TGIF! Finally it's friday. =)

I finally started work at Morgan Stanley after a tedious 3 months of job hunting. The last time I worked was way back in Feb '09, while I was doing my internship with Deloitte. I'm so not used to waking up at 7+ in the morning and forcing myself to sleep early the night before. When I was a fresh graduate, I can't wait to start working. Now that I'm a full time working adult, I wished I was still having that freedom I used to have. Now, that freedom is forever gone, at least till the day I retire.

I enter the corporate world with much enthusiasm to be honest. I am grateful for the chance to work in a big company like Morgan Stanley as well. I wish I can excel at every task given to me, portraying professionalism and excellence. I do not wish for slip ups and failures. I wish I can climb up the corporate ladder at the fastest speed possible. Yet, I fear I might suffer a backlash or what some people term as burnout. I am already fighting the zzz monster during work, but I attribute that largely to my screwed up sleeping hours. I was angry at myself for almost dozing off while my colleague was giving me training. I thought to myself, "Hey don't you screw yourself by dozing off!"

First week of work was spent mainly focusing on on-the-job training. Time was spent familiarising myself with the IT programs, excel spreadsheets and work processes. I realised there was a huge bunch of things waiting for me to master, and the work load will no doubt grow gradually. Even the new hire e-learning programmes require quite a bit of time to finish, not to mention they include a 2 week deadline as well. Oh well, at least a busy schedule and work load will help time pass faster?

Picture of a random bird that flew into my house (and shitted comfortably all over), just like the one that flew into Black Lion Place residences in Sydney. Damn I miss that 2nd home of mine.

My blog's really dying from lack of activity. I have so much time on hand, yet I am just too lazy to lay my fingers on the keyboard to update this space of mine. I spent most of my time catching up with friends, watching shows on my tv, playing mahjong and sleeping. This is the lifestyle many envied, especially students and working friends of mine.

This non-stressful and carefree lifestyle started aproximately 3 weeks ago when I got the phonecall from Morgan Stanley's human resource department offering me an analyst position in their finance department. I was ecstatic and felt thoroughly relieved as I had 2 job offers to choose from. One that is from arguably the best bank in the world, but only offering a 4 months contract, and the other one as mentioned above. In the end, I chose the permanent role mainly for the job security it brings about, and the better prospect of a middle office role compared to one of a back office.

With the signing of the contract on a Monday-Blueless Monday, the commencement of my much anticipated career was imminent. I was informed to report to work on the 26 of April. I was delighted and grateful for this opportunity, as I know my prayers and effort did not go unanswered. Throughout the 3 months ++ of job hunting, I had the support of my family and friends who gave me non-stop advice and encouragement. Gone were the days of daily job hunting, sending out countless emails only to be ignored, feeling lost without any direction and the ultimate fear of unemployment.

I have exactly one week more to the start of my job. I had initially planned for a short getaway before starting work but it had largely been unsuccessful due to the political situation paralysing bangkok and the unavailability of my friends. What should I do in this final week of freedom, before I step into the prison of work?