Costly CV mistake

IT is norm that we used to boast by putting some more certification courses on our CV than our core professional degree certificate which is good enough for getting a job by the time we look for job oversea. It is understandable that showing more capabilities on resume mean better chance to catch eyes of potential employer. My outgoing QS friend was no different when she applied job to our company one year ago. She declared that she could performed as not only QS but draft person during interview. It later cost her job a year later. HR recorded her designation as QS cum drafter as a consequence of her mistake on CV.

Soon after she joined us, our permanent Indian drafter take month long leave to return home visit and she was supposed to fill the void he left. She tried her best while need to do her regular tasks of QS. There are time in a particular month when QS are super busy with preparation for interim claims. Amidst heavy duties, she one day complained to SPM that she is QS, not drafter. Perhaps it make PM feel upset and apparent dislike her from that particular day onwards. Some time later, SPM became GM and asked CM to fire her for certain reasons that make him unsatisfied. As CM is quite fresh with our firm, he has no chance to cover his staff and proceed with issuing fire letter. I got some lesson from this incident. I promise myself that I'll never act such thing when I am in the position of upper hand in future. No decision will be correct if it implement personal feeling. They said, "six inches tongue can kill six feet man". Fortunately, my friend managed to find a job shortly after she is notified for her sake news.

Bad for Good

ONE fine afternoon, CM called me his room and revealed his difficulties on firing one of my colleague who is working the same department. He is apparent not happy with the task he is supposed to do as a head. He has no choice but to do it like merciless man. He also told me where instruction come from as well as some reasons to sake my fellow junior QS. It was pre-CNY holiday and I presumed that the adverse decision would be diverted upon after CNY. I cautiously told my friend about the matter so that she could take necessary action. At the same time, I persuaded her to join me for meditation retreat during CNY holiday to make her destiny better.

The news became more accurate when another senior colleague told me upon his return from CNY home visit. I pause to think the matter and asked myself if I should tell my friend in advance or not. It took me one day to disclose the matter to my friend and advise her to start hunting new job. Coincidentally, CM called my friend and me on the same evening to formally tell the bad news. I was brought in to be witness and perform translator if needed. It is first ever time I see my company fire to its staff and I was sadden by news. I tried to help my friend in preparing new cover letter and resume for hunting new job with immediate action. She is still under 30 and got potential to catch a suitable job within allowable time. It took her few days to explore the job market, she received several interviews and luckily she had found a job she wanted by today. I am equally happy for her successful mission. It may indirectly encourage all of us to look out for seeking career advancement. Because she has managed to get a better job with better pay which needs her work only 5 days a week.

Contaminated Happiness

LAST month I won a lucky draw for free air ticket back home from local airline. Couple weeks ago I contact to office to learn that all winners are supposed to use ticket before end of March this year. Hence, I booked for a middle week of March on last Friday though ticket is entitled for a month. Yesterday, I intended to collect my ticket at designated office at Changi airport and gave a call to office to ensure what documents I need to bring along to office to claim my prize. I already asked in previous contact and understood that I just need to verify with original winning ticket. But upon my last minute enquire to them, the staff told me that I needed to bring one recommendation letter from organizer at peninsular plaza.

I was clearly disappointed to learn the new instruction for my ticket collection. No choice, I rushed to peninsular plaza shop to look for a recommendation. Airline told me that they have passed all original recommendation letter with company logo to the sponsor. Once I reached the said shop, the person airline refer to even don't aware about the letter. Later his wife bring in an envelop in which there is a recommendation letter for Bangkok trip winner. Again, I am upset to learn the incident. I feel betrayed and wanted to call airline office to clarify the matter. The sponsor person stopped me and he try to contact airline authority to inform the matter. Then he pass me his mobile to talk with airline country manager directly. Surprisingly, he authorized person told me, I don't need to bring any letter but original ticket to claim air ticket at their office. What a funny is it? Just now its staff asked me to go take letter and now suddenly say no need. Feel make me bullshit. I have spent $10.00 for taxi fares to reach there from office.

Trying to keep anger, I try to double confirm on what else I need with country manager of airline. He said, I need to pay insurance, fuel surcharge and airport tax on both sides which may cost me S$ 186.00. Complete shit over thrown at me. Then how do I say it free ticket? I could easily buy a ticket with just over $100.00 on budget airline when promotion come. After trying not to show anger, I reiterated office address and operation hour to go and collect my ticket. As given time is favorable, I took taxi all the way to Changi airport terminal 1 arrival hall. Then continue to follow their direction through mobile in advance. I can't simply find it and asked 3 information counter staffs who gave me inaccurate answers. I asked almost 10 persons to reach there. It was 5:30pm and I still unable to find the office and gave a call to airline office again to direct. Then, I understand their office is in the next building to terminal 1 building. I never experienced before such long searching address in Singapore. Let it be. Finally I reached there through the help of passer by. I had some conversation time with country manager on how to improve their customer service. He seem sorry to me but never offered a cup of water. I am visibly sweat and wipe my sweat by tissue while talking. I am of course complete frustrated in return home.

What meditation mean?

IN the wake of meditation retreat, my wife one day told me that she got difficulty in explaining how does meditation look like to her curious Singaporean colleague. It's not easy in foreign language if we are not excel in it. I try to answer myself as if somebody practicing other religion ask me one day. To me, meditation is knowing everything happening to our body concurrently with extra care. As an ordinary person, it is easier said to control our mind than trying to do, especially if we are beginner to meditation. At initial days, most of our time would be spent in taming our mind because without concentrated mind, we cannot scrutiny what's happening in our body. Our mind keep thinking one after another until we catch it. 

We are encouraged to know our breath basically. Just to know, breath-in & breath-out. Sound easy but not really. When we start to monitor breath in and out, we cannot focus in mind even for a few minute. Our mind cautiously or incautiously stray around regarding past things or imagine in future. Once we notice our mind is running away, we catch again. It is more like cat and mouse game. At beginning day, it is quite norm for freshers. With some theories we learned from teaching monk, we try to tame our mind first. Then we are suppose to monitor the temporary abstract pain happening to our freeze body. We do not notice that our body keep demanding with daily practice.

When we start meditation, our body is suppose to freeze at certain position for an hour. It's fine for first half an hour for us and second half hour is going to be battle zone. Because our body start to protest by making us painful here and there through the whole body. It might be various sign in protesting, itchy, pain, joint hurt, feel paralyze, etc. When body start pain, our mind start become chaos. Body want to change position in order to mitigate pain. Wisdom brain do not allow to favor body's desire so that we could able to understand our body keep demanding and it is not belong to us. We spent lot of our time to fulfill our body's desire from morning till night. Wash, Makeup, Wear suitable outfit, Eat, Go toilet and so on. But our body is not as love as we love it. It keep demanding. It's not easy lesson to understand. But it can be overcome through meditation practice. 

Once we understand that our body is total burden and hate it, our level of dhamma could be considered one step up against ordinary person. By practicing meditation, we can reduce our greedy mind, loving kindness, excessive wants, unnecessary needy and so on. The fact is that all physical properties are subject to malfunction/destroyed/ruin at the end of the day including ourselves. Our mind keep demand and we always try to fulfill it. But it never satisfy. Once we possess something expensive, the problem may not end there. Our worry in losing those precious things keep haunting us again. Then what's really value in our life? Knowing Truth Dhamma would be undoubtly the best asset which cannot be stolen by external factors/other. To know truth dhamma is to practice meditation. There is no other way to achieve it in this planet.

Know your move

ONE of the hardest time during meditation for me is a meal time. As a yawgi, we are supposed to know our mind at all time. We cannot move without knowing it. Every effort will have to be known and it is called meditation as well. The hosts speaker would remind us not to eat carelessly. As all the meals and drinks are donated by donors, we have to keep our main mission in mind. The donors are donating not because of personal admire but because of dhamma good deeds we all are trying to practice, at least for a certain period. Hence, if we are not trying to maintain such high achievement, it will become debt to us and we have to repay donors by another life. It is really frighten to me. Sometime even feel don't want to eat anymore. Other time, my fingers carrying foods in spoon stop half way. There is also one poem we are supposed to read just before eating. It's meaning is

we do not eat for happiness
we do not eat for laugh
we do not eat for proud
we do not eat for beauty
we do not eat for fat

we do eat for live to practice meditation
we do eat not to cause us old and new wounds so that we could able to follow dhamma

Sayadaw will remind us to know every move, want to take curry, hand move to take it, then bring back to mouth, then chewing, after that grinding, and finally swallowing. Every step must be known in order to kill our greedy mind. The mind has a thousand eyes and it is again easier said than done. Some seem quick eaters than they are supposed to behave. Some eat generate sound. Some movement not wise enough. Eyes and movement meet, Seeing become. If our mind know I see, It appear and disappear, it is also meditation. It is up to our mind if we are doing meditation or doing other cause. Every single time, we are doing good or bad, no middle thing. You do good or bad at one time. Hence, we have to sure our mind is under control. Otherwise the mission will not be met its purpose. From meal time, I gained how to kill our greedy mind which I cannot learn in our school or university.