Wednesday, September 28, 2011


It's so hard to breathe in Singapore. With everyone working/striving/slogging just for that ballast of a steady income, it's painful to see faceless faces which are cracked with bone ashes and remnants of what could have been joy. And this doesn't spare yours truly - me - one who has also become one of such victims to be caught in the clutches of this pair of merciless hands of the society. Even with much avoidance, I have become the typical, the archetypal, the fearful and the cowardice.

A trip to Auckland has made me seen the evident differences between locals and the Kiwis. Kiwis work for passion, and it is most accurate to say, that the government has taken care of the people well, passing down the legislation of minimum wage, granting medical benefits and health insurances so that the people can focus on living their lives the way they want. And as much as the rat-racers would call it laid-back, I prefer to call it a true way to live, with a little bit solace, comfort and time to love even anything that doesn't concern you.

So even if I have to stay in Singapore for a tad longer period, I should jolly well earn what I should be earning, well, what I think I should deserve. I am not thick in the skull, I am proactive and I take pride in almost everything I do (if it excites me, that is).

What I am doing now is for one who's only gotten her/his PSLE. You definitely don't need much brains to run the show. You merely need elementary level grammar which I think kids these days are really blessed to be well-equipped like that. A few bombastic words which you can always thesaurus.com it. And proper sentence-structuring skills. All of which mentioned, everyone ought to be versed that way before the MOE should even decide to pass you your Primary School Leaving Examination Certificate.

A real Boss will casually chat up his employee to find out whether or not she's happy, finds the job suitable, copes and mingles well and provide her guidance and help when warranted. My Bosses - they call themselves the Big Shots, That Level - find their need to demonstrate leadership qualities by being all fastidious about punctuality and punctilious about what taboos you speak of in the office. There is no such thing as a thin fine line between coercive management and laissez faire.The former has dated and does not work with the new age individuals. And quite a blasphemy for most conservative Singapore SMEs I believe, the latter is only seen practiced in MNCs.

It is most unfortunate for such a promising organization to be run by individuals who are pre-war educated, who don't take staff loyalty, job satisfaction, internal customer service and proper planning and execution of perhaps great ideas in their own hands. Wealth does not come overnight. You certainly will not earn loyal employees who are willing to slog it out for you when you don't take their emotional and mental well-being into consideration. "We are not robots," wailed a writer when she was no more than 3 months old with the co., has its very own gravitas ensconced with rich emotions and factual qualities. The acme of success is not within easy reach and Rome certainly wasn't built in a day.

Cooped up in a little dark fetid room that reeks nothing but the old and forgotten, I'm being driven to a corner up against the wall, being offered a tightrope to walk on. But I am no funambulist, I can't thrive and survive in hard times, I crumple, fall and shatter like any other porcelain doll will. I have what it takes to be a successful person but does the world judge you on things you say or things you do/did, that's the lingering question that's as damaging as it is resounding.

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