Pre-Monday Blues

A rare three-day weekend comes to an end.

Yesterday, I dropped by the clinic to do a "pre-employment" medical check up. Mind, one month after commencing employment. The clinic was a very tiny place where all patients sat facing the reception. And I do not know why they all happened to be male that morning. In between was a narrow aisle. I met two of my male colleagues while waiting. They recognised me immediately and gave me a big smile, which I returned.

Soon, my name was called in and I was given a  plastic cup and a loud instruction, "Miss, here's your cup. Please come back with a urine sample. The toilet is down the aisle, to your left.When you are done, leave the sample here on the reception counter."

So I take the transparent plastic cup and go to harvest a sample. I walked back carefully holding my cup filled to the brim (they didn't tell me what volume they required) and placed it on the reception [BEHOLD, Shu's urine sample for all to see].What better way to break the ice with male colleagues than over pee samples and might I add, what a comfortable situation that was.

After the nurse took a couple of drops from it for the test, she announces again, "Miss, you can go and throw your urine sample already." So another awkward trip down the aisle, carrying my contents back to the toilet and disposing it.

Sheesh. I'm pretty sure in my past experiences with clinics, it was done with much more confidentiality.

In a poorly researched decision, I hiked to MacRitchie Reservoir this morning. The last time I went there about 5 years ago, not only was my picnic sandwich bag grabbed from my hands by a young fella like the one above but I also recall the hike was a lot shorter than the 12km it was! So I am inevitably drained today, wishing I had another day to rest. The place has not lost any of its beauty and serenity though. 

 Bumped into a little clouded monitor lizard. He seemed used to the presence of humans.

Insect pollinators - the unappreciated workers who work hard to bring us most of our food

A baby daycare! 

 The tree-top walk - a close encounter with the canopy ecosystem

The Foodie

Invictus

- William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

And that was a poem also found in the inspiring and feel-good movie - Invictus, based on a part of Nelson Mandela's life.

~ ~ ~

Age is just a number. We all start the scale at zero, but who's to tell what the number at the other end of the scale is. So there's no point to rushing or trying to keep up with everyone else. I'd rather prefer to grow up and go about doing things at my own pace.

Today, I got my week-end 'nature fix' by hiking to Singapore's highest peak. It took only about 55 minutes to get to the summit at 165 meters above sea level walking all the way from my place, giving a good idea of how flat Singapore really is. When I landed here for the first time, eight years ago, three things really shocked me; the lack of mountains, toilets that flushed themselves and internet without cables. I didn't spot much animals except for a few monkey mothers carrying clingy youngsters on their bellies, a squirrel, some birds and a few insects. But walks in damp rainforests with the constant shrill sounds of cicadas in one's ears, are cool and calming.

Reaching the summit of Bukit Timah Hill after hiking through a nice damp rainforest trail

Just like how some couples bring out the best in each other, there are winning combinations of food. For example, cheese and tomatoes or chocolate and mint (there's nothing quite like these). Once long ago, I accidentally discovered during a shopping trip to accompany a friend, that green apple juice and celery juice mixed together were such a team (otherwise the thought of drinking "celery juice" alone is like drinking egg-plant juice or onion juice). The sourness of green apples perfectly complements salty celery. I was so inspired by this discovery that I started eating green apples with massive amounts of salt and I managed to get a convert in the process too.  After work, as I change buses at an interchange/ massive mall, I am drawn to try out new food though I have not been paid yet. The other day, I was overjoyed when I found out that the bubble tea shop sells green apple and celery juice with the chewy bubbles. I've also ventured a little into "sweet territory" (which is not usually my primary preference) and found out that cinnamon sugar coated warm pretzels are really nice too. I'm so going to a hell dedicated to gluttons.

Relations at work with aliens are improving, slowly.

Alien encounters

Since 42% of my day is now spent at work (and another 30% spent sleeping), I have little mental stimulation in topics other than work.

My research in understanding and interacting with aliens males at work is still ongoing. A handful of them - my boss included - are perfectly normal and nice to associate with. Today, however, I had a new realisation. The rest of them are just as awkward and ignorant about how to interact with a rare specimen of a (quiet) female co-worker as I am interacting with them. The only difference being that their varied reactions range from stares, to ignoring me, scuttling away from my path, to stepping over Shu's invisible boundary of personal space, to making bad small talk, to telling jokes that are horribly un-funny. Here's a compilation of some of the stranger questions I have been asked so far:

Alien: Are you single or married? 

Shu: Single. 

Alien: *GASPS*

Alien: Why aren't you married? 

Shu: I will be married when I want to.

Alien: Why are you so quiet?

Shu: That's the way I am. [GET USED TO IT.]

Alien: The girl before you used to bring food and leave it on her table so we used to help ourselves to the food. You should have some too.

Shu: Politely smiles. [Hell No. I am not feeding stray aliens.*sprays alien repellent*]

Alien: What's the meaning of your name? Is it a name of a flower?

Shu: I'm not sure. [Weren't you very quick to assume I was named after a flower in a language totally foreign to yours? o_O I think I'll pass on the real explanation.]

This picture from Google Images is just plain creepy! 

Here's hoping to better days of rational, meaningful and normal conversations with these aliens. 

The Social Butterfly

I have been quite the social butterfly this weekend.

Last night, I attended a Dinner and Dance in appreciation of zoo volunteers who had just completed two months of training. Contrary to the title, there was no dance, only dinner. It was a fun event with good food, good company and games. The CEO of the organization came down to thank us for our efforts and that was rather humbling. If I am able to make even a microscopic impact on this fight for conservation in my lifetime, I would be a very happy soldier.

As with all events that require me to get well dressed up with (heavy) make-up, I was anxious the whole time. The extra attention and the unfamiliarity that it brings makes me feel uncomfortable and out of my natural element. Attempts to explain myself, brush off compliments modestly and shy away from the spotlight probably makes well-wishers think that I have low self esteem about my looks or worse, think that I secretly love the attention but pretend otherwise. I have none of those. In fact, being human, I do crave attention, but that's more for (more permanent, hard to fake and harder to achieve) inward characteristics rather than (temporary, easy to purchase and apply) exaggerated outward appearances. Try explaining all that if it came up during a dinner conversation without sounding like a freak! (I don't bother).

Why bother to dress up well, then? Well, I believe that dressing up appropriately for an occasion is essential. Whether it be a wedding, an interview, a party, a club, a holy site, a funeral - all have social rules that *I* think one must comply with if they decide to attend such an event or place. So I put in a lot of thought to blend in and avoid going under-dressed, over-dressed or inappropriately dressed. With a little advanced mental conditioning, I venture out of my comfort zones to acquire appropriate dresses/shoes (that I would not normally wear), get help from a skilled person for make up (even if I hardly recognise myself later or sometimes in the past have scared myself when looking in the mirror!) and try my best to hide the anxiousness (when I observe or imagine others reacting differently to me compared to other times).

Oh Shu, they are yet to find a cure for self-inflicted paranoia!

The new chapter

Hello my precious, how I missed you and our quiet little chats.

I have survived a full 60-hour work week! The transition from months of unemployment having ample time to live inside my head and explore its contents to a working life of long days, long commutes, new surroundings, new people and new subject material to learn has been very trying. But as with all major changes in life, situations become a whole lot tolerable with an adjusted positive attitude that involves counting the blessings, seeing the bigger picture and not forgetting to live in and enjoy the present moment.

Shu's new routine:

Mondays to Saturdays
4:40 - 5:50 am - Wake up and get ready to go to work
5:50 - 7:00 am - Commute
7:00 am - 5:30 pm - WORK
5:30 - 7:30 pm - Commute
7:30 - 9:00 pm - ME-time
9:00 pm - 4:30 am - Sleep aka, battery charging time

Sunday
8:00 am - 9:00pm - Have a life, tend to hobbies and relax


Let's spill a little about the new job, shall we?

On the downside, there is lesser time for self reflection, blogging, doing volunteer work, going exploring in parks and zoos, sightseeing, watching movies and TV series, socialising with close friends and tending to other hobbies with the long commutes and working hours. But it helps massively to have a phone with mobile internet to stay plugged to the internet (and have a book in the bag for reading pangs).

I am also now in an industry that has a 98% male workforce so it is quite intimidating to a sociophobe who prefers to stay in the shadows and not be troubled in any way. Most of my years until now have been spent living in a largely female-dominated sub-universe where things were quite peaceful, fun and even safe. So there is a lot of adjustment and learning involved to get along and co-exist with this new sub-species that is the male homo sapien.

On the upside, going to work during twilight hours, without the mad morning rush of half-awake people is refreshing. I dodge giant snails in my path and I hear things I usually don't, like water flowing under the manhole covers beneath the pavement and chants from a nearby Buddhist temple. There is a pretty awesome coffee/tea machine in the office that dispenses very high quality beverages so I'm a big huge fan of it. The food court there is by far the best one I have ever had in a work place and it comes with highly subsidised costs for staff.

Other than these perks, I am in a job that actually uses a significant portion of my grey matter unlike my previous desk-bound jobs and my work involves picking up things that are out of order (which can be deeply gratifying to a compulsive, perfectionist grammar-nazi). Best of all, I am paid to do it.

I think I am going to be alright.