Ketchup - Worklife

So a month and a half it's been, with no update whatsoever ever since I began my job. Frankly, a LOT has happened and naturally I'm finding it quite difficult to single-out a starting point. Perhaps chronology would make a good guide..

I began with Aker Solutions on a rainy morning. The first half day was pretty relaxed, though not many employees were at the office since they were away for their extended Hari Raya break so I wasn't able to make the most of the time to socialize. Anyway, come the afternoon and I was hit with my first load of work. The instructions from my boss were very vague, but I managed to figure out the job slowly thanks to the help of some colleagues. As some of you are aware of by now, my initial impression of the job isn't really a positive one - which is definitely a worrying sign. I generally don't like to whimper, and tend to be quite adaptive to any environment I'm thrown into.

Then what is the problem here? Well for starters, and perhaps most importantly, I'm finding it quite impossible to gauge my boss' actions and reactions. The snide remarks by people from other departments don't do me much good either. Then there's the 'expectation' to work for longer hours without getting paid for it, which isn't a problem except that new engineers like me won't get our overtime hours sanctioned for pay, and I frankly am not sure till when. Either way, crazy long hours have become a norm for me now week-in week-out. What bothers me most though, is the negative environment that the department operates in. Everyone seems to work to avoid problems, rather than to achieve something. To put it bluntly - negative reinforcement. You do well; life goes on. You screw up; you'll never hear the end of it!

Of course, there are the occasional exceptions to the norm, but if my month-long assessment is anything to go by - then my description above isn't too far off. On the bright side, I've met quite a few wonderful individuals at my workplace who have been easy to get along with. I also don't sense any internal politics within the department, but then again there wasn't much room for internal political games in the Nazi administration under Hitler either. Hah!

Having said all that, I don't mind the long hours for now as I don't have too many external affiliations other than family and friends (yet.. lol). Perhaps it's about time I look to explore new hobbies, or rekindle some old ones. I shouldn't lose sight of this blog though, and I hope I can find more time to update more frequently (especially considering it's one of my resolutions! lol). I can't say much about what I'll do in these coming months. Two companies that I had applied for earlier have re-contacted me asking that I reconsider their offer one with an offer equal to Aker and the other potentially better in terms of pay (with fieldwork which is awesome but it's a less-recognized local company which is perhaps my only qualm). I ain't no quitter though, so I'm gonna keep going down this path for now, and learn as much as I can. Perhaps, better avenues lie ahead..