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Briefing I... from Singapore!

It has been a week since I arrived to Singapore. Hectic days, from one meeting to other, trainings, more boring meetings, a lot of material to read, knowledge transition, etc. All things that normally happen in the first week at a new job and especially when you join a multinational organization like DHL.

My Singaporean experience so far has been amazing. Starting with the reception in the airport. One guy from AIESEC in Singapore was waiting for me with a big AIESEC logo just in front of the passengers exit. It was really nice to find somebody was worried about you after 30 hours crossing the world (literally). He took me to a fancy restaurant inside Changi International Airport (http://www.changi.airport.com.sg) where I tried my first Singaporean meal. Toasted bread with salad, pork and chicken. I immediately felt the spicy flavor that I was expecting… simply awesome. After that a second cultural shock: you don’t see a policeman on the streets! They are always hidden somewhere but you can’t see them. Instead of that, you can find security cameras all around the island. And then, third cultural experience: Singaporean drives their cars and walk in the left side of the streets, just like in Britain. At the beginning it was weird and quite difficult for me that I’m used to drive through the right side but after a while you start learning to watch on the opposite direction before crossing a street. Finally, I arrived to Dhanur’s place where I lived my first 2 days in Singapore before move in to Ozana’s (you will know who is she later)

On Tuesday, I had my first working day. I arrive to this breathtaking building call Parkview Square (http://www.parkviewsquare.com) where are located DHL Asia Pacific regional offices… my office! It is just amazing! I was introduced to the company by Alina (AIESEC coordinator) who showed me the offices, the different floors, meeting rooms, etc. She also introduced me some of the trainees and of course to my boss: a really nice guy from South Africa. Then I knew the group of people who will work with me, I got my laptop, email account, desk, phone extension, etc. And then meetings and more meetings.

On Wednesday, I started looking for a place to live. I already found it but have not move yet. The owner of the apartment is in the process of cleaning, painting, providing the furniture, change beds and mattresses, and arrange everything for us to live in a comfortable way. My next year will be shared with two guys. Robert, another DHL Express-AIESEC intern, from the Netherlands and with Hilton a really funny Brazilian-born but Japanese by race intern who is working with DHL Global Mail (other branch of the Deutsche Post World Net company-DHL’s matrix company). These guys are great. Too much fun between us. Some Spanish words coming and going because Robert lived in Mexico 6 months and Hilton, as most of the Brazilians, understand Spanish speakers quite easy. They are already living in our apartment because they were tired of the place where they were living at first. One was living with a Vietnam guy and the other with an Indian and they were simply bored and tired of them.

But I, in the other hand, don’t have any rush to move in. I’m living with a Romanian girl called Ozana that has been as an angel for me during my first days in Singapore. She is one of those kindly and beautiful women that worry about the newbies and try to make their live easier. I really don’t know what would happen to me if she didn’t appear in my life. She owned me some money to pay my first rent, cooked me breakfast, hang out with me a couple of times... she is just the best thing that have happened to me so far. And also, besides her internal beauty, she is also a really hot blond girl. Some of you must know that after my days in Europe last year I was totally in love about Romanian girls, well know I can confirm my theory that they are one of the most gorgeous girls on earth.

Singapore is a mix of many countries. It is easy for you see Chinese, Indians, Malaysians, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnam, Thailand, among other South Asian countries and also Americans, Canadians, British, Dutch, Mexican people. It is difficult for me recognize who is from where but you can start differencing people after just a few days. So far, Romanians, Indians and Chinese girls are winning the “Ricardo’s Hottest Race” award (Romanians are winning by a long distance from the second place)

Let see what is going to happen in the next weeks. I’m starting my second week at work. I hope to get my work permit to finally open a bank account and buy a mobile phone. By the weekend I sadly will be moving in to my new place, leaving behind the interesting night talks with Ozana and Pulbul (Ozana’s roommate) and opening pass to a new set of jokes and fun with Hilton and Robert. I already have planed a trip to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) by the 19th of September to work on a test data sessions for one of the main projects where I will be involved in the incoming months followed by a free weekend knowing one of the most important cities in the world. Best thing is that DHL will pay my tickets as well as my visa application and my hotel for the first 3 days. I will let you know more about this soon.

Ok my beloved readers hope that you had enjoyed the first briefing of my life in Singapore. I still need to take and download some pictures from my camera but as soon as I get them I will upload some for you to see them.

Briefing

Ok, I know I'm one of the most ingrate persons in the world and I'm really sorry about it but I discovered a new tool to keep my friends updated about my life and things that occur in my day2day. A lot of things have happened to me in the last couple of weeks that some of you must already know by now but for those who doesn't know it and have no clue about what Facebook is, I got matched with the best logistics company in the world and one of the target companies that I always dreamed to work with: DHL.

By the end of August, I will work in DHL's Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore as a part of the Multi-National Customers team, coordinating a group of projects and assisting the sales team to improve its performance. I must admit is a bit far from home and everything that I know. Is a complete new culture, new people, new continent, 13 hours difference, new life style and all the other things that a change like this bring to a life as the one that I know until now. I'm excited about the opportunity because as I said before, DHL is one of the companies that I always dreamed. The internships with DHL are catalogued as one of (if not THE) best in AIESEC's exchange program and I'm very lucky to enter to the selected group of people who got one of the positions.

My batteries are charged. The enthusiasm is at the roof and the emotions and feelings are driving me crazy but I'm happy and hope you can be happy with me for this.

There just a couple of spots that not allow me to be complete happy, one of them under my control but the other one unfortunately is not. I just hope that the distance I will have from home, the important events I will miss and everything I'm leaving behind makes me stronger to support my new live.

By Monday or Tuesday I will have news about an important thing that I just discovered today. Hope that those would not be bad news :(

Some thoughts

The last weeks I have been living in the eternal happy, hot and friendly Barranquilla. This amazing and extraordinary town was the place where I studied my university and started my working life. Now I'm back here trying to rebuild this working life. The problem is that all the positions and jobs here looks to be occupied. Sadly but as a reality of most of our coast cities the occupation of our citizens is low and the majority of the person who are working got their job due to recommendations or family ties.

This is the reason why I decided to start looking for opportunities abroad. Again I'm shaking my contacts and using my AIESEC experience to find a good and decent job position in some country. The opportunities are out there just waiting to be found and this is my commitment now. Let see what is gonna happen.

What about the rest of thing for me? My dad was celebrating his birthday yesterday. Another year I'm thankful to have him with us. I'll stay alone in the apartment I'm living now (Puppy's home) because Doña Vilma is heading to Medellin for vacations and visit her sons and daughter. What am I gonna do with an empty flat? No clue.

Yesterday we also had the spectacular defeat of our national soccer team against Paraguay selection. 5-0 the final score (Paraguay won). It is not a good beginning for a new generation of players and a whole country looking for good news that make us think about different things (yesterday 11 kidnapped regional deputies were killed by the FARC left-wing guerrilla). As many people recognize it, in Colombia we have two passions: beauty contests and football. And if those two passions don't give us joy we are really screw.

On the other side, news from my hometown doesn't sound anything good. The Sinu River flooded some part of my department including some areas of Monteria, Cerete, San Pelayo and other smallest towns. Is the worst flood in Córdoba in ten years. And we never learn of our past. We are always running to patch the river instead of implement long-term solutions to maintain the river in its riverbed. Here is when the corruption of our political leaders comes to the surface. And we are still waiting for the decision of two arrested thieves about who is gonna be the next governor and major. Sad.

My 27th Birthday

Here you have the evidence... good friends... good company... what else can you ask for?

En la vida…

Muchas personas te van a decir NO:

• NO llores por ella (el)

• NO te quejes de nadie

• NO le hagas caso

• NO me olvides

• etc.......

muchas personas te van a decir SI:

• SI quiero ser tu novia (o)

• SI, te quiero mucho

• SI, me haces falta

• SI, vas llegando a tu meta

• SI pienso en ti

muchas personas te van a decir NO SE:

• NO SE si lo que dices es verdad,

• NO SE si creerte

• NO SE nada

• NO SE que hacer

pero estoy seguro que todos van a querer hablar contigo, todos te van a oir y puede que no recibas una buena respuesta....

pero YO:

• YO siempre te voy a oir

• YO siempre voy a estar para ti

• YO siempre voy a cuidarte

• YO te quiero

• YO soy tu amigo

• YO nunca te voy a olvidar

Canción del Amor Sincero

Prometo no amarte eternamente,

ni serte fiel hasta la muerte,

ni caminar tomados de la mano,

ni colmarte de rosas,

ni besarte apasionadamente siempre.



Juro que habrá tristezas,

habrá problemas y discusiones

y miraré a otras mujeres

vos mirarás a otros hombres



Juro que no eres mi todo

ni mi cielo, ni mi única razón de vivir,

aunque te extraño a veces.



Prometo no desearte siempre

a veces me cansaré de tu sexo

vos te cansarás del mío

y tu cabello en algunas ocasiones

se hará fastidioso en mi cara



Juro que habrá momentos

en que sentiremos un odio mutuo,

desearemos terminar todo y

quizás lo terminaremos,

mas te digo que nos amaremos

construiremos, compartiremos.



¿Ahora si podrás creerme que te amo?

Another birthday

Yes it is another birthday in my life and as many of them before far from my family.

But the important thing is that birthdays is an opportunity we have to sit and think about what we did during the last year and evaluate all our results and the objectives we didn´t reach.

Unfortunately, this will be a sad birthday for me and not because i´m away from home (I can live with that) but for all the things that happened and specially the ones that didn´t to me during last year.

But life continues and we need to live with it. It is up to us to make it better all days because life just happen once and we need to use it as better as we can.

Happy Birthday To me!

Annoying Things To Do On An Elevator

If you do any of these things,let me know how it turns out!

1. CRACK open your briefcase or handbag, peer Inside and ask “Got enough air in there?”
2. STAND silent and motionless in the corner facing the wall without getting off.
3. WHEN arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to yank the doors open, then act as if you're embarrassed when they open themselves.
4. GREET everyone with a warm handshake and ask him or her to call you Admiral.
5. MEOW occasionally.
6. STARE At another passenger for a while. Then announce in horror: “You're one of THEM” - and back away slowly
7. SAY -DING at each floor.
8. SAY “I wonder what all these do?” And push all the red buttons.
9. MAKE explosion noises when anyone presses a button.
10. STARE, grinning at another passenger for a while, then announce: “I have new socks on.”
11. WHEN the elevator is silent, look around and ask: “Is that your beeper?”
12. TRY to make personal calls on the emergency phone.
13. DRAW a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers: “This is my personal space.”
14. WHEN there's only one other person in the elevator, tap them on the shoulder, then pretend it wasn't you.
15. PUSH the buttons and pretend they give you a shock. Smile, and go back for more.
16. ASK if you can push the button for other people but push the wrong ones.
17. HOLD the doors open and say you're waiting for your friend. After a while, let the doors close and say “Hi Greg, How's your day been?”
18. DROP a pen and wail until someone reaches to help pick it up, then scream: “That's mine!”
19. BRING a camera and take pictures of everyone in the lift.
20. PRETEND you're a flight attendant and review emergency procedures and exits with the Passengers.
21) SWAT at flies that don't exist.
22) CALL out “Group hug” then enforce it.

The Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction
This is the law by which we're creating our lives. The Law of Attraction states that like attracts like: debt attracts debt, negativity attracts negativity, failure attracts failure. At the other end of the spectrum, wealth attracts wealth, positivity attracts positivity, and success attracts success.

We transmit energy constantly; others pick up on that energy and gravitate towards us (or are repelled by us). The Secret is the most recent incarnation of the Law of Attraction, which states that like attracts like. It's as simple as that.

You're a positive person when you:

1. Stay in touch with your dark side and weaknesses, and are willing to grow towards healing and strength
2. See the positive qualities in other people
3. Feel compassion towards yourself and the world (we're all doing the best we can!)
4. Listen to – and try to understand – other perspectives, regardless of how different
5. Give the benefit of the doubt
6. Express your true self in thoughts and actions, gently and honestly (and free others to do the same!)
7. Share your negative thoughts and emotions
8. Celebrate the success and happiness of other people
9. Feel fear and defeat, and keep persevering anyway
10. Follow your dreams and desires

You're not positive when you:

1. Ignore your dark side and weaknesses (and then act them out)
2. Focus on other people's mistakes and weaknesses
3. Obsess about being perfect; whether it's at work, at home, or with your appearance (or other people's!)
4. Try to change other people's perspectives and opinions
5. Try to please people constantly and ignore your own needs
6. Let other people's moods and energy dictate your own
7. Swallow your negative thoughts and emotions
8. Resent the successes and joys of others
9. Allow fear and cynicism to harden your heart and color your perspective
10. Ignore your goals, plans, and passions

Perfection and popularity

Positive people are determined to do their best, and to see the best in the world around them. They don’t focus on “should have” or idealized, perfect expectations that are impossible to live up to. They have an open heart and a sense of humor. They don't care about being popular or keeping up with the Jones's – and they stay in touch with their hearts and souls.

Failures and disagreements

Positive people make mistakes and own up to them. They keep lines of communication open, opting for discussion and connection – and they're satisfied with “agreeing to disagree.” Neither failures nor disagreements faze them, because they know they're part of living and working with humans!

Written by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen