Wednesday 27 August 2014

Of good things ending too soon


I just got here. I just got accustomed to this beautiful people. I just got to know them. We were just getting comfortable. This blissful friendship just began. When all was turning out perfectly I'm meant to leave? Seriously, how unjust is life sometimes? My intern-ship ends on Friday and I am not ready to leave. It feels like I just got here. There was a requisition for extension but with classes, a project and work, I can’t handle. Mainly because working hours are strictly 7.30 to 5 but under different circumstances, I’d choose to stick around.

I take a lot of time to open up. I am very outgoing and social but when am in a new environment, I am awfully quiet and reserved. I study people before unleashing. Okay, that sounds a little dramatic but true story. My first month wasn't exactly fun. I enjoyed being swamped in work as hours would go by faster. I even skipped lunch because I hate eating alone and of course wouldn't join a couple of strangers at their table, I had no friends yet.

I met some comrades here which made the getting to know other people part smooth. I started saying hi to more guys on the corridor and in two months I had made a couple of friends. Colleagues from my office are very warm and welcoming. All of them; not a single one is unpleasant or mean. Am a little short so some people see me as fragile and feeble which is very annoying but an advantage sometimes. I’ll probably talk about that in a different post sometime.

Now back to my size, all of my colleagues are parents and every day, there’s always a story on what one of the kids did or didn't do. Now the story telling time is when my boss is not in. He’s not exactly vicious because I have seen worse but he gets easily angered and believe me, you don’t want him in a bad mood. Lest, he will spread the virus and everyone gets dull and gloomy. So amidst the laughter and stories, they ask for my opinion. Yes, they ask what I think they should do. They try to understand their kids which I find amazing. Though kids these days are a handful!!!

So now everyone keeps wondering how this is my last week yet orientation was just the other day. It’s funny how two weeks ago I was looking forward to Friday and now, I don’t want it to get here yet. Yes there have been days I got weary and I just wanted to quit. But in those days I got to laugh and interact with these people and as much as all I wanted to do was sleep when I got home, I gained a lot of things from their experiences and exposure.

Today, am sitting behind my desk taking my tea then my colleague walks over from behind and tells me to join her in the boardroom for a minute. As I walk behind her a lot of things are going through my mind. When I walk in, I find another colleague of mine with a couple of purses spread on the table. They look at me and am like, guys what’s going on? Am asked; if I were to pick, what purse I would pick. So all along I thought one of them can’t settle on a colour and that’s where my opinion comes in. I choose the prettiest of them all and it’s wrapped back and handed to me. One of them says “Lilian, this is a gift from us to you. For what you've been to us and how much you've inspired us. You have brought out the young side of us and we loved you being a part of us. We hope to see you even after Friday…’’ by now, am almost crying. I am so humbled and overwhelmed I don’t even know what to say. I embrace them as I try to find the words. Seriously, how cool and thoughtful is that? I mean, it’s not even about the gift, but the thought!

As I head back to my desk, am grateful and ecstatic. Then all these thoughts are in my head of how these women have influenced me and my life in this positive direction that I don’t know what I’d do to thank them. They have been such role models and the perfect examples of what kind of woman, mother and wife I want to be. Later, I thank them again and again and one of them says to me ‘’Good be-gets good.’’ I believe I am a good person but it’s not something I do with effort or in order to get something in return. I thrive in making people happy with very little things, things that cost me nothing.

These three months have been real. The experience, the laughter, the memories, the new friends, the chilly mornings, the lazy afternoons, the deadlines, the workload, the small talks in the wash-rooms, the discussions, the tea breaks, the sampling of tea bags, the muffins, the opinions, the meetings, the interviews…it has been amazing. Some of this people, the friendship continues.

Tuesday 5 August 2014

In another life

My best friend says I have made this blog a pity party. Maybe because there have been so many rants and enough venting. But that’s the whole point, no? Having a safe place to let it all out? Enough with that… I have been getting by alright. I hope you have too :-)

So today, I’ll do something different. You know how sometimes in life you wish you were something different so you could influence things towards a certain direction? This post is about that. There’s this question that’s asked in almost all managerial interviews; if you were an animal, what would you be and why? Now since you've probably thought of that, I came up with these 10 random things in life that I would be if asked to choose. 

If I were a room in the house, I’d be the bathroom. For me, they are the perfect place to reflect. It’s the place we rush to when tired, annoyed, when feeling heavy and need a quick way to relax and just be calm. It’s the one place you would never leave the house without visiting. That morning when I have no idea of what to wear, I figure out an outfit while in the shower. A bathroom is a place where people can offload that extra baggage they have in them and leave feeling refreshed and ready to face the day.

If I were a time of day, I’d be evening. Whether you've had a good day or a bad day, we all look forward to the end of the day. When the sun sets, night falls and you get to be with family (or whoever you go home to) and unwind from all the pressure, deadlines and harsh realities from work or school. Evenings are the best time to go for a walk or a run especially for people like me, who don't like waking up early. My heart rests and I don't like worrying about the next day.

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Sunday. I love the calmness and easiness that come with this day. It’s the day I get to stay indoors with a good series or book and enjoy my own company. It’s the day I get to stay home in an over-sized tee and baggy pants. I rarely leave the house on a Sunday, unless it is important.

If I were a month, I’d be January. I love new beginnings; clean slates, opportunities to put the past behind and start all over again; to right the wrongs, make resolutions and eventually break them. I love the hope and determination that comes with beginning a new year.

If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a bed. It’s the one thing I look forward to most towards the end of the day especially if it was a long one. Even after a good day. It keeps me warm & is my zone of comfort. We have a bond. Share secrets. Our relationship is intimate and I never want to leave her in the mornings.

If I were a colour, I’d be Yellow. This happens to be my favourite colour. I find it optimistic and cheerful. It is the colour that has to be in my wedding and the living room of my home. It is warm and beautiful. It is the colour of the sun. It complements nature. Oh yellow!

If I were a body part, I’d be the eyes because there is so much beauty to see.

If I were a flower I’d be a rose. It teaches us to handle life. Enjoy the view, take in the pleasant aromas but handle with care.  Because of its thorns, it reminds me of the true reality of life; that it comes with the good and bad, the ugly and the beautiful.

If I were a place, I’d be a home. There is no place like home; the love, the peace, the serenity, the togetherness, the laughter, the food, the comfort, the freedom, the acceptance. It is the one place that I am always looking forward to going.

If I were a story, I’d be a story of faith; because my life has been about the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen.

HAPPY NEW MONTH darlings!