Post number 501. It is halfway to a thousand posts! Who knows what will happen by then ? I used to be quite amused by the number 501, especially as it is quite a common sight in Melbourne, on big buildings.

I have worked at the new place for four days now and I am freaking exhausted. Let us play with that little pro and con list shall we ?

Pro : Formal Mondays. Casual rest of the week.
Con : It is middle of nowhere, not near the city or my home.
Pro : Free bus takes you to food.
Con : Not much choice then.
Pro : Great to have people who care and are friendly.
Con : Left behind great people who are friendly already.
Pro : No more city jam !!
Con : Have to cancel my city parking and gym.
Pro : Can leave work around 6, which is pretty much on time, takes 20 minutes to home.
Con : Have to start work at 7 am. Damn early.
Pro : Learning absolutely brand new stuff.
Con : Am not very good at it yet.

Well basically it is a good thing I guess in the end. It is a totally new environment. And this will help me learn to adapt and be more flexible and that is one my life's goals anyway. Also it is great to meet even more people and also a good time to learn more about the back end of banking. Thanks very much to the new GAs who are actualy all older than me for taking such good care of me so far and bringing me to eat, and helping me write macros to reduce my workload. And also I get to work in a mere 20 minutes at slow speed without any traffic jams at all and this counts for after work as well so it really reduces a lot of stress for me. People at my current department are very nice, super nice in fact, and are willing to teach me all I want to know. It is also a good break for me from the more hectic life at head office.

However, it can get very tedious. There is a whole list of things to be done daily, weekly and monthly and I was not too pleased that I was sort of pushed into a role to learn as much as I can so that I can replace a lady about to give birth next month. The work is also unglamourous and probably noone would be grateful for the work outside the department. The hours are killer and I am exhausted since am sleeping at the same time but have to get to work earlier. Might even have to work on some weekends if I cannot manage my work at optimal levels.

But when all is said and done it is a good thing. And lucky that I am not doing anything else at the moment, like CFA or FRM, so that I can fully concentrate on this job. Because it is a job which requires a lot of organisation and careful planning. Just hope that I am able to take my leave in January without problem like I planned to.

And on the bright side, went for karaoke last night to farewell a beloved manager mentor and friend. It was a fun karaoke as we shouted and screamed and I guess it was above my expectations as most of the people there were aged around 40. But they had lots of fun and were very sporting as well and provided a lot of entertainment for the younger people too. Lots of gossip flew around as well as jokes. *Interesting.

Got home around 1 am. Totally pooped. And had to work at 7. Which is why I am going to bed right now.

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