positive tidbits

Ok, I was quite negative on my last post so I'll try to balance now and be positive. It was probably the influence of the weather on me. Dijon was below freezing point from sunrise to sunset last week and that plus my daily dose of work didn't give me enough motivation to be on the lighter mode.

So what's up?

Les soldes d'hiver (winter sale) started 2 or 3 weeks ago and glad to say that inspite of my shopping phobia, I succeeded to find a winter coat for me..the negative point was that...it wasn't on sale! It was even in the nouvelle collection (new collection) section...but what the heck, there was nobody in there and I didn't have to push everybody so I could get my size. Wow, that was pretty quick..

Last week, I found an envelope on my desk..and surprise!...in it was a notice signed by the chefs (bosses) for ma prime exceptionelle (incentive) because of the good results I had with my Philippine project last year. Wow, not only it gave me enough miles to have a free round trip ticket Paris-Manila, it also gave me enough budget to buy my winter coat atbp and most importantly...the motivating words from my chefs: travail rémarquable - implication, rigeur, professionalisme et initiative - avis très favorable... excuse my french people but i want to savour it that way, as it is... too much adjective for me boosting my yoyo-like self-esteem. It was like i was in the middle of an applauding crowd while i was accepting my Oscar's best actress award..if you dont know the feeling, me either..but it was exactly like that...hmm, i hope they wont forget that during my annual interview e.g. salary increase!

by the way, la prime exceptionelle was taxable...eh merde!

Last Friday was the strategic meeting for our group held in a chateau (castle) way between Paris and Dijon. After the not-so-bad results for the year 2004 where one of my subjects is on warning zone (I hope they wont take my incentive back!), the objectives and forecasts for 2005 were equally presented. I was glad to know that a lot of the expansions will be destined to Asia and our Philippine sites will get a good share of the cake. That left me thinking about my future here, my professional evolution, the future of my future children. A lot of groups are in the desindustrialization phase and mass productions are en route to Eastern Europe or Asia. What job will be left for the future generations here?

Ok ok, before i get negative again...

Since we moved to our new house, every weekend was consacrated to petits travaux (repares, small jobs, etc) inside or outside the house. It was tiring but fun and fulfilling as we see the results transform our house into a new one. This coming weekend will be another itinerary for us - the mountains! Yahooo!