Drab Sunday

How are you this Sunday night? Are you bemoaning the imminent end of the long weekend? For me, working from home for the past 2 weeks had been awesome but it's back to office tomorrow.

I haven't been productive over the weekend because my 2 boisterous nieces have been making it hard for me to focus on tasks that demand concentration. Somehow, Sunday nights are times for rumination and I'm here to write about some things that I've thought about over the course of the past few weeks but haven't documented.

I visited a bar called Native some time ago, and was pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome and service by the bartenders. A few of them initiated small talks and gave concise introductions about their drinks. I don't know this has been customary, because there were not more than 6 customers while I was there, but it sure was pretty out of the ordinary in Singapore. Their concoctions are very innovative and most of their ingredients are locally sourced, so this is definitely a good place to patronise if you want to #supportlocal.

Someone told me that it is actually easier to find a job now since there is a limitation of foreign workers returning to work in Singapore. Given the head-count freeze, lay-offs, and other cost cutting measures, I simply don't know how to wrap my head around this warped theory. Sure, there are still job vacancies, but people usually wouldn't just jump at any opportunity and many positions require very skilled or experienced workers so the average Joe wouldn't make the cut easily. There is also intense competition among the local pool of applicants alone, especially since it's commencement season.

That day, I had a meet-up with a friend of mine. He always had comments about the way I act around him, like not paying enough attention to him as compared to others. I can't say I have made marked improvements over the years, but surely progressive improvements. Then, sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one with problems. I asked him how much the HDB loan for his new flat was, and he answered 20k. Then I asked how much the interest was going to be, and he furrowed his brows and snapped, "It's a grant, not a loan." Well, am I at fault that he heard me wrongly? Based on my experiences, things would turn nasty if I insisted that I said "loan" and not "grant", so I just let it slide. Funnily, I have always endeavoured to make the conversations work, but I still feel I cannot meet what he expects.

Something happier: I am currently looking forward to new episodes of "Summer Vacation" and "Hometown Flex", which are 2 new Korean variety shows. They are like fuel to keep me going. I also did some driving after months of stagnation. It's fun, and I am a little more confident now.