i really did feel a giant weight lifting off of my shoulders (as cliched as that sounds) now as i write i guess i've really never stopped thinking about how good life was while we were there, why we left, why we weren't going to go back, blah, blah, blah but i really should have just come to the conclusion of going back sooner rather than later.
the plan is to save, save, save...that also happened to be the plan before, but we opted for fun more than saving last time. this time i know that it will be different as i know awaits me here at home and it ain't pretty. it's not that i can't take life here....settling down actually sounds alright but i just can't see that happening on my current wage of $1300/month. back at our old salaries, we would be able to survive, pay all bills back home, and still save a a third of what we'd make.
overall, the improvements to life would be significant, if not downright vast....we'd be back in a city we love (albeit noisy & dirty at times) we'd be able to shop for things again (yah stuff!) we could eat excellent, cheap food and take excellent, cheap holidays as well. while there are arguments on the other side of the pro's (aren't there always?) lest we forget the retraining and improvement of chinese language skills, with the possibility of attending university to study graphic art? who knows. elisha has also considered doing her masters in education which would definitely help when she gets home.
more money, cheaper, improved lifestyle, more travel, cultural experiences around every corner, the promise of a brighter tomorrow....what can't this change do for us? considering this is the first blog i've written in this haphazardly-updated blog in a while that contains any enthusiasm whatsoever, i'd also have to say it would improve the quality of writing and pique my creativity.
the one and only thing that could darken our decision is the way we are going to finance our new life abroad. the family is planning our reception for this summer, so we expect to receive some wedding money. not really expecting anything, but it would definitely give us our start-up capital and allow us to advance these plans to this summer. the question then is how you look at the situation. the money will be given to us to spend as a couple in order to start our lives together. the traditional way of thinking assumes that the monies will be spent on household items, not international travel. some might think it rude to claim the money under the pretense of starting a life, only to abandon said "life" a few short weeks later. some may even think of asking for a refund.
then again, some may have a different outlook. the positive way of thinking about it is to remain neutral. once the money is given, the couple should be able to do whatever they want with it, irregardless of what that want is.
the last stance on the issue is also favourable but will take into consideration initial shock at hearing of how the wedding money was spent. after that first bit of surprise, understanding will take place as the person will realize that the cash was an extremely helpful tool to invest in our future (plane tickets) which we will then be able to increase that money. after that, we'll come back with the means to realize some dreams.
Monday, December 8, 2008
dressed for success
the christmas season is in full-swing and no where else is it felt more than in retail. lots of people shopping and asking questions, staff to train and trying to get all the usual stuff done is tricky, but you have to roll with punches. the last two weeks in particular have been busy and a tad stressful, but i'm coping and keeping up with the challenges in this new position. in fact ( at the risk of tooting my own horn here) i think i'm actually excelling at the job. things are organized, getting done and running smoothly. i've been given more responsibility and have risen to the occassion, leaving little room for criticism. that said, there is one thing that i seem to do wrong and that had to do with the way i dress.
work has a dress code which is as follows: black, blue or white shirt paired with tan, black, or navy pants and black or brown shoes. while most days, i follow this code there are a few days that i haven't been exactly up to code. what i mean by that is i have chosen to wear a shirt that doesn't fit (dark grey) or i've worn a sweater which could technically slip through but depending on the mood of the manager that day, doesn't.
this is extremely frustrating to me as it really feels like because i can and do a good job at work, the only thing that management can come down on me for is what i'm wearing? how does that actually affect my job performance? in truth, i take pride in my appearance and attempt to dress up for work as much as possible. I have always been a firm believer in dressing for the occassion...collared shirts feel comfortable and professional to me, so what does it matter if they aren't black, white or navy? the vest i wear over top of the shirt clearly denotes the fact of where i work, so what's the big deal? i could see if i was wearing running shoes, ripped pants, or jeans or something but when the laundry hasn't been done and i've chosen a shirt which is technically a shade of one of the approved colours for one day, do i really need to be told about it?
i think what it boils down to is jealousy. again, i sound a little conceited here but what else could it be? by not staying in dress-code do they think i am better than they are? i don't (just for the record) but like i stated earlier, i take pride in my appearance and want to project a professional image. some of the choices in work attire from my fellow colleagues should be discouraged, if not downright outlawed. i'm sorry, but unless you work in a factory somewhere you should never wear a mock turtleneck for a day at work.
i know it might seem petty, but would it be satisfying to quit a job just because you frustrated over the the fashion? likely not, but everyone has to draw a line in the sand some where.
work has a dress code which is as follows: black, blue or white shirt paired with tan, black, or navy pants and black or brown shoes. while most days, i follow this code there are a few days that i haven't been exactly up to code. what i mean by that is i have chosen to wear a shirt that doesn't fit (dark grey) or i've worn a sweater which could technically slip through but depending on the mood of the manager that day, doesn't.
this is extremely frustrating to me as it really feels like because i can and do a good job at work, the only thing that management can come down on me for is what i'm wearing? how does that actually affect my job performance? in truth, i take pride in my appearance and attempt to dress up for work as much as possible. I have always been a firm believer in dressing for the occassion...collared shirts feel comfortable and professional to me, so what does it matter if they aren't black, white or navy? the vest i wear over top of the shirt clearly denotes the fact of where i work, so what's the big deal? i could see if i was wearing running shoes, ripped pants, or jeans or something but when the laundry hasn't been done and i've chosen a shirt which is technically a shade of one of the approved colours for one day, do i really need to be told about it?
i think what it boils down to is jealousy. again, i sound a little conceited here but what else could it be? by not staying in dress-code do they think i am better than they are? i don't (just for the record) but like i stated earlier, i take pride in my appearance and want to project a professional image. some of the choices in work attire from my fellow colleagues should be discouraged, if not downright outlawed. i'm sorry, but unless you work in a factory somewhere you should never wear a mock turtleneck for a day at work.
i know it might seem petty, but would it be satisfying to quit a job just because you frustrated over the the fashion? likely not, but everyone has to draw a line in the sand some where.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
can anyone spell I-R-O-N-Y ?
about 100 times a day or more i get to finish up a transaction by helping a customer decide which way to swipe their debit card in the machine (aka PoS pad) the thing is, on the device itself it shows a helpful little diagram of which way the card faces, but even that might be a little complicated for some. what's even more mindboggling is that in addition to the diagram, there is also instructions in clear, concise, bold-faced letters which state 'STRIPE FACES CASHIER'.
maybe people who can't read a simple sentence shouldn't be shopping at a book store and buying a big book full of sentences....baby steps consumers, baby steps.
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