When I was a little girl, I read Enid Blyton non-stop. LOL, I think every little kid then read Enid Blyton non-stop! I take it that Enid Blyton was the best children books writer then! We read her books at home, on the bus and in school. Every day, school started off with assembly and a 20-minute reading time. We had books in school that we could borrow and take home. In those days, we did not have tech distractions other than Nintendo Donkey Kong. Every parent wanted their kid to be part of the ‘Bookworm Club’, and so we were. As I got older, I went crazy over Nancy Drew, before progressing onto Sweet Dreams Romance and First Love From Silhouette. In between those, we flipped Archies, Asterix and Obelix, but nothing held my attention more than romance paperbacks. Boy! I was addicted to romance stories, and I ravished very single title!!! I hung out at Evernew Bras Basah, and I spent the bulk of my pocket money there! It was cool to borrow books to bring home in those days, because of this thing you call a book strap. They came in all sorts of patterns and colors! I thought then that it would be fantastic if I could write a book as romantic as those that I have read. Imagine! I could dream up any male character and I could partner him with the female lead (normally in romance settings, it would refer to myself). My perfect dream guy, swoon!
So even though I was out of touch with society, and I did not meet any recruitment criteria, the good news is that I can say: “Well, stuff that! I don’t need you, Mr Employer, I’ll find my own way!”. Wow! It felt good to say that (though I was not saying that to anyone in particular, ROFL). In ***, I wrote about survival skills 101, and today I’m way stronger than I was 20 years*** ago! So however you are feeling now, don’t revolt and don’t retaliate. Control your mind and your actions until you are strong. I waited and I waited, and today I am in a good place! You can do it too! You’re next! In ***, ***, ***, *** and ***, I gave all the credit to a certain someone for all that is possible in my life today, and I continue to do so now. *muahhh!*
I’m just ordinary. And I am a Singaporean with a degree. You know what does this make me? A spoilt employee who is not desperate enough for a job. LOL! No way I’m going to work weekends and be on shift work! What I want is very simple:
Flexible work hours
Work-life balance
No overtime
5 day work week
Dress down Friday
Not-stressful job. If you want me to be under stress, I must hold Management level job, and my pay must be very high.
High-paying job, enough for me to eat in restaurants, buy a car and a HDB apartment.
Strategic thinking
No need to do the actual work, just use my brain and my mouth power.
Minimal supervision. I want to do my job my way.
Not held accountable. If you want me to be accountable, I must hold Management level job, and my pay must be very high.
Given credit and recognition for my work
Promotion and pay increment every year
Self-appraisal
Nice working environment
Fun colleagues
Transport and meals provided in canteen. Food in canteen must be healthy, low fat, no salt and most importantly, must have staff discount.
Perks like company clubhouse, company retreat etc
My list looks pretty ordinary, don’t you think? LOL! So typical.
So I was at a crossroad. Shall I drop my standards and go work for someone? Or should I stay home and continue to be an ignorant frog-in-a-well housewife? I should just go and get a part-time job. After all, I was still needed at home! The floor still had to be mopped, the clothes still had to be washed and ironed, the pets need to be fed, and the aquarium water need to change. As I write in ***, yah, it’s true that we can use external vendors to help us with our domestic jobs, but someone still had to be around to co-ordinate the workers. It’s not that we duplicate 10 sets of our house keys and we pass a set to every team, for them to have unsupervised access into our home! Crazy.
