japan and starwood
i'm back to dust off the spiderwebs that have accumulated on my blog!
it's been a while since i updated the last time. i've been interning for about 2 and a half months now, visited japan- there's tons of feelings, thoughts i want to say.
first of all: internship
I find my stint extremely fruitful. i've made a bunch of perky, lively, entertaining friends in the past 2 and a half months; so are the colleagues from my compensation and benefits dept, i've grown to love each and every one of them. while we do not stand out as the entertainers across the hr team, they're just as lovable in their own way. :) honestly, while i was away in japan, there was a part of me that missed the company (pun intended) back home.
yesterday was michelle's last day. :( time flies awfully fast. haven't had much opportunity to hang out with her, and i lost two weeks of interaction with her since i was overseas. nevertheless friday was fun-filled, with us capturing precious moments on her camera with the starwood brand bears. (i'm holding a W hotels bear.. specially flow in from white plains, the U.S. of A! grabbed this from my friend.. she got it from a fundraising auction in our company) :) check 'em out! i've my own le meridien bear, thanks to amy~
during this past few months, i truly think that organizational culture is of utmost importance to me.. and this is one working experience i treasure.. it's the only one thus far that i'm most satisfied with, having experienced four different cultures in companies. i guess it's the sense of belonging~
japan
where shall i start? i left singapore on the 12th of march, landed in narita airport, tokyo at 2pm. caught a train to tokyo station, popped by ginza to catch a glimpse of the high-end boutiques and gorgeous city lights. :) next destination: kyoto. boarded an 8 hour overnight bus to kyoto. and i must include that there were numerous sakura trees that were bare all around japan.. so sad. those that bloomed were plum trees.
meet the team of 5 who embarked on an adventure from tokyo to kyoto
i must say i was unaccustomed to the (extreme) cold! it was about 12 degrees and below~ and it wasn't made any better by the rain. 12 degrees is unbearable for me-i've always lived in sunny, sweltering hot cauldronic singapore.
in the morning, we went in search for our accommodation- it was nowhere near the train station. we walked and walked for almost an hour and finally found it. after resting for a while, we took the rented bicycles and cycled around kyoto (one of my most memorable moments.. i haven't cycled for ages, and i only learnt the bike once and never touched it after that.) boy, what an adventure. i almost hit countless lightposts, pedestrians (god bless that elderly lady who jumped when i was so close to banging into her) and nearly fell into a drain. imagine that mounting sense of frustration i had at myself that i wasn't able to fully appreciate the picturesque surroundings. and i also felt i was holding all my friends up cos there they were, always patiently waiting for me to catch up.. alas, it was the last lap back home, and i gave it my all. eventually, when i arrived- i had this feeling of contentment - i pushed myself to cycle for an entire day even though it was difficult and i made it!
but the bicycle was no longer an option. buses were IN for the next couple of days. we visited shrines, temples, gion (geisha-spotting!!), copied buddhist scripture, lost our way in small towns, ate lunch in the freezing cold.
before i knew it, it was time to bid kyoto farewell. hello tokyo! at the conference, i met old friends like hanh, vin, daryl, tomo, masaru, johnny, david. made several new friends as well. somehow i felt that this conference wasn't as impactful as IC (definitely an unfair comparison). nevertheless, i learnt more about myself as usual :) i typically leave the leadership work to someone else, who at first impression projects himself or herself as a go-getter leader, is comfortable assuming that role. (better than clash of the titans when two struggle for the position of leader). however, when nobody seems to know where to go, i'll take on the role even though i have no clue. somehow things just work out from there for me :)
strategic thinking: i love this. :) and the sessions were packed with mostly this.. definitely thought-provoking and solutions-oriented stuff. lots of discussions and country meetings to negotiate partnerships, sending members overseas for conferences (yeah!).
last two days were spent in tokyo- tokyo imperial palace. tsukiji fish market. combed shinjuku, harajuku and shibuya in one day. and we were just in time to see the sakuras blossom in ueno park~ :) definitely grateful i managed to see them bloom just before i flew back to singapore.
brazil! watch out! cheryl's looking your way!
it's been a while since i updated the last time. i've been interning for about 2 and a half months now, visited japan- there's tons of feelings, thoughts i want to say.
first of all: internship
I find my stint extremely fruitful. i've made a bunch of perky, lively, entertaining friends in the past 2 and a half months; so are the colleagues from my compensation and benefits dept, i've grown to love each and every one of them. while we do not stand out as the entertainers across the hr team, they're just as lovable in their own way. :) honestly, while i was away in japan, there was a part of me that missed the company (pun intended) back home.
yesterday was michelle's last day. :( time flies awfully fast. haven't had much opportunity to hang out with her, and i lost two weeks of interaction with her since i was overseas. nevertheless friday was fun-filled, with us capturing precious moments on her camera with the starwood brand bears. (i'm holding a W hotels bear.. specially flow in from white plains, the U.S. of A! grabbed this from my friend.. she got it from a fundraising auction in our company) :) check 'em out! i've my own le meridien bear, thanks to amy~
during this past few months, i truly think that organizational culture is of utmost importance to me.. and this is one working experience i treasure.. it's the only one thus far that i'm most satisfied with, having experienced four different cultures in companies. i guess it's the sense of belonging~
japan
where shall i start? i left singapore on the 12th of march, landed in narita airport, tokyo at 2pm. caught a train to tokyo station, popped by ginza to catch a glimpse of the high-end boutiques and gorgeous city lights. :) next destination: kyoto. boarded an 8 hour overnight bus to kyoto. and i must include that there were numerous sakura trees that were bare all around japan.. so sad. those that bloomed were plum trees.
meet the team of 5 who embarked on an adventure from tokyo to kyotoi must say i was unaccustomed to the (extreme) cold! it was about 12 degrees and below~ and it wasn't made any better by the rain. 12 degrees is unbearable for me-i've always lived in sunny, sweltering hot cauldronic singapore.
in the morning, we went in search for our accommodation- it was nowhere near the train station. we walked and walked for almost an hour and finally found it. after resting for a while, we took the rented bicycles and cycled around kyoto (one of my most memorable moments.. i haven't cycled for ages, and i only learnt the bike once and never touched it after that.) boy, what an adventure. i almost hit countless lightposts, pedestrians (god bless that elderly lady who jumped when i was so close to banging into her) and nearly fell into a drain. imagine that mounting sense of frustration i had at myself that i wasn't able to fully appreciate the picturesque surroundings. and i also felt i was holding all my friends up cos there they were, always patiently waiting for me to catch up.. alas, it was the last lap back home, and i gave it my all. eventually, when i arrived- i had this feeling of contentment - i pushed myself to cycle for an entire day even though it was difficult and i made it!
but the bicycle was no longer an option. buses were IN for the next couple of days. we visited shrines, temples, gion (geisha-spotting!!), copied buddhist scripture, lost our way in small towns, ate lunch in the freezing cold.
before i knew it, it was time to bid kyoto farewell. hello tokyo! at the conference, i met old friends like hanh, vin, daryl, tomo, masaru, johnny, david. made several new friends as well. somehow i felt that this conference wasn't as impactful as IC (definitely an unfair comparison). nevertheless, i learnt more about myself as usual :) i typically leave the leadership work to someone else, who at first impression projects himself or herself as a go-getter leader, is comfortable assuming that role. (better than clash of the titans when two struggle for the position of leader). however, when nobody seems to know where to go, i'll take on the role even though i have no clue. somehow things just work out from there for me :)
strategic thinking: i love this. :) and the sessions were packed with mostly this.. definitely thought-provoking and solutions-oriented stuff. lots of discussions and country meetings to negotiate partnerships, sending members overseas for conferences (yeah!).
last two days were spent in tokyo- tokyo imperial palace. tsukiji fish market. combed shinjuku, harajuku and shibuya in one day. and we were just in time to see the sakuras blossom in ueno park~ :) definitely grateful i managed to see them bloom just before i flew back to singapore.brazil! watch out! cheryl's looking your way!
