p/s: This is my longest posting ever. Equivalent to 5 years of summarization of my career life in my current organisation. I suggest you grab a bottle of cold beer and some pistachios with dried pork meat while reading my ramblings.

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Goodbye my comrades! As I bid farewell to our current battlefield, I am joining a new battlefield to fight in a different “war”. I wish you all great success in your conquest with your new emperor! I am now returning to our mothership to fight a new war. May the force be with you!

I’ve never blog about my work but the sad feeling of leaving the team somehow urged me to write something. I liken my situation with Steven Gerrard’s when he turned down Chelsea’s offers in the summers of 2004 and 2005. Twice in my five years affair I wanted to leave the team but made a U-turn at the 11^th hour. The only difference now is Stevie would remain in Liverpool till the end of his career but I had finally made a decision to actually move on. Two reasons why my move is sentimental; Firstly, I’m leaving a team that I’ve grew up with for the past five years, that I was instrumental in the setting up of the new GDIM team and contributed in making sure that it reached operational stability. Secondly, it is with sorrow that I’ve to part way from the IT industry for good in order to explore something new and more challenging. Hopefully a greener pasture awaits me in my conquest to achieve my long term vision.

I joined my team back in June 2003. People come and go including my bosses but I had remained loyal till today. Some of my former colleagues in my Follow-the-Sun IMG days and other observers (read:busy bodies) called me stupid. Some said I’ve nowhere to go hence I’m stuck in the team forever. Some said that I’ve became complacent with what I’m doing. Well, those were cakap-cakap belakang (read: bitch moaning). F@#$ them!!! They only dare to talk behind my back but never dare to confront me. I stayed, they moved on, so what’s the big deal? Some of those who moved on to their new jobs, collided with dead ends a couple of years later. No career growth, no promotion. I on the other hand, made the right decision to hang on with the bright side. Comes June 3rd 2008, it’ll be my full fifth year with the organisation. I’ve enjoyed tremendous career growth! Started as a machai (read: coolie) engineer, I had climbed the rank as a senior before moving on as a lead. A few months running as lead I jumped into doing a coordinator job, that had me realigned my career from a fully technical function to a management-advisory role. I became the de-facto taiko (read: big brother) in the team. Five years on the job, I’ve also enjoyed three job group promotions and two major salary reviews. For two consecutive years, I’ve hit top rating in my Individual Performance Factor (IPF) which means fat bonus. But I’m still the hardworking idiot always striving for perfection. Who’s the loser now???

To the real loser who always talk behind my back, what’s your achievement? I’ve got a new house, I’ve changed to a new car, I’m married to a pretty wife, I invest in shares, I have my own company but look at you … you’re still driving your over pimped Proton, renting a house with your womanising friends and still searching for the perfect wife you used to tell us. But hey, wait a minute didn’t you had to hire an ugly “girlfriend” when you were in Thailand because you were lonely? Btw, please buy some new shirts for clubbing. I’m sick of the white cotton shirt.

Enough of side-punching, let’s get back on the topic. I bid farewell to my current team with a really, really heavy, heavy heart. A team of young and promising talents that I had helped build during T3 migration project in 2005. I was instrumental with the project because I championed the onboarding and training of these (then new) guys. I helped the management to get the team to reach operational stability. I grew up and become matured with these new breed of network engineers. Some are far better and highly technical than me. But I remained modest because modesty is my natural behaviour. My current boss always remind me not to be too modest of myself, that I should be bold to tell people about my good qualities and my strengths if I want to survive and be able to sell myself to the market. I took his advise and that’s how I managed to secure my new job.

Talking about the boss, Mr. MC is the best boss I ever had throughout my career. The next best bosses I ever work with were Swedish, Mr. Bjorne Wollman when I was in Ericsson and Malaysian, Mr. Khairuddin Abd. Rahman (Kdin) from Smart. Under Bjorne, I learnt how to be a good listener while Kdin thought me life from a businessman and a company director’s perspective. MC is different! He’s English and he’s a man who keeps to his words. Having been living in England for a few years, my father once shared with me about the English people. He said the English people are solicitous. Yet, once they know you and trust you, they’re very warm and friendly people. I followed my father’s advise. I keep the trust MC had on me and never had I misuse or abuse that trust. Mentored by MC, I had improved my skills, knowledge and confidence. He had raised my soft skills especially influencing and managing people skills to the next level. MC had been responsible for making me becoming very visible in the organisation. Boss, I know you’d read this, from the bottom of my heart, I’d like to sincerely thank you for all the knowledge and advise that you’ve imparted to me in just less than two years that I’ve been working with you. This is not for schmoozing you but a personal acknowledgement for what you’ve done to help me becoming who and where I am. I hope we’ll still keep in touch after this. I wish you great success in your next journey. Who knows, you’ll become the country chairman with the new organisation.

To my team and colleagues, I know that I’m notorious at times, being the serious person I am but all was done professionally with no personal intention or whatsoever. I am still the kind-hearted person as I always be. Hope we’ll continue to keep in touch through this blog, email or via SMS/phone calls. Don’t forget me if there’s ever another drunken session.

Allow me to sign out with these simple words, “THANK YOU and GOODBYE!”