Ticking Clocks

Decided to pursue my Bachelor’s this year rather than waiting any longer. The longer i work, the less opportunities open up to me. Having only a diploma is pathetic.

Previously, i had quietly rejected an NUS offer to study Architecture. 6 years of slogging in school plus 2 years interning for a company to be an Architect.. Its not worth my precious time.

Anyway, a few months in this industry has discouraged me from ever working as an architect. Long hours, lousy pay, critical deadlines, strict regulatories…. i think Technical officers and Architects die young.

Its time to do what i truly love.

WARNING…. CONTROVERSIAL CONTENT

I was discussing about the BGR among Malay couples in Singapore when i realise more Malay guys i know are attached to Chinese girls. I think i know why. Lets make an example.

Malay Boy meets Malay Girl and fall in Love.
Malay Girl family say not nice to go around together if not married.
Malay Girl family pushes for marriage.
Malay Boy feels pressured and needs more time to study/work/gather money.
Break up…
Malay Guy meets Chinese girl.
No pressure on him to marry.
When he finally reaches a stable point in his life, he marries her.

It’s the Malay tradition that break up relationships. The tradition and culture that emphasizes on family than career. Guess what old folks, times have changed. Now, career comes first. With career comes the money to live comfortably and settle down.

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Sometimes, traditions and cultures become obsolete. Such as trying to promote abstinence among Malay teenagers. Its like preaching the virtues of turning vegetarian to a pride of lions. Sex is rampant among the teenagers. Its more ideal to promote protection and safe sex to address the issues of STDs and unwanted pregnancies.

People are still going to engage in pre-marital sex no matter what and i believe that the campaign to abstain from pre marital sex is a miserable failure. Its a fact.

Almost half of all teenagers infected with sexually transmitted diseases were
Malay, and more than half of the 417 teens who gave birth in 2004 were Malay.

Go think..

Been nearly 6 months working for iX Architects. I’ve grown fond of TS and Chloe. They have been really nice to me, with TS like a teacher to me and Chloe always fussing over me, buying coffee, giving panadol when i’m sick.. BTW Chloe, you’re not my mummy… Ur only a few years older. Lol.

I’m pretty sad that TS is leaving us only after 2 months. I can understand why. The stress is getting to me too. Drafting 5 bungalows, 2 entire condominiums, countless school renovations and keeping track of the progress between the 2 technical officers in a 1 month period is too much strain.

Tomorrow’s Saturday and i still need to go to a meeting with the developers. I dunno the drawings will pass their analysis but i dun care anymore. Even when i had a splitting headache, a runny nose like a tap and a temperature, i dragged myself to work so i could at least complete the drawing for a URA Provisional Permission submission.

One day, my mind will tell me enough is enough. I will probably snap and start throwing a fit, a tantrum or simply break down into depression.

The Great Singapore Sale bug has bit me. I realised i am forking out really a lot on quite a number of stuff. My favourite purchase is a pair of REEF camo slippers. Quite a bargain at 32 bucks. Okay, maybe not a HUGE bargain but they looked really good. My bro’s already gazing at my slippers saying something about using them when he goes to Kota Tinggi next month.. Fat Hope.
I’m really enamoured with the surf brands nowadays. Currently eyeing the board shorts that match my favourite T-Shirt. A bit on the steep side though costing $95.00. The Quiksilver wallet looked good though. Argh… So many good stuff to buy..

Woohoo… Weekends. Don’t we just love them! I had a super long weekend. Thurs(Vesak Day), Friday (Boss gave off), Sat and Sunday. Went to my secret island on Thursday, plonked on some sunblock and fished with only my board shorts on. Ended up still getting sunburnt on my back.. Worse, the fish that i caught (2 stingrays + 5 fish) turned bad becoz SOMEBODY thought the bottle of ice in the cooler was meant for drinking..

Friday, i met the nicest taxi driver ever. He bought me coffee and cake, discounted my $25 taxi fare (Changi to CCK) to only $20 and had a lovely chat about fishing with him. Hard to believe huh. Damn, i didn’t take down  his cab number. Would have definitely written a commendation letter to him but i was too groggy.

Saturday saw me going Vivocity alone to try out Godiva’s chocolixir. The crunchy bits of Godiva’s milk chocolates tasted good. Then, me and a friend hit the night spots at Clarke Quay and Duxton. It was a wild night and burnt a damned big hole in my pocket.

Sunday, i went for a religious gathering at my grandma’s place… (i know… it sounds contradictory considering my last night’s activities). Then went shopping with Sofian. Its fun to go out with Sofian. He’s one of the coolest guys around… Went to Marina Square and shopped.

Really an enjoyable weekend though i am 400 bucks down… Haha. Damn.

Recently, I picked up fishing again after about 6 months. I
had chartered a boat to my favourite location for a one night fishing
expedition with 4 of my friends. It turned out to be a trip that was quite fun
despite a low fish turnout.

In all, we caught about 9 fishes with me bagging 5 of them
with my trusty Shimano rods. Syam bagged 2, not a bad score considering it was
his first time he caught any fish. When night came, we wrapped 4 of the fish
basted in chilli in banana leaves and grilled them over white hot coals for
supper.

It was a tiring expedition but enjoyable nonetheless. I
rediscovered my true element, just standing in knee deep water, a fishing rod
in hand and the glistening sea illuminated by the shimmering moon.

I fish not for the fishes but for the moments where I
can actually simply sit down, enjoy a cigarette, just waiting patiently for the
fish to bite where my mind is free from the rigors of work, responsibility and
stress. Its undeniable the sea has a calming effect on me and I will go back to
it whenever I can.

An acquaintance of mine is getting married soon. He’s a year older than me. I can’t help but think of how much he’s gonna miss singlehood. Maybe some people think I’m being bitter but I doubt that very much. True, I have lots of trust issues with women. I have had one too many bad experiences.

Anyway, think of it this way. Once a guy is married, he loses most of his friends as he has to concentrate on work on weekdays and spend quality time with his wife on weekends. Boys night out? Dream on… The wife would probably insist on following or get highly suspicious or jealous. Going on a holiday trip with friends only? Haha… That’s a good one…

Single guys don’t like going out with a friend who is married coz their wives would usually insist on following. It gives them less freedom to talk and sometimes do feel left out. Therefore, they tend to give married friends a miss when asking people out.

Furthermore, the married man’s finances would now be teetering capriciously due to family responsibilities such as bills, loans, market expenses, home expenses etc etc. Any cash reserved for entertainment would be directed to entertaining the wife whereas the single guy is free of many so called responsibilities, free to spend without the nagging of a wife in his ear. 

Its not that I’m saying not to get married but mature first, become fiscally responsible and stable before locking yourself down to marriage. My marriage age is about 30 hopefully when I can be financially stable and mature. I guess when my friend finally gets married, I won’t be seeing him around much…more like every Hari Raya only.