Since transitioning to my new environment nearly 10 months ago, I've never once looked back. Repeat it with me now: never! The serene atmosphere of my current surroundings has prompted me to pen down this blog post, capturing the essence of my newfound positive lifestyle.
Reflecting back on the past, it's astonishing how much my physical health was affected by my previous workplace environment. Almost overnight, my scalp became excessively oily and flaky. It reached a breaking point last December, on none other than Taylor Swift's birthday, when I decided to take matters into my own hands and shave my head. As my hair began to regrow rapidly and luxuriantly, I couldn't help but marvel at its thickness. Yet, this newfound growth came at a cost—I ended up spending close to SGD $2K attempting to remedy the hair loss that plagued me from 2022 to 2023. Unfortunately, my efforts only led to my hair becoming thinner and oilier, with unsightly bald patches dotting my scalp. It's a stark reminder of the unhealthy environment I endured for far too long.
However, dwelling on the past won't change anything. Instead, I choose to focus on the future with optimism and anticipation. I eagerly await the day when my hair fully regains its former glory, and I can once again feel like a true goddess. πππ
Of course, every cloud has its silver lining, and even my bald head and petite, chubby physique have their perks. Admittedly, dresses may not be my best look right now, but that's a small price to pay for the newfound comfort and confidence I've discovered in my preferred attire: comfy tees and shorts. Long pants have never been my cup of tea, anyway!
In conclusion, I'll leave it at that for now. Here's to wishing everyone a fantastic day filled with productivity and positivity!
Before I named myself Charlin back in 2008, I made sure to google the name first and no one was using this name. It is supposed to be unique as there is a reason how my middle is spelt. Char - Char Si Lang (ε΅ζ»δΊΊ in hokkien) and Lin comes from my chinese name. I wrote a blogpost for this in 2008. The meaning of my name - Charlin aligned with my formal name - Shirley. It was elegant and creative.
I cleaned up my blog shortly after I went to work in SI company, my first job after graduating in Polytechnic in 2017. Hence the first blog post in this blog became 2012, the same year I officially started - SHIRLEY CHARLIN.
I set my blog and a few social media profiles to private for six years due to clauses in my permanent employment contract regarding our personal social media accounts. We need to show the HR if we have public social media account and required to close it if higher management did not approve it. There were sharing from former employees that uncivilized/ no-progression people working in the company have too little work during official working hours so they will go out to invade your privacy. They are usually the ones who had been in the company longer than their reporting supervisor. The reporting supervisor will listen to whatever make-up stories of you from anything does not matter if it is true or they had witness it. The fear of invasion of privacy from uncivilized individuals in the workplace who had too much time on their hands fueled my decision.
Fast forward 15 years, I have came to realise that my middle name is no longer unique, even in Singapore. The first indication of this shift came when I stumbled upon a LinkedIn profile belonging to another individual with the same spelling of Charlin, coincidentally with the surname Lee—a high-ranking employee at A* Star. Her profile is impressive. It was a surreal moment, imagining a scenario where our paths might cross professionally. If I became her colleague or research student? Will Charlin One be me or her?
So funny.
After seeing my name on LinkedIn profile, I went to search social media account handle with just "Charlin" as the keyword. Oh my, there are three Charlins now. If there are more after this post, it only means I still have readers and my blogposts are still interesting.
I really love my middle name, and so I decided to register it in legal papers. However, even this endeavor proved to be challenging, as I discovered that the name Charlin had already been claimed by a company named Charlin Holdings, which emerged during the Covid pandemic. Thanks for helping me to save thousands of dollars. Still, I really want my name back.
I thought my middle name Charlin will be unique forever, but nope. π
Sharing a Malaysian Talk Show I have just watched from YouTube. The open debate started with a question :"Should worker be paid for overtime?"
This topic is a serious matter, as we all need to pay our bills. The participants in this talk show voiced their own opinions in a very balanced conclusion. Team Boss agreed that employees should work overtime because they get to pick up practical skills when they are really working. They should be open to this and not only ask about overtime pay.
Both parties did mention how the company knows if the employee is actually working for the company when they are doing overtime.
This is a good counter-debate question, as I have witnessed my peers in the first corporate job I worked for using company resources for their own benefit—passive income (not referring to stock investment). It was obvious during COVID that there are some who do drop-shipping but use their company laptop. Printing their own using company resources For no reason, and I did not ask, they would "share with me out of kindness" and complain to me that they are not paid enough when the company earns so much.
I really do not need to know, and I will not be surprised that they are reading my blog to know where I am working now. Don't you find yourself rude?
They can just be shareholders and buy a portion of the company's stock to pay back. Life can be simple and less political if you are not happy with your work and the salary; you just need to find a new one! The difference in the amount of salary your employer has to pay in your employer's CFP the older the employer.
Imagine if you are an employer. Don't you want to earn more?
The second question was "You can only be rich if you are a boss".
It is not true; there are many companies out there that have closed down. Are you sure the directors will know that one day their company will close? Nope, until they try.
With the rise of marketing and social media, there are a lot of online marketing freelancers with registered companies. How many are just passive-income partnerships? You would not know because you need their services. Maybe?
All you need to do is try.
There are employees who are much better than their bosses. I believe you agree with me.
Lastly, "The economy is influenced by the environment".The wealthy should pay more taxes. Yes, this is to balance the economic flow between high and low incomes. The host spoke about why the lucky ones need to help others.
At my last company, there were people who thought they needed to pay more taxes because they owned more than one property. Hello! ARE YOU SHOWING OFF!? The more you earn, the more tax you will "donate" back to the community. In return, you are helping one kid or more get out of poverty because their parents can't. This is just to balance out the poor and rich.
Why can't their parents get themselves out of poverty? They are just simple-minded workmen who only think about easy money, and they just want their kids to do the same: get a job faster and then take care of them. Work is all that is required; no advanced education is required. Their next generation will do the same. Their children are their wealth. They have plans to do nothing for their children but expect them to take care of their retirement.
The old-fashioned mindset apparently still exists in my environment. The hard truth assumption is: " How you behave yourself outside is how you behave at home." If this assumption is so true, then whoever said this to you, especially if she or he is your boss, This is not the company you will want to stay with.
Thank you for reading my 30-cent thoughts.
Yours Sincerely,
Shirley Charlin ζ
Updated my grammar because my reader friends cannot stand them.
