I’m flying 4 different states in US in this month long trip. Technically 32 days if I include the time taken to fly to and fro. I went with 39.6kg for 2 checkin luggage and I wonder how much I will come back with.

US is so big that I am in 4 different timezones in 4 different states. I started my trip in Chicago for a work conference, then flying to New York City for holiday. Then I went to San Francisco to visit my friend, Gulabi, and also chill/vacation before heading to Scottsdale for work. Definitely counting my blessings and feeling thankful for the opportunities although I can’t help but to feel lonely at times and missing my Singaporean food. I definitely lost weight because my belt size has downsize by 1 hole within the first week. Now it is the end of the second week and I am like at the same belt hole (which is also the smallest) but I am feeling it is a bit loose… I got the 90cm length 13mm belt just last month and now I am regretting because I should have gotten the 85cm one. Hmm, maybe I need to get another one at 80cm. Sigh, the belts are expensive even though it works pretty well. I just spent thousands on 2 Canada Goose winter coats though. Oh well, if I am going to get another belt, I probably will get in NRT airport. But I am not sure how fast I will gain back the weight and my belly fats again. Aiyo. The food choices in US is making me lose weight too quickly liao lah.

I’m on my second business trip for the year and yes, I am back to US again. This time it is earlier than the usual time because I managed to get selected for the last minute slots available for Grace Hopper conference in Chicago this year. So I am flying to US earlier and staying for a month until I am done with all the work required in US. Technically I can fly twice for conference and work but nope, I am not subjecting myself to such long hours of flight 2 times in a month. Lol. Doing that for twice a year is already making me question reality. It’s a blessing to represent my company in both Women in Cybersecurity and Grace Hopper conferences this year. I’m thankful for the opportunity but a part of me is like…. Why am I doing this to myself because I really do not like long and numerous flights… I had 8 flights when I flew to US in April and now another 8 flights in November. Well, at least it is a month duration so it is not as jam packed.

However it is also because it is 1 month long that makes me quite anxious. It is my first time preparing to fly while staying by myself. It is also my first time leaving my house unattended for more than a day. Maybe I should have tried something like 1 week vacation first before doing this 1 month business and vacation trip.

I haven’t got chance to blog about my trip in April and I don’t think I blog about my last November trip and now I am off to US agin. Wah everything is very delayed… This time round I will be in 4 states/cities in 1 month, starting Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and finally ending in Phoenix. Yup, that’s like east coast to west coast then centre of US. Quite like an US tour. Now I feel like some singer/musician flying around for tour performances. 😀 Nope, I have not change my job hahaha.

I am going to Chicago for conference then work for a few days in Chicago office before starting my vacation in New York City and San Francisco. Then I have to head to Phoenix to work in the Scottsdale office before heading back to Singapore. Well, I have to take vacation in the middle because I am only expected to be in Scottsdale on end of November and my conference is on the start of November in Chicago. I do want to visit New York City again, in particularly Central Park since I wasn’t able to explore more of Central Park last November. I was having a massive blood flow from my menses – like need to change my pad every 30 mins. So I got no choice but to listen to my body and cut short my Central Park exploration. Very glad that I am going back now again.

I finally finished my HBS Online Leadership Principles course and is waiting for my certificate of completion. It’s my first time taking a business related course and it came from Harvard Business School. 😀 Haha I’m feeling proud for sure.

I fell sick yesterday. I spent most of the day sleeping and now I’m not feeling that sleepy to sleep. I will be back to work tomorrow though so I do need to sleep earlier. I think I have been lacking sleep due to the amount of housework and my new job responsibilities.

Well, I got promoted to MTS2, or rather Career Ladder 7 (the new terminology) after close to 5 years. That also helps to reduce some of the financial burden I have since a job promotion means more salary. Haha.

I need to prioritise my sleep more and stay healthy. Being sick while staying alone is especially lonely. In fact, staying alone is already quite lonely. Oh well. Today I realised the single lady owner of another unit in my floor is renting out 1 of her bedrooms to another female tenant. I’m surprised that she can somehow manage to store all her stuff in 1 bedroom when I am struggling with 2 bedrooms and to store all my stuff. Lololol. Well, she has 2 toilets for her house since she got the bigger unit while I have only 1 toilet. At least I can still sustain for now. Hopefully I can sustain without the need to rent out any of my rooms because I am really struggling with space.

One of my neighbours who is staying in a 4 bedder in the same condo project as me is renting out 1 of their bedrooms to a male tenant. They are a family of 4 and they are also renting out a room. I realised the ability to not need to rent out is a good spot to have. Privacy is really a privilege.

New month, new course. 

Actually, the course started last month. This is my first experience meeting classmates virtually from such diverse backgrounds, with a notable number hailing from the Middle East. I found that the perspectives shared are quite different from those I have encountered growing up in a small but developed country, Singapore.

It was also an eye-opening experience to enhance my leadership skills. I have been leading the innovation4good program for close to a year now. It is a program whereby people of different backgrounds come together to brainstorm ideas to aim for patents. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get patents so far but I definitely increase my outreach and more people are joining on a regular basis. I must say I have been feeling imposter syndrome but I managed to get past it after some time. It’s just like how I have this imposter syndrome when I first started work in PayPal. It’s been nearly 5 years now and I have received my promotion. It was my second job promotion ever since I have started work. 🙂

Looking back at my own career journey so far, it’s been quite a journey. All these have shaped me for who I am and how my leadership style will be.

I’m not sure where my next steps of my career will lead me to but I am open for more opportunities. Yes to potentially relocation. No to running away from relocating to US after so long. I even changed job back in 2017/2018 to avoid potentially relocating to San Francisco… Well, 8 years later, I’m finally ready for the decision. Can’t help to say that part of the ready-ness came from the peace I have living alone and also settled my first house.