Filed under: Random
I’m heading back to Singapore for a vacation. I will be departing Canada on September the 4th and will be back on the 13th. Pretty exciting if you ask me. 
Until then, work like a damn crazy person.
I watched a movie recently that had an interesting dialogue in it. I Can’t quote the movie verbatim, but here is the gist of it:
- Character 1: I really wish I chad more time to train so that I could be as good as you.
- Character 2: We are all given but 24 hours in a day. You clearly don’t want it that badly, or you would train. Instead you do that which is important to you. We all do.
I think this holds a lot of truth. I really wish that I had time to post on this blog regularly as I have a lot to say, but I just can’t find the time to do so. Others who are equally busy have been prolific blog writers (Amanda) for the better part of two years. So what do I do with my time? Good question.
Thinking about it, I spend the better part of my day working. I log only 8 hours a day, but I am awake at 7:00am, working by 8am, and am not finished lately until after 10pm. I sleep around 12pm, leaving me with 2 hours of unallocated time. This time I typically use to catch up with friends, study, or read. This is atypical though, as I normally have a fairly different schedule. Things have been different recently because I’ve been working in Montreal. I fly out Monday mornings, and fly back to Toronto on Thursday evenings. Effectively, travel time is the largest waste that I have in a given week.
When I am working in Toronto I generally drive the following amounts:
- To work: 1 hour x 5 days
- From work: 1 hour x 5 days
- Errands: 45 minutes x 7 days
- Visit friends: 1 hour each way x 2 days (4 hours)
- Visit girlfriend: 1 hour each way (2 hours)
- TOTAL: 21.25 hours
Incredible. No wonder my car is ~30,000km heavier since I bought it in January.
My girl is off to Manila for 4 days. Hopefully she stays safe and has a good time. I’d like to get out there someday. A good friend of mine’s dad is the Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines, so I’m sure I could get some preferential treatment of a soft.
Ah well, here is to waiting until she gets back.
Filed under: Friends, Love, Random, Thoughts | Tags: Li Shia, Love, Singapore, Updates
Some of you have asked me why I haven’t written anything in a while. I deign to tell you that my internet has not been the most responsive of late while at work, and that my time has been otherwise occupied with one very special lady from Singapore. Further to that, there has really not been much of note that has transpired in my life of late. I have been heading to the office and working as is typical, and I have been completing some fairly good work.
I attended a dinner with some Singaporean friends of mine a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty entertaining. Their surprise at seeing a Canadian speaking in Singlish and with such breadth of knowledge of their country was palpable. I suppose most of that comes from speaking so often with my wonderful girlfriend. Her Singlish is really quite developed and most assuredly entertaining.
I’m still in anticipatory bliss over my impending trip to Singapore this coming February. I’m also very excited for Florence’s trip to Canada on December 19th. I’ve been working longer hours at work, and my project manager (boss) has agreed that I can have all of the time off in December that I want while she is down, so long as everything is completed beforehand. It really is an agreeable arrangement, as he mentioned that he may also take the time off since I will have completed all of our work already.
In any event, I apologize for the lack of updates, and I do hope that things can pick up as life becomes more interesting. For know, know that I am happy with my Li Shia and that all is well with the world. There are certain darker issues intersperced throughout, but those are things that I have to deal with once I am back in Singapore. There is a certain someone that deserves some dire treatment indeed from this French Canadian.
What do you guys think?
I think in a couple of years when I decide I need a house of my own for my family… 
…. then I will build a house like this for her… erm… my family. Its quite nice interior, I have a video of it… Unfortunately I can’t post a video here.
It is listed for $389,000CAD. Anyone want it?
You know, it is always interesting thinking about the different ways that people come into your life, and the significance they may later hold. It really is not a science. I have met people through school or hobbies, and they are not important to me. I have met people on exchange or just randomly, and they are much more important.
I think people just need to take the time out to meet other people and make new friends, and then not be surprised where they might find what they need.
Filed under: Love, Random | Tags: Guess what the topic is.., Love, Singapore
Haha. I won’t elaborate. But you know too.
Filed under: Money, Random | Tags: Distance, Is white a shade or a colour?, Marriage, Moolah, What do you think?
I was talking about marriage customs with someone the other day, and I find it interesting how different cultures handle the ‘payment’ process of a wedding differently. Historically in Canada, it is the bride’s family who pays for the wedding, and the groom’s family that pays for the open bar. The guests bring gifts, and not cash. This has since changed to the bride and groom paying for their wedding (since now they’re getting married older) and the guests bringing either gifts or money.
How is it done in your culture? What do you plan to do?
Filed under: Random, Thoughts | Tags: Bollocks, Brothel, Law, Prostitution, Research, Singapore
For reasons I’m not going to go into here, I’ve recently been dissecting the Singapore Women’s Charter. I find it diffcult to believe that such a document is still held to as a standard of law, given the backward nature of some of its declarations. Though that isn’t to be entirely unexpected of a document that essentially begins with the following line:
“brothel” means any place occupied or used by any 2 or more women or girls whether at the same time or at different times for the purpose of prostitution;
Great way to start off a charter for women’s rights, by immediately ensuring that everyone knows what you’re referring to when you mention the word ‘brothel’. In any event, that sets the bar fairly low for what follows. If we jump all the way to section XI, dealing with “Offenses Against Women and Girls” some of the figures start to get even worse. This document clearly hasn’t been revised in quite some time.
Causing or encouraging prostitution of, sexual penetration with, or indecent assault on, girl below the age of 16
145. —(1) Any person who causes or encourages the prostitution of, or the commission of unlawful sexual penetration with, or of an indecent assault on, a girl below the age of 16 years for whom he is responsible shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
We’re saying that someone encouraging minors (High School) girls into prostitution is subject to a fine of only $2,000SGD. That seems like an amount that could be made up in one night by one of these people. I just don’t understand how they wouldn’t have raised the fines on these things to correspond more with today’s standards. Even for a low paying job, $2,000SGD is about a month’s salary.
Seriously, for a first world nation, Singapore really needs to consider its women’s rights and freedoms, including those provisions for marriage, separation, and divorce.
Filed under: Friends, Love, Random, Thoughts | Tags: Age, Also age no big deal one, I, Marry soon ah, So old la, U wan cock ar?
Another day goes by, and I am supposed to feel more wise. I don’t really, but I definitely can take some time to look back on the things that have taken place in the past year, and maybe share some thoughts on how I had thought things would be, versus where they are.
This time last year was GURU week at Ivey, because I was working on the orientation team to help bring in the new HBA students. I think we actually would have been in Grand Bend on the beach right now, tossing around a ball. Then we later went to Gables bar, and I remember leaving early on the first bus, so that I could get home to meet Casey, since she was coming up that weekend.
I think back and my thoughts at that point were that I was going to start HBA2, get a sweet job in consulting and just spend time with my girlfriend. I had thought that within the next year I would be working in downtown Toronto, would have bought a condo, and that Casey and I would still be together. Needless to say, I am VERY glad things did not turn out exactly like that.
The first half of the year went by well, I enjoyed my classes, and got some great grades considering the minimal effort I put into doing my work. I attended a lot of information sessions and interviews with recruiters. I applied to only the best jobs, and I was sure I would get an offer. I didn’t. Then I got a call from my manager back from my summer job, saying that the project was done and the team was having a final gathering at her house. She suggested I come down and say goodbye.
No sooner had I stepped in the door than did two senior Accenture employees come greet me and start asking when I would be working for their company. I played the game nonchalantly, and asked a lot of questions. Most of these were centered around how I could stay in Toronto to work without traveling.
Eventually, through an accelerated interview process, I was offered a job with Accenture. Luckily this happened a few weeks before I left for Singapore. When I was getting ready to leave, I really was torn between my friends, family and girlfriend at home, and adventure in Singapore.
I am 100% positive that I made the right decision. I absolutely loved Singapore, and I think I made some of the best friends I have ever had while on exchange there. I learned a lot about different cultures, and I learned a lot about myself. A side-effect of that was that I actually got out more and met different people, and my then girlfriend really paled in comparison.
For example, there is a girl in Singapore who is really amazing. She’s smart, pretty, has a good job, is financially stable, is really really cute, and she likes to talk to me all the time (she’s also a little older than me, but that isn’t a big deal). Anyway, how could I possibly compare the two? It is like asking a snail to compete in a race against a cheetah. There would be one CLEAR winner (and she just happens to be in Singapore).
In any event, after I had been there and come back, I really can’t wait to head back overseas. I really love Asia. I enjoyed Japan and I enjoyed South Korea, and I enjoyed Singapore. I like the people, I like the culture, and I like the environment. Not to mention the language… U ah!
So all in all, this year has been much better than I had expected, but also widely different. I have some plans for this coming year, but they are a lot more loosely formed because I can’t get solidify anything right now. I know I want to go back to Singapore to visit some people, and I’m planning on going in February. I also know that there is someone that I want to be with, and that hopefully the next year will find us together.
We’ll see how things go, but at 22, I feel good with where I am in life.
