Chowder and Kimchi

Recently, Chuma and I went to the Maldives and, as sad as it sounds, we were pretty excited about the selection of quality TV channels we had in the room. Here in Singapore, we only have the most basic package from Mio, which consist mainly of news channels....I mean- really- all kinds of news channels! (DW, -Deutche Weld, RT- Russia Today, CNA- channel news Asia...and the list goes on). So, needless to say, we would scan through all of the channels that the hotel had to offer. And, very often, we would stop at Cartoon Network...not because it was good entertainment. But, because it was SO weird, disturbing...and, just, mind boggling!


Here's an example (I HAD to take a picture of the TV screen, 'cause I wasn't sure if  anyone would believe me if I told them about it, lol).

Meet Kimchi.... (that's right,, you read it right; KIMCHI! lol). Kimchi is a brown colored stink cloud, who spends his/her nights in this cage. In the mornings, Kimchi is released from its cage - actually, Kimchi lets him/herself out....'cause, well...it's a "cloud"........... in a cage...

When Kimchi is out of its cage, all it spends its time doing is fart in people's faces! Yes...so, the entire episode that Chuma and I watched was mainly about Kimchi's "farts", and its friend named Chowder, who is the main character , and also the name of the TV show, by the way.

What are kids watching nowadays? Oh,  and here's the best part.. This show has won a prime time Emmy award!.... The plot of each episode is so bizarre.. I seriously think the writers were on crack or something when they wrote this. I've never tried any kind of drug, but I'm convinced that you'd have to be on drugs to write about the story of Chowder,  and his stink-cloud-pet-friend named Kimchi, which - for the record - is considered a delicacy in Korea.... Lol

 

NGFs and Stuff...

Tomorrow -or, should I say "today", since it's 04:16 AM over here- will be my last day at Google....my last T.G.I.F ("Thank Google it's Friday"-  a day of the week where Larry Page and Sergey Brin themselves share business updates, and Googlers can ask questions related to company issues. This event is shown live globally via Google Hangout...but, of course, for a lot of Googlers who aren't based in Mountain View, TGIF is mainly about catching up with fellow Googlers over free alcohol,  and finger food).

If there's one thing I know for sure after having worked for Google, it must be the fact that it definitely has not prepared me for the so called "real world". Don't get me wrong, I don't mean thatI won't be equipped with great knowledge once I'm out of Google. What I mean is that my expectation and idea of what comprises a normal company culture will probably be completely off; From the "small things" that Google offers, such as free food (& alcohol on Fridays), to bigger things that affect feelings of autonomy in the work place, such as freedom to plan my own day,  and -as trivial as it sounds- freedom to wear absolutely whatever I want to work...those are just the few things that are perceived as normal at Google, but that I know isn't a given in other companies.

I remember that my cousin once commented: " I can't believe you're allowed to wear pink pants to work! ", which to me was such a weird comment. Why shouldn't I be able to wear pink pants to work? What does that have to do with anything? But, of course, I know that a lot of companies have a dress code, and that wearing pink pants in "the real world" doesn't exactly exude professionalism...

After 3.5 years with Google, where I've pretty much had no  NGFs (Non-Googler-Friends) - that's right, there's actually an abbreviation for that ! You think I'm joking, but I'm really not.. even my boyfriend became a Googler eventually, lol - it's definitely going to be weird to go back to "normal", where there is somewhat of a balance in time spent with friends from work, vs. non-work friends...

My mind is a  bit all over the place at this point, so, sorry for the  rant...but, this is all slowly starting to sink in with me, and I'm alternating between panic, anxiety, and excitement:

HOLy Fudge, did I really resign?!... 

How will life be like A.G (after Google)?! 

...I can't wait to join the new company!

Ok. So, I know that, in the big scheme of things (life),  this change may seem insignificant compared to what others may be going through in life at the moment..you know,  such as... re-producing and stuff (aka, having kids). But, I'm not at that stage in my life, yet. So, for now, please bare with me while I rant about random things :)  ...

Anyhow, I should probably try to get some sleep now.

Until next time!

My Last Week with GOOGLE

This upcoming week marks my last week with Google (whaaat?!...yeah, I know..it's true!). I handed in my resignation about 3 weeks ago, and as crazy as it sounds, I'm very excited about the decision, and the upcoming changes.

When I got the job at Google (Dublin) over 3 years ago, I couldn't ever imagine that I one day would want to leave. Google is constantly ranked as one of the top companies to work for. And,  the free food that the company offers, I mean..come on, who doesn't like free food? Or, free anything for that matter... =P

I was planning to write a longer blog post, but since it IS 2:45 AM on my side of the world, and I do still  have to show up for work tomorrow, I think I'll stop here. The last time I posted something on this blog was over ONE year ago (I know, I suck at this,,,but, I keep on telling myself that I shouldn't force myself to write,,,that I need to be "inspired", and that if I forced myself to write at least once a week, then it would negatively impact the quality of the content....oh, the lies I tell myself, hehe).

Consider this blog post as a bit of a teaser to get your attention..and, to the few readers who have actually subscribed to my blog ( all 8 of you, to be exact..lol), stay tuned! I'm back! =)

To Be Continued..

If You Won a Bilion Dollars, Would You Quit Your Job?

I recently watched an old episode of Ellen Degeneres show, where she asked the audience to raise their hand if they'd quit their job had they won a billion dollars. Most of the people in the audience would..And, although it's probably the case with most people, I find that kind of sad....- going through life with a job that you only have for the sake of money, and not enjoying it to the point where you'd still work and do the exact same thing as you do right now, even if you won a gazillion dollars.

If I won a billion dollars, would I quit my job? ..............Heck yeah, I would!! You probably were getting ready to hate me, 'cause you thought I was gonna come with a cliche answer of how much I love my job, and how I'd never quit, huh?  The truth is that, even though Google an awesome company to work for, I still haven't found my dream job....I don't know what that would be.....
actually, it would be fun to be paid to blog. But, I wouldn't want any constraints on what topic I could, or could not, write about - imagine that; being paid to share your random thoughts! That would actually be somethin' ;-)...but, I dunno if that's my dream job..lol

I attended a work related conference not too long ago, where the big guys were present. I looked around me, as we were all excited about the speakers...and all I could think about was the minions from the movie Despicable Me.  There is a part in the movie where Mr.Gru gathers his minions for a meeting.....that's how it was like to be at the conference (strike out the "evil" undertone of Dr.Gru, lol! ..I'm talking about the excitement, and the thrill around being a part of something so big, so innovative,...the google family..)...but, then it also struck me: hey, I'm a minion! At the end of the day, I'm not supporting my own dreams in life. I mean, a part of my "dreams"  was to be able to see different parts of the world while working, but the whole sharing- the-world's-information-and-making-it accessible-to-all  is not my idea, not my invention, and not my dream...basically, I'm supporting Larry Page, and Sergey's dream. In all fairness, if there is any dream and vision I'd like to support, it is theirs. But, I haven't found my dream job yet, guys...

And, I'll leave it at that :) Until next time...

"What if....?"

I was home for 3 weeks during Christmas. 2 weeks of vacation, and 1 week working from the Oslo office...Didn't realize how much I missed home until I went back,,,and, I was surprised by the fact that I actually enjoyed the cold weather. There was one thing that really hit home, though: 

I've been missing out

Missing out on the daily details of my closest friends - not to mention the happenings in my sister, and brother's life. I went to a cafe with three of my closest friends (since elementary school) to exchange Christmas gifts, and out of no where, I kinda burst into tears when we were talking about marriage, and kids, and all that adult stuff. I told my friends that I simply didn't want us to become "real adults"..that we would be too busy being with husband and family etc, that things just wouldn't be the same (of course, they poined out that I was the one who was far away)...but, after having thought things through, I realize that I was sad because I understood how much I've been missing out on things...and how much more I'm going to miss out on while working abroad. It just makes me sad to think about having missed out on something as big as my friends' wedding day..and makes me even more sad to think that I might be missing out on babies being born etc-- If there is one  negative thing to point out about working abroad, it has to be the fact that I'm absent from the lives of those who matter to me the most. Of course, Im in their lives still-  but not in the same way. 

The 2nd of February marks the 6-year-anniversary of my boyfriend, and I...out of which 3 of the years have been long distance. One year in France during my bachelor degree, one year in Dublin - the beginning of my Google employment- and now - getting close to the third year while I'm in Singapore. Actually, when  I think about it, I  left for France about 3 months after my boyfriend and I started dating..and while other relationships around me were breaking apart, due to the distance, I got closer to my boyfriend. Same scenario while in Dublin...newly graduates enter the google scene, and relationships end - due to fellow Nooglers and Googlers. I'm telling ya, for single newly grads entering google  - it's a meat market. Whenever I told people that I had a boyfriend, there would be a moment of silence, and a smirk on peoples faces that kinda read: "good luck with that". But, hey, 6 years...that's like an entire lifetime!!.....of a 6-year-old,,!!! =P  Thanks for your patience, your calm and controlled manner, and for being a good listener and partner-in-crime. Cheers to us, babe ;-)

A few weeks back, I was featured in a Norwegian fashion magazine together with 2 other Norwegians, where the title was "Women who have the world as their work place" (translated). I haven't seen the hard copy of the magazine yet, but from what I've seen, there was a picture of Singapore's skyline, and  of my smiling face =P At the same time as my sister posted this on facebook and instagram- telling people how proud she was- I was in Vietnam for work and had a bit of a mental breakdown. Mostly because the plane from Singapore to Vietnam was delayed, and I ended up sitting in the plane for 2,5 hours before the captain finally announced that it was safe to fly...so, by the time I got to the hotel, I was both hungry (I get grumpy+emotional when hungry=P), tired, and still had stuff to prepare for the meeting the day after. It dawned upon me how lonely I was...soo far from a much-needed hug, so far from everyone that mattered to me. And, I started to think about "what-ifs"....do you ever do that? What if X, Y, Z happens?...my "what ifs" are always worst case scenarios,,,they're never: "what if I won a million dollars, what would I do with the money?"..they're always: "what if I was told I have cancer, and only 1 month left to live?",,,always worst-case-scenarios......so..my "what ifs" were all related to death, of course,,,"what if I died in a plane crash...what would I have regretted while sitting on the plane on its way down to hit the ground?".

....I would've regretted not spending more time with family and friends....

- I don't think anyone - while at deathbed- thinks: I wish I worked more...I truly regret not sitting longer hours at the office.......right?

My worst enemy is truly myself. Because, although I'm aware of what I would've regretted if I died tomorrow, I still have the need to "tick" some boxes...the need to achieve some goals I have set that just needs to be done before I can truly be satisfied...but, that's a lie of course. Cause if there's another thing I've realized, it is that I will never be satisfied with the status quo. 

The environment that you're in sets the standard for what is good, and what is bad...and it resets your ambition level. When I took my bachelor degree, it wasn't a big deal, because  everyone around me--everyone in my class- they too were taking their bachelor degree....when I moved forward to take a masters  - the same thing. When I entered Google, same thing. It was a big deal with google, of course,,,because, hey, its Google. But, eventually, you'll look around, and realize that you're not special just because you're working for google...everyone around me works for google =P...at least 95% of those I know in singapore works for google...which only proves that I don't know a lot of people outside of the company  (sadly enough)...but, the point is that the feeling of achievement, or enjoyment of having achieved something is- to me- very short lived. So, the hunt for the feeling of achievement is endless..without having experienced drugs, I imagine that it's kinda like the continuous search for a good "high"...as you take stronger drugs, it'll require more of the drug in order for your to feel the "high"..and the feeling- once achieved- is short lived.

I'm not sure why I'm writing this. Whenever I write a blog post, I just turn on music, and let my fingers type whatever..and then when I read through it, it sometimes surprises me how open I am, and how much of my private thoughts are shared with the public. But, I guess there's a bit of a need to "clear the air"..I feel like I would be living a lie if I continued to post pictures of skylines, hotels, and cities that visit for work, without sharing the entire story. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change places with anyone. I'm very lucky to be where I am: my job is fun, and exciting, and I wouldn't change anything about it. 

To my family and true friends, I guess I just want you to know that I love you. And, if I died tomorrow,  I want you to know that I really do want to spend more time with you...but for now, I've got some boxes to tick =P

Until next time ;-)

- over-and-out.