It’s Lunar New Year’s Eve, the thirtieth day of the last month in the Year of the Tiger, and I’m the one on duty today.
I drifted into the office in the morning at an unhurried pace. The streets were nearly empty, with only a few cars moving through unusually open roads. Every traffic light seemed to turn green for me. Back home, my wife was with our child putting up Spring Festival couplets and helping my mother prepare the reunion dinner, while I had to hold down the office until later in the afternoon.
With some time to kill, I checked in here and realized it had been more than ten days since I last posted. Things really have been busy lately, and mentally I’ve felt more worn down than I’d like.
MBA comprehensive exam
The MBA comprehensive exam fell on January 19 and 20, stretching across two full days. During that stretch, I was bouncing between work, shopping for New Year supplies, and preparing for the test, all while worrying that someone from work might suddenly call for me in the middle of it. Fortunately, nothing went wrong, and I made it through the exam period without any surprises. Now I’m just hoping the results come back smoothly.
Holiday duty during Spring Festival
If there was one thing I felt most helpless about this Spring Festival, it was the holiday duty schedule. I was assigned to be on duty on New Year’s Eve and the first day of the new year. At one point they were even planning to put me on the schedule again for the fourth day, which would have basically made it impossible to go anywhere for the entire holiday.
Luckily, I was able to coordinate with a few colleagues who weren’t planning to travel, and they helped take over part of the shift.
Originally, our arrangement was supposed to be phone duty only. But because of the possibility of surprise inspections from higher-ups checking whether the duty roster was really being followed, I figured I might as well just come into the office in person and make an appearance.
Once you’re there, you may as well settle in. So I did what I could: updated the blog a bit, watched some shows, read for a while, and let the hours pass.
My wife’s transfer finally moved forward
The review process for my wife’s job transfer was finally completed before the holiday, which is a real relief. On this side, they’re already urging her to start by coming over on a temporary assignment first. During the Spring Festival, we’ll still need to go back to Zunyi to coordinate a few things, but the goal is to have her come up here after the holiday and stop this back-and-forth between two places.
It costs money, it wears people out, and the time apart for mother and son is something I hope we never have to go through again.
A small rant, then letting it go
I had originally planned to write about a so-called “leader” — technically yes, he is one — who is narrow-minded, full of airs, always eager to lecture others, and quick to make things personal. But in the end, I decided against it.
Better to adjust my own mindset. People who don’t matter don’t deserve space in my head, and they certainly don’t need space here.
Besides, for the sake of the paycheck, I’ll let it go. Ha.
New Year wishes
In the new year, I hope work goes more smoothly, my child grows up healthy, my family stays in good health, and everything moves in a better direction.
Happy New Year to everyone, and may your whole family be happy and well.
