Reflections

I've just been thinking a lot lately.

Wishing somehow ... bright ideas would appear in my mind.
There is a dire need for some bright spark.
I feel parched for ideas, for none has made its way into my brain. It seems to have shrunk to the size of a pea recently. A shrivelled, dried pea.

For one who is not artistically inclined, ART lessons have always been a huge pain for me. Somehow my still-life drawings would be an utter mess. My shadows would be placed at the wrong angle and I would blend the water colours all wrong just to get that particular shade of gray. I couldn't have been happier when i finally bade art lessons farewell at the end of Sec 2.

It is always hard to beg for help. Something I've always felt uncomfortable with. Hence I usually reserve those awkward requests for those whom i feel i know well and would most likely agree to render a helping hand. It is sad to know that people whom you remember to mail a birthday card to every year for many years and bother to help when they asked for it really can't be bothered at all. It is even more sad when they suddenly become bothered when the subject of 'tokens of appreciation' is brought up but just as readily become busy once again when the token is deemed too small to justify the effort.

Whatever the case, it is another learning experience.
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At this juncture, i find myself often reflecting on the few years in this course.
Perhaps the most vivid lesson is learnt from the countless projects, or more specifically project mates, people whom you fortunately or unfortunately become a part of a group with.

I will divide them into 4 general catergories.
1. The Do-er
Profile: Can-Do attitude, will be productive, not adverse to work, responsible. Quality work. What you get when you feel your prayers are answered. Of course Do-ers have their quirks too. Some are gan jiong, some critical, some bossy, but whatever the case, they are responsible people who do their part and more when needed.

2. The Free-Rider
This can range from the 'appear a couple of times' to the 'disappearing' type. Some have made quite a name for themselves and garnered a small legion of 'fans'. They make good gossip fodder nonetheless and are usually a convenient topic to bitch about during tea-time and lunch breaks.

3. The Intelligent Slacker
This group is much smarter than the previous, perhaps smarter than all the others. They do 'show face' at meetings but don't really contribute anything. It takes awhile to spot them as they somehow manage to do the minimal amount of work without attracting attention, usually picking the easiest part that requires the least amount of brain work. Give them anything harder and they are likely to produce poor quality stuff which gives the others even more work to undo the damage. The best of the lot manage to piggy-back all the way without ever incurring negative sentiments.

4. The 'I do my part only' type.
This type does enough to get through. But never expect them to compile a report. The difference between this and the Intelligent Slacker is that this group does something useful. They do give quality work unlike the previous group. Just don't ask them to do anything extra. A group with a combination of this and Do-ers can be a good match as Do-ers tend to take care of the extra bits anyway.

5. Anything in between i suppose. Within each category, there are varying degrees of seriousness. Also, one can transit from one group to another for different projects, depending on the team you get and your level of commitment at each instance.
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Well whatever the case, i am glad that ive found myself a couple of fellow eucharians to work with. Despite our bitching, the occassional bickering and all the crap ... Perhaps I've slipped into this comfort zone after working with them for so long. I do take them for granted sometimes, not realising it until I get a rude awakening from category 2 and 3ers once in a while. Life would have been a lot harder without these 2 girls.

Of younger women and older men

Today's Straits Times featured an article about Singaporean men going to their weekend wives in a little island near Batam. In the other world albeit just an hour's boat ride away, 65 year old men fluant their 25 year old 'wives'. At the 5 restaurents in the little alcove, men can say sweet nothings openly to their young 'wives', unabashed. They are after all, only witnessed by others similar to themselves.

Such is an extreme case of the older man and the much younger woman. Extreme but not uncommon. Of course, there are younger men, generally in their 40s to 50s, with a mistress tucked away in Batam.

In modern society, such unions are usually frowned upon. Unless they are Rupert Murdock and such. Society is biased too. Eligible men *read: RICH* remained accepted even if they date a girl half their age. Old men who are only able to date the likes of Indonesian village girls get labels like 'lecherous, dirty old man' slapped on their forehead.

The bottemline is aren't both groups equally lecherous? The difference is: their choice of young women is limited by economic power.

And arent both groups guided by the instinct of looking for a younger beautiful woman?

Unions between men and women of around the same age usually happens when both parties meet each other at a younger age.
A 25 year old guy would find a girl between 20-25 acceptable.
By the time he is 30, he'll still go for someone around 25 years old.
The age difference increases as the guy ages.
A fifty year old bachelor is unlikely to be on the lookout for a 50 year old woman. His acceptable range is probably from 30-40. He'll likely be on the look-out for a younger wife who is, put crudely, still able to reproduce. Despite the fact that women are far more likely to outlive their spouses of the same age, since we live longer.

Women have a short 'shelf life', limited by the ticking of the biological clock. Tick Tock. Whether we care to admit it or not, hitting 35 means the clock is approaching the end of its rounds.

While one can cite the case of Madonna and Guy Richie, in the average world, this is life.

Don't men have it lucky?

Pre-Graduation Blues

Life is filled with choices. 22 years of my life has passed me by and I'm at the brink of being cast out of the life of a student. Once upon a time, I might have balked at taking exams. Rite now, exams seem a lot friendlier than the cut-throat world where one has to contend with bosses, office politics and such. Suddenly school is so much more benign, less stressful and simpler. I have stepped out once in a while during the numerous temp jobs and an internship, but they are not the real thing. Little tiptoes, but I've never really put my foot into it.

What should I do next?
Get a job of course... No job = no $ . But what job?
I'm still unemployed as it is. Hmmm..

Just a random case of pre-graduation jitters.
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On a lighter note,
moi has been discussing this topic with a few frenz recently.
If moi enters the private sector, I must go source for a prospective husband in the civil service.
if moi enters the public sector, then I better list down "working in private sector" as a pre-requisite in my SDU form.

Why??
Public sector --> Assurance of a stable income ie. Iron Rice Bowl (meaning the housing loan will be paid and there's a roof above your head) Medical benefits and such. Moreover, you can always holiday in a gar-ment 'sponsered' chalet even if you plunge into a financial crisis or inter-country travel comes to a standstill due to SARS or Bird Flu.

Private --> Deemed to be more dynamic, more room for growth = Bigger paychecks. Also cutthroat and there is no safety net. Be prepared to be trimmed off during economic downturns and be irrelevant at 40.

Another set of equations:
Public + Public = Boring
private + private = what if both no job?
Public+ Private = just nice

Career Fair 2006 at SUNTEC (once again)

Today, 4 jobless (thus far) marketing girls from NTU decided to pop by the career fair at Suntec Convention Hall to try our luck.

As it turns out, its another trip which didn't fulfil its initial objective....

More than half the hall's filled by 'educational booths', plugging overseas education, distance learning, NTU's there too... So it isn't really a "Career" Career fair.
Moi here can't afford to stay a student anymore anyway. I figure it'll take many many years to recoup the losses spent on pursuing my very generic certs as it is.

We put our names down in a few irrelevant organisations and jobstreet.com so as to get a career profiling session. (However that didn't happen as the career profiling corner seems to shut down periodically.)

We've been advised to take up jobs as Spa Therapists and such. Not that I have anything against Spa Therapist but I really can't picture myself doing a scrub or massage... Of cos beggars can't be choosers either and im very much unemployed. So far the 10 odd resumes ive submitted have disappearered without a trace. Organisations when spammed with too much email from jobless applicants tend to chuck them into the virtual bin just as fast.

Neways despite the initial disappointment, we made our trip not a wasted one by being sheer kian peng and kiasu Singaporeans. My loot includes a free mini cup and saucer which i later chucked in the bin and a miniature carnation condensed milk which i got for flinging rubber bands at a board. *Cringe* We also counted the number of cans of carnation milk in the display and estimated the price of 2 outfits for a lucky dip.

Counting counting ...

At the counter set up to promote the retail and services industry, as long as we fill up a form for a job in the retail sector, we'll be entitled to free nail service, pic and make-up. Hence my nails are painted a shade called "BROWN COW", courtesy of VOXY Nails. Miss Chan's french manicurist is amazing. She can paint a perfect line with the brush. *Bloody* The photos are not that well taken though (mainly due to the state of my hair. I really need to straighten it out or tame it..anything.. but im really too chicken) but the carnation milk can be put to good use to spice up my Teh Kosong/ Kopi Kosong.

And that sums up an afternoon at the "Career" Fair.

Clockwise from top-left: Jingsi n Miss chan doing her nails,

3 free manis,rubber-band flinging, elv n moi while waiting.

PS: And guess what? We spied a certain guy carrying one BOX of $2 toys to collect a set of 12 characters. Multiply that by 20 = $40! And moi here partook in the very shiok process of opening a few boxes. ANother First. There's always something new to experience everyday!

BEAUTY ASIA

The 3 Eucharians arrived at Suntec City Convention Hall at 4pm on Wed MAr 01 hoping that we would not be denied entry to SpaAsia - A SPA and Beauty CONVENTION. It had specified that its for trade customers and moi must be properly attired. The impression was that its some rather formal thing with professionals pitching their wares. We had come in the hope of gathering some nuggets of good info and tips on how to market beauty products.



The claim: Quote directly from SpaAsia's website ...
"Singapore - Over S$5 million in deals were transacted at BeautyAsia 2005, the region’s most established trade show for the beauty industry. Running in its 9th year, BeautyAsia 2005 concluded its most successful exhibition yet with a total of 10,000 trade visitors over three days, an 50 per cent increase from last year. "

Alas, when we got there, the first sign of something amiss was a lady asking me how to fill in the 'VISITOR REGISTRATION' form in mandarin. 'oh well, she must be a Beauty Advisor in a neighbourhood beauty salon' we thought.

The 2nd sign, a middle aged woman dressed in orange cut the queue and went straight to the front to register.

The 3rd sign.. Okies there is no 3rd sign.. cos the moment we stepped in, we could see psuedo BAs handing out pamplets. There was a particular ger in this bathrobe like thing. (I suppose as long as its white and bears some resemblance to a lab coat - its PROFESSIONAL.)

It was a cross between Lucky Plaza and Beauty World Shopping Centre. Most of the booths were manned by Malaysian beauty companies hawking anything from 24 K Carat GOLD Infused face cream to Flower Petal Infused gel (with real flower petals floating inside the jar) The 'BAs' mostly spoke in Malaysian accented Mandarin and we received a sales pitch in Mandarin about how lin1 ba1 zu3 sai1 will cause ru3 ai2 (meaning: blockage in the lymphatic system will give rise to breast cancer) and how her bust enhancing lotion will unclog our blocked lymph nodes for a boost to the sagging bust line. *faints*

BTW, I was about a head taller than her and i could see a hint of HER cleavage peeking from her V-neck top whenever i looked down. Yes she does have a bit and has rather creamy smooth skin ah hem there, and her gold chain with a pendant disappearing into ah hem there perhaps attests to the efficacy of her lotion??

The professional hair show showcasing the latest hair cutting techique had the emcee pitching something along the line of 'heavier scissors showing the hairstylist has more jin1 liang3' (loosely translated: substance/ability/skills) and the hairstylist was cutting a wig resting on the head of a mannequinn.

Overall a total waste of time but quite entertaining in a morbid way. With a few laughs and cringes throw in.