Business as usual?

Certainly not. This week has been so extra-ordinary. I celebrated my birthday earlier in the week and to most people, having to spend the entire day at work isn't the best way to celebrate your birthday... but it turned out to be wonderful for me.

At our office, normally a birthday cake is bought for a birthday. However, as everyone knows I don't have a sweet tooth and am a big fan of beer and pizza (the heavenly combination), my boss decided to order loads of pizza for everyone (there's never a shortage of beer at the office... our fridge is always stocked with beer and we're allowed to drink whenever we please). Just before we could relish the pizza, my boss decided to say a few words. It's worth noting that I'm an international student and have been in Sydney only since July 2006 (about as long as I've had my part-time job, even though I've been associated with the company for almost 3 years now). Back to the speech then... my boss said quite a few good things about my contribution to the company and my importance and then announced to everyone that they were going to hire me full-time next year and that I would receive a sponsorship from the company. Most international students spend their time in the country thinking about permanent residency and worrying about it. I chose not to spend my time doing that and just getting on with uni and work. The result was that in my second semester I earned 3 distinctions in the 3 subjects I studied at UTS and had a very productive year with my company. While it was great news to hear about my boss' decision and it was a fantastic birthday present, I'd be lying if I said I didn't half-expect it. The timing was remarkable though.

It's been a sensational week to say the least. I don't believe in luck so I shrug off comments like "you're lucky" from other people. You reap what you sow and if I didn't work hard, I wouldn't have been rewarded. I guess the key thing I've learnt from this is that if you love something enough, you put your heart into it and it does not go un-noticed. I love my job and I give it everything I have. If you can't put your heart into something you're doing, then you're probably not doing the right thing.