Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Steamed Fish

I was called into the boss' office this morning for a report on ongoing projects as he was away for the past 2 days. As I was updating him, his eyes grew wider and he sank deeper and deeper into his chair.

"Do you think you can stay in town this weekend and cancel your leave for Friday and Monday?" he asked.

"No.. I already promised my sisters and my mother I'll be back home.. it's been ages since I last went home," I reasoned.

"Come on, think about it.. our deadlines are scary and I'm afraid that we'll never be able to meet them if you don't work on Friday and Monday", said the boss.

I sat there quietly and cursed.

"You gotta give everything this time round.. your year end bonus depends on this project..." he added (threatened?)

I sat there quietly again. I know a lot is in my hands at the moment, and being under-staffed as we are, I can't just leave the boss in the lurch can I? And I do want this project to go go well as a large percentage of my India funds depend on my year end bonus.

He went on to further say, "I'll give you one whole week off in October.. how's that?"

I told him that I'll work something out, and if I can finish things by Friday, I'll go back to JB on Saturday and be back to the office only on Tuesday. But looking at the way things are moving this afternoon, I really doubt it.

I am beginning to really hate systems. Aren't systems developed to help us work more efficiently? Aren't systems designed to help us be more organized and to ensure that we reach maximum productivity? But why is it that my delays are always caused by systems and hierarchy protocols?

I then called Mom and told her I might not be home this weekend due to work commitments. I heard her sigh and then said, "Aiyoo... But I just went to the market this morning to get fish and prawns and to stock up the fridge!"

She went on to say what she had planned to cook for us, and also went on telling me about the huge bawal putih fish which she got and knows we love having that fish steamed with plenty of ginger.

It broke my heart. It really did.

Posted by Doreen at 2:48 pm