Seven Years and a Day

Seven years ago I stepped across the threshold separating my strobe-lit city life from the rural lifestyle of my to-be workplace.

I turned seven years and a day old today as an employee for Shell, more specifically as a technologist in their refinery.

It's been a motley of frustrations, long nights, stress, surprises and weekend works. I've also had my share of fulfillments. Occasionally, it's fun but most often it's really a very serious and challenging workplace.

A close friend of mine asked me how's it like working as an employee for the last seven years. My reply:

It's like scaling a very huge rock formation, freestyle. It's hard, it's difficult, it's demanding. Every inch you gain in the climb is an effort, and there will be points along the way tbat you seem you'll get stuck. There's little room for mistakes --- make a wrong judgement and you can plummet straight down. What drives me is the same as for any climber: getting to the top, seeing what I've conquered and being proud of my OWN capabilities.

I'm not at the top yet --- I'm stuck somewhere in the middle. Like any climber, I'm trying to figure out a way to get to the next level.