Friday...

And he said…
‘Melvin, it’s been my pleasure’….

That was my CCO, Mke at the Happy Hour last night….
Because he had to leave for Florida for a vacation, I accompanied him and his son to the bar to start off our Happy Hour slightly earlier…
After we took some pictures, and as he stood up to get ready to leave, we exchanged a firm handshake. That was what he last said to me as he left.

Somehow, those words really got to me…

They acted as a wake up call to me. Boy, I’m really leaving this company and the US for real this time. When I returned to Singapore in May, I did not feel like this at all, and understandably so.

Mike was one of the first persons I spoke to in the office. When I stepped into the office on 13^th July 2006, or maybe 14^th, he sat me down in his office and started a conversation with me to get me ready for life in the US and at PayQuik.

In the course of this year, I have worked pretty closely with him. He has always been very kind to me and gave me opportunities to learn whenever possible. Being the Chief Compliance Officer here, he has also taught me quite a bit about the importance of compliance in this industry.

I was saddened and touched by those words…
Because it signals that it is really time for me to leave…
The ambivalence of it all…It really struck me…

Today’s Friday and the office has been uncharacteriscally quiet. Many of my colleagues are on vacation or are working from home today. I moved my table just now, switching to another desk they just bought. As I walked around the office, I started taking photographs again.

As I sat down at the desk where I was first situated for the first few months (but not occupied by someone else), I started thinking about everything that has happened here in the last 1 year….

Here as in within PayQuik, I’m not even talking about anything else yet….

I could feel my eyes getting a little wet…
No, I don’t think I am weak…
I’m simply too attached to this place already. I am here 5 days a week for a year and it’s the place I’ve spent most of my waking hours at.

As I sat at the chair, I could hear my supervisor, Joe, calling out to me to help him with some work (imagine 9 months ago). I would then shout back, ‘Yes? Coming!’….
And then I’d go into his office, which is located behind mine…and sit down to talk to him…

Some colleagues have come and gone. I still keep in touch with one of them though.
He was a HR recruiter here on contract, Matt. He sat opposite me in the first few months for about 2+ months.
We jabbed each other everyday with corny jokes and sometimes deliberately personal jokes. It was a lot of fun.
He’d make fun of my crap sandwiches.

Everyone laughed at my sandwiches. Three slices of bread everyday and in it were always full of my ‘creative’ juices. Hot dogs, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, egg omelet and almost always with peanut butter.
Everyone laughed, and I did too. It was all out of fun and everyone was happy.

In the early days since Day 1, I was heavily involved in the company’s direct sales campaign. I dreaded some of those work because the market research part was weary. In retrospect, I have learnt a lot from it and I’m glad I had that opportunity.

I will remember the Flavia coffee machine in the office. It helped me through many tired days. The variety of coffee here is amazing. They taste really good.
My favourites are Expresso Roast, French Vanilla and Italian Roast.

I am considered one of the pioneers at this office location. When I first came here, I was the only one seated in the general area of the office. Today, it is fully occupied and I am seated in an office room with my CFO. That illustrates how fast the company has grown over this one year.

Led by a charismatic and ultra intelligent CEO, PayQuik has done exceedingly well in the past 12 months. It has grown at a rate much faster than it ever did. With operations in more than 60 countries all over the world, it is really an exciting startup environment.

At the Happy Hour last night, my CEO was telling us some of his personal stories. I listened intently and am really in awe of his determination, vision and high EQ and IQ. I want to be as successful as he is and be better if I can. In some ways, I have similar ideals and attitudes as him. I have a long way to go though before I will even be half as close as to what he has accomplished.

PayQuik has offered me a lot of invaluable learning experiences.
My colleagues think very highly of me. I will not let their hopes down. Jiayou Jinfa! =)

To a certain extent, I can’t bear to leave.

Memories…

It's been my pleasure too...