NOBODY

A wordpress.com site that shows the interesting life of a no person

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Tag: lifestyle

  • The Hidden Costs of Accepting a Government Job

    “Do you want to become an executive officer in the government sector?”

    Not long ago, I had dinner with my father’s former employer — a highly successful businesswoman with a powerful network across Hong Kong and mainland China.

    Midway through the meal, she learned I was unemployed. Without missing a beat, she offered to help: “Do you want to become an Executive Officer (EO)?”

    For anyone unfamiliar with the role, an Executive Officer is a standard entry-level position in the Hong Kong civil service. Although it’s an entry post, the pay is excellent: HK$35,080 per month (roughly US$4,476), plus medical insurance and strong benefits. For a fresh graduate like me, the salary felt life-changing.

    The money would have instantly allowed me to achieve several major goals at once — moving out on my own, saving aggressively, and funding my future studies.

    Yet after just a split-second of hesitation, I looked at her and replied: “Thank you, but I know very clearly that I don’t want to work in the government system.”

    She smiled warmly and encouraged me: “You can give yourself a chance. Think about it first.”

    Even though I was still jobless at the time, my answer came from a place of deep clarity. I knew I didn’t belong in the government culture or environment. Yes, the salary was incredibly tempting, and I desperately needed the money. But I couldn’t ignore the hidden costs:

    • The golden handcuffs: I’m not a naturally proactive person. I feared I would get too comfortable and never find the courage to leave.
    • The network risk: This woman has strong connections in Hong Kong and mainland China. If anything went wrong, it could create complications later.
    • The fundamental mismatch: I simply wasn’t comfortable working inside a bureaucratic government system.

    The long-term cost felt far too heavy to bear. So, despite being unemployed, I politely turned down the offer.

    That single moment taught me one of the most important lessons of my life:

    Sometimes, knowing what you don’t want is far more valuable than chasing what you think you desire.

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  • Day 30: Change of directions

    I am back.

    How it feels to find a satisfying job in Hong Kong

    Latest Update:

    • Recovering from wisdom teeth removal surgery
    • Caught a cold
    • Attended three interviews and completed two written tests (one was super long)
    • Met up with a friend
    • Edited a short video

    Although I’m still waiting for feedback from the hiring managers, I’ve realized that reality is forcing me to change my plans.

    Originally, I was mainly targeting community-based organizations. However, some of the recent interview experiences made me reconsider. The first one went okay, even though the written test was quite complicated. But the second and third ones didn’t go well at all.

    Both hiring managers appreciated my skill sets. However, after watching the video I made and edited myself, one of them asked:

    “Do you appreciate yourself for the fact that you survived alone in Laos for six months as the only person in the department?”

    “You have very strong self-learning skills. But will you be bored by admin tasks? Like filling in Excel forms with numbers all day…”

    “No problem,” I replied.

    Towards the end of the interview, she looked at my expected salary and said, “You wrote HK$20,000 (about 2,553 USD). Is this negotiable?”

    When I shared the questions from the third interview with my friend, she couldn’t stop laughing. For example:

    “You are accompanying a group of wheelchair-bound members to a restaurant. If the escalator was out of service that day, what would you do?”

    “I will enter the mall or restaurant from another entrance.”

    “What if they don’t have a second entrance?”

    “Then I’ll just move to another restaurant.”

    Another question was: “If a member complained that someone else ate three shrimps from the basin cuisine, what would you do?”

    My answer: “I would tell them there’s abalone and other more expensive food available.”

    The interviewers burst out laughing. The whole interview felt quite strange. The written test was even more ridiculous — I had to draft a notice informing the center that it would be closed due to urgent electrical maintenance.

    After these experiences, I’ve decided to pause applying for community-based roles for now.

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  • Day 12: Confusion

    Too many goals

    Even though the river was trying to soothe my mind, I still felt nervous.

    It was another ordinary day in life. No drama. No specific plans. The privilege of being unemployed while still living under my family’s roof has created new troubles for me. I keep thinking about my future, my possible paths, but nothing seems to work out in my imagined world. When can I stop overthinking?

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  • Day 6: A day filled with random thoughts

    Failed attempts

    Latest update:

    1. Received a call for arranging an interview
    2. Edited a reel as a volunteer
    3. hit the gym
    4. cooked a meal for myself

    I started my day by reading a book. It was quite inspiring. Until now, I found that as long as I could maintain a relatively healthy life cycle, my productivity for the day won’t be too low.

    What made me hesitate even more were the scenes of some Iranians smiling or celebrating when they learned their supreme leader had died. For some people, it might feel like a positive turning point; for others, it’s a complete disaster.

    For some people, it may be a positive turning point; for others, it’s a complete disaster.

    Another small thing happened today was my failure to solve the rubix cube. One year ago, when I flashed it to my university schoolmate, who was a rubix cube lover. She told me that I just had to treat it as a 3×3 cube.

    I tried to do so, but I still failed 🤡.

  • Day two: Mental preparation

    Everything stems from your thought.

    Today I went to visit a temple in the diamond hill.

    Even though I’m living in a hotel and enjoying the freedom alone, I don’t like its environment, so I left and visited a temple.

    Why visit a temple

    A few days ago, when I mentioned my confusion to my counselor, she suggested me talking to the volunteer in the temple.

    “Buddhism is not the same as Buddhism studies. Chat with the volunteer and you will have some new insight on life.”

    A few days later, I visited the temple and met the volunteers.

    The place was as peaceful as usual. Pool, stones, trees and flowers were everywhere. Occasionally you would see a stone board with words like “fragrance mountain⛰”. Surprisingly, there were a lot of foreign visitors around today.

    When I reached the inner temple, I finally saw the volunteers that provide support for the temple’s operation. There was a table that placed a load of books for visitors. She told me all of them were free.

    “Take one if you want. This is “The Sutra of the Past Vows of Earth Store Bodhisattva“, have you ever read it?”

    “No, but I had read The Sutra On The Original Vows And Merits Of The Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Light Tathagata. It is very interesting.”

    Then we started talking about Buddhism’s effect on our mind. At the same time, she kept saying how Buddhism improved her mind and living quality. She kept encouraging me to learn more about Buddhism to improve my life.

    The miracles in Life

    Therefore, she shared some stories with me.

    “One of our volunteers is very lucky. She retired in her mid-30s. She said she is bored of working for money, so her elder brother decided to pay for her living fee. And she works as a volunteer in this temple. What a peaceful life.”

    I was speechless.

    “Only people with high level of “practice” can be devoid of the stress and pressure of work.”

    That seems to make sense? It seems like if someone has truly mastered the lessons life offers through practice, they no longer need the ‘classroom’ of stressful work—so the world doesn’t force it on them.

    …

    Latest Updates

    When I returned to my home, I received a call on interview arrangement. Let’s see if I can get the offer!

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    Posts

  • The jobs after work

    If your full-time job can’t support your basic living costs, what would you do?

    Today, my colleague told me she has two part-time jobs outside of her regular work. I was surprised for a moment, but I immediately understood her situation. Salaries here are simply too low. Many people can’t survive on their daytime job alone.

    How Lao people bridge the income gap?

    Her words made me reflect on something I had overlooked. Although Laos is often described as a place with a low cost of living, inflation has quietly become a real burden. With the average salary staying low, one full-time job is rarely enough to cover everything.

    To stay afloat, many people turn to a second income stream. Some start small businesses of their own. Others offer services to the community after office hours. And some simply work every weekend, treating their second job as part of their normal routine.

    In my office, it feels like almost everyone has two jobs at the same time. Not because they want extra luxury — but because it’s the only way to build a stable life.

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  • Laos’ Unique Maternity Leave Policy: A Story Worth Sharing

    Last week, I shared my discovery on the maternal leave policy in Lao. To my surprise, the view was higher than I expected🤯.

    1500 views? As a small account with only 118 followers😀, it is great to see over 1500 people clicked my post.

    For a small account with just 118 followers, that was huge! It showed me something important: people value content that sparks thought, not just attention.

    At first, I assumed that posts about the UN and its agencies would be the main draw. And yes, those topics do interest people. But what really caught readers’ attention was something closer to daily life, such as maternity leave.

    A Policy That Stands Out

    In Laos, maternity leave depends on the type of delivery:

    • Natural birth → 4 months paid leave
    • Cesarean section → 4.5 months paid leave

    The difference comes from the level of recovery required.

    “After the cesarean method, women need more time to rest,” my colleague explained.

    This taught me something about content creation:

    • People don’t only want big, global stories.
    • They want stories that connect to their own experiences and make them think.

    By sharing something relatable yet unique, I opened up a conversation that mattered to more than just policy experts.

    I don’t want to only create “eye-catching👀 but meaningless” content. My goal is to become a storyteller, or a content creator who shows people another side of the world.

    Not just “how to make money💰” guides, but meaningful reflections that spark curiosity✨.

    This post feels like one step closer to that goal. 📈

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