January 17th, 2011

Time passes really fast that tomorrow will be my first year at the office. A lot had happened during that particular one whole year, like my first day to ever work after I graduated, the first time I actually excited that I got a job and at one of the most prominent law firms in Indonesia!

Surely that journey wasn’t as easy as flipping a coin. I had to be rejected first at several law firms, even by those that were not as big as my office. I remember that I was unemployed for about 4 months before eventually accepted by this firm. It was the most surprising one, since I didn’t have enough confidence that I actually had nothing to loose if I calculated my chances of being accepted. But I did! For some unknown reason, the firm accepted me. I didn’t know whether it was because I finally got a job or the fact that this is a big firm, I was really excited that I couldn’t stop smiling that day.

I still remember my first day at the office clearly, since it wasn’t really a decent one. Me and 6 others were held-up in a small meeting room for about 6 hours before being summoned for a very short briefing (30 minutes or so, I think). My first room was more like a train-wreck than a project room (it’s the name of the room). It was a room for 4-6 people with documents scattered all over the place. We actually had to cleaned it up before we were able to sit and placed our laptops on the table. Up until now, I still sit in the same room but on different position.

My first task was given after a week at the office when I had an afternoon smoke at the emergency exit stairs. There I met a senior, chatted a little, before he eventually gave me a task to be done. For some reason I was excited about it until I knew that it was actually his own assignment which he was probably too lazy to finished it. I remember I used to bet on who’d stay the latest with my friends. I think I still hold the record until now for staying 2 days straight at the office.

Of course, it has been an up-an-down journey this whole year. Those memories of us being forced to be cheerleaders for a rather-stupid-competition, which only showed the true colors of lawyers. Or those memories of us being promoted and given a contract extension for one more year. And of course, that day when we received an email of our first ever holiday-bonus. Those were all delicate, except for that particular competition. I don’t know why, but I really hate that competition. It was the unfriendliest friendly-competition I’ve ever entered.

Those days has passed and one by one my colleagues already said their goodbyes until there are only 11 of us left, out of 16. Probably my time to say goodbye would come very soon, but I don’t now yet. I’m still working on my effort to continue my study abroad and if I succeed, I’ll be off around August. Besides, I have a passion to be like my grandfather: a dream of becoming an ambassador. To represent my country upon the world, and not just client’s interest upon the judges/counterpart.