Work

i have been out of action for a while. Work (both voluntary and real job) and social life have kept me busy. Very busy. I am getting used to the workload in office and beginning to understand my small role in the bigger social support network. For a start, I have a wonderful team to work with. There is a very drama HA who is the acting team leader I know from my days as a AFA volunteer. You have to see the way he dances to Madonna's songs in office. Very entertaining. Then we have a very motherly figure Alicia who is loved by everyone and a fellow Cantonese. I sometimes speak Cantonese so that I can brush up my dialect. She sit just behind me and is really the pillar of the team and very helpful to everyone. Janice, a pencil size girl who used to be a journalist with TNP is a girl you do not want to mess around with. She is very gentle to gay man like me but can chew any straight men head off. Another lady in the team is Lithya who just got back to office after her maternity leave and a wonderful and level headed woman. Last but not least, Suzi who was former a relief teacher and did Malay Studies in NUS. She is the youngest of all and quite a chili padi. I remember going through job interview for this post with her and she was very guarded then but things have improved alot. As you can see, the whole team made up of women, which explains why we are also the noisiest of the entire office. 

Workload is actually more manageable than I thought but of course, consistency is important. I have been able to meet most of my work objectives on time. Clearing cases within my personal target of 3 weeks versus the office's requirement of 6 weeks. In fact, I was given the highest case clearing officer in February. Not bad at all for someone so new to the job. My senior manager is another lovely motherly figure and a seasoned social worker who cares to spend precious time in case discussion with me. When comes to difficult cases, I will consult with her first before submission so that I can cut down on the approval period. This job also gives me a lot of opportunities to work with many other external agencies. I have never typed so many letters or made so many calls in my entire work life. It really does give me a good feel how different agencies work and manages various parties interest. 

Someone told me before, how your work station look like can actually indicate how much you like your job. A organised table will show that you are in control of your work and things are done properly. From that picture above, I am sure you can tell how much I like mine. My laptop which is 4 years old and runs like a snail at times. I have learnt to live and work with it actually. From my previous job, I learnt that if your computer is running up or slow, it is better off working on something else instead of getting frustrated with technology. There is no point getting upset with a piece of machine. You simply work around things so that you can be more productive. There is a mirror frame from Ben X, which I look at whenever I talk to nasty callers. It is a common industry practice because if you smile when you are on the phone, you will sound calmer. I also have the red cover Helvetica book from Travis, a cobblestone from Prague, postcard from Bangkok and the seashell from sister when we went to Phuket. Not in the picture are the handmade rose I got from Patient Care Centre during the last World AIDS Day, my mug from Sam Woo during the forum on AIDS in NTU and my big thick multipocket folder which I stored my blank forms so that they are always available for my use with clients. The girls are amazed with how I sort my forms and brochure neatly. Heloo... i am a gay man.

Ok, it is past 2 am and I need to sleep so that I will return to my job fully awake.