Considering it's been three months(!) since my last post -- where I shamelessly claimed to be "back" and implied it to be the first of a series -- and that post was about one month after the previous, if this trend continues then perhaps the next entry will be right about five months from now. Just nice.
I was thinking of closing down the blog, even, as maybe things just have to come to an end. If you look at that 'Archives' count on the left hand side, numbers have been steadily decreasing, business has been bad over the four five(!) years of existence of this blog:
Haha. 10 posts and it's the end of September already! Time to close shop? File for bankruptcy ala Lehman Brothers to save my ass. Start afresh. That would be nice too.
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Why I'm resuscicating resusiscating resuscitating (wow I haven't written for so long I can't even spell anymore!) the blog is simple actually: I realise I like to talk to myself. A lot. I even call myself "Jose" when I do that. Haha I remember this phase sometime last year, thanks to my English Literature class, when I had this incredible fascination with the notion of "othering of the self". As if the concept of "self" and "other" isn't fascinating by itself. :) Anyway for a few months I was referring to myself in the third person, even when I blogged. It was fun la -- cheap thrills.:)
I know, I know it's not the best idea to talk to self in public, so I try not to. But at work, in the stillness of cold airconditioned afternoons, I find myself suddenly just blurting, a little above a whisper, words to myself. Like, "Ano ba yan, Jose?", or "Come on think", or "Where'd you put it, Jose?" or "Galing mo ah." (Haha) Then I catch myself, look around if anybody heard me, and begin to wonder: how do people manage to keep very quiet while working? Really.
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And the work part. That's the big difference between the Joseph of late and the Joseph ten weeks back. What can I say, I think I'm lovin' it. Haha, really. Interesting things to learn, check. Use for my skills, both quantitative (mostly this!) and qualitative, check. Making use of too-academic-seeming degree (Statistics) to practical purpose (Risk/Credit/Finance), check. Pay OK, check. Fantastic team, check. What more could I ask for right?
And it's the people too. Really, I think I hit the jackpot with my team. They're too jolly for a bunch of bankers. Haha. They're the type who play hard, but you know work hard too. My VP whose supervising me is an NUS Stats alumnus like me, and boy, he knows a lot of things, I'm impressed. He jokes and laughs half the time too, so I'm glad that after I semi-berate Jose for not matching the speed of the VP, I share a good reassuring laugh with him. Our boss is an Aussie chap, who has to be one of the most admired people I know (I'm a fan myself). He's the type who everyone loves, for his sense of humour, for his general vibe, but he's one tough cookie too. He is able to tackle all the issues head-on, has a thing for materiality and relevance and proactivity, and knows how to make sense of numbers and issues in a way that's understandable (his analogies are both illuminating and witty), and always reminds us of legacy and integrity. The rest of the team are terrific too. There's this warmth and laughter lah -- the kind I assume to be familiar to our Filipino culture -- but when it's crunchtime, they deliver.
I didn't think this was the right entry to post this, but since I've already rambled on above, here's me with my bosses:
Haha. Angmoh boss was told by my other VP to wear her pink scarf cos it was raining.
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OK, this entry has been incredibly long already, but I can't miss to greet a certain Reynaldo a happy happy birthday (sorry this is a few hours late). I tried to call a while ago, but you guys must be having dinner or something? I couldn't contact your phone and Kai's, so hopefully you just ran out of battery. That, or maybe the family was having dinner at some ulu place with no signal. Haha.
Happy 62nd Dad.:) All my good vibrations go out to you and the family. Doesn't look like the best of times for the family and the business, as you've told me over the phone the other day, but I'm glad you're holding up incredibly well. Trust my Dad to stay cool amid external pressures -- keep optimistic, be proactive, that's what he says. I try to do that too -- with less successful results (haha that's no secret). But I try OK, and that's a start. Another thing I got from my Dad is the zits, but that's another story. Hehe.
Trivia: Ma wore that same dress in my Grade School graduation in 1999, in my High School Graduation in 2003, and last July in my University graduation. Haha Ma is too cute. :)
Since I'm posting -- and since this is supposed to be the comeback blog post of sorts -- I might as well post a photo of the family, aka Joseph's Top 5:
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Yep it's good to be back. And I think I'm back for good, too. Don't take my word for it, though. Haha!
