Social Class

My day started off by attending a talk with JD on autism. It’s an unfortunate psychological disorder that afflicts people whom I incidentally come across constantly in my field of work. The talk got me pondering a lot afterwards, especially on the specific tools and techniques to better communicate with them.

Then it was time for the BBQ. Ever since I graduated, it’s been two years since us schoolmates met. They used to be a bunch I’m closer with but last night’s interaction felt extremely remote and uncomfortable. The main theme of most dialogues circled around a societal standard – the 5 Cs.

Discussions included the specific stocks to buy, the type of property to own, the best jobs with the best paycheck and even the kinds of girlfriends to woo (among the guys of course), all of which I was barely participative. I was overtly busy with eating and covertly in distaste. Interestingly, a couple whom were getting married was not even in the conversation.

After a fair share of food and catching up, I was off heading to meet JD with a sigh of relief. Perhaps it’s in the chronological sequence of the day’s events – one material and the other immaterial, or perhaps it’s in my inadequacy to become absorbed in the unfortunate mundane of this malevolent fast-paced economy, I am not quite looking forward to their next gathering.

A Paradigm Shift

Ever since JD shifted department into a new working environment, I’ve been seeing so much more smiles on his face. He’s now so much happier each day as he goes to work that I’m too feeling his renewed enthusiasm and energy in his work. Nowadays, seeing JD’s smile first thing in the morning simply brightens up my day.

I think in Singapore especially, where the teachings of meritocracy is deeply rooted, work becomes essentially central to one’s identity. It is a manifested persona on the societal fabric which derives most of its characteristics from the nature of the job. Hence, there is such inevitable emphasis and persistence on seemingly unimportant details such as one’s job title.

With such huge predominance therefore comes the symbiotic relationship between work and life. With a quality as intangible as emotional well-being, satisfaction derived from one’s job suddenly turns it tangible and a formula of correlation becomes obvious. The eight hours worth of emotional and physical contribution each day is simply too significant to diminish.

Nonetheless, as significant as it might seem, the forces that drive happiness are more than one and that’s another thought for another time. For now, JD’s happy and therefore I’m happy. It’s not yet a perfect equation but I guess that’s just what love is all about.

Back to School

And so my course' starts this week while JD's follows next. After a couple of years of academic stagnancy, it's time to hit the books again.

It does seem like a huge chunk of burden to add studies into our timetable but I guess after some getting used to, most problems will iron out.

Mini-Concert Countdown

7 days to the concert and I'm still trying hard to memorise the lyrics (it can be quite confusing). But still, it's such a beautiful piece. I hope I can bring that across.

Anti-Cold

I still can't believe that with such horridly warm weather I could have came down with a cold once more over the weekends, marking the 3rd time this year.

Starting from today, I shall start on a Vitamin C supplement routine. It's about time I put a stop to it once and for all (hopefully).

Suck Up

“In tough times, more suck up to the boss”. This article from today’s My Paper somewhat provides an explanation.

At first, this young colleague of mine was producing promising results on the closing reports. He was professional, eloquent and more importantly genuinely enthusiastic in his work. Only a couple months into the job, he has already gotten a few senior staff singing his praises.

Of late, his movement starts displaying signs of ingratiation. Not that I bother to notice, it’s just that I so happen sit outside my boss’s office. His selection of words, the packaging of sentences, the body language and the effort made to walk some 20 metres across the room to reach here simply irks me.

In modern workplace, I don’t deny that some effort is at least needed to PR with your boss. He or she ultimately decides your fate in the company. But what disgusts me is when the person overdoes it to the point of obvious differential personality.

“It becomes a mentality of ‘I not only want to do a good job, but I want to be seen as doing a good job’.”

An Old Friend

I was on my way to work this morning taking the same path everyday to reach my bus stop. I took notice of a lady from afar dressed in casual red. She was seated on a porch by the void deck which was usually vacant most part of time.

As I was about to pass her by with hurried foot steps, I caught a quick glance of her face and find it oddly familiar. She looked very young but the features on her face were distorted - signs of facial paresis. I halted to take a closer look.

**********

When I was about 7 years old, I had quite a few playmates from around the neighbourhood. Almost everyday after school, we would gather at the playground to do what we do best - hide-and-seek.

One of the closest I've got in the gang were three siblings, one brother and two elder sisters, who lived a couple floors above with their grandmother. 4 years later one day, they moved suddenly and I never saw them again.

That very day, their parents had yet another huge quarrel. They had been quarrelling almost everyday but this time they were on the brink of divorce. In frustration and anguish, the elder sister threw herself head-first over the window.

The plunge did not take her life. She recovered eventually from her injury but the damage to her brain was irreversible. She became permanently impaired in her speech and psychomotor movement with paresis to her face and limbs.

15 years later, her divorced mother decided that her disability was too huge a burden to carry. She was forced to move back to her grandmother's place, back to where it was a couple of floors above mine.

**********

I recognise her.

Getting to Know Myself Better

Your view on yourself:
You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you meet that person.

The seriousness of your love:
You have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Your views on education:
Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:
You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.

How do you view success:
You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying. What are you most afraid of:

You are afraid of having no one to rely on in times of trouble. You don't ever want to be unable to take care of yourself. Independence is important to you.

Who is your true self:
You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Thanks Hao for the link: http://www.quizbox.com/personality/test82.aspx

Temporarily Incapacitated

It's been JD and work non-stop ever since the start of 2009 until finally this crippling ailment came about 3 days ago. The doc says it could be due to stress at work and hence I'll need lotsa rest and fluids.

With a couple days worth of MC prescribed, it's quite a nice feeling to be staying home on a weekday (minus the debilitating pain!)

GR 6530 U

Less of a flair for our 2nd anniversary but nonetheless it was a prelude to bigger things to come.

It was a harbinger of freedom and yet with burden intertwined that we will come to embrace come April. Freedom because we can go places we've never been before. Burden because I've just gotten my first parking fine of a lifetime - $30, yikes!