Man...my first official official drinking session has begun...

Went to meet a friend from out of town. He used to work in Shanghai and is now posted to New York. Was back in Shanghai for some work and I'm lucky to have caught hold of him...The venue is the Cash Box KTV place...

When I arrived there, it is all good...until they say I have to drink!!! especially given that I am coming to Shanghai to work. Damn...this time, there was simply no way out. Back in INSEAD, it was easy...could just escape out and know that I will see my friends again. Or that I would be taking photos around the parties...This time, no such avenues presented itself...

And so I drank. I believe it was a concoction of whisky and green tea. Dunno why people like the taste of alcohol...anyway, thank God. I was not drunk...it reached a point where when I closed my eyes to rest, my head will spin, but if my eyes were open, I would be fine.........

Anyway, there you go. I have drank. I'm sure there are some people that must be very excited to read this....hahaha.

Attica in Shanghai...

My first party in Shanghai...Went there with my friend from university days and met up with his friends too...

Having NOT gone to the one in Singapore, I cannot do a comparison between the two places. But having been to Bar Rouge, this Attica is much bigger than that one. According to the cab driver on my way back, Attica is the biggest nightclub in terms of size right now.

The crowd...wow, a lot of different people i.e, foreigners. And then you have your crowd of asian females over there too. Makes for very interesting interaction. Maybe I am being too honest or cynical here...The foreigners go there to look for girls. The asian girls go there to look for foreigners. Perfect combination. People like my friend and I, we are like stuck in the middle, neither here or there. In fact, one foreigner even attempted to pick p my friend's friend. So that's the impression that the foreigners get in places like Attica.

Oh well...life's like that. Just happy to observe this first hand in Shanghai now, despite reading about it on various web sites.

Hooray...

I got my first job offer 2 days ago. Right now, I am still debating over the offer. The company is good...I like the people that I'm going to work with. The role that they want me for is interesting. But the only downside, in my opinion, is the package.

Definitely I should not be expecting expat package...but at the same time, there are certain things lacking in the package. Time to put my negotiation skills to work now........and earn back a bit of my MBA investment.

Haha.

Yet more thoughts on job search. My brain keeps turning around and around, and this is when I don't even have a job offer on hand...weird huh...

As people have seen me on skype or msn, the nick has been job or career.
What do I value more? A job or a career?

My friend asks, what's the difference. A job is something that you do to just bring in the money. It is probably something that you have done well and should continue exploiting that ability. A career is your aspiration. The best combination is that your career is your job, but sometimes it may not be the case.

Take myself for example...right now, I have neither a job nor a career. Should I head back to doing what I was good at (software development, or dealing with things that I have done before)? That advantages of doing that is to bring in some money at the moment...and I can have more time outside of work to pursue what I want to do...or should I just go ahead and venture forth in a different direction/industry/scope and hope to make something out of that?

Everyday I wonder...and I don't even have a job offer yet. Weird huh...as my friend would say, just try for everything and see what happens. Only thing is that to try for everything requires a lot of effort into researching that industry/role to prepare for the interview. sigh...so I keep wondering and wondering...............

Shanghai...

This is probably one of my last stops in my search for a job. After this, if I cannot find something, it is either the States or Singapore for me. No idea as to my preference...

Have been doing more thinking and wonder what should I do...But for some reason, I feel a sense of optimism at least when I am in Shanghai. I just hope that I can find something...

At least one can point to the fact that Shanghai is as smoky as Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Nothing much to compare. The costs are definitely lower in China than in Hong Kong. Comparatively 15 rmb for a McChicken Meal versus 24 hkd in Hong Kong. That's quite substantial huh...Ever since I learn about the Big Mac index, I have been checking out the local McDonalds to figure out what's the local living costs... :)

I did meet up with a bunch of INSEAD friends...What can I say? Their very presences made me feel that I'm not alone in Shanghai...How comforting...

If there's one thing that INSEAD has helped me, it has certainly brought the whole world into my life, having friends in almost every single country in the world. You can never beat that with any OTHER mba programs in the world.

Incidentally, INSEAD's ranking has dropped to 6th in the Business Week rankings. On one hand, I wonder at how the rankings were done and on the other hand, I am glad that it has happened because perhaps this would be the only way to make the administration take note and do more to improve INSEAD. Compared to how a US business school is, I sincerely believe that INSEAD is really lacking.

What is a job......?

During my search for that elusive job, I have been getting different opinions as to what a job is. A job can be...in no particular order

1: something that you enjoy doing.

The people that believe in this, are those people that try to make work as part of their lives. If they are going to invest so much time in their lives in their jobs, it better be something that they like to do.

2: something that just puts $$$ on the table

It is true. All jobs theoretically should put $$$ on the table. There are definitely people that have families to take care of and hence a job is more about just doing something so that one can bring in money to support the families. And in the words of my friend, "achieve financial freedom and then you can really go and do what you want to do in life".

3: something that will make a difference in the world

These are probably the people that have ideals and want to help the world. They would make their jobs a medium by which they can achieve their goals and ideals in life.

Who do I belong to???

I was at 3...am tryng to combine 3 and 1...but more and more, I may be forced into 2...

As my other friend would say...

"Very few people get to do what they really want in life. Most people get to do what they have and need to do"

For those who know me, they know that I have been out of a job since my graduation from MBA school...and I am still looking for a job right now...

The process has been very humbling, and also letting me understand more about myself and more about what I want to do and what I DO NOT want to do. And every day, I would revisit the decisions that I have made with regards to what I do not want to do...and sometimes consessions would be made.

It has also let me understand more about the realitites of the world. Understand that I have been blessed with a job before college graduation, so job search was not necessary. And........now there's this job search thing that I have to do, writing cover letters, CVs, networking...all totally new to me (in some ways).

And here's what I have learnt...may be true, may be false.

Hiring companies like to put you back at where you come from, for that's where your value lies. Only certain companies like consulting and banking institutions are willing to take risks on you, but even then, getting into them is not an easy task.

Life's just like that. I had it too easy and now I'm going through the hardship...Been blessed with a group of friends that have encouraged and helped me along the way. And I certainly hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel............