Finally, the audit is over. It went very well. The congressmen were cooperative and did not really grill the ceo or other heads of the museums or the gallery that this organization operates. Now I feel like I just managed to swallow a huge live snail with salt water.
So, now it is time for me to look around me and gather my thought to open the next chapter of this winter. There are things I need to do and I would like to henceforth list them up.
1) Launching Help Your Suwon.
: This project has been long overdue. The only thing I need to do is call this NGO and ask for help for this Sunday. Once they give me the green light, I will get a hold of those who have appeared to be interested in my idea to help homeless at Suwon Station every Sunday night. Frankly, I am tad worried in that there might not be as many people as I hope there would be. But, I believe in good cause. Hopefully, they will spread the word and thus generate more volunteers to the event. Believe it or not, this it going to be a big commitment both physically and monetarily.
2) Training for a 10k run
: With my friends, I registered for a 10k run in Seoul next month. The race is only 3 months ahead of us and I am not trained at all. And yet, it is just a 10k, 6 mile run, so there should not be no issues. Back in summer, I trained myself for a run, but it somehow fell through. Now, in the middle of dread winter, I will run. This event is also for good cause : supporting the kids in hunger. Now that the audit is over, I will run extra miles at the gym to prep myself for the race. No big deal-
3) Decide where to go this winter
: According to my plan, I will get a 2 week long vacation at the end of this year. I have been saving up my vacation days and want to use them all toward the end of the year. I have been thinking of going to Japan for a few days mainly because I have never been there. And yet, due to the nuke accidents, I am afraid. Surely, they would say it is safe and blah.. but it is still the nuke. If the plan fell through, I might go down to Gyeonggju just for sightseeing. Why? Well, it is full of culture and heritage. Yes, I have been there before but as a kid. But, now I think it'd be a bit different. With whom I am going? I don't know. With my family? alone? or a partner in crime?
4) Have a talk with my bosses
: With the current boss, I need to tell him that the second week of December will be my last working week. He will allow it since I have been nothing but excelling at work. Ballpark, I think I have about 21 working days left at this organization. I don't want my coworkers to have negative impression on me. Well, maybe it is too late, but I have been docile and cooperative. Grant it, I did not really show my true colors, but did my share fully and responsibly. No doubt about it.
: With my real boss, I need to ask him where he is going to assign me to upon my return to my job. The CEO proclaimed last week that he will reshuffle the organization. In this situation, I honestly don't know where they are going to put me. I hope I go back to my old job and work with my colleagues again. I surmise I can tell the people high up as to what I would like to do. Yes, I will do this sometime in December. I would like to believe that I am a great asset since I speak great English and they need me in many positions. But, will they be considerate enough to account for my talent? Earlier this year, when they decided to send me to this organization for a year, they did not ask for my opinions. It was a unilateral decision. And yet, I have learned a great deal and have become more objective as to what I need to do and to which direction my company heads upon my arrival. And yet, there is always a thin line between the ideas and the reality and how to narrow it is your ability and responsibility if you would like to be called a professional.
5) Others
I need to meet my friends here and there. In particular, some of my life long friends have been disconnected with me and I need to rekindle the friendship.
About 50 days left this year. It has been very hard and yet very meaningful. I would like to make the best out of it and it is not too late.
2011-11-14
2011-11-07
Painful week-
Last week was hellish. And its aftermath is still lingering now since I am sick. Given that the auditing aka the annual inspection by the local congressmen is around the corner (Nov 10), my team had to prepare a lot of paper to turn into to them. A lot.. about 1,000 pages. So, about seven of us has been meticulously and painstakingly working on the prepping the paper work. And it has gotten worse since we were approaching the doomsday.
Thursday-
I remember starting the day pretty fine. Nothing unusual or out of ordinary. However, the person in charge of the auditing went home early yesterday (Wednesday) In the meantime, some congressmen asked for some additional paperwork, which turned out needing a lot of labor. So, with the person gone, the team squandered Wednesday. She came back to work Thursday and finally realized how immense the paperwork requested by the lawmakers was and doled it out to the rest of us. And, this eventually kept everyone as late as 11pm at work. Ergo, I could not go to the gym.
Friday-
Tired as hell, I punched in. The paperwork prep continued without doubt. However, there was a twist to today.
Earlier, some idiotic lawmaker released an article on a local newspaper how inefficient the budget-usage has been in the organization. With a lawmaker in the congress, it won't be conducive to secure the amount of budget for next year, the people high up decided to draw up some stats and analysis and visit the lawmaker to talk him into some sense and persuade him to revise his views. So around 3pm, which was about 3 hours before the punch out, my boss asked me to drive up to the most Northern part of the region so that we can meet up the lawmaker. Being a docile worker, I said yes. I could have said no, but I always thought that his audit prep is the last thing I will commit myself to at this organization.. so I did not turn down his suggestion.
By the time we arrived, it was about 5:30. And my boss and his boss (2nd in Command) met up with the congressman and decided to eat. So, I ate alone, crashed at the car while listening to some radio show.. which was quite nice.. But the waiting got longer than I thought it would. I waited about 4 hours in the car. By the time, they were done eating, it was around 9pm. So much for workout tonight as well.
Of course, my boss was drunk as hell. According to him, the talk was fine and he had to consume a series of soju + beer bomb shots all along. Poor guy.
While coming back to Suwon, he talked A LOT about me. He may be trunk, but he was not senseless or anything. The whole time, he's been talking up to. He told me how capable I am and he would like me to stay at the organization longer.. and he'd put in a good word to the ceo of my company that I am going back to at the end of this year. The whole time, I just agreed.. and nodded at whatever he was saying in order not to go against him or piss him off. I felt somewhat bad for him.. He actually had a family gather that night so some of his relatives actually already gathered in Suwon and were having a great time without him. He told me NOT to come to work on the weekend. I dropped him off at where his relatives were and came back to the office where I saw the rest of the team still working. Geez... After like 15 mins, I punched out.. came home and passed out.
Saturday, knowing that I did not have to go to work, I still did. However, before that I went to the gym and made up for what I have been missing. Pacs,, back, shoulder, legs....for about a full 2 hand a half hours. It was exhausting and yet felt really good to be back at the gym after two day long absence.
After short lunch, I came to work. Two people (including the one in charge of the auditing prep) were there. I made it clear that I needed to punch out around 4. She gave me an easy assignment. I took care of it and without any hesitation I went home.
Maybe it was because I felt so much relieved after 3 day long toiling. I somewhat felt not good. I cooked some pork.. rice. I knew I was going to feel sick next morning. After watching some tv shows, I have saved, I went to bed.
Sunday
And of course, I felt ill. It was somewhat a combination of a sore throat, body aching, general fatigue and what not. Just lay in bed all day...had some hot soup, veggies, oranges, chewable vitamin tablets.. chips.. Sometime in the afternoon, I felt somewhat better, so barely got up and cleaned the apartment, did laundry. Phew.
Then, it backfired and I felt worse. So just laid in bed helplessly.
Monday
I hope I would get better, but not quite. I am still sick and fatigued. I think I need to skip the gym. On my way to lunch, I picked up 육개장 (beef broth). While eating it at home, I perspired like a pig. My body must be doing really bad.. considering I rarely sweat no matter how spicy the food I have.
And now it is almost 2pm. I hope I go home at 6pm. I will probablly not go to the gym, but pick up the same dish that I did at lunch and just sleep in. I so badly want to feel better.
3 more days until the end the auditing. Thursday night, it will be all over.
Thursday-
I remember starting the day pretty fine. Nothing unusual or out of ordinary. However, the person in charge of the auditing went home early yesterday (Wednesday) In the meantime, some congressmen asked for some additional paperwork, which turned out needing a lot of labor. So, with the person gone, the team squandered Wednesday. She came back to work Thursday and finally realized how immense the paperwork requested by the lawmakers was and doled it out to the rest of us. And, this eventually kept everyone as late as 11pm at work. Ergo, I could not go to the gym.
Friday-
Tired as hell, I punched in. The paperwork prep continued without doubt. However, there was a twist to today.
Earlier, some idiotic lawmaker released an article on a local newspaper how inefficient the budget-usage has been in the organization. With a lawmaker in the congress, it won't be conducive to secure the amount of budget for next year, the people high up decided to draw up some stats and analysis and visit the lawmaker to talk him into some sense and persuade him to revise his views. So around 3pm, which was about 3 hours before the punch out, my boss asked me to drive up to the most Northern part of the region so that we can meet up the lawmaker. Being a docile worker, I said yes. I could have said no, but I always thought that his audit prep is the last thing I will commit myself to at this organization.. so I did not turn down his suggestion.
By the time we arrived, it was about 5:30. And my boss and his boss (2nd in Command) met up with the congressman and decided to eat. So, I ate alone, crashed at the car while listening to some radio show.. which was quite nice.. But the waiting got longer than I thought it would. I waited about 4 hours in the car. By the time, they were done eating, it was around 9pm. So much for workout tonight as well.
Of course, my boss was drunk as hell. According to him, the talk was fine and he had to consume a series of soju + beer bomb shots all along. Poor guy.
While coming back to Suwon, he talked A LOT about me. He may be trunk, but he was not senseless or anything. The whole time, he's been talking up to. He told me how capable I am and he would like me to stay at the organization longer.. and he'd put in a good word to the ceo of my company that I am going back to at the end of this year. The whole time, I just agreed.. and nodded at whatever he was saying in order not to go against him or piss him off. I felt somewhat bad for him.. He actually had a family gather that night so some of his relatives actually already gathered in Suwon and were having a great time without him. He told me NOT to come to work on the weekend. I dropped him off at where his relatives were and came back to the office where I saw the rest of the team still working. Geez... After like 15 mins, I punched out.. came home and passed out.
Saturday, knowing that I did not have to go to work, I still did. However, before that I went to the gym and made up for what I have been missing. Pacs,, back, shoulder, legs....for about a full 2 hand a half hours. It was exhausting and yet felt really good to be back at the gym after two day long absence.
After short lunch, I came to work. Two people (including the one in charge of the auditing prep) were there. I made it clear that I needed to punch out around 4. She gave me an easy assignment. I took care of it and without any hesitation I went home.
Maybe it was because I felt so much relieved after 3 day long toiling. I somewhat felt not good. I cooked some pork.. rice. I knew I was going to feel sick next morning. After watching some tv shows, I have saved, I went to bed.
Sunday
And of course, I felt ill. It was somewhat a combination of a sore throat, body aching, general fatigue and what not. Just lay in bed all day...had some hot soup, veggies, oranges, chewable vitamin tablets.. chips.. Sometime in the afternoon, I felt somewhat better, so barely got up and cleaned the apartment, did laundry. Phew.
Then, it backfired and I felt worse. So just laid in bed helplessly.
Monday
I hope I would get better, but not quite. I am still sick and fatigued. I think I need to skip the gym. On my way to lunch, I picked up 육개장 (beef broth). While eating it at home, I perspired like a pig. My body must be doing really bad.. considering I rarely sweat no matter how spicy the food I have.
And now it is almost 2pm. I hope I go home at 6pm. I will probablly not go to the gym, but pick up the same dish that I did at lunch and just sleep in. I so badly want to feel better.
3 more days until the end the auditing. Thursday night, it will be all over.
2011-10-30
Busan and a wedding
I thought it would be so hard to get up at 7 on a Saturday morning. It turned out it wasn't. For some reason, I was up as early as 6am.. failing to go back to sleep. Donning my gray suit, I went to the rendezvous point to meet up with a coworker of mine to head to Busan in order to participate a coworker of ours' wedding in Busan. And this it takes place in Busan, he rented a bus so that those living up North could take it and attend the meeting. How nice.
I met some of my old co workers of mine on the bus. It was very nice. I sat down with Mr. Kwon and talked about this and that. Mostly about how 'our' company could become a better, more solid and stronger corporation. Whenever I talked to him, I am grateful that he has been my mentor since day 1. He and I share a lot of things.. sense of humor, visions.. and what not. So the trip down to South was quite pleasant.
Busan was nice. And yes, it was quite warm. The wedding occured near the Haewondae beach.. there were so many buildings at the shore.. it almost felt like I was in Hong Kong. At the wedding, I met more coworkers of mine at my old job that I am going back to at the end of this year.
Amazingly, there were so many people at the wedding. They literally had to queue up to shake hands with the groom. The guy looked happy. About a month ago, I told him I wasn't going to come, but I did. I needed this to clear my head.. to get out of the city and get some fresh air and reunite with my colleagues.
Unlike the any other wedding that I have ever attended, this one was very special.
First, when I chipped in my little offering, they handed me an envelop with a 10,000 won in it. Apparently, down South, they hand out meal tickets to those coming from far and give some money to those from the local area. I guess it'd be cheaper that way. But I got both the meal ticket at the buffet and the 10,000 won. So, yay.
Secondly, the attendants did not leave. They stuck around until the wedding was over. It was so nice. Usually, people filter in and out the wedding and that's it. But, I barely saw anyone leaving in the middle of the wedding.
Next, the couple cried when exchanging vows. It was touching. They were holding hands so could not really wipe the tears, but just let it trickle down their faces. I bet they were both moved and happy.
Finally, the groom sang. It was a bit off-key. But he manned up and finished the serenade. Big ups for him.
The bus was supposed to leave at 10pm.. after the Busan World Firework Festival along the shore. But, one of the coworkers drove down and was about to head up.. so I asked him to give me a ride. And around 3pm, I hit the road again.
In the car, four of us talked a lot about our company. It was a great feeling. Being apart from my old job, this year, I had literally zero opportunity to discuss the present and the future of the company. There, we worried about it, drew a rosy picture about it and hoped that it will flourish and get stronger and bigger than ever. I was so glad to be a part of the entourage and to share the vision and the dreams that will enable the company to have more solid foundation and the willpower.
Nevertheless, it was a 5 hour long drive. And we got in a car accident. Well, it was more of a fender-bender. This trucker did not see us at the parking lot and clipped us tad. No one, but the car was damaged a little. Thank god.
By the time I was home, it was around 8:30pm. It took more than 12 hours to come back to where I started this morning. I was tired, but not enough to jump in a shower, cook up a bowl of ramen and watch soccer games. It was a very good day... except for I needed to go to work tomorrow.
I met some of my old co workers of mine on the bus. It was very nice. I sat down with Mr. Kwon and talked about this and that. Mostly about how 'our' company could become a better, more solid and stronger corporation. Whenever I talked to him, I am grateful that he has been my mentor since day 1. He and I share a lot of things.. sense of humor, visions.. and what not. So the trip down to South was quite pleasant.
Busan was nice. And yes, it was quite warm. The wedding occured near the Haewondae beach.. there were so many buildings at the shore.. it almost felt like I was in Hong Kong. At the wedding, I met more coworkers of mine at my old job that I am going back to at the end of this year.
Amazingly, there were so many people at the wedding. They literally had to queue up to shake hands with the groom. The guy looked happy. About a month ago, I told him I wasn't going to come, but I did. I needed this to clear my head.. to get out of the city and get some fresh air and reunite with my colleagues.
Unlike the any other wedding that I have ever attended, this one was very special.
First, when I chipped in my little offering, they handed me an envelop with a 10,000 won in it. Apparently, down South, they hand out meal tickets to those coming from far and give some money to those from the local area. I guess it'd be cheaper that way. But I got both the meal ticket at the buffet and the 10,000 won. So, yay.
Secondly, the attendants did not leave. They stuck around until the wedding was over. It was so nice. Usually, people filter in and out the wedding and that's it. But, I barely saw anyone leaving in the middle of the wedding.
Next, the couple cried when exchanging vows. It was touching. They were holding hands so could not really wipe the tears, but just let it trickle down their faces. I bet they were both moved and happy.
Finally, the groom sang. It was a bit off-key. But he manned up and finished the serenade. Big ups for him.
The bus was supposed to leave at 10pm.. after the Busan World Firework Festival along the shore. But, one of the coworkers drove down and was about to head up.. so I asked him to give me a ride. And around 3pm, I hit the road again.
In the car, four of us talked a lot about our company. It was a great feeling. Being apart from my old job, this year, I had literally zero opportunity to discuss the present and the future of the company. There, we worried about it, drew a rosy picture about it and hoped that it will flourish and get stronger and bigger than ever. I was so glad to be a part of the entourage and to share the vision and the dreams that will enable the company to have more solid foundation and the willpower.
Nevertheless, it was a 5 hour long drive. And we got in a car accident. Well, it was more of a fender-bender. This trucker did not see us at the parking lot and clipped us tad. No one, but the car was damaged a little. Thank god.
By the time I was home, it was around 8:30pm. It took more than 12 hours to come back to where I started this morning. I was tired, but not enough to jump in a shower, cook up a bowl of ramen and watch soccer games. It was a very good day... except for I needed to go to work tomorrow.
2011-10-28
weight
Everyday except for Sundays I go to the gym and work out about 2 hours total. It is my leisure, habit and addiction. Yes, I am a gym rat and feel nervous if I skipped it. But, those who know me in person should be aware that I am no buff, but rather a skinny.. or lean. I would like to get a bit bigger, but it isn't easy.
Recently, I have shed about 9 pounds that is about 4 kilos. When my weight was at its highest, it was 184 lbs (84kg) but now I weigh around 176lbs (80kg). This year has been quite experimental because I've tried various methods to control my weight. After changing the gym to the current one, I met a new trainer and he's taught me a lot of things e.g. workout routines, regimen and so forth and it has been very helpful. Gradually, I've gained more power to control my weight by eating healthy and working out more efficiently.
The most important thing that I've gleaned is that eating snacks at night was the primary reason that I could not lose weight before. I love chips and after workout, I'd run to the the convenient store next to my house and grab a bag of chips. Not anymore. As time went by, I've lost fat around my waist and now can see some of my pacs. It is quite amazing. Now the pants that used to fit are kind of loose.. I've lost about 2 inches around my waist. Above all, that I don't snack at work or drink has always been conducive.
At the same time, my overall physique has been reduced to a certain proportion. My pants when worn are bit loose. and I DO NOT like it. So, now I've shed some fat, it is time for me to gain some pure muscles .. or intake some low GI food to carb up for. More pasta? More fruit? More whole meal bread? More tuna? More meat??
Now I somewhat understand the feeling that when fat people lose a great deal of weight and hold their pants in the picture with a big smile in their faces. Well, not exactly tantamount, but a bit similar. but a little bit more of muscles... ah.. am I getting addicted.. or getting paranoid..or obsessing??????????
Recently, I have shed about 9 pounds that is about 4 kilos. When my weight was at its highest, it was 184 lbs (84kg) but now I weigh around 176lbs (80kg). This year has been quite experimental because I've tried various methods to control my weight. After changing the gym to the current one, I met a new trainer and he's taught me a lot of things e.g. workout routines, regimen and so forth and it has been very helpful. Gradually, I've gained more power to control my weight by eating healthy and working out more efficiently.
The most important thing that I've gleaned is that eating snacks at night was the primary reason that I could not lose weight before. I love chips and after workout, I'd run to the the convenient store next to my house and grab a bag of chips. Not anymore. As time went by, I've lost fat around my waist and now can see some of my pacs. It is quite amazing. Now the pants that used to fit are kind of loose.. I've lost about 2 inches around my waist. Above all, that I don't snack at work or drink has always been conducive.
At the same time, my overall physique has been reduced to a certain proportion. My pants when worn are bit loose. and I DO NOT like it. So, now I've shed some fat, it is time for me to gain some pure muscles .. or intake some low GI food to carb up for. More pasta? More fruit? More whole meal bread? More tuna? More meat??
Now I somewhat understand the feeling that when fat people lose a great deal of weight and hold their pants in the picture with a big smile in their faces. Well, not exactly tantamount, but a bit similar. but a little bit more of muscles... ah.. am I getting addicted.. or getting paranoid..or obsessing??????????
2011-10-27
i am all right
Except for you (reading this) and very close friends of mine, no one knows about the mishap. And I am not a big fan of televising my personal accounts on FB like many people.
At least one thing that kept me going is my work. I am insanely busy at work so no time to squander by chatting online or checking on others facebook updates that have nothing to do with me. This will blow over for sure.
This weekend, I might need to work.. otherwise, I would go home and celebrate my folk's 28th anniversary and go down to Busan to participate my colleague's wedding. I don't know what is going to happen.
I am looking forward this December. I will treat myself by giving me a two week along vacation and going somewhere. I was thinking of Japan but since it was nuked.. I am having a second thought. My dad's going to retire at the end of the year so my family might take a trip to somewhere together. And most of all, I am going back to my job at the end of this year. My sabbath is going to end soon.
Overall, albeit a lot going on,
I am all right.
At least one thing that kept me going is my work. I am insanely busy at work so no time to squander by chatting online or checking on others facebook updates that have nothing to do with me. This will blow over for sure.
This weekend, I might need to work.. otherwise, I would go home and celebrate my folk's 28th anniversary and go down to Busan to participate my colleague's wedding. I don't know what is going to happen.
I am looking forward this December. I will treat myself by giving me a two week along vacation and going somewhere. I was thinking of Japan but since it was nuked.. I am having a second thought. My dad's going to retire at the end of the year so my family might take a trip to somewhere together. And most of all, I am going back to my job at the end of this year. My sabbath is going to end soon.
Overall, albeit a lot going on,
I am all right.
2011-10-24
The door has been closed-
That's what she said.
It is really time for me to move on. I have closure.
It is really time for me to move on. I have closure.
2011-10-17
Weekend
What did I do this past weekend? It was full of sports events. Nope, it did not involve any actual play, but watching baseball games, soccer games and F1 series was major part of it. I was either sitting on my sofa or lying in my bed munching some snacks the whole weekend. Pretty mundane, but I enjoyed being lazy this weekend. Sometimes, it is good to meet friends on the weekends, drink, eat and have a good time. But, more of than not, it is also time and energy consuming. And as a person who prefers to hang out with only a handful of people, I'd rather have an alone time when I feel it is necessary. Yes, the weather was beautiful and I had an itch for some outdoorsy activities, but not this weekend. Maybe some other time.
Hmm. what else? Oh, yes, I finally met my ex. The past couple of days, I have been drawing up a whole rationale as to why I would like to meet her and what to tell her. "Do I sound clingy and desperate? Do I sound like I mean it?" Many thoughts went through my head, but eventually, I managed to tell my ex what I wanted to say.
We met and, well, the first couple minutes was, of course, awkward. She wasn't really smiling and whatnot. But after we got our drinks (we met at a Starbucks), we started to catch up and talked about a little bit of this and that. Then, finally, the moment of truth has come.
I think I was calm and honest. I did not say what I did not mean to say. She intermittently interrupted me while I was speaking, but I managed to continue and finished my story. Then, she asked me a couple of questions as to my story. And I answered them. No big deal.
As I anticipated, she did not know to say. I did not expect anything in the first place. But, it was clear that she did not expect me to say anything I said. At any rate, we ended up deviating from the main topic and talked about each other a bit. And I realized that she got out of a relationship about a month and a half ago.
After two hours, we walked out of the building together and parted our ways. No hugging or anything similar, but just awkward good byes- Where is this going to lead us? I don't know. I laid out what I needed to say. If she is interested, well, that's great. If she isn't, well, I guess I can finally move on and have closure. Either way, I am very much glad and relieved. But somehow, I failed to go to bed easily as I usually do. It was probably because I took a nap about two hours earlier, but also because I kept thinking about the girl and the conversation.
Hmm. what else? Oh, yes, I finally met my ex. The past couple of days, I have been drawing up a whole rationale as to why I would like to meet her and what to tell her. "Do I sound clingy and desperate? Do I sound like I mean it?" Many thoughts went through my head, but eventually, I managed to tell my ex what I wanted to say.
We met and, well, the first couple minutes was, of course, awkward. She wasn't really smiling and whatnot. But after we got our drinks (we met at a Starbucks), we started to catch up and talked about a little bit of this and that. Then, finally, the moment of truth has come.
I think I was calm and honest. I did not say what I did not mean to say. She intermittently interrupted me while I was speaking, but I managed to continue and finished my story. Then, she asked me a couple of questions as to my story. And I answered them. No big deal.
As I anticipated, she did not know to say. I did not expect anything in the first place. But, it was clear that she did not expect me to say anything I said. At any rate, we ended up deviating from the main topic and talked about each other a bit. And I realized that she got out of a relationship about a month and a half ago.
After two hours, we walked out of the building together and parted our ways. No hugging or anything similar, but just awkward good byes- Where is this going to lead us? I don't know. I laid out what I needed to say. If she is interested, well, that's great. If she isn't, well, I guess I can finally move on and have closure. Either way, I am very much glad and relieved. But somehow, I failed to go to bed easily as I usually do. It was probably because I took a nap about two hours earlier, but also because I kept thinking about the girl and the conversation.
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