May 2008 has really proven to be a really bad time of the year for me.
After the recent neck and shoulder muscles sprain which happened earlier of the month, things started to look brighter for me. I had a great time in Bali with BB and there was nothing to do there except to eat, sleep, sight-see, shop, going for spas and visiting the Hard Rock Cafe and Hotel at night (BB has a friend working in Hard Rock) for some music and fun. The whole entire week in Bali was just pure relaxation for both BB and I and I came back feeling very much rejuvenated. The rejuvenated and relaxing feeling dissipated in less than 4 hours when I got back to KL, all because of work stories which reaches my ears.
I tried to resist absorbing the stories from work as much as I could but to no avail. My source wouldn’t stop yapping about work and before I know it, *wham*, I can feel the stress from work gradually seeping into my being. As I returned to KL from Bali on a Friday, I had the whole weekend to recover from any jet lag that I may have. And the whole weekend was somewhat of a torture for me because I was torn between switching on my laptop and checking my work email out and the determination to enjoy the rest of the freedom I temporarily have away from work. The latter prevail, only to a certain extent because the mind refuse to not think about work.
Went back to work on a Tuesday because Monday was Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. The moment I got to my cubicle, waaaaaaaay before I even had time to set up my laptop, work started pouring in left, right and center from my colleagues. Took a few deep breathes and composed myself before I dive into the pile of work. Went around to my colleague from my own division, my HoD and the CEO to gather bits of information on work updates during my absence. You may wonder why I had to go to my CEO for updates - he’s quite a hands-on person who likes to get involved in the Corporate Communications Division’s affairs especially when it comes to marketing and branding matters. I think he just doesn’t quite trust us with our advice and opinions especially considering that I’m a freshie out of University. I can go on about how I’ve proven my worth as an employee and colleague to others but let’s just leave that for another day’s story.
Anyway…after gathering all the updates and information that I needed, I sat down, analysed the workload in front of me, and suddenly realised that I’m taking on extra workload fit for another 2 people because the company is currently understaffed!! Pushing the growing panic aside, I breakdown the workload to a few parts so that they are more manageable and arranged them based on urgency and priority. Started to work on the load almost immediately and I’ve been working til late in the office for the past 2 weeks.
Now, working as the internal PR person for a company doesn’t require the PR person to work til late all the time. We’re only required to work til late when we have events (which is far and few) or when we have a certain deadline. Internal PR people always have a much flexible working schedule compared to those attached to hardcore PR agencies. Hence, for me to work til late nearly every night for the past 2 weeks means there’s a very, very, very tight deadline and there’s just so much work to do! I know, work is neverending but I was near to frustration and tears when the deadlines seemed almost impossible to achieve. It didn’t help when there were other internal and external factors that got into the way of work. Factors which could have been avoided if some people were not so petty with me.
2 weeks of hard work and late nights and *wham* again, my shoulder muscles decided to strike a protest and put themselves and myself in agonising pain for the weekend. The pain was too much to be handled to the point where the bf insist that I get it treated at Damansara Specialist Hospital. So there I was, on a Saturday evening, waiting for my turn to see the MO in A&E. There was surprisingly A LOT of people in the A&E and for a second, I thought I may have enter into a hypermarket instead. Yep, it was that noisy and crowded! When the MO finally got around to attending me, she only prodded my poor muscles a couple of times, grunted a few words and prescribed me with some painkillers. I was asked to return on Monday to see the orthopaedic surgeon if the pain persists.
The weekend flew by with nothing interesting going on because of the pain I was in. Poor bf had to accompany me the whole weekend doing nothing except for a bit of reading and watching DVDs. Before either of us realise, Monday morning was upon us and I decided that I’m feeling much better compared to the weekend. I proudly declared to the bf that I’m a ok now. Guess what did the bf do to me? Nag, nag and nag before deciding to threaten me with him breaking a promise he made to me. Yep, I can be such a stubborn cow sometimes. The bf was only successful in getting me to go to the surgeon’s after the threat was issued out.
Went to the surgeon, got myself checked and was informed by the surgeon that I had a recurrence with the muscles pain. The surgeon proceeded to explain that the muscles are weak and I have too high a demand for them. I was then instructed to continuously perform simple exercises that will help strengthen my muscles for the long term and prevent a recurrence so quickly.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was what happened to me after I got back from Bali. No time to enjoy the post-holiday relaxation a bit more before I had to immersed myself in work. Work my poor muscles into agonising pain. It’s Thursday today and I’m still on painkillers and muscle relaxants to help me sleep peacefully throughout the night. I have no choice but to slow down on work this week despite the deadlines for fear of provoking the pain to heighten further.
Hopefully, my burden of workload will lessen tremendously when the new PR manager comes in tomorrow. I know certain people are questioning her abilities to lead and perform (I am one of the guilty parties) but I’m more than willing to give her a benefit of a doubt not only for my own sake and sanity, but also for the division’s and company’s sake.
*fingers crossed*