Things are not going well for me nowadays =_=
Warning: This is partially a rant post.
Economy is going down no matter how much the US government is trying to save it. And today, our Bank Negara said that Malaysia will feel the full force of the recession in first half of the year 2009. Worse has yet to come.
Nowadays, I’ve been quite demotivated. Surprise surprise. Most people know me for being a highly motivated person – thanks to my previous “preachings” about life is short, bla bla bla. But after sitting in the office without any project for more than 2 months, I really start to worry about my job security. As some of you know, I’ve lost quite a significant amount in the stock market. It’s just paper loss, but it’s enough to last me 6 months without pay. In other words, that huge sum of money will be stuck in there for a long long time. I’ve bailed out some, but my current savings is not even enough to last for about 2 months.
That’s why I’ve been working hard on writing online reviews and articles. I’ve earned some, but it’s really not much and it requires a lot of hard work. I’ve also tried to look around for “other” IT projects but economy is quite bad…most people do not dare to spend on IT anymore.
Seeing all these factors, I’ve decided to cut down all my “wants”. I only bought 1 game for my PS3 so far – after selling another old game and used some of the earnings from online reviews. There’s another one but I most probably will not buy (even though it’s only RM160). My colleagues and friends have been trying to persuade me to buy…aih…but I don’t know. I guess it’ll be better for me to save up that RM 160.
I’ve been trying to motivate myself more by focusing on few things such as learning a new and cool technology called Adobe Flex (which I feel could be a big hit soon). Maybe I can start something from there. I’m also focusing on drawing, just to relax myself. But other than that, I’m just spending time with my family (though I doubt they are happy to see my worried face all the time).
And it certainly doesn’t help when a friend of mine came to me early in the morning to complain how shitty his job is. I know his job is stressful and has a lot of problems but all I want to say is “Hey dude, look here. You have a job and have something to do, means your job is secure! What are you complaining about? You rather sit here for 2 months like me? Do you think my job is more secure than yours?”
That’s why I always said to people…it’s okay if you don’t motivate the people around you. Just make sure you don’t go and demotivate them!
Good people (like myself) will be able to motivate themselves sooner or later… but it doesn’t help if someone is there to constantly demotivate them.
OK-lah, guess I’ll just proceed from here and see how things go. I’m sure the dots will connect with each other in the end.
Tomorrow will always be a better day.
p/s…. I spent quite some time to design a poster for my company dinner…and got rejected because they preferred a kiddie poster copied from somewhere. Sad. Maybe I’ll post it here so that you people can use it next time. Will open-source it for sure.
p/s…. there’s a wedding dinner this Saturday… the girl i used to court for 3 years. I won’t be going since I don’t feel comfortable at all. I feel that I’ve been cheated all these years. Ah well, never mind. It’s over now. Guess it’s best for everyone too. Just wish her all the best.
Hey Alvin, cheer up. Usually during recession, will be the best time to pick up / master skills that will help your career. Once the demand for skilled workers is back, you’ll be in demand, and most likely, your experiences + skills + endurance will give you great advantage in your choice of career.
No projects = more time + resource.
Maybe you can brainstorm with your management in branching side projects to retain company’s cash flow.
No project for 2 months… I always thought we consultants are like prostitutes. All we do is sit around for waiting for customers all day, LOL.
About your friend, all I can say is, why worry about other people’s boats when your own boat is springing a leak. In my case, my co’s activity has moderated to about 80%. Although there are no new projects, there’s enough deliverables to keep everyone occupied for the next 6 months. What I do in my spare time is study the market. Remember that even mushrooms spring up in the dark. You just need a keen eye and a steady mind to see them. So lighten up and look forward, not backwards.
@ Lays
And about the brainstorming part, I’ve suggested before but the bosses are just too busy to spend time with me. LOL. I’ll just stick to my own plan.
No project does indeed free me up for other things.
Well, you know how it works with consulting firms.
After all, I’m the junior most staff here.
@ Damien
That’s what I’m doing actually but it’s for my own “project”. Not sure how it’ll work out though.
As for my friend, well, he’s my teammate and he’s sitting behind me. LOL. Just different project (I mean…he has a project and I don’t).
I know how you feel about your friend…quite a drag hearing someone complain about their project when at least they have a project! Cheer up…focus on what you can do for now
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@ KittyCat
Thanks for dropping by.
Yeap, focus one thing at a time.
Alvin:
I like your line of ‘…it’s okay if you don’t motivate the people around you. Just make sure you don’t go and demotivate them!’ because I am trying my best to apply this as my principle.
It’s quite demotivating when things just don’t go the right way. In fact, you are aware of my financial crisis that was due to other people’s mistake. However, probably we can look at the other side of things- those that make us happy, feel satisfied and gratitude. Eg. Feel blessed when you are able to spend some quality time with parents because they are still around. As for my case, I always missed by dad I lost last year, it may lead me to feel sad, but I chose to focus on being happy with my mom.
In short, let’s try to focus on positive things instead of the negative ones. It’s a choice. Wish you all the best!
Regards,
Trex Lim
~ The mind can create the world; the mind can also destroy it. ~
@ Trex
Hopefully by doing this, I can build a stronger core and all those negative remarks will not have too much an impact on me in the long run. 
Yeap, I do feel blessed and I’m happy too. Learn to appreciate little things in life.