don't box me in

there are about 16 of us in my company. not 16 writers. but 16 people. not much i know, but we are actually a 'large' organization. between the 16 of us, we run three different companies and a thousand other projects. anyway, despite the small number of people in the company, i actually love working for a 'small' organization. i really do.

in the last two months, dad has been in and out of the hospital. unlike my brother and sister who work for MNCs, i've actually had the time to go to and from the hospital with them. my bosses have all been extremely understanding, allowing me to leave early when necessary, take leave in cases of emergencies and generally just have been really ... liberal. i do too, have a set amount of hours i have to work in a day. a set time where i have to be in the office and just the same workload but i think, it's been a real blessing that i had the understanding and support of my bosses.

being me, if i couldn't dash to the hospital in between breaks or leave early and take emergency days off, i wouldn't have been very productive at work. yes, i might have still gotten my work done, but i would have been restless, fidgety and just downright gloomy-looking.

if i were in my sis's or brother's condition, where there is absolutely no such freedom, i would have died or quit my job. i mean ... oh man, i can't. i can't just go to work when i know someone i love is in the hospital. especially when i know my parents aren't really able to communicate properly with the non-chinese attendants and docs. i can't sit around when i know there's something more pressing happening in the life of people who matter. i am a need-to-know kinda person. i need to know the progress; what happens; what will; what might and everything in between.

yes, i worked in an international organization too and i totally understand the need for such structures and rules in place. the 'iron reigns'. there would be utter chaos without it. abuse would definitely ensue. but it's just very sad that the world is at a point where there is no intergrity. no trust. and no ... compromise. because i really think that, sometimes, really, sometimes ... we have to remember that work is just that - work.

life is not about work. we don't live just to work. yes it's important. it's challenging. it's part of life. but if what we do is not what we want to do. if what we do does not in any way make us better, or make the people around us better, why do we do what we do? what is the point and really, why?

big picture. life.

life. is life.