In the course of my journey with this blog, I have written on numerous occasions on reflections of my departure from my job and moving on to a new job, be it back in 2008, when I marveled at the majestic Twin Towers that would be my new office space, or the day that I hung my consulting boots to enter the end-user environment for the first time.
In all those moments, as I re-read my entries above, there is a sense of awe, ambition and aspiration towards me looking forward to my new job while still reflecting deeply on what I have learnt during my time in my previous role.
And yet, when I reflect on those entries, when I look back and see my entries from more than 7-10 years back, I can’t help but smile. This was me back then…not to say I was naive or anything, but this was me looking forward to taking on the world.
Of course, I know how everything ended. My first stint lasted 7 years, and I felt I had learnt a lot, but apparently, when I looked back, I hardly learnt much actually – it felt, that moving over to the little red dot would open my eyes further and teach me more than ever about my career and job. In fact, if I were being honest with myself, I would say my 2nd 7-year stint (2016-2023) had made a bigger impact on me than the previous years. I had learnt how to juggle my career with the demands of marriage, and in the process of raising 2 beautiful and wonderful children (I should really write about that because that’s really the stuff worth writing about)
Tomorrow, 5th February, I start my new adventure with the Big O. Big O is a firm I had heard of since my college days, but never did consider joining them, because… well i just never did, but interestingly this would be my third tech company that I would be joining, starting with Big Blue, and then Big Consulting (I guess I need to give a name now to my old company!) and now the Big O.
To be honest, I am not sure how I should feel. In some ways, yes, I am excited and looking forward to my new journey ahead. But in some ways, I am also slowly seeing this as just another job. I guess I would just need to remind myself to slow down, to not try and “prove anything” unlike my stint with Big Bank which almost left me emotionally paralyzed, for just wanting to do what is right.
I suppose the times have changed. I am definitely much more matured now, and my 2nd stint in Big C, especially towards the last 2 years of my time there where I was in agonizing hell on a daily basis did toughen me up in the long run, especially to learn how to not take crap from anyone anymore.
Do I feel the time is right to move? To be honest, I have no idea. I had always wanted to slow down since Lucy came along 2 years back, but never got the chance to do so. Is this finally my long awaited coming?
Only time will tell…. but for now, I will take this new role with some positive joy and motivation and will give it my best to do well in this new place.
