Since moving to Singapore, I have not really stayed to my school or office. The shortest was 30-40 mins bus ride away. During university days I stayed on campus because otherwise I would have travel 1.5 hours each way.
That was a luxury I enjoyed in Abu Dhabi. Although I wasnt walking distance away, I would catch a bus at 8.15 and would be in office by 8.30. Better still, in the evenings, because it was a company bus, everyone would leave by 6pm. So there was no concept of overtime. I felt like I have so much time. I could cook and get housework done, but most often, I would come home and jus laze in front of the TV. Sigh.. I miss watching TV all evening.
Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.Like those you can call at 4 am,it is those who read every crappy thing you write that matter.Here's to my friends!!Cheers
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Working it Out
I was one of those girls who used to be dead against going to the gym. Not that I did not like to exercise; I used to like swimming, cycling and jogging in the park. I even enjoy activities like Kayaking or Trekking. Part of the truth was that I was too self conscious to go to the university gym, cos there were too many people I know. More than that, I was worried being the clumsy one, I will fall off the treadmill. The other part was that in Singapore, its not uncommon to simply run on the road and there are so many clean public pools. I did not feel the need to spend money on some fitness club.
Until I moved to Indore, India. Lots of people went walking in the morning, but no one even jogged. Then the swimming pools were small and not well maintained. The fitness clubs were not well equipped and I was not going to stay long enough to get a long term membership. I was putting on weight at a horrible rate as there was not as much activity as in Singapore to keep me on my feet all the time. I started panicking.
Then few months later, I moved to Abu Dhabi, UAE. It got worse. The weather was terrible and you cannot imagine walking for long. Jogging on the road was out of the question near my house. I did not want to walk to the beach in the heat. So finally, I signed for gym membership with a nearby 5 star hotel. Of course by then I had managed to put on 10 kilos since I moved out of Singapore (which I am still trying to get rid of). I started enjoying going to the gym, especially since no one ever came during the day time. So I could use any equipment and I got to learn how to use the weight training machines. Then after a few months, I started working so got membership at a ladies gym (it was cheaper and open longer). I started to feel good about being fit (even though the weight has not come off yet). The workout helped me de-stress. On days I felt too lazy to workout, I joined the aerobics class. By Abu Dhabi standards, I was considered slim.
When I moved to back to Singapore, I visited a fitness club. One of the first things I was told was how I am Obese and need to work a lot. I felt horrible. The truth was that nearly everyone I knew was half my size. But I decided that I was going to join the fitness club and workout on my own. I din need someone else to tell me what worked for my body. I do push myself but I also know when I am straining. And I am disciplined enough to make going to the gym a habit.
I was most proud yesterday when I ran 6km in 50 mins. This was truly an acheivement for me, as I could only manage 2km when I started and that was with walking and breaks. I hope to run the half-marathon end of the year.
Until I moved to Indore, India. Lots of people went walking in the morning, but no one even jogged. Then the swimming pools were small and not well maintained. The fitness clubs were not well equipped and I was not going to stay long enough to get a long term membership. I was putting on weight at a horrible rate as there was not as much activity as in Singapore to keep me on my feet all the time. I started panicking.
Then few months later, I moved to Abu Dhabi, UAE. It got worse. The weather was terrible and you cannot imagine walking for long. Jogging on the road was out of the question near my house. I did not want to walk to the beach in the heat. So finally, I signed for gym membership with a nearby 5 star hotel. Of course by then I had managed to put on 10 kilos since I moved out of Singapore (which I am still trying to get rid of). I started enjoying going to the gym, especially since no one ever came during the day time. So I could use any equipment and I got to learn how to use the weight training machines. Then after a few months, I started working so got membership at a ladies gym (it was cheaper and open longer). I started to feel good about being fit (even though the weight has not come off yet). The workout helped me de-stress. On days I felt too lazy to workout, I joined the aerobics class. By Abu Dhabi standards, I was considered slim.
When I moved to back to Singapore, I visited a fitness club. One of the first things I was told was how I am Obese and need to work a lot. I felt horrible. The truth was that nearly everyone I knew was half my size. But I decided that I was going to join the fitness club and workout on my own. I din need someone else to tell me what worked for my body. I do push myself but I also know when I am straining. And I am disciplined enough to make going to the gym a habit.
I was most proud yesterday when I ran 6km in 50 mins. This was truly an acheivement for me, as I could only manage 2km when I started and that was with walking and breaks. I hope to run the half-marathon end of the year.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Right Thing..?
I hate the nag in my head that says I need to 'grow up' and behave maturely, that I need to be more responsible and do the right thing.
Who says doing the 'right thing' makes you feel good...sometimes you feel miserable trying to do the 'right thing' and most often find out that it wasnt the right thing at all!
Who says doing the 'right thing' makes you feel good...sometimes you feel miserable trying to do the 'right thing' and most often find out that it wasnt the right thing at all!
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
At the other end of the Spectrum
Last year this time, I had just gone back to Abu Dhabi after a short vacation in Singapore. This year, I have just come back to Singapore after a short vacation in Abu Dhabi.
I was watching "Rocket Singh: Salesman of the year", a very simple movie. Some part of the movie took me back to my short stint in sales. When I moved to Abu Dhabi, I was desperate to start working. Unfortunately, not much biomedical research work was available. Finally, through my husband, I landed a job (without even having an interview) in a medical equipment sales job. A part of me said 'Take it..its better than sitting at home, and not too far from your field. Plus its just a temporary job, you can afford to try something new'; another part of me (and a few of my friends) was very apprehensive about my capacity as a salesperson. I mean I have worked with design and testing of medical equipments...not with end products.
In my six months, I came to respect the profession. I enjoyed not being tied to a desk, unlike research where my whole day goes in front of the computer. It was fun meeting new people, new clients. At the same time, the job was not very aggressive, unlike in most other countries and companies. When I started, I had help from colleagues who took me to the field and introduced me to so many of their clients. Most of them had many years of sales experience and I had none, so they looked at me as a fresher. Plus I was the only salesgirl in the team, so most of them were nice to me.
The downpart of the job was that I realised that most of my colleagues were great salesmen but they had very little knowledge about their products. They relied heavily on their Indian contacts for favours. Bribery was a small part too. My bosses were not good at using the computer to improve their work efficiency or even in keeping track of orders, everything was done manually and filed. No one seemed interested in knowing more than needed. They were there to sell medical equipments, that is all. Unfortunately, coming from research background, I felt very strongly that hospitals should buy equipments because they fulfil a certain need and are useful for both physician and patients, especially when money was not a problem in most places. I used to read so much about each equipment I dealt with, because these are medical devices to be used on people. I spent a lot of time going through the clinical trial details for each device and various studies conducted on the illnesses which would require this device. I felt obligated to tell the truth to a customer, even though I am selling my device to him, I also mentioned its flaws and shortcomings.
I did not consider myself a very good sales person. I din do amazingly well in meeting my sales target, but I used to atleast scrape 95-105% and average it out. I used to sometimes bypass the purchasing and meet directly with the doctors (they are the ones who are gonna use the equipment right?), which was considered a BIG no-no. When I was leaving, I informed my customers about it and I was pleasantly surprised by the responses I got. Even my manager offered me a marketing position if I opted to stay. But sales was a fun fling while it lasted, but my true love was still in the research and design of medical equipments...at the other end of the spectrum
I was watching "Rocket Singh: Salesman of the year", a very simple movie. Some part of the movie took me back to my short stint in sales. When I moved to Abu Dhabi, I was desperate to start working. Unfortunately, not much biomedical research work was available. Finally, through my husband, I landed a job (without even having an interview) in a medical equipment sales job. A part of me said 'Take it..its better than sitting at home, and not too far from your field. Plus its just a temporary job, you can afford to try something new'; another part of me (and a few of my friends) was very apprehensive about my capacity as a salesperson. I mean I have worked with design and testing of medical equipments...not with end products.
In my six months, I came to respect the profession. I enjoyed not being tied to a desk, unlike research where my whole day goes in front of the computer. It was fun meeting new people, new clients. At the same time, the job was not very aggressive, unlike in most other countries and companies. When I started, I had help from colleagues who took me to the field and introduced me to so many of their clients. Most of them had many years of sales experience and I had none, so they looked at me as a fresher. Plus I was the only salesgirl in the team, so most of them were nice to me.
The downpart of the job was that I realised that most of my colleagues were great salesmen but they had very little knowledge about their products. They relied heavily on their Indian contacts for favours. Bribery was a small part too. My bosses were not good at using the computer to improve their work efficiency or even in keeping track of orders, everything was done manually and filed. No one seemed interested in knowing more than needed. They were there to sell medical equipments, that is all. Unfortunately, coming from research background, I felt very strongly that hospitals should buy equipments because they fulfil a certain need and are useful for both physician and patients, especially when money was not a problem in most places. I used to read so much about each equipment I dealt with, because these are medical devices to be used on people. I spent a lot of time going through the clinical trial details for each device and various studies conducted on the illnesses which would require this device. I felt obligated to tell the truth to a customer, even though I am selling my device to him, I also mentioned its flaws and shortcomings.
I did not consider myself a very good sales person. I din do amazingly well in meeting my sales target, but I used to atleast scrape 95-105% and average it out. I used to sometimes bypass the purchasing and meet directly with the doctors (they are the ones who are gonna use the equipment right?), which was considered a BIG no-no. When I was leaving, I informed my customers about it and I was pleasantly surprised by the responses I got. Even my manager offered me a marketing position if I opted to stay. But sales was a fun fling while it lasted, but my true love was still in the research and design of medical equipments...at the other end of the spectrum
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