Just Stop

This is exactly how I felt like today...

And I will explain why..

So on Tuesday, my bosses were asking me what I want, what I really really want... And nobody mentioned numbers, so I told Belgian Chocolates that is was very hard for me to think it through if I do not even know how much they wanted to pay me to stay. "Yeah I know" that was his response. So I waited..

Every few hours, he would send funny emails persuading me to stay. As an example, we started off with some emails, purely work. Then we got side tracked and started talking about silly things like my workmates choice of jewellery.

Then he went "And btw who am I gonna talk fashion with...???"

I replied "Tahiti party boy (the newest member in our team who is French speaking and they get along very well)" Then I added "Problem solved".

He responded "Salary raise, next client or even Lux based project you work on, problem solved you stay"

Hahahahaha nice try indeed!

That was on Tuesday. He rings me late in the evening asking me to wait. He is making phone calls all around, trying to get the counter offer through to me with real numbers.

So I wait.

On Wednesday, still no news except that some bosses agree and want me to stay. I said to him "I really cannot wait anymore, don't waste your time, serious, I am ready to move forward now with the other company"

He is persuasive and insists I give him another day. I said I was going to hand in my physical contracts first thing Thursday morning. He has until Thursday morning to give me a number!

On Thursday morning itself, the phone rings and he informs me that he has the 'go' from two bosses in Lux. Then he said he's contacted our Australian head of HR, who is actually Canadian, and is already making her journey back to Canada for Christmas. She still replies on her Blackberry while in transit. Right... still no numbers. And its already 10am.

He asks me to give him until end of the day because of the time differences between everyone. I told him he was twisting my arm, and he said "I would never do that! I won't twist one arm, I twist both arms!"

At around 11am, the Canadian email came through, next step was the approval of her boss, who is the global head of the HR in the Asia Pac region, and he is French but sits in Singapore...

Far out man.

Finally at lunch time, he gives me a number. He says it is a significant jump in bands, etc etc. Sad to say, it was still below the amount that I was currently being offered in the new company.

Hence the picture of the raccoon above sums up how I have been feeling all week. Resignation on Monday, took them four days to decide whether or not its worth to keep me, and then to disappoint me with that crap!

Counter Offer

I woke up this morning and whipped up my resignation letter in less than five minutes. I got Little Miss-Whats-For-Lunch to send me her previous one, she resigned in July. I changed the dates and the names and I thought I would feel a bit sad, but I felt fine.

Two people knew I was going to break the news today, Little Miss-Whats-For-Lunch and Sydney Boy. Little Miss-Whats-ForLunch said she wished she was a fly on the wall (when I was going to have this conversation with Belgian Chocolates). I told Sydney Boy what she said, and he replied "We all want to be a fly on the wall!!!!! Can you call him via conference call and we will all dial in?" We all cracked up laughing, I swear.

As Belgian Chocolates is currently in KL, I waited until the team finished our daily catch up with him, then I requested for him to stay on the line, as I wanted to speak to him alone. The other three guys in my team were giving me funny faces, and Belgian Chocolates even said "Oh no, is it something bad?" in front of the team, I assured them "NOOOO!!" hehehe

Immediately as the team left the room, I was straight to the point "I'm handing in my resignation effective today, my last day will be on January 7th". My boss did not believe a word I said, and he thought I was joking. Seriously, why would I want to fool around with something like this?

The next hour was quite difficult. Tears were rolling down my cheeks, and he was so sad. He said he felt betrayed. The problem with him is that he cannot separate the two worlds - work and personal. He said he was going to give me a promotion, blah blah blah. I assured him that he was not the reason I am leaving, but it was more the role. I am ready for a new challenge, learn new things, be part of a new business, etc. I even assured him I was not going to be very far away, just two floors below. Haha (you would think I would get another job far far away from 101 Collins?!)

Finally we hung up, and in less than 10 minutes, I was off to lunch with Little Miss-Whats-For-Lunch. As we sat down, she immediately received an email from Belgian Chocolates, and he was telling her how upset he was.

He did not ring me for the rest of the day. Instead he spent his time talking to Little Miss-Whats-For-Lunch and another team mate.

Finally at about 9pm, as I stepped out the shower, there were two missed calls from him. I called him back. He said that he just got off the phone with our bosses in Luxembourg, and they would like me to stay. I kept saying to him "Oh gawddd" and he said to me "Yes... Oh Tuhan!" (the few words he learnt from watching Malaysian telly). They said to him "Ask her what she wants, and we will be able to work something out". They said they will give me a promotion... There will be more money and a change of title, but essentially doing the same thing again. Do I want to stay? If I do, I reckon I would be shitting myself in a few months time..

What should I do?

Job Offer

So... as we are approaching Christmas... I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I have had a hectic couple of weeks so far. I find myself rushing for appointments and running errands, it is exhausting! But highlights include an awesome U2 concert, a holiday to Perth and a new job offer! Also, I have had both my camera's ruined by others. First, my very reliable Canon digital compact which Grumpy dipped into sea at Rottnest Island, WA. Second was my Canon SLR... which my dog pulled from the dining table and it came crashing down on the floor. OMG I am THIS close to strangling both of them!

The dog has been extremely upset with me since I returned from KL as I have changed his sleeping arrangements. I have stopped him from coming up to our bed since my hay fever this year has been really bad. I know he loves sleeping on a comfy (and expensive) Sealy Posturepedic, but I just cannot have the 'transporter of all germs' snoozing on our bed anymore. And so to retaliate, he has been up to no good when left alone at home.

I have heaps of pictures to share, I uploaded all of them in to my new 27 inch iMac, and it crashed on me two days ago. It was only a month old.... yes one month! WHAT on earth is going on here?!

The most significant event would be the job offer I will soon accept.. this is with an Australian company, which I used to work for a few years ago. I am happy that I finally got a job offer after many months of job hunting. It was not easy! The hardest part for me will be tomorrow....

That is when I will announce it to my boss, Belgian Chocolates. He is not here in person at the moment, as he was seconded to the KL office for two months. So I will have to do it over the phone, which... in my opinion, works to my advantage. Oh god I hope it does! You see, he is such an emotional person. He is, after all, European! There were pros and cons working with him. The best part is that he lets me be my own boss. I loved it! With my work, he lets me drive and run my own show most of the time. I know he trusts me, and he thinks very highly of me, so it will be sad for me to leave this job with a boss like him. But I am so ready for a new challenge! A new year, a new job, new environment, new people...!

Will write more tomorrow. Good night!