*~Ups and Downs~*

There are times in a woman's life where she experiences arrays of feelings in which she cannot comprehend. This is it for me. After a disappointing start to my initial attempt in GRE test taking, I have now became the first official GRE-cursed person in the world. Sometime I felt as if God (whichever or whoever he/she is) wanted me to downgrade my desire in joining the higher-ranking , good-looking people in ivy grad school and settle for a mere community college just because, maybe, I deserved it.

Nonetheless I will not bore you with stories of my frustrations with work, GRE and life in general today- I would like to share with you a good news that was a long time coming. Today, my project architect/manager came to my desk (which he RARELY ever does) and said to me, "yok, We need to talk."
Panic set in and I found myself stumbling over to the large library table in which he sat neatly with a stern face looking straight into my eyes. "I talked to HR", he said. Oh dear, maybe he have been watching me net-surfing over the past two days of the so-called 'archiving' phase of the project. Maybe he actually saw me slack off just a little in these summer months. Oh dear, why did he talk to HR? Disciplinary action needed?

Before I could come up with another ridiculous idea as to why I should be fired, he revealed to me the reason he had gone to see the HR, "I finally got your raise."

Raise. It's been a long time coming. 3 months overdue. Frustrations with the political systems too complex for someone so minute as me. Wow, has it really been 1 year, 4months and 20 days since I started my so-called architectural career? In the months following the lost of hair, self-esteem, and numerous precious personality, I actually survived the horrific first year of employment?

Kudos to that! If I may say so!