Where we’ve come from, where we will be
The sum of all parts, seamless continuity
A moment in time, rare as you’ll find
Passes us by, and leaves us behind

Never really thought much about spoken communication but recently I’ve noticed a lot of change in the way I speak. You’d think that after so many years I would have settled into a regular speech pattern but apparently not so. There are a few accents which are particularly infectious (think Singlish and Pommy) and while some might think I’m deliberately mocking them the truth is I can’t help but to assimilate to whichever accent is dominate in a conversation. The realisation came today from 2 two hour training sessions with a bunch of Australian key users. Hearing myself speak “Australian” again after months of Fobglish, Frenglish and general generic mish mash, it was really quite refreshing. I suppose underneath it all we just try our best to get the underlying message across. When in Rome, speak as the Romans do!

Another bonus is the unavoidable but welcoming enforced use of Cantonese. For nearly one year I didn’t have to use it and it was getting to the stage where I had trouble forming sentences. Verbal diarrhoea is bad but verbal constipation is really freakin’ annoying! Cantonese is such a colourful, expressive language despite the horrid noisy tonal sounds and the ever evolving colloquialisms are really quite a lot of fun.

The ultimate aim though on this adventure is to pick up Mandarin and now French. Along with Japanese, if I can hold a decent conversation in all five languages I’d be stoked and ready to become an international man of mystery! One can hope.

And what a difference a few months make. It’s a joke to read the previous entry on idleness and compare the current situation. Some said that it’s karma at work, too easy for too long and now it’s biting back. I’m absolutely loving it though. It couldn’t have turned out better.

Landing back in HK early April it was as if I hadn’t left. I had been in constant contact with a few agents even when I was back home and they called the day after I arrived. Meeting the guy on day two was an awakening. First thing he asked was how I would rate my own interview skills and then over the next hour proceeded to shoot me down over and over again. It was shameful but incredibly helpful at the same time. Apparently the opportunity he had for me before had already passed but he assured me that it wouldn’t be long until they needed someone again.

It was a dark two weeks as I once again reworked the CV and the introduction spiel. A different recruiter called me less than an hour after receiving the new CV and arranged a meeting the next day. From then on it was all stations to Central. W+1 he had lined up an interview at a client to meet with HR and line managers. W+2 I went in to see the director, W+3 they background checked me and W+4 I got a formal offer!

An amateur clown, blindfolded, rides his unicycle across a tightrope stretched over a chasm while juggling chainsaws. Nearly three months on and every day is a new challenge. Yes it’s difficult, yes it’s demanding. It’s exactly what I was looking for.

A by product of not having a burning desire is the tendency to always leave options open. If plan S didn’t work out there’s always plan D and L (they’re not A, B and C because without direction they are plans unordered in preference). Having these crutches is actually quite debilitating. With backup options the first sign of resistance usually invokes reconsideration instead of persistence. It’s not unlike performing a breadth first search on the Tree of Life which may have made sense at the beginning but past a certain stage becomes suboptimal to a depth first search with backtracking. 

So in the spirit of performance tweaking,  I’m diving in depth first so to speak. No longer “not opposed” to staying, I’ve booked flights to jet off once more. A one way flight this time without obligation to return. Let’s just see how deep this rabbit hole goes.