Being an HR embedded to one of the technical function in my company, I am living in two worlds. One is the HR world and the other one is my client’s world - the Offshore Operations.

This has some “privilege” - if you want to call it a privilege. Such as, I got invited to 2 team building events. Lunches and dinners occasions from both departments. I can even have 2 work stations. One in the HR’s floor where I was provided with spacious work station facing the window. I can see the blue sky and mountain from afar, very refreshing for a pair of tired eyes. And another one in the Offshore Operations’s floor which is smaller and stucked in the middle of other work stations. But it’s okay. It’s cozy and it fits its purpose. It’s only for me to plug and play my lap top. And as a base camp whilst moving in between meetings with the managers.

I tried to divide my time equally. I usually spend Monday and Tuesday on HR’s floor to reconnect with my HR colleagues and found some peaceful in working (such as…nobody peep over my shoulder or keep on dropping by to chat with me -nah, just kidding, I love you, guys-). And I usually spend Wednesday to Friday at the Offshore Operations’s floor to be able to support my client better. And let me tell you the significant different between floor.

HR’s floor smells better. That’s for one thing. The ratio between male and female employees are more balance. I would say that the number of female employees are slightly more than male employees (and before I am accused as being sexist, no - the floor didn’t smell better because of the female ratio). And most of them are young. I am one of the ”middle age” employees by HR’s standard. Hence, the athmosphere is warm, cheerful and friendly. One big happy family working together with sufficient headcount. What a heaven.

Offshore Operations’s floor is dominated by male employees. People are working all the time. And although they are also warm and friendly, there’s an aura of a no nonsense attitude and endless sense of urgency there. Every second counts. From time to time I would hear technical conversation and sometimes people speak louder to emphasize the important. I am now putting a potpourri (is this the correct spell?) just to change the aura around my work station a bit.

Moving between two floors -let alone worlds- are not easy. I tend to unable to keep up with the social activity of both worlds regardless the fact that I always try to have lunch with my HR colleagues. I want to take more active part in the HR family, but the fact that I spend most of the times with my client sometimes made me feel a liiiiiiitle bit secluded from them. I emphasized on little as the HR family is nothing but nice and warm to me. So sometimes it saddened me a bit when I kept on missing lunches or occasion with them. Plus on the other hand, my client’s world really infatuate me. Really - infatuate - me. I am in love with everything they provide me. The knowledge, the exposure, the thought…everything. Every single eenie weenie bitsy tiny thing.

And during my quiet moment -which is rare- I do feel a little bit lonely. Being in a male dominated world, I found my self in almost every occasion being the only female around. And although the male species has always been perfect gentlemen and never ignore me, there’s a sense of missing my own species. I missed the typical female chat. I missed the mundane female issue and their high pitch laughter. And I found my self more and more forlorn in between these worlds. So what I am trying to do is to reconnect better. Whenever possible, I try not to loose touch even that would mean I have to moving up and down a lot in a day.

Oh well, can’t complain. The price I have to pay for being madly deeply in love. What is important is I am happy. I am happier here than everywhere else. And that’s what counts. Am I right?