Hungry "Don't-Provoke-Me" Hippo

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"Not-That-Bad" In-Camp Training
Things are not that bad after all... before I know it, a week of my In-Camp Training is almost over.

At least, I am doing something meaningful now; been looking through some survey on morale and collating some data for my branch. Must say this exercise not only kept me busy meaningfully for the past few days, I have also gain much insight from the survey since I work with volunteers and to retain volunteers, motivation and morale are important things that I need to pay attention to.

Funny brand tissue... Useful for those "tearful laughters"

In fact, I kinda like my role; reading through all their responses, trying to understand what they are going through and helping to represent them through what I am doing... finding trends of demotivating factors, hopefully something positive will result from it.

In addition, I also managed to enhance their excel template that they use to compile the data and there is just this sense of achievement :)

But if I would still prefer my volunteer coordination work... stressful but challenging. More importantly, I like the working environment and the people in it. Kind of miss my colleagues now.

Bottomless Pit
Realized I have turned into a bottomless pit.... eating and eating and eating... Not only have I not been exercising since I started my In-Camp (how to when I struggle to wake up earlier every morning?), I also found myself having tea breaks. In fact, I will get very hungry in the evening despite having taken dinner and just today, I bought lots of bread and gobbled them up in matter of minutes. Oh no! I have turned into a hungry hippo!

Source: http://myblogispoop.blogspot.com/2004/07/how-i-know-im-warped.html

Must Learn to Say "No"
Sometimes, I can't help but feel that it is pointless being nice because people just take you for granted.

Take for example my ex-workplace; I left the place because I just felt all the effort I have put in and things I have done are just not appreciated at all. Now that I have left, they kept calling me to help out with parts of their operations, but now in the capacity of a volunteer.

I am quite OK with it actually since I am doing something for my profession. Things however changed when I came to know that even the last 2 old staff remaining are also leaving. I just got so mad that things haven't seem to become better even after I left...

Increasingly, I just find myself being rather impatient and not as helpful whenever I received calls to help out (doesn't help that I am super busy during this period so trying hard to juggle everything). In fact, I am even contemplating not to even renew my professional membership because I just feel so disappointed. At the back of my mind, I keep hearing myself say "it is not worth it".

Just today, I have also received a call from this professor who I have worked with in my former workplace and whom I am working on a project with him now. The moment I picked up my call, there wasn't even an attempt to build rapport or ask how have things been etc, just straight to the point that "I need you to do this". Just feel so lousy, like I am being used as a tool.

I just do not want to be taken for granted and looks like I need to learn to say "no"

"Don't-Provoke-Me" Hippo
(by the way, my sis says the hippo look like me... what audacity!)