My one year anniversary as a schedule generator

Posted in All in a days work by

I took over making the work roster from my colleague out of camaraderie. The previous MO who did the list was a lovely colleague whom I knew had been taking the punches for everybody for the many years I have known her at work. I believe that the moment she approached me to take over, she was already at wit’s end. At the same time, I think she knew that I was a person who could accommodate everybody else as much as she did to ensure that both clinical services and each medical officer’s personal matters were taken care of.

To become a roster maker, you could choose to be empathetic or a bitch who doesn’t give a shit. Since I started arranging the schedule last October, I’ve found that my colleagues are rather colourful behind the scenes. They are a mix of positive and negative traits but never too evil or goody-two-shoes all the time. They can be mischievous, and at times, when I am able to see through them, I would let them off the hook if it is not much of a nuisance. Otherwise, most of the time, my superior would sniff it out based on the whistleblower’s information. Yes, we do have a mole amongst us.

Anyway, back to my colourful MOs. There are the:

  • ones who think the world revolves around them ONLY. The schedule has to fit them and their priorities ONLY. There is very little room for discussion and negotiate the demands of clinical work and other MOs. Dia je yg nak gi CME. Dia je yang nak itu dan ini. Time kita bagi, tetiba ada hal tu la, ini la. Bila tak dapat, mesej bos. what the fish.
  • ones who have requests but are also accommodating of other people’s needs. Meaning, they provide back up plans with other negotiable dates, with clear objectives that allow me to provide my ideas of how to make the line up for work effective for everybody. I like this type of people. They are assertive in their scheduled and others.
  • ones who go with the flow. While it may seem easy for me to place them anywhere, it does put me in a spot where I need to practice conscientiousness on my part. This is because I do not want to exploit this particular group of MOs. I do not want them to be burnt out. In fact, I would put this people on my watch list. Because they can either remain docile, turn rogue in a jiff or commit suicide. I am putting myself on this list as well.

To celebrate my one year anniversary, I will order an iced coffee today. Ha ha.

A close-up of a keyboard with scattered papers and folders on a desk, featuring a note about a millennial's approach to managing work rosters.

Different versions of a person

Posted in Everyday Life, Parenting, Family and Relationships by

My sister was telling me the other day that our dad arranged an umrah trip for him and his missus. Meaning, our stepmother. It was a good package, fully funded by our dad. Of course, I would not expect any less from someone in the role of a husband (who has the money). But wait, why did this version of my dad not surface before? The version of putting the comfort of the wife in mind and not rubbing it in about how much he will be spending on the umrah. In fact, this version of him in this second marriage is totally different to how we remembered him treating our mother before.

Maybe this new wife befits his evolving taste for a woman with a career that he could parade to his friends and relatives. I have nothing against this lady. She has led her own fair share of hardships in life, as well as being a single mother. And her kids turned out to be great human beings. Or so we were told. The only thing I made clear to my dad was that I do not wish to participate in her life and her kids. That means if we are having a birthday party, with her being present, I am not going.

Anyway, back to the umrah story. This is not my dad’s first umrah trip. He went for umrah with our late mom many years ago, but I remembered him being a nuisance about it. Everything to him was either expensive or tedious. Up to the point that our mom, who was a housewife by the way, living on the pocket money that we (working) daughters gave her every month, said that she would fund the trip. In other words, she had saved enough money to fund an umrah package and proposed the trip to her husband to come along. She really wanted them to experience umrah together. Only to be met with defiance. Aisyah Retno’s song Tidak Adil is so fitting of the situation back then. Dad still went as a man with Nuisance as his middle name. Only Allah knows how it was there. My mother made the best out of the trip.

Hence, this different version of him is new to us. Maybe it is because he is getting older and is having more time with his pension money. Maybe his love towards our mother waned with time and they just decided to give up on each other. They were housemates who co-parents their kids.

Inevitably, it happens to the best of us when you don’t recharge the spark and keep the romance burning.

I know the word

Posted in Adult Learning, Hobby/Interest by

I was scrolling down my Spotify list and stopped on this track. I was immediately elated as I realized that I recognise the characters and could read them. I searched for other Mandarin songs on my list and find that I know at least one or two of the characters from the song titles. Honestly, I wouldn’t even know this a month ago. Hence, I am happy that I am making very tiny progress in my Mandarin learning.

Mandarin is hard. But I love it. I don’t how some Instagrammers are able to sit their HSK1 exam in just one month. They seem to be doing it independently just based on apps and study materials they found online. Their brain must be sponges. They could be gifted. I can’t even memorize 20 characters without forgetting them again the next day. I am also keen to learn writing the words because I find that, with digital technology, I am using the pen less than usual. Everything is typed out nowadays. So I guess by practising writing Chinese characters, it would keep my fine motor muscles intact alongside optimising my brain activity.

I found out that HSK1 will be changing its format in December. Damn, I just bought the old textbooks up to HSK4. I am that determined. Anyway, I suppose the goal is to just plough through the pages and learn what I can. I am not competing for anything. This is one of those self-learning activities to hinder dementia. InsyaAllah. And perhaps in the long run, I can read nice Chinese storybooks on my own.

A small nugget of thought

Posted in Everyday Life, Ponderings & Personal Development by

Good mental health does not mean you have to be happy all the time. You must allow yourself to feel sad, angry, stressed out etc. This does not mean I am dismissing those with poor mental health status that could stem from feelings of extreme sorrow, rage etc. Everybody’s reaction towards an event varies, and this could be influenced by their previous experience, knowledge and personality.

Just because someone disagrees with you or their line of thoughts differ, it doesn’t mean it’s toxic. Nevertheless, differences in thought and behaviour does stir one’s emotions to a certain point. But always go back to a baseline where you could just sit and ponder the points. Then, take the good points from the confrontation.

I am not the best human being on earth. I am comprised of both positive and negative traits. Like I’ve always believed in – we can be either a villain or a hero in other people’s stories.