Hectic as usual

Wednesday had been a busy one.

Had to visit my Organisation's consultants in the late morning to get my contract terms sorted out.
Yes - I have yet to sign my work contract!
It was a good visit, as the consultants were discussing how to set up my Organisation with my mentor.
You see, we have a branch overseas, but the founders are trying to have an Asia-Pacific base in Singapore.
Hence I was employed, you see.
The meeting helped me understand a lot of the things about how companies are set up, along with what possible loopholes prevail in the Singapore laws.
Wow.
An whole new experience indeed!

I treated my boss to sushi and sashimi lunch afterwards.
Although the meal cost me an arm and a leg, we both realised we like eating raw fish - yum!
We also exchanged more details about ourselves, but I was careful not to share too much.
I've been "bitten" once before, so I do not wish to be "bitten" again!
Then again, I must say that my mentor is caring enough to hasten me to provide my bank account details, so that I can be paid for the past 2 weeks since I started work.
He also offered to insure me for health and travel purposes, which I am grateful for.
This is because the consultants said there was no need for the Organisation to do so.
So this gesture is very much appreciated.
I guess I am a one-woman operation for now, and I am the key person (other than my mentor and another Director) helping to set up the Organisation full-time.
In other words, I am indispensible, what with my qualifications and my past work experience that match this role perfectly.

That is, unless they are intending to kill me off in due course, and claim the insurance money for themselves, as one of my friends have joked.
Ha.

Back from Bangkok

Hope I haven't been missed since last Sunday. ;o)

Just got back from a business trip to Bangkok in the last hour.
Was there helping to conduct interview for a project that I will be driving from the month of April.
Also met up with a new business associate - a new university lecturer working in one of Thailand's oldest universities.
She is really nice - and I may have found a new friend in her.

It was an interesting trip.
Finally decided to disclose (without naming names) the events that had happened to me in my previous freelance work to my mentor on this trip.
He seemed understanding enough, and told me it's a "jungle" out there.
He told me he had several of such similar incidents happening to him too, previously.
But I was sure he was shocked to hear how much I was offered at the per-hourly rate for my previous services rendered, although there were no giveaway signs.
He said I should not be wasting time and should not allow myself to be affected by those unhappy events any further.
And that I should channel my energies into focusing on what lies ahead in the future.
To sum it up nicely, he said, "in life, sh** happens". Ha.

As I get to know my mentor a little bit more, I start to realise that he is not just a highly intelligent man and a total workaholic.
His eccentricities (like always asking strangers how they are and having sudden outbursts), are ways that he tries to de-stress himself.
And it is also a brilliant way to catch people off-guard.
Especially people who may not be naturally friendly.

It's amazing that he can be totally focused on his work on his laptop one minute, and then becomes "mad" the next.
Will I become like him as time goes on?
God knows.

Am off to Kuala Lumpur (again) this coming Thursday for the day.
And then it is to Jakarta next week.
Again business meetings!

One good thing to come out of all this is the continued clocking of my airmiles.
I was only recently upgraded to "Silver" card member from an ordinary one, for having flown to and from the UK regularly with a particular airline in the time I was doing my doctoral studies.
At the rate I am going, I will become their "Gold" card member soon...

Try this link...too frightfully accurate...

http://www.tigerbeer.us/horoscope/

My first proper R&D work

Yesterday was spent in KL.
It was for work - met up with the local managers based there.
My mentor and I were doing data collection.
The interview was 3 hours long.
I have to do the transcription.
Interview was held with FOUR people talking around the table.
This has to be done not in my own time, but for Sunday, to be discussed on the flight to Thailand.
My first R&D work, non-administrative, that is.

This is a challenge.
And I am not complaining.
I KNOW I can deliver.
Just that today is supposed to be a public holiday.
Sigh...

What a day...

Today had been an interesting day indeed.

Attended a meeting in the morning, and ended up heading downtown after that, to pay for the air-tickets and lunching with my "mentoring" boss.
It makes sense that my boss puts the payment on his credit card for now.
Especially when I am technically not earning yet.
I appreciate that thought, especially from just having had a bad experience with payment recently.
I am also glad I asked about my travel insurance.
That got done too.

After lunch, we travelled onward to his next meeting place.
Since it was early, we sat down to have coffee, and talked more about my new job responsibilities.
I was scheduled to leave when my boss had to go for his meeting.
He was supposed to do an interview with one of the "big-shots" in a large, well-known corporation.
Then my boss changed his mind.
He asked me to meet the "big shot" with him instead, as I would have had to meet him in due course anyway.
So I did.

What a day!

The start to a brand new week - part 2

Today was another round of phone calls.
Again, work-related.

I had to do some readings too, in order to prepare for a paper that I will be co-writing with one of my bosses, which may lead to a journal publication.
This is for a project that I have been hired to oversee, once my "mentoring" stage is over.
One of my bosses is mentoring me for now, and helping to bring me up to speed about the existing project work so far.
This is only the start.
My "mentoring" boss is travelling with me in the time he is here, so that he can introduce me to other people around the Asia-Pacific region as much as possible.
This is because I will be the main point of contact for future projects around the Asia-Pacific region.
Which means I will be the main person in-charge basically, as we hire more staff to work for me, over time.
I know - I am still trying to get used to that idea myself!
It sounds quite scary, right?

Another long day ahead tomorrow...

The start to a brand new week - part 1

I can only describe today in one work - BUSY.

Today was spent trying to secure appointments for one thing or another.
All work-related.

Also managed to finally (!) get tickets for the business trip to Thailand for this coming Sunday to Tuesday next week.
This trip was originally for Monday and Tuesday only, but on learning that there was a special promotion for a 3-day, 2-night stay instead, one of my bosses said that we might as well go for that.
Hence the flight for Sunday.

So another round of phone calls.

There was also a specific hotel that I ended up having to ring direct to Thailand for, since it has a special flat-rate deal for my company.
It is an expensive stay, but happens to be close-by to where our meetings will be held for the duration of our stay.
So I guess rather than spending more time travelling on the road to get to the meetings we have scheduled, it makes more sense to save that hassle and go for a more expensive stay, but with the meetings a short walk away.

Both my bosses will be in town tomorrow, and I wonder what will be in store...ha.

Another surprise...

Saturday has been another surprise for me.
But I will say more about the surprise in a little while.

I went for my regular Chinese traditional massage.
Instead of my usual painful whole-arm treatment, I ended up being pummelled on the back of the shoulders too.
There seems to be a persistent 'knot' that refuses to heal.
Hence the shoulder-ache and all.

That session took the energy out of me.
Although I had the liberty to take an afternoon nap, I simply could not fall asleep.
Perhaps I do not have the habit of napping in the afternoon.
Or perhaps something else was bothering me...

Now, the surprise.

I was supposed to be out having dinner and social drinks with someone.
But I ended up going for a movie at a quaint, run-down cinema on the other side of the island with another friend.
It was a pleasant surprise, as I like old buildings!
The cinema is one of those really old ones that has been preserved in its original state.
And here I was, thinking that we have no such places anymore around.
Anyway, my friend and I had to try our best to ignore the irritating 'aeroplanes' that were enjoying sucking our blood occasionally.

The movie was interesting.
It is based in the local context, and mainly in Mandarin (plus a smattering of Chinese dialects and localised English).
It was about how a seemingly non-compatible couple ended up happily married to each other.
It also openly promoted the fact that the younger generation should get married and have children - the more the merrier!
The monetary incentives the government has for its citizens for having the 2nd, 3rd or 4th child were mentioned.
Sounds like a lot of money upfront, but it begs the question: how long can each of the amounts last?
Children are around for life.
And along with such high costs of living locally, one-off monetary incentives may not be sufficient to entice the younger generation to marry and have more than one child.

After all, we do not marry for the sake of marrying nowadays.
As we become more affluent individuals, we also become more confident and aware of how important the quality of life is, in many respects.
We are also more focused on wanting to achieve our personal goals in life.
Such realisation makes many of us more uncompromising.
And perhaps, that's why we will only think about marriage if it is someone we really appreciate.

But, it is hard to find such a person like that nowadays.
Because we singles have no time.
And even if we do, we rather sit in front of the TV and 'rot', rather than head out to socialise (especially after a hard day's work).
Such, is life.
In the modern local context, of course!

Other things that may be off-putting include long-standing relationships breaking up after dating each other exclusively for many years.
I have had my fair share of hearing about numerous cases such as these.
I even know of a friend who is going through a tough time, whilst a lady he is keen to date exclusively is trying her hardest to dump her other boyfriend.
Except that she is finding it hard to do so.
Said she does not have the heart to hurt her other boyfriend.
This 'yo-yo' relationship has been going on for something like half a year.
This lady may seem like a pitiful person, but personally, I think she is having the best of both worlds.
And that she is being really unfair to my friend.
If she is so indecisive (even after having agreed to meet - or even met - my friend's parents), can she hold her own in the future, when my friend finally gets to date her exclusively or marry her?
And so this complicated matter goes on...

That could explain why a lot of us are not really keen to take the risk...
...the risk of putting so much time and effort into a relationship only to have it ending up nowhere.
So the question now is: do we think this is all worthwhile?
Or are we better off as singles?

TGIF

Friday has been an interesting day.

Had to head down to my former work place to hold a long-distance conference call with an ex-colleague there and one of my current bosses.
However, this time, I act as a representative for my current organisation.

It was a good session, as together, we were able to identify some practical issues related to a common project that we are working on.
It is comforting to know that my years of experience on my previous job (prior to my doctoral studies) have reflected how much I have learnt on that job.
Again, it has further helped to reassure me that I have picked the right job as opposed to the corporate one!

One ex-colleague was questioning why I decided not to join his company.
He thought I was starting work the other day, when he was asked to hook up a computer for me on the day I was piled with additional responsibilities.

I just gave a polite answer.
I could have said much more.
In fact, I WOULD have said a lot more if it were a few years ago, when I was much younger.
But, I have learnt that talking too much about something is not necessarily going to do much (or any) good.
I do not want to invite sympathy.
That is not my style nowadays.

I had the conference call after my work-hours (was there for 6 pm).
Afterwards, I stayed behind to wait for my 2 other colleagues to finish work and have dinner and social drinks with them.
They are now dear friends of mine, after mutually discovering that we ALL have be ill-treated by 'you-know-who'.
Word has got around in the office how much I was initially offered for my work-hours.
And that was despite the fact that I have been keeping this matter to myself all this time.
And by keeping things under wraps, I have won at least a couple more friendships in the process.
That is definitely a more meaningful gain than money!

Anyway, it was a good night out.
My friends and I shared our experience and what little we know about things that happened at the work place, and boy, it was mind-blowing!
All I can say is: my former employer is really 'losing it'...

My poor friends even dread checking their emails or getting phone calls over the weekend now.
They appeared to have been consistently bombarded with emails and/or phone calls from 'you-know-who' - even at weekends!
They are also not looking forward to this coming new week.
'You-know-who' is going to be back in town from a business trip...

Yikes.

Strange how life is...

People who know me well are aware that I am basically a happy person.
I tend not to let things get me down for too long.
This is because I like to be able to rationalise my thoughts - which will mean I must have a clear and positive mind.

Having taken a short break from work, I chatted with a friend online earlier.
We were ex-colleagues in the previous company.
From our brief chat, I realised that my former employer is not a happy person.
Before I was "bitten", she was telling me MANY things - about her work right down to very private details of her personal life.

My ex-colleague and I share a common observation about her.
That she is a different person this year, compared to the person she was last year.
She has become really bitchy and nasty, and this seems to have happened AFTER she has been married.

After some careful analysis, and with what little knowledge of psychology I have, I have come to the conclusion that my former boss is showing signs of insecurity.
For someone who is meant to be happy from a supposedly whirlwind romance that ended in marriage within 3 months of meeting her man, she should have been one of the happiest ladies around.
BUT, I have been hearing her complain and moan about her man recently.

As far as I am aware, women who are likely to bitch, complain or moan are probably seeking for some attention.
Simply because of feeling insecure or unhappy.
Why else would they do one (or all) of those things if they are totally satisfied and contented with their own lives??

I have a theory: perhaps she is starting to think that it was not a good idea to jump into marriage so soon after all.
Hence her desperation at wanting to start a family.
Being from a very traditional Chinese family, could it be HER idea of strengthening the marriage-bond that is showing signs of cracking?

And, not being able to talk about her innermost fears has somehow made it worse, and is perhaps affecting her moods and personality as a result.
By turning on people whom she supposedly cares most about (her friends, family), she could actually be crying out for help.

Being a former good friend of hers, she became desperately unhappy that I decided not to work for her.
That could be the ONLY reason why she treated me the way she did.
She could have taken it to mean I did not value our friendship enough to want to stay.
And that I preferred working for her husband rather than for her.
In a sense, she could have felt she has "lost" me to him.
Sadly, I was merely acting on my own state of preference, which was misunderstood.

What a theory, eh?!

Back in my elements

Ahhhh, today...

What can I say?

I am finally back in my (academic) "elements" that made me what I am today.
Who would have thought reading a couple of humongous work-related folders could actually make me happy???
Is that a reflection of being a true academic?
Or is this my way of escaping from the so-called "reality"???

To a selective group of people, reading books or academic papers is a definite no-no.
They much rather "die", or so I have been told.

Looking back at the time when I was still a non-academic, I loathed the academic jargon.
The "big" words that the academics use were too overwhelming and pompous-sounding, I thought.
Having finally chosen to go the academic "route", I realised I am indeed lucky...
...lucky to be able to appreciate academic jargon now.
It is like being given a chance to observe and appreciate both sides to a situation!

Yet another day

Today (or rather yesterday now, since it is almost 1 am) has been a day of running around.

Had to pick up some documents to refer to from my former office (collaborating on same project), as well as dropping off my claims for my previous work.
This is on top of trying to get my head round what my new role is in all this collaborating.

Nearly did not make a dinner appointment with a long-standing dear friend of mine whom I have not seen in ages.
She was accommodating enough to hang around a bookstore whilst waiting for me to turn up.
She is someone whom I truly regard as one of my dearest friends - it has been years that we have known each other.
Despite residing overseas for a good number of years, whenever we had a chance to meet up face-to-face during my home visits previously, it was so easy to pick up from where we left off!
I guess this reflects how strong our friendship-bond is.
If only all friendships were like this.

I also took the opportunity to surprise another friend on the phone.
This friend of mine has such a hectic and erratic work schedule that I hardly dared call in all the time I have known him...which goes way back when.
So in one of our previous conversations, when I was gently chided for not reciprocating the calls, I decided I would this time.
It was en-route (in the cab) to meeting my other friend waiting at the bookstore.
I am glad I did - I was told I made his day!
He sounded unwell.
Signs of stress from overworking.
Let's hope he is ok after a good sleep.

Every day is so unpredictable

I unknowingly got a friend into trouble today.

He happens to be someone who is working in company I was formerly freelancing for.
He has been asking me to make casual enquiries about whether he could switch jobs and move from his company to my current place of work.

I was merely doing my friend a favour, and I only told one of my new bosses (who happens to be the husband of my former boss) about his keen interest.
In the same conversation, I also made sure I said I would not have the heart to "poach" him from his wife's company, much as I would like to!

Now, how I got my friend into trouble (unknowingly, you mind!): he got an email from my former boss earlier today, and she asked him to tell me to stop sharing word around with "people" about him wanting to join me!

I don't even need to go through the process of elimination, since I had not told "people" about this.

I feel really bad now, and wondered if I should still sign the backdated job-contract come next week, although officially, I started work today.

I somehow feel really uncomfortable...is it unprofessional, or is my instinct telling me otherwise???

My first day of work

Wow.

It has been a looong time since I worked this hard.
It had been a full day of ringing up people, checking up on things online or offline, emailing one of my new bosses back and forth, etc.

But on the whole, it was fruitful.

Working from home for the time being is quite an interesting experience though.
I had to tell my parents not to talk to me on an ad-hoc basis, which they have had the habit of doing with me at the times when I have been at home.
I ended up putting on my headphones, and listening to loud music to drown out all background noise.
That is, to the extent that I missed a call on my mobilephone!

I was surprised by my disciplined self though.
This is despite the fact that I was constrained by working from the living room!

More work is already lined up for tomorrow...

Last weekend before I start work on Tuesday

This weekend has been a good one for me.

I managed to get out and about, despite getting hit by my Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI for short - abit like "tennis elbow").

For some reason, knowing that I may not have the luxury to feel this relaxed once I start working made this weekend seemed more precious.

So I am glad I enjoyed myself.

Thanks to the lovely people who made time for me - you know who you are! :o)

Back to my old self

Wednesday's palaver is now a thing of the past.

I made sure I enjoyed myself last night, when I went out and met up with my ex-pupils from my secondary school teaching days - they are 22 years old this year - and their bosses, one of whom I coincidentally know (the world is so small!).
These guys are all fighter-pilots (or in my ex-pupils' case, fighter-pilots-to-be).
They have come back to Singapore from their French airbase - last training stage for my ex-pupils.
These are ex-pupils whom I have taught for all of the 4 years they were in the school!

I also got to know a new friend working for an e-University.
She was having dinner with one of the men prior to joining us for drinks.
What a nice surprise to know that she is also involved in the education line!

I was so happy to see my ex-pupils, that is for sure.
They have matured into wonderful adults - I am so proud of them!
Getting into the RSAF Academy is by no means an easy feat - everyone knows that.
The trainees can get kicked out of the Academy anytime, no matter how far they have advanced in their training.
In other words, right to the last day before the trainees get their "wings", they can still be booted out, if they fall short of expectation.
That takes some gutsy determination and drive to make it through.
So why wouldn't I be proud?!

Ah...my friend - their boss (or rather, one of my ex-pupils' bosses).
He has not changed one bit since I last met up with him in London last May.
He still looks as young (actually he is not old - haha)!
Perhaps it is his easygoing attitude to life that has helped maintain his youthful looks.
And that is despite him having weathered some nasty "storms" in his life.

In the time that I have known this friend, he has exuded great strength and courage in many respects.
For that, I have my utmost respect for him.
And let's not forget to mention he has brought back 2 yummy (hic!) bottles of red wine from France for me! Hehehe...

It is such deep friendships and bonding with people that reminds me that there are other things in life that is much more precious than money...

Pittance pay

What a joke it was!

I received my an email from my boss.
She offered to pay me $10 (that is 3.33 pounds sterling) per hour for the hours that I had put into the 2 jobs that I had done for her since the beginning of the year.
According to a friend of mine, a Secondary Two pupil can earn $9+ per hour at MacDonald's.
And that another said $10 per hour is the going-rate for a delivery man.

I suspect my boss is annoyed with me about several things.
And that she was trying to insult me for disappointing her on several fronts.

For one, my decision not to take on the additional task had her guessing that I may have already decided who (out of the 2 job offers I have, one of which is hers) I want to work full-time for.

On a professional level, she is eager to retire, and I may have messed up her original plans about wanting me to lead her company within the year.

On a personal level, her retirement is just so that she could concentrate a little more on starting a family, being recently married.

I counter-proposed the rate offered in my reply-email, and justified my working hours in the process.
I decided to adopt the magnanimous approach by asking for an hourly-rate that, as a civil servant in a specific sector, I would be paid (i.e. $36 an hour, or 12 pounds sterling).
And that is not considering the going-rate as a proper consultant in the same field, with Doctoral qualifications, at $150 (50 pounds) per hour - which is information I ensured I included in my final reply-email to her.

What is money now that a supposedly good friendship is already strained?
By saving her company tons of money, she has belittled a friend greatly in the process.
Not only that, it indicates clearly what kind of a boss/person she is.
One minute she is your good friend, the next, she is not.
Frankly, she cannot afford to take things so personally in her line of job.
It could have an adverse effect on her rapidly-growing, successful business.
Not to mention that she may have tarnished her credibility that she has worked so hard to achieve!
In addition, our paths WILL cross again, since the line of work is so similar.
Her company and I may even share different responsibilities on a same project!
Let's hope that this incident does not come back to bite her.
And if it does, it has NOTHING - I repeat, nothing - to do with me.

What money I have been deprived of now, I can always earn it again in time.
To me, losing money is not a big deal, although to most people, it is/could be.
Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise.
Good job I have decided not to join this company to work full-time prior to this incident.
Imagine what more would/could have happened???
I shudder to think...

I have also learnt a little more about myself - that I have the strength to weather such "knocks"!
But let's not forget the support that a few of my friends who are in-the-know have given me.
Their emphathy and sympathy has been most appreciated.

Thank goodness for friends, eh?

LESSON LEARNT: whether for friendship or as a gesture of goodwill, ALWAYS talk terms first (money and job scope) before starting work!

Ruffling of feathers

This is a separate matter.

It was about the email I was instructed to put forward for circulation about the bid.
My project manager did not attempt to look my way for the whole time I was in the office for the other meeting (see preceding post).
Until I spoke to her after my meeting.
She revealed that our boss contacted her on Sunday, to say she had "reliable source" informing her about the outcome of the bid.
And that she was questioned if she knew about the outcome herself.
Unfortunately, my project manager did know only a couple of days before, but had not informed the boss.

Anyway, when my project manager asked who the "reliable source" was, our boss refused to reveal my identity.
I would have said it was me if I were her!
Why try to hide that?!

I apologised to my project manager (although I am not sure if I should).
I told her if it were any normal working day, I would have shared what I learnt about the bid with her first without any hesitation.
She was kind enough to accept that.
Thank goodness.

I guess this is where the reader understands a little better about me being "pawned"...

Kena "duah" ("bitten" beyond belief)

I was asked to attend a meeting back at the office first thing this morning.
This was for another project that I thought was a straightforward one.
I had started working on this for my friend since Day One, without any thought that I should negotiate my paying-rate as a freelance consultant.
[All this was because I was a showing a gesture of goodwill...all for the sake of friendship.]

Thinking that I had completed my designated job scope (unfortunately agreed only verbally), I was surprised with additional tasks and responsibilities.
In fact, I was asked to stay on at the office (I tend to clock my work hours religiously at home) after the meeting - something I had not expected.
I would have thought the professional thing to do would be to inform me - in advance - that I might be expected to stay on to work that day, if the need arose.
Not to be told at the very last minute!

Anyway, my boss and I tried starting on the additional work that she was hoping I would take on.
Unfortunately, she said she had a lunch-meeting after working with me for about 10 minutes.

Having made plans for lunch myself, I offered to work from home after my lunch appointment.
After all, this has been what I had been doing up till now.
I also promised to deliver the "goods" for the end of the day, for her review (fair suggestion, you would have thought).
Now, although I have faith that I was able to deliver a reasonably high standard of work, I was aware that I might be spending all that time working on the additional task, only to have my boss re-work on it all over again.

Being the considerate one (and on the off-chance that the output may not be what my boss was expecting in the end), I told her perhaps it may be more productive if she took over this additional task (which I had not expected to do anyway).
I also took into consideration that this additional task has to be completed by the end of this week, which means it could be counter-productive if 2 people were to work on the same thing twice (such an ability to think much further ahead is all thanks to my research studies).

Alas, my boss took it the wrong way.
Not only that, she said it sounded as if I was not prepared to work on this project full-time - which I had up till that day!
[Since then, someone had informed me that she said to everyone else at the office (but not to me, of course) that I had "abandoned" the project.]

After the meeting, I finally decided it was time to broach the subject of pay for two jobs that I have done (including this one).
Bad-timing - it was the only chance since I started working on at the beginning of this year - but it had to be done.
I was asked to let her mull over the rate, since my boss said this was her first "expert" hire...(stay tuned)

A pawn

Yesterday was a rather unnerving day for me.
Got to know an acquaintance who was recently a member of an interview panel for a project-bid that I was a part of.
Not only found out that the place I work for part-time did not win the contract, but also obtained some really constructive, informal feedback from this person.
Being a Sunday, I decided not to disturb my project manager (because she had previously indicated so), but shared the news with my boss (who happens to be a dear friend) instead, out of goodwill.
Mind you - I was merely trying to pass on the very useful feedback for the sake of the company, in the hope that it will improve on its future bids.
I was then asked to compose an email for circulation to the rest of the bidding team - which I did today.
Little did I realise I have been made the "pawn" out of this incident by merely following instructions - my first taste of the business world...

...ha.

Interesting day...

I had a very interesting day today.
Met up with someone at the local MacDonald's and we were there like 4 hours till dinner time!
We were trying to achieve 2 things at the same time: catching up with each other, whilst cooking up ideas for a business proposal that he and I have.
The rather intelligent someone appreciated the fact that I was able to play the devil's advocate time and again, so that his ideas could be refined further (along with mine, of course!).
Overall, it had been a successful meet - at least we had proven that having simultaneous social & work-time is achieveable! ;o)

Long day of technology "wrestle"

Since I posted my very first blog earlier this afternoon, I have gone back to slog...doing work that merely (or so I thought!) involves combining several chapters in separate Word files of a major document that I have written into a "master" document.

Alas, the woes and wonders of technology - I discovered that this wasn't as simple a job as I had hoped, despite carefully ensuring that I had all the right page setup, tab spaces, paragraphing, etc. I still ended up needing to do major re-adjustments to those similar things like: the styles of headings, paragraphing, font type/colour...

...sheesh.

First brave steps

I have been regularly visiting two blogsites which I've been invited to view,
and have since been continually doing so.
This is to keep myself abreast of news ...
on how these two people are getting on in their lives.
One is a dear friend, and another,
my former pupil for when I was his teacher.

I have deep thoughts of reflection that at times,
I feel the need to put them into words.
But, like many others,
I have allowed these thoughts to simply come and go.
Till now ...

I shall not let my thoughts slip by anymore.

As of today,
I have taken my v e r y_f i r s t_b r a v e_s t e p s.