Singapore, one year on

Time flies very fast, indeed. I still find it a little hard to believe that I'm already in Singapore for a year, and my first anniversary is only a few days away. Even my colleagues find it hard to believe that time has gone by so fast. I think because I was accepted into the family when it was in the midst of expansion, and the workload piled up rather quickly, we never actually paid attention to the pace time crept by.

Work wise, I'll summarise it as extremely stressful but this is the very nature of my job. I can run to any corners in the world doing this job but this stress would tag along. It is a package, and even in Malaysia it is equally stressful but perhaps in a different form. However, in Singapore, it's a bit dull. Challenging, but not mind-breaking. In Singapore, engineers aren't usually challenged beyond the boundaries set out by the industry. They confine themselves to the circles already drawn out, and tried to overcome obstacles within the circles and in an innovative way solve them, but they aren't good enough to go further to stretch the circle wider. You do something out of the ordinary, it get frowned upon, questioned, and eventually, most of the time, ditched, because taking risks to do the extraordinary isn't what they like doing. Singapore likes to be innovative, and innovative they are, but they are too kiasi to be creative. Which is why after so many years, Singapore still relies on foreign experts to be on the top.

The society in Singapore itself is a mess. Singaporeans are a bunch of people who makes complaining a pastime and actually enjoys doing it. I enjoy going to JB occasionally and usually I take the Malaysian bus to return to Singapore after a day's trip. There was a day where the queue for the Malaysian bus was ridiculously long and so I hopped on the Singapore bus to return, and my disgust towards Singapore becomes immediately apparent. The moment I sat on the bus, the tiny, ridiculous and nonsense complaints begin to grow and spread through the molecules of the air circulating in the bus.

I enjoy earning Singapore Dollar, and enjoy the strength and monetary empowerment bestowed upon by the Singapore Dollar, but sometimes the currency is not worth traded for my psychological health exerted upon by the people who reside in that country.

I'll elaborate later. Right now I'm in my sweet Penang home, and I wanna enjoy every second of it.

Marshmello - Here With Me Feat. CHVRCHES (Official Music Video)

I first heard this song on Fly Fm (oh ya I still tuned to this radio even while I'm in Singapore), it became an instant earworm.



It lightened my mood. And I wanna share this music with all of you to share the joy I experienced.

Annabelle Comes Home

I went to JB yesterday. The traffic was surprisingly smooth on Singapore's side but Malaysia's side was horrible - the machines were broken and the queue was so long I lined up for almost an hour before I passed through the machine. After that I went to accomplish why I went there - watch Annabelle. Okay. The first Annabelle was quite a disappointment. It was so dull, so boring, so unmemorable that right now I really can't recall a single thing from the movie that was the very first spin-off from The Conjuring movies. Anyway the second was a meteorite improvement from the first, and was incredibly entertaining. The latest installment in the series, which, when I first heard about it, I thought was a joke and a ridiculous stretch from the original intention, was fairly entertaining but sufficiently terrifying. The producers and writers got it right by not trying to make it a prequel of a prequel or doing anything to prove the moviegoers it can go anymore asinine. This latest movie focuses on the Lorrens' daughter and her nanny and her nanny's friend. The movie clicked well with me, although at one point it drifted off to becoming a little monotonous and boring, but it picked up pace and was incredibly captivating when the full force of evil was released. Perhaps I've grown up, but I do not find Daniella's obvious stupidity a tolerable attitude, even in fictions. But, I guess from a fresh perspective of the movie writers, this latest movie was a nice touch that is well-received. I am a The Conjuring series fan, I can't say much to the spin-offs from the movies, but this Annabelle is an exception. And I look forward to watching The Conjuring 3. By the way, both The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2 are my favourite Western horror movies after The Grudge series, with currently The Conjuring 2 being my favourite - perhaps because, unlike the first installment, I watched it in the cinema.

Quick Update

Life has been particularly dull in Singapore, mostly because this tiny nation has very limited offers for residence beyond 3 months. As tourists, this little red dot has plenty to offer, and will make you want to come back for more because it does have appeals uniquely Singaporean, but other than these appeals that are tourist-driven, it has nothing much else that excites its residence.

So I thought, I should do something different.

I will try to play tourist in Singapore while I still am here (the longer I stay here, the more I believe I cannot stay here), and I'll start with the parks in Singapore.

It's also to keep my blog active.

This blog has been with me for 10 years. I have every intention of keeping it alive, and I guess this has got to be the way.

Stay tuned.

Jogging

I recently picked up jogging, because I realised I gained 4kg in 4 months and I found that unacceptable.

I am usually reluctant to jog because I have asthma and I cannot jog long. After a few minutes of running my lungs begin to feel strained and I hence slow down and meander instead. But I thought, hey, I'm in Singapore, a virtually crime-free country and I have plenty of time, why don't I start to run a bit day by day and see how far I can go after some time?

And I did, the first time I ran was night. I ran but because I haven't run for a long time, my legs hurt a lot the next day. Then I jogged again one Sunday afternoon (I like being in the sun, tanned skin makes me invigorated, no idea why) and I continue to do so a few nights.

Exercise really makes me feel better, and I do enjoy it. Being in Singapore, I guess, could be fun if time is properly spent.

田馥甄 - 魔鬼中的天使

This has now become a blog where I share songs I fall in love with.

Anyway, this is an old song, but I heard it on the radio and love it.

Nice song.

Starbucks

Starbucks is a name everyone knows. I admit I've always wanted to try Starbucks, but being frugal I always only looked at its price and then turned away. But now that I'm earning a decent monthly salary and am not good in spending at anything else, I thought I should treat myself slightly better by indulging in the food and drinks offered by Starbucks. I wanted to make A CBTL card in Singapore but Starbucks card in Malaysia, because I go JB quite often and there are Starbucks in my hometown but not CBTL, but then CBTL has no branches around where I currently stay in Singapore and its benefits don't appeal to me so I just made purchased one Starbucks card in Singapore instead. Ya, the prices in Singapore, if converted to MYR, are all higher, but affordable in SGD. My first cup in Singapore was the iced mocha, which was decent. My favourite so far is still the green tea latte. Unfortunately Starbucks in most outlets are often too crowded for me to find a place to seat, but luckily living in a suburban area and having a suburban outlet allows me one fine outlet where I get to sit and sip. Anyway, I am looking forward to trying all beverages as I can. I was very nifty with what I spent - because I had no financial independence. Now that I have, I guess I should allow myself to relax and enjoy. I deserve this.