Author: karan

So today’s the day that is officially designated for romancing and early-stage love (for whatever reasons; explore them further on Wikipedia). And I suppose the expected thing would be for guys to go find some lucky lady and proclaim their love, or somehow do it discretely in a manner that says “I love you (and I don’t want to tell you my name) (possibly from a distance) (please don’t take me to be a stalker)”.

Y’know, guys in Japan got this deal sorted the right way around. Valentine’s, the pressure is on the ladies. The lads simply await in passive contention for the chocolates that the ladies are to offer them. A month later, on “White Day”, if the lads are showing some significant interest in return, they get the ladies chocolates. It’s a very safe bet, I think, because for guys it’s clear as mud who is interested normally (i.e. not clear at all) and for the ladies to sort themselves out and express their interest first means the lads are quite clear as to what they have to live up to. Not to mention that if you don’t get anything, eh, you’re a guy, what are you gonna care.

At least, in theory/anime. I don’t know if Japan really works like that, I’ve just heard it and watched way too many anime. Regardless, I think it a good system that should apply the world over. Only in Japan though, I guess, because they’re quirky like that.

Anyway, I’m going to walk around all day humming Miss Independent by Kelly Clarkson because it is stuck in my head.

edit: Ok so Miss Independent isn’t hummable. The Girl From Ipanema it is.

Harbour Views? Tick.

Actually, that’s about it for knowing when you’re really working in Sydney. What more can you truly ask for than harbour views from your office when you’re merely a graduate? It’s stunningly gorgeous. I remember those moments of doubt, of questioning myself as to why i went through the hassle to move up to Sydney, and then I look out the window and… bang, there it is. I’m sorry, no other way to put it.

I avoided giving a description yesterday of Sailing because it’s one of those had-to-be-there type of things. I’m not the greatest sailor by any means, and the blowy winds didn’t help what so ever, and while there were some hair-raising moments, the adrenaline rush wiped it out and the whole experience was very positive. Plus it helps that we snatched 2nd place in a field of seven when rounding the first bend we’d been 6th. Come-from-behind? There is no better definition!
Still, I’m your stock land-loving rat, and when all pirate jokes were aside it was real and it was hard and all in all I’d rather be on something a fair bit more sizeable. Say with 6 decks or so.

Today consisted of more presentations introducing us to the bank and its policies. HR, Compliance, and a demonstration of how the whole bank works together. (I asked for policies on dooceability, but beyond the standard privacy policy – god knows there’s enough of them – I’m free to blog. Nothing to specific, obviously.) Thrown in the mix was lunch with the previous year’s grads. Finally the day was capped by cocktails with the Australia-NZ CEO, at which there was an abundance of everything but cocktails, but I’m not one much to mind. Met my manager and worked out roughly what i’m doing. The deep end it truly is.

And thus… it begins. Tomorrow morning, 9am, office, work. Harbour Views though. Don’t know if I’ll actually get work done with that view out the window…

(oh and p.s. I wonder how quickly you can call people friends. I did kinda automatically today, wonder whether the label will stick =D)

I’m kinda nervous. I’m here much too early, so I stop at a park bench in the sun, adjust my tie, shift stuff around in my bag. Haven’t worn a tie for this long since high school, basically, and I’m not even in the door of the place. Gawd.

m-flo & yoshika start to sing let go. I exhale deeply, glance at my watch. 8:37. Close enough to showtime if there ever was one. I pick up my bag and go.

I get to the building and its newness is palpable. Later today I will find out that, initially at least, I will be working at the older building, right on the harbour. For now, the elevator speeds upwards, fast, and accentuated by the glass letting you see exactly how quick you’re rising into corporate Sydney. It glides to a stop at floor 16, deceleration not helping the nervous stomach at all. The preponderance of glass lets me see I’m not the first, and suddenly it’s just another corporate office to walk into, only I’ll be working here, soon enough. Initial smiles are all a little nervous and tentative, speech just a notch below what it needs to be, but tension is broken soon enough and the introductory routine settles in.

26 grads starting, total of 4 in Technology, 5 ladies spread through other departments. 4 others have moved up from Melbourne, and 2 are here for training, so I’m not so much of an outsider all of a sudden. Best of both cities, really. I’m the youngest here, by a clear margin of 2 years – fast course, young starter. Funny, I feel part of the place already – and it’s only 9:30, and I’ve already forgotten people’s names.

Self-Introductions. I remember to not concede the pronounciation war this time, insisting on the closest to the original sound over ease of pronounciation. I figure you get one crack at getting people to get used to it correctly. Find myself only Monash grad to make it through.

“And over the summer, I painted the house.”

It appears I’m the only one that didn’t either go overseas or do an internship (thereby prepping you very nicely for the environment). Still, it gets a laugh, and that’s worth something.

The rest of the day disappears in a blur of presentations, chatting, snacking on those dainty catered sandwiches and generally feeling your way into the place. We’re going sailing tomorrow as a team-building excercise.

The weather prediction says gale force winds overnight into the morning. It’s blowing a gale outside right now actually.

And right now… I need me some sleep. Haven’t had to concentrate constantly for that long since Elvis was a boy. Figureatively speaking.

So I’ve been here two days…

• Sydney is hot. Which is nice, and which I recall quite clearly.
• Sydney is humid. Which is less nice. And I don’t recall it being this humid at all.
• Living alone has its own ups and downs. I think in part this will sort itself out when I start working, bringing something of a routine to the place, but it’s altogether too tempting to waste the day lying in front of the TV when there’s no-one to supervise.
• Dialup is oh so frustrating. You want to be sure each and every page loaded is worth it.
• You can’t imagine what it’s like not having a car once you’ve had it for so long. Feels almost like it’s a ticket to freedom and fun.
• The utility of cordless phones is vastly, vastly underestimated.
• … did I mention I can’t wait for work to start?