There's just too much happening on this very date- 18th December 2008, hence it has become a very memorable date to me.

In chronological order:-

At work, we have morning tea with Purn, as it was her birthday. Conversations revolved around the economy and the availability of jobs in NZ. V was mentioning about how it's "tough out there", giving references to her daughter's boyfriend, whom can't even secure a position at McD's. On top of that, she also relate to her uncle that is on a payroll of $500k a year who just got laid off, plus closure of factories of big brands in North Island. She added that girls seem to be ok in securing jobs, but guys.....are hard.

Lunch time came around, and as usual I bring my lunch downstairs to the cafe and heat it up in the microwave. While I was waiting for the "ding", Nathan strolled towards me and chatted to me. The conversation goes like this;-

" Hey, how are you. Last night right, I had a browse in seek.co.nz, you know, to see if got any "lubang" in any sectors. I was shocked man! In NZ and especially in Australia, there's a great demand in risk surveyors and risk managers. I was really shocked, if I was single I would have move to Australia already. So you how, hurry up and get accredited as a risk surveyor or something specialised man, just do 2 courses a year, very simple one."

I was like yeaaaahhh... I will... sooon la, this one need to go through my manager as she has to organise for me.


Then late afternoon dawned, I've got a coaching one-on-one session with my manager to track my progress in my role. Everything's fine and dandy and we have set our objectives for the next few months, and just before I leave, she mentioned;

-" Oh just before you leave, I would like to let you know, I would like to offer you a Bnd C secondment. I have discussed this with other managers and have raised this question if she thinks any other person in the department that deserves this secondment and they all agree it was you. Now with this secondment, there's good news and bad news, which would you like to hear first?"

-" Haha, oh well, we'll go with bad first"

-" The bad news is you'll get a pile of signing on Monday onwards. The good news is that you'll get a pay rise and the difference would be the difference between the bottom end of Bnd B and C pay. Also, since S is on maternity leave (she's our team Bnd C person), she has 1 month to give me notice if she wants to return work early and I will let you know, then your secondment will end there. Now we can't put you on permanent C yet as you're here for only 6 months and usually people only get the raise in position after 1 year when they're competent in accounts. This is your 3rd month in accounts and there's still room for increasing your competency. You work really hard and thrive under pressure, and I noticed you did some overtime, did you ever resent that?"

-" Not really, I'd love to come in during weekends and sort stuff out because that's when it isn't populated with people and the hustle and bustle of the office is absent, it allows me to be focused in what I do and I can think better"

-" Well that's good to hear. Congratulations Calvin on your secondment. I'm happy that you'd take it up as only Bnd C are able to sign, hahaha."

I'm truly blessed and I like totally rox the box. 6 months at work and offered a position higher? That is truly out of the norm, as most offices will only offer a small pay rise at the end of a year, rarely even offering a rise in position. Given the current situation in our world economy, getting a pay rise & promotion in these conditions is like hitting lotto pretty much. This is indeed a blessing from God.


The clock ticked 3:30 on my computer screen at the bottom taskbar as I came out of the meeting room, I logged out of my phone and shut down my computer, and took my daily lonely stroll down the street, to my car that's parked off-street. I had the urge today to do some X'mas shopping so I messaged C, another window shopaholic, if she wanted to join me. So then I went over to C & T's place to pick C up to go Dressmart. As I entered their room, C handed me a card and at that moment I realised it was Honey who had organised this plan, this transaction. This is so sweet of her, as she usually don't remember stuff like this, what not plan for something of this sort. She had come a long way from the day we got together and I am very proud of her. The card- of course, marks our usual monthniversary ritual. 18th December 2008 marks our 5th month together, and going strong.

We drove over to Dressmart not long after, and did our respective shopping. Can't remember very well, but I think C didn't buy anything. If I remember it correctly, I bought 3 pairs of shoes (I will post them up later) and a football for C & T's X'mas pressie as I recall T always wanted to play football. So here's some motivation for him. After that, we checked out the new Dressmart layout as they have renovated and discovered that Bendon Lingerie had moved around the corner and it was bigger than before, and their stuff is dirt cheap. I really wanted to buy some nice lingeries for Honey, but measurements aren't sufficient enough, as cutting matters alot too. Honey deserves some new bras as some of hers are getting old and too tight for her. The price for a bra on this day, was like only 3 bucks man, and its not like some cheap Warehouse crap, but it's actually very nice. Elle Macpherson's line of lingeries are going for 50%, damnit! I always wanted to get my love some nice pair of Elle Macpherson's stuff.

So that pretty much sums up 18th Dec 2008. Fantastico.