Great weekend

Last week I headed towards a great weekend. The meeting with the boss man went well and he finally acknowledged the improvements that we started with release management. None of his managers were able to attend the meeting because they were busy. I met with most of them the day before and they were comfortable with the pace we were moving. I think the meeting outcome surprised both Philip and my rival as they mat have expected some fireworks.

The nagging issue on the budget was also resolve and the customer services boss and I had a phone conference with his counterpart from head office. He finally cleared the the issue by sending us the email on his discussion with the French accounting. The accountant apparently forgot to have the accounts settled last November which resulted in this mess. I think he maybe also spreading the news that I was the one at fault.

Philip is away for more than a week starting today. I have to meet some of the managers for the next round to prepare for the next release. This week will also be the deployment of the release 4.0 and we are also going live with another project. So it will be hectic. I have some tasks coming for phase 2 of the request that that are going to come. The supervisor of the old outfit is out this week for training. So I have to spend some time with the boss man's managers and staff. It's all about customer focus.

We will have another meeting with boss man this Wednesday to talk about the S project. I initiated this meeting and I invited the princess and my old boss. I think it's a good way to bring everything out on the table and plan the way ahead. I think it is a good way to clear the page and lay out all the cards. I think I may have thought that some conspiracy was afoot as the boss man was meeting some outsource agents but I finally realized in the last meeting that it was my imagination again.

I attach a picture of an artist painting on the floor of the nearby art's center. A good job I think without the rush of office work.

The Artist Way

I feel that I will be transferred back to my hometown. I think that is a cheap way to get rid of me by the company. But then again I may be offered a better position perhaps in China to make use of my experience. I think that I have been doing well in my past performance, which should now help me. I think I have lost some passion in my work and I am reading an excellent book called "The Artist Way at Work.’ It has some good ideas on getting back my passion. I have been attending office seminars on the new tools and I think it will be helping me a lot in case I get the boot and need to look for another job.

This may be the worst outcome that could happen but I have some cards to play to stay in the country with my recent purchase of my home and my quest to get citizenship. I hope to use this to negotiate a better deal in case I am requested to transfer. Of course this would be base negotiation base in case I need to negotiate for the package. I think looking for another job will not be such a bad thing especially now that I have kept myself relevant by attending courses and seminars. Maybe it will lead to something good. Sad that it would come this way since I have been happily in this industry for roughly 18 years.

I no longer feel the anxiety which I had felt a few months back since the company announced its plan. I have tried to prepare myself psychologically by posting my resume on the online job market and I have been regularly checking the want ads. At least I know what is out there and I try to plan accordingly. I attended a free seminar on stock and index warrants and seems to be an attractive way to earn some money. With the correction in the stock markets recently, my meager investments have plummeted a little. I hope the market recovery comes some and I can liquidate some of my positions. I think the wisest thing to do is invest in ETFs that track a stock index as the best conservative investment.

There are still a lot of rumors swirling around in the office and a few people like my close friends are starting to get sarcastic. They feel that there will be a significant announcement at the end of March when our global head will be in the regional office. There is an expectation of a significant announcement and my good friend seems to fear for the worst and often would like to drown or forget his anxieties by going to a pub. I want to control my expenses so I try to avoid going out with him although our past pub-crawling has been fun.

I will soon finish my communication course this March after having completed my 10 projects. I plan to use the topic of transformation in my last project. It will be a fitting subject that will also herald my current state. If I go to a new job or get transferred out, then I really have been transformed to a new state of being.