Why Would I Write

Category: Random

  • Embracing Change; A One-Year Check-in

    When are you going to write something that’s not an advertisement for your next show?

    Today, I guess.

    In case you weren’t aware, it’s the third quarter of 2023. Time really flew by this year. Speaking of time, I want to write something about that in the future. Thanks, Mr. Procrastination.

    So yeah, back to the date. Can you believe we’re already here? On the eve of my very first extended holiday since 2019, I thought I’d check in with you guys. All ten of you loyal visitors, thank you 🙏.

    Just so you know, this post won’t have any tea. For non-responders, that’s the word my colleagues use to refer to any gossip going around the office. If you were expecting to catch some on this blog, feel free to click the X, no exit intent scripts here 🤭.

    I’ve crossed the one-year mark at respond.io! It was back in May but I didn’t allocate enough brainpower to write a post then. Since I’ve got time to spare tonight, I can say something about it. Also, yesterday was the first day we moved into our brand-spanking new office! It’s a nice place.

    When I first joined the company, it was a humbling moment for me. I had to throw out everything I knew about writing blogs. It was a whole new ball game. All the processes and instructions I had to follow made me feel like my previous jobs were way too easy.

    I eventually got into the groove of how things worked in the content department and managed to settle into a routine. Things were fine and dandy until earlier this year I was given some unexpected news. I was told that I would be transferred to the growth department.

    I was worried. Was this a performance improvement plan? Did the company want to let me go? My manager tried to reassure me, saying that I was capable of the job, which was why I was chosen. Even though I nodded in agreement, in the back of my mind there was always doubt.

    I knew nothing about growth, why would they transfer me? That’s what they do to employees companies want to fire, right? Give them impossible tasks so you have a reason to let them go.

    It’s just a trial – if you don’t like it, you can always come back.

    But what if I failed this trial? Wouldn’t that make me unworthy of working here? If I’m not fit for one department, why would any other team want me? Illogical, I know, but my confidence was pretty low at that time. I knew I had no choice but to succeed.

    So, I did what humans do best. Adapt. Or at least, I did my best to.

    I won’t lie, the first month was hell. I felt as useless as a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest. I was constantly on my toes, expecting to be called into a meeting with my boss and told I was gonna get laid off.

    The trial week ended and I was given more work to do. In addition to the tasks I had no experience doing, I had to supplement my knowledge and skills by enrolling in online courses. Thinking back, those were some pretty long weeks.

    To my patient and supportive colleagues, thank you for helping me ease into the role.

    After a month, it was time for my first appraisal as a member of the growth team. The moment of truth.

    Why did you rate yourself so low? When I brought you in, I wasn’t expecting magic. I just wanted to see consistent improvement from you and you’ve shown me that.

    Those words allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief. I wasn’t a massive failure and still had a future in the company. Phew.

    I survived the rest of the first year, officially as a member of the growth department, and was bestowed a new title. Sweet.

    Although I haven’t fully settled into the growth team or fallen into a routine – yet; I doubt it’ll be any time soon as I’ve got plenty to learn. However, I am still around and should be for the foreseeable future (barring some unfortunate circumstances) and that makes me happy.

    Congratulations on the new office, respond.io. This marks an exciting step forward towards a promising future. Interestingly, we can now claim to be closer to the stars than we were a year ago — courtesy of our towering position on the 41st floor 🚀🏙️.

  • It’s Called What’s It Called

    The other day, someone asked me, “Are you happy with life?”
    Without thinking much about it, I said, “Yes”.
    He continued, “What makes you happy?”

    I was stumped. I didn’t know how to respond. It’s something I never thought about. I just assumed that being happy was good enough. I didn’t need a reason why.

    You see, I’m easily content – at least with most things in life. I’m not the pickiest eater. I don’t have the strongest preference for particular cuisines over others. It all depends on my mood.

    If I’m hungry, I’ll go to a restaurant that doesn’t have a queue. If I’m not that hungry, maybe I’ll explore and try something that I haven’t had in a while. Other times, I simply return to my comfort food, chicken rice.

    When it comes to ambitions in life, I don’t dream of being rich and successful. As long as I don’t have to worry about food on the table or having a place to call home for me and my family, that’s good enough.

    If I have enough disposable income to fund my hobbies, great! There’s not much else to ask for.

    Perhaps I’m speaking from a position of privilege and what I’m easily content with, is something other people can only dream about. But there are also people who have what I have and yet they want so much more to be happy.

    Long story short, I guess I can say I’m happy because I’m living the life that I’ve always wanted. Could I be happier? Of course. But so can everybody.

    I was too lazy to ramble on about my thoughts, so I simply replied, “Because I’m not sad,” which was also true.
    He didn’t let up. “What makes you sad?” he continued.

    Again, I was baffled.

    I could have given a vapid reply like people and pets I care about passing away and breaking up – but those things make everybody sad. It doesn’t make me special.

    I’ve been thinking about it over the past few days and I couldn’t think of anything. Maybe the saddest thing that could ever happen to me right now would be Hot Mulligan breaking up. I would be devastated.

    But then again, did I need a special reason to feel sad? I’m just a regular human being, like everybody else. I’m not more important than anybody, in fact, I’m probably less important than a lot of people in this world.

    He wasn’t asking me for a unique reason to be sad, yet I was searching for one. Why did I put myself through so much pressure? I have no idea.

    In the end, it didn’t matter, as other people arrived and our conversation was drowned out. I took my drink elsewhere and participated in shallow chit-chat with other folks. Perhaps in the future, I’ll be able to answer with certainty.

    Are you happy with life?

  • Less Calls, Replacements

    How many times can I write about having terrible memory? I can’t remember and I’m not bothered to check. Is old age a valid excuse for not being as sharp as I once was? Maybe. Or have I been filling my head with important information that pushed out all my trivial thoughts? Unlikely.

    I can still recite most of the lyrics to Stan or The Way I Am even though I haven’t purposely listened to the songs in ages. Those words remain etched in my brain. Why is it harder to remember the lyrics to songs I listen to now? Probably because I put in much less effort.

    There are only so many things I want to spend brain power on these days and memorizing lyrics is not one of them. Also, it’s not a very useful skill – unless you perform covers for a living. The only time I find it useful these days is when I’m driving. I get to keep my eyes on the road.

    I think memorizing lyrics was a product of the time – back then we didn’t have powerful computers in our pockets. We had to rely on magazine cutouts, album booklets, or transcribing songs on our own. Before I had a CD player or access to MP3s, I would patiently wait for a song to come on the radio so I could record it on a blank cassette.

    Then I would play, rewind, and repeat the recording to my heart’s content. It allowed me to listen to songs until I could write down all the words. I have no idea when lyric websites started popping up, but that’s what I did back then. Shit was wild.

    These days we just pull up Musixmatch/Genius on our phones. Are we too reliant on technology? Or just making the most of what’s available? I mean, what’s the point of people spending their lives researching and advancing technology if nobody fully utilizes it?

    Imagine you work your whole life on something important and life-changing, but people decide not to use it because it makes them ‘lazy’. What would life be like without remote controls or escalators? Maybe we’d be really jacked as a society. Who am I kidding, we’d still find ways to be lazy.

    Like the other day, before I left home, I put my wallet in another pocket of my pants instead of its usual spot. As I was walking out of my condominium, I felt different. I put my hand in my usual wallet pocket and noticed the wallet wasn’t there – it was sitting safely in my other pocket.

    I was convinced that my wallet wasn’t with me. So I turned around, retraced my steps, went home, and searched for my wallet in my room. It wasn’t there. I started to panic. I looked in my bag, it wasn’t there. Maybe it was in my car, I thought. So I went back down to the car park.

    Checked my car, and nope, it wasn’t there. Where could it be? I thought to myself. So I started patting my other pockets. Lo and behold, the wallet was sitting right where I had placed it earlier.

    If I had examined all my pockets in the first place, I could have avoided the whole incident. There was no need to retrace my steps, search my room, and make myself panic. Was I so lazy that I couldn’t frisk my own pants before doing all those things? Also, why couldn’t I just recall where I had put the wallet? It was barely 10 minutes ago!

    How many times can I write about having terrible memory? There’s a good reason calendar and reminder apps exist.