Sunday, July 15, 2007

9:10 PM

Musings

Just felt like blogging today. Tomorrow marks the start of the last 3 weeks of my internship. I guess I haven't been really fair in my descriptions of work, since all I have been saying was how boring it was and so on. All these were reflected due to a stronger urge to blog when there are things to complain about, thereby leading to a disproportionate level of unsatisfactory comments.

There are still 3 weeks left, and though I will not miss the journeys to and fro work, I must say that I have seen and felt things more clearly than before. Internship has opened my eyes to the working world, and through it I have also gotten more insights into the friends around me. It has helped me get my priorities right, and the level of anticipation varies with who you are meeting for dinner and so on. Because working has shown me the absolute necessity of networking and having to keep in contact with people you might not even like, I have become selfish with my free time. I am now more conscious about who I want to spend time with, and I find myself making judgement calls all the time. Will meeting this person be a waste of time? Should I meet up with these people? Perhaps it is not so healthy to be doing this excessively, but I do find that I have a clearer idea of who I can really click with, and who really cares.

Going back to the internship, I am glad I had previous working experiences. That, combined with what I have learnt in MIC for the past year, really aided me in producing satisfactory work. My bosses at work have been very helpful, and I'm glad they are reasonable people who do not get blinded by stress, or take things out on their subordinates.

While I might not agree with some academic policies in SMU and the way they focus most of their attention on the business school, I must say that compulsory internship is a great learning point for all students. Unlike some schools which settle all aspects of internship for the students, we have to do things all by ourselves - applying, interviews, negotiations - we are left completely on our own. While the school is there to answer any queries on admin matters, we are given a chance to experience the job-seeking for ourselves. Even though there is a safety net provided by the school, I feel that this system encourages independent learning and reduces the comfortable inertia so many students feel.

3 months seemed to have passed by in the blink of an eye, yet I do not doubt that the last 3 weeks will crawl. Haha. Typical. I expect I will miss my workplace after I leave, but now I just can't wait to reach the day when I can be free. Most definitely, I want to go back to being a student. I have fallen in love with school once again. (But do check back with me near the midterm break after school starts regarding this sentiment. lol)

Sunday, July 08, 2007

8:11 PM

What I have been up to

This has been the longest period in which I did not update my blog i guess, been doing other things and completely forgot about updating this blog. Its one of those things that always appear on your mind when there are thousand other things to do, while it never crosses your thoughts when you are perfectly free. But well, better late than never, this entry will at least give some of my bored friends (on internship or otherwise) some entertainment, if they remember it, that is.

Work

Well, these few weeks of disappearance saw me at work (where else? lol). The first issue of the magazine that I contributed to has been published, and a copy is sitting proudly at home. Even though my name is printed in tiny font, its still there. Though the articles and stuff that I wrote need to be pointed out, since there is no by-line, haha. But I know which ones they are, and that's enough for now. And my boss has been gone from the office alot, which means a more relaxed environment, with not much to do, since she seemed to have forgotten about us (me and the other intern) with all her running around. Thank goodness for facebook, and my equally bored friends, who kept me company, like bell and charmaine (the other intern, haha). It is really interesting, but I bet I woudn't be bothering with it that much when I end work. Haha.

But this will not be set to continue tomorrow when I return to work, since she has already assigned ALOT of work for us again. Back to work, can't say I'm that unhappy, since slacking at work is one of the worst tortures ever, simply wasting your time with nothing legitimate to do. I would rather speed through the entire day with work to do, coming out of it tired but accomplished and with a sense of achievement, as my work is not just brainless sai gang.

And what's more, I went to my boss's house yesterday for a bbq! Wow his house is so nice! Its a penthouse, and the rooftop is so big, with a bbq area, and even a jacuzzi (i think) pool, there's also enough space to put a projector for viewing movies with, plus a table that can sit at least 10, Oh man, he's rich! Haha. It was surprisingly fun, as there were no stressors from work, plus the she-devil wasn't there. Haha. I had been reluctant to go, since it took up my precious saturday, but it wasn't all that bad. The space in our office adopts an open concept, which had brought all of us (my direct boss and us, the interns) closer, since there wasn't a sense of superior and subordinate which could be clearly etched with many enclosed rooms.

While work may be interesting and stuff, I still prefer going to school. I get real freedom there, with no need to be trapped to a desk for the better part of the day. That's is what irks me the most, because I'm used to not being confined to a place for hours on end, and I like being able to take 3 hour lunches. Right now I don't even have the luxury of a 1.5 hour lunch (which discounts the travelling, by the way), because while my office is more free than most in terms of lunch duration, its not nice to be an intern and be openly slacking while your boss is hard at work back at the office.

Work is not all that bad, since I have a friend now, another intern Charmaine, who is also Charlene's good friend. So with that icebreaker, we are not good friends, and she has made my internship more fun. She's the only one there who's my age, and that's a very big plus as we can talk about stuff which relates to us. Not that the other colleagues are not nice, but you know the feeling. Haha.

School

Well, BOSS is upon us again, and I'm once more in a dilemma over courses, timetables and modules. Now I have an added problem, which is whether to change my 2nd major from law to psych. I know I can do well in psych mods, which I do enjoy, and that would help greatly in pulling my gpa up (which I am in need of right now). It would also mean that I get to take more interesting stuff instead of boring compulsory BUSINESS modules in order to fulfill requirements for the law major. This is one big sore point for me, since I actually abhor business courses, which have always left a bitter aftertaste, what with the "active" participation of crap opinions and aggressive marks-grabbing done by my classmates. Grades can really transform a person, I must say.

So this has been one big question on my mind, as I wonder whether to give in to my irritation and unpleasant impression to switch majors. This would not have been that big a negative side had I not been also interested in psychology, and the relatively friendly (and intellectual) environment of social science. Argh. I welcome anyone's advice, please talk to me cos I am really undecided now.

(Then again, I have been looking more at the psych modules than the law ones, which does say alot about where my heart is leaning towards right now, haha)

Exchange

Oh man, I'm stressed. Right on the heels of BOSS is the exchange deadline, where I have to submit an application of the universities of my choice, plus the module matching. Well, actually I just settled most of the confusion with Charlene just now, so its not that big a problem, but the module matching is a nightmare. PLUS I have to find 2 profs for their approval, which is a problem since all the soc sci profs who knew me have left, giving me very little choices left. Sigh. I really hope I can get to go on exchange to somewhere I want to go with her, so that we have company on this new adventure. I have been infected with a bad case of wonderlust since god knows when, and I really want this opportunity to go out and explore. *crosses fingers*

Oh wow, long post. Didn't know I had so much to say, haha. Well, this will finally satisfy some *coughbellcough* who have been asking me to update. Haha.

But this is a sunday, and there's work tomorrow! *Sighs