Yuan Goes to Work: Invisible Bombs – Lavender Panda’s Survival Log #4 | The “Emergency Meeting” Bomb 5 Minutes Before Knock-Off! Boss’s OT Trap Strikes Again 😭💣🕔
It’s 5:50 PM. I’ve already packed my bamboo backpack, dreaming of heading back to the valley for a steaming cup of lavender tea and crashing into a lazy nap to recover from the last two days of OT.
Then—ding!—Teams message from Boss A pops up in the corner:
“Ah Yuen, come to my office for a sec. Let’s discuss the proposal.”
Me: … (staring at the clock: 5:52)
Inside, a tiny panda voice screams: Here it comes again! This “summon right before knock-off” is classic invisible bomb version 2.0!
The closer it gets to 6 PM, the more “urgent” Boss gets. They always remember to ask you at the very last second, like: “I just feel like talking now, so you have to match my energy immediately!”
📌 Why is it always right before end of day?
Planned 6 PM sharp exit → turns into 7 PM, 8 PM
Street-side fish ball noodles for dinner → becomes microwaved office rice
Falling asleep to lavender scent → replaced by coffee breath and OT till dawn
I drag myself into the office. Boss is sitting there, Excel open, casually going: “I’m not too sure about this number here. What do you think—how should we adjust it?”
Clock: 5:58.
Me internally: …Can’t this wait till tomorrow’s 9 AM meeting? Why now?!
The “discussion” quickly becomes:
Boss talks halfway → phone rings (client) → topic switch
I add two sentences → Boss talks over everything anyway
Final conclusion: Actually, nothing needs changing. Just “making sure you understand.”
Me (inner OS): I understand perfectly… that this could’ve been an email or tomorrow morning, hello?!
💭 Ah Yuen’s Workplace Mini-Rant**
These “pre-knock-off meetings” aren’t about work efficiency at all.
It’s the boss wanting to prove: “I’m still here, so you stay too.”
Or maybe their procrastination just kicked in and they remembered you exist.
Either way, the victims are always the ones below—our after-work time becomes the boss’s “on-call anytime” buff.
Finally 6:30 PM. I shuffle to the pantry with tired bear paws, brew an extra-strong lavender tea.
Steam rises, I close my eyes and breathe deep:
Purple flower fields in the valley, gentle breeze, rustling bamboo… slowly washing away the fluorescent lights and Teams ding-ding noises.
Turns out, even though the pre-knock-off traps are annoying, as long as I bring the healing scent of the valley back with me, this little bear can still protect my boundaries.
Next time another “5-minute emergency meeting” hits, I’ll smile and reply (in my head, at least): “Boss, can we discuss this tomorrow at 9 AM? I have an important date tonight—with lavender.”
(Of course, in reality I only dare say it in my heart… but fantasizing is a survival skill too 🐾)
**💜 Ah Yuen’s Healing Note:**
- Not everything that feels “urgent now” actually is.
- Protecting your knock-off time = protecting your own lavender valley.
- Did you bravely tell a “pre-knock-off bomb” today: “Tomorrow lah”?
Does your office have these “on-time exit killers”? Drop a comment and rant with me~ Let’s heal our workplace wounds with lavender together 💫 👉 More of Ah Yuen’s meltdown daily life + healing doodles, waiting for you in the valley~
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