Month: July 2007

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Diary My YouTube

Vidoes And Pictures From The National Day Parade Preview, Enjoy!

Greatings people! I have finally sorted out my pictures and did some basic video editing. Hopefully you will like it as much as I do. Enjoy!

To recap, this is how I got my precious pair of preview tickets and this is how I felt after the preview. I know you all must be rushing to click on the play buttons below but I do have some nice pictures to share together with a short journal. Please do …

I must apologize for the quality of the video as this is the first time I have used my 3x optical zoom camera to take video. I had no idea what format the video would be (I don’t have the software to edit certain formats) so I tried to keep each clip as self-contained as possible. And I had no idea that I cannot zoom once I start video recording. Duh!

So, the first clip was shot far far away. The famous free fall display by the SAF Parachute Team known as “Red Lions”. This year, the platform is a small area floating by the bay and as you can see in the video, at the perimeter of the stage there are tall structures that can be dangerous for the team. Since the background music is a bit plain, I have decided to mix DJ Tiesto’s new track “Driving To Heaven” into the clip.

And then, the “Red Lions” dived again … in the dark. I quickly took out my camera and after the first landing, I regretted because it did seem a bit too far away in the dark. I zoomed in and restarted the filming. The background music was good so I have decided to retain the original film. Check out the UFO-like objects towards the end of the clip. What the heck are those?!

Of course, what is National Day Parade without the fireworks display, even for the preview?

PS. This blog is dedicated to my friend GS who is now stationed in Vietnam and she is going to miss the actual NDP on TV. She loves Singapore as much as I do. I have been really excited and honored to be involved with her switch of career. She is determined to get immersed in the industry outside of Singapore and in a couple of years of time, she shall return and contribute much to our nation. Also, to my friend JT whom I have the honor to work with and is now stationed in India. She is going to miss the NDP broadcast as well. Good news is, she will be back next year – after her 3 years stint.

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Diary

National Day Parade Preview – How I Felt After The Event

Click to see larger print

If someone was to ask me couple of years ago how I felt about National Day Parade (NDP) as a first generation immigrant, frankly speaking, I could only connect at that symbolic level. Not that being symbolic diminishes the importance of the event. Quite the contrary, the power of something as symbolic as a country’s flag and the image of her leader raise emotion and brings hope to the citizens. Question reminds: how can I get connected to even this symbolic level as an immigrant?

I was born as a British Subject and brought up in an environment when people worship money as God. I have lived, studied, and worked in various different countries excluding my tour destinations (in chronicle order) – Hong Kong, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Singapore, United States, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Mauritius. There is no perfect world. However, whenever I returned to Singapore after an overseas trip before I took up the citizenship, I always felt at home. And still am. There are many things that Singapore is not. For me, I love what Singapore is. And I have accepted what Singapore is, is not, and her past as one single package. No one has asked me to be a citizen. When I have counted exactly 2 years of stay from my passport (I had many business trips back then), I headed to the then SIR building on the next day with all my papers ready – alone – and sent in my application. Now you see why I have no problem in connecting to this symbolic level from day one.

In the past couple of years, I have had the honor and opportunity to work with the Singapore Armed Force (SAF) in the capacity of an external consultant. I have visited units across the three services and met with officers from the ground to the top. SAF Officers are all humans, of course, just like you and I. They all have their worries and concerns (like the early retirement at 45 that was not what they signed up for), some may wonder what the non-military jobs are like for them, but they do share a strong set of core values that I witnessed throughout my course of work. And it is because of all these great people I have met as well as the people from the unit that leads the NDP effort for the second consecutive year that give me a new perspective on what NDP is about.

NDP is part of nation building. It is also part of the effort to raise image (under the umbrella of “Total Defence” as well as the government) and identity (of citizens) that in turn, links to nation building. By definition, a nation comprises of people who speak the same set of languages, culture, and history living in a particular area under the same government. And it is what NDP is about – people. It is because tickets are not sold but rather distributed, at the preview, I have seen the very young and the very old. I have seen people from all walks of life. To me, it was as though we have taken a small portion of Singapore – be it as people, or the Total Defence force, or our military assets, or our government – and put it into one area for this special celebration that people all connect with one another. But that was not all. As the event of the actual day will be broadcast nationwide, viewers from home will be joining the celebration as well.

A lot of people have put in a lot of hard work to make it happen. My heartfelt thanks to all of them. Is it an event worth celebrating at this scale? Sure it is. It is the founding of our nation. And how would you feel if you have to participate in organising the event including all the previews (extra work on top of your normal work duty and you have to start doing it one year in advance) not just for one year, but two? After the show, I messaged my friend from SAF (who helps organising the event) to thank him for the tickets and told him that I have thoroughly enjoyed the event. His reply was:

Me too. Every show is a wonderful journey of a brand new experience.

I don’t think all who participate in the event actually think like he does. Would have been nice though.

Now, I have actually wanted to include some videos and pictures I have taken into this blog but it will make this blog a bit too long to read. And since I am still in the mist of sorting the videos out, it may take another day or so for me to publish them in my website. But I promise you, the videos and pictures should be out as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and your patience. Staying tuned.

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Memorable Events

A Journal of National Day Parade Preview (2007)

Both Cynthia and I felt a bit weird dressed in red while having Prawn Mee. Not just any red, but the kind of red that stops traffic. What to do? We were encouraged to dress this way. It is not as though our wardrobe has lots of red items to choose from. So I donned a Nike T-shirt while Cynthia wore a red shirt with the word … “Mauritius” (a beautiful country in the middle of nowhere). Perhaps no one really recognise the word. What if she wears a bright red T-shirt with the word “Malaysia” instead. Erm … ha ha ha.

We parked our car at Cynthia’s office and have decided to take a train to Raffle City in order to avoid the traffic jam near the parade area. At that time I was still not too sure on how to get there. But then …

We saw more and more people dressed in red. And the situation has gone exponential as we approached our destination. The entire stretch of road was filled with red colored shirts (see below).

As we approached the entry, we saw an array of screening machines. Cynthia walked through the metal detector with a bottle of water and she was asked to take a sip there and then. Pretty tight security we have.

It is because the Indoor Stadium has closed down, our National Parade is at Marina Bay this year. The stage is built on top of the water with four bridges extending from the seating area that has a capacity of 27,000 people. With the backdrop of the Central Business District (CBD), this year is certainly special compares to the previous ones. Below is a picture of a structure that has the seating area on the surface and the VIP car park as well as access area below. I wonder what they will do with this structure after the National Day.

The event started with some music entertainment and to me, it really started when the parades of the representatives from our Total Defence marched into the platform.

And then, our Singapore flag coming from the CBD area flew above us. People spirit was high and we sang the National Anthem.

What better way to please the crowd (especially the kids) was to have the new 3rd Generation solders appeared from nowhere and posted for us?

The parade continued with the participation from the Air Force (that pair of F16 was fast and fury and loud) and the Navy as well as the coastal guards, and the Army (mainly vehicles and 40 commandos jumped from a bridge on ropes). I did not know that those boats can go so fast and they are actually quite big!

Beside a showcase of some of our military assets, there were lots of entertainment on stage. The color and light was just amazing.

Even the river was lit up with some huge light bulbs!

There was musical fountains in front of the stage and by the sides as well.

Throughout the event, I was chatting with Cynthia if the performers have been “recycled” for some of the performances. Partly because it seemed to have many people involved in each performance. Towards the end of the event, the entire bunch of performers all entered the stage. And my oh mine … there were lots of people on the stage (see below)!

The event ended with the display of fireworks from around the stage as well as on top of three buildings at the CBD area.

All good journals begin with food and end with food. By the time we returned to Raffle Place, it was 9.30pm. We had Satay at Lau Pa Sat as our dinner. Local delights from start till end!

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Diary

An SAF Officer Called Me Unexpectedly During Lunch – Sir Yes Sir!

As a first generation immigrant, I am exempted from National Service (NS). In the past 3 years with my previous employer, Ministry of Defence was my biggest client. So, I often joked with people that I was serving NS in some ways. My work required me to travel from one base to another meeting different units, different people. Looking back, though colleagues from my current job often ignore my experience with my previous employer and get fixated with my first employer (something to do with reputation I suppose) making me wonder if my past couple of years of working experience has been obliterated from my resume, I enjoyed being able to serve my country as an external consultant. Besides, being a civilian on the military ground has lots of added advantages. Since I don’t have ranks at all (not even like those who have gone through NS) and I don’t wear uniform, the SAF Officers (and Warrant Officers) have treated me very nicely. After all, they all wish to be an exemplar of someone who embraces fully the SAF core values. What better way it is to take the opportunity to raise their image through public commoners like myself?

When I received a phone call from one of the SAF Officers whom I have worked with during lunch, I immediately got into that “Sir, Yes Sir!” mode. Though he is a great friend of mine and has agreed to be a reference for my current employer, formality cannot be bypassed.

After all the introductory conversations such as “Long time no see, Sir. How are you, Sir?”, he popped the following question in all sternness.

“Are you a Singaporean?”

Many thoughts shot pass my mind. What does my country want from me? Some secret high profile high risk tasks that require my expertise? An undercover team to be deployed into East Timor asap? Will I be called into the Pentagon … erm I mean Gombak HQ for briefing just like in the Tom Clancy’s books when Jack Ryan being called in as special consultant to the military?

I took a deep breath with my chest held high and suddenly a familiar sense of patriotism overtook my anxiety and curiosity.

“Yes Sir. I have been a Singapore Citizen since 1998, Sir.”

And he continued, “How would you like a pair of ticket to the preview of National Day Parade?”

You kidding me?! For someone who tears seeing our National Flag flies up in the sky (hang by 3 helicopters during their rehearsal near to the condo I stay), going to watch NDP will kill me … with all that emotions. And the great thing is, it is a preview. Because on the National Day itself, our band has a tradition to jam at my home studio, just like what we did last year. That would have been quite a sacrifice because I have been waiting for months for this jamming session to happen. Everyone are just so busy with their lives.

I really wanted to scream “SIR YES SIR! I WANT THEM BAD SIR!”. Well, in the end I think I did scream due to overwhelming excitement but I cannot make a decision without Cynthia’s consent (part and puzzle of how to sustain a healthy relationship making our decision and not my decision – however symbolic at times). She may not be able to make it and what am I to do with an empty seat? I would rather pass them onto the next couple.

So I replied, “Can I get back to you? I need to give Cynthia a call first.” He asked if I could get back to him soon. I read his mind of course so I replied with a sense of urgency, “I will get back to you within 30 minutes, Sir!”.

He was laughing and said, “You really sound like you are in the military!”

Well, I may have left the military project but a part of me is still inside. When I called him up within 5 minutes, he said he would deliver the tickets to my doorsteps in the evening.

And he did.

I am so honored. Now, stay tune for my NDP Preview write-up. According to him, this coming Preview will be more or less like the actual one and the firework will be no less than 75% of the actual day parade. Man, I am so excited.

Before he drove away from my doorsteps, I frantically asked, “Sir, where is the parade going to be? Is it near Esplanade?”

He smiled, waved at me and said, “Head to Esplanade. You will see the whole army there. You won’t miss it.”

I laughed thinking of “the whole army” and I saluted him as he drove away.

Related Blog Entry: Vidoes And Pictures From The National Day Parade Preview, Enjoy!

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Diary

Behind Closed Door, Sex Talk And All

I spent the first half of my career life working in an International environment and then switched to a workplace whereby local Singaporeans seldom talk about sex. Now that I am back in an International environment and check this out – on day 5, I was squeezed into a small meeting room full of guys as my new workspace (my first month at work will be another story) and was surprised at what sort of topics these guys talk about.

Before getting into the juicy bits, here is some background in what I mean by “International”. Our project team comprises of an Indian freshly from India, an Indian freshly from Middle East, an Indian who studied and worked in US, a few local Singaporeans, a Korean who is now studying in US, a couple more from the West, and me who is born in Hong Kong and have studied in UK. I must have gotten “domesticated” by the local environment (which is not a bad thing really) when most locals at their 30’s talk about babies and 20’s talk about … movies, food, and shopping. Now, in this meeting room, behind closed door, with audience age group ranges from early 20’s to late 20’s to … ahem … mid 30’s to late 50’s, there is one topic in common.

Sex.

One day, some of us started to comment on how to improve our shitty environment with so many of us squeezed into a small meeting room working environment, I suggested that we need a Plasma TV. Somehow that conversation has gone from CNN to videos to … porn – totally beyond the control of the relatively rather innocent me. Then out of the blue, one guy started talking about ways to download porn and before I could recovered from a dropping jaw, the topic turned into various fetishes found in porn videos – in graphical details.

Not that I have anything against what’s inside porn. Just that talking freely about it with an audience of such a wide age group and cultural diversity sort of makes me gasp. But that is not the most shocking of all …

It is the sex life revelation from one of the young Singaporean that intrigues me the most. (Strangely, the subject of our interest has gone to the same school as one of the sons of my colleague in the same room and this subject of mine know his son … now, that is awkward.) I am so inspired to write a book on “Sex Life of the Singaporean Teenagers” following one of the books with the same topic written in Australia.

I am not sure how much of this is new information to you but it is certainly quite an eye-opener to me. The key “learning points” for me from a single subject are (imagine if I conduct a survey in a much wider audience like the one done in Australia):

  1. Some Singaporean girls are not shy about initiating sex and they start young … very young
  2. Some youngsters treats sex as experimental and lustfully recreational while my ideal of “deepening the passion and love between couples” seems too … old school
  3. Some youngsters tend to change their partners frequently within short time frame
  4. Sex education in Singapore may have taught the youngsters well in terms of birth control (girls actually take pills in advance to plan for sexual encounters!) but probably fails in teaching them that unprotected sex is the main reason how people contract HIV

When that young colleague of mine finished the story and left the room, I was too tongue-tied to say …

“Next time, please consider to wear a condom.”

Very soon, the topic returned to paid sex in Singapore and expanded to paid sex in various parts of the world … how the in-thing in India for men to throw money notes to the (clothed) erotic dancers and more.

My oh mine … this gives forth a new definition to OJT – “On the Job Training”.

Categories
Animation Foreign Movie Reviews Romance

Paprika and Who Slept With Her – A Mixed Review From Us

After a rather disappointing outing to watch the Korean sex comedy “Who Slept With Her” last week, I tried to make amend and choose a better movie this time for the Movie Review Squad – the Japanese anime “Paprika”. Turns out that three of us have different opinions on these two movies. TK actually enjoyed the B-list movie “Who Slept With Her” with the expectation of a mindless laugher. I was mildly entertained by it while Cynthia found the jokes crude. In short, “Who Slept With Her” is definitely the male’s version of a chick movie (a dude movie?!). As for “Paprika”, I thoroughly enjoyed watching that and it has exceeded TK’s expectation (I suspect it was not that high to start with) while Cynthia found the story confusing.

I like “Paprika” a lot because the story is interestingly original and the artwork is beautiful. In some scenes, I was actually paying attention to all the background objects marveled at the amount of details on the screen rather than the main attractions. Color contrast plays a part to make some of the scenes dramatically beautiful. Although the characters are in 2-dimension, the way the postures are presented as well as the small movements look real enough. And these 2D characters are often set in backgrounds that are rendered with realistic 3D shading. Because the storyline of “Paprika” intertwines the reality with the dream world, the contortion of the surfaces, the morphing of characters and objects, and the flashbacks of scenarios – making it perhaps one of the most artistic Japanese anime I have seen.

What is the story of “Paprika” about? Without giving too much spoilers (you know I won’t!), a device that enables therapists to enter patients’ dreams has been fallen into the wrong hands. Now, people are losing their minds doing things against their will. It is up to the young and beautiful doctor Atsuko Chiba and her team together with her alt-ego that exists in the dream world “Paprika” to save the world. The story has its tense moments, moments of violence, and brief moments of (artistic) nudity. I guess that is why “Paprika” is rated NC-16 in Singapore.

I can understand why Cynthia finds the story confusing. Quite a number of times, the dialogues happen faster than the rate we can digest the subtitles. Perhaps the animation itself is too captivating. I at time find it hard to fully follow the plot. Some of the translation can be hard to gasp at first read. Maybe the concepts are foreign to non-Japanese or maybe the plot can be so unexpected at times. Either way, there is lots of speed reading to do while watching “Paprika”, at least to me.

I can also understand why Cynthia find “Who Slept with her” too crude to her liking. I did not know that it is a B-list movie (TK?! Why didn’t you …) and the last Korea sex comedy I watched with TK (as gently reminded by the man himself) was “The Art of Seduction”. Now, that was a good one. Funny and tastefully done. “Who Slept with her” starts with a Vice Principal suspects that a trainee teacher is having sex with someone inside the school library at night and the story then rewinds to the point when that trainee teacher just joined the school. The three usual suspects are a handsome student, a wrinkled face student (acted by an old man obviously) who has an enormous “tool”, and a student with nothing but sex in mind. The trainee teacher (played by “Kim Sa-rang) is really hot though – Miss Korea back in year 2000. Still I wish that she plays a much larger role other than merely some men’s object of desire. However, if you are in for a mindless laughter, “Who Slept with her” may be your cup of tea.

I don’t think it is a matter of watching either one of the show or both. There are quite a number of good movies are now showing. If you enjoy watching Japanese anime, you really should check out “Paprika”.

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Snippet of My Life

Snippet Of My Life Episode 4 – Technology In The Age Of The Dogs

At work we talk about reward and recognition. How often do we show signs of recognition to and reward our loved ones, our family members, and … our friends? The words “I love you” is never being said enough. And it is never too frequent to be recognised. And yes, thank you for being an avid reader of my site. You are the best friend I have.

I confess. I am a man of technology. But I have only got to use a web-cam very recently. The experience was foreign. Why have I resisted for so long? I don’t know. Somehow I feel uncomfortable in front of a web-cam. Perhaps I am not a movie star material. Perhaps being in front of a camera makes me want to hide. Perhaps I am naked at home most of the time.

Whatever the reason was and is, I felt awkward when my sister set up her laptop. In my own house. One month ago. While my mother was still in town. In front of the screen there were my sister, my mother, Cynthia and I. Behind the screen was my father in Hong Kong. Except there was no one behind the screen. The one thing that separated us was just distance. Though at that moment, I felt all that separated my father and I was the computer screen.

White furry animal. Pacing around my home in Hong Kong. It was a dog. A handsome dog. I ain’t a dog lover. But it is hard not to love my family’s dog while cursing at my neighbor’s dog. For its non-stopping barking. For God’s sake. Give that dog some food! Somebody! Please!

Dad said the dog was sad. Sad that my sister is no longer in town. Sad that my mother was no longer in town. No, the dog did not recognise us from the computer screen. My dad tried to lift the dog to the screen level. My mother tried to wave thousands of miles away. My sister tried to wave thousands of miles away.

Day 2 … my mother tried, my sister tried …

And I suggested something …

Then something happened. That unleashed the awareness level within the dog. The dog began to bark.

Hear Master’s Voice.

As suggested, my father connected the sound output away from the headset and into the hi-fi. All of a sudden, the dog recognised my mother’s voice. Recognised my sister’s voice. Soon, he was barking to the computer screen. And teared (he is a very emotional dog).

Hear Master’s Voice.

Perhaps Jesus did not die. Perhaps Jesus did not resurrect. Perhaps Jesus knows how to travel through time and space. Perhaps what he did was to briefly step out our world, appeared to his disciples in surreal images, reappear again in mortal form only to ascend to Heaven shortly.

Perhaps we are just not aware of what we see are in fact real, however surreal these signals are … just like the image of my mother, my sister, Cynthia and me on the computer screen thousands of miles away from where we actually are. In the eyes of a dog.

Show some love. Love connects us all. Love someone. Have someone to love you.

Peace.

Hear Master’s Voice.

Categories
Country Folk & Jazz Music Reviews

Martina McBride’s Waking Up Laughing – Each Song Tells A Story Well

15 years of music career, 9 studio albums and a greatest hits compilation, country singer Martina McBride’s new album “Waking Up Laughing” is packed with songs that have beautiful lyrics showcasing her superb soprano voice. Some label her as the Celine Dion of country music and I like how she makes an effort in telling a story for every songs that she makes believe. If you pay attention on how she tackles each song vocally with a beginning, a middle, and an end, you may realize that her change in vocal register is smooth and well controlled – be it as just a whisper or at climax. Beautiful execution.

Part of the reason why I love country music is the subjects covered. In the song “Anyway”, she sings that even though whatever you build from scratch may crumble, dreams may never come true, hope may be lost, people whom you love dearly may walk away from you, prayers that may not be answered – just do it anyway. To me it is very motivating. As for “Love Land” – a poetic piece of work – the story begins with a girl having to marry a man because she was carrying his baby. It was not the fairy tale that she dreamt of but she really loves the guy. Then the baby did not make it to see the world and she kept blaming herself for all the mistakes she made in life …

For the longest time I blamed myself. Thought I was paying for my mistakes. But we tried again. Now we’re watchin’ him blow three candles out. He’s daddy’s little man. And only God could have planned. The steps I’ve taken. That led me to where I am. Love Land.

Another song “House Of A Thousand Dreams” spins the story from the wife’s perspective seeing her husband lost his job and the condition of their house has deteriorated since then. In her mind, she says …

My husband’s a good man. Gives all that he can. I know he thinks he’s let me down. I just want him and the children to be happy. It’s not always easy, but it’s all I dream about.

And from the little boy’s perspective …

My daddy’s a strong man. My momma, she loves him. And they love my brother and sister and me. Sometimes at night we lay out in the backyard. And take turns wishing on the first star we see.

Besides these three outstanding songs of my favorite, there are others that though painted with a grim situation (child sexual abuse), hope follows (“But when it rains, the past gets washed away, and then she smiles ’cause she knows in the end the world gets beautiful, beautiful again”). And of course, there are some that are so love overdosed (“Woke up in the middle of the night and saw you sleepin’. I was hoping that you were dreamin’ about me. Kissed your cheek and said I love you. You reached for me and then you mumbled, I love you too, is everything ok?”). Some have ideas that are just so obvious but yet with such an impact – if you are trying to find a reason to stay in a relationship, maybe it’s time to walk away.

Below is her live performance of the song “Anyway” at American Idol result show. Check out how her soprano voice rode the wave towards the end. I thought that sort of effort is only for live (especially that American Idol style of ending) but when I hear the recording, it is the exact same thing. Worth checking out if you don’t mind country music.

Categories
Other People's Lives

So Cynthia Has A New Hairstyle

Deep inside, I have always wanted Cynthia to have that long straight hair like the 99.99% of the female population found in the CBD area. I often think that majority of the population can’t be wrong. She did have her hair rebonded a couple of times and she never quite likes the damage done to her hair. Being the super understanding dude that I am, it doesn’t matter to me what hairstyle she has. Anything she is comfortable and happy with is fine by me. Today, while I was having a nice glass of beer at a pub, Cynthia went for a haircut and when I saw her new hairstyle …

… my journalistic nature kicked in. I visualized what my website’s front page picture would be like and then the headline. (So evil, eh? Ha ha ha!) At that very moment, I have associated her new hairstyle with one of the characters of my old beloved online game. Apparently, her new hairstylist whom they communicate in Malay (because she doesn’t speak Mandarin) did a temporary setting to her hair in order to give her an idea of what a hair perm will look like for her. What a clever way to do business! Cynthia instantly felt in love with this funky new style and if only she dyes it red …

I will have to look like this … her favorite online character.

Categories
Memorable Events

So I Found A Job (And Thanks For The Support Y’all!)

Thanks Lora!

Before I tell the story of how the reading from the milometer of my car helped me to decide which job offer to take, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friends, family, and the avid readers of my site for keeping me going throughout this seven months long “sabbatical leave”. I know it is not easy to hear those I-need-to-find-myself and I-have-no-idea-of-what-to-do over and over again, days after days, months after months. I can even imagine on the other side of the MSN chat, you must be busy Alt-Tabbing to the work you need to finish or busy conceptualizing some really cool approaches to solve real life problems. I now for once fully understand why housewives tend to call up their husbands in the middle of the day talking about trivial stuffs. Turns out that triviality is to the eyes of the beholders. And because in this half a year or so I have spent much of my time building contents in my site, thank you for all your visits and your kind words of encouragement – both on and offline. You guys have kept me going days after days …

So why have I finally decided to look for a job? There are many reasons, many triggers. Ironically, that one reason, that final trigger turns out to be an invalid reason as I found out later. But still, I am glad that I did. At times I think my friends and family have much faith in me than I. Out of the blue, I told one of my dear friend that I have this idea of looking for a job. My dear friend’s immediate response was that once I put my mind into something, I will get it done – fast. I didn’t quite believe him but now I do.

In these months of wandering, I have gotten a few who are close to me to think of taking a long career break – as young as someone who has worked for a couple of years. Even one of my recruiters who own the business wishes to take a long break. Then I realised, that this break of mine has to end soon. Least I will get more and more people doing the things I did. Who’s going to pay the income tax in that case and sustain the Singapore economy?!

When my sabbatical leave hit the 6-month mark, I checked my bank balance and did a mental calculation on how long I could sustain without financially relying onto anybody. My savings has shrunk quite a fair bit, much more than I have anticipated. “Incremental Retirement” at that time was a good idea. No one can tell how long one is going to live so how can you decide how much money is needed for your retirement based on the statistics from other people? That was where the idea of “Incremental Retirement” comes into picture. However, I must remain relevant to the current job market to make that work. No point not being able to return to the workforce and continue where I left off. That way, I may not even have a retirement!

Looking at the dwindling saving triggered another thought – opportunity cost. That number has more impact than the reduction in savings. Adding both numbers up – expenses and opportunity cost – made it a more compelling reason for me to do something quick. And since all the rest of my potential money making ideas are going nowhere, it was only natural and logical to go after what the market will pay me for – my past experiences. Turns out that because Cynthia has not been transferring money into my account since the beginning of the year (we have a very complex financial system whereby majority of our expenses, including Cynthia’s personal expenses, go under my bank account), my financial situation was way worst than I though. My real expenses throughout these seven months was not that alarming after all. In fact, we looked at the numbers last night and agreed that I am actually quite “cheap” to upkeep. Just a couple of hundreds of dollars a month on average is enough to keep me a happy man.

The rest are history. I zigzagged between the two job opportunities and one night when I returned home after the final interview of one of the opportunities, the mileage of my car read 20,951km. I remember vividly one fine day back in December last year. I parked my car at my condo and the engine was still running. The sky was bright and sunny. I looked at the milometer of my car and said to myself: by the time I service my car, I will find myself a job. And I was supposed to service my car when the mileage hit 20,951km – the exact mileage when I got home from from that final interview (click here to see the milometer reading and the service reminder). Call this coincidence? My life can be so full of it sometimes. Now you know why I can so relate to the character played by Audrey Tautou in the movie “A Very Long Engagement”. Future conditions as imagined in present time do mean something to me.

So what’s next? I guess if there are two things that I keep on doing over the years are songwriting and just writing in general. Hence, the site will continue (though longer turnaround time for comment replies and possibly less frequent blog posting). I look at the clock now and I am just 9 hours away from reporting to duty. By the time this blog is published, I shall be back from my first day of work (still need time to vet this blog). Expect a whole new series of story from a new cubicle dweller. Stay tuned.

PS. A big thank you to my sister Lora in getting me such a wonderful gift for my new job. I wanted to send you a MMS on the result of the final engraving but it was too much hassle trying to take a good picture using my wireless phone. I used a camera instead. I love the picture so much that I have decided to put it into my site.

Edit: Erm … thanks to Choong Yoong to point out the difference between speedometer and milometer (or odometer). Ha ha ha.