The Sun Always Shines on TV

I had such a bad, bad, bad day today.

1) It started off with heavy rain. One of the heaviest I've seen since arriving here. The full blown thunder and lightening effect included.

2) Almost missed the bus because my driver was late. So "laukong" had to send me to the bus pick-up point.

3) Onboarded another EXPAT first thing in the morning. After he left, our manager asked who he was. Then I told him that so far so good, except for one issue (boy, did I pay handsomely for opening my mouth). The guy is currently staying at the company guest house in 2 separate rooms from his family. So I told him this was not practical for a family with very young children. So the manager asked what salary group he is in. And by this time his voice had raised by a few decibels enough to wake the dead in Ghana and Gabon. Then almost shouting (or maybe he already was, but I was too paralysed and mortified to notice at this point), he said well he's not entitled for a small temporary house since those houses are meant for managers and others of immortal status. Me as an HR person should know about this "policy"!? WTF!?

4) In the bus on the way home for lunch, a fellow EXPAT colleague asked me if I was going to this HR workshop that is scheduled next week. Obviously I've not heard. So he offered to come to his office to check for more details after lunch. Turns out from the particpants list, that ALL my immediate colleagues have been nominated to go except for...yours truly.

Well, I'm inclined to think that there must be some reasonable expalnation to this. Or perchance I've been forgotten? Since I had a meeting almost immediately after lunch, I only managed to e-mail my boss about the possibility of him nominating me. By the time I came back from my meeting, no response of my e-mail. By now it was already late in the day for me to start a conversation. Also as you will see below, this would be the least of my worries. TRUST ME.

5) With the promotion process almost coming to a close for those in managerial positions, I handed over my portfolio's submission to my colleague who collates all forms. Then she told me that it's ok for me to go to our manager (yes, this is the same manager in item 1) direct for him to sign the papers off.

Naively (again - I have to be more vigilant than this next time. My memory seems to have failed me.) I went to his office thinking all would be a breeze. Another hard lesson awaits me:
First thing he said was that my submission was late (he might possibly have been shouting already - again my memory has failed me).

> The deadline was closed last week! (Oh no, here we go again.)

> Why was it late? (The trap has been set.)

> Did your boss not tell you when the deadline was? (I'm falling.)

> Where is he? (So close yet so far away.)

> Let's go and see him now! (I can start to see my life flash before me.)

> He should be advising his staff and coaching them! (Are you there, God?)

Suddenly the penny dropped and I decided, "No, today is not a good day to die." So I told him that it was not necessary to go outside and confront my boss (I'd like to think that Mr. Manager here had enough feeding for the day to tide him over until after winter and hibernation). I knew the deadline and it was the customers that were late with their submissions. Absolutely nothing to do with my boss.

Managed to calm him down somewhat and (at great risk- and foolishness, now that I think about it) told him that I am now beginning to dread coming in to see him(!!). (I must say - there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity). Much to my surprise (and quite possibly the Grim Reaper's), he told me that I should not feel that way. I should know that I am always welcome to come and speak to him. The more I see him, the less I should be dreading him. SAYS HE. I imagined in my head (had to bite my tongue while thinking this) the perfect retort would have been, "That's alll!"

6) Just before logging-off, I saw an e-mail from Russia about one of their staff coming to work here. By the amount of BOLD fonts in her e-mail it was really the icing on the cake that I needed to end my day. Unfortunately it far too late for me to retaliate lest I missed the bus home. I forgot (must get my memory upgraded soon) how rather "brusque" (to put it nicely) the Russians can be. I should have known better and this shouldn't have come as a surprise to me. 2 years working in Dubai supporting them virtually in Russia has done nothing for me apparently. But I was certainly caught off-guard. So spent the entire bus journey home mentally drafting my response (while being poked at the ribs by this super horizontally-challenged American lady who didn't even have the courtesy to acknowledge my presence - I certainly "felt" hers. I didn't realised that such people are capable of having such bony elbows). Of course as my luck would have it, the traffic jam was worse than usual. So by the time we reached the housing camp I was almost ready to jump out the window from claustrophobia.

Item 6 I expect will...to be continued...after I send my response tomorrow.

Alas, positivity and humour (+ tons of nicotine) remains my anchors to get me through another day in paradise.

"I reached inside myself and found
Nothing there to ease the
Pressure of
my ever worrying mind
All my powers waste away
I fear the crazed and
lonely
Looks the mirror's sending me these days...

...Please don't
ask me to defend
The shameful lowlands of the way I'm drifting
Gloomily
through time
I reached inside myself today
Thinking there's got to be
some way
To keep my troubles distant..."

~ The Sun Always Shines on TV