password protected

btw, i dont want to lock my entire blog because i really love my readers. so if you want to view password-protected posts just sms me and i will let you have the password for that post. haha. i password protect my posts for a variety of reasons – work, controversial discussions, vulgarity, and plain human ugliness sometimes. so i would say those posts are probably more interesting that the public ones.

Protected: reflecting on my work.

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Dear Deloitte,

I was basked in excitement and happiness when my boyfriend of 10 years (and now husband) received an offer from Deloitte GFSI team in 2010 after graduation. Being a Business graduate myself, I understood the value-add that the Big 4 firm would bring to his professional network and career prospects.

My positive feelings for Deloitte as an employer were, very unfortunately, short-lived. Before long, the reality sank in.

While I understand that it is inevitable to work late nights during the peak periods, the additional work during peak was beyond my imagination. In 2011 Jan to March, his team started work between 9am-10am and end at around 2-3am every single day, and clocking many hours during weekends too. As a fresh hire, drive and the eagerness to learn kept him motivated.

This year, history has repeated itself as my husband is engaged by the same clients. Being newly married and currently pregnant, I find myself not seeing my husband at all except for the one hour in the morning that we commute to work together. Aside from shorter interaction with the family, his sleeping patterns also caused many health problems such as frequent flus and fevers (despite which he still would still go back to work after getting his MC). When asked to take a break, he would reply that the team is working to meet very tight deadlines. He returns from work everyday in the wee hours of the morning, drained out. Throughout the year, we had to cut short several overseas vacations because he had outstanding work to clear from home.

My first question to Deloitte is this: How does human resource management come into play in these circumstances? I was earlier prepared that peak periods would be the time nearer to the closure of a financial year. However, I’ve seen my husband being allocated to such taxing jobs throughout the year that I have not been able to follow which are the peak auditing due to the extended working hours for every project almost every month! Even when the clients remain the same, I am surprised that no effective attempt has been made to allocate more manpower to these jobs. Are these peaks unforeseeable to Deloitte? I have heard discomforting speculations that such an arrangement cut operating costs for the company and increase the earnings of the partners, all at the compromise of the employees’ well-being.

The second question is this: If Deloitte has no creative way to allocate sufficient manpower, is there a way to compensate, reward, and recognise these audit assistants and associates for their additional hard work? What has been done so far?

An explantion and clarification of the situation would be very much appreciated. Many friends who have started out in Deloitte as accounting graduates have also resigned, or are planning to in the short term. While he is conceiving plans to do the same, this vicious cycle would just be continued, with the baton passed on to his team-mates until the next replacement victim is being hired.

Unless someone from the management is willing to see this as a potential concern to be audited (with all due respect to Deloitte’s core expertise), I’m afraid that the day may come when Deloitte Singapore gets into the limelight for producing yet another overworked-to-death auditor.

Thank you.

There are times when I can’t count my blessings as well.

I don’t care whose fault it is, why is it my responsibility?

Don’t tell me it’s peak. I’ve never heard about off peak. Don’t slap that fucking overused 4 letter word on me. Don’t expect me to be understanding if I don’t understand. What. The. Fuck. Peak. Is.

March, can take more leave for Europe trip? No its peak.

Nov, can take more leave for Melbourne trip? No it’s peak.

Chinese New year, can take more leave? No it’s peak.

And so many other bloody times that I have no idea which is peak/ are peaks and all the fuckin disappearing acts during peak.

Fuck peak okay? Fuck!

I’m very tired of this shit. Very fucking tired. I used to keep screaming and crying, but I don’t see a point in doing that anymore. Well I still do blog a lot with profanities but heck, I’m at least less noisy now. I don’t make noise now, at least not audibly haha.

I haven’t had a single dinner at home with him before except for cny when I was met with a big protest because I was supposed to travel to visit his relatives on the first day of cny but I refused because he never confirmed despite me asking so many bloody times. and I made the right choice by not believing when he said “it’s cny, I will make time to have dinner with you family no matter what.” fucking joker.

Yeah I had that one fucking dinner w my family that I forced out of him. One okay, and we have been married for what a month already and staying at my house?

I locked the door of the room at 11pm last night. He reached home at his usual time of 2.30am and found himself locked out. I don’t know why I did that. Maybe I was angry that this bed is just a place for him to fuck me / sleep. Maybe I was angry at my own dependence and loneliness. Maybe I was angry that he disappeared for 3 hours, since 11pm til 2am. Maybe I was angry that he has been coming home at 2am everyday since we moved in. Maybe I was just angry at everything.

Which fucking profession works from 9am to 2am every bloody single fucking day? What fucking prostitutes? I have no intention to demean this profession but fuck. If you’re earning millions and giving me half I don’t care how long you work. If you’re doing sth useful for the society like catching criminals or raiding brothels or performing major heart surgeries then I can see a point. But heck. Audit. What the fuck is audit?

What do you get out of the additional hours? Money aside (which is pathetic btw, now), is there additional learning or marginal benefits learning beyond the usual 8am-8pm working hours?

U tell me that this skillset is highly sought after in the banking Industry. I said, fine, if that’s a place u want to shine eventuAlly. Now can someone please enlighten me, how does working from 8pm-2am every bloody day and help with enhancing what you already have?

It’s like, u fry fried rice for a living. And every bloody day u fry the same fried rice say salted fish fried rice until 2am. Is that same fried rice gonna value add to your credentials as a fried rice chef more importantly in the entire culinary industry?

Move on, man! Why bury your youth in such meaningless stuff?

The end of the story is that my mum woke up at 6am and gave him the key to the room. She reprimanded me, seriously. Saying that women who lock their husbands out of the bedroom have no one to blame if their husbands find someone else outside.

Yeah. Very good advice. And advice taken.

On the other hand, a man who works blindly would probably have no one to blame if his woman finds someone richer/better/ with more time. Or simply if his daughter won’t recognise him in future.

He didn’t ask why I did it. He just said that he’s aching because he didnt get much sleep. Hence the post. Sometimes idiots are not worth it.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Yes I’m a damn mean wife.

Updates: Baby

im not sure if it’s safe to share the ultrasound images here because of pangtang reasons. haha. but those who wanna see can tell me. my baby looks so cute and i’ve already started the recruitment exercise for godparents. Interested applicants can fill out the form below and email it to me. 8 lucky godparents will be chosen.

Benefits: my baby will call you godparents and shower you with about 70% of the love she will accord to her own parents. you will also get the rare opportunity to be babysit for her. and if u get a son eventually, your son will prob get a priority queue number as her suitor next time.

1. Your Name:

2. In less than 50 words, summarise why you will be my child’s favourite godparent.

3. What are your childcare experience? How will these value-add to my child’s growth and development?

Besides the essay, there is also a practical test involved in the application. You are required to complete at least 3 of the following projects to be eligible for selection.

1. Brainstorm for a good name for baby.

2. Conceptualise and set up an ang bao fund for baby.

3. Research/Create a shopping guide for baby’s mum.

4. Find cost-effective/free lobangs for a list of items that baby needs. (Eg: help collect hand-me-downs, second hand items from other mothers that you know)

5. Hand make something for baby.

6. Buy a heirloom for baby

7. Sponsor mummy’s postnatal massage.

8. Offer a 1 day free babysitting.

9. Compile a 500 word research on one of the following topics:

- How to make baby smarter

- Food for a smart, happy baby 0 to 12 months

- Toys to buy for a smart, happy baby 0 to 12 months

- Others (subject to approval)

10. Plan a creative first month/ first year celebration.

11. Any other necessary project that is deemed fit. (subject to approval)

 

thats all!