Some Thoughts

Yesterday two of my pals left Singapore for Sydney for education and career purposes. I wish them well with the path that they chosen.

They remind me of the times when I first come to Perth for my studies. Uncertainties, scared, excited, homesickness and zero-confidence were a terrible mixed of feeling for me then. The notion of terrible racism so talked about in Sg by my friends doesn’t help much too. Upon reaching Perth, the cold gust of wind pushes me further into my negative concept of Perth. I was the typical ignorant Sgrean then; only know the little red dot and nothing else out of the dot. The swan river in Perth show me how a river should look like, not like some muddy pool of water, the beaches in Perth show me what real beaches should be. The relaxed lifestyle shows me how a human should live. Before you all call me a quitter or slacker, I would like to emphasize that I still love my country but maybe not the way of life. Anyway, racist is almost non-existent to me, I am lucky that til now there has been no case of racist activities against me. To think about it, racist or being a 2nd class citizen happens everywhere in the world even in your own country. Rich VS poor, Elite VS commoners, citizen VS foreigners… it all exist everywhere. To me now, Sg is still my home but Perth is my home too!

Education is also very much different. There is no such thing as from the book answer for my exams. Common knowledge, application and out of the box answer is the key to achieve good results. The lecturers do not only give lectures but expect us student to teach him too with stuff we learned from our experience or net. Many times I had witness students disagreeing with lecturers’ point of view with their own rational thinking. I guess that’s explains why foreigners are more proactive or outspoken in their activities.

After graduating, working in Perth has also been an eye-opener. A boss and an employee basically have no clear line in between them. There is minimal cases of the mentality of the boss-know-all concept and mutual respect is forged btw the 2 classes. Working hours are flexible, family friendly and timesheets are based on trust. Overall there is not much rat race going on at the current stage. Tax is high but claimable towards the end of financial year. Working here really gives me more time to have more life. Some of my friends think that it is too boring over here but think about it. I work 38-40hours per week, go home at 5 per day, leaving me plentiful of personal time rather than slogging til 7-8pm and reach home at 9 then sleep, next day restart routine again.

Overall the journey has been pleasant for me at the current stage. I cannot foresee what will happen in future but I guess I just need to deal with all the problems I met in life.

Updates!

I had decided to stay in PERTH regarding to my previous post. My dad advice is good and logical. No point gambling and relearning for a long time only to find out the golden era has passed.

Currently, I have been trying to plan a holiday trip to Bunbury for the weekend with my wife and friends. Planning to fished, BBQ our hunted fished, go sightseeing and enjoy life with them. However, the plan has been delayed due to the frequent thunderstorm and rainy season in Perth. Yesterday there was even a hale storm! Hale storm is the rain being freeze to ice and comes down to earth as a solid rain drops. Sounds frightening? Well, Yeah! What a big contrast to Sg weather now!

I have been trying to plan a trip with my wife. Maybe I will go back Sg towards the end of July or early August or if possible, go Hongkong in September for our Birthday! Still considering!

Tonite my wow guild is meeting Matt and Gret for dinner. They are coming to Sydney soon for studies and greener pastures. Firstly, I welcome them to join me in Aussie!! First advice I shall give them is “PREPARE YOUR WINTER CLOTHES”! Being overseas for long period of time is never easy. Away from family, friends and the challenges of meeting new people with totally different culture is never a easy task. Get ready to fit in the culture so that you guys can adapt easier; especially useful for Gret as she is working over here soon.

Entire week will be raining... bored...