That awkward foreign-local paradigm...

Since returning to Singapore, I have been applying for jobs, and I have tried to hold my hypothesis about what is working for me and not.

I have filled in countless applications, stating 'Singaporean' as part of my work rights. That is easy. I thought I have breezed through the first round of filters.

Then I read the news about foreign PMETs, and that is quite a bummer. According to what is reported, the foreign PMETs demand relatively lesser money than their local counterparts for the same role. That immediately squared off my advantage.

Most Singaporeans are under the impression that there is a foreign quota in the number of employees a company can employ. Most Singaporeans also do not comprehend that there is no set quota if the foreign employee is earning above 3k (with a recognised qualification) and is on a Employment Pass. These are your foreign PMETs. EP holders can also bring their family over to Singapore on a long term visit or dependent pass. Should they work in Singapore, they are also not included in the quota.

I was starting to feel less and less Singaporean.

I am no foreign talent even though I spent more of my working life in Australia than in Singapore. It is still a culture shock when I walk into an interview and there are 'aunties' trying to suss out everything from your current and potential future marital status, to wanting to put you through endless rounds of interviews like a large Chinese 'meet the parents, brothers, grandparents' session. There were recruiters who spent 80% of the time trying to gauge if I have been previously fired versus talking through the many years of previous working experience.

Instead of finding out what I could have positively contributed, some were already calculating my potential liability.

I understand, Singaporeans employers are a careful lot. I am not complaining, but I can certainly feel a difference with the 'kiasee' motivation.

I found myself leaning towards applying to the australian companies and other MNCs. I missed the multicultural feeling. I had the best interviews in roles that I did not eventually get, but the mature discussion of the job fit was mind blowing. I actually do not think employers in Singapore viewed my australian work experience favourably, though I feel that the australian workplace has taught me a lot about the importance of good communication skills, stakeholders management and the importance of 'fitting in'. I played down a lot of the soft skills, highlighting the technical ones instead.

It is therefore of no surprise that my resume appealed a lot more to the 'ang mohs'. Today I just received a phone call from an foreign recruiter in Singapore. I recognised the familiar aussie accent. The phone screen felt smoother than the ones that goes 'So why did you come back to Singapore', Are you PR in Australia? type questions. There wasn't an awkward pause after I said the ubiquitous "How are you?".

I did thought to myself, do I really feel very local at the end of the day? I certainly did 'think' very local initially, but find myself veering into a very 'un-local' mindset. Yet I am certain that I will have no issues wearing my sleeveless dress walking with a group of colleagues to the char kuey teow stall when I start work.

I call that my awkward foreign-local paradigm.

The Plight of the HDB Patient (or Doctor)

I am not an avid fan of clinics. That has worked very well when I was in Australia. I did not need to see a doctor for a cold just to get an MC. I only go to the clinic when I know that something is getting serious, such as a fracture after my heroic attempt at the ice skating rink.

Recently, I had to go to the clinic here. It was high time I looked for a GP whom I can visit for some continuity of care. I decided to select a clinic in the nearby HDB shops, thinking that proximity will help when I am really sick. Besides, I felt strongly that HDB doctors should be of similar standards to 'posh-ier' ones who charge you more for the soft lighting and plush sofas that I do not need.

The doctors I went to were late both times. On one occasion, the doctor was a locum but I still saw her. The wait was 1.5 hours long on a Friday evening, and there is no 'appointment' system other than getting a number when the clinic opens. On the Monday morning I went, there were 40 patients in the queue by 9am. Is it too hard to book patients by appointment slots? Or is it because people only fall sick on the day and they just need to see one asap? In Melbourne, only Saturdays are meant for 'walk ins', people do make appointments for their visits. Perhaps I should analyse which system makes more operational efficiency. As a patient, I just know a 1.5-3 hours wait is not a situation I would like to be caught in. (I do suspect that most people send a family member to 'take a number'). I do admit, I felt caught between the kerfuffle of whether a popular restaurant should allow reservations, or do it ala Chin Chin who only takes walk ins. While Chin Chin has a bar to sit and sip an aperitif while waiting, I had the option of aimless circles in a small local supermarket before checking in again.

Anyhow, I know I should be glad that I get to see a doctor on the day itself, which is in some way, a rarity in Australia.

The other observation was how much scribbling a doctor does here. There is no computerised software, and hence I spent about 40% of the short consultation time watching her do copious amount of scribbling, in silence, trying to peer over became a the futile attempt of deciphering bad doctor's handwriting.

Talk to me doctor.. talk to me! It would be really nice to have a real face-to-face consultation and not a Masterchef 'guess the ingredients in the soup' challenge, where the contestants takes a sip of the soup, pauses thoughtfully, leaving the audience to momentarily read between the lines of 'was that barley or quinoa?'.. and then pronounces a verdict.

Maybe the GP clinics can take try to apply for a similar technology grant for a clinic software as our car-number plate maker interviewed by the Economist.
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21577108-manufacturers-struggle-city-state-changes-its-economic-model-bashing-metal-bashers

(Ironically I have been advised by my local friends to go to 'posh-ier' clinics to get a better patient experience)

Green green grass of home

I passed by a large empty field today. There were children playing frisbee and teen girls having a game of volleyball. Someone was jogging around the perimeter. It is such a rare sight to have empty vacant and useable land for recreation. In Australia, we call that an 'oval', where you can bring your dog to play, throw a few balls, jog, push a pram or let your kids run amok without worrying.

I realised I have not deliberately made an effort to go to the shopping centres just for shopping. I know in my past life, shopping centres are good for that 1km slow walk after a meal while I walk from shop to shop, sometimes fairly aimless, most times just window shopping. Now that shopping centres are crammed with people, I avoid them unless I need to buy something.

With online shopping so accessible these days, I was wondering if we can build less shopping centres? It feels like a repeat of chain stores and restaurants that makes one mall similar to another. Can we have a supermarket and some basic shops like post office, and reserve the rest of the land for a good spot of space where the community can come to do something recreational? I do like those purpose build public sports and recreational centres, but if you do not swim, play badminton, ping pong or use the gym, what can you do? How about something like an oval? We might just know our community better that way.

Since I have been back, I have been eyeing that open staircase landing on my floor. It is a fairly big and protruded one, with nothing over it till 5 storeys later. I wanted to set up the BBQ, invite my friends and neighbours, and just enjoy our surroundings. Oh, I also spotted a nice spot to sit and read a book outdoors in a shelter when it is not so hot out there.

Now I just need to find a way to lower the horrendous arvo heat.

Miss the Ice Cream

I am sorely missing my favourite ice creams.

To be more precise, eating a nice tub of ice cream at an affordable price.

My favourite ice cream has to be Connoisseur Ice Cream! There is always a tub in the fridge! It looks nondescript, made by Nestle, and the only thing that hints of how nice it may possibly be is the word 'Gourmet ice cream' written in small prints above a picture of an equally nondescript scoop of ice cream.

My pricing radar tells me that it goes on sale at Woollies at $7 every few weeks, alternating with Coles. I was even able to get it at $6 at Leo's on weeks that Woollies and Coles are on truce.

Favourite flavours goes to Belgian Chocolate and Cafe Grande. Yums!

Unfortunately, Connoisseur is not sold in Singapore. I think that is because every Singaporean I know is scouring for Ben and Jerrys and Haagen Dazs. I like both ice cream, but pintwise, they are pricey.

So I skipped down to my next favourite aussie ice cream sold in Singapore.

WEIS ice cream... mango and macadamia... Australian mangoes and chunky good halves of macadamia nuts. Weis always reminded me of the australian summer with its sorbet flavours and natural taste.

Ironically, Ben & Jerrys and Haagen Dazs are not available in the local supermakets in Australia. Even more ironically, I am craving for nondescript unheard of aussie ice cream when I can get 10 other international ice cream brands in Singapore.

I must be going nuts...

If you need to rant...

Last weekend, I was queueing up to buy Roti Prata at a food court stall. There was a man ahead of me. He has been waiting for a while. The man walked up and asked how long more he had to wait, only to be told that there was 1 customer in front, but that person had ordered quite a few pratas, and hence he has to wait a longer time. The man immediately flew into a rage, and ranted "I don't care how many he has ordered! You told me it was 1 person in front of me, and it is not my problem that he ordered many! That is your business! But you made me wait for so long!"

I understand the man mistook that a shorter queue meant a shorter wait. But I do not understand this "Your business" and "not my problem" rant. What was he trying to express?

Last week I wrote about the 'silent' bus driver, and the equally silent and docile Singaporeans who got off the bus without given an explanation. This week, I saw the opposite. An angry Singaporean who got so mad that he did not get his pratas within 5 minutes, and acted like he has been cheated of his time.

Or was it bad communication again? That the cashier should have said that there was a large order before him, that he might want to come back later to collect his order.

Or do some Singaporeans like to rant? An innate frustration built over that handbag that whacked your back in the MRT, or the guy who stepped on your shoe behind the escalator queue without a sorry, or that boss who told you 'deliver no matter what..', or watching someone cut a queue of 10 people in NTUC (happened to me), and feeling like your lost your mouth momentarily and having imaginary mental rants thereafter.

Too upset to be civil?

The Bus that Broke Down

I had my first encounter with a bus that broke down last night. I thought I smelled something bad when I boarded the bus, but was hoping to continue my journey on this last second stop before it does a nice undisrupted leg on the expressway.

But I did not get pass a few meters before the driver pulled up halfway and got down for a look. The rest of us looked on, mostly unperturbed.

Ten minutes later, someone decided he had enough of a wait and got off.

Another few minutes later, the driver uttered to just a few passengers that 'maybe we have to transfer buses' and proceeded to program the ezlink to refund the credits and to print us a complimentary bus ticket each.

We lined up and the driver made sure that every tapped their ezlink cards to get a refund.

He never ever told us what happened.

The bus driver quite possible fulfilled his standard operating procedures- stop bus, check, call HQ, reprogram ezlink, issue free ticket for next bus ride. If this was an ISO audit, he passed with flying colours.

I used to take a bus to work in Melbourne. There are usually a few people in the bus serving our suburb, and I noticed everyone greeted the driver with a 'Good morning'. I started with a Hi, and thought that was good enough. Then when people got down, they shouted out 'Thank you!' from the back door, and some waved. My eyes popped, my heart raced, and I could only muster a friendly wave, hoping the driver can see it from his rear mirror. After some time, I do 'morning' and 'thanks' fairly fine. In a way, I am glad Melbourne taught me that.

Perhaps this was why I felt 'weird' about this broken down bus incident. The driver did not explain to us what happened, and we were left to fill in what we think it was. One passenger called his friend to explain about a punctured tyre, another said the engine was broken. No one really asked the driver anyway.

Maybe the bus driver was shy, just as I was before I learnt how to yell out a 'Goodbye' in front of 20 pairs of eyes. Perhaps it is a Singaporean thing to not want to be any form of conspicuous position, even if the context really calls for it.

How this post started...

I must have been googling something Aussie, but an aussie expatriate wife's blog came up in the results.

I read, I laughed, I nearly cried.

Like any newbie foreigner, she came with a sense of adventure. 3 months into it, she was starting to get the uneasy feeling that this adventure is going to be long. What was fun probably turned into 'foreign', something not quite understandable, and in polite parlance 'takes a little bit of getting used to'. She was not whinging, but made some really funny observations about Singapore.

1) The air con has to be perpetually turned on, for it is an eternal summer with slight variations.
2) Signalling on the roads is optional, 101 lane changes is expected
3) Bread has to be white, and preferably with sugar added
4) The waiting time to see a GP in Singapore is counted by minutes, not days.
5) Travelling in a cab would not break your bank
6) When filling in any forms, there's a section on 'race'.

I caught myself laughing and doing some mental high fives with this lady. We could have been sisters for the moment, but we were not. In a way, I wasn't supposed to laugh. I am not a foreigner, yet I felt that same foreignness. If I identified with her too brightly, I might be accused of trying to be an 'ah moh wannabe', which I am not consciously aspiring.

Where does that leave me? Would my girlfriend who went to school with me in Singapore feel the same way? Would she relate to these observations?

Yet I am in no way hanging out with these foreigners. In many instances, when I initially returned, I was chided by the drink-store-aunty, the fishball-noodle-uncle and even the SBS bus driver for not speaking the right lingo or failing to recognise the ezlink card 'low value' beep. Yet I look just like your average Singapore, and what excuse do I have to say "oops.. sorry, I didn't know this is the way it is done in Singapore'.

It is a little disconcerting, and instead of doing my almost daily rants to my Singapore friends who don't think that much of 'which planet did she arrive from', I decided to just chronical my life in Singapore here - as the prodigal Singaporean.

The First Post

It was a few nights ago. I caught an SBS bus home together with the peak hour crowd.

Something caught my eye. I was eyeing at a girl sitting in front of me playing Candy Crush. Next to her was another man, unrelated to her, playing Candy Crush. Hang on, the person standing next to me was playing Candy Crush, and so were the two middle aged couple sitting behind. I was statistically outflanked!

So this is Singapore. A crowded bus full of Candy Crushers.

I spent the last 9 years in Melbourne, Australia. Armed with 40kgs, I came back not only with 80kg, but traded my Singaporean worldview for Australia's. Hardly the world's view if you combine this continent with an island, but good enough for my rojak identity.

It is going to be one heck of a ride!