My Birthday Lunch @ EY

My first birthday as a working girl! :D Woah! I had a blast. It's so much fun! :) More birthday celebration to come later on. Last night, was the part 1 at Ancol. Thanks Allan! (",) Will post pics later. Ang saya saya! So many celebration! I wore red para lucky daw. :)

L-R: Ian, Tricia, Mba Yudi

Ian, Me, Mba Dian, Mba Sandra, Vina, Mba Temmy

Mba Lis (my boss :D) and I

Me and my cake

Me blowing my cake. :)

Mba Dian, Vina, Pak Reikman, Ian, Mba Sandra

Mba Ena, Sani, Mba Lis, Me, Mba Yudi

Thank you very much to my EY family! :D You guys are the best!

My Office's Image

We had a funny encounter just few minutes ago..

Ian, my workmate met his college friend in the lift. The friend was heading to 11th floor (oil and gas company, i think) and we were heading back to the office at 13th floor.

Ian: apa kabar? (how are you?)...
Girl: baik (good).. sekarang kerja dimana sih? (where are you working now?) *she looked at the lift's buttons* ohh lt. 13 (ohh 13th floor). perusahaan apa sih? (what company?) EY?
Ian: iya, EY.
Girl: Selamat buat tidak punya kehidupan. (Congratulations for not having a life). *girl exits*

Me: whatta reputation huh?

hehehe! so we're labelled as no-lifers? aduh!

I got a one sure job!

yey! :D my current company offered me a permanent position. thank you Lord. thank you thank you thank you.

How's my weekend?

May 8 (Friday) - hanged out at Allan and Archel's room with Lisa, we sang, drunk, and share ghost stories. kuntil anak! hala!

May 9 (Saturday) - went to Ambasador with the tukang gossip (gossip folks).. haha!
- went to somewhere out there with Lisa, Albert, and Antonio. met Mage (he's so mabango! my gosh!) hottah hottah.. first time to try Ks. ;) won't try it again. kaya nga try lang diba? choba dong!

May 10 (Sunday) - woke up late :O mother's day pala. went to church with Allan and Archel. met Leah and john too. we had dinner at Duck King. the boys treated me.

post-weekend:
May 11 (Monday) - took the Unilever's aptitude test. i passed the phone interview. :) had focus group discussion too which didn't lead us to anywhere coz everyone was seeking for the spot light. my goodness! i didn't know that Indonesians can be that AGGRESSIVE. halos makipagsabunutan na sila sa isa't isa! at ang english, jusko! di nila alam paano papakendengin pa! hahahaha! the face-to-face interview was ok, i was able to redeem myself. wish me luck! btw,
traffic was BAD. 1 hour from menteng to kuningan, my goodness gracious!

May 12 (today) - went to work late. it was difficult to find a cab. mba temmy who is my boss' secratary, told me that she has to update me on something. ano kaya yun? gosh! me UBER nerbus!

Realization: Don't eat the words you utter.
Be thankful. :) Hundreds of applicants were there in the testing center yesterday. They've been searching for jobs for many months now. Buti na lang may trabaho ako! Salamat po!

xoxo,
Mummy Gone Wild

P.S. find the hidden message here.

Bitching around about White Guys

Oh well oh well... Gusto kong sapatusin 'tong lalakeng 'to (I wanna throw a shoe at this guy). Tagalugin ko na lang ba? English na lang. Atapang atao (strong person). hahaha! I don't give a damn whether you read this or not. Yes, you are a white guy. Feeling superior, looking down at Asians. But why do you love to go to Asian countries anyway? Because generally, you are nothing in your country? Wahahaha! Mayabang lang kayo, pero wala namang ibubuga (you're just proud but you don't have anything to brag) aside from your color. Feeling gwapo (handsome).

According to an Indian lecturer in INTI, some white guys only go to Asian countries because they are basically nothing in their own country. Surprisingly, some of them just get $1000 usd for teaching at EF - English First. They love it here in Indo because they get cheap ciggies, cheap alcohol, and cheap girls. My goodness gracious! $1000 usd is just half or even 1/4 of some Filipino expatriates' housing allowance. Bwahahaha!

Anyway highway skyway South Super Highway, I'm pissed because a guy just said "YOU ARE TOO MATERIALISTIC GIRL". Just because I wanted to give my dad a Mont Blanc belt. What the hell you care? It's not even enough to pay for my monthly rent here. It's just a way of showing my appreciation and I'm not gonna get it from my allowance from my parents. I'm gonna work my ass off for it. So what the hell? I just thought he can help me to get a better bargain from ....... The comment was just totally uncalled for. I wanted to stand up and slap him right then and there. Thank goodness that I didn't lose my professional mind otherwise, I might get fired the next day. Phew!

Well, my workmate was right. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES. ok fine. That's why I'm learning International Management at USQ. ok ok ok.

Just bitchin around...

XOXO,
Mummy Gone Wild

Random Thoughts

I dunno. I miss Ryan. I dunno how to express it further. I find him so numb. He always try not to portray any emotion. This is getting difficult day by day. No assurance on when I will be coming back. Should I go back to Manila soon or what? Everything seems to be unpredictable. One thing is sure, I want a comfortable life. My parents brought me up this way. I dunno if I can learn how to step down a bit. Awhile ago my workmates were telling me that the kost (serviced studio type apartment) where I am moving to on March is expensive coz I earn less than that but my dad will be the one to finance it. It is pretty ironic though. I'm working but all I get from the company is not sufficient to fund my everyday needs. I just use it for shopping. Well, you have to give it to me. I haven't finished university yet and Dad told me that he doesn't like me to stay in a basta basta place since he has been working so hard all this time to give us a comfortable life. I love my dad eventhough he gets toxic at times.

Thoughts are all over my head. I can't express them into words but I can say that I'm pretty scared (not so scared) about the future. Tuition fees are really high and I have to send Daphne to a good school for sure. How am I able to do that on my own? On the other hand, I'm trying to find a way to be financially independent in the near future. Ayoko na may masabi sila sa akin. I wanna stand up with my own feet. Hopefully, I will be able to save up for a comfortable house soon, if ever I will be settling back to Manila or get a relatively good paying job here. What about other countries huh? hmm.. Let's see.

Dad is getting a job! Yay! :D Thank God! It took only a month of waiting. God is great! :) Justice and good karma come back so quick so no need to revenge or anything. yeah that's right. ;)

Btw, my sperm donor offered a child support. I said NO THANKS with my left eyebrow up. haha! I hope I could tell that to him face to face.

After 3 days...

of not going to work.

I'm clueless. ;) I smell something fishy..

Mungkin Mba Dian bisa menggelaskan. :D is my bahasa betul?

BDPO in White Top

just got this from my workmate's blog.. spot the knot. ehem ehem! ;) nahulaan niyo ba? iba na talaga ang maganda. lol.

Work Week

this blog is becoming more and more work related. lol. what can i say? that's where i spend most of my time now.

hmmm.. this week has been very busy for me. i was tasked to do thousands of taxonomy (classifying each client according to its industry, sector, and subsector) and then mbak dian and i were tasked by our boss to accomplish a request from the CEO. we had to gather all the French-owned businesses in Indonesia. we had to call French agencies to help us out. i called the Indonesian French Chamber of Commerce and the girl said we can buy the directory for Rp300.000 (Php1500). my boss is so kuripot that she had to instruct me to bargain the directory for free or at least get a big discount.

tuesday: we don't need to pay that much just for a directory. i recommend that you do it manually by using the Foreign Businesses in Indonesia 2006. uhm? i had to go through that page by page and sort all the French businesses.

wednesday: ok we get the book but ask if we can get it for free. wtf? i'm working in a Big 4 firm and we have to act very thrifty! ok fine, i called the Chamber and ask if they got "special rates" for us. the girl said no so i told my boss. she goes like, ok let the librarian do the transaction and she was able to get it for half the price. so what is the conclusion, pabaya ka Trish! you have to learn how to bargain from her. come on! i can bargain in Mal Ambasador or ITC but not in a Chamber for crying out loud! I was carrying the name of the company! nakakahiya! anyway..

thursday: she said, the librarian was so resourceful the she was able to get it half the price. then my workmate said, trish got a more useful info from the Trade Commission. my boss, you see trish you were such a negative thinker thinking that they won't reply. come on! you were rushing me and they haven't replied when you asked for the update! so why did we get that book? BECAUSE YOU SAID SO AND YOU WERE SO IMPATIENT!

after few minutes... btw trish, the CEO said we could've gotten it easier coz he knows someone from the Chamber. i didn't tell him that we paid for it. otherwise... but if he asked, i wouldn't cover the truth that we actually did. ANO DAW? PAGTATAKPAN NIYA KO? what did i do?

thursday night: she texted me asking for the file that she asked me to e-mail her which i did. so i just told her that i already sent it and if she couldn't find it. it can be found in.. a certain link..

friday: she repremanded us in front of everyone by saying that the file should be put in a folder lalalala... i asked: were you able to receive my email? she replied, i found it in the TRASH coz i accidentaly DELETED it. what the? anong gusto niyang mangyari? sa akin niya isisise na binura niya email ko?!

tsk tsk..

my workmate's say on this, EAT SHIT! hahaha!

p.s. i wanted to pay her Rp150.000 just for the heck of it. hahaha!

7 Habits To Win In Office Politics

I came across this article and find it very interesting and timely..

Office politics - a taboo word for some people. It’s a pervasive thing at the workplace. In it’s simplest form, office politics is simply about the differences between people at work; differences in opinions, conflicts of interests are often manifested as office politics. It all goes down to human communications and relationships.

There is no need to be afraid of office politics. Top performers are those who have mastered the art of winning in office politics. Below are 7 good habits to help you win at the workplace:
HABIT #1 - BE AWARE YOU HAVE A CHOICE

The most common reactions to politics at work are either fight or flight. It’s normal human reaction for survival in the wild, back in the prehistoric days when we were still hunter-gatherers. Sure, the office is a modern jungle, but it takes more than just instinctive reactions to win in office politics. Instinctive fight reactions will only cause more resistance to whatever you are trying to achieve; while instinctive flight reactions only label you as a pushover that people can easily take for granted. Neither options are appealing for healthy career growth.

Winning requires you to consciously choose your reactions to the situation. Recognize that no matter how bad the circumstances, you have a choice in choosing how you feel and react. So how do you choose? This bring us to the next point…
HABIT #2 - KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE

When conflicts happens, it’s very easy to be sucked into tunnel-vision and focus on immediate differences. That’s a self-defeating approach. Chances are you’ll only invite more resistance by focusing on differences in people’s positions or opinions.

The way to mitigate this without looking like you’re fighting to emerge as a winner in this conflict is to focus on the business objectives. In the light of what’s best for the business, discuss the pros and cons of each option. Eventually, everyone wants the business to be successful; if the business don’t win, then nobody in the organization wins. It’s much easier for one to eat the humble pie and back off when they realize the chosen approach is best for the business.

By learning to steer the discussion in this direction, you will learn to disengage from petty differences and position yourself as someone who is interested in getting things done. Your boss will also come to appreciate you as someone who is mature, strategic and can be entrusted with bigger responsibilities.
HABIT #3 - FOCUS ON YOUR CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE

At work, there are often issues which we have very little control over. It’s not uncommon to find corporate policies, client demands or boss mandates which affects your personal interests. Bitching and complaining are common responses to these events that we cannot control. But think about it, other than that short term emotional outlet, what tangible results do bitching really accomplish? In most instances, none.

Instead of feeling victimized and angry about the situation, focus on the things that you can do to influence the situation - your circle of influence. This is a very empowering technique to overcome the feeling of helplessness. It removes the victimized feeling and also allows others to see you as someone who knows how to operate within given constraints. You may not be able to change or decide on the eventual outcome, but you can walk away knowing that you have done the best within the given circumstances.

Constraints are all around in the workplace; with this approach, your boss will also come to appreciate you as someone who is understanding and positive.
HABIT #4 - DON’T TAKE SIDES

In office politics, it is possible to find yourself stuck in between two power figures who are at odds with each other. You find yourself being thrown around while they try to outwit each other and defend their own position. All at the expense of you getting the job done. You can’t get them to agree on a common decision for a project, and neither of them want to take ownership of issues; they’re too afraid they’ll get stabbed in the back for any mishaps.

In cases like this, focus on the business objectives and don’t take side with either of them - even if you like one better than the other. Place them on a common communication platform and ensure open communications among all parties so that no one can claim “I didn’t say that”.

By not taking sides, you’ll help to direct conflict resolution in an objective manner. You’ll also build trust with both parties. That’ll help to keep the engagements constructive and focus on business objectives.
HABIT #5 - DON’T GET PERSONAL

In office politics, you’ll get angry with people. It happens. There will be times when you feel the urge to give that person a piece of your mind and teach him a lesson. Don’t.

People tend to remember moments when they were humiliated or insulted. Even if you win this argument and get to feel really good about it for now, you’ll pay the price later when you need help from this person. What goes around comes around, especially at the work place.

To win in the office, you’ll want to build a network of allies which you can tap into. The last thing you want during a crisis or an opportunity is to have someone screw you up because they habour ill-intentions towards you - all because you’d enjoyed a brief moment of emotional outburst at their expense.

Another reason to hold back your temper is your career advancement. Increasingly, organizations are using 360 degree reviews to promote someone.

Even if you are a star performer, your boss will have to fight a political uphill battle if other managers or peers see you as someone who is difficult to work with. The last thing you’ll want is to make it difficult for your boss to champion you for a promotion.
HABIT #6 - SEEK TO UNDERSTAND, BEFORE BEING UNDERSTOOD

The reason people feel unjustified is because they felt misunderstood. Instinctively, we are more interested in getting the others to understand us than to understand them first. Top people managers and business leaders have learned to suppress this urge.

Surprisingly, seeking to understand is a very disarming technique. Once the other party feels that you understand where he/she is coming from, they will feel less defensive and be open to understand you in return. This sets the stage for open communications to arrive at a solution that both parties can accept. Trying to arrive at a solution without first having this understanding is very difficult - there’s little trust and too much second-guessing.
HABIT #7 - THINK WIN-WIN

As mentioned upfront, political conflicts happen because of conflicting interests. Perhaps due to our schooling, we are taught that to win, someone else needs to lose. Conversely, we are afraid to let someone else win, because it implies losing for us.

In business and work, that doesn’t have to be the case.

Learn to think in terms of “how can we both win out of this situation?” This requires that you first understand the other party’s perspective and what’s in it for him. Next, understand what’s in it for you. Strive to seek out a resolution that is acceptable and beneficial to both parties. Doing this will ensure that everyone truly commit to the agree resolution and not pay only lip-service to it.

People simply don’t like to lose. You may get away with win-lose tactics once or twice, but very soon, you’ll find yourself without allies in the workplace. Thinking win-win is an enduring strategy that builds allies and help you win in the long term.

Author: Lawrence Cheok
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/management/7-habits-to-win-in-office-politics.html