Had pretty much a hectic NS life since enlistment, I'm quite glad I'm settling down now in my unit. I had a few goals I wanted to achieve in NS I think, I can't remember exactly what they are and cannot be bothered to dig them out. At least I have a vague idea. The NS experience is enlightening if I may say as of now. So here goes the reasons.
I get to meet all sorts of people from my traditional exposure to people with good academic results. Money-minded people. Relationship freaks. Mind-your-own-business dudes. Guys with the mindset that a day is a day and life goes on... The list continues. To be honest, I am rather overwhelmed. There's definitely no one size fit all to give a good impression to all people. Hard reality? Yeah, at least for me. I guess I was a perfectionist. I still am in some ways. The above mentioned realisation made me just look for potential friends to chat with about any topic under the sun. Boosts my thinking and speaking skills. If I'm not wrong, I wanted to improve my communication skills by interacting with everyone. Not possible. Even suicidal. I'm not going to attempt to please everyone, which is the route I took before I veered back. Diversity of opinions on a wide range of topics can be enriching, after all it is sort of like a verbal Internet at camp where we chat when we're free, but only a select few stuff is useful to note.
Work and social life are two distinct entities too, I came to realise this. One guy can be a reliable work partner but not tactful in his comments to people. Another can be a charismatic person who skives. I have both types in my camp. I personally would prefer the first person to the second, because the second will most probably get by by putting on a puppet show. Oh, bother, I totally loathe those people. But well, I do know that a little bit of "concern" is needed at the right time, at the right place to the right person from time to time. From my few months consulting my peers, wayang is everywhere and inevitable. It is very versatile and powerful tool, especially if your target is more emotional based. There are a lot of these kind of people around who don't think straight. Previously, I was strongly opposed to bootlicking but since it's unavoidable and it works, and following the theory of adapting for survival, I compromised. Now, unknowingly, I take the extra effort to remind my superiors of things to do (related to my work), volunteer for (selective) work when bored and give suggestions and justifications for matters in the unit (of my interest). Seems very self-centred and pragmatic, isn't it? Well, I tried being a jack of all trades and a Mr Nice Guy, I ended up being abused instead with no thanks given. Again I was told that's how some society works -- you got to get in your head you can't treat your colleagues in the exact same way as you do to your friends. Of course getting connections in your workplace is helpful, another advice given, which I initially scorned off when I was disillusioned with people in my workplace after I was repeatedly made use of. Currently, I'm attempting to build my own workplace network to cushion myself, the search goes beyond my department whom I can't really click very well with. I'm just glad I have amiable relationships with all of them as my work ethics showed prominently. It's the only thing I can thank for when suddenly work starts coming my way because of 2 reasons: certain people start playing stunts and your superiors find that you are reliable. All the more the need to be "concerned" and to make known my "concerns" to protect myself (refer to the same para if you do not know what "concern" insinuates). I don't have much of a choice...
I must say my work life is still young. I've still a long way to go and a lot more to learn about the ways to survive work life. I'm just glad for the current friends I have who're still there. And to embrace some of my new found acquaintances which I made... while experimenting with my mediocre communication skills... tighter. Fine, my skills ain't that lousy if strangers are willing to take the first step to become acquaintances of mine. 430 more days... Yeah I started a countdown. Oh, and I got over my previous bouts dominating my previous posts --> the unexpressed link is there.
