I told myself that I wouldn’t work as hard as the previous day because my company pays me only 🤏 this much. Bending backwards for a company that doesn’t value you is insane so better know and set your boundaries. If not, you’re going to be abused.

So today I just went around and chatted with colleagues from other units and of course, all we talked about is how management is fucking up. One colleague said she feels better now that it wasn’t just her who was feeling this way.

But how stupid is this situation that you are comforted by that knowledge that it’s just not you who is unhappy? It’s just so wrong! But then our hybrid industry is in trouble right now. Just last week, there was a large number of finance guys being let go of in Hong Kong and China. A principal who just left his firm said his industry is not gonna get any better and what is happening in Hong Kong will slowly creep in Singapore soon. It’s all doom and gloom all around. Not only because the public markets are moribund at best, but all the macro uncertainties continue to hover over us. Some central banks in the region have declared, “screw you, economic growth! I’m gonna hike interest rates because the USD is already beating up my currency.” But higher interest rates are going to throttle an economy like Thailand that has yet to fully recover from the pandemic and the crippling inflation of the past two years. The central bank and the prime minister are at loggerheads because of this.

The China slowdown and the Middle East crisis, with Iran thrown in the mix, are not helping. If Trump wins, Ukraine will be handed over to Putin on a silver platter while we will be having an actual war in West Philippine Sea and Taiwan Strait.

Fun times.

Meanwhile, I would be having a side gig. 😉 Thanks to kababayans who believe in their compatriots. Just chatting over the cocktails tables does wonders, no? This is a start of my Plan B. I have to prepare my white paper once I get home.

On another happy note, one of the sponsors of the conference was handing out smart watches.

My girls are already excited. I also bought them medicated moisturizers for the face to keep pimples from popping up.

I cancelled a meeting in the afternoon because I had to help out a collague from the commercial team because she was trying to save an account. Their contract with us is under review and our jacked up prices are not doing us any favors. So I was there as a secret weapon to demonstrate to clients how we bring content a.k.a. gathering news and how our premium news service is vital to their operations. I gave breadcrumbs along the way by throwing them some leads that I had been working on for the week.

I just hope that did the trick.

I bought a new pair of shoes because my feet hurt as the flats I was wearing were really flat—no arch to support my heel. My plantar fasciitis is getting worse.