A = Angel and A is = Appeased now :)

I must thank God cos He must have heard my sighs and screams. :P what I thought was a re-scheduled trip is now back to its original track.

I must confess that I was relieved and happy when I was told that family commitment is just more important than work commitment. And priority is set and finalized. :) I'm elated not just because we no longer have to go through the hassle of reshuffling and re-notifying everyone but because it is understood that other than work, there is family and it is more important that anything else in the world.

You can always find another job, but you only have your family. I am an advocate of work life balance. And if the company you work in does not believe in that, then, my friend, you're working for the wrong people. Get out of it! How can someone whom you work for think that your life revolves and can only revolve around work?

For my case, the leave was planned in Jun 2008 and the trip was to take place in July and due to Amber's death, we postponed the trip to Dec 2008 hopefully to spend some year-end time together. The leave was approved in JUN 2008 (mind you!) and there were NO notices whatsoever on ANY ship anniversary. So why should the employees change their family commitments just to suit someone's fickle decision? If that person-in-charge has any foresight, this "big-deal" ship anniversary would have been long-planned and everyone would have been notified and plans could have be made around it. It should NOT be the other way round!

Our situation is simple, it's just the 2 of us. I heard that there was this lady who was asked to change her family trip schedule to attend this stupid ship anniversary! And when she hesitated, she was told off that she was not committed to her work? Hello?! We're talking about changing 10 other family members' schedule here? This obviously is some a*&hole's oversight and quick coverup. And what do you mean by you're not committed to your work if you don't attend some stupid event? Does this mean that skiving is totally allowed and it proves that you're commited cos at least you're seen at work and all you need to do is to show up at some silly mindless event? What is your definition of work commitment? DUH!

I always believe and will always believe that people who have worked in the civil service and have been kept there long would have rather weird and unrealistic thinkings. This is so because they are so detached from the rest of the world that they start developing some delusional, unpractical thinking... what's worse, they think the rest of the world functions like that. Actually, let me correct this, they think they can rule the corporate world like how the "scholar-brains" screw up the civil sector. Of course, there are a handful of exceptions like Admiral Teo Chee Hian, PM Lee Hsien Loong, just to name a couple. But you see, they are the cream of the crop and the actual few that could make it big in the "other" world, our world. :)

In any case, in this reality, I am appeased now cos someone finally made the right choices and is keeping to her commitment. Good job! Please keep up the good work! Give yourself a pat on your back. *applause*