Counting down the days and looking back on the past

Hello peeps!

I am now less than 2wks away from departure day. It still doesn't feel real, but it is definitely happening!

By the time I leave, I would have been in the UK for exactly 8yrs 2wks 4days.

Looking back on that time, I feel I am a different person than the young and clueless graduate that got off the Eurostar at Waterloo that day long ago, and not just because I am (only) 2yrs older....

I have met amazing people during that time, from all corners of the world and paths of life. The UK is the only place I have found where all kind of people have a chance to shine, without being judged for how they look/talk/love.

I have worked for companies big and small, always earning respect from my peers. I even managed to get a job I had absolutely no qualifications for, but I still did very well. Talk about self confidence... :)

I have taken part in sports I would have never thought about before coming here - rugby, rowing, doing the GRIM, twice!

I met somebody I thought I could spend the rest of my days with.

I got a proper grown up car.

And last but not least - I have met myself and accepted who I am.

I don't know what the next 15 months will bring, but whatever comes my way I think the Angela that will come back will be different compared to the Angela of right now.

I guess this is what life is about - change.

I only usually reflect on how much things have evolved when I am on the brink of some drastic change, but it is an on-going process. Every day is a learning, every encounter bring a new perspective but it is very easy to lose sight of this when stuck in the daily grind.

I went to this NLP training earlier this year and the guy said something I think is very true: until you put yourself in the driving seat, you will always be disappointed with life because nobody else can take charge of your happiness.

I wish I could find a way to bottle this feeling so I could keep it with me when I come back and have a little taste once in a while. Just so I can remember to stop, look around and see rather than simply pass through the days, waiting for something good, anything, to happen.

This will be my challenge for the next 15 months!

Smile people :)

By the way - chicken pox are all gone now, yay!

What the guide books - or the nurse - don't tell you

Hello peeps!

I have come across a phenomenon from which neither the guide books - paper or online - the forum or even the travel nurse at the GP have warned me against.

This phenomenon is called - the immunization cocktail you are about to pump into your system will make you catch chicken pox!

Now, could be chicken pox or any nasty germs around for that matter - but in my case it was chicken pox.

Allow me to demonstrate...

In between the recommendations in the Lonely Planet SEA guide book and the stuff on the NHS website, I came to the conclusion that I need to be immunized against the following diseases for my upcoming trip:
- Hepatitis A & B: 3 jabs
- Rabies: 3 jabs
- Tetanus/Polio/Diphtheria: 1 boost
- Japanese Encephalitis: 2 jabs
- Typhoid: vaccine not currently available on the NHS, so will do this in Martinique.

I had already done the Yellow Fever jab a few years back, so no need to do it again. Still, I would get 9 jabs over 4wks, plus however many the Typhoid will be.

The only side effects mentioned where for the Japanese Encephalitis, where the nurse mentioned I could have flue-like symptoms, but nothing major.

Well not really! After 3wks of stuff being shot into my arms, I am now down with chicken pox!!

Nothing directly related to the jabs, but a definite side effect. You see, this heavy duty of immunization has completely messed up my immune system. So if it hadn't been chicken pox, it would have been something else!

That sucks - and it is itchy :(

On the plus side - if there is such thing really - I get the week off work. However I would have preferred not to and get to sleep at night and not look like a freak!

Rant over - sorry guys, my usual chirpy self will be back as soon as the itchy spotty one has gone.

Warning - Deep thinking about life and other things...

Hello peeps!

I finally got my backpack last w.e and my ticket for the Caribbean this week. I have also confirmed my visits here and there with friends and family. And I am looking up casual work opportunities to earn some pennies whilst lounging it on the beach :)

So this is it, I am all set to go! One small detail - I still have got 3wks to go in the office. Which brings me to a bit of reflection today - sorry in advance for the page long post!

My company requires us leavers to give at least 3 months notice, so I handed out my resignation back in August. For the whole month of September, I was still giving it 300%, staying in late, even working on Sundays. Then October came, together with an increasingly difficult ability to focus on the petty fights, back stabbing, finger pointing and similar cr@p happening around me. Now November is here and I am in my last 3wks of working routine.

Three months is a long time. I handed out my notice in August, but my decision to go was taken a good couple of months before, and I have been toying with the idea for at least 2-3yrs. So all in all, I have been gone, at least in my head, for something like half a year already.

There are good points and bad points to this situation.

The good:

- It's been 6 months I have stopped being stressed at work.

- So it's been 6 months I am more efficient in my work - believe it or not!

- I sleep better and wake up with a smile on my face.

- It's been 6 months I stepped out of the office politics game - again, much better for my own sanity.

- I can now see things with a new perspective and can pin point where processes are letting the business down - therefore where improvements can be made.

- I can bring a breeze of fresh air to my teammates and pick them up with my positive energy.

Now the bad:

- It's been 6wks I find it difficult to focus on the little details. Most of the time there is no detrimental effect on my work, but sometimes, things can end up a bit behind. That said, things still got to slip when I was like a hawk on every single useless details of a project because of the clutter it was causing in my little head.

- I am becoming increasingly selfish in my approach to things, and not always offering to help. I know - baaaad - but as a result I don't get drawn into activities which are not within my area of responsibility and would therefore only end up diluting my time even more. Something to do with too few people, too much to do...

- I am now trying to get other people in the office to do something for themselves - very baaad from the company point of view!

And the ugly: people could be dropping dead around me on my last day in a bid to make me stay longer, but I would just step over them on my way to the door and say bye!

In a nutshell - I am a much more efficient, approachable and motivating team member. How sad is it that I have become an A-star worker because I know that I am leaving soon.

Maybe the secret is to give your notice - at least in your head - as soon as you start a new job. The good in my list far outweigh the bad, which is only bad if you don't care about the well being of people in the workplace.

My learning though is there is no secret. Life is too short to waste any of it - not even a few months. You should ONLY do the things DECIDE to do.

If you are unhappy in a job, then you should move on and find a new one you will happy in. Why stay somewhere for the sake of being able to moan about the job or the company? You wont get any of the good from my - very short - list, whereas the bad will only add up.

However if you DECIDE to be somewhere, then make sure:

1. It is a job/company that you really choose to be in. We have all heard the old story - recession, I need money and I will die in the gutter if I don't take this job. But aside from a handful of life or death situation, nobody EVER had to take a job. Stop the bullcr@p and man up for goodness sake!

2. You wake up everyday with a smile on your face because you will be going to do something you enjoy and strive for.

3. And because work is only part of the day - make some time for yourself every day and do something that makes you feel good. Again, we all know the old story - need 25hrs in the day to fit it all, what about the kids and house cleaning, I am shattered when I leave the office, it is dark outside, I am broke - but, seriously? Do you really believe that?

Now go and enjoy, because you never know what is coming your way.