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Today marks my first year anniversary with Arc Worldwide Singapore. I reflected on what I’ve gone through and thought it would be good to pen down these thoughts.

I have always believed that you should do what you love, and you should do it with a bunch of like-minded people. True enough, I am now working with a bunch of passionate and never-say-die people. They are professional. They are always trying their best to achieve the best. They are a group of amazing people that I will never stop learning from them.

I (think I have) matured a lot too. Started with being thrown into the deep sea (as described by my boss), getting frustrated with clients and trying my best to control my temper, to now taking things calmly as they come, knowing how to manage clients and writing good detailed briefs.

I sincerely thank my colleagues for being patient with my inexperience as an account manager. They taught me along the way, from how to write a good creative brief to how to service clients as an account manager, not a project manager. I am still adapting my mindset - trying to think of the big picture, of the marketing aspect and providing value-added advice and suggestions to clients. It’s hard work for me, because I was trained as an engineer, my mind is systematic and process-oriented. Despite all my insecurities, my boss is forever kind enough to reassure me that having these backgrounds are good. Haha.

And let’s not forget the crazy moments I share with my forever-spontaneous colleagues! They introduced (and got me addicted) to toy collection (Re-ment, Treeson, Tokidoki, Kamen Rider, Transformers), organized crazy Friday dress-ups, caught cardless people on cameras and laughed at every single word I pronounced.

Of course, not a company is perfect. I have my own ups and downs in Arc too. But luckily until now, the happiness dominates the frustration. And I think this is the environment that my management is trying to achieve.

Happy employees create good vibes in office!
So, are you happy working in your company? Have you reflected on why you are feeling this way?

When the workout starts
The limbs get jelly-ish
The mind has to be tougher
And I will just be hoping
The 1-hour session to end as soon as possible!

Ok, the paragraph above doesn’t constitute a poem or any other form of literature. But it pretty sums up what I felt today when I had my first session with Frankie.

It all started with me wanting to help Sucker lose weight. As he is very very overweight, he sometimes has problems with his knees, back and shoulders. There is always this nagging feeling inside me that he really needs to lose some kilos, but as both of us lack the discipline to go jogging on the weekends, we do nothing about it.

And so the days pass like nobody’s business…

Until that day when he hurt his back while playing badminton and having difficulties moving around (thus causing the whole world to wait for him), it suddenly dawned on me that we have to do something about his weight for his health’s sake. So I asked seijinm for his opinion on workouts, diets and having a personal trainer to help. And he recommended Frankie to us.

Frankie is a private personal trainer, using the gym facilities in Intercontinental Hotel. The first thing I like about this is that it doesn’t require a gym membership, so we only need to pay for Frankie’s time. Coupled with free usage of jacuzzis (both indoor and outdoor), steam bath, the hotel’s swimming pool, and Frankie’s attitude, I am convinced that we will achieve our targets with him. So both of us signed up with him, Sucker training for 3 days a week and me training twice a week.

So now back to my current situation. I am still feeling the soreness in my thighs, arms and abdomen. I know that my fitness level has deteriorated since 3 years ago (imagine 3 years without netball and volleyball trainings!). But as I told Sucker, we can do it together! And I will persevere till my fitness level is better than before.

I would like to end this with my dad’s famous saying: “A man needs to take care of his health first. When he is healthy, he is able to take care of the family. When his family is taken care of, then he can only concentrate on his career.” He believes that this is a man’s responsibility, and this is actually meant for Sucker. But I think this saying also applies to everyone of us.

Come on! You guys have to cheer us on! And you guys have to work out too!

MY CLASSIC TREESON MIMOBOT IS FINALLY HERE! *claps with joy*

Special thanks to the owner from Lumiaire Canada for agreeing to deliver his goods overseas, and using a better delivery package eventhough I paid for the cheaper one.

[Image courtesy of Mimobot]