Showing posts with label Worklife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Worklife. Show all posts

Thursday, 16 August 2012

Farewell (well... sort of)

This is my Farewell note to my colleagues in BII.
I have to say that I meant most of it, but I still have some unsaid messages which I'm dying to say but I can't.
Not if I still want to keep on working in the banking and finance industry. 

So here it comes... again.. I meant (almost) every word of it.

Dear bosses, colleagues and friends,

It’s been a little over 6 years since I walked into the doors of Lantai 21 Plaza BII.
Time flies and we are now occupying a very nice office at Lantai 20 Sentral Senayan 3.
Have I mentioned that the place is very nice?

I have been given an opportunity to expand my career and take on a new challenge.
I am excited yet a little galau all at the same time.
However, I think my 6 years BII experience has given me enough additional ammo to face a new task in the ever challenging world of Risk Management.

My role in BII Ops. Risk has given me the luxury to come across some remarkable people, both work-wise and friend-wise.

Thanks to:

1.    The entire Risk Management Team for the workmanship and friendships.
2.    The colleagues in Home Loan Group, IT Group, Card Business Group, Operations Group, Regional Jawa Barat, Jawa Timur and Thamrin for putting up with me
3.    The ORM Team of BII Finance and WOM Finance for the cooperation.
4.    Maybank ORM Team for the knowledge sharing and fruitful discussions.
5.    BII Runners - see you at the upcoming KOTR

Special thanks to the 3 generations of Operational Risk Management team which has taught me so many valuable learning experiences, and in some I find the truest friends – lucky me.

I am now getting ready for a new adventure in an old fishing boat to a Mexican beach with Andy Dufresne (naaah, just kidding - I Wish).

Oh and…. EID MUBARAK for those who celebrate, my most sincere apology for the errors.
HAPPY HOLIDAY FOR ALL and see you around.

Warmest regards

Virna Medina

Friday, 13 November 2009

The Coffee Mug Ballad

I have this favorite mug that I use at work.
Each morning, this mug represents the first activity I do at work.


A year ago, it was this blue taller but slimmer mug.

I used to fill it with my tubruk coffee (Singa brand of course).



I remember approximately one year ago when this person (a lady colleague) was caught using my blue mug and I went ballistic. Clearly, she'd never expect to find me so freak out before.
I undergo a radical change from a normal person into this witch lady.


I have this problem with someone using my coffee mug (at work).
If they have no mug, instead of lending them mine, I would buy them a new one instead.


And today, during my leave (to study for this particular tryout tomorrow), someone reported that this person (a particular male species) planned to use my Orange Coffee Mug.


Luckily, our Office Boy prevented him from using it, mentioning that I will be infuriated if I ever found out. Yeah... I am this crazy, paranoid lady when it comes to my possessions, especially my coffee mug.

LEAVE MY COFFEE MUG ALONE!

Sunday, 8 February 2009

25 (trivial) Things About Me

1. Having the word 'medina' as my name, I often being asked if I was born there, in Medina. I know it's a way of extending a conversation, but I dislike the question.

2. I'm terribly addicted to caffeine. I've tried to quit in the past, but when work pressure/stress increases, so does my caffeine intake. I'm always looking forward to my morning coffee at the office.


3. Gregory House fascinates me. I like 'broken' men.


4. I can tell when being lied to, I often asked questions to test if the person is lying.


5. I like the word 'zen' and would love to be a zen person, but don't think I'll ever be one, I'm not even 'zenish'.


6. I'm always suspicious of overly nice and sweet people, I'm afraid that they might gave me diabetes.



7. I can walk around the house (even climb the stairs) with my eyes closed.

8. I can crack open a pint of Ben & Jerry Magic Brownies and finish the whole thing at the same time.


9. My parents don't use their last name and so do I. Never know why, but doesn't mean that I'm not proud being an Alhadar.


10. The cruelest kind of torture? Listen to these songs around the clock: Power of Love, My Heart Will Go On, To Love You More (Celine Dion), I will do anything for you (Meatloaf), Boyz 2 Men songs, Mariah Carey songs, Firehouse songs.

11. I hardly ever (if not never) have runny nose (ew!), my great grandmother used to gave me ice cubes since I was 1 month old (bizarre but useful, huh?!).



12. I enjoy singing, even though I'm aware that my friends and family will go nuts listening to me.

13. I've had a major crush on Jordan Knight from NKOTB and Keanu Reeves, not anymore though.


14. I'm afraid of heights, a major weeper when it comes to playing outdoor games.


15. I've only been in love once in my life (I mean crazily-deeply-madly in love), the one that made you do stupid things.


16. Every time I got sick (even if it's only a common cold) I think of dying.

17. I like playing card games (especially troof).

18. I like to cook, even if sometimes they ended up not as I intended them to be.


19. I eat everything - from rice to fried bananas to crackers - with sambal.



20. I don't do mornings. I'm just not a morning person.

21. I like long holidays, but not for my pants. Holidays are bad for my pants.


22. It's hard for me to be close to someone, at first. But once they got to know me, they'll know that I'm not as arrogant as I look.

23. I wish I had Michael Knight's Car (KIT), since I secretly want to crash every motorcycles that got in my way every day on the road (without getting a single dent). They are really getting out of line, both in numbers AND behavior.



24. I know I'm not normal, and I've decided that I don't care. I listen to 'weird' music, watch 'quirky' films, I eat french fries with chocolate topping, I put pepper in my hot chocolate,

25. I treat my car as my home (you can find from CDs, magazines, DVDs, makeup kit, perfume, candies, clean clothes, boxes of shoes, everything....)

Sunday, 2 November 2008

Have You Ever Experienced Blogger's Block?

I don't consider myself as a writer, at least a qualify one. Never in my mind to think of myself as writer. For Jack's sake, I was just starting my own blog for a little over 9 months. So... I consider myself a newborn. Newborn baby can't see a thing (except for angels).

As a newborn blogger (after in practice for 9 months), I can't seem to force myself to type/write something. It's been almost 2 months. I don't consider my last post (about a month ago) as an actual post, as I was wishing everyone 'eid mubarak', it was an easy one. Just about anyone can post something like that. I guess this is what they call "writer's block" or in my case "blogger's block".


Believe me, I've tried everything to overcome this condition. From planning an interesting topic, creating a supportive environment in my room, reading many topics, exploring other blogs, playing an interesting music, watching indie movies, reading a cutting edge book, writing down ideas, you name them. Nothing. None. Zero.


The Blockers

Where do ideas come from? Not sure. They just sort of pop out. Lately I just seem to have none, when it comes to blogging. Well.... I blame these things:

1. TV Series
  • All interesting series I follow just beginning to start a new season (Heroes, House, Life, Samantha Who, Grey's Anatomy, and my guilty pleasures I'm ashamed to admit: Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl and Dirty Sexy Money).
  • TV stations are playing new interesting series: True Blood, Fringe, The Mentalist.


2. Baking, my new hobby
I seem to have a new budding interest over cooking (yay!), believe me during Ramadhan I've baked several cakes and they turned out to be good (meaning: nobody dies while eating them and they actually tasted ..... delicious - this is based from actual people who were actually eating them). Here's a picture of one of my baked products. Yummy huh!?




3. Office Work
There's a new pressure at the office, to say the least. The pressure to perform is entering a new era of backstabbing that I should be aware of. Hope I can come out alive.


4. The Twilight Saga
Yeah....I know I may sound a little bit teenish, compared to my actual age, but I like the first book and it keep me occupy for a while (finished the book, looking for the next books and counting on the days until the film actually on theaters - which is 12122008)



Excuses, Excuses

I know I may sound like a whiner or an escapist, I prefer the latter. But, today after sipping a cup of coffee with some friends @ Bakkoel Koffie and bringing my "book of ideas" with me, I finally decide to post. Accompany by The Decemberists (my new favorite band - not actually a feel good band, but they rock!) and a very very strong will, here I am. Back with a ..... (I would like to say '"vengeance", but the word would be too mambo jumbo)....post.

By the way.... back to the post title:
Have You Ever Experienced Blogger's Block? How do you battle with it?

Sunday, 29 June 2008

Dominant Introvert

I just took a personality test. And for the second time I am categorized as the Dominant Introvert., or you can say that I am an INTP type of person. Here's a brief explanation on the INTP person. Is this my type? Perhaps it is. Perhaps it is not. I just don't think that it is good to categorized people in 16 personality types. A common example are zodiacs and shios. Are there really only 12 or in this case - 16 types for the billions of people? I very much doubt it. But hey... who am I to judge? I took the test remember? So here it is....I present you the so-called "dominant introvert" that I'm supposed to be :)



As an INTP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things rationally and logically. Your secondary mode is external, where you tak
e things in primarily via your intuition.

INTPs live in the world of theoretical possibilities. They see everything in terms of how it could be improved, or what it could be turned into. They live primarily inside their own minds, having the ability to analyze difficult problems, identify patterns, and come up with logical explanations. They seek clarity in everything, and are therefore driven to build knowledge. They are the "absent-minded professors", who highly value intelligence and the ability to apply logic to theories to find solutions. They typically are so strongly driven to turn problems into logical explanations, that they live much of their lives within their own heads, and may not place as much importance or value on the external world. Their natural drive to turn theories into concrete understanding may turn into a feeling of personal responsibility to solve theoretical problems, and help society move towards a higher understanding.



INTPs value knowledge above all else. Their minds are constantly working to generate new theories, or to prove or disprove existing theories. They approach problems and theories with enthusiasm and skepticism, ignoring existing rules and opinions and defining their own approach to the resolution. They seek patterns and logical explanations for anything that interests them. They're usually extremely bright, and able to be objectively critical in their analysis. They love new ideas, and become very excited over abstractions and theories. They love to discuss these concepts with others. They may seem "dreamy" and distant to others, because they spend a lot of time inside their minds musing over theories. They hate to work on routine things - they would much prefer to build complex theoretical solutions, and leave the implementation of the system to others. They are intensely interested in theory, and will put forth tremendous amounts of time and energy into finding a solution to a problem with has piqued their interest.

INTPs do not like to lead or control people. They're very tolerant and flexible in most situations, unless one of their firmly held beliefs has been violated or challenged, in which case they may take a very rigid stance. The INTP is likely to be very shy when it comes to meeting new people. On the other hand, the INTP is very self-confident and gregarious around people they know well, or when discussing theories which they fully understand.

The INTP has no understanding or value for decisions made on the basis of personal subjectivity or feelings. They strive constantly to achieve logical conclusions to problems, and don't understand the importance or relevance of applying subjective emotional considerations to decisions. For this reason, INTPs are usually not in-tune with how people are feeling, and are not naturally well-equiped to meet the emotional needs of others.

The INTP may have a problem with self-aggrandizement and social rebellion, which will interfere with their creative potential. Since their Feeling side is their least developed trait, the INTP may have difficulty giving the warmth and support that is sometimes necessary in intimate relationships. If the INTP doesn't realize the value of attending to other people's feelings, he or she may become overly critical and sarcastic with others. If the INTP is not able to find a place for themself which supports the use of their strongest abilities, they may become generally negative and cynical. If the INTP has not developed their Sensing side sufficiently, they may become unaware of their environment, and exhibit weakness in performing maintenance-type tasks, such as bill-paying and dressing appropriately.

For the INTP, it is extremely important that ideas and facts are expressed correctly and succinctly. They are likely to express themselves in what they believe to be absolute truths. Sometimes, their well thought-out understanding of an idea is not easily understandable by others, but the INTP is not naturally likely to tailor the truth so as to explain it in an understandable way to others. The INTP may be prone to abandoning a project once they have figured it out, moving on to the next thing. It's important that the INTP place importance on expressing their developed theories in understandable ways. In the end, an amazing discovery means nothing if you are the only person who understands it.

The INTP is usually very independent, unconventional, and original. They are not likely to place much value on traditional goals such as popularity and security. They usually have complex characters, and may tend to be restless and temperamental. They are strongly ingenious, and have unconventional thought patterns which allows them to analyze ideas in new ways. Consequently, a lot of scientific breakthroughs in the world have been made by the INTP.

The INTP is at his best when he can work on his theories independently. When given an environment which supports his creative genius and possible eccentricity, the INTP can accomplish truly remarkable things. These are the pioneers of new thoughts in our society.

By the way... did you happen to see the above pictures? I (supposedly) have the same personality type as Lord Voldemort (the darkest villain from the Harry Potter series).

How cool is that? ;)

Sunday, 1 June 2008

The Art of Ass-Kissing





The age-old practice of brown-nosing (read: ass kissing) never grows out of date. It is actually getting more and more sophisticated over time.


Definition of Ass-Kisser

Thefreedictionary.com defines ass-kisser as a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage. Ass kisser also commonly called crawler, sycophant, toady, lackey, apple polisher, boot licker, fawner, groveler, truckler. Also defined as someone who humbles himself as a sign of respect; who behaves as if he had no self-respect.

Ass-kisser sometimes can appear as an adulator, a flatterer - a person who uses flattery or a goody-goody - a person who behaves extremely well in order to please a superior.


Real Life Ass-Kisser

One example in a real life and recent situation is a story of an ass-kissing person (to be refer to as X) in a large corporate. X was actually rewarded for X's skill in licking the boss' butt. X was promoted not long after taking the boss' children out and about for several times.

Moments after being the boss' place (and shoulder) for a personal chats. The ass-kisser is a sweet-talker known for his/her tenacity and perseverance in the boot-licking field, received a considerable salary increase and a position which is not actually suitable for X's capacity. Most people refer to this as "the culmination of an intensive campaign of shameless glad-handing and insincere admiration that X's been pursuing.”

Some envious colleagues said that X lacks original ideas (often quoted people's ideas and admitting them to be his/her idea) and relentless flattery of superiors would hold X back. But hey.... Xis a living proof that fawning yes-man/woman do succeed in this world. Known to co-workers for the absurdly transparent insincerity in social relations and the incredibly irritating habit of busy bodying around the office without ever doing anything.

Xis exactly the sort of sniveling apple-polisher the boss was looking for. X used to be seen strolling around the boss' room for at least 15 times a day! And whenever in a meeting X is never EVER argue with him, which made other colleagues look bad for arguing with the boss. X always lets the boss have his way. X never tells that the boss is wrong—ever. X's knee-jerk instantaneous validation of everything the boss say will no doubt enable him/her to go far.

Out-smarting creditable co-workers

Though X's unflagging sucking up to superiors was the key to a career advancement, the instinctive knack for taking credit for the work of others also played a major role. By positioning X-self near those employees whose ideas are consistently successful, and then smiling effusively whenever the boss was around, X was able to foster the illusion that X had actually made meaningful contributions to the company.

In this manner, X was able to steal a significant amount of the credit for their achievements, reaping the rewards of others' work in order to fulfill X own personal goals. Though most coworkers and other highly qualified employees passed over great resentment toward X and and the relentless ass-kissing crusade, X is unconcerned about their negative views.

One co-worker said, “You know that voice high-school boys use when they're smooth talking to their girlfriend? Or when a woman tried talking her boyfriend out of buying her a really expensive jewelry? Well, that's how X sounds all the time.”



10 signs your co-worker is an ass-kisser

Ass-kissing is sometimes mistaken for being nice. Being nice is saying get well soon if the boss is not coming up to work from a common cold. Being an ass kisser getting as quickly as you can to his home to be his shoulder to cry on or his maid. Being nice is getting him a new tie for his birthday. Being an ass kisser is getting his son a new toy for no reason.

Here some signs that your co-worker (might be) an ass-kisser:

  1. Most likely is a person with the excessive smile.

  2. Come by to the boss' room for AT LEAST 10 times a day.

  3. Often babysits the boss' children.

  4. Frequently give presents to the boss (and his/her children).

  5. Taking credit for other people's ideas.

  6. Complimenting the boss' car as “the prettiest thing”, when actually he's driving a piece of junk.

  7. Send the boss a large bouquet after getting an undeserved promotion.

  8. Follows the boss around with love-struck-puppy-eyes.

  9. Taking the boss' children for a day out on the weekend.

  10. Getting food for the boss at an office party.

  11. You name the rest.