Tuesday, March 29, 2011

How things have changed

It's been 3 weeks and how things have changed. What are the changes? Me myself is surprised by it as well, and to think that Mindy commented about my previous blog post on how I feel i'm stagnating in the current position, it's amazing. So what has been happening?


For the past 2 weeks, I've been at Siemens attending the Hearing care consultant course. (HCC). The course was relatively easy for me as I've been handling relevant things for the past 4months. It gets a bit boring at times due to the repetitive course material I'm exposed to. The course is good in the sense that it refreshes many of the information and it gives me extra confidence when people ask me about the product. The test at the end of it made me stress, as I am expected to score well and some of the colleagues were actually stressing me to top the class. I hope I've done well enough to achieve that. Though it may not be as relevant in my job scope le.


Part of the interesting happening was the Aviva 70.3 in the previous entry. and that was truly an enriching experience for me. It psych me up to take up more races as I simply enjoy the thrill of crossing the finishing line.


I've been told by my boss that I will have a job redeployment and that will include me in different positions. The job title would be Accounts Manager, in-charge of the whole sale accounts of the company in Malaysia, Singapore and Batam. When I go full swing into the job, the job title will be changed to Regional Accounts Manager. This means I will be travelling to and fro Malaysia, Batam and Singapore for the job. In addition to that, I will be doing rounds with the local GPs to get more referrals into our outlets. That means I'm left with 1 day a week in the shop, with 2 days in malaysia, 1/2 day in Batam and 2 days visiting doctors .


This new job profile will give me ample exposure to the regional market and it's a good step forward. Considering that I'm only 6months into the company, I've been given the opportunity to take up such a role, that's simply amazing. The work that I've done has gained recognition and my colleagues agree that I will be capable to take up the new role. The only concern to me now is whether it's worth it. Travelling to and fro will take up a bulk of my time and many other sacrifices will be made too.


Renumeration wise, there's no adjustment at the moment though I did ask for it. Boss only replied " prove to me ". Freaking. Powerful 3 words which silent me. I was thinking haven't I done enough to prove to you such that you have given me this opportunity? Of cos I can't say it out can I ? Anyway, I will just take this opportunity to learn and absorb everything along the way. Learning curve will be steep and there will be many obstacles ahead of me where I will have to overcome.


"Perserve and succeed". Motto for my primary school.


"Nil Sine Labore" Nothing without labour. Motto for VS and VJC.


I welcome the challenge that lies ahead of me ! =)
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Aviva 70.3

On 20th March, I reached a new milestone for myself! I'm a 70.3 Ironman ! The build up to the race was exciting.


On 18th, Alvin and me went down to ECP to do a fam swim and it was good.. The course was smooth and we took approx 25min for a 1km lap.


On 19th, I went down to the transition area to check-in the bike and it was nice to see so many fellow competitors preparing their gears, checking their bikes. I was lucky enough to get another hitch ride out to the main road. hahaha..


On 20th, the race day itself, We woke up real early and started to fill our tummy with carbo. At 5.30am, I was already loading myself with Milo and energy bar, ready to move out. The feeling was so surreal... I remembering telling myself " Today is the day ! " How time has fly past and it's now here. I did my race prep slow and steady, not wanting to rush myself through anything. Took a good 1 hour to arrange my transition gears, test the bike, check the equipments warm up etc. Ah dear and Ben came down to support me ! Thanks dear and Ben. It's really really nice to have friends down with you.


At 0800, the Elite wave was flagged off and the adrenaline in my body started to pump faster, cos I'm wave 4 !


At 0820, it's MY TURN ! the whole wave were flagged off with the sound of the horn and OFF WE GO... The swim wasn't exactly that enjoying as everybody was pushing/ shoving, slapping your head. it was a little cramp and with other swimmers bashing through your left and right, it slows you down tremendously. I had to tell myself that I'm here to complete the race, not to fight with them... I'll slow down and ensure I'm safe on the land after the swim. With that mentality, I played safe and took my time for the swim. I came up from the swim in 1hr 01 min, 11 mins slower than my expected timing. ( i used to swim 2km in 45mins in the pool, giving myself 50mins for sea swim).


After the swim, I was a little tired due to the struggling involved, I slowly jogged to the transition area. At the transition area, I sat down and changed into my bike gear. refreshing myself with some coke-plus (coca cola + 100 plus). started the bike leg conservatively as I'm still recharging from the swim, the 2nd lap was much better, even though i had a very very bad cramp half way through that I almost crashed the bike. ( the cramp was so bad that I couldn't move the legs!! ) Thankfully, I could unclip the cleats and get off the bike to do some proper stretching. Even though that put me back 5mins slower, I'm glad I did the right thing, as I really thought the race would be over le. The last time i experience such a cramp, it was game over. In the end, I managed to recover from the cramp and finish the 90km bike leg in 2hr 46min. 32km/h. Good timing considering i wasted 5mins.


After the bike, came the run. Just as I begun the run, I saw TC and HK with sponges and red bull. They were there to support and give us drinks. How nice ! Woohoo.. That red bull kept me going for 2km, before I slow down to a walking pace.. hahaha... This 21km is my worst ever. I did it in a combination of jog-walk so that I can finish the race. completion is the utmost important and the timing was secondary.


The run was the most painful of all 3 legs, but I took my time to enjoy the scenary alogn the way. In the end, I crossed the finishing line in 6hr 42min. Hooray ! I've completed the 70.3 Ironman ! hahha.. The fact that dear could tell I wasn't exactly that tired means how much reserve I had. =P I just wanted to ensure I can complete ma. Don't need to go all out for timing.


It was an interesting experience and I'm really happy that I've completed it safely. It was a test of my body and more importantly mental strength. Seriously, it's a lot of mental to carry yourself through the whole 6+ hours of race. Next up would likely be a full IM le. I hope I have the time for that.


Cheers to All supporters that came down that day.


Many thanks to all my training partners along the way. TC, Alvin, MW, Weiqi.


Training with friends make it more enjoyable.
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Friday, March 4, 2011

random jumbling

It's being really hectic in February. So busy that it just zoomed past without me knowing.

It's now March le.

Looking back, what have I done in Feb? Chinese new year and... hmm... oh yes.. tuitions. That's already part of my routine that at times, I don't even remember which session am I going for until I ask for the day of the week. =( . Being busy with some of the projects that I have on hand, and like how I handle work being deligated to me I want to add value to it.

Glad that the Voluntary work at Moral home went well and I'm sure I left a good impression on all those involved. My organisational skills are decent and I seriously feel that I'm not so into the service industry. I need to put in extra effort to ensure that the customers will be that happy. No doubt, I always give my 100% when talking to customers, but the follow up is something that I need to remind myself to do.

How long more am I going to be placed at this position? I hope it's not for long, cos i don't really enjoy it that much. The only benefit is that it's near my place, just 15mins from home it saves a lot of time travelling, and the work is relatively relax.

Talking about this, I was feeling jaded last week after weeks of non stop work-tuition-training. and repeat routine. I felt like taking a long break and just stop doing everything for some time. I know that's impossible and I can only afford a day offwork. At least that did help, cos i could get some ME time. I totally understand how weiqi previously tell me when I begin work, and I start working from morning to night, it gets very difficult to do workout. I was able to maintain my workout routine in nov-dec, cos there wasn't any tuitions. Now that it's in full swing, it's really too draining.

If there's a will, there's a way. Agree, but apparently, my will isn't as strong as it seem to be. =(

Went to the show flat at Adora Green a few days ago, our first recce for DBSS. It was an eye opener for us and we sure got more insight into houses now. So many things to check, see, wonder, ponder, dream, worry, etc. Am I really ready for this? I thought I was, but am I REALLY ready to face all these?

I know I'm ready to settle down with lin. How about the houses and commitments? Financially, I don't think we are both that secured to be ready to commit to a debt of 700k for 30 years. This is a question that is bothering me now, and as 3rd quarter 2011 draws nearer, it adds pressure to myself. I don't know...

That aside, what would you do when 2 person you are close to are not in exactly that good terms? You can't spill the beans of what you heard, nor can you try to advice on the other side. You are sort of being squashed in the middle and perhaps keeping mum about the whole thing may be the best option out. It's weird.

I've realised that things that I can chat with, with some friends have become rather cliche. Is it due to the difference we had in our life, or simply because there's lesser and lesser interaction that many things become foreign and we become unsure whether it's okay to share it? Work life keeps everyone busy and it sux. Comparing work and study, I vote for work for the things that I do but for the freedom wise, I would prefer study.

Yeah.. it's a very random post that comprises of many of the thoughts that has been bothering me. No links between points, but that's how my mind is messed up at the moment. So many things jumbling up the limited capacity.
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