unfair employment terms...

i think it is no secret to some of my fellow friends of my desire to work overseas for a few years. i have worked in singapore for most of my working life and i think i am somewhat ready to work in another continent... well, specifically, france... perhaps because yours truly would like to be able to practice her french on a daily basis - je veux parler en francais tous les jours - i speak a bit of french - not very well - here with some of my customers and my parisian colleagues almost everyday but if i could be based there, it would mean i am forced to speak the language all the time.

i asked about a job in a french establishment a few months back but was told that the human resource department were reluctant to hire non-french nationals. and a few months before that, i was asked to research my way through to get an employment pass in france by a french organisation and if i could get an employment pass, they would only then consider hiring me - key word here is consider. then, recently, i asked again and was told that they would only accept european citizens only.

honestly, i was very upset to hear about all these and the last one really made me angry. i just felt that it is so unfair that people like me are unable to get a job in a foreign country while our government are allowing the hiring of foreign nationals and local companies are quick to resort to hiring foreign nationals like there is no tomorrow. local companies here turn to foreigners to fill in positions because they felt that singaporeans are choosy and always asking for more money while if they hire foreigners, especially for jobs which singaporeans don't want to do, they are able to get more value for money - cheap and good.

so, singaporeans not only have to try very hard to get a job overseas because foreign governments imposed strict rules that local employers give priority to locals rather than foreign nationals for positions opened in their position, but also we have to compete with foreign talents in getting a job in our own country. employers here will be quick to hire foreign nationals because foreign nationals from countries around asia especially, would work for a much less salary than a typical singaporeans would ask for. as far as i can see, there are no rules or laws in place that protect singapore citizens in getting employment in our own country without having to compete with foreign talent. i think it is pathetic and i am depressed just thinking about it. it is just not fair.

tremors were felt...

indonesia suffered another earthquake earlier this morning, hitting a couple of islands close to the last earthquake which led to the indian ocean tsunamis last year, 26 December 2004. it measured 8.5 on the ricther scale i think and the tremors were felt in thailand, malaysia and singapore.

most of us were sleeping when the earthquake hit. my sleep during that morning was somewhat uneasy. i was having wierd dreams and all. i usually sleep facing north but this morning, when i woke up this morning, i was facing west. i didn't know about the earthquake when i left for work this morning but now that i knew about the earthquake, do you think my facing west when i woke up this morning could have been caused by the tremors of the indonesian earthquake?? huh.

see you again soon, mister D!

this evening, i said 'goodbye' to my favourite little friend, mister D, who was moving to Dubai in the UAE, where his dad will be working for his new job. even though i said goodbye to them at the airport just over an hour ago, it still has not sunk in yet that they are not in singapore anymore. it still feels like they have just left for two weeks holiday and will be back with lots of stories from their holidays soon. frankly, sal and kaz were feeling the same way even after checking in the airport.

i know i will be seeing mister D again in the very near future but i am going to miss him terribly. it is amazing to see a child grow up and the remarkable developments he made through the past 15 months since he first arrived into our lives like his first smile, his first laugh, his first few steps, his first birthday, the kisses he gave away, his telling-people-off and his likings for blondes little girls... (yes, seems like they start early these days).

since he was born, i have been taking photos of him every time i see him and that was like every month. i think he associated me to the camera and it acts as a bait for him to come to me each time i see him. in recent months, he would be happy to be posing for the camera each time i hold it up to him and he would then come to me just so he could see the results on the display panel. kids these days, they are so smart. after this evening, those monthly folders that i have of him in my computer will no longer grow. looks like i have to resort to other subjects...

here is how i remember him ... from the last weekend that mister D and his parents were here...



but through the last 15 months, i think this is how he would see and remember me...



i am going to miss you much, mister D but i know that i will see you again soon!

the love of a woman for...

.... her mobile phone, that is. have you ever known anyone or seen anyone who is like so in love with their mobile phone? i saw one this morning when i sat beside her on the bus, while travelling to work. singaporeans are obsessed with mobile technology and this woman is one of them.

throughout the journey, she was hanging on to her pink siemens mobile phone and caressing the edges with her tiny fingers by the way, her pink phone matches the pink top she was wearing. she was constantly sending text messages and at some point, she received a couple of calls. she seemed to be very into the phonecall - i think it must have been a male caller.

that is not all. the ultimate would be when she used the camera function on her mobile as her mirror. she was doing that at least a few times during the journey. a couple of times to check her hair and a couple of times to check her eyes. how vain is that?? i wanted to laugh but was controlling it. not only she love her mobile herself but she loves herself too much not to check into her reflection to see if she is still there and if she is still beautiful.

it amazes me at how she filled her travelling time with doing all of the above all because of her love of her cute little pink communication device. however, it is situation like this that sometimes makes your journey somewhat an amusement for yourself.

father's day...

no, it is not the official father's day.... but i spent some quality time with my dad yesterday. we were out running errands and then decided to have some coffee together. i had a nice conversation with him - a very rare moment because i don't talk to him that much but it was good to catch up with the man who is my early influence into football, a sport which in i enjoyed playing as a kid at school and watching in my adult years. :-)

it is raining man!!!

as much as i want the subject to literally mean it is raining man (good looking man, mind you) but no. i am talking about the weather. singapore has been going through a dry spell since 26 January 2005. it was hot and humid, with temperature at a maximum of 34 degree celcius. it is rare for this early part of the year, where it should be a little cooler - well, if you can call 29 to 30 deg celcius a cool temperature - . temperature usually rises between 33 to 35 degree celcius come may and june. anyway, with the hole in the ozone layer and global warming, you just don't know what to expect anymore when it comes down to the weather.

over the weekend, there were a few downfalls but it was only today that it began pouring, almost the whole day and it began at 5 in the morning. it cool things down a bit and the plants, trees, etc must be sighing with relief. singaporeans, who are not only sleep deprived but also deprived of extreme cold weather - what being in the equator all their lives and all - started putting on sweaters and all today. singaporeans long for the day when they can put on a winter jacket or fur coat or any form of winter clothing to keep them warm. i guess they don't know what it is like to live in regions where warm weather only comes 3 months or so in a year. i think we are very lucky. we don't have to worry about changing our wardrobe every three months to suit the weather. we wear t-shirt most of the time. we get a tan just by walking out in the sun for 5 minutes. we don't need heaters (although most singaporeans will have water heater at home for what a hot shower on what they call a cold morning). we don't have to shovel the snow away from our driveways. in europe, it must have been one of the coldest winter ever in history that they are experiencing now. how lucky are we?? but as you know, the grass is always greener on the other side. however, in europe, i don't think we can see green, or grass for that matter, now.

to my friends in europe, hope the weather will improve soon. unless, this is what you like. ;-)

sleep deprived??

are singaporeans sleep deprived?? the question crossed my mind this morning while travelling to work on a bus. there were at least 5 people who were sleeping. one of them was a couple... aawww.... how sweet... travel to work together and sleep on the bus together.

there was also this familiar face this morning... i know her because she always gets on the bus a stop after me and she would get off at the same stop as me. she would sleep her way through our 40 minutes journey downtown. and mind you, she gets herself comfortable too. she would slouch to make sure that her head is well rested on the seat and she even put on her cardigan if the air-con in the bus is getting too cold for her. there was a time when she sat beside me and she almost had her head resting on my shoulder. i hate that... it makes me uncomfortable. it is like the very little space i have on my seat is being invaded.

now, with all these people sleeping on their journeys to work either via bus or the train, i just wonder what they did last night that they need to catch up on sleep during their journey to work?? eight hours of sleep is not enough?? okay, maybe i don't have a life so much that sleep deprivation is not an issue for me. i get at least a minimum of 6 hours of sleep. yes, i get sleepy sometimes but i use my journey to work to be with my own thoughts. i put the headset on and listen to my favourite music on my iPod , while my thoughts travelled all over the world during the 40 minutes journey. what impresses me is that this people can sleep while sitting. i certainly can't do that. they must be really tired. poor them. well, they can sleep all they want but as long as they don't rest their heads on my shoulder, thinking it is their pillow, it doesn't bother me. but still, one can't help but wonder the activities that has engaged these sleepy souls the night before. hhmmm...