After talking for almost two hours, I said goodbye to Hana and we both went home. I don't know why (or do I?), but I had a great night of sleep. Perhaps my subconscious was gradually regaining my fighting spirit for work, hoping to rest well, looking forward to the coming day, and returning to the company with a fresh and energetic mind.
Well and of course, if I arrived at office earlier in the morning, it also meant I can see Hana earlier.
Hana and I got along well as we were gradually developing a tacit understanding, and became good partners at work. She was a girl with strong comprehension ability, and she could quickly grasp many complex codes or operating processes on the system. Even if there were things she didn't understand, as long as I kickstarted it by giving a 2-minute briefing to her, she would then have no problem in picking up the rest.
For instance, one day she came to me because she didn't understand a section of the code. I casually drew some flowcharts on paper, explaining the logic and design patterns used in those codes. In particular, I highlighted my thoughts behind - by reducing a large amount of code it could greatly improve computational efficiency and thus became easier for other programmers to follow-up.
"Wow, you really made that sound so easy! " She exclaimed after listening.
Hearing her, I decided to put aside my modesty for a moment as I really felt proud and confident. I put on a smile and responded, "Of course! That's why I always say it's important to learn the basics and treasure your experiences. People often say 'there is nothing in the world that I don't know', I will modify it slightly to 'there is no code in this company's system that I haven't created or modified'! Hahaha!"
"Wow, that's impressive. But to be brutally honest, does that mean you have to keep up with everything and others don't have to worry about anything?" Hana said mischievously.
"You're too smart for your own good," I pretended to threaten her, "Soon enough, all of these will become your responsibility!"
"Haha, you can't fool me," Hana retorted, "I am only responsible for the iOS Apps, and I won't touch anything else unless I get promoted and a raise!"
After saying that, she quickly returned to her workspace.
I smiled wryly to myself. Although it reflected the younger generation's "pettiness," but what she said made perfect sense. I remembered when I first arrived here, I was only responsible on things according to my job description and responsibilities. But it changed and changed and changed as I "climbed up the ladder" gradually, and eventually I literally became responsible of everything...
"With great power comes great responsibility"
Perhaps.
But when I was working overtime until late at night, was logging in remotely from home during holidays to troubleshoot a production issue, or was performing system upgrades in the data center during the Lunar New Year holiday, I really don't see how those company executives who were sipping wine, watching movies or playing golf, had any fucking "responsibility" at all.
Perhaps this is the arduous fate of us being the "IT dogs".
Then the long awaited weekend finally arrived. This weekend was special because I didn't need to work remotely, thus I could spend more time with my mother. So on Sunday morning, we went to have a "Dim Sum" breakfast together. We went to a restaurant on the banks of the Shing Mun River that looked like a "ship." I grew up in Shatin, and my family used to come here often to eat and enjoy Dim Sum. Although it has undergone several changes of ownership and name changes and thus is barely recognisable, but reminiscing about the past occasionally should have a positive impact on my mother's mood. In fact, my mother's condition has improved recently - now that she could eat by herself and also had a considerable appetite. So when I suggested going out for Dim Sum, she showed a rare bit of enthusiasm and agreed.
Honestly, her reaction surprised me. This was the first time we went out for Dim Sum since she had a stroke! I couldn't be more delighted with progress she's making.
Moreover, I was beginning to wonder whether my mother had a special premonition about the "meaning" of this Dim Sum outing.....
Because when we arrived at the restaurant, I unexpectedly ran into Hana again.
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