Break is ending

Took 2.5 days of annual leave, coupled with the 2 days replacement holidays, I got a total of 8.5 days of break for Chinese New Year.

It's coming to an end, resuming work tomorrow.

Absolutely not looking forward to it, but this is life.

It has been peaceful and quiet in the house, after wifey and kids went to the in-laws', and with dad and I being the stay-in-room mind our own business kind of person.

But I am severely hug-deprived. This is very unhealthy for me.

What made it worse is that I am watching a Korean reality show about romance and relationship, and instead of the lovely jubbly sweet sweet feelings that draw me into watching this kind of shows, this particular season is downright saddening.

This is when being an empathic person is not such a good thing, I feel the frustration, the hurt and the pain deeply. I know there can't be happy ending for all the cast members, but there is always one or a few who I am more aligned in values, principles and beliefs, who I would root for, who I hope their love would blossom.

But alas, this season there are too many crisscrossed signals, missed signals, and even false signals. Really hate fake people with their misinformation. So what started as a hopeful sweet relationship got shattered, causing so much pain and hurt to the people involved. And to me, so I guess I am too emotionally involved.

This is when I really need to hug wifey, but she is not here...

So my break is ending, and it seems break is also the ending for the reality show. So sad.

Other |temperamental thoughts| category entries.

开工吉日

越老越迷信，这几年都会找一找开工吉日才决定农历新年休假几天，和几时开工。

略懂八字基本知识后就知道这些开工吉日也是看是谁评估出来的，毕竟每个人重视的东西不同，每个人理解和分析都会有差异。

所以我通常会找几份不同的人算出来的开工吉日，校对后才决定跟大多数统一的好日子。

或许有一天，我会开始去理解，然后用自己的八字算出最适合自己的开工吉日吧？

或许吧？但没有确定的完成期，毕竟买了的那几本有关八字的书籍，超过十年了都还没有看完…

话说回来，今天是没有冲我生肖的开工吉日，吉时也是非常合适的时间，我如常的早上八点开工，认真的做了半天工。

对我来说，开工吉日就应该是平时想要的工作日，而不是意思意思开了电脑发个邮件，那绝对不是我理想的工作日。

一早同事朋友即兴开了个一对一的网上会仪，讨论我们一起同做的项目。除了那，今天没有任何的会议，所以我可以有效率的做热流模型。

拿了半天假，毕竟今天真的是为了开工吉日才工作的，我农历新年的休假还没有完，下星期一我才“正式”复工。

开工大吉啦！希望这一年都会顺顺利利的。

心语细述 |系列|

Cave mode on

Wifey and the kids are on their way to the in-laws'.

Visiting the in-laws during Chinese New Year and stay for a few days is something we do annually, but this year I have opted out of celebrating Chinese New Year.

To be honest, I don't really know the exact details of what to do and what not to do, mommi had always been the go to person for our enquiry on culture, custom and tradition stuff, but it's her passing last May that I am observing the no celebrating Chinese New Year now.

Information online regarding this varies, from 100 days to 3 years, and various to do and not to do. I am not sure which to follow, and have decided to stay in and not involve in any merry or celebration stuff for the first 100 days, to opt out of celebrating the first Chinese New Year, and not wearing any merry colours for at least one year.

The last few years before mommi's passing, I had been saturated with the sense of helplessness, seeing her deteriorated and unable to do anything about it... So I shall do whatever I can now.

I don't think losing a parent is something we get over with, or something we will ever forget. It's probably just something we live with as best as we can.

Anyway, if not for pappi being home, it would have been another entry of the home alone series. So not home alone, but definitely entering cave mode.

Other |temperamental thoughts| category entries.

Efficiency

Majority of my colleagues working on the same projects, as well as the associated customers, are people who celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year.

So more and more people started their leave these few days, and many meetings got cancelled.

With meeting-free work day, and less and less instant messages and impromptu phone calls from colleagues, work efficiency has vastly improved.

It's like finally I got the efficiency when I am working overtime at actual work hours, yay!

Finally able to work meaningful duration without interruption at working hours instead of being a meeting engineer.

I am a doer, not a talker.

Less meeting, more doing.

Other |temperamental thoughts| category entries.

0.42 days burned

After working too long more than five years with the company, I am getting 20 days of annual leave every year.

So that's 1.67 days added to my leave balance every month.

The leave balance is capped at two times the annual leave amount, so for me the maximum I can have is 40 days.

The 1.67 days is added to the balance on the first day of the month, anything above the maximum limit will be forfeited. In other words, anything in excess of the limit will be irrecoverably lost.

For years I have watched this balance carefully, because to me, these days of paid annual leave are hard-earned through sweat and tears. Paid annual leave is in fact money, anything forfeited is actually a lost of money that could have been paid to us when we leave the company for good.

But I slipped in January, I thought I had at least 1.67 days margin by the end of January, but I didn't. I only had 1.25 days margin, so I lost 0.42 days when the leave balance was updated on 1st of February.

0.42 days burned, so sad. This is simply a waste. Feel so disappointed with myself.

Other |temperamental thoughts| category entries.

立春

今天立春，甲辰（木龙）年的开始，祝大家龙年快乐！

今天开始到明年立春前出生的宝宝就是属龙的啦。

丧母后的第一个农历新年，守孝没有庆祝。妻子和孩子们会去娘家，这将是我第一次没有在农历新年去娘家拜年，希望可以理解。

农历新年几天假我应该会看下八字的书，毕竟要准备下才能再次给同事分享。还是觉得怪怪的，分享八字知识这事…

希望甲辰年的到来可以帮我转下最近很糟糕的运啦。我也只能期盼。

命苦，我认。

随兴随想 |系列|

Checked

Last delivery of Chinese New Year cookies and cakes order completed today.

That's another tick off the task list.

Thanks for the orders, friends and colleagues. Hope you enjoy the cookies and cakes.

And wish you all a happy Chinese New Year.

I won't be celebrating Chinese New Year this year, observing the custom of parent passed away within the past year.

Probably not much different given how antisocial I have become, but anyway, I will definitely not be paying anybody a visit during Chinese New Year this year.

It's just something I need to do, regardless of what others think.

Other |sane side| category entries.