4 months later..

I was on a hiatus for the past 5months, suffering from writer's bloc.. Trust me, I have a lots of stuff going on but words don't seem to flow coherently into the pages every time i tried to write. So this is another try and hope this time things will makes sense.. Since it has been 4months, lets try going month by month..

Mar-May 09
Another peak period ends for another to begin, one of my ultimate challenging assignment; a hotel in Subang Jaya. The hours, expectations, resources, client and overall circumstances are ultimate nightmare. Averaging 1 am everyday weekends included, is measured OK compared to some of my poor team mates in other side of the Group, so you get the idea.. At the end of the day, I can say I learnt a lot but getting there, curse words were flying like gagak (crows) flying in Port Kelang area. Pity my juniors most of them are new joiners, have to sprint before they could even crawl in the firm. Thankfully we shared a common fear factor, which I beg not to mention here (for safety reasons). For those who have heard my rantings, you know who or what I am referring to.
Well, despite the craziness of work, light at the end of the tunnel came sooner than expected and to keep things short my last day in PwC was on 16th May 2009. There were sadness leaving friends and the familiar working life in PwC. There were good times for the past 3 years 10months, and I am quite proud to be associated with PwC, knowing that I have learned heaps, achieved my goal of being a chartered accountant and found relationships that will span beyond my stint there. But as times passes by, I have to take another train to continue my travel.

June-July 09
Started my first days in Petronas with an orientation program in Bangi. First day, feelings were different than the first day in PwC. Coming as someone who had been in much different environment, I became more cynical of things to come and not so excited to undergo orientation (macam time2 belajar dulu..go camping, sports and such..so kanak2 riang). And they had to call the program PIPE, very 'inspiring' (?!). As expected, we went to a lot of classes introducing us to what Petronas is all about, from corporate, operational, business and values perspectives. The way things were delivered, were interesting and for myself I found it very useful in appreciating what Petronas has to offer. But, before anyone can say I am a changed person, that professional skepticism in me (thanks to PwC methodology) is still in full gear moving forward into the real work later.
Actually, my favorite thing there is the friends that I have made. There was a fair mix of new grads and experienced hire but I think the combination just made things even more fun. We had long makan cum gossips sessions that spilled over to trips for desserts in McD, karaoke sessions for those that want to clear their pipes (pun intended), volleyball games even for those who are sports blind (like moi) and lots more. I had a first impression idea of everyone in the group and at the end of the day, I was proven wrong in many ways. I asked few friends of what were their impression of me, these are my surprising findings:

1. A know it all..macam bagus
2. Walking dictionary or thesaurus..why have to use BIG words
3. Speaks English only
4. Married.. kids (optional)
5. She was an auditor, but what actually auditor does?
6. Soft-spoken aka budak baik yg bersopan-santun

I bet they had other ideas, but these are the top picks. I hope I have proven them wrong too and since we are all still friends, closer than ever..that says it all. Maybe anyone out there can let me know, what were your first impression of me and has it changed??

I want to tell more about the real work, post-PIPE..but lets keep that for later..