My Market Value

I am checking out my market value recently in the job market. I am looking for an opportunity to change my present job. I have setup an Linkin account, wrote my CV and even sent out a few applications. Till date, only one company came back asking me if I am interested to have an interview with the hiring managers if they can at best match my present remuneration. "Hell YES!" I am desperate for a change of job! I am totally sick of my job! I want a change! Or do I? The problem with change is that there are so many uncertainties and so many risks involved. Can I afford to lose my present income? Am I up for new challenges that will take away more family time, more brain cells, more hair and give me back more wrinkles and blurry eyes instead? I really cannot give an affirmative answer...

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

Actually what I love to do most is to be with my baby J, play with him, teach him new tricks, snuggle up beside him and sleep with him. If I can do that everyday, that will be just wonderful! But then, I want to have a fulfilling job as well, one that not only pays well but also let me have a sense of accomplishment and also expose me to new challenges and let me acquire new knowledge/skills, etc. Sadly, my present job doesn't do that for me any more. It pays me quite well but I do not learn much from the job, I have already progressed much ahead of it, or so I think. Anyway, I went to see a recruitment consultant and she said that to be honest, many employers do not like to see candidates with more than 10 years in a company because they tend to think that these candidates will not be easily adaptable and do not have enough exposure and experience to bring to their companies, which I agree totally. My company is not using SAP or Oracle or any of the common WMS that most companies are using, we developed an ERP system in-house, we are unique, we do not outsource as well...so the skills that I acquired here will not apply to other companies out there! And the longer I stay here, my market value will depreciate further!

What I love about my hubby...

We were watching "Just Go With It" last night on HBO and I particularly like the part when the two main casts, Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston were asked to say the things that they love about each other. It was so romantic! I asked my hubby immediately if he can say things like that when asked the same, he thought for a moment, chuckled and leaned over to give me a kiss on my face. Nope, he couldn't. And I started to wonder to myself..."What about me?" So I decided that I shall start thinking seriously all the things, small and big that I love about my hubby and start putting them down!

1) I love the way he looks and smells.  

2) I love his panda eyes and how our son resembles him.

3) I love that we can talk about anything and everything unpretentiously.

4) I love that I always know what he was going to say before he said it and he will be like "Damn!  How did you do that?!"

5) I love that he accepts me as who I am and never try to change me.

6) I love that he will wake up in the middle of the night, kiss me, fondle me and then goes back to sleep and not remembering any of that the next morning!

7) I love that he can always point out my mistakes at bowling but then when I bowl well, he doesn't take the credit but just jokes "that's not my wife!" 

8) I love that out of the blue he will have some crazy cravings for some foods so randomly.

9) I love that he is always so amazed or proud of his crap literally.

10) I love his sense of humour and jokes, never fail to make me laugh or roll my eyes.

11) I love to run my hands through his thick hair and loose my fingers in them.

12) I love that he doesn't snore when he sleeps.

13) I love how he cried when his pet lobster died. He hadn't even dare pick that little fellow up once with his bare hands when it was alive! LOL!

14) I love how he also loves dogs like I do and how he had chosen Coffee.

15) I love the way he speaks Cantonese.

16) I love how he can make old folks like him.

17) I love how he is such a buddy with D, especially when it comes to eating all kinds of junk foods together.

18) I love that we MSN each other everyday while at work.

And the list will go on...but most important of all, I love the way he makes me feel...like I can be a better person as long as he is with me. 

Dilemma of a mother

With my baby growing up so fast and me being stuck in a job with no prospects and job satisfaction, I am in a dilemma  again as to whether I should go out and look for another job with better prospects and pay or should I just stay put and try to spend more time with my baby... It's never easy being a mother, especially a working mother. I admire so many of my friends who have the same educational background as me or even higher and yet they chose to stay home after becoming a mother. Honestly, I have never been a good mother in that sense, I have not stayed home for both my elder children and left all the mothering duties to my mother who has been a homemaker most of her life. A small part of me regrets not spending enough time with both of them but I know that I can never be the stay-at-home mum. And I am not that type of mother who is overly concern about my children's academic results. I just want them to grow up healthy and do whatever their interests lead them. Thank God that even though I have not always been there for both of them, they both grow up relatively well.

Ever since I became mother again to baby J, I have been contemplating about the option of staying at home more and taking care of baby J by myself. My mum is getting too old to take care of another grand kid full time, my MIL is helping me take care of J but she is not entirely happy doing it as she is also not the homely type. She wants to run her own business, so she has been urging me to send J to the childcare. And so I started looking around for a good childcare for J but most of the childcare centers around my place is full! I have to put J on the wait list! And I thought the government says that we are not having enough babies? They are not providing enough childcare centers! Anyway, after web-shopping around for preschool/childcare for J, I realized that some of the prestigious ones can cost up to $18,000/year! That's as expensive as going to University! I wonder what they teach the children? How are they different from the others?