Friday, July 11, 2008
First week in Chicago..>

I feel 'lost' in transition... All because of the time difference between Singapore and Chicago time and the day of the week. It's a full 13 hours difference which means that when I'm having the night, Singapore is having day.

It has been an eventful days since I first arrived in Chicago... Taking business class flight from Singapore to Chicago has really put me in prospective because of the wonderful service. Imagine the constant feeding of food and drinks while on the flight. In addition, the seat could almost recline fully to form a flat surface. It was sure a comfortable flight, not as tiring as taking economy class. However, on the flight from Narita to Chicago, I was seated beside a stranger (US military personnel) who was like a drunk, he kept drinking beer and red wine which kept the air smelling like acohol. It was not a pleasant feeling because the constant smell of the beer kept me awake most of the time. As a result, I suffered a mild jet lag upon arrival at Chicago.

On the first night, I couldn't sleep well at all, waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to bed again. This causes me to be a little more tired during the day when I had the local area tour. The neightbour in which I'm staying in now is very pleasant and nice. It's peaceful and quiet, with occasional sound of the train in the distant.

I thank God for the room mate whom I'm sharing the apartment with because we shared the same interest. Plus, we get along quite well; there is no conflicts between us. We have been cooking our own dinner which helps us to save some money which is more economical and healthier because I couldn't stand the food sold outside where it's could be more salty and oiler than what I'm accustomed to. We have been cooking simple meals such as stir-fried vegetables and chicken or potato with carrot soup. In addition, we are going to bring our own lunch to work because we couldn't stand the food at all.

Today, it was my first day at work with all the training. It has been an exhausting day because there are talks and tours around the place. In addition, for the next coming 2 weeks, there will be lots of reading of procedures and methods needed for the training. I'm so amazed by the facilities for the company premises is so huge that I'm laterally lost within the maze of buildings and the many unendless corridors within the building. If I feel lost, that really mean huge because I'm someone who knows my direction well and to throw me off my directions, the place must be huge or confusing.

The only regret I have now is not bringing my own laptop along with me because it seems like I'm the only one within the group who did not bring laptop at all. It was a bad choice because the laptop provided by the company is quite lacky and slow, much slower than my very own laptop. In the end, I've to borrow from my room mate who is kind enough to lend it to me at times. I feel like I've imposed upon her because her use of the laptop will be limited if she were to share it with me. Anyway, I just hoped that the laptop from the company will work faster and better once things got settled.

I missed home and it seems that it's possible that I could stay with this company for long because of the fact that I'm the first batch of staff and there would be many benefits. Also, after talking to many people around me, I think it's crucial that I seek higher education which would help me to advance faster within the science industry. I need to see the option of the sponsorship from the company for further studies and whether there's any bond attached to it.

# posted by Just Me!! | 11:17 AM