Moving on...

Hi everyone!
Its been a looooooooooooooooooooong time since the last update eh? Well, some people have moved on, gotten married, and even had babies!

Here's some rather outdated news I heard some weeks back but didn't manage to get around to putting it up.

In O3, there was a certain dame that thought she was Uberbaus' favourite. He doted on her and let her whine her way through work. He found it entertaining to observe her daily shrieks and rantings from his fishbowl office (he told me it was amusing...not kidding.) He said that she gets things done in her home country. He stressed on her usefulness to me countless times and I had to tactfully remind him when she sat on a job for weeks when it could've been done in a day or two.

Anyway, Uberbaus insisted that she is the cornerstone of this important department. I think that this particular cornerstone let drop one too many grains of sand from her foundation and it finally collapsed.

Not sure if these facts still hold true, but not too long ago, the dame was found to have corruptly done transactions in her home country (Egad!). Seriously, is that so surprising? Its one of those country's that are famous for corruption in business. Then again, so is O3 itself.

Corrupt within, corrupt without.

What shocked me was the news that this precious dame was fired! Not by Uberbaus I think, but by mini-baus. He's background is deeply rooted in the states where bribery and corruption are more than frowned upon. Uberbaus' background is rahter deep-seated in it that he does not have qualms about faking documentation and "being nice" to officials to attain his goals.

I wonder what has happened since...has the dame been reinstated yet? She's the cornerstone...has the department fallen apart? Anyone know?

Recruiting from the Lion's Den

Hi everyone, sorry about the drought. No entries for the entire month of July. Wow. Good thing no one threw eggs at me. Ha!

Well, no stories to write about until I recently got some news.

A certain ex-O3ber who worked there for probably about 5 years, got recruited into a foreign company. This special O3-ber was from the sales department and sold the products all over the world - the US, China... Ok, so Uberbaus didn't really like him but since he was bringing in the sales and ever ready to work hard, he did pretty well in O3.

The thing I don't really understand is why would he want to recruit engineers and sales people from O3. Is it out of goodwill? Or is it to spite the Uber and minibaus? Or is it due to the fact that he honestly thinks O3bers are fabulous (at least most of them) salesmen and engineers?

Finally, to recruit from the Lion's Den is almost suicidal, ESPECIALLY when you go ahead and tell the snake that you are doing so. While this ex-O3ber is safe from Uberbaus now, the unsuspecting hope-to-become-ex-O3bers who were called to meet him about the potential exit permit from O3...well, if the snake (who went for the meeting?!?!?!) tells Uberbaus, can you imagine the gnashing of teeth that will take place when he discovers who is sneaking behind his back to try and leave O3?

Well, I sure hope the snake decides not to tell, since his being there also incriminates himself. But a snake is a snake...so watch out. And beware of where you step.

The Fall of Minibaus

The latest event to happen at O3 is that the mini-buas finally let go of his educational life. He has left university (under unknown circumstances) for the pursuit of greatness and money.

Uberbaus has blown a gasket in the meantime. In this respect I can't blame him because he had pulled strings for mini-baus to get into the ivy league school to do a double major.

Uberbaus' blown gasket is still spewing steam and vulgarities. Of course, the bulk of the steam and vulgarities are splattered at the staff in the office and which ever unfortunate soul is in his presence. More staff are resigning as an effect. It is not known how long the spewing can be sustained by Uberbaus. I can just picture him blaming the staff for not taking on more work and responsibilities so that mini-baus can stay in school.

The short term effect of mini-baus leaving can definitely be felt. Will there be any meaningful long term? That is the million-dollar gamble that mini-baus is taking without Uberbaus' blessings.

Reverse, Forward, Neutral Engineering

In O3, we know that they demand fast products and are willing to cut corners. Thus reverse engineering is the order of the day. Labs are filled to the brim with competitor's products that management claims is for testing...

But the SOP is that once all the testing is completed, O3 engineers have the joy of tearing the competition's units apart to stare and observe and learn from their designs. To a certain extent, it makes some sense to do that. Kind of like not reinventing the wheel. On the other hand, it halts creativity and creation of new ideas. What I'd like to coin forward engineering. If the whole world kept staring at CRT tvs, do you think plasma or LCD tvs would exist?

O3 is stuck in trend of reverse engineering...in fact, it "worships" this angle of attack. Egads! I mean, if you look at the top 2 or 3 international models already...great! Why do you need to look at every single brand? I mean, the cost of procuring all these models outweighs the benefits. If you manage to put together all the best features of the units, I bet another O3 like company based in a labour and material cost advantaged country will be able to do it faster, cheaper and better.

So well, I propose that O3 attempts to look at neutral engineering. Since reverse engineering will be impossible to rip from their deathlike grasps, they should lock up at least 3 engineers in a separate room away from all external influences and ask them to come up with a new product that does xyz functions. Who knows? It might work right?

Silver spoons

We currently live in a society where getting a bachelors degree is something highly sought after. However, I've come to know quite a number of highly intelligent individuals, who were all born with silver spoons, who have either done badly or simply dropped out of school because life was easy for them and money came pouring in from directions we can't even fathom.

(For those born without silver spoons and had to struggle to work, dropping out of school may have been necessary, so I'm not in anyway talking about those who have financial hardships to deal with.)

Case in point would be the miniboss. You see, engineering students who study locally are forced to do the 4-year course for honours. We were also taking an average of 8 modules every semester. We were not allowed to do double majors but that's changing since the numerous protests. Things are slow to change though.

So, miniboss gets accepted into one of the top business and engineering schools in the ivy league to do a double major even though he had no extra-curricular activities during junior college. By that time, he was immersed in the O3 environment and getting away with things in the school because Uberbaus made friends in high places and donations to the school. Now, miniboss refuses to understand the enormous gift he has by getting into this ivy league school. He gets to do a double major with only about 5 to 6 modules every semester. Is that fair? Furthermore, he hardly attends lessons and isn't doing well for the examinations. He has placed O3 as top priority in his life simply because he assumes that O3 will survive. (that is probably true as long as the 3 bosses are there.) Silver spoon. Uberbaus will do anything for miniboss to succeed.

Another case I know is the son of a certain politician. Badly behaved in school and kept back one year for failing. Last I heard, he has a high paying job at a well-loved beer company. Silver spoon. His dad is highly influencial.

Yah, I think the silver spoon increases the odds of brat behaviour and not being grateful for the opportunities given to you and that you had taken away from other more deserving individuals.

Dinner and Dance the O3 way

Apparantly the annual Dinner and Dance of the O3 is coming up soon. The last one wasn't that fun either but we were pretty much forced to go cos if you didn't, the individual cost would've been deducted from one's salary.

This year, I have spared myself the agnst of attending the D&D by simply having removed myself from O3 in January this year. The more recently parted though still managed to be invited for the D&D. We suspect it is to make up the dwindling numbers.

This year they have also changed the venue of the D&D and merged the factory D&D with the HQ D&D. Sounds like a good idea save for the fact that the venue is changed from a decent hotel in the city to a place on the island's factory.

Yes, the island. Let us reflect on the ISLAND: Some would postulate the possibility that Uberbaus simply wants to kidnap all the employees whilst on this foreign land. Others would say its just to make everyone sick from the mosquito bites and the food. Uberbaus has "promised" (WOW!) that he would provide nice accomodations for the HQ staff to stay over one night. Right...

Yes, the "promise". Let us reflect on the PROMISE: Uberbaus has promised to improve the accomodations of employees in that island for many months now but hardly anything has changed. Up to5 staff are squeezed into a room that was meant for 2! Beddings are infested with bedbugs and items are stolen half the time. Yes, the promise is only for Uberbaus and his family to stay in the resort like accomodations. The promise is for himself.

The last item up for discussion would be the LUCKY DRAW PRIZES. The Uberbaus shamelessly instructs the committee to scour the ground for vouchers. Unbeknowst to the well-meaning large companies who give tens of dollar or vouchers or sponsor digital cameras, the Uberbaus keeps these nice gifts for himself and then gets a worker to purchase household items like rice cookers and toasters as prizes. The vouchers are then used at the whim and fancy of Uberbaus to furnish the office or replace spoilt items. Digital cameras are then used to "bribe" goodwill from other staff or as gifts to foreigners to display Uberbaus' generousity.

Yah, last year, the top prize was supposed to be a cash prize...but instead it was transformed into a travel voucher of smaller value from O3's travel agent. Uberbaus was even witnessed to have ask a worker whether he could pay the guy's salary with vouchers instead.

You decide the shamelessness of his actions. You decide how many D&D's you want to attend at O3.

EXTRA! EXTRA!! How come WE must pay EXTRA!

I just read the news about making NETS users pay the administrative charge for using NETS! What is this? are they really so hard up for viamin M?? It's bad enough to get credit card users to pay the extra 2% for using the facilities! How come these methods of payments that is supposed bring us convenience ends up making us pay more? What kinda logic is this? So much for wanting us to go paperless, and we have to bear the cost!

I'm already pissed over the taxi companies for wanting us to pay EXTRA cos they are changing to new cabs! not to mention the fact that they also want EXTRA for the Environment Friendly cabs they have! Come on man!, get real! If you want to go enviromental, do it at ur own cost! dun get consumers, who probably dun care about the environment, to pay for it! these are the things that service providers are SUPPOSED to do to improve our comfort! How come the cost of these is being flowed to us consumers! How come no one is doing anything about this? Or can anyone do anything about it?

This is not the end! Aparrently, they are gonna review increasing the fares for both buses and MRTs! like they are not earning enough from us consumers! With the new EZLink cards, they are getting commuters to pay the correct fare, with the occasional (or is it USUAL) technical glitch of overcharging them. Now they want to raise the fares again. I really hope this is not approved! Whenever there is an increase in charges, in whatever services that is provided, they will never come down. They try to justify the increase by the Gulf War, the high petrol prices and stuff. All these is to divert our attention away from the increase we have to pay, and before we know it, BAM! It hits us like a freight train!

What will we have to pay extra for next?

How Do You Sleep At Night?

How do you sleep at night? Very well? Or do you lose sleep over the bad things you've done earlier in the day? Ever wondered how the Uberbaus-es sleep? This thought came as I was mopping the floor and thinking of Horlicks. I remember watching an advert in the UK about Horlicks. The advert has a bus driver driving a bus, and as he moves off the bus stop, there was this guy running after the bus. The driver sees the guy running after the bus, but he just does not stop the bus and keeps on driving, glancing at the rear-view mirror once in a while. The camera then shifts to his bedroom and him drinking a cuppa Horlicks just before he goes to bed. The next scene was his next day at work driving the bus and him driving off as another guy runs after his bus.!

Sometimes it makes me wonder how the Uberbaus-es sleep at night. I'm pretty sure he loses sleep over how his company is losing every day even though orders are coming in. But whether he loses sleep over all the nasty things he says and does to his employees, I don't think so. I guess he consoles himself by doing 'good deeds' and thinking that these 'good deeds' can redeem his soul enough for him to go to heaven. I don't think he does these 'good deeds' out of the goodness of his heart.

I remember once he asked me the question ' You think you can go Heaven is it?' What drove him to ask me that question, I don't know. I didn't answer him but I wanted to just tell him, 'Yeah, I'll go to Heaven, but I don't know about you tho'! '

And just for the record, I sleep very well every night. how about you?

Feeding the Snakes to Fight

I recently heard that the Uberbaus is conducting one of his famous management motivational moves. Try and understand this:

1. Uberbaus tells employee P that he likes to be the bad guy so that the workers will unite together in O3-ness and work as one. (he is being "self-sacrificial" so he says).
2. Uberbaus then grabs Q into the room and bad mouths about R and says he doesn't want to work with R.
3. Couple days later, Uberbaus grabs R into the office and complains about Q to R.
   
4. In effect, Uberbaus thinks that this will cause Q and R to compete against each other and work harder.

The truth of it is, everyone knows about Uberbaus' crazy tactics. He simply gives people no reason to have better synergy for the company, which is bleeding money to the "superior races". But that's another blog entry.

Karoshi Cube's Karoshi Moment

Hey everyone, thanks for following and supporting Karoshi cube.

As material is failing to come in fast enough, I would like to know whether you'd like us to continue Karoshi-ing (on a sparser amount of posts) or if anyone else would like to join in the fun and post along side the 3 authors.

I, as LJ, having left O3, am not as updated or as emotionally involved as i used to be. So naturally postings have declined in this blog. I'm also busy with other stuff. =)

So, yah, you guys want this blog to carry on? And who wants in (to write posts)?

Karoshi! Karoshi! Kah-ROHHHH-SHI!!!!

Employment Guidelines to End Discrimination....RIGHT...

This is hilarious stuff. I practically keeled over reading the story on the front page of the local newspaper. Its entitled," New Employment Guidelines Aim to End Discrimination".

Oh sure. They are just guidelines. Watch O3 companies play the ignoramus card.

Here are some of the guidelines that are flouted by O3 all the time. In fact, the Uberbaus asked me the question and I was surprised at it.

~From the newspaper~
JOB INTERVIEWS
* Don't ask:
Questions on such personal matters as whether an applicant intends to have children.

DISMISSALS/LAYOFFS
* Don't:
Dismiss an employee before (a) He is given an opportunity to present his case; (b) Allowing an independent assessment panel to make the final decision.

~end quote~

Isn't it funny? I got asked the children question and there's plenty of stories of people being fired with humiliation on the spot. What independent panel? Oh, you mean, the 3 headed boss?

Bah. Guidelines, Shmidelines.

The wise are heeding their own advice

I remember an older and wiser O3ber once told me that he understood why I was leaving. Although he was sad about it, he understood perfectly the reasons behind why I simply had enough and needed to move on with my own life and development.

He even wisely kept silent and simply smiled when I asked him what he thought about the O3 HR Philosophy of how only 'Elites" exist in the company. I bet he had his own comments but held his tongue. =)

Anyway, I'm glad that many people have left and more people are deciding to find a better job and life balance outside of O3.

Dehumanise...

No, its not one of those freaky digitalising movie tricks. Its O3 taking more steps towards dehumanising its employees. (Apparantly Uberbaus and Miniboss are not on agreement here, but the bigger boss is winning so far.)

Practically every company will issue its employees a personal email address where the employee's name is coded in. This was the way with the O3. WAS.

There's a sort of new coding thing going on there and it involves giving people code names and serial numbers. Every dept has its own name but for one dept, the name given by the baus doesn't make sense. It wasn't explained to them what the acronym meant either. OTA??? For an Engineering Dept? What does it mean? Baus should have the courtesy of explaining what it means, cos it could mean something derogatory that only baus understands.

"Yo, call OTA1 here with OTA 13, Bring SBC 3 and MTA2 as well. I want to find out who is doing all this." Sounds like a potential conversation in the future at O3 eh? You have to go and find out and memorise your collegues numbers...

If there is a practical and meaningful reason for this, will some one enlighten me?

The Offer was For February

When I left O3 at the end of January, I had told miniboss that I was willing to return to office for 1 day in February to debrief the new person taking over me. Thereafter, I told him I was going to be busy and unlikely to be available.

In the fashionable O3 way, miniboss nodded his head and said thanks and that he'd contact me when he found a replacement. And in the fashionable O3 way, miniboss' mind did not register the part where I was going to be busy after February.

As always, the replacements are hard to find. One came and left before I even had an opportunity to meet the poor sod. One day went by...one week...then February came and went. March came and miniboss started Sms-ing me questions.

Finally in April, they found a replacement. It turned out to one of those "prodigal sons" who left O3 and for reasons unknown to the human species, this fella returned to O3. In mid April, the fella now (after 2 .5 months!!!) then asked if I were able to return to O3 to brief him.

Sorry dude, your coupon expired long ago and my benevolent heart now belongs to my very own personal business. O3 can go the way of the dinosaurs - and they just might, at the rate the feet dragging goes...

There'll be Peace In the O3, Somtimes

Occassionally life in O3 returns back to normalcy. Sanity and happiness is allowed to reign in the office sporadically. For instance, it happened again recently when boss, boss and boss were all overseas and away. Away from the office. Their physically presence was not felt. A burden lifted from the shoulders of the beasts of burden in O3. The clouds cleared. Sun shone through. Smiles were a plenty and everyone looked forward to the end of the day.

Yes, the end of the day. That's when you usually go home. And during these times of peace, the employees can leave without fearing the boss, boss or boss calling them back into the office to perform last minute duties. The employees feel a peace and calmness at the end of the day. No stresses, just peace.

Dire Certification

O3 always has trouble passing certifications for the product. They claim this and that but the american standards of certification is very strict. And to worsen the problem, the cleanroom is dirty. And to worsen-worsen the problem, the test sample of bacteria ended up containing plenty of other bacteria.

Of course, the best O3 method to counter this type of certification stress is to either keep trying (which costs alot of money) or to bribe the fella (which costs less money). There are certain standards and certifers who you just know you cannot bribe...but there are also certain countries where the certifiers welcome whatever extra income they can weasle out from you. So in the fashion of O3, they proverbially and miraculously passed certification in this country (with EXCELLENT marks nonetheless) while failing every single test it required.

Certification - A piece of paper that is meaningless if in the hands of O3.

The Lone Ranger

In the midst of the madness of the Uberbaus' family, there is but one normal individual who is attempting to fight off the madness that encompasses the household. This Lone Ranger is the miniboss' brother.

Lone Ranger is an intelligent young man who decided NOT to join the dark side and work in the O3 environment. During the short couple weeks he was made to work there (and help out in HR), he was probably the nicest HR helper I have seen. Meek, humble and friendly he was the freak of the household. The Lone Ranger looked incredibly out of place and uncomfortable working there and this was apparant when one day he stopped helping out at work.

I know that Uberbaus loves to control his sons' lives and especially their love lives. Extreme measures of relocation has been taken when he disapproved of certain other halves!?!?! Now, the rumour is that Uberbaus has his eye on a specific young lady who I suppose he would love to have bethroved to his son. He is even going to USA just to get the ball rolling?!?!?!

My heart goes out to Lone Ranger. He fights hard against the current of madness. May the love of his life be true and untainted by Uberbaus.

Never Point Blame at Yourselves

Following up on the 10 sins of a bad manager, I would like to touch briefly on the way the Uberbaus swiftly and efficiently deflects blame from all three bosses.

More often than not, he deflects blame and embarassment from the miniboss by targeting the arrows, bullets, cannon balls, missile warheads and nuclear bombs onto the heads of the unsuspecting employees. You see, the miniboss likes to, no...., LOVES to BRAG and talk. In doing so, he tends to inadvertantly leak information about OEM projects and contracts that hurt the partners or clients. He usually conviniently forgets that he ever said such a thing.

Now, when the partner/ client complains and it gets to the ears of the Uberbaus, the Uberbaus automatically sends a homing signal and target to the nearest pantsy that he can find. The poor chap (s) are then treated to hours of scoldings, swearings, threats, etc. Poor fellas. I did once witness the mini-boss trying to tell the Uberbaus that he was the one who mentioned it, but the Uberbaus brushed it aside, twisted the argument and scolded us for not "saving" the situation???!?!??! haha....how nice is that?

O3 - Better Late Than Never

One of O3's major problems is that they simply love to procrastinate in any matter that will be advantageous to them. The most obvious one is delayed payments on O3's end. The next one involved delayed paychecks to employees. And then we have delayed shipments to customers, etc.

I received a tax form that was, well, late. Not from the government, from O3. The funniest thing to me was that on the tax form that is filled by the employer, it says "fill in and send to employee NO LATER THAN 1 MARCH 2007". Erm, its almost the end of March??? Better yet, O3 always covers its butt by backdating this type of legal documents and the Uberbaus signed the form dated 1 Mar 2007.

Nice move eh?

10 sins of a Bad Manager

I love this article in a recent "recruit" section of the newspaper. For those who have yet to read it, let me highlight the 10 points here and also give the details on my favourite O3 sins (especially point 10!!!)

1. Never sell change when you can demand it
2. Humiliate your staff frequently --> Develop a varied arsenal of "looks" to master the subtle put-down. A well-placed sigh and a "that was dumb" stare can work wonders in silencing your people. ... When they react, just say:"Can't you take a joke with overreacting like most women do?"
3. Tell them how useless they are
4. Get personal --> ...When they miss a deadline, question their ability to handle responsibility.
   
5. Make them feel lucky to still have a job
   
6. Never give strategic direction until you have to
7. When things go wrong, you know who to sacrifice
   
8. Build your own corporate torture chamber --> Know how to schedule hours to produce maximum aggravation.
   
9. Never give recognition --> It sets the stage for complacency. After all they are lucky they have a job.
10. Use fear as a great motivator. --> ...make a scene by threatening their job on-the-spot. If you abuse them privately, there will be no witnesses...
    

You will be butchered at the drinking fountains, but do not let petty gossip get in your way. You will feel lonely, but that goes with creating the illusion of power.

*Article by motivational speaker Terry L Paulson*

I think the above is an excellent match to O3...right? The bosses have no idea how many sins they are committing as bad, no, lousy and downright awful managers.

No money, no talk

Respect. That is what I have for North Korea. I think we should all take a leaf out of their books, they know how to play politics. This is probably applicable to your situation, LJ. We all know this since primary school - "No money, no talk". As we can see from this article from ChannelNewsAsia, its still relevant even in the highest level of society.

All you O3-bers should understand one thing, besides gravitational forces, money also makes the world go round. When people ask you to do work for no pay say "돈 없음 대화 없음" (No money no talk in Korean).

Getting Your "Get Out of Jail Pass"

Remember the advertisment where you see some character drinking Red Bull? What happens after they drink it? They get WINGS! Over at the O3, drinking Red Bull does not give you 'WINGS'. Red Bull is what you give the workers as 'reward' for helping you get things done. To get "WINGS" at the O3 you have to do things like sorting your resume, go 'take MC' to go for interview, ace the interview, get a job offer, sign on the dotted line, and then give the Uberbaus 'The Birdie". Sometimes, some can't take it an longer, they'll give the Uberbaus "The Birdie" first then worry about the rest of the details later.
I just found out that one of our O3-er has just given the Uberbaus 'The Birdie" and day later, got a job offer. Really glad to hear good news like this. Really made my day, at 9.00 am in the morning!
I still remember that day I got my 'WINGS'', or rather, news that I'll be getting my "WINGS". I guess I've been in the O3 for too long, went to countless interviews, and yes, taken countless MCs to go for interviews, when news of the offer hit me, I had to pinch myself numerous times to be sure that it's really happening. I guess it's when you want something so bad, when it finaly comes, you wonder if it's a dream or it has actually happened! It took a while for the news to sink in. When it finally did, I was punching the air like a mad man! When I finally signed on the dotted line, I immediately emailed the Uberbaus "The Birdie" and then followed up with a hard copy in the morning. I guess I'm one of the fortunate ones who was able to 'escape' outta the O3 a week earlier without the Uberbaus breathing down my neck for this and that, and not getting piled up with work the day I gave him "The Birdie". I had to pay my way out for the 'Get Out of Jail Early" pass though. But it's worth it even if we have to pay it outta our own pocket. I'm blessed cos my company paid for the 'Pass'.
Really hope to hear more 'Prison Break' stories from the O3 soon! Shalom!

Talent leak

Singapore is suffering from a serious case of brain drain. I suspect so does India and maybe China. I don't find UK or US having the same problem.

I would like to suggest a possible reason: the grass is greener on the other side, maybe this time it is really true because people are actually staying there! I won't talk about the socio-political aspect, but just work culture.

I work in an multinational company and had the opportunity to work in the same company overseas. Let me tell you, it doesn't feel like the same company. In Singapore, I feel like I am reduced to a machine in a production line.

In Singapore, we 'make babies', 'are forced to retire', and 'get workfare'. In another country, we 'have a child', 'dream of early retirement', and 'receive welfare'. Too bad I am not "talented" enough to "leak".

The Recall

It feels kind of like the Army where they can call you back at any moment's notice....but this is even after you have left.

What I am referring to is the O3 environment of course. I know of many ex-O3bers who left months ago and yet the management is still calling them and asking for their help which can be seen as getting free labour. I did my labour which I thought I was going to get paid for, but it turned out to be "free".

Is this how things are ending up? With so many key-employees having left, senior management is left to continue sticking their fingers and thumbs into the leaky dam that is O3 by continually calling the ex-staff even 3 to 4 months after they have left. Does not that show something is wrong with the way they handle HR and handing-over?

Since they treat us like the living dead when we are employed over there, should not they treat us like the dead dead when we have left? Stop recalling ur ex-zombies. Leave us alone!!!

Singaporean Bonuses

This is a news article from ChannelNewsAsia. I actually saw this on the news and I wonder what the other 1 in 4 Singaporeans are thinking?

Could they be satisfied with their bonuses? Just one look at the photo and you know they are taking the polls at the wrong place, I would probably guess that O3 is not located in Shenton.
A possible conversation between the poll-taker (PT) and a O3-ber (O3B) will be:

PT: Eh, er, 'scuse me ah sir... can ask you question not?
O3B: I don't want to buy, don't want to buy. I got insurance liao.
PT: No, no, ask you about your work can?
O3B: Orr... can can. I got a lot of thing to say about my work. Wa piang, you know ah today this ger hor so suay kana jia lat jia lat from boss leh. Then hor, the rest of us whole day don't dare go toilet...
PT: Yeah... so you happy with your annual bonus not?
O3B: ... bonus? Si mi bonus? Only boss got bonus lah, today I siam ah! Ah seng ah, tio fine ten dollar ah. Now eat peanut porridge crying in the corner there... that's why ah, tell him never listen, hide the money in the underwear! Sad case. Bo qiu.
PT: So you happy is it?
O3B: Yeah man. Today never got scolded happy man!

If the polls were taken in O3, they probably get at least 1 in 2 Singaporeans happy with bonus, wasted.

Turnover

The O3-bers that I new during my stint there are leaving. The die hards who have been there for more than 2 to 3 years are people who I think have a 80% chance of devoting their lives to the company.

I saw a recent statistic of a company of more than 700 employees who could boast a turnover of less than 0.6%! That's like less than 10 persons... If we want to place a turnover statistic on O3...I'd say its closer to 300%? You see, in O3, the person who replaces the person who replaces the person usually leaves or gets fired within 3 months. The estimate is that an average of 3 people change over the job posting before a so-called "stable" individual stays on for 1 year. (For certain jobs, i've seen at least 6 people come and go.)

Sadly, I sure hope that what this O3 company is doing is not considered job creation! Otherwise, the job market will look like there's 300 posts for what is actually only 100 jobs available. I also find it awful that the job opportunities section of the O3 company's website is permanently unchanging in the posts available. How's that for job security...? You've been hired, but the posting is left there...just-in-case.

Keeping the Uberbaus Away

Remember how nutritionists will say that fruits are good for you? That we should have fruits after meals to help us digest food or something like that? This was my practice when I was at the O3. I will always have an apple and perhaps a slice of honeydew or watermelon. It became so routine that one ex-O3-er asked me why I do that. I will always say “An Apple a Day Keep the Uberbaus Away” just like the saying “An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away”. This 'routine' seems kinda effective, at least to me! I told this dude that he should try it too. Of course this did not work for him! This seems to be subject dependent. He is always at the frontlines fighting the battles. And probably only sees the sunset on weekends for all the time he was at the O3. It's been a while since I left the O3 and seems like all the people I worked with are gone. Most importantly, these people are happier where they are now and I'm sure are stronger people after the experience.

Just like bloody mio

Anybody seen the latest Singtel mio ad? The one where the boy with that ergonomically inclined table irresponsibly knocked piggy toward imminent danger? I HATE that ad. It reminds me of work.

For those blessed few, here's how it goes: A boy in excitement knocks the inclined table on which Piggy was perched precariously upon. I am sure that the fact that Piggy holds the boy's fortune in his fragile body has absoultely nothing to do with Piggy's predicament.

While Piggy is walking the green mile, Mio goes about organising a rescue. Calling upon each and every member in the team (except herself of course). The telephone flung its phone cord to try to pull Piggy to safety. The mobile cell set even tried to stop Piggy from falling by putting himself in front of Piggy to push him, risking certain death from impact. In the end, it was the laptop which caught Piggy. All these occurs under the incessant instructions of Mio, which did nothing watsoever to Piggy's aid.

The whole ad ended with everybody praising Mio for the rescue and her trying to brush it off as a teamwork. Damn! It exactly the same thing in the company, everybody in the background, losing sleep, risking their jobs to get something done. And when finally the project is a success, only the manager gets praised and the rewards. The rest of us praising him for his greatness of doing nothing. This is propagenda for a warped corporate reward system, join me in switching off your TVs when the ad is airing (I just know that it will win viewer's choice or something).

A possible Meltdown

I think most staff in O3 have had a meltdown one time or another. I had one and it wasn't pleasant. My meltdown was encompassed by the high-pitched screaming of a certain curry-favouring employee and it just blew my mind. Almost literally.

Lately I heard that Uberbaus' wife was having trouble. Was is due to the fact that production at the factory is unable to keep up with the orders that the O3 sales team keeps pushing through? Or that the equipment at the factory is cheap, lousy and constantly breaksdown making things all the more worse? Or that important staff are leaving causing payments to be late and slow, frustrating everyone including the suppliers? Or that Uberbaus himself is beginning to travel alot lately leaving his wife behind to fight the problems? Or that............

Whatever it is, I am always amused that O3 is alive and kicking. The mechanics of it all is amazing, don't you think?

Sensitivity in O3

In light of the plight of current O3-bers, it is important that we all remember the trauma that some of our fellow colleagues had to go through.

The bosses show little to no sympathy and understanding to many of the employees' lives and problems. They like to brush illnesses aside and look caring by offering vitamins and painkillers so that the ill employee will stay in the office and continue to work. In the event that the employee really has to take sick leave to rest, Uberbaus will likely frown upon it and may even send nasty sms-es or make snide remarks. More often than not, he will state how he and his family suffers through sickness for the company's sake. It never fails to amaze me that he forgets the company belongs to them and is run by them. 99% of the employees have ZERO stake in its success.

I think some of the people i've met in O3 are very sensitive to others because of the environment...and others, well, they (a small number of people) seem to slowly morph into the insensitive senior management way of work. I wish the latter bunch good luck in LIFE...not work. And i know the former group will be kind and affect those around them positively.

Speedy Exit

Every O3-ber who wants to leave hopes the affair is an uneventful one. Otherwise, they simply hope to leave asap.

Some of the staff in the finance department, who've been working late nights and weekends, are getting tired of it all. Being highly unappreciated and working for no extra pay and working with unreasonable bosses who scream profanities, is more than any normal human being can stand. There are some special people out there who I call SUPERWORKERS! They withstand the hailstorm everyday just to help out their friends. Its quite amazing really.

But I have utmost respect for one small lady who left O3 recently. She suffered enough and being small hasn't stopped her from standing up to the bosses. Wonderful! She had been battered with painful remarks and unrelenting insults. I'm so glad she has left. She was asked to stay for a while but becuase she was not confirmed by this company, she took the opportunity to make her life better and left the day she resigned.

Brilliant stuff. I do not believe in letting other step all over us. We must be wise in whom we keep company...and the O3 environment is the worst company to be in.

Lost Goodwill

I've lost whatever goodwill the Uberbaus had with me and I have a feeling the other 2 will soon follow suit.

I recently messaged the Uberbaus a greeting following the festival season we have in this country. The reply I got was "Sorry, I do not have your number in my phone. Who are you?" (or something to that effect). When I received that reply I knew that Uberbaus probably deleted my cell number from his phone and that meant zero goodwill from him. I replied anyway that it was me and that I just wanted to send greetings. (I honestly just wanted to be respectful as this festival was a time to show respect to elders, whether you like them or no.)

I learnt from a collegue that Uberbaus condescendingly told him about my message and he said he thinks that I wanted my old job back. WHAT?!?!?!?! Sorry Uberbaus, I would NEVER work in your O3 environment ever again. (Unless you pay me like $20K per month? haha....)

Well, doesn't matter to me what Uberbaus thinks anymore. The bosses are so full of themselves and their egos are incredibly large. Not surprising just annoying.

Old Faces, New Places, New Lives!

I was just at a meeting just on Friday and somehow, at the corner of my eye, I saw one of out ex-O3 colleague. It's kinda weird, but it kinda proves something. It proves that the O3 environment is not the only place that ppl can work in. No matter how much the Ubernaus would want it to be, the O3 is not the only place that will 'take in' these ppl.

It's been over 6 months since I left the O3 and since then, many things have happened. And as usual, many ppl have left, at least 10. And some of these are ppl whom I think are too 'valuable' for the Uberbaus let go' off. To me, these are really important ppl. But then again, the Uberbaus said before, I quote, “No one is irreplaceable, even me!” To think that he will even think of this is unimaginable, let alone for him to actually say it! Of course, what I think he really meant was that mini-boss (a exact replica of him, almost) will eventually take over the O3. However, come to think of it, I'm not sure how much of the O3 will be left with the kind of Vitamin M the mini-boss is spending. Most, if not all, of the ppl who left the O3 before or after me have gone to a much better place got a better pay and is truly appreciated for the work they put in. I would say that everywhere else is better than the O3. If anyone can stay at the O3 for at least 6 months, they will survive anywhere, everywhere else is heaven! But I have to say that the O3 is a fantastic 'training ground'!

Indeed, any organization no staff should be irreplaceable, if not they may end up getting 'ransomed' for more pay and benefits. But then again, if it allows all this talent to just walk out the door, it's basically digging it own grave. The amount of time and money spent on rehiring and retraining is never worth more than the knowledge and information that any staff gains from working in the organization I have to admit that the Uberbaus has the “talent” to find really good ppl to work for him. He is also able to squeeze the last bit of juice out from each individual one! The analogy I have is like extracting the juice out from sugar cane. You put it through larger roller with some grooves on it first to crack it, then u put it through narrower rollers to get the juice out, fold it into half or stack a few on top of the other and put them through again. The machine might rattle a little but it'll still squeeze them through. When all the juice is extracted, that is not the end of the cycle. The pulp then gets thrown into the furnace to cook or whatever. This is the best way to get the most out of sugar cane.

Of course, the O3-ers are the sugar cane, and the rollers are the UberBaus, the UberBitch and of coure the UberMiniBaus, in whatever order you want it. You could also take any of the above as the furnace. It's your choice. You know what I mean right?

The Secret Gathering

It's interesting to note the strange bond that occurs in O3 type environments. A certain type of unity develops amongst the oppressed and those who sympathize or empathize with them.

You could sort of parallel it to POWs bonding. Of course we weren't starving but the emotional turmoil is apparantly enough in this O3 environment that our being slowly melts into one against the evil ones.

We are so much happier away from the evil ones. The physical office space is a prison camp. When the guards (sneaky rats and all) are away, POWs breathe easier. Better yet, when the Lords of O3 are away, that's when the POWs dare to smile and eat snacks out in the open instead of secretly. Happiness is away from O3. And so we gather ourselves to celebrate our strange kinship to be happy without the rats, guards and Lords.

Creatures of Routine

I noticed that we are all creatures of routine. Just like Pinky & the Brain. Pinky asks Brain 'What are we doing today?' Brain says ''The same thing we do every night. Try and take over the world!' Kinda like what mini-boss like to do.
Even when we go on course, we must sit at the EXACT spot we sit the previous day, regardless of how uncomfortable we may feel when we first sat there on the 1st day. This was what i noticed today, or rather this whole week. I'm on course all week and this is exactly what I see. We have guys who came in late on the 1st day and ends up sitting on a chair with a side table cos there are no more spaces on the meeting table. The 2nd day he comes in earlier but still ends up sitting at the same spot, even though there are spaces available on the table. The same thing happens to another guy this morning. We changed the room yesterday and this guy came in only in the afternoon yesterday and sat just to my right. This morning, he comes in early and still, ends up sitting at the same spot. He does not mind taking his laptop power supply and network cable and start connecting up. I was thinking in my mind, saying 'Dude! There are other spaces available and there are already pre-installed laptop power supply and network on the table! Just move to another spot!' This was what sparked me to start writing about this.
I'm not sure what this happens. Perhaps it's just the 'human' thing that we feel as if we 'own' that spot. Or maybe cos we 'marked' our territory the day before and this is OUR TERRITORY and if anyone else sits there, they have invaded our space and we'll do everything to 'regain' our territory. Most of the time, we end up just staring at that person who sat at 'our spot' and find another place to sit. We don't sit at 'someone else's spot' cos we don't want to incur the 'wrath' and get those 'stares' from the 'owner' of the spot.

Your Life is My Life - Uberbaus

Of course those were not his exact words, but I think that more often than not he meant it that way. Many times he would scold employees for not staying back late or returning to office on weekends and say that since the bosses themselves are working hard, our own work lives should follow suit.

Just becuase the bosses have little in terms of friends and loved ones outside of O3, doesn't mean that every single employee who joins O3 must hand their lives over to them. If he wants it to be that way, I would suggest that the company be renamed a gang or mafia.

I've heard him put down people for spending time with their spouse (including myself), spending time with friends or kids, spending money having fun outside...and even telling people not to start a family for the sake of the company. Uh, excuse me, but aren't the bosses themselves a family? Ironic and hypocritical.

I always get disgusted whenever I hear him say such comments that are entirely irrelevant to his life. Yet another barrier broken in terms of double standards coming from O3.

Flooded

Hi fellow ex-O3-bers... Been missing in action for a while and totally FLOODED with work.

Hmm. What was I going to say? I forgot.

Time to go back to work.

O... yes, now I remember. I am looking for Good Coders and Good Designers! Pls apply thru the O3-ex-alumni-network if you know of anyone who are good at these things! I am desperately looking for help.

Look who's talking

I learnt recently that the Board of Directors (the bosses, who else?) apprantly are going in different directions and as always they aren't even communicating and resolving their own differing views first.

The mini-boss' style is to forge ahead. CHARGE!!!!!!!!!!!! Sell more! Earn more! Sell sell sell!!! Hire more staff! Sell more!!! Develop more products!!! Faster! More! Faster! More! (and yes, quality suffers.)

The Uberbaus on the other hand thinks the fast development will hurt the company and wants to slow down. So although he had initally supported the mini-boss' charge ahead, after about 2 years, he has decided that this is not the way to go. Why? The money goes out and where's the money coming in?

One boss wants to expand in China, the other in USA and everywhere else. In the mean time, the 3rd boss' view is focused on production. So...I foresee the mini-boss carrying on with his deal making and promising customers things he can't deliver. The Uberbaus will aggravate the situation by not hiring anymore help to meet the deadlines promised by mini-boss.

The O3 way: The bosses do not need to talk with each other. They talk through each other.

Empathetic Listening

Today, there is a marvelous article in the newspapers about empowering the employees to feel valued. The best part was this portion "Heartfelt listening is empathic listening. It is not multi-tasking during conversations; it is not typing on a blackberry in meetings; it is not sitting at your laptop finishing your last memo while associates are speaking with you."

Boy oh boy...let's see. The Uberbaus always multi-tasks during conversations. In fact he thinks he is very productive by having multiple meetings going on in his office and dishing out orders that usually aren't very helpful. The mini-boss is guilty of incessantly typing away on his smartphone during meetings and missing the big picture at least 50% of the time. And I have also encountered moments where I sat in front of him having a conversation and he'd suddenly start replying emails on his computer. When that happens, I just shut up and wait for him to finish. (as for the other boss, I have no comments...anyone?)

Now, O3-ly speaking this is normal, but in the true and honest and NORMAL world, the article says," It (listening) is about focused, sincere, directed communication where all parties are interested in connecting and understanding one another."

Looks like O3 is stretches and miles away from succeeding. They have alot of ground to cover. Good luck to them eh?

The Evil Plan for International Dominance

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say thanks for all the wonderful support for this blog to date. I never really expected it to grow on its own but it has. So thanks!

Back to the blog.

This year, I believe the O3 bosses plan to initiate the plan for global dominance and suffering. I know for a fact that an new USA office and warehouse distribution center is opening on the east coast. Mind you, it is not cheap. (yes, our money out the window. Again.) The mini boss having taken leave from a semester of school will be heading all the expansions. Its good for him since traveling is like a hobby to him and its 'free' for him anyway.

The Uberbaus has visions of moving production and parts of R&D to China as well. Not sure if it is the right move since he first foray into China few years back flopped and lost money. So the Uberbaus and his family has been roaming the earth in search of suckers. Let us recount the
memory of Uberbaus saying that he doesn't want POWER to leave the HQ so no foreigners are allowed more responsibility. I find that quite amusing and wish I were a well-paid foreigner not allowed to do more.

Well, the miniboss has been begging ex-staff to return again. So far, the ex-staffs all find it funny that they are "welcome back to **** at any time". Surely, only a masochist like the Rat would sneak back as an O3-ber and employee.

My Boss Got Fired

When shit hits the fan, don't look up and scream a warning. Unfortunately I don't belong to the O3 workplace or this header would have a very different effect in the company. In this case, we lost a good leader. When the news came, everyone was quiet, nobody looked up. ELE (extinction level event) is here.

So what happens after an ELE? Flowers bloom, birds chirp and the deer come out of hiding to welcome the new day? Hardly. Maggots appear to feed on the dead, cockroaches appear to rule the world.

That is exactly what happened to my department. Cockroaches. Employees who have less experience in the department start making political gestures. Just yesterday, one of the recruits I trained sent me an email (of course he cc'ed all the relevant authority) with a job for me to do. There is no time to mourn the fallen, and work just got so much harder since nobody wants to do them. There is no sunrise, only the cold rocks that carries the cockroaches.

The Lure of the Free

The lure of freedom is strong and that's why many of us have broken out of or are breaking out of the O3 environment.

What I wanted to blog on today was about the lure of free things. Sure, everyone likes the idea of getting something for free, especially if its worth quite a bit. The bosses are apt at getting free labour. They even tried to get the free miles from the frequent flier programmes that employees gain from their trips. I suppose it makes sense but the problem is everyone knows the Uberbaus would transfer the miles for the miniboss to get upgraded when he flies.

Well, an ex-collegue was lured by a free practically brand new Canon Ixus camera that the boss offered to him. The idea seemed simple...boss was going to give it to him on his last day. Alas, on his last day, the boss held him back after hours and said to have a lunch together then he'd pass him the camera. It is likely that the boss would have lunch and change the agreement again by saying something like. "stay for another 2 weeks then i'll give you the camera."

Anyway, if the camera does surface then great! Chances are slim but i guess the lure of the free may have to cost us a bit of happiness....that would make it not free then right?

Ounces of Good in O3

Hi everyone! Sorry for the silence. I've been in Thailand for a while experiencing the wonderful traffic jams, humid air and dust.

Anyway, its good to read so many comments at this blog! Great stuff! It set me thinking about finding the good in people. Whilst I was in Thailand, I couldn't help but get miffed at people who shoved their way around, sellers who quote prices which was twice what you could get, food that gave you stomachaches, etc. I had to assume that some people were good right?

I think most of the O3-bers are good people. In fact, I met some who were practically angels! Of course there were the "special" ones who used irritating manners to get ahead. Those are nasty...like the rats and the bitch. And lets not forget the great big Uberbaus, as he has been named. Miniboss is getting there...I admit, I did think he had some ounces of hope and I suppose my last impression of him is that there still is. Why? Because he can admit that there are tons of things the Uberbaus is doing wrong.

Sadly though, I have only very faint hope now that the goodness with all the three bosses will ever shine through. All three seem to now have not even an iota of niceness that is genuine. And I mean GENUINE. There niceness is very calculative...its all in the dollars and cents.

Well, I took a cab back from the airport. My health is saved and a few dollars spent.

Chinese New Year

Dear readers,

I just wanted to say Happy Chinese New Year! Its the year of the PIG...better still, apprantly its the year of the GOLDEN PIG! Imagine that! I think it means great properity for everyone.

Will it be good news from the O3-bers who are still entrapped in the system? I will sniff out the clues and keep everyone posted here. In the mean time, enjoy the long weekend (i sure hope the accounts department are NOT going to be working this weekend like all their other weekends)! I for one, will be enjoying the sun, sand, and sea (!?!??!?!) in Thailand.

CHeers! and Happy Piggin' Out!

Spread the Love

Valentines Day just passed yesterday. The 14th of Feb usually spells a love-is-in-the-air type of mood. But in the O3 environment, you never feel like any festival or celebration is around the corner.

Like when Christmas and New year comes, many companies start decorating the office and usually a committee is formed to take care of the celebrations and even gift exchange. Not in O3. The only gift exchange is that of curses and fines. The tiniest of decorations can be spotted and its only at the reception table. The mood at the office stays the same. Work work work regardless of the time of day and the time of year.

Oh hang on...I am mistaken. Sometimes a celebration occurs and that is on the bosses' birthdays! I forgot. See, even that is forgettable What we do is collect money from our already oppressed office staff to buy the big boss a birthday cake and card. Great. During the group phototaking, I wisely hid behind some towering guy standing in front of me so that my face and the bosses' faces would never be in the same picture.

So anyway, now that I am out and I heard from some friends and fellow-O3-escapees on their joy of fresh air and freedom, I'm here to spread the LURVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

O3-ly Plausible

I think there is some kind of suction pool, no a Blackhole of sorts in the O3 environment. Fortunately, I managed to escape the Blackhole in time and saved myself from its effects.

You see, the kind of blackholes we have in space are the type that can suck an entire galaxy and squish it into absolute nothingness. Or thats what they say anyway. The O3 Blackhole is the type that can suck employees into it, squish away the "irrelavant" ones and condense their workload into absolute oneness. Meaning, one person can do all their work.

For example, the present O3's elec department. When things were stable last year, there were 2 persons in the electrical and 2 persons in the electronic dept. At that stage, they were already barely coping with the workload and usually the poor sods work OT rather often in order to attempt to catch up with the numerous projects at hand. However, the Blackhole was thrown at their dept. 3 of the 4 have left and the dept hired 1 extra hand so they are now at 1 in each elec dept. (And I did mention to the mini-boss that its the Elec side that is too busy and things are stuck there). The bosses have managed to convince themselves that they have saved $$$ and the workload is still manageable. Not bad eh?

The Blackhole then flew over to my dept and I did the smart thing and RAN AWAY!!!! Phew. Just in time too. Remember to keep an eye out for the Blackhole ok?

The Bitch

Guess who's The Bitch in the O3 Environment!

Yeah... I can't resist bitching about The Bitch.

Many moons ago... The Bitch goes "aiyo... have you sent me the specifications for sourcing this and that?" O ya. Right. The specifications have been sent to her like 3 times!

And every time, The Bitch will either mis-file it. (use the search function... DUH!) Or delete it accidentally. Or in the worst case scenario, complain to the O3 Biggest Boss that the R&D Team did not email her the specifications.

What a Bitch!

Sorry dudes, but no prizes for guessing who is The Bitch. LOL. If you still don't know, this is the HINT - the ONE who talks loudly in machine-gun high pitch voice to all of O3's suppliers, to squuueeeeze squueeeze and squeeze them of every single cent from their price offer. Yes, I know that's a Procurement Officer's job but you know, use some LOGIC and EMOTIONAL LEVERAGE in negotiations man... how is screaming over the phone going to help reduce the prices with a supplier??????? I just don't get it. It is not as if O3 is the only company that buys from the Supplier!!!!! Not to mention that the order quantity often ranges from MINISCULE to MICRO. (And free samples are BRUSQUELY DEMANDED). Absolutely No Tact. Zilch. None. Zero.

Orhh... I get it now... Screaming - in The Bitch's limited vocabulary - is considered as "Emotional Leverage in Negotiations"! What a Eureka Moment for me!

God Bless all suppliers who work with O3 (and with The Bitch as the Procurement Officer).

It is true in general - what LJ said - that O3 Environment has a lot of talents (thanks to Biggest Boss rigorous daily employee recruitment exercises! I bet he has interviewed 50% of all employment seekers in this country!)...

But once in a while, you do find a nasty one like The Bitch. Ye... and frankly, I have no complaints about any of the other my fellow ex-(O3)-colleagues except for... ye, you guess it right... The Bitch. LOL.

What a Bitchy Posting I have penned... Ugh...

The Good, the Bad and the Ex

This entry was inspired by the previous one. My good ex-collegue who was in the O3 environment for exactly 1 year to the day. (I left after 1 year and 8 days i think).

There are really good people who were in O3 land. They were hardworking, bright, roadrunners who seemed to go to the ends of the earth for the company. I didn't understand it and I still don't but these wonderful people are true employees whom any company will be blessed to have as they are loyal too...and they ask for not much in return except a little respect.

There are the bad ones too. The type that abuse the good ones and everyone else. Of course, I am referring to the bosses at the O3. See, in O3, if you think that someone is not a good employee you must dig deeper. Chances are you will find that he/she was abused by the bosses in disrespectful and humiliating ways. Yes, there truely aren't many real bad people in O3 other than the bosses.

And we have the Ex. ME! I have joined the ever growing number of O3 Alumni people! Some have ganged up together to start their own business. Others sought better work elsewhere, but we all have a unique bond that is having been an O3-ber.

Success means Working with Good People!

Hey hey hey! dear everybody ... THIS is my inaugural posting on Karoshi! SO much so much so much has happened between then and now. It has been an amazing journey and I doubt I can ever find the words to describe the long 5 years journey since I stepped into the working world.

I remember the nonsense I have to bear with in my first company... working with a bunch of idiots, being betrayed by VCs (Investors) that promises the sky but does not deliver, being betrayed by colleagues who put their interests first at my expense for 3 long years.

And of course I remember my second work experience in the O3 Environment... Yeah baby... That's right - Yours Truly, The Dream Lord is LJ's ex-colleague... Hahaha... But I am a fan of this blog ever since LJ started it... yeah... and I read it more regularly than I read the local newspapers! Anyway, I was talking about my second work experience in the O3 Environment.... but well, I guess LJ has described it all! And, yes, for those of you out there who read the posts and give the incredulous "you mean all that LJ described happened? are you guys for real? does the O3 Environment really exist?"; well the answers to your questions are: Yes. Yes. Yes.

So, with such vivid descriptions from LJ, I guess I shouldn't talk about the O3 Environment. Ye... maybe I can add some positive vibes to this blog since LJ has left O3 as well (CONGRATS! LJ) and the new business I have started is doing well.

The moral of the story, my friends, is "Always Work with Good People!". Yes. I am currently blessed to be working with a talented bunch of people. Our own team, and even our customers are good people. Nothing makes the work day better than working with customers that appreciate your hard work. Nothing makes the work day better than building a rapport with customers and successfully delivering a project! And nothing makes the work day better than working with colleagues that are able to think straight and collaborate as a Team.

To all long-suffering O3 staff: I have this message for you. Move on. Success and happiness means Working with Good People! You don't have to find a company where Gandalf or Legolas or Aragorn are employed as your colleagues...
but you do at least have to make sure you are working with proper human beings in the same department in your new company. :P

This inaugural posting is dedicated to all my family, my wife (who has been my pillar of emotional support through the tough times), to all my lovely customers, to all my talented colleagues and, of course, to LJ who created this wonderful blog.

Thank you for this nice little blog-space where I can bitch about office politics (Negative Vibes) and I can praise the people that makes life worth living (Positive Vibes)! Hopefully, this will make us all balanced, normal and sane people in our everyday lives. Heh.

I will be back with more... stay tuned... Yipee!