[2057] Enfin après la covid

As you can see from the jump in numbers in the title, I have drafted a few posts in between but somehow got lost somewhere in the daily hustle in finishing up the posts. The last published post was in 2020 when Covid-19 started and here we are, finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when Covid is almost an endemic. Indoor mask-wearing is not necessary and only in public transport and healthcare setting it is still compulsory. Also, suddenly the younger kid is almost K1 and the elder kid is P5 next year! Where did all the time go?!

In our household - the kids have caught covid this year but the adults still have not - which is quite surprising but maybe being not a very affectionate mum helps? I think the younger child might have caught covid twice in fact, but we will never know. She has a covid type cough since June but she caught it in Feb and was actually ok until June when she got this horrible sore throat and couldn't even eat much for a week or so, after which a persistent cough especially in her sleep. She has finally stopped coughing in her sleep for the past week - which translates to better sleep for me since we sleep together (another surprising reason not to have caught anything from her yet) and I think I aged so much this year trying to keep it together for the kids.

Life has been full of ups and downs this year as well - contract job ended, and I found a full time job which only lasted me 2 months. I would like to rant slightly about dubious recruiter hiring practices. In the interviews, I have mentioned time and time again that I am solo-parenting and I need to be able to pick up my children and send them to classes but I will be working when I am working. If I need to be in office I will go during school hours maybe and catch up on remaining work at home or night. "Oh don't worry - we are a flexible company, pro-family!" and so on. However, after I started working there - "oh we are starting back to office and our team wants all of you to be back in office 3 days a week - 8.30 to 6pm." I was like ? Is there a need or purpose? I support Japan folks, and I don't need to really talk to anyone in SG, once a week maybe, but 3 days a week?! Isn't it kinda going backwards? The team survived covid fully WFH so what is this for seriously? Obviously they didn't want to give me any flexibility, saying if I am allowed to do this, others might want the same thing etc. I went to the office full-day for a team meeting during this and it was so noisy, the noise actually gave me a headache and made me so exhausted. (There were 3 different people having different calls around me and they were literally shouting to be heard and no one had the courtesy to go to a room). It really didn't work for me, so luckily I managed to find another job and escape from this situation after 2 months, just when the back to office policy was announced officially. 

I have been lucky with jobs this year despite the ups and downs, and I finally got a full-time job in the most flexible company to me so far. Probation is ending in a week+ and I am happy at the flexibility and culture and of course all the benefits so far. I think if you agree with the company culture, you will be fine - not when you have so many questions about why things are being done a certain  way and everyone is just concerned for their own responsibilities instead of improving anything as a whole. Been learning alot, and it helps to have friends and familiar faces having your back. Most importantly, they care that you actually need to not be stressed about family and life to be able to do your job well. Let's see how things go - but I am happy with my job so far! 

I have probably reached a certain point in life where I literally just can't be bothered with what people think, if I have my priorities straight. I would rather spend my time alone with a good book and doing what relaxes me than trying to stress myself worrying about things I can't control or change or is pointless in the long run. I already have enough stress in the house being stuck between my mum & my kids so I actually had a horrendous vertigo attack in August which sent me to the A&E as I couldn't even stand up or open my eyes without feeling extreme nausea. The after-effects were quite bad headaches alot of time and I don't know if it is due to lack of sleep also but I seriously don't give a sh*t for much outside of my immediate responsibilities right now (earn money, pay the bills, keep my job, keep the kids alive and keep the peace at home).  Struggling everyday of course - and thank you to all the people who understand and provide me support in any way to make my life easier. 

Time for bed - and let's see when I have time to write a whole post at a shot in future. 

à bientôt!