So Long, Farewell Auf Wiedersehen

For those who know, these are the evergreen lines from the chorus of one of the songs from "The Sound of Music" soundtrack. The reason this entry is so titled is because I'm bidding farewell to my colleagues, bosses and friends in less than 2 weeks' time. I've been with my current employer; MINDEF, since 1996 - a good 13 plus years. In that time, I've had the benefits of meeting good colleagues who became friends and nurturing bosses who were leaders, some of whom became mentors. Admittedly, there are more in the former than in the latter category (and I've talked about them before in my other entries). But I'm still grateful to all my bosses for their patience and kindness during their time with me. Since I'm leaving MINDEF, I don't mind saying that I'm thankful for good leaders (and not just bosses) like BG Yap, Chuan-Jin (who's also a BG now) and Mun Kit who helped me gain a good grounding in strategic defence policy work during the first 5 years of my stay in MINDEF. In my second and current department, I'm grateful for good leaders like Yi Young, Brandon, Kuan Meng and Chad-Son, whose trust in me encouraged me to take on different appointments and varied assignments/projects that has helped to stretch me further than I ever imagine possible. They've also led by example as to how a good leader should be, although its not always easy being sandwiched between management and staff.

In the last 2-3 years, I've realised that a person's mindset can severely limit his/her abilities. This period was the toughest, both in terms of me having to deal with a personal crisis and being asked to help out with a strategic HR study at work, as well as having to try my best to develop/groom 3 new officers. But I enjoyed every minute of it (the work part at least): the constant negotiation with various stakeholders, the mad rush to table papers to different forums which are held fortnightly or monthly, the nitpicking mindset to eyeball every detail to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks etc. In fact, I had a lot of fun, not least because I now enjoy strong camaraderie with my officers that is grounded on friendship and mutual respect. And I realised that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. Great thinkers who said that "If you think you can, you can and if you think you can't, you can't" knew what they were saying. Your mind can empower you to shake off whatever limitations you have or think you have so that you can reach your full potential and beyond. Or it can shackle you to indulge in constant negativity that will continually burden and defeat you throughout your life.

Now that I'm leaving MINDEF, it is with a bitter sweet fondness and pre-mature nostalgia. After all, I did meet my wife in MINDEF too, in addition to making many good friends. Shakespeare said it well when he had Romeo intoned to Juliet that "parting is such sweet sorrow". Although this was in a romantic context, the same can be said of leaving friendships that one has forged over more than a decade. To my friends and mentors (those in MINDEF and others who've left), thank you for a most fulfilling and memorable time in MINDEF. You've made my day, each and every one of them, during my time there. Thank you ; )

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Being A Dad in My Fifties

After many years of trying, both naturally or through artificial means, we finally welcomed our boy in January 2023.  It had been a tough journey, spanning more than a decade, both physically for my wife and emotionally for both of us.  We almost became parents in 2017 and 2020 but it was not to be then.  The anguish of our loss still lingers within our hearts and looms over us whenever we think of them.        While we were elated with joy when we found out that my wife was pregnant last May, there were trepidations because we have had 2 unsuccessful pregnancies previously.  However, with much prayers and perseverence, we managed to have a somewhat uneventful pregnancy.  Perhaps "uneventful" is an overstatement as we did have a scare in the first trimester that had caused much consternation and concern.  But by God's grace, the baby developed well and each visit to the gynaecologist watered our hope.    Our boy made his entrance into the world via a planned caesarean sec
Read more

Good Friends

Like most people, I've had my share of good friends from school and from work. When I was younger, they tended to be more guys than gals. In fact, my best friends in secondary school were 2 guys; one was my fellow classmate Chee Peng while the other was his friend in another class. We spent a fair bit of time, including getting our monthly hair cut, together. After secondary school, we parted ways and headed off to different paths. The guy from the other class attended the same JC as I and we touched base intermittently, but I lost touch with Chee Peng . The fact that he was the bridge between the other guy and I meant that we also didn't talk much thereafter. I saw him once in a while in uni but nothing more than the obligatory "hi" transpired between us. In JC , my good guy friends were Adrian and David. Adrian was your typical ACS boy and we all know what mischief these boys can get up to. Of course, they are also charming and suave, as Cheryl my friend from w
Read more

Another First

This is turning out to be a year of many firsts. In Jan, I started a blog after toying with the idea for years. Then, I bought a digital SLR, again after many years of thinking about it. Now, I'll be trying my hands at baking. Come this Friday, I'll be making tiramisu , among other delectable desserts. It's one of the many welfare events that my company organises and I was inspired to go for it after seeing the email. I also promptly roped in my colleagues, who may have obliged because I also happened to be their boss. But I'd like to think they also look forward to learning how to bake too, and perhaps not to the same extent, spending some quality time with me - ha ha . I must say I'm looking forward to learning how to bake. I've always been amazed by how chefs can whip up the most dazzling and delicious dessert. I'm sure its both an art and a science. An art because it takes an artiste to create new recipes and present their creations in a way that is both
Read more