Feliz Navidad!

Enjoy Jesus, the reason for the season. Have a happy christmas!!

And we gladly bid farewell

Only five people turned up for MC's farewell at the pub last night. It is to be expected when the dinner is organised on the last working day of the year, two days shy of Christmas Day. Or so we like to think. Some didn't get along with him anyway. Others couldn't care less. The rest had other better things to do than hang out with this man who did not add much value to the group.

I have been one of the lucky ones to re-inherit my own job after handing it over to him three months ago. THREE MONTHS AGO! What the hell has he been doing all this while? Excuses were all he came up with everytime he was queried about the progess of that project. Sometimes I really want to kick his lazy ass. Other times I was tempted to strangle him everytime he sprays his deodorant, polluting the air without much consideration for others.

There you have it. My confession. Some people may be ultra annoying, but I turned up anyway to say goodbye. Fortunately I did, otherwise I would have missed out on one of the most delicious steak. Scotch fillet, cook-it-yourself-on-the-bbq, medium rare, very affordable price! YUM!

I know what you did today

My boss had only just pulled into the empty car space just as I merrily walked out of the building at 1.30pm today. In his hurry to get out of his car and wished me a happy christmas, he must have forgotten how strong the winds were huffing and puffing at that time. The car door swung open further than expected and knocked into the passenger door of the adjacent car. I was grounded, bewildered at what had just happened. His facial expression was unchanged, closing his car door while mumbling "It's just a small damage". Mind you, the dent was rather obvious.

Should I have written a note to that poor guy to say who the culprit was? I didn't want to stick around work any longer. Everyone else had buggered off early today. No one was in the mood to work. There were a few more chrissy pressies I had to buy. I needed to go. I am now feeling a bit guilty with mixed emotions that I didn't do anything, or say anything.

I guess it's too late now.

'Tis the season for christmas parties

The silly season is here. And about time too. I can't remember my last break. That is so unhealthy! Perhaps the coming holidays will be much more enjoyable. Woo hoo can't wait.

In the lead up to the all important December day, chrissy parties are popping up like mushrooms I just can't keep up. Some had to be rejected. Some were too expensive while others were random get togethers. Though I can be that extra friendly and make new contacts, I decided to be selective in my "partying". Heh, and no I'm not a big party goer just in case you were thinking otherwise.

Who would have thought that playing lawn bowls would make a good social event? But that was exactly what my department got up to a couple of weeks ago for our christmas party. And I had always thought that lawn bowls and old people were associated with each other. Well not anymore. The moment we stepped foot on that green green grass of lawn bowls was the moment we all got competitive. Together with my partner in crime, Ovo, we were very focused on victory. Our competitors, Tappy and Missey, were tough to beat. We had plenty of laughs, trying to learn how to use the right amount of strength for the distance where the jack is placed. And frequently altering the distance of the jack after every game doesn't help either!

Soon it was time for some finger food and drinks. Before I could fill my tummy with enough chicken bites and deepfried spring rolls, I was handed a mobile phone. "It's the boss", said my colleague. And the first question through the speaker was "How much alcohol have you had?". My instant reply was "Too much to drive, boss!". No way was I going to go back to site and help some random dude who had stuffed up some piece of equipment and had absolutely no authorisation to make changes or had any backup plans. And so we continued on our merry way, eating and playing for a jolly good four hours.

That was one of the many parties I've attended, with the most recent being a food marathon last weekend, thanks to three christmas parties in a space of 24 hours. Unreal.

7am starts

That's too damn early for my liking. Perseverance was all I had to push through. Just one more week of work.

Officially graduated

I'm back from a full-on four day residential development program in Moss Vale. This will be our last lavish stay at Peppers' golf resort. The rooms looked stunning as usual, except for the new white rocking chairs near the windows. I wonder what the deal is with that. Oh right, old people come to play golf and miss their rocking chairs. Do I sound mean enough? Great because I knocked my foot on one of its elevated edges. The only consolation was the sheer surprise of finding out that my new travelling toothpaste has dissolvable mint breath strips infused in it.

Weather report for the four days: day one extremely windy, day two super hot, day three cold as, and day four combo of all three. And I really thought I had left the crazy Melbourne weather behind me. Or maybe it followed me.

As usual there was a restricted selection of unlimited alcohol available from the bar, of which everyone took advantage of. Funny how I absolutely detest beer (except for Corona of course) yet I manage to persuade the bartender to sway from the original list and give us some better tasting beer. Talk about using the influencing skills we were learning about. I'm a fast learner. Ten minutes later, she was spotted minding the front office desk instead of tending the bar.

Food is good, not great. The only thing that the management should probably consider adding to their improvement punchlist is to hire a chef who has a passion for seafood or not have them at all for dinner. The prawns were overcooked, the deep fried calamari were soggy, the oysters served without lemons, boy I can go on but I won't because I was happy there's seafood.

On a more positive note, we met the most important person - the CEO. Surprised honoured blown away. We never expected to meet him, let alone sit around him in a casual manner and just, chat. Yeah we did talk about the golden moment where we can meet he who is so far removed from our level. Like wow. Even the president of our North American business came to present some slides to us. Like wow again. Opportunities like this don't even come close to those old dudes working their lifetime in the company.

Going back to work today after all that intensive training is just not right.