This write up is rather anti climatic from my last one as it is no longer about having fun or meeting odd individuals. It is vis-à-vis my work. I can almost feel my readers’ enthusiasm for this write up declining akin to the performance of the Dow Jones for the past week.
Nonetheless, three weeks ago I decided to pause for a moment from my day to day responsibilities and chart out the journey I took since joining a consulting firm since 2001. My career started in Malaysia and within two months after joining the firm, I traveled to St. Charles, IL for company training purposes. From thereon, I was working on projects local to Malaysia and I could vividly remember the experience I gathered from my first assignment.
Being a newbie in the workforce at 23, I not only began to understand the work culture in my firm but my ex-coworkers around me. Taking my work seriously, staying focused and delivering the best I could was my priority. It was however misconstrued as anti-social and presenting a hard time to my supervisor then. Asking questions to further my understanding was also an issue and I was reprimanded for doing so. For my first assignment, I was in fact working with a highly sensitive supervisor and teammates with the clique mentally to boot. Hence, I kept a low profile, followed orders without reasons or questions while delivering my work the best I could. Conformity ensured a smooth sailing environment in that particular project thereafter.
An eye opener and a lesson well learnt albeit the hard way. As my first assignment came to an end, I was more than happy to move on and hoped that I will not have to work with them again. My prayers were answered as my subsequent ex-coworkers were normal. Needless to say, I had an enjoyable time collaborating with them.
Believing that I will develop my career solely in Malaysia, I received an unexpected phone call two years later about an opportunity to be staffed in Hartford, CT. Long story short, I seized the opportunity and the four months in CT stretched to eight months and eventually became five years. As today stands, I am still with the same firm, relocated to New York City and currently residing in CT.
Why the relocation?
For my line of work where a system that encourages fair selection of vendors and a work culture that encourages ideas, team effort as well as positive improvements, it was only logical. The plus point would be the ability to ask questions that did not result in getting a smack on the hand ;).
During these five years I was mostly in Hartford, CT for work related purposes. There were occasions where I flew to Chicago, North Carolina and San Mateo. My latest stint is The Commonwealth of Kentucky :).
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. It is one of the four US states to be officially known as commonwealth. Kentucky is also known as the ‘Bluegrass State’ as it has many lawns and pastures throughout. I have read that Kentucky is a land with diverse environments, abundant resources, the world’s longest cave system, greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the lower 48 states and the two largest man-make lakes east of the Mississippi River (phew…that was a mouthful). Another glaring attribute is that Kentucky has the most productive coalfield ($$$$).
Reading up on a destination is not the same as going there. Weeks ago I took my first flight out from White Plains, NY to Frankfort, KY.
Having slept at ungodly hours for months and countless hand action on the snooze button, I finally manage to peel myself from my airbed (long story) at 4.30 am to get ready for my 5.30 am pickup. Zombie like I showered, dressed for work, packed my luggage and made my way out of the apartment. Approximately 45 minutes later I was at the airport where I checked in, did a mini striptease at the security and finally lounged at the boarding area.
As I kept my eyes close to nap which proved to be an unsuccessful attempt before boarding the plane, I was silently hoping that my flights will be on time. Flight cancellations and delays are so common these days that it is unbecoming of the FAA and US airline industry. While the travelers are complaining, I do not believe that they are genuinely concerned. When an announcement was made that my flight was going to be delayed for approximately 20 minutes, I was not surprise at all.
Miraculously the plane reached Cincinnati, OH 10 minutes early thereby giving me slightly more time for connection which was a little less than 30 minutes. Little did I know, the connection required a terminal change i.e. from Terminal A to Terminal C. Upon deplaning, I rushed to the shuttle bus to make it to the designated terminal. I made my connection and was on my way to Lexington, KY in a tiny regional jet. Despite numerous occasions flying, I do not enjoy it. My body is not accustomed to flying and the effects are uncomfortable. With this little regional jet, I was immediately sickened. Thankfully it was a mere 25 minutes flight. After arriving at the Blue Grass Airport, I collected my travel bag, headed towards the rental car and drove to work.
Nonetheless, three weeks ago I decided to pause for a moment from my day to day responsibilities and chart out the journey I took since joining a consulting firm since 2001. My career started in Malaysia and within two months after joining the firm, I traveled to St. Charles, IL for company training purposes. From thereon, I was working on projects local to Malaysia and I could vividly remember the experience I gathered from my first assignment.
Being a newbie in the workforce at 23, I not only began to understand the work culture in my firm but my ex-coworkers around me. Taking my work seriously, staying focused and delivering the best I could was my priority. It was however misconstrued as anti-social and presenting a hard time to my supervisor then. Asking questions to further my understanding was also an issue and I was reprimanded for doing so. For my first assignment, I was in fact working with a highly sensitive supervisor and teammates with the clique mentally to boot. Hence, I kept a low profile, followed orders without reasons or questions while delivering my work the best I could. Conformity ensured a smooth sailing environment in that particular project thereafter.
An eye opener and a lesson well learnt albeit the hard way. As my first assignment came to an end, I was more than happy to move on and hoped that I will not have to work with them again. My prayers were answered as my subsequent ex-coworkers were normal. Needless to say, I had an enjoyable time collaborating with them.
Believing that I will develop my career solely in Malaysia, I received an unexpected phone call two years later about an opportunity to be staffed in Hartford, CT. Long story short, I seized the opportunity and the four months in CT stretched to eight months and eventually became five years. As today stands, I am still with the same firm, relocated to New York City and currently residing in CT.
Why the relocation?
For my line of work where a system that encourages fair selection of vendors and a work culture that encourages ideas, team effort as well as positive improvements, it was only logical. The plus point would be the ability to ask questions that did not result in getting a smack on the hand ;).
During these five years I was mostly in Hartford, CT for work related purposes. There were occasions where I flew to Chicago, North Carolina and San Mateo. My latest stint is The Commonwealth of Kentucky :).
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. It is one of the four US states to be officially known as commonwealth. Kentucky is also known as the ‘Bluegrass State’ as it has many lawns and pastures throughout. I have read that Kentucky is a land with diverse environments, abundant resources, the world’s longest cave system, greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the lower 48 states and the two largest man-make lakes east of the Mississippi River (phew…that was a mouthful). Another glaring attribute is that Kentucky has the most productive coalfield ($$$$).
Reading up on a destination is not the same as going there. Weeks ago I took my first flight out from White Plains, NY to Frankfort, KY.
Having slept at ungodly hours for months and countless hand action on the snooze button, I finally manage to peel myself from my airbed (long story) at 4.30 am to get ready for my 5.30 am pickup. Zombie like I showered, dressed for work, packed my luggage and made my way out of the apartment. Approximately 45 minutes later I was at the airport where I checked in, did a mini striptease at the security and finally lounged at the boarding area.
As I kept my eyes close to nap which proved to be an unsuccessful attempt before boarding the plane, I was silently hoping that my flights will be on time. Flight cancellations and delays are so common these days that it is unbecoming of the FAA and US airline industry. While the travelers are complaining, I do not believe that they are genuinely concerned. When an announcement was made that my flight was going to be delayed for approximately 20 minutes, I was not surprise at all.
Miraculously the plane reached Cincinnati, OH 10 minutes early thereby giving me slightly more time for connection which was a little less than 30 minutes. Little did I know, the connection required a terminal change i.e. from Terminal A to Terminal C. Upon deplaning, I rushed to the shuttle bus to make it to the designated terminal. I made my connection and was on my way to Lexington, KY in a tiny regional jet. Despite numerous occasions flying, I do not enjoy it. My body is not accustomed to flying and the effects are uncomfortable. With this little regional jet, I was immediately sickened. Thankfully it was a mere 25 minutes flight. After arriving at the Blue Grass Airport, I collected my travel bag, headed towards the rental car and drove to work.
Gate B7/B9 at Blue Grass Airport (LEX)
Traveling on a Monday taught me well. First of all, heels are painful and time consuming when one had to rush to make a connection especially when the initial flight is delayed. Dragging two travel bags towards the rental car in heels is also another reason not to dress up for work until one gets to the workplace. This is only applicable to ladies who travel for work and has the love for heels. I have ever since dressed in casual clothes and sneakers on a Monday morning. Of course there was an episode where my travel bag with all my clothes did not reach the destination with me….sigh. You can well imagine what that was like and definitely deserves a write up by itself.
Nonetheless, my first drive in Kentucky was nothing but pleasant. The speed limit was 55 mph and 70 mph on state and interstate roads respectively. Everybody was driving without a care in the world. The view was exceptionally gorgeous along highway 60 when I drove past Ashford Stud. I see some horses, ‘moo moos’, rolls of hay and flat green pastures along the way.
In fact, I look forward to driving highway 60 every week and I am sure there is more to discover in the land of bourbon, whiskey, tobacco, gambling and horse racing. At the meantime, enjoy the pictures.
Nonetheless, my first drive in Kentucky was nothing but pleasant. The speed limit was 55 mph and 70 mph on state and interstate roads respectively. Everybody was driving without a care in the world. The view was exceptionally gorgeous along highway 60 when I drove past Ashford Stud. I see some horses, ‘moo moos’, rolls of hay and flat green pastures along the way.
In fact, I look forward to driving highway 60 every week and I am sure there is more to discover in the land of bourbon, whiskey, tobacco, gambling and horse racing. At the meantime, enjoy the pictures.
Highway 60
Another shot of Highway 60
A Glimpse of Ashford Stud
Driving into the capital
Scenic stop just before entering the capital
Kentucky State Capitol
Kentucky Department of Revenue
1 comment:
Hi Sharon,
Your blog post popped up in my google reader search.
Glad to hear your enjoying Kentucky. It really is a beautiful place. I actually worked for one a competing consulting firm in NYC for quite a while.
It's a great learning experience, but I yearned to get back to Kentucky and ended up landing in health care.
If you plan to pick up a few bourbons harder to get up north, I'd be happy to make a few recommendations. Alternatively, you can read a few bourbon reviews I wrote, as well.
Anyway, enjoy your time here. Try to squeeze in a trip to the Four Roses and Buffalo Trace bourbon distilleries if you can. Both are off of Hwy 60 (in Versailles & Frankfort, respectively).
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