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 lot of people are asking, “so what have you been doing everyday since you’re not working and don’t you get bored?” Honestly, not really. My typical week day isn’t much different to my previous work days at all. The one to two hours productivity I’ve filled with job applications, self study, poker and writing. The rest of the time is just the same surfing, emailing and chatting throughout the day, sitting at my desk idling. It’s a testimony on how stifling it used to be when the only notable difference (big difference) is that I’m no longer being paid. I was going to mention something about being guilt free now for spending time so frivolously but towards the end you couldn’t squeeze an ounce of guilt out of us in the office. 

Things I do miss, work lunches. They were the highlight of the day. All those cafes, bakeries, fancy restaurants. We’d ventured as far as Mascot for a pork roll or Waterloo for fluffy gnocci. Working out where we were heading for lunch was the morning priority. And then there’s the coffee breaks, breakfast meetings, morning and afternoon teas too. Sickening isn’t it?

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.