on distraction …

i’m designing my home

OK. Mebbe the operative word should be “trying“ – as in “I’m trying to design my home.“

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Well, for one, I can draw floor plans with AutoCAD. 

This is a skill I had more or less self taught after being given a quick 10 minutes hands-on demo by a architect friend (or kindda colleague as I was kindda moonlighting as a visual merchandiser). 

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And NO. I do not have a self inflated ego or misplaced perceptions on my abilities to think that I can forgo an architect and design my own home. Contrary to it, really, on all aspects, though I am still rather upset at H’s statement earlier this week of: common’ your feat was not in the same league as beating Raphael Nadal! i.e. in reference to Australian wild card Nick Krygios‘ mom’s lack of support or rather faith in her son’s ability to knock out the likes of Raphael Nadal at the Wimbeldon 2014. 

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Well, my mom is much the same when it comes to me. And sure, I’ve nothing to shout about on the accomplishment front at the same league as that, but …yes, I was moaning about how under-appreciated I am vis-a-vis my sibling in the presence of both mom and H, rather playfully. It’s the truth though but I have long grown up and accepted it as is.

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Truthfully, i’m designing my home coz I have trust issues.

Coupled with my OCD inclinations, I have to have it all nailed down before I start soliciting real professional help. I’m visual too – so having a plan in front of me would take away a lot of pain and frustration of trying to explain my brief to the architect.

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So, how am I doing on the front of i’m designing my home?

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First and foremost, does anyone know where I can get a bootleg version of AutoCAD?!?! 

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The 3-year student FREE trial version from the official site does not permit downloads in my part of the world – not surprising given the rampant and what used to be lucrative bootleg business of software programmes, movies, music blah3 … not to mention we have one of the highest rate of credit card frauds as well.

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I am not propagating and/or supporting the above, but honestly, we aren’t talking about buying an original movie/ music DVD or CD that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. An AutoCAD programme for someone who just wants to muck around and pre-design her home does cost an arm and a leg plus a couple of kidneys. What are we looking at here? A set-back of circa MYR12,000!!! Now, to put things into perspective, minimum wage is only MYR10,800 per annum – gottit?

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Secondly, I am so obsessed, I am totally sleep deprived.

I’ve found a 7 days trial version of a simplified “autoCAD” floor plan drawing that has been designed to work on Microsoft Office – Smartdraw – and have been at it for 7 days. The results are 2 plans … and I’ve got a buzzing idea on my head for Version 3.0, but am still too cheap to pay close to USD200 for the floor plan programme (MYR625).

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As for the 2 plans …

with everyone’s “wish list” included I ended up with Version 1.0 being at 16,000+ sq ft built up … only to quickly realised that neither the width nor the length of the house can be beyond 100 feet as that would be way beyond the parcel’s size.

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Though at the back of the mind, a 16,000+ sq ft house is ludicrous for a family of two (+ possibly 1) … and perhaps a little Chihuahua dog named “frog” that currently resides in two adults imagination* … I didn’t quite scale the house down due to its sheer largeness and impracticality but rather worked on Version 2.0 on the guided premise of bringing both the width and length to below 90 feet!

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And thus, emerged Version 2.0 at magically one quarter of its original size to a stunning 4,000+ sq ft! A much more realistic size.

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* “frog” the dog does exist in a pet shop in suburbia Kuala Lumpur … the thing is I do not own “frog” though the thought of it has been tempting and haunting … “frog”, unlike his other friend, game us the Charles Dickens Oliver Twist look with his big eyes!

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But more importantly i’m designing my home because I need a distraction.

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whoa! Let’s start over with you holding back your judgments on my “rich-spoilt-brat” proclamation of “I need a distraction”.

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I’m somehow going to say this as delicately as possible without offending anyone or any organisation, especially the one that I am currently attached to, which I have some grievances with regards to drawing a line between professional and private life and one’s visibility on the world wide web. My short and quick respond to that? I’ve blocked almost everyone at work from my sites post a conversation with HR!

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So, I digress – back to the need for distraction!

The past two years in consulting can be summarised quite easily as the least productive years of my career.

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I had left the bank in search of some peace and quiet. After 6 years, commencing with start-ups to cross-borders integrations, I was burned out and many had advised that I take some time off in a more relaxing environment. I did. I am.

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On one hand, I have enjoyed the complacency and treasure the flexibility and freedom in terms of time and hours. On the other hand, I miss the “dog-eat-dog” culture of large performance-rewards differentials.

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The “one happy family” superficial environment of everything and everyone is hunky dory irritates me to no end. The high tolerance level of varied performance and mostly mediocrity upsets me. Yet, I enjoy the time-off and lack of discipline that comes with it. The absence of corporate governance and enforcements. The lackadaisical attitude driven mostly by ignorance of HR.

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So, what do I do?

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Re-enter the “dog-eat-dog” world with way higher performance pay upside with commensurable stress?

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Stay and enjoy a relatively high wage-per-effort/ achievement? (while missing out to my cohorts in the longer run?)

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I am yet to decide. I do have a stressor that does make me consider leaving 3 out of 5 days. But this feeling goes away with the increasing absence at work.

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With that, I decided I needed a distraction that would keep me occupied, if not obsessed for a couple of years … and so, i’m designing my home

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He’s corny?!? … well, you’re all phoney

In strange ways, the people you least expect to get you, gets you.

The people whom you should not be associated with, for reasons best known to the normal man on the street, totally gets you.

I wouldn’t say I fall into the “eccentric” category. That’s too much of a compliment for me.

“Enigma” is a little too sophisticated.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

But the word commonly uttered about him – CORNY – I think it’s downright insulting.

I am sorry. But I do take their remarks about him personally.

For starters, that makes me corny too.

But what truly upsets me is why can’t anyone appreciates or acknowledge that at least he has the balls to say “to hell with the world! this is ME”.

He’s not ashamed to be him. To reveal himself. To clown aroud. To embrace his inner child. and to cheer us me up.

Frankly, anyone who calls him “corny” is seriously phoney with the make believe that “I am so prim and pro-pah”, and yet take photos with Kate Middleton and Will, Duke of Cambridge life-size cardboard cut-out.

And yet you email me damaging emails surmountable to evidence for constructive dismissal!

Here’s what you are:

……… phoney

……… ˈfəʊni/

 

……… adjective: phony – not genuine; fraudulent

……… noun: phony – a fraudulent person or thing

 

who’s right? Herb Kelleher or Jack Welch?

Is it a matter of preference?

I doubt it. Given choice most people will embrace Herb Kelleher, bring him home to momma and put on the kettle for tea and arm themselves with garland loads of garlic in the face of Jack Welch as if he was some vampire who’s here to suck their lives away in just a matter of time.

Personally, I am for Jack Welch.

The most successful high performing, highly engaged environment I have been in adopts the Jack Welch approach. It’s frankly simpler – with things being so transparent, there is no question of favouritism and everyone basically knows where they stack against one another.

Honestly, why do people retch at the very idea of force ranking? The very fact that measures exist in this world – the very fact that statistics is invented – suggests the necessity of relativity and comparison. And have we not been forced ranked since we stepped out of our mother’s womb? And officially the day we attended institutionalized learning?

Some are in the halfway house when it comes to Jack Welch – the ‘yeah, forced ranking is ok, but not the fact that you drop the 10% at the bottom‘. Very well. But what do we do with the freeloaders? And why bother going through the arduous exercise of ranking/ measuring in the first place? Surely, twirling one’s thumb while having ice tea by the beach is far more appealing in the spectrum of ‘pointless activities’. And how do we systematically and deliberately improve the entire system if we measure, rank and then … do nothing?

Having moved on to various cultures and human capital practices, I am still a firm believer of the Jack Welch approach.

For the live of me, I can see how any high performer who are typically transactional by nature, not expects a clear trade of value exchange with little room for error and tolerance for mediocrity. With the exponential return on investment, it is unlikely a high performer would want to share the gains, even if s/he does not break in cartwheels whenever a mediocre counterpart (be it attitudinal or aptitude) fails and receives the ‘stick’.

And that’s my unpopular and unfavorable response recently to a bunch of … of well, all so forgiving and let’s be one big happy family with just enough to go around organization! Good luck and have fun lounging … there’s obviously horses for courses!

Which one are you?

Psst… the Jack Welch approach in my personal experience is also preferred to ‘shock the systen’ of any lagging organization …