On Cloud 9

I went to the pantry just now, to make some coffee. It was 5 pm... my
coffee break time.

When I was stirring my coffee, the unit head of the CMS department passed
by. She stopped the moment she saw me and she smiled at me. Well, actually
during my tenure in this company, I only talk to this unit head maybe less
than 10 times. Most of the time, we just smiled at each other.

But today she stopped and talked to me... actually congratulated me. At
first, I was confused... I mean why would she congrulating me when I am
about to leave the company in a couple of weeks time? Then she said, she is
not congratulating me because I am leaving, but because she has heard about
me getting a good job offer from one of the best companies in the insurance
industry. She told me that this means my good works are recognised by the
people and if I work harder, I can go much further.

I thanked her for her good words.

And yesterday, our new GM also had a chat with me. Actually he was trying
to get me to reconsider my decision of leaving the company. Well, I told
him that the offer I get from the new company is very generous... besides I
get to do works I am doing at the moment which I love so much. I also told
him that at this stage, it would be unfair for the new company if I tell
them now that I wanted to back off because they have already made
arrangements for me to come to work with them next month. So, in the end,
the GM told me that if I have made my decision, then he cannot do anything.
But he impressed upon me that I would always welcome to join the company
again.

It is such a great feeling when people appreciate your good works and
recognise your talent. I feel so proud of myself and I hope my family and
friends are proud of me too! I worked hard to obtained my degree and I
passed as 2nd class upper, which is a great achievement because only 10
classmates (including myself) got that far and nobody got 1st class. Then,
when I was doing my chambering, I was diagnosed with Hepatitis B and
Nephrotic Syndrome. It was hard enough for me mentally and emotionally... I
was in and out of hospital for so many times, but yet, I still managed to
complete chambering.

I started my career as a practicing lawyer in my hometown, Melaka. I was
paid only RM1,500.00 per month on my first year on the job... it was
horrible! Imagine, my friends who work in KL were getting at least
RM2,000.00 per month and I was one of the 10 people with 2nd class upper.
On my second year, I got an increased of only RM200.00, which was much too
low than the amount of works I was handling. But all the while I was told
by my boss that I was doing a great job and she is very lucky to have me.

I told my mum that if this is what I am getting after working so hard at
the university to get a degree, then I don't want to do it anymore. After that, I started looking for new jobs via the Internet. After a week looking, I got a phone call for an interview in
Kuala Lumpur. The rest is what they say... history...

I have met a lot of people during the course of my work... either as a
lawyer or as a claims administrator. Some of these people (who work with me
as my colleagues), some of them I just cannot understand. They constantly
whining about how low they are paid, how so many works they have to handle,
how their bosses always scolded them... but none of them give any ideas of
how to improve their job performance, how to reduce/avoid/rectify
mistakes... and their attitudes towards work make their bosses get more
angry towards them by the day... some even think that they are smarter than
the bosses! But still they don't realize that they are actually their own
problems... all they can see is that either they are not paid enough or too
much work are handed to them... nobody actually paid any attention to the
quality of works they delivered...

What I mean is that you cannot get anywhere if you don't have a positive
attitude towards your job. To me, job satisfaction is not only to get the
work done, but also to get a positive recognition of the work that you have
done. Only by this recognition then you can get all the good things on your
way. But you must always keep in mind that patience and hard work are the
keys to success. Some people may have to work for only a year or two before
they are recognised, and some people may take more than that before other
people see their values. But still, everything involves hard work and
determination. If you want to get there, you will get there... or shall I
say, no pain no gain!

I am very excited to start my new job next month. I can feel that new
challenges are waiting for me but I also feel that I am ready for it. I
wish I can share this excitement with someone but so far, nobody seems to
care... Never mind... At least I know that things are going positively for
me. I am wishing me the best!