Again, no pics for this post. They're all available on facebook. Plus, I'm just too lazy to attach photos. They're a pain in the arse with trying to get the format right, etc.
Back on the White Manta to Aur again for my August dive trip. Although not on my own this time. Two of the guys from work came with me to do their open water course before we go on our September trip.
Same dive sites, although this time, I didn't have the luxury of having the instructor all to myself. Although, I must admit the White Manta's divemasters are pretty good. My divemaster, who happens to be an instructor as well, took pretty good care of me.
The only significant thing this time round was I managed to experience a drift dive. Which is brilliant as long as the current isn't too strong. You just drift along and need no energy for any finning.
I also got caught in a bit of a current on another site. I could see everyone finning ahead of me and I was finning pretty damn hard and not going anywhere. Luckily the divemaster turned round and saw that I was stuck, came and pull me out of the current. On our way up, we were caught in another current and were hanging onto our dear lives on a rock. Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, hanging onto our dear lives. But it was pretty strong for a novice like me.
D and M both got passed their open water, but not without a story or two to tell. The Triggerfish were back at it. I managed to see it from quite a distance. But when the boys were down at the bottom for their first dive and their instructor was still at the surface trying to get the last guy down, there was a Triggerfish laying waiting to attack. My divemaster managed to spot it and got the guys out of danger before the Triggerfish had a chance to pounce.
Relatively uneventful trip, but fun and relaxing nevertheless. I don't think I'll ever tire of diving. The only time when I feel that time has actually stopped without a care in the world. We're now planning our Phuket diving trip in October. The boys are pretty into diving as well now. I'm making sure I go on a trip at least once a month, and the guys are following suit.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tokyo Trip
It's been a long time since I last blogged. Life (or laziness) has finally caught up with me. Anyways, let's start with my Japan trip. Just over a month ago now. No pics in this blog. They can be viewed on my facebook.
Japan was a little gift from my sister for her annual birthday trip. I know, how does that work? I get a gift for someone else's birthday. Not only was it just a trip, it was a business class flight, in a 5-star hotel with spending money type gift! Thanks sis :D
I flew into KL to meet the rest of the gang at the Golden Lounge for the business class flyers *ahem* and our holiday begun with the comfiest seat on the plane. It was the best 7-hour flight I've ever been on. I got served a 3-course meal with the best Pinot Noir I've had and I get to recline my seat to a horizontal position for a snooze too.
We arrived at Narita airport in the evening and headed straight to the Imperial Hotel at Ginza where we were staying. We got to the hotel at 9pm and feeling pretty hungry. But all the restaurants in the hotel shut at 9.30pm! We eventually managed to find one which opens late. It was a 'western' restaurant. Although I wouldn't recommend eating there. The food was ok.
We then experienced our first earthquake on the first night!! I was asleep and about midnight, I felt these tremors. I thought, hmm... earthquake, keep calm. One of my colleagues worked in Japan for 2 years and said it happens all the time. And it wasn't like the building was crumbling down around me, and I was knackered (yes, I know, even after an extremely comfortable sleep on the plane). I was about to doze off when my sister got up, turned the lights on and went 'SIS, THERE'S AN EARTHQUAKE!!' All I could muster was a 'It happens all the time, go back to sleep' and so we did. But the building did creak, the bed did shake but we sustained no injuries. Apparently quite a number of people died at the epicentre.
The next morning I decided to get up pretty early for a swim in the hotel pool. It cost about SGD12 to use the hotel pool which I thought was a bit of a rip off seeing as I was a guest at the hotel. There were about a million rooms to go through before you actually got to the pool. First there was the locker room, then the changing room, the powder room, the toilets, the showers, the sauna, the bath (!!) before you get out of the ladies 'changing room' from the other end to get to the pool. Of course, before you get to the pool, there's the shower (MUST have a shower before jumping into the pool), then you get to a stepped pool of water which comes up to your thighs, just to make sure that your doubly-cleaned, before you walk to the pool to pick up a swimming cap before you jump in for a swim.
You'd think after all that, I would've had the best swimming experience ever. Well, it's the tiniest swimming pool I've ever seen. Probably only about 20m long, will fit about 4 people before it feels like a can of sardines and it's actually a prefab pool, i.e. a metal tin plonked into a hole in the floor and filled up with water. After the swim, I went into the sauna for a bit and thought better of jumping into the 'baths', inviting as they look. When I went back to the locker room to get my stuff and put my sandals on. The only other woman in the locker room looked at me in disgust and said 'Shoes are suppose to be worn outside'. She was Japanese. I wasn't sure whether I was more shocked about missing the sign which says 'No shoes' or the fact that she sounded very American.
We went to see the fireworks on the Sumida River on our second night. It lasted an hour and a half. The first fifteen minutes were pretty good. After that I thought it was never gonna end. But it was a great experience. Sushi and tempura dinner on the boat, fireworks in the night, plenty of beers and sake to go round.
On the third day I went shopping in Omote Sando. I got a the underground from Ginza to Omote Sando, a 15-20 minute ride. When I got to the underground at Ginza, although I had a map on me and knew exactly where I was going, I thought I'd ask the ticketman the question anyway. Don't want me getting lost in Tokyo underground. All he managed was to point me to the barriers. I f**king know I need to go through the barriers. So I gave up, found a ticket machine, got a day ticket and jumped on the train. Omote Sando is quite interesting. The main road is filled with Burberry, LV, Chanel and the likes. A bit like Knightsbridge. But off the main road there were plenty of quaint and quirky little shops selling all sorts of interesting stuff and clothes.
Fourth day, my last day, we were suppose to meet at the hotel lobby at 6.45am for a trip down the fish market and have extremely fresh sushi for breakfast. My little sis cannot stomach raw fish first thing in the morning. So she set the alarm for 5.30am to try and catch the first breakfast in the hotel at 6am. Unfortunately she turned the alarm off and we went back snoozing for five more minutes. Turned out to be an extra hour and a half. When I woke up and looked at the clock, I yelled 'Jo, it's 6.44!!!!!' I have never seen my sis jumped out of bed (literally) so quickly and proceeded to get changed right in front of me. I had to knock some sense into her and told her we weren't gonna get ready and get down to the hotel lobby in ONE MINUTE. She could actually take her time to get changed.
We got to the fish market. Packed, busy and all the teeny sushi restaurants had miles of queues. Poor sis also had to stomach raw fish as she didn't get any breakfast beforehand. We were then taken to Shibuya for a bit of shopping. We were in a extremely trendy tiny mall packed with teenage wear. It was probably heaven for little sis, except that my other sister's mother in law was with us too. Kinda kills the shopping mood a little. I then made the mistake of telling our guide that I wanted to buy a ninja outfit if I came across one. They took us to a supermarket type place which sold everything under the sun. Everything except for a ninja outfit. My sis' mother-in-law asked afterwards 'Did you manage to get your Ninja Turtle outfit'. Ninja Turtle!!! So much for the stealth if you have a shell on your back!
In the evening, my sisters and I sacrificed dinner and went shopping in Ginza, near our hotel. It was the sales in Tokyo, we couldn't miss it. I bought three pair of shoes (they all hurt!). Somehow the thought of possibly never being able to shop in the Tokyo sales again (not true) makes you just wanna over indulge a little. Not to mention the fact that we shopped in Printemps, which is not even a Japanese department store.
And that was my Tokyo trip. I'd definitely go back there again. Most definitely couple it with a dive trip in Okinawa. If given the opportunity, I'd even work in Japan for a couple of years. But learning Japanese is a must. I don't know how I managed to get back without speaking a single word of Japanese.
Japan was a little gift from my sister for her annual birthday trip. I know, how does that work? I get a gift for someone else's birthday. Not only was it just a trip, it was a business class flight, in a 5-star hotel with spending money type gift! Thanks sis :D
I flew into KL to meet the rest of the gang at the Golden Lounge for the business class flyers *ahem* and our holiday begun with the comfiest seat on the plane. It was the best 7-hour flight I've ever been on. I got served a 3-course meal with the best Pinot Noir I've had and I get to recline my seat to a horizontal position for a snooze too.
We arrived at Narita airport in the evening and headed straight to the Imperial Hotel at Ginza where we were staying. We got to the hotel at 9pm and feeling pretty hungry. But all the restaurants in the hotel shut at 9.30pm! We eventually managed to find one which opens late. It was a 'western' restaurant. Although I wouldn't recommend eating there. The food was ok.
We then experienced our first earthquake on the first night!! I was asleep and about midnight, I felt these tremors. I thought, hmm... earthquake, keep calm. One of my colleagues worked in Japan for 2 years and said it happens all the time. And it wasn't like the building was crumbling down around me, and I was knackered (yes, I know, even after an extremely comfortable sleep on the plane). I was about to doze off when my sister got up, turned the lights on and went 'SIS, THERE'S AN EARTHQUAKE!!' All I could muster was a 'It happens all the time, go back to sleep' and so we did. But the building did creak, the bed did shake but we sustained no injuries. Apparently quite a number of people died at the epicentre.
The next morning I decided to get up pretty early for a swim in the hotel pool. It cost about SGD12 to use the hotel pool which I thought was a bit of a rip off seeing as I was a guest at the hotel. There were about a million rooms to go through before you actually got to the pool. First there was the locker room, then the changing room, the powder room, the toilets, the showers, the sauna, the bath (!!) before you get out of the ladies 'changing room' from the other end to get to the pool. Of course, before you get to the pool, there's the shower (MUST have a shower before jumping into the pool), then you get to a stepped pool of water which comes up to your thighs, just to make sure that your doubly-cleaned, before you walk to the pool to pick up a swimming cap before you jump in for a swim.
You'd think after all that, I would've had the best swimming experience ever. Well, it's the tiniest swimming pool I've ever seen. Probably only about 20m long, will fit about 4 people before it feels like a can of sardines and it's actually a prefab pool, i.e. a metal tin plonked into a hole in the floor and filled up with water. After the swim, I went into the sauna for a bit and thought better of jumping into the 'baths', inviting as they look. When I went back to the locker room to get my stuff and put my sandals on. The only other woman in the locker room looked at me in disgust and said 'Shoes are suppose to be worn outside'. She was Japanese. I wasn't sure whether I was more shocked about missing the sign which says 'No shoes' or the fact that she sounded very American.
We went to see the fireworks on the Sumida River on our second night. It lasted an hour and a half. The first fifteen minutes were pretty good. After that I thought it was never gonna end. But it was a great experience. Sushi and tempura dinner on the boat, fireworks in the night, plenty of beers and sake to go round.
On the third day I went shopping in Omote Sando. I got a the underground from Ginza to Omote Sando, a 15-20 minute ride. When I got to the underground at Ginza, although I had a map on me and knew exactly where I was going, I thought I'd ask the ticketman the question anyway. Don't want me getting lost in Tokyo underground. All he managed was to point me to the barriers. I f**king know I need to go through the barriers. So I gave up, found a ticket machine, got a day ticket and jumped on the train. Omote Sando is quite interesting. The main road is filled with Burberry, LV, Chanel and the likes. A bit like Knightsbridge. But off the main road there were plenty of quaint and quirky little shops selling all sorts of interesting stuff and clothes.
Fourth day, my last day, we were suppose to meet at the hotel lobby at 6.45am for a trip down the fish market and have extremely fresh sushi for breakfast. My little sis cannot stomach raw fish first thing in the morning. So she set the alarm for 5.30am to try and catch the first breakfast in the hotel at 6am. Unfortunately she turned the alarm off and we went back snoozing for five more minutes. Turned out to be an extra hour and a half. When I woke up and looked at the clock, I yelled 'Jo, it's 6.44!!!!!' I have never seen my sis jumped out of bed (literally) so quickly and proceeded to get changed right in front of me. I had to knock some sense into her and told her we weren't gonna get ready and get down to the hotel lobby in ONE MINUTE. She could actually take her time to get changed.
We got to the fish market. Packed, busy and all the teeny sushi restaurants had miles of queues. Poor sis also had to stomach raw fish as she didn't get any breakfast beforehand. We were then taken to Shibuya for a bit of shopping. We were in a extremely trendy tiny mall packed with teenage wear. It was probably heaven for little sis, except that my other sister's mother in law was with us too. Kinda kills the shopping mood a little. I then made the mistake of telling our guide that I wanted to buy a ninja outfit if I came across one. They took us to a supermarket type place which sold everything under the sun. Everything except for a ninja outfit. My sis' mother-in-law asked afterwards 'Did you manage to get your Ninja Turtle outfit'. Ninja Turtle!!! So much for the stealth if you have a shell on your back!
In the evening, my sisters and I sacrificed dinner and went shopping in Ginza, near our hotel. It was the sales in Tokyo, we couldn't miss it. I bought three pair of shoes (they all hurt!). Somehow the thought of possibly never being able to shop in the Tokyo sales again (not true) makes you just wanna over indulge a little. Not to mention the fact that we shopped in Printemps, which is not even a Japanese department store.
And that was my Tokyo trip. I'd definitely go back there again. Most definitely couple it with a dive trip in Okinawa. If given the opportunity, I'd even work in Japan for a couple of years. But learning Japanese is a must. I don't know how I managed to get back without speaking a single word of Japanese.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
I Found Nemo!!!
I went out on my second dive trip last weekend on board the White Manta. Much smaller and cheaper than the Black Manta. All on my own too. I was just keen to get back into the water to get my bouyancy right and enjoy the underwater scenery rather than stressing about doing skills on a course.
I'd rung the owner in advance to make sure he sorted someone out to look after me as I had just got certified and was going on board on m own. As the groups were pretty much sorted, I got the other dive instructor, C, all to myself so I pretty much got a one-to-one which was an added bonus.
I did a total of 6 dives, including one night dive. The visibility was amazing, about 15m and the marine life was brilliant. Loads of different fishes, corals, etc. Although half the time I didn't know what I was looking at. It was a tough job trying to memorise what you saw so that you could look it up later. I couldn't take any pics as I haven't got an underwater camera case just yet. But I've got pics of the fishes I saw from the internet.
Of course, the danger of not know what you're looking at is that you don't know whether the fish is aggressive or not. As my luck would have it, I was looking at this nice little fishy which turned out to be a nesting Titan Triggerfish and next thing I knew, the little fucker had it's fangs on my legs! I'm glad I bought a long wetsuit otherwise it would've had a chunk off my leg. What I didn't know was C had spotted the fish earlier, turned away from it and it was attacking the back of C's head!!
After that little incident every big-ish fish I saw, I tend to distant myself away from it. I saw this beautiful big angelfish and I found myself quickly swimming away when I got to it's sightline. Although what is a fish's sightline? They've got eyes on their sides, not the front like humans have.
Saw my first blue spotted ribbon tail ray. It was gliding along the bottom beautifully. On our way back, there was a school of dolphins swimming along some 30m away from out boat. I LOVE dolphins!! I think I'm definitely going to get a tattoo of dolphins on my lower back. It's gotta be done!!
Yellow snapper
Yellow mask angelfish
Yellow boxfish... hmm, I'm seeing a lot of yellow fishes
Scribbled filefish
Saw a pair of scorpion fish on the rocks
I found Nemo!! Well, more than one, they were so cute!
Grumpy old Napoleon Wrasse
Cute Moorish Idol
Map Pufferfish
Longfin Spadefish, aka Batfish
Checkboard snapper
Beautiful blue spotted ribbon tail ray
Funny little black spotted pufferfish. I was staring at it for ages hiding in the rocks
The cheeky little fucker who bit me, the Titan Triggerfish
My favourite, dolphins
Sargeant Major Scissortail
I'd rung the owner in advance to make sure he sorted someone out to look after me as I had just got certified and was going on board on m own. As the groups were pretty much sorted, I got the other dive instructor, C, all to myself so I pretty much got a one-to-one which was an added bonus.
I did a total of 6 dives, including one night dive. The visibility was amazing, about 15m and the marine life was brilliant. Loads of different fishes, corals, etc. Although half the time I didn't know what I was looking at. It was a tough job trying to memorise what you saw so that you could look it up later. I couldn't take any pics as I haven't got an underwater camera case just yet. But I've got pics of the fishes I saw from the internet.
Of course, the danger of not know what you're looking at is that you don't know whether the fish is aggressive or not. As my luck would have it, I was looking at this nice little fishy which turned out to be a nesting Titan Triggerfish and next thing I knew, the little fucker had it's fangs on my legs! I'm glad I bought a long wetsuit otherwise it would've had a chunk off my leg. What I didn't know was C had spotted the fish earlier, turned away from it and it was attacking the back of C's head!!
After that little incident every big-ish fish I saw, I tend to distant myself away from it. I saw this beautiful big angelfish and I found myself quickly swimming away when I got to it's sightline. Although what is a fish's sightline? They've got eyes on their sides, not the front like humans have.
Saw my first blue spotted ribbon tail ray. It was gliding along the bottom beautifully. On our way back, there was a school of dolphins swimming along some 30m away from out boat. I LOVE dolphins!! I think I'm definitely going to get a tattoo of dolphins on my lower back. It's gotta be done!!
Saw a cuttlefish. Ugly littl f**kers.
A giant baracuda. The one I saw was only about a metre long. And then I saw around a school of baracudas. It was beautiful!
Yellow snapper
Yellow mask angelfish
Yellow boxfish... hmm, I'm seeing a lot of yellow fishes
Scribbled filefish
Saw a pair of scorpion fish on the rocks
I found Nemo!! Well, more than one, they were so cute!
Grumpy old Napoleon Wrasse
Cute Moorish Idol
Map Pufferfish
Longfin Spadefish, aka Batfish
Checkboard snapper
Beautiful blue spotted ribbon tail ray
Funny little black spotted pufferfish. I was staring at it for ages hiding in the rocks
The cheeky little fucker who bit me, the Titan Triggerfish
My favourite, dolphins
Sargeant Major ScissortailI wanna get back out there with the fishes. It was a bit sad on the way back. I've had such a superb weekend and for once, I thought I might actually just give up working in the construction industry and take up diving full time. There's a whole new world down there and you just float around enjoying the scenery. Plus, meeting all sorts of different people was always a bonus.
I've planned to go back out in the sea in a month's time. My mates were impressed with what I was telling them, particularly being bitten by a fish! I think I'm gonna be rounding up a troop of 5 or 6 in about 4 weeks. Titan Triggerfish, I ain't afraid of you. I'm gonna have my gang sort you out next time.... until you start biting.... yikes!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Update on 'Training' Programme
So, it's been 3 weeks since I started on my intensive training programme and it has definitely paid off. OK, a little bit about the training programme...
Mondays are spent playing tennis and jumping into the pool for a quick 10+ laps depending on when I get to the swimming pool.
Tuesdays are spent swimming 30 laps with an hour of yoga for flexibility.
Wednesdays are spent swimming 40 laps.... or 2 hours of salsa, depending on what takes my mood.
Thursdays are spent playig tennis and jumping into pool just like Mondays.
Fridays are my favourite. The training involves copious amount of bicep curls with pints of beer or VRB's! ;p
Saturdays and Sundays involve another 40 laps in the pool each. Or diving, or more bicep curls .... depending on what sort of a weekend I'm planning.
The result of which is a good half a stone gone in 3 weeks!! Woo hoo!!
When I first started my dive course in the pool, they gave me an XL wetsuit. Well, it meant nothing to me as Asian sizes are always much much smaller than European sizes. But I keep being reminded that I am Asian and I keep reminding myself that I am a big-boned Asian. Let's face it, I have never worn anything with the tag S!!
When we went for our open water dive, they gave me an L wetsuit. Ok, an improvement. At least I know I am not an XL.
I had to get a new wetsuit for my next dive, so I went to a recommended shop on Friday. I enquired about the type of wet suits, etc and asked if I could try one out. The guy said that I would probably need an M. Can you believe it, a MEDIUM!! But he gave me the L to try as well.
After much tugging and pulling, well wetsuits are meant to be put on wet not dry, I managed to get myself in the Medium, pulled the zipper, it fits. I was asked to show the bloke once I've had it on. He took a quick look and said it fitted perfectly but I had to pull my sleeves up more as my shoulders were a bit wide. I could've kissed the bloke and jumped up and down for joy. I fit into a MEDIUM and I have wide shoulders!!! Gawd, all that swimming definitely paid off!!
So I'm looking forward to Monday when I have to go back to the shop to purchase my wetsuit with my instructor to get a discount. I'm gonna say to the bloke 'I'll have that one, in a MEDIUM please' He he he....
As they say, motivation is what gets you started, habit is what gets you going.
Obviously my motivation was rather materialistic, what with the bets with my sister and T. Plus having a bit of an OCD and always wanting to overdo things a little - that's my habit to keep me going.
Watch this space.... by mid-July I've gotta have 1.5 stone off what I was when I first got here, by end of Sept, I've gotta shave another stone off that. I am motivated by bets, and I am confident of winning them!!! After achieving all that, I wouldn't mind getting back to some martial arts training. I've always been a good little fighter, I'm sure all this training will get me back to top condition for the ring again. :)
Mondays are spent playing tennis and jumping into the pool for a quick 10+ laps depending on when I get to the swimming pool.
Tuesdays are spent swimming 30 laps with an hour of yoga for flexibility.
Wednesdays are spent swimming 40 laps.... or 2 hours of salsa, depending on what takes my mood.
Thursdays are spent playig tennis and jumping into pool just like Mondays.
Fridays are my favourite. The training involves copious amount of bicep curls with pints of beer or VRB's! ;p
Saturdays and Sundays involve another 40 laps in the pool each. Or diving, or more bicep curls .... depending on what sort of a weekend I'm planning.
The result of which is a good half a stone gone in 3 weeks!! Woo hoo!!
When I first started my dive course in the pool, they gave me an XL wetsuit. Well, it meant nothing to me as Asian sizes are always much much smaller than European sizes. But I keep being reminded that I am Asian and I keep reminding myself that I am a big-boned Asian. Let's face it, I have never worn anything with the tag S!!
When we went for our open water dive, they gave me an L wetsuit. Ok, an improvement. At least I know I am not an XL.
I had to get a new wetsuit for my next dive, so I went to a recommended shop on Friday. I enquired about the type of wet suits, etc and asked if I could try one out. The guy said that I would probably need an M. Can you believe it, a MEDIUM!! But he gave me the L to try as well.
After much tugging and pulling, well wetsuits are meant to be put on wet not dry, I managed to get myself in the Medium, pulled the zipper, it fits. I was asked to show the bloke once I've had it on. He took a quick look and said it fitted perfectly but I had to pull my sleeves up more as my shoulders were a bit wide. I could've kissed the bloke and jumped up and down for joy. I fit into a MEDIUM and I have wide shoulders!!! Gawd, all that swimming definitely paid off!!
So I'm looking forward to Monday when I have to go back to the shop to purchase my wetsuit with my instructor to get a discount. I'm gonna say to the bloke 'I'll have that one, in a MEDIUM please' He he he....
As they say, motivation is what gets you started, habit is what gets you going.
Obviously my motivation was rather materialistic, what with the bets with my sister and T. Plus having a bit of an OCD and always wanting to overdo things a little - that's my habit to keep me going.
Watch this space.... by mid-July I've gotta have 1.5 stone off what I was when I first got here, by end of Sept, I've gotta shave another stone off that. I am motivated by bets, and I am confident of winning them!!! After achieving all that, I wouldn't mind getting back to some martial arts training. I've always been a good little fighter, I'm sure all this training will get me back to top condition for the ring again. :)
Ill-Treated Expat
It's like the saying 'You can take the girl out of the city but you can't take the city out of the girl. Except that in my case it's more like 'You can take the girl out of China but you can't take the Chinese out of the girl'.... okay it doesn't quite make sense. I don't even come from China.
Anyways, my point is, I feel rather cheated as an expat working out here. Having never been an expat before, getting the big salary, relocation expenses and the yearly ticket 'back' to the UK seemed like a good deal. Until I found out about the package my mate was offered for pretty much the same job, except on the construction rather than the commercial side.
I was put up in a hotel for 2 weeks when I first moved here and pretty much had to beg for an extra week when I couldn't move into my apartment. My mate gets 4 weeks in a hotel AND daily living expenses. Not to mention the the 2 weeks extra pay for 'settling allowance'. Where the hell was my settling allowance???
Back in the UK, my wage was a good 50% more than his for the jobs that we do. OK, my position was more senior than his. But now that he's moved here, and we're doing virtually the same jobs as we did in the UK and the pay gap has closed in too much for my own comfort.
I guess there is only one explanation for all this - he is a white male and I am a chinese female. No matter how 'expat' I am, the colour of my skin still gives me a slight disadvantage.
But then again, the definition of an expatriate is .... to banish (a person) from his or her native country. I guess I was never banished from my native country, I have actually come back closer to my native country.... and reaped the benefits he he he :)
Anyways, my point is, I feel rather cheated as an expat working out here. Having never been an expat before, getting the big salary, relocation expenses and the yearly ticket 'back' to the UK seemed like a good deal. Until I found out about the package my mate was offered for pretty much the same job, except on the construction rather than the commercial side.
I was put up in a hotel for 2 weeks when I first moved here and pretty much had to beg for an extra week when I couldn't move into my apartment. My mate gets 4 weeks in a hotel AND daily living expenses. Not to mention the the 2 weeks extra pay for 'settling allowance'. Where the hell was my settling allowance???
Back in the UK, my wage was a good 50% more than his for the jobs that we do. OK, my position was more senior than his. But now that he's moved here, and we're doing virtually the same jobs as we did in the UK and the pay gap has closed in too much for my own comfort.
I guess there is only one explanation for all this - he is a white male and I am a chinese female. No matter how 'expat' I am, the colour of my skin still gives me a slight disadvantage.
But then again, the definition of an expatriate is .... to banish (a person) from his or her native country. I guess I was never banished from my native country, I have actually come back closer to my native country.... and reaped the benefits he he he :)
Sunday, June 15, 2008
A Month Full of Excitement
It's June. I've been in Singapore nearly five months now. Time has certainly flown by. I don't miss London as much as I did when I first got here. Time heals, it's true. But I still miss the ease of getting a Starbucks Venti Latte in the morning. Nowadays, I have to settle for a Teh-C. For those who don't know, it's very strong tea drunk with evaporated milk and sugar. I used to love it when I was in Brunei. I still love it now.
So, things have moved on a little. I no longer moan about my job as much. I think I've now found my feet and my way. I discovered an area (facades) where my boss hardly pays any attention and have selfishly grabbed as many packages as I can. So much so that I've built my own little 'territory' by introducing one of my ex-colleagues to the company to do one of these facades packages. Plus, I think I've been ear-marked by my boss for a promotion. But how close I am to getting it, I don't know. So do watch this space.
Aside from that, now that most people know how I work, I've been giving it a bit of attitude at work as well. Mainly towards my boss, mainly because I don't actually care if he sacks me. None of the other girls dare do any backchatting. I do it all the time. My sister thinks I have too much attitude. But I think a bit of fire between the subordinate and the boss is required sometimes to take them off their own pedestal. Plus, I can afford to give it some. What's the worse that can happen? I'll go back to UK or even go to Vancouver and take up that job offer for a more challenging Project Manager's role.
So, this is a month full of excitement. Knowing that I'm ear-marked for a possible promotion. Knowing that I can finally give a bit of attitude at work and talk to most 'senior' people like equals rather than someone who works 'for' them.
On top of that, I've just been to the Grasshopper concert, which was my teenage dream come true. Gawd, I love them!
Then there's the dive trip at the end of the month. My second trip, really excited, really looking forward to it.
Then there's the fitness finally coming together. Doing loads of swimming, playing loads of tennis. I can finally see the biceps forming and finally feeling strong again.
And finally.... there's someone from the UK coming over to work with us. I introduced him to the company three months ago and I can't believe in two weeks' time he will physically be here. I'm excited. Not only does he bring me closer to my life in the UK, I finally have a drinking buddy who can possibly match me drink for drink.
So I'm thankful I'm well into June, the month of endless excitements!
So, things have moved on a little. I no longer moan about my job as much. I think I've now found my feet and my way. I discovered an area (facades) where my boss hardly pays any attention and have selfishly grabbed as many packages as I can. So much so that I've built my own little 'territory' by introducing one of my ex-colleagues to the company to do one of these facades packages. Plus, I think I've been ear-marked by my boss for a promotion. But how close I am to getting it, I don't know. So do watch this space.
Aside from that, now that most people know how I work, I've been giving it a bit of attitude at work as well. Mainly towards my boss, mainly because I don't actually care if he sacks me. None of the other girls dare do any backchatting. I do it all the time. My sister thinks I have too much attitude. But I think a bit of fire between the subordinate and the boss is required sometimes to take them off their own pedestal. Plus, I can afford to give it some. What's the worse that can happen? I'll go back to UK or even go to Vancouver and take up that job offer for a more challenging Project Manager's role.
So, this is a month full of excitement. Knowing that I'm ear-marked for a possible promotion. Knowing that I can finally give a bit of attitude at work and talk to most 'senior' people like equals rather than someone who works 'for' them.
On top of that, I've just been to the Grasshopper concert, which was my teenage dream come true. Gawd, I love them!
Then there's the dive trip at the end of the month. My second trip, really excited, really looking forward to it.
Then there's the fitness finally coming together. Doing loads of swimming, playing loads of tennis. I can finally see the biceps forming and finally feeling strong again.
And finally.... there's someone from the UK coming over to work with us. I introduced him to the company three months ago and I can't believe in two weeks' time he will physically be here. I'm excited. Not only does he bring me closer to my life in the UK, I finally have a drinking buddy who can possibly match me drink for drink.
So I'm thankful I'm well into June, the month of endless excitements!
Forever Grasshopper.... Indeed!
This has been a concert nearly 20 years in waiting for me. Grasshopper, possibly the greatest boy band Hong Kong has ever produced for Asia, were the ONLY boy band whom I was completely and utterly smitten with through my teens. When I went to the UK, they kinda fell by the wayside but everytime I was back in Brunei and notice that there was a new Grasshopper album on sale, I would not think twice about buying it.
When I moved to Singapore and unpacked my boxes, I found one or two Grasshopper Greatest Hits album. And I thought, hmmm.... I'm in Asia... ok, they're really old, but you never know. So I googled them and found that they had staged a comeback with a concert in Singapore in 2007. I was pretty gutted. But a couple of months ago, whilst surfing the net to see what concerts are on in Singapore, I found out that Grasshopper were touring in Genting Highlands in Malaysia. I never hesitated, got myself a VIP ticket, no less, booked my flight and hotel and sat in excited anticipation until yesterday when I took the flight out and finally got to see Grasshopper LIVE!!!
Ok, these people aren't exactly young. They're in their 40's now. I feel old.... and probably the rest of the audience. I struggled to find anyone in theirearly 20's! And the age does show too. Their dance moves were still there, but it wasn't quite as crisp and punching as they were about 15 years ago. But I still loved them.
Opening act, as always, cool hip hop chinese dance music and loads of prancing about for the three in extremely flamboyant outfits:
Followed by mellow slow romantic love songs. I don't listen much to their slow tunes anymore, but preformed live, I was completely in love with them!
This is Remus Choy, one of the two brothers, the best looking of the bunch. But also the gay one. But he was never my favourite anyway (my gaydar must have been well refined from a very young age!!)
This is Edmund So. He was my least favourite. Nothing special about him really.
And.... presenting MY FAVOURITE of the bunch.... Calvin Choy. He's the eldest of the bunch, a bloke with 11 fingers - freak - but I still like (love) him!!
I managed to get right up to the barrier and saw them real close. I'd never been to a concert whereby I could make out the person's face without the help of a screen. The VIP ticket was definitely worth it. I realised even after all these years, I could still sing along to at least 75% of their songs. I have never been to a concert where I can sing along to more than 3 songs. Their fast little medley was the best. Everyone was on their feet dancing to the tunes.
Sad but true, I think I'm in love. I LOVE GRASSHOPPER!!!!
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