Ngo baby (Motivational Speaker)

I started a new job about two months ago. And if I could use just one word to describe it, it would be ‘Challengingasfuck’.

You know that ‘new employee grace period’ that people usually get when they just start working in a new office?… That grace period when you can mix up files or fumble with printers or even mistakenly go home at closing time, and you will be pardoned because you’re new. In my office, I never had that. From day one, I was getting in trouble like I stole money.

I accepted there was no such thing as ‘grace’ for me on the day my boss summoned us to the conference room for the sole purpose of ripping each person a new one. It was on my second day and a client had called to express displeasure over something. As we all moved to his office, I turned to a colleague and asked about the client and the project that put us in trouble. If I was going to get a new asshole, I needed to at least know why. My colleague said it was a project they started working on months ago and instantly, I felt relieved. As at the time the project started, I was still an email in the HR Manager’s inbox, awaiting her kind attention.

Feeling more confident, I joined the small crowd and we shuffled into the conference room like minions. Once inside, I moved to the end of the room, and stood slightly apart from the rest. I thought, surely, I cannot partake of this asshole shredding. I’m the new girl. Duh!

Later that evening, while I was at home trying to bandage my new hole, I resolved in my heart to get with the program ASAP. Again, it’s been challenging, but I never complain… at least I try not to. More than anything else, I’m extremely grateful to have been delivered from the poverty that previously plagued me.

Life has changed dramatically. Am I taking boat cruises and popping bottles in the club? No… not yet, but I am no longer a major shareholder in the Indomie Group of Companies. These days, when I eat noodles it’s because I just want to eat noodles. I feel a bit guilty because their stock-market value has probably dropped since I started work. I’m not bragging, but I made that company what it is today.

There’s been a noticeable spring in my step. I strut confidently, chest out, face up. Or maybe I just walk better because of improved bone development as a direct result of healthier nutrition… I don’t know. Bottom line, I’m a bit more confident. I’ve even started giving motivational talks about how “Life is not all about money”. Or “You have to look through the rain to see the rainbow”.

Like I said, most of all, I’m grateful. Till now, when I give an offering in church, I still get teary-eyed. During worship, I sometimes bawl like a wounded cat because I can’t believe how much life has changed. I’ve been wondering when this overwhelming feeling of gratitude will finally wear off… or if I will ever get to a point where I nonchalantly drop my offering like there was never a time my offering envelopes were only used as book marks.

Sometimes, I miss having all the empty time I used to have. If I had known that I wouldn’t die of hunger in the period I was job-hunting, I might’ve taken all the energy that I put into worrying and being anxious, and channeled it into other things like finishing the book I’ve been working on since forever, or I would’ve started my bakery. It’s sad because it’s time I will never get back.

Also, I’m now open to dating… and I mean proper dating, not being stuck in nasty situations with users who offer less than the barest minimum and still take and take and take *shudders*. I’m open, but I’m not in a hurry. I just figure it would be nice to have someone to share your day with.

And once I find a boyfriend, y’all won’t hear word! My motivational speech will change to “You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince”.