Jabroni January

So here I am towards the end of January.  It has been a busy month, which is very surprising for a start of the year.  But then again.......  This is how my department works.  1 person has left today and another will be transferring to another department in April.  These says a lot about how bad things are in my department.

Cowabunga! - Galaxy S23+

Work started with an ambitious project to integrate SAP and Service Cloud.  For the life of me, I don't understand the point of this project, if only for tracking customer correspondences, how fast the issue gets resolved and staff "performance".  If any tracking is required, it should just be done within SAP instead of passing things around to Service Cloud and all that.  This "integration" makes people work on 2 systems.  And if the end users are adamant they don't want to work in both, then most likely some offshore agents will be the frontliner.  Such setup is inefficient and adds extra cost.  This is a project that should not have been passed to Service Cloud at all.  I was relieved when the project was suspended back in May 2023, however it has come back to haunt me for sure.  Jabronis indeed, the morons who decided to go ahead with this nonsense project.  At our current pace, the tech team in Vietnam is already putting overtime on regular basis, capped at 10 hours weekly.  With the addition of this project, not only their capacity will be exceeded, I will be very stressed up too for sure since I cannot let go of my weekly Service ticket responsibilities.  I hope I can survive long enough till June.  On top of that the bosses still decided to go ahead with expanding the usage of Service Cloud to more countries even as we're struggling with storage space.  Sometimes I don't understand why are we moving so fast without first fixing the processes, and not even adding resources.  This puts unnecessary stress on the team.

And still, work has no shortage of drama either; the colleague who almost triggered my panic attack last time suddenly came up with a requirement that all service tickets addressing fixes and changes need to be approved by him.  This requirement delays the deployment of fixes and I had to redesign the approval and deployment flow.  Even as of today, I'm already keeping tabs of how many tickets were delayed by him, just because he didn't understand what's going on or he hasn't got the time to catch up with the tickets.  What a stupid asshole.... he and the morons who decided to go ahead with the integration project are absolute f💣c💀ing jabronis for sure.

Speaking of stress,  I'm starting to get higher intensity panic attacks again.  And as I have ran out of my initial batch of Xanax, I had to get a 2nd batch from the company doctor.  But even after taking 5 mg for this month, my condition still hasn't gotten any better.  Last week I had to step out of the MRT in Tiong Bahru when I noticed people streaming in at Outram Park MRT.  My heart started to race again and I felt like the space was closing in on me.  My chest felt so weak as if my heart would stop.  As soon as the train reached Tiong Bahru I alighted, went up to B1 and composed myself before going down again to continue the ride home. 

Earlier in the month when I was on the ferry to Batam I had another panic attack when the boat was swaying heavily as we were cruising in a storm.  For a moment I felt trapped and walked to the stern hoping I could get out for some fresh air, however the door was locked as no passengers were allowed in the open, especially in a storm.  I ended up pacing myself around the stern while thumping and squeezing my chest, feeling afraid that my heart would come to a stop.  Fortunately my wife had a pack of half eaten mints which I finished at one shot, just so I could feel the scent in my nose and inhale it down my lungs, to assure myself that I could still breathe.  

Reflexiology on Arrival at Sports Massage - Galaxy S23+

Our Room For The Trip - Galaxy S23+

View From Our Room's Balcony - Galaxy S23+

Need to Stop Buying Martabak Already - Galaxy S23+

The Ride Home - Galaxy S23+

These 2 episodes were enough to make me gulp down 5 mg of Xanax as soon as I got back to Singapore.  I think I had to return to the 1st doctor who prescribed me the medication too, just to make sure that I have enough in hand.  I also need to get a new asthma inhaler since the current one I'm using is expiring in July.  I'm especially terrified of flying next month to Yogya to visit my wife's family.  Better be prepared...   

Earlier this afternoon I've just finished a TCM session in Scott's Square.  I think the stress has affected my back and gut.  On most times after a meal I end up getting indigestion which flared up my back problem.  It is so bad that my diaphragm would tighten and breathing became difficult.  Just yesterday I had to skip karate class as my chest was so tight I couldn't breathe despite only having 3 hard boiled eggs and a cup of coffee for breakfast.  At my wife's insistence I finally decided to see a TCM practitioner.  The first session went somewhat well.  The Tuina was good, although now I'm feeling some of the strains returning, but it's definitely better than before.  I arranged a follow up session on Friday.  This visit made me $500 poorer as only the consultation cost is covered by the company's insurance while the medicine and treatment cost comes out from my own pocket.  I'm starting to wonder if the pressure of this job is worth it....

Anyway.....  I think at about the 2nd week of the month, I started seeing all these Chinese new year zodiac forecasts for the year of 2024 at the office's 1st level open area.  

Mine - Galaxy S23+

Linc's - Galaxy S23+

Lindsay's - Galaxy S23+

The Missus - Galaxy S23+

Mine doesn't look too bad, I hope it'll really be that way throughout 2024.  I'm especially concerned about my health and hope that nothing worse will happen. 

I also got my hands on the Seiko 5 Sports Snoopy Limited Edition.  It really cost a fortune since I had to get it from an online retailer in Japan.  But it is a money well spent.  The watch is beautifully crafted with clear illustrations and excellent workmanship from Seiko as usual.  I just wish the diameter had been larger at 42mm instead of the tiny 38mm.  In any case I replaced the flimsy nato strap with a sturdy Hirsch leather strap.  The watch couldn't look any better, unless if I can somehow get my hands on an original Seiko 20mm diver rubber strap.  Let's see how things go.  

Hello There Snoopy - Galaxy S23+

And just last Saturday I went for a parent teacher meeting at Lincoln's school.  It was not a good session which ended with the missus crying after learning he was somehow getting bullied by a few of his classmates.  But it was definitely a good visit that made us understand what goes on with his life in school.  We gave him a good talking on how he should behave and escalate the issue to the teachers should the bullies target him again.

Waiting at The Hall - Galaxy S23+

Linc's Message Envelope in Class - Galaxy S23+

Just Looking Down - Galaxy S23+

In the afternoon of that same day I brought the kids to visit Mr. Matchmaker.  While the kids were playing we were just catching up over tea, fruits and his handmade dumpling.  I was somewhat surprised to learn he has somehow developed claustrophobia with similiar symptoms as mine.  I guess at our age, our bodies can't handle stress that well anymore.

Speaking of which, I just realized my weight has slowly crept up.  I guess it's because I have relaxed my carb intake.  I think that could also be the reason why I've been having indigestion issues again.

As January comes to an end, I'm left reminiscing about the Japan trip still.  So many great memories and fun there.  I can't wait for my next holiday for sure.

Love the Japanese Keychains - Galaxy S23+

And The Protein Bars Too - Galaxy S23+

Here's a closing shot for this month's entry: 

Another 2024 Forecast in Wisma Atria - Galaxy S23+

~ Photos Taken With Samsung Galaxy S23+~