New poll!

Don't be shy to vote on whether or not I should take a 3 month vacation trip (on full salary) before I start searching for a new job.

Keep in mind, that if I embark on such a trip starting in January for 3 months, I'll still have 2 months of full pay when I get back... .

Martin could join for 1 month, but then he'll have to return to work after that.

Only serious votes accepted! The last poll on Obama vs McCain had 1 person voting McCain several times. Not that it matters in the end, since Obama won anyway :o).

Official end of a long history.

So, it is kinda official now that I am not going to continue working in the company that I have been working in for almost 11 years.

If you've been following my blog, you would know that sometime in late September, my company was contemplating the closing down of our Copenhagen office. At that time, it was 99% certain. Fast forward 1 month, and the decision has now been made, with 100% certainty of the closure.

I also informed that I had the choice of choosing whether or not to stay on in my position, but working from home. Or, if I want to be terminated like the rest of my colleagues. I did apply for the position, went for the interview for it (even though it went without saying that I'd be given the job anyway, so the interview was just for formality's sake), and was successful in getting the position.

However, when I went for the interview two Wednesdays ago with 2 of my Frankfurt office managers, I was already 80% certain that I didn't want the job. I wanted to hear more about it though, because it could be that I change my mind after the interview, so was being open to hear.

After the interview, I was 100% certain that I didn't want it. I have several reasons that I had informed my European manager about, and that I will now share with you:

1. Time already used:
- I have been in this position long enough, so it’s time for me to move on (while I’m still young).

2. Nature of the offered position:
- After the interview, it seems more of a Destination Service (DS) position than a ship position, and working in DS is not something I am at all interested in. I had been at DS for a short period of time many years ago before ship department and didn’t like it much. I had also helped out DS during last winter, and I still didn’t like it. Therefore, I can safely conclude that it is not something for me at all, even with a ship aspect to it.

3. Future growth and development:
- I don’t see any big future growth and development for myself in this position, both personally and career-wise. Though I’m still young, I am unfortunately also getting older, so I don’t want to waste precious years of my youth being stuck in the same position.

4. Leadership style in Frankfurt office:
- I won’t fit into the kind of “top-down” leadership style of Frankfurt office. When Frankfurt office manager told me during the interview that “How we work in Frankfurt is that when your manager tells you to do something, you just do it,” I felt right away that I would be treated like a blue collar factory worker at an assembly line whose opinions, ideas and feedback will not matter.

- Maybe I’m just spoilt by the flat structure in Scandinavia. I do fully understand that in big companies, there has to be some form of structure and organization, but within the department itself, I prefer working under a manager who values my opinions and ideas, who gives me some form of freedom and independence, and who trusts me in my work. As I said earlier, I had helped out DS with some tasks last winter, and therefore had a taste of the leadership there. Sadly, I can’t say many good things about it.

5. Homeworking:
- It has its pros and cons, but despite its pros, I really can’t see myself doing it for more than a year without going crazy. Once or twice a week is great, but five days a week for a long-term period would be too much for me.

- It’s not because I would lack the discipline, but because I’ll miss having people around me, and by that, I mean more people than the other 2 homeworkers whom I can maybe see once in a while. I had a personality test done during a recent interview I was at the previous week, and one of the things it showed was that I’m an outgoing person who feels energised when I have people around me. I think that reflects a lot in my apprehension towards the whole “homeworking” concept.

6. Job security:
- After all that has been happening over the years in CPH office, with departments slowly moving down to Frankfurt office, and now the whole CPH office being closed/decentralised to Frankfurt, it is very difficult for me to trust my company that I’ll still have my job in this position after 6 months or 1 year or 2 years. We had been promised before that there was no plan to close CPH office, but within a short time, that promise was broken.

- I understand that it’s not possible to predict the future of not just my company, but other companies as well. I can’t say much about other companies without being there, so I can only say what I feel about my future with my company itself, and what I feel is that if I continue in this position, I’ll just be putting my immediate future into an upturned hourglass with the sand slowly but surely running through to the other side and leaving me behind in an empty half. I could very well be deemed “useless” in just a matter of time, despite my good performance.

7. Luxury of time:
- Thanks to the Danish law protecting me with a good legal compensation for my many years of service in my company, I’ll be able to use the time I have to explore other opportunities outside of it. I may not get a stress free chance like this again (unless my company makes me redundant in the future before I decide to hand in my own resignation), so now is a good time for me to keep my door open to something better someplace else.

- It’s a big risk for me to take, I know. Especially in hard times like what we’re going through now globally. However, last time I checked, there are still companies out there who need people, and I could be one of them if I open my door, step out and knock on theirs. High risks usually mean high returns, and from where I am now, I have nothing to lose anyway. Not in the next few months, at least.

So yeah, these are the reasons why I have decided not to take the position offered in the end. I was actually asked if I would consider doing hotel contracting instead (another position). It seemed that my European manager really wanted to keep me, so if I didn't want the offered "ship" position, he'd be willing to check if another position can be "created" for me, if I'm interested.

It did get me thinking. I was not expecting it at all, but I guess it was also because they really thought I would continue with the offered "ship" position, so it took them by surprise that I rejected it in the end. I know that I'm a good performer at work, and I know that my European manager knows that and appreciates it, but somehow I still feel that the main reason why they really want me to stay is because I'm the only one who knows the inside-out of the ship department. I'm sitting on a pot of gold.

I feel that once they get all the knowledge from me, I'll be given so much crap work that could force me to resign on my own. After all, if I have to just do what my manager tells me to do, then when can I say "No! Enough!"? Therefore, now that I have a great opportunity to find a new job while still getting fully paid for several months, I'd be stupid not to do so.

Now back to the hotel contracting offer. Like I told said before, it had me thinking. It is indeed a new and exciting challenge for me, and that’s really what I’m looking for right now.

I had over the weekend also talked to former colleagues who had been in that position before to hear more firsthand what the job was like within my company, how they felt about it, and what I can expect from it. With their valued feedback and advises, I am now able to make yet another educated decision.

The job itself sounds fantastic and I’d love that challenge, but in the end, to accept it and do it within my company, it boils down to 2 things: how things are generally done/managed “my company's way”, and the overall job security feeling (or lack of it) that I’ll have by staying within my company based here in CPH.

My final decision:
After much thoughts, sadness and reluctance, I have decided to choose the termination notice over the offer letter. It is not an easy decision for me to make at all, but my journey onboard my company's ship has ended, and it has brought me to my destination. Where I want to go next, is not a destination where my company's ship can safely take me to, so I’ll have to disembark here and find a new ship.

Thus ends the chapter of a very long history at my company. I expect the new chapter to be challenging and exciting...and it is tempting to start that chapter with 3 months of vacation in Singapore while still getting my full salary ;o). Maybe I'll make a new poll on that, so you can vote for whether I should or not ;o).

Fury of a Little Dragon

Date: 11 Nov 2008
Time: Afternoon-ish
Place: Café Fata Morgana
Players: Shi Hua, Sylvia, Sheila, Muyten
Combination: Little Dragon (64), All Pungs (6), Half Flush (6), 1 Kong (1), Pung in Honours (1), Single Wait (1), Self-draw (1), 3 Flowers (3)
Total points: 83 + 8 = 91 x 3 players = 273
Memorable moments: My very first big hand!

I wonder if I can put this down in my CV for job applications... .

The new Mr President

Congratulations to America!!! You have renewed hope in the rest of the world, and we're glad to see you've made the better choice. Whether he's the right choice or not (I think he is), time will tell. History has now been made, and I'm glad to see it getting written down.

I am also pleased to announce that because Barack Obama is the elected President, I will therefore continue to stay on Planet Earth. I'm sure all my friends and family are delighted, but my enemies are...well...who cares - they're probably all McCain supporters anyway ;o).

I guess the days of laughing at President George W. Bush are soon coming to an end. He was one of the worst Presidents ever, but we gotta admit that he was good entertainment (when serious issues were not involved), and he was one President who did make all of us "ordinary" people feel really smart, didn't he? Well, all of us except Sarah Palin, that is. Good riddence to her.

God bless America! God bless the world!

Ivy's 5+4+1+6+8+3+2+1 birthday

This is an overdue post, since Ivy's birthday was a couple of weeks ago. I also had a visitor in that weekend - a colleague of mine from our Seoul office who was undergoing some training in London office. Since Lucia was close to CPH, she thought it would be a good opportunity to make a short weekend trip here. Good thing she chose the right date to visit, as it was indeed an event-filled weekend. Also of the fact that the airline carrier I had suggested her to book with went bankrupt just a few days ago as they were owned by Icelandic investors who are suffering huge financial problems.

Speaking of Iceland, isn't it amazing how a whole COUNTRY can be on the brink of bankruptcy? It's really sad, but on the other hand, you reap what you sow. No doubt there are many innocent people affected, but the government had a responsibility to ensure that things don't get out of hand. They had been warned, but they didn't seem to care, and it's only a matter of time when your spending spree on borrowed money will come to an ugly end.

Seriously, this can be applied on a micro level too. Personally, I own 3 credit cards: Diner's Club, Mastercard with a Danish bank (supplementary), Mastercard with a Singapore bank (also supplementary), 1 debit card (Visa/Dankort) and 1 ATM card. I'd say that I'm the credit card companies worst customer. If they had a long list, I'll be at the very bottom, simply because I hardly ever use them.

Why do I have them then? It's the "just-in-case" mentality, and I had actually been many years ago in a situation where I was lucky to have my credit cards to unexpectedly pay for 3 air tickets out of Beijing, China. Long story. Good thing these situations don't happen often, but "just-in-case" something happens, I'll have my credit cards to fall back on.

Hmm...I remember now that it was good Martin and I had our Diners Club cards while in Rome almost 1 year ago... . Without them, we'd not have been able to get out any cash at all due to a situation with our Visa cards! So you see, "just-in-case". On a regular basis however, I dislike spending beyond my means.

I would go as far as to say that I never spend beyond my means. Apart from the mortgages on the apartments that we have, we don't owe the bank anything else. My belief is that if you can't afford something, you either work hard and save up for it, or you just don't get it at all. Most of the things that we "need" are material/luxury things anyway. For example, I love travelling, and I was planning on a big long trip to either Peru or Costa Rica next March. But now that my job situation is uncertain, I'll have to rob a bank forgo the plan and wait till our home economic situation is more certain.

Of course, I can just take the risk and go anyway, since I would be paid full salary for several months if I choose not to continue working for my current company... . I just don't think I'll enjoy myself much with the uncertainty hanging in the air at home.

Anyway, bottomline is: never spend beyond your means! If you take the risk to do so, then make sure you can afford the losses after enjoying the gains. I'm one person you'll never find playing the stock market. Can be tempting sometimes (high risk, high returns/high losses), but I'd rather sleep well at night knowing that the savings in my bank is what I worked hard for and therefore truly mine.

Now to Ivy's party pictures:

Lucia and I


Party people


I love big, fat, juicy prawns.


Also steamed fish, but unfortunately, we don't eat much fish in Denmark.


Yummy crab, but I prefer Singapore's chili crab.


I only eat cooked veggies.


Birthday cheesecake lovingly baked by moi.


If you were to lazy to calculate Ivy's age from the subject title above, then you can see what it is now.


Firming lotion - if it works.


Maternity dress. Yes, Ivy's pregnant, and she was "Jane" in this post.


More maternity clothes, but I'm sure this can be worn by a non-preggy person like me.


Birthday girl is happy with her gifts.


"Wow, will I really get big enough to fit these pants?"


Supermodel mum-to-be.


See, told you that can be worn by a non-preggy person too!


Two pregnant women with a healthy glow.


The next American pop idol!


Ginger Spice, Baby Spice and Sporty Spice.


Posh Spice and Scary Spice.


Don't be shy to sing!


My turn! My turn!


"Hmm...something's wrong with the lyrics. 'Oceans are far, day after day'?"

And if you dare to hear me sing, then click away!

Technology can help a lot.

Examination subject: ME!

Sorry everyone, for my silence. There has just been several things going on that I need to prioritise first, so I haven't had too much time to log in and make a new post. I still have to make a post on Ivy's 30th birthday bash from two Saturdays ago, so I know I am quite behind... .

I've been busy sending out job applications, had an interview last Monday, have another BIG and intense one on Wednesday that I really want/need to prepare hard for, then one with my company on Thursday in relation to the new home-working position...so my hands are quite full.

It's amazing how it feels like I'm preparing for an examination when I prepare answers to highly potential interview questions. The examination subject: ME!

Come to think of it, it was actually quite good practise for talking about me and my achievements during our company's performance appraisal sessions that started 3 years ago. I had to put down in words and numbers my achievements for the year, the goals I had reached, provide concrete examples and proof, talk about my strengths, my weaknesses (or "opportunities", as they call it), etc, etc.

I don't usually like preparing for and going through these appraisals...and especially when I have to talk about myself, it feels like bragging. "I did this and I did that, I'm good at this and I'm good at that, I am this and I am that." It's great to hear people praise us, especially our managers, but it's quite difficult to praise yourself without sounding like you're full of it, isn't it? But well, now I can be glad to have gone through it twice a year for 3 years so that it can now be a sort of foundation in my interview preparations.

Anyway, for the record, I had exceeded my performance 3 years in a row, ever since we started doing performance appraisals at my current company. And hey, I'm not bragging here; I'm just preparing myself for my interviews on Wednesday and Thursday by being a bit "full of it" now ;o).

New job possibility!!!

I have a new job possibility!!! But there's a catch: I NEED YOUR SUPPORT IN ORDER TO GET IT!!!

It'll be perfect for me because if I get it, then I'll start only after December, so that means I will still be able to work here at my current company during November and December like they want me to, and in order to get my full compensation plus bonus for the year 2008.

Please therefore watch this clip in order to make your decision whether to support me or not. Every one of your support counts!

And for those who question my roots, I might as well tell now the secret that I've kept deeply buried for almost all of my life: my birth name was "Pocahontas", and I am more native American (read Red Indian) than the majority of people in America who call themselves Americans, so yes, I am by birth right, qualified for this new job.

Anyway, it's a really different "industry" than the tourism one that I've been in for more than 10 years now, but the key word is *CHANGE*, isn't it? So yeah, that's why I've decided to give this a shot :o).

Thanks in advance for all those who will support me! I love you all! Muuack!

Tallin, Estonia

Am now back from my business trip. It went very well indeed, and it was great fun to have gone on it with my colleague, friend and mahjong buddy, Shi Hua :o). Well, I'll just put up pictures from Tallin in this post because I didn't take anything in Helsinki and Stockholm. Didn't do any sightseeing in either capitals, but I've been there many times before already anyway so it didn't matter to me.

But Tallin - now that was a new place for me to "check out". I had been to Riga before, and Tallin feels quite similar to Riga with the buildings, streets, people and all. And believe it or not, Estonia used to belong to Denmark! Vikings were all over, that's for sure... . Not sure what happened afterwards though, since they're now one of the smallest countries in Europe now, and even though Greenland still belongs to Denmark, it's not quite habitable, is it? Eskimos...or Greenlanders look more Asian anyway... .

We only had a few hours in Tallin, so we walked around only in the Old Town. Had taken a 2hr ferry across from Helsinki to Tallin in the morning, spent the afternoon walking around, then took an overnight cruise from Tallin to Stockholm. Both ferries were operated by one of our major cruise suppliers at work, Tallink Silja.

Here are pictures from Tallin then. Quite a lot, so be prepared.

The ferry from Helsinki to Tallin.


We had the very comfortable business lounge.


Tallin's old town from afar.


Cosy streets


Cobbled and narrow.


A new-ish-looking building in the old town.


This is the close up of St. Olav's church that you see in the earlier picture of Tallin from afar.


City Hall in the town square.


The buildings around.


Some restaurants too.


Up some steps to find a Russian Orthodox cathedral.


Walking towards the light.


Found it! Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.


Russian cathedrals are easily distinguishable by their onion shaped tops.


Inside the cathedral.


There was a wedding going on. What a beautiful couple.





Don't wear high heals to walk in this old town! You'll not get very far walking on these cobbled streets.


Interesting clock in the wall.


At a restaurant's entrance.


One of the many colourful doors in Tallin.


Another one here - Shi's size.


Found another one. So pretty! But wonder why they're all Asian-sized. Did Estonia maybe belong to China at some point in history ;o)?


Ok...here's an interesting street name, because in Danish, "pik" is a slang for the male anatomy that females don't have, and this one is size 50(cm?). Does size matter ;o)?


And here's another interesting street name. "Piss copy"?


Cute plant holding thingy at a pork restaurant.


Who said I can't drink?


Took M/S Romantika (the white ship) to Stockholm.


Yeah, size really DOES matter!


Our buffet dinner onboard.


Yummy... .





Dessert - the best part!


Cheese should not be under the umbrella of "dessert"!


A more professional entertainment show that we watched for ½hr after listening to young, drunk Estonians singing karaoke in another bar area.





Not Jack Sparrow!

That's all folks! It's good to be back! Btw, Denmark won Malta 3-0 in yesterday's group qualifying match for the World Cup! Woohoo! They're top in their group still. On a sadder note, Portugal didn't beat Sweden :o(. Score was 0-0, so they're 3rd in the group. Don't like that because I want Denmark and Portugal to be the top 2 and qualify. Anyway, there are still many games to go, so things can still change.