2009

The swirls of the new year have swept by, and at last I am, Lady Gaga permitting, afforded some quiet contemplation.

Europe, most recently, was an exotic way to end an… exotic year.

It began interestingly, on the back of a surreal trip to Bali, then new friendship and love. But it soon began crumbling, with my magazine employer struggling to fulfill that title: they never paid on time, and never paid in full. My fledgling media career was literally shattered in April, when I had to break my piggy bank to reach the last few pennies to my name.

Well as they say, from zero (…two or three dollars, to be exact), you can only go up. The swirls of May had arrived, and I was, Lady Luck permitting, on the up. I left that skeleton of a company, somewhat well endowed: as the top-ranking ‘Sales Journalist’ (don’t ask) during my time there.

-- Just as I did so, Michael brought his business to bright lights of the Middle East – giving me full access to his designer aquarium clientele. Dirty and unglamorous, yes. But the job requests came in everyday like magic -- tank him very much -- and I was soon swimming in it. Albeit feeling like Atlas with a backache.

Then, on the way to service another rich client’s ten thousand dollar aquarium, NParks called. Darius, in a kingly voice, offered me a position and a salary that made me whoop with joy and say yeswithouthesitation.

I had started the year cycling to work to save money; come July, I was driving to my tree-covered Bukit Timah office. Earning two incomes I enjoyed thoroughly, running two jobs I savoured even more, and enjoying a relationship I treasured the most – Christians would say they are blessed. ! I hate that word: I think we control our own fate. Yes I was lucky, but mostly determined.

Throughout this time, family life presented dramatic ups and downs. The piece of food flicked by my father at my mother, you will know what I am talking about. The worst –- and the best -– was being banned by my father from going to Europe with the family after Clem’s Sandhurst graduation! Perfect -- neither did I want to travel with him, not after Canada. Now I could go wherever I wanted, without having to endure his unceasing photography and walking around the shared (yes, shared) hotel room almost naked o_0

So there we were at the Sandhurst parade square, watching with frozen ears and bursting pride Clem win two awards and struggle to catch up with the gargantuan strides of his British platoon mates. He commissioned alongside them with the most poignant reflection: “I am finally an officer.” He was actually holding two occifer commissions – Singapore and British – but only after the second could he finally assume a command position.

Then with my aquarium money tucked not-so-safely into my wallet, Zhengx and I left for Greece. Rather, we tried to. Strike one: we missed the flight to Athens because I didn’t want to (again) lose to airport security a Swiss Army knife Candice bought me.

“Hey, at least it can’t get any worse,” Zhengx consoled me, as we dejectedly shuffled to the internet station to book our next flight. An absent-minded trip to the toilet and with my whole S$2500 Europe budget stolen later, he could not have said it any better.

Thankfully, we got through the stupendous but freezing streets of Athens, Delphi, Venice and Rome without too many mishaps and lost toes, and I returned to lovely Singapore temperature (you wouldn’t have thought) and Clem, Charm and Candice for Christmas.

So the winds of change had brought me from pennilessness in Redhill to pennilessness in Rome, but it was not too shabby in between, not too shabby : )