Slow reply to emails

I remember when I made a New Year's resolution last year to instantly reply to emails. No matter how big or small, how important or trivial the issue, I will try reply as soon as possible.

Put my ego aside, don't keep your friend / family waiting, and leave it up to the other end to respond whenever they feel like. This way, you would be considered as accountable. This way, no time is lost to ambiguity in situations.

But now it is getting more difficult. My poor ability in time management is causing me to reply at the rate of once a month. That's really pathetic seeing that it should only take 10 minutes to type something up. All it takes is 10 minutes to keep a solid friendship alive, regardless of whether they are in the same country or not. You never know when you could have gained an important relationship, but at least you know you tried. And all it takes is to reply instantly to emails.

It can be due to work. Where all we do is type emails, and the last thing we want to do in our spare time is type some more. But this is the means of communications in the most articulate and thought out manner. I just have to get used to it.

Elevator Awkwardness

The building where I work at. Their elevators. It's ALWAYS full. It ALWAYS contains at least 1 person from my company. It is entirely encased by mirrors (with the exception of the floor).

It is at this arena where it puts both your confidence and small talk skills to the ultimate test.

Seeing that I am new, there is very little material to work with. Plus the fact that they cram the elevators at its fullest capacity, you are pressed against one another in a very intimate setting. If you turn away, you can still see them through one of five reflective mirrors in the elevator. I hope I will soon grow numb to this incredibly uncomfortable ritual.

So I found it!

At this stage, the feeling of excitement is gone. But anyways, here it goes.... I found a job.

Yep. A WPP owned company called Maxx Marketing. Besides the name, I do find the company pretty damn cool. Seriously, does Maxx really need that extra "x"?

You see, they are an advertising agency, but rather than communicating through the medium of print or television, they use products. Spongebob toys, KFC giveaways, Kellogg's box inserts are all from us. And I proudly say "us".

Only now I am more skeptical, more serious, and more worried. Could it be another Fluid? For one, there is REAL clients that are actually educated. I have a boss that doesn't yell profanity over minor issues. They have an HR department. They have experienced professionals that is older than 40.

Good, I think I'm on the right track.

Jay Walker

When walking in a group of more than 2, it should be deemed as appropriate jaywalking etiquette to confirm the comfort level of jaywalking amongst your peers. Otherwise, there will be a disconnect in understanding.

When alone, it is certainly much easier to jaywalk whenever you wanted because there is no dialog to maintain. Things get more complicated when in a group setting, one freezes while others dash. Conversations get broken, others are called out as pussies, few get hit by cars, it all gets really messy if no prior understanding is established.

Midweek conversation

"Your religion in Facebook says Dogfighting, that's really funny" - Me

"I know, Michael Vick was our first martyr" - P

Oh and one more thing...

Nope, the entire ordeal with my ex-employer is not over yet. You see, he promised to pay for the rest of the month's wages while I seek employment. Standard procedure.

Upon checking January's transactions, he paid me $650 less.

In the grand scale of things, it does not really matter. But how can someone be cheap enough to not even hold his end of the bargain. I'm sure he spent that $650 on hiring two handicapped homeless children fight each other with broken bottles at his own pleasure.

My ex-boss, having being born in England, no sense of morals, no understanding of society, lack of culture, little education and an extremely hard work ethic (with little efficiency mind you), makes me to believe he was born during the industrial revolution, frozen in an ice chamber, thawed out, only to stumble over a briefcase full of money, and started a creative agency. Oh, and the devil thawed him out in return for his soul.

I worked for the devil

So upon departing from my previous job, my boss promised to write me a recommendation letter.

Good right? I decided to draft it and have him edit it. However, I received the following response:

Hi Phil,

Your urgent request will be handled.

However, I mean no offence and want to support you but this letter is over the top and does not sound credible. I prefer a more subtle approach please.

I have made some changes, see attached.

I have also printed it and signed it and it is at graze as requested.

Cheers,

xxxx

Hm... what wonderful changes has he made? Can you spot the difference?

Initial Letter (latter part of the letter):

Philip can work independently and is able to follow through to ensure that the job gets done. He has excellent communication skills and is quick to learn in any situation.

Philip would be a great asset for your company and certainly deserves my recommendation. If you have any further questions with regard to his background or qualifications, please do not hesitate to call me.

Edited version:

Philip has good communication skills and is quick to learn.

If you have any further questions with regard to his background or qualifications, please do not hesitate to call me.