Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Strike three, but we got lucky
Because I am a freelancer who is --- for all intents and purposes --- surgically attached to her internet connection, Cowboy Caleb calls me on occasion for last-minute restaurant advice and I spend about five minutes helping him pick a place where he can fête a client or boss on his company's tab. The other typical condition is that it has to be a place that he knows how to get to in Singapore, which can be harder than it sounds.Today he calls at about noon from Hong Kong and needs a place for dinner tonight. He can't expense the meal, but still needs it to be nice enough. Oh, and no Asian food.
We settle on Valentino's, because we've been there before and it's pretty damn good food. He asks me to get a reservation (yes, I am officially his entertainment secretary, didn't you know?) and SMS him when the table's booked. I call. Valentino's, it turns out, is fully booked for the night.
A little SMSing, another phone call. "How about Marmalade Pantry at Palais Renaissance?," I suggest, "because the air-conditioning at the Holland Village one isn't working [as I found out to my dismay on Monday night]."
"Where's Palais Renaissance?"
"Next to Orchard Towers, between Orchard Towers and the Thai embassy."
For reasons that cannot be reported here, Cowboy Caleb declines to go anywhere near Orchard Towers. We settle on Ember at Hotel 1929, another reliable choice that he knows how to get to.
I call and: "We regret to inform you that we will be closed for renovations from 30 April to ..." Cheebye. I hang up without bothering with the rest of the automated message.
"Strike two," I SMS Cowboy.
He calls back. By this point, I'm trawling through The Travelling Hungryboy for ideas. We confer. "Okay, Wild Rocket," he decides.
I call and I cannot believe my ears: "I'm sorry, but we're closed tonight for a private function."
Clearly, the moral of the story at this point is that it is not possible to get a dinner reservation at a decent place on the eve of a public holiday (it's May Day tomorrow), unless you planned your evening a week before and had time to work your way through an entire restaurant directory.
Cowboy cannot believe it; neither can I. James comes to the rescue on MSN: "Cork", he says, "63279169." Does Cowboy know where Capital Towers is? Why yes, he does. After which he SMSes: "I boarding the plane. You decide."
Meanwhile, I'm calling --- and miracle of miracles, they are open, they have tables available and they are pleased as punch to take Cowboy's reservation. I manage to sneak in a last confirmation SMS to Cowboy and the URL for Chubby Hubby's review of the place before he switches off his phone on the plane.
As far as I know, dinner went all right.
It seems Secretaries' Day has just passed us by, so Cowboy owes me a huge bonus next year. He should buy me dinner at a nice place.
Labels: Food for thought, Freelancin' living, Life in the internet age, Singapore stories
posted by Tym at 11:50 PM
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Of neo-nomadism and neighbourhoods
It was a year ago that I decided I liked the term "neo-nomad", and now the Economist has a whole special report on it.The thing I find about living the neo-nomadic/digital-nomadic lifestyle, is that when I read a "special report" like that, I tend to go, "Ho-hum. Tell me something I don't already know."
Or else I tend to assume that these reports are confirming what I hope will happen, like this scenario from the article "The new oases":
... urban nomadism makes districts, like buildings, multifunctional. Parts of town that were monocultures, [William Mitchell, a professor of architecture and computer science at MIT] says, gradually become “fine-grained mixed-use neighbourhoods” more akin in human terms to pre-industrial villages than to modern suburbs.I count myself lucky to live in a village-like neighbourhood now. The free wifi is dreadfully spotty (why, oh why, can't Wireless@SG get it right?), but all the other elements --- brick-and-mortar stores delivering basic services, a mixture of chain stores and "local" enterprises, low-rise living and neighbourhood folk who kind of recognise each other after a while --- are well in place, and have been for decades.
(I'm still hoping the coming MRT line doesn't muck up the neighbourhood either.)
Technorati Tags: neo-nomad, nomad, The Economist, Siglap, Wireless@SG
Labels: Freelancin' living, Life in the internet age, Singapore stories
posted by Tym at 10:22 AM
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Talk, talk, talk
Thanks to melch, I had the opportunity today to blather on to impressionable younglings about freelance writing. Talk about being out of practice since my teaching days. I forgot how much of an adrenalin rush it is from the minute one is "on", as in: "Here's the stage --- you're on!" One minute I was introducing myself, ten minutes later I realised I had finished the first part of my talk, which was fine, but was panting for breath because I'd been rattling away so fast, which was nosso fine.
The 400 ml of water in my Nalgene bottle? Nowhere near enough to get me through a 40-minute talk plus Q&A plus the five or six kids who wait to ask the speaker questions at the end.
Some interesting points that came to me extemporaneously:
- What are important qualities to be a freelancer? "Discipline. Discipline, discipline, discipline. The kind of discipline that gets out of bed and at your desk at 8 am even though you don't have to meet a client. Being comfortable with uncertainty, i.e. not knowing now what I'll be doing in July. Knowing how to sell yourself to clients and potential clients (Asians very shy one). Work hard, do good work."
- Which writer do you want to be like? "Easy question. [Then I tell a long and pointless story about the book of popular history I'm co-writing.] Answer: Bill Bryson. He's light-hearted but a serious writer. [Naturally, it seemed like most of the audience hadn't heard of him, though melch made a pitch for his books being in the library.] He takes culture, history and all sorts of information about a country --- and puts it in an accessible and entertaining package for the reader, even if you've never been there."
- Who is your favourite writer? "I have so many favourites. PS: Favourite writer and writer whom I want to be like are two different things. I love Shakespeare, but I could never write like that. PS: I'm reading a biography of Shakespeare right now, that's why I've got Shakespeare on my mind. Okay: [I forgot the first name I mentioned], Jonathan Frantzen, Alice Munro --- hang on, I'm running through my bookshelf --- Salman Rushdie, Philip Roth ... Okay, that's five. You can go and find out more on your own."
- "If you do bad work, one day it might come back and bite you in the --- okay, I think I'm not supposed to say that word, but you know what I mean, right?"
- "I mean, I live alone, so I can work all day, not see anyone except my cats --- oh wait, that makes me sound like a crazy cat lady, right?"
- "Eh, can you all stop talking? I am the one doing the talking."
Now I just hope I didn't preach the gospel of freelancing too ardently, because it certainly isn't the ideal work situation for everyone.
Technorati Tags: freelance writing
Labels: Books books books, Freelancin' living, Once a teacher
posted by Tym at 8:07 PM
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
When proofreading begins at midnight
Take a shower first, to feel clean and cool and awake.Make a cup of coffee (hopefully, you don't need a whole pot).
Turn on the Killers as loud as it's possible without waking the neighbours.
Technorati Tags: proofreading
Labels: Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 12:11 AM
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Nailed it!
Over six months ago, I put in an application to be a writer at a Really Cool Gig. The process involved sending a kick-ass cover email, followed by several rounds of writing samples that needed to be even more impressive. Except for a couple of people whom I asked to read the material I was submitting, I didn't tell many people about my application, mostly because I thought that would jinx it for sure. Even the less-than-ten people who knew about it were under strict instructions not to say anything.Today, at the end of a long and tiring day, filled with many appointments and much busyness and much traipsing up and down stairs in uncomfortable shoes (my bad, I should've worn something more sneaker-like), I got home to my email, cast my fatigued eyeballs down the unread missives --- and alighted on an email with the simple subject line: "Congratulations!"
(No, it wasn't spam, even though spam is 15 years old now.)
THEY WANT ME!!! I'M IN!!!
I didn't say "I got the job" because it's not a full-time position, it's freelance. I can't even say "I write for So-and-so now", because I haven't written a word for them yet and I don't get to write a word for them till one of their editors decides to give me a contract. But I'm in the pool, which is a nice place to be, and I got here through sheer dint of hard work and hard writing, which feels great, and hopefully a super contract will follow not too long from now.
Most importantly, this comes after a couple of weeks of wrangling with people who don't appreciate the art of writing --- hell, this comes after numerous encounters over the last few years with people who have shown faint, if any, respect for my writing --- so I am sitting pretty with the sweet taste of vindication in my mouth. Not to say that everyone has to love and applaud my writing, but now that the Really Cool Gig has put their initial stamp of approval on it, and I know that the kind of writing they value is the kind I want to do and think I could be good at --- I'm just pleased as punch all around.
I'm not going to say who the Really Cool Gig is, so don't bother asking. I would feel a little pretentious saying it when I haven't done a jot of paid work for them yet. As a freelance writer, I'm only as good as the last three things I've written --- the next big thing doesn't count till it's not only written, but published.
(So those of you that know, don't spill the beans on this blog, eh?)
But yeah, I'm happy. Over the moon, as I've said to a couple of people today. I wanted this so badly it hurt when I was preparing my submission, and now that I've gotten it, it feels incredible. I can't wait till the work starts.
Technorati Tags: writing
Labels: Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 11:07 PM
Friday, March 28, 2008
It's my birthday and I'll brush my teeth if I want to
Even if the cat won't let me.
Actually, he got out of the sink after a couple of minutes, so I could perform my morning ablutions after all.
My birthday has been hot (where's the unseasonal rain when you need it?), somewhat work-filled but generally not too bad considering how much dawdling I did. This I document to reassure my brother, whose SMS to me this morning consisted of birthday greeings followed by "Hope the whole day isn't spent doing work."
My dad's SMS included a line to say, "Make the world a better place to live in" --- both sweet and guilt-inducing at the same time. I need to dust off certain ideas and get cracking on them.
My mother's SMS asked me what my plans were. To wit:
- I planned to back up my hard drive --- done.
- I planned to do a spot of work --- done.
- I planned to mix various leftovers into a chicken salad for lunch --- done.
- I didn't plan to finish the Leonidas chocolates oiseauxbleu gave me for Xmas, but there were only two left and I did.
Technorati Tags: birthday, cat, Ink the cat
Labels: Freelancin' living, Kitty corner, Personal
posted by Tym at 5:46 PM
Monday, February 25, 2008
The end of a busy weekend
Went to the air show --- yay!
Came home and had to rush work that I couldn't complete any earlier this weekend --- boo!
Ended up working till 3 am just to get everything right --- double-boo!
Had to wake up at 6:45 am to get ready for a full slate today --- triple-boo!
More later, when my brain's more coherent.
Labels: Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 7:19 AM
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Properly unpacked
I realised earlier this week that I wasn't writing very well or resting very well, probably because the apartment was still in something of a shambles. While I'd gotten the bedroom, bathroom and half the hall in good shape within the first weekend of living here, the kitchen was barely unpacked and the other half of the hall was full of stuff that belonged elsewhere. Add the fact that I'd cleared out over 100 books, but they were still in stacks on the floor waiting for friends to come pick over the leavings --- and it would seem that I was still living in a thrift store after over two weeks of being here.So I set aside this weekend to get the place in order, which entailed buying under-bed storage boxes and kitchen shelves to stash things away, unpacking all the remaining boxes, organising the kitchen, dragooning a friend to come over and install the shelves he'd handed down to me (they spent a week sitting by the front door, adding to the general disarray) --- and cleaning up after everything.
If that previous sentence read like a mouthful to you, let me just say that it felt pretty nonstop to me too. Good thing I allowed myself to sleep in both mornings, so the fatigue that'd been plaguing me all week couldn't be used as excuse for procrastinating further on things.
But at least everything is in order now, and I'm not tripping over boxes every time I need to pull out a book or get to the other side of the bed.
Books aside, I also have a set of cutlery and some odd bits of crockery to give away, so if anyone needs to kit out their kitchen, let me know.
Technorati Tags: unpacking, decluttering, moving house
Labels: Domestically challenged, Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 5:15 PM
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Saturday, at last
A(nother) sign that I am getting old: today I caved in and increased the default font size on Firefox and Adium by 1 point.Ten years ago, the first thing I used to do on a computer was to superciliously adjust the Internet Explorer font size down to a more aesthetically pleasing proportion. Today, functionality trumps form. Who've thunk it?
It's been a particularly long week, hence the lack of blog updates. Tired eyes, tired body, tired mind. I updated my Facebook status yesterday to say I was "declar[ing] a one-week moratorium on 'business development'" --- because while more business (and money) is good, the distraction of following up of every single potential business lead was taking a toll on both the quality of my writing and my overall equilibrium.
Of course, not three hours after I set that Facebook status, I received emails from two more potential clients about some new projects.
This weekend will be dedicated to unpacking the last few boxes and getting things in order. This place needs to stop looking like a forgotten warehouse.
Labels: Freelancin' living, Life in the internet age
posted by Tym at 12:34 PM
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
This never rarely happens
And lo it was, that before 4 pm in the middle of the workweek, I found myself having finished all the work I'd scheduled to do for the dayI'd felt myself inching towards this achievement around 3 pm, when I realised I had two more paragraphs to write, max, before I could shoot the document off to the client and mark the task with a triumphant "done!". And then I actually did finish, despite taking time to play with the cat instead of ignoring him like I'd been doing all day.
Which is bloggable only because I usually whine about long work days, so let's give the short ones their credit where credit is due.
Not that I'm about to go goof off for the rest of the day; there's still odds and ends of administrivia to wind up. But no more paid writing for today, and I'm taking tomorrow off to settle some moving-house matters, so let's just say I'm taking my weekend early.
On a related note, my cousin updated his Facebook status yesterday to say he was "amazed how many S'pore friends mention 'work' in their status updates!" And he works in DC, so it's not like he's slacking off somewhere on a desert island. Separately, I once had two phone calls with friends who were still working after 8 pm on a Monday night --- to which James, the friend I was with, asked incredulously, "Are all your friends workaholics?
Er ... no comment.
Technorati Tags: Singapore, work, workday
Labels: Freelancin' living, Singapore stories
posted by Tym at 3:51 PM
Monday, December 17, 2007
The perils of working at home
How am I supposed to get anything done when he takes a stack of A3 printouts as an excuse to climb into my lap and snooze?
Fortunately, he got bored about half an hour later and moseyed off elsewhere --- just before my legs fell completely asleep.
Technorati Tags: cat, Ink the cat
Labels: Freelancin' living, Kitty corner
posted by Tym at 3:06 PM
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Random run-ins today
At Bugis Junction, I was intercepted by a slip of a girl claiming to be from a modelling agency and would I like to ... "I'm not interested," I said, and waved her off. I have no idea what she wanted. I mean, I was wearing a boring button-down office-y shirt I had resurrected from the back of the wardrobe because I needed to look respectable and in case the weather turned cold, paired with skinny jeans and wedges --- the faux successful "creative" look, as one might generously call it. Definitely not one of my better-dressed days.Also at Bugis Junction, I'd arranged to meet someone off one of my email lists to buy a secondhand Margaret Atwood book off her. Which may not sound that remarkable, but given how all-over-the-place my schedule has been in the last twenty-four hours, I'm amazed no one else beat me to it. Guess there aren't that many prospective
In other randomness, it looks like both the projects I was rushing to get finish before Xmas are pushing their deadlines back --- due to circumstances that have nothing to do with me, of course --- so maybe I'll get to enjoy a little pre-Xmas jollity next week. Earlier this week, I was in a house that had two real Xmas trees and real Xmas wreaths scattered throughout all the ground-floor rooms. It smelled incredible.
Finally, for my l33t-sp43k1ng fr13nds: who'd've thunk it that "w00t" would make Webster's word of the year?
Technorati Tags: Margaret Atwood, Christmas, Xmas, w00t
Labels: Books books books, Freelancin' living, Words words words
posted by Tym at 11:16 PM
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
It never rains but it pours
It's been pouring a lot --- the rain, that is. I love it.Work's been pouring too. I have major deadlines before Xmas, which has turned me into a furious writing machine whose eyes get itchy from fatigue around dinnertime --- but I typically plough on for a few more hours anyway. Meanwhile, all non-essential social plans have been axed, all Xmas decorations are still buried in the storeroom, and I try not to think about the fact that every other person I know seems to be traipsing off on vacation.
Nonetheless, for dinner tonight, I took the time to whip up (almost literally) some lemon linguine from a Nigella recipe. I now know how to separate yolks from whites. It would've helped if I'd remembered the salt and pepper, though.
Is it really ten days till Xmas?
Labels: Domestically challenged, Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 10:34 PM
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Is it almost midnight?
It's no fun when the work week begins on a Sunday.Labels: Freelancin' living, Twitteresque
posted by Tym at 11:07 PM
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Lunch hour
So Daniel and I are dawdling over lunch at Shin Kushiya, when suddenly we realise how quiet the place has gotten. It's only ten minutes after two, but all the men wearing pin-striped shirts with ties have cleared out and we're the only ones left in the section.
"Wanna go for coffee?" Daniel asks.
"Okay."
I guess that's why the pin-striped types make all the big bucks and us "creative" types, er, don't.
Labels: Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 4:30 PM
Sunday, December 02, 2007
The week in pictures
On Monday, I went out to sea. But only for a little while and it was choppy enough that I had to stop taking notes and concentrate on the horizon to quell the potential seasickness. Now I know exactly where some of the Southern Islands are, like Kusu and St John's. They always seemed such a long boat ride away when I was a kid.
PS: Our port is truly, irredeemably ugly.
On Wednesday, I popped in on Culturepush's Next Stop: Wonderland tour of Majestic Bar. Groovy art. Besides Yuki Chong's stained-glass ceiling installation (above), I'm also in love with Sandra Lee's third-floor blue-room set-up, staircase and all.
Yesterday, there was ROJAK. I hadn't been to one in some time, and since my Singapore Writers Festival panel put me right across the street from the old City Hall where it was happening, I had no excuse not to drop by for a bit (until my stomach demanded to be fed anyway). It was very, very cool to be sitting in the same room that I've seen in so many black and white photographs of historic events.
Things that I forgot to take pictures of this week:
- The also very cool Dual City Sessions party on Friday night, where I ran into all and sundry, and managed to finally meet a couple of people that I'd been hearing about for the longest time. Other people have pictures on Flickr; all I've got to show for myself is a pair of well-worn wedges (lots of traipsing up and down the stairs), a resolution to bring my mom to see what her Old School has become, and the vicarious thrill of reporting that I loaned Daniel the camera to make his art.
- The Reel Blogging panel I did yesterday evening, which I completed failed to even, er, publicise. Good thing Stefan was, as usual, quick with the blog post and the camera to record what went down.
No pictures of the new Macbook yet. Let me post this, then I can go play with it.
Technorati Tags: Singapore, Singapore port, Culturepush, Majestic Bar, ROJAK, City Hall, Dual City Sessions, Singapore Writers Festival
Labels: Freelancin' living, Life in the internet age, Nightlife, Singapore stories
posted by Tym at 6:00 PM
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
On the go
Since 3:30 pm, I have consumed two black coffees, one iced tea (unsweetened) and one ice Milo (very much sweetened and loaded with Milo powder). This is what happens when one is roving between meetings and killing time slash clearing email at any wireless-friendly cafe in town.I'm also peckish and dinner's not for another hour, so I'm now adding several mouthfuls of kaya toast to the mix. I'm sure I'll start feeling ill any minute now ...
Labels: Food for thought, Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 6:29 PM
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
It's not 19 hours everyday
I thought I'd better blog, because some people think I've been on 19-hour workdays since Friday.Which I haven't, truly. Just five hours on Saturday (would've been less if I'd been less distracted by the New York Times's weekly book and movie review updates) and about seven hours on Sunday (NYT's Travel Dispatch did not interest me but other sites did). Monday clocked in at about ten hours and today's about 11.
Not that, um, I'm scrupulously keeping track of my work hours or anything.
Besides working, I have also been cooking (very therapeutic, now that --- thanks to Nigella --- I have a clearer idea of what I'm doing) and reading Jared Diamond's Collapse. The Easter Island story I used to read in my Encyclopaedia Brittanica Children's Encyclopaedia makes sense at last.
Technorati Tags: work, Jared Diamond
Labels: Books books books, Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 11:03 PM
Saturday, October 27, 2007
This never happens either
I was up at 6:20 a.m. It's now 1:30 a.m. and I'm off to bed. That's a 19-hour workday, y'all, if you're keepin' score at home.Goodnight!
Related posts: Officially a workaholic, Not quite the weekend off, Working on the weekend, Checking in, Still tapping away here, Seeing stars
Technorati Tags: workday
Labels: Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 1:28 AM
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Getting out for a change
The problem with working at Starbucks is that I can't sit there with one leg up (TM Stellou) --- which, as anyone with working-class Chinese immigrant forebears will tell you, is the most comfortable yet least dignified way of sitting on a chair. (I am sitting with one leg up now. But I'm at home.)The other problem is that it's exam season and the Siglap outlet was positively packed with teenaged students, ostensibly studying, though a number of them did a fair amount of wandering aimlessly in and out of the place. I was barely able to get a table at 2 pm and now I know why James says it makes him feel old to be there.
But actually the main problem is that there doesn't seem to be a publicly accessible power point. Which means that after less than two hours, I've got to pack up the laptop and head home. But at least I'm not cabin-fevered anymore.
PS: Will someone open a nice indie cafe at Siglap, please? The neighbourhood is just drowning in chain cafes.
Technorati Tags: Starbucks, Siglap
Labels: Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 4:23 PM
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Out of sorts
I think my Super Hero cape was on backwards this weekend, because everything conspired to make me feel at the very bottom of my game. Okay, not everything, because the weekend began promisingly enough with a work-related event Saturday morning, at which I shook enough hands and traded enough introductions with folks to make me feel like Work. Got. Done.
But maybe having to do a work thing on the weekend threw me off my game, and watching two tortured love stories on DVD on Saturday afternoon wasn't the best complement to that. Then there was the 满月(first-month birthday) celebration for the twins today, at which many members of the extended family were in attendance.
On the bright side, at least I know I'm not PMSing.
Labels: Freelancin' living, Personal
posted by Tym at 10:55 PM
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Let's call this a want ad
I'm looking for:An invite to Pownce.- A small office space in town without being in the heart of town (where it would be both annoying and unaffordable).
- A morning where I can sleep in without having to set my alarm clock.
Technorati Tags: want ad, Pownce
Labels: Freelancin' living, Life in the internet age
posted by Tym at 9:16 AM
Friday, July 27, 2007
Getting around
So we were at one end of Depot Road and wondering how to get to the other end, so that we could mosey over to Handlebar at Gillman Village for some cold beer. When we got to the bus stop, I scanned the list of bus services and said, "Okay, we can't take 195 and I don't know about 57, but we can definitely take 175." To which my friend said, "How do you know these things?" To which I wanted to quote Stellou's immortal lines from two Christmases ago:"I am a worm. I can find my way places."For really, sometimes it seems that I am. Give me a map and I'm good to go. The map at the Braddell MRT station got me to block 970 along Toa Payoh North so that I could drop off my laptop for repair, and Streetdirectory.com got me to DSTA Tower B for a client meeting. Later the bus got us to Alexandra Road and by 6 pm we had frosted mugs of Heineken in our hands.
Now if only every day could end this way ...
Labels: Freelancin' living, Nightlife
posted by Tym at 9:51 PM
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
I'm going slightly mad
After all, I've spent the last three days staring obsessively at the top right-hand corner of my laptop screen, pondering the mysteries of why the battery/power icon keeps changing whimsically from one to the other --- charging, not charging, charging, not charging --- even though I didn't touch the charger cable. This, even after I gave in and coughed up $144.40 to buy a new charger.Needless to say, it has been impossible to do any real work. All I do is jiggle the point where the charger connects to the laptop and swear a lot. And yell at the cat when he decides that's the best time to start doing mad dashes under the table. And pray fervently to some unnamed deity when the icon switches to a "charging" symbol that it will stay that way. And swear more when it doesn't.
Fortunately, Wahj is coming to the rescue by loaning me his spare iBook, so that I can still keep up with work when I send this one to the shop. I was hoping to wait till I was on vacation to send it in, but it looks like I'll have to make that trek up to Yio Chu Kang this week. The bloody thing has refused to charge this morning, except for a few tantalizing seconds when it flickers to the "Calculating..." symbol, and now I am down to my last two hours of battery.
Technorati Tags: iBook, laptop
Labels: Freelancin' living, Geek girl
posted by Tym at 10:04 AM
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Officially a workaholic
You wouldn't know it from the (in)frequency of blog postings here, but I'm actually faffing about on a lighter work schedule right now. After the breakneck pace of the last few months, I decided, annual business targets be damned, I needed to cut myself a little slack before I completely lost my mind.And so I've been coasting along working what approximates normal hours, i.e. an average of 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week (rather than 10-12 hours a day everyday). Now I remember what the concept of "free time" is about.
Which also makes it the perfect time to consider this timeless question from Workaholics Anonymous: Twenty Questions: How Do I Know If I'm A Workaholic?
(Via Cowboy Caleb. Of course.)
Workaholics Anonymous prefaces the list of questions with: If you answer "yes" to three or more of these questions you may be a workaholic. Something tells me three "yes" answers are going to be something of an understatement in my case.
1. Do you get more excited about your work than about family or anything else?
No, but I get pretty damn excited about my work in general.
2. Are there times when you can charge through your work and other times when you can't?
Yep. Times when I can: when non-negotiable deadlines are coming right up, particularly if the money is good. Times when I can't: when I'm feeling burned out or creatively spent, or on the weekends when everyone is out having fun and I'm alone at home in front of the laptop.
3. Do you take work with you to bed? On weekends? On vacation?
To bed: yes. But only when I know it doesn't matter if I'm also simultaneously catching up on friends' blogs or chatting online.
On weekends: Yes. Hence the chronicling of the "Day of rest" series.
On vacation: Okay, that's an absolute no-no. I try not to even have my cell phone on when I'm on vacation. Except that I've got a two-week vacation coming up in September and I'm thinking of bringing my laptop just so that I can check in on stuff ... and already I can hear the chorus of friends screaming "NOOO!!!!!" down at me.
4. Is work the activity you like to do best and talk about most?
See, this is where it gets tricky. My work involves writing and editing, which I love doing, and part of me really wants this to be the last job I'll ever have. That means even when I'm not writing for work, I'm writing for fun which also feeds back --- sometimes indirectly, sometimes directly --- into work. And writing is certainly one of the things I live to do best.
On the other hand, do I talk most about work? Heavens, no. In fact, I get tired of giving the same answers when people ask me what I'm working on at the moment.
5. Do you work more than 40 hours a week?
Yes. I'm almost unapologetic about it.
6. Do you turn your hobbies into money-making ventures?
Well, I've always like to write and now I write for a living. I've occasionally been paid to blog, but I wouldn't say those experiences merited the term "money-making ventures".
7. Do you take complete responsibility for the outcome of your work efforts?
Absolutely.
8. Have your family or friends given up expecting you on time?
I hope not! Although I'm late more often than I'd like because "I was just finishing up something."
9. Do you take on extra work because you are concerned that it won't otherwise get done?
Sometimes --- but usually only if my reputation and/or the quality of the overall project is at stake.
10. Do you underestimate how long a project will take and then rush to complete it?
Sheesh, just about all the time. Mostly, I think, because I typically work at home and then I get distracted by bits and bobs of things around the apartment. I'm much more productive working in a cafe or office environment; I'm most productive if there isn't an Internet connection available.
11. Do you believe that it is okay to work long hours if you love what you are doing?
Yes.
(Kill me now.)
12. Do you get impatient with people who have other priorities besides work?
No way! People get to make their own choices.
But if someone commits to completing a certain join within a certain timeframe, and then fails to do so because they felt like going shopping, and then the entire project is thrown into jeopardy --- well, let's just say I'll be more than impatient in such a situation.
13. Are you afraid that if you don't work hard you will lose your job or be a failure?
Yes. *meep*
14. Is the future a constant worry for you even when things are going very well?
Yes. *double-meep*
15. Do you do things energetically and competitively including play?
I most certainly do not play competitively. In fact, I slack on most things that aren't "work"; hence I'm fairly domestically challenged, never really did well (or made money) from any of my hobbies, and never saw the point of conversations about who found the best bargain/has the swankiest apartment or car/had the coolest vacation/has the latest designer outfit/etc.
16. Do you get irritated when people ask you to stop doing your work in order to do something else?
Sigh. Sometimes. I need to let go, I know.
17. Have your long hours hurt your family or other relationships?
I think so. I believe this merits a *triple-meep*
18. Do you think about your work while driving, falling asleep or when others are talking?
I don't drive at the moment, but when I used to, I used to be mostly swearing at other drivers.
I've sometimes made the mistake of thinking about work as I was trying to fall asleep --- only to be up another half hour because that my mind spun up into high gear and wouldn't let me rest. Now I think about the colour black ("colour" is a misnomer, I know).
When others are talking? Sometimes. But only if a) I'm stressed about work, b) they're being at that moment truly, 110%, I've-given-them-as-many-chances-as-our-relationship-will-allow boring.
19. Do you work or read during meals?
Yes. But not all the time. (Reading during meals was a bad habit I picked up as a kid, despite my mother's best efforts.)
20. Do you believe that more money will solve the other problems in your life?
Of course not!
THE END
On that note, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my non-working Sunday.
Technorati Tags: workaholic
Labels: Freelancin' living, Personal
posted by Tym at 3:08 PM
Friday, June 22, 2007
Too much mediocre dessert
One of the projects I'm working on is rushing to print, and since all of us working on it are freelancers, the last two days have been spent living in various downtown cafes, madly checking proofreading changes and making sure that the final text is as clean as it can be without any of us (managing editor, copy editor or publication designer) losing our minds.
Yesterday, we were at Geek Terminal, where there was a dearth of attractive corporate types in swanky Hugo Boss suits, but abundant good service. On the other hand, several things on the menu were inexplicably unavailable, including the brownies I'd been hoping would satiate my sugar craving. I settled for a warmed apple cake instead and thank goodness for the heap of vanilla ice cream that came with it, because the cake was more like a muffin and not particularly tasty.
Today, we were at Dome Cafe at the Singapore Art Museum, which had the same Bjork CD (Homogenic) playing the entire afternoon. Either someone on the staff really loves Bjork or they're impervious to music. Anyways, while Dome's menu has really improved lately (it was quite ho-hum when the chain first launched in Singapore in the late '90s), the carrot cake that I was lusting after (because someone'd had it at a meeting earlier this week at a different Dome) turned out to be a tad dry and not quite as sweet as I like my carrot cake.
On the bright side, we're almost ready to put the publication to bed, so I should soon have the time to return to either The Secret Garden for their incredible apple crumble or The Garden Slug (hm --- there seems to be an unintentional horticultural theme going on here) for some of those stewed pears.
Oh dear. I just realised this means I've had four really sugar-laden desserts in six days.
Technorati Tags: Singapore, Geek Terminal, Dome Cafe, dessert,
Labels: Food for thought, Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 11:35 PM
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
An afternoon at Geek Terminal
When Adri first told me she wanted to check out Geek Terminal (first seen --- by us, anyway --- at theory.is.the.reason), my initial reaction was: Great concept, but couldn't they have come up a name that was more Wired and less Hackers? Then I said, "Oh, I'm not usually in the Market Street area."And then at 3 pm today, I found myself at Chulia Street with several hours to kill before meeting Little Miss Drinkalot for dinner. So I ended up at Geek Terminal after all.
The verdict:
- The decor --- Futuristic-ish. A bit too much silver and a few too many plasma screens for my personal liking, which is why I ended up sitting in one of the red chairs and stared at my own laptop screen instead.
- The coffee --- Illy! I approve.
- The wireless - Free and fast on my laptop. However, my Nokia N95 didn't get along well enough with the cafe's wireless network to be able to upload an image directly to Flickr. Oddly enough, the usually more patchy Wireless@SG did the trick instead.
- The Eubiq power plug system --- Very cute! And idiot-proof.
I wasn't at all hungry, so I didn't try the menu. But if the cafe's raison d'etre is to serve neo-nomads like me, it seems to be on the right track. There's even a Nokia Nseries/Eseries display where customers can wander over and fondle new phones.
We'll see what Adri thinks when she gets here.
Technorati Tags: Singapore, Geek Terminal
Labels: Freelancin' living, Geek girl, Life in the internet age, Singapore stories
posted by Tym at 4:38 PM
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Not quite the weekend off
The apple martinis at Winebar are too sweet. Plus when combined with a generous dose of champagne (at a party in mock celebration of an "en bloc" eviction, no less), it meant that I popped awake this morning after only five paltry hours of sleep.Although perhaps it's just as well, since I have a deadline looming tomorrow and the work is barely halfway done.
*gulp*
*panic*
*[insert other "virtual" fretting-type gesture]*
The next time someone tells me that editing and/or typesetting for publication is easy-peasy and shouldn't require such high fees, I am going to whack them over the head with a mallet the size of my accummulated eye strain over the last two days.
Labels: Freelancin' living, Nightlife
posted by Tym at 12:49 PM
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Two degrees of separation (or not even)
In which I whine about how Singapore is Too. Damn. Small.Among my current clients, I count:
- The best friend's ex-boyfriend from way way back.
- Someone who went to school with Wahj way way back.
- The old government department I used to work for, including people who used to be my bosslets and colleagues a few years ago.
Familiarity is fine and dandy (which is partly why I took the job with my former department), but I would also like to meet some new people, please!
Technorati Tags: Singapore
Labels: Freelancin' living, Personal, Singapore stories
posted by Tym at 8:00 PM
Friday, April 20, 2007
It's always nice to get a cheque in the mail
Unfortunately, it turned out to be a cheque for a job that the client had already paid me for. So once the initial elation at the prospect of being paid twice evaporated, I dutifully sat down at my laptop and punched out an email to alert the client to the mistake.It was awfully nice for a few moments to imagine that money in my bank account, though.
Labels: Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 12:59 AM
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Written off, sold out
I am writing a piece on the first Cabinet of Singapore.And enjoying it more than when I was writing a profile of Madrid's Hotel Urban yesterday.
Kill me now.
No, really. Kill me.
Technorati Tags: writing
Labels: Freelancin' living, Personal
posted by Tym at 4:15 PM
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
I, the neo-nomad
I recently came across the BBC's "In search of the neo-nomad", which picks up a San Francisco Chronicle definition of neo-nomads as:... people who turn a laptop, a wireless connection and a cafe into an office and work wherever they happen to be ... distinguishe[d] from traditional freelancers because of their close engagement with technology and use of the latest generation of web-based tools in their working lives.Laptop --- check.
Wireless connection --- check (thank you, Wireless@SG).
Cafe --- check. Coffee tastes best at Starbucks or tcc (German blend). Less satisfying is The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's, and overpriced is Coffee Club's. Epicurious and Toast also have yummy coffees (and unbeatable iced teas). Not that there's anything wrong with indigenous kopitiam coffee, but sometimes in the afternoon it's too hot to sit in a non-airconditioned environment.
Close engagement with technology --- I think so. Did I mention what's in my bag? Nowadays, the list includes a laptop (usually with charger), although I only have one cell phone now and no more security pass.
Latest generation of web-based tools --- check. Gmail to manage 5 work-related email accounts, Flickr, Adium for MSN/Yahoo/GTalk/AIM, blogging software (Blogger/Movable Type/Wordpress) all. Plus I recently got sucked into LinkedIn.
I'm going to put down "neo-nomad" the next time I fill out a job that asks me for my "occupation".
Technorati Tags: neo-nomad
Labels: Freelancin' living, Geek girl, Life in the internet age, Personal
posted by Tym at 4:58 PM
Friday, March 23, 2007
My nose runneth over
Seriously, having to blow my nose every 5 minutes? Not funny. Interspersed with very animated sneezing of about the same intensity as a Pacific Rim volcano? Really tiring.This isn't the first time I've blogged about having a cold. But I still hate having them. Give me a good debilitating fever any day.
The downside to being a freelancer? No such thing as "taking MC" or pleading for medical leave. Work proceeds apace.
Technorati Tags: cold, sick
Labels: Freelancin' living, Personal
posted by Tym at 8:07 PM
Thursday, February 22, 2007
It was gonna happen eventually
One of the occupational hazards of being an teacher is that one of your extremely competent (and hopefully not too frightful) former students might someday be your boss.While this hasn't happened (yet), I knew that after I became a freelance writer, it was more likely that someday, somewhere, some student would be in a position to become my client. If I was lucky, maybe it would be a) a student who didn't have it in for me, and/or b) a project that I didn't mind working on.
Fortunately for me, when the opportunity did come round (thanks, suzie!), that's been true on both counts. The worst I've had to fear is that suzie will mock my copywriting because I know that she, like me, has a wicked ear for spotting the soullessly bombastic phrase or the abuse of adjectives like "unique" and "distinctive".
I think I used "unique" only once.
Technorati Tags: teaching, writing
Labels: Freelancin' living, Once a teacher, Words words words
posted by Tym at 4:49 PM
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Random thought
And then, some days, the dilemma is: what do I wear that's apropos for meeting a potential new client this afternoon and going to the open-air Muse concert at Fort Canning tonight?Labels: Freelancin' living, Nightlife, Personal
posted by Tym at 12:19 PM
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
I've forgotten how to blog
So now I have a little bit of breathing space between work, but I've forgotten how to blog. I sit here, I stare at the blank Blogger screen, and I wonder what it is that one writes about when one blogs. I think about the day that's passed, or is passing, and I can't think of anything that's worth committing to words, as such.I mean, of course, there's stuff. There was Terz's birthday last Friday, which involved a considerably amount of alcohol, semi-public humiliation and silliness for him, and not very much of any of that for me (because I had to put him to bed eventually, see).
There was the Museum's soft launch on Sunday, which involved showing people around the place so that they'd know exactly where the help they'd given us had gone. If anyone wants a personal walk-through, I'm available for one-on-one tours till December 13, all for the low, low price of a good meal and a glass of wine.
And then there was the usual whining about how much I need a vacation. At last recitation (last night), I have the following places on my to-visit list (in no particular order): central Vietnam (currently in the path of the most creatively named Typhoon Durian), Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bali and Beijing (which I've been talking about visiting since June). I have booked not a single air ticket. I have no travelling companion (Terz is otherwise occupied). My window of travel is in January only. At the rate this is going, I will still be talking about the proverbial well-earned vacation come next December.
I do believe I now remember what blogging is all about after all.
For the record, I am still in the office, drinking cold Tiger beer out of a white Ikea coffee mug, while we try to complete everything in time for a certain midnight deadline.
Technorati Tags: blogging
Labels: Freelancin' living, Life in the internet age, Personal, Travel babble
posted by Tym at 10:24 PM
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Interlude
It's not a good sign when I bump into a friend on the street outside where I work, and her hello segues immediately into, "So I hear you're really busy and not getting any sleep!"For the record, I am getting sleep. Just not enough.
But nevertheless, I stole an hour out of my day today to finally get my hair cut. As melch will tell you, I have only been talking about getting my hair cut since June.
In times like these, little victories are important.
Now back to work.
Labels: Freelancin' living, Personal
posted by Tym at 1:47 PM
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Working on the weekend
Like that lah.
Labels: Freelancin' living, Personal
posted by Tym at 11:18 PM
Friday, November 10, 2006
Checking in
I worked till 5 am last night. It's quite something to be looking for a cab just when the cab drivers are getting ready to wash up their cars in preparation for the end of their night shift.
I haven't read blogs in over a week (which is a long time, for me). When my alarm goes in the morning, my brain immediately kicks into gear (even if the rest of me takes a little longer), humming with all the things I need to get done before I leave the house, before lunch, before sunset, before the next bedtime. When I'm away from my computer, I check my email compulsively (thank goodness for Gmail, through which I route four email accounts, and the Mobile Gmail app for Symbian cell phones).
I keep talking about wanting to take a vacation, but the talk is starting to take on this mythical quality. (kk, we need to get you-know-who to confirm her vacation plans so that I can book air tickets now.)
But enough with the weird workaholic wanking-off. The really big news today is that after three months, during which I'd given up hope, I found out that I got this freelance writing position that I was really, really keen on. Hurrah! Let the merry dancing begin!
Okay, I need to go fold the laundry now.
Technorati Tags: work
Labels: Freelancin' living, Personal
posted by Tym at 4:27 PM
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Not done growing yet
Let's see how I measure up against 25 Signs That, Sadly, You've Grown Up (via By The Way).1. Your house plants are alive, and you can't smoke any of them.
The only house plant we've ever had is dead. In fact, any house plants ever given to me by some well-meaning friend has died. So perhaps this criterion doesn't really apply to me anyway.
2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.
I'd say sleeping in one for more than one night is out of the question.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
True --- but only because beer isn't exactly dirt cheap in Singapore (I don't like the canned varieties).
4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
Not any more! I usually wake up at about 8 am these days. Never been to bed at 6 am more than a dozen times in my life, though.
5. You hear your favorite song on an elevator.
Okay, I've never heard my favourite song on an elevator (or any number that count as favourites at any given time), but I have heard the muzak version of music that I liked ten, twenty years ago in an elevator, and I remember cringing at the fact --- both at the dishonour done to the song and the fact that I was old enough to remember when it first came out.
Actually, at my age, popping by Zouk's Mambo Night is a surefire way to induce the latter reaction.
6. You watch the Weather Channel.
Don't have it in Singapore! On occasion, we find ourselves watching some Shakespearean or period drama on the Hallmark Channel, though. Does that count?
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of hook up and break up.
Fortunately, most of my friends either seem to be comfortably ensconced in the marriage boat or are still at the hook-up/break-up stage, skipping the messy business of divorce (though not always the messy business of how-do-we-stay-friends-and-hang-out-with-that-cool-person-now-that-they're-broken-up-with-our-friend?).
8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.
Technically, I get zero vacation time this year. If I don't work, I don't make any money. Ah, the glory of freelancing ...
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."
Definitely not a sweater, in Singapore, but I'm going to assume a T-shirt passes for the tropical equivalent. Yeah, a T-shirt with jeans (or anything, really) doesn't quite qualify as "dressed up" in my book anymore, but I can still get away with it on days when I don't have to meet Anyone Important.
On the other hand, "dressed up" for my line of work can still mean nice jeans (i.e. without embarrassing holes or an unflattering silhouette), just paired instead with a dressy-ish top and non-sneaker shoes.
Note to self: learn more from Tofu Nation.
10. You're the one calling the police because those damn kids next door won't turn down the stereo.
Fortunately, there are no damn kids next door old enough to blast the stereo (though one of our neighbour's is about to have a baby, which I suppose could trigger a whole different kind of stereo noise). However, I did almost call the police once when a Seventh Moon/Hungry Ghost Festival auction at a neighbouring block went on for far too long, far too late on a Sunday night.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
Damn, with my mother's side, this has been happening since I was a teenager. It's just that half of the jokes are in Cantonese, which I don't altogether follow.
My father's former colleagues still don't want to swear around me, though.
12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
I never liked Taco Bell. I do, however, know where to get food after midnight in Singapore, and thanks to an IM conversation with Sarah, I now know that the pseudo-pretentiously-named TCC (The Coffee Connoisseur) outlet at Clarke Quay is open till 2 am on weekends for those late-night coffee-and-dessert cravings.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your payments go up.
No car = no car insurance! Hooray! Though we still miss our Buttercup on occasion.
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonalds leftovers.
We have a cat and feed it Felidae. Fortunately for us, he seems completely uninterested in human food, so we don't have to fend him off every time one of us sits down with a snack (McDonald's leftovers or otherwise).
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
Obviously, you haven't met my couch. It's the perfect couch for sleeping in! The only time either of us get a backache is if the aforementioned cat insists on having space of his own, which then squishes us into a funny sleeping position.
16. You no longer take naps from noon to 6 PM.
Does the occasional weekend 3-7 pm nap count?
17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.
Actually, dinner is the whole date. Terz doesn't like going to the movies here --- too much asshattery going on.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle your stomach.
Probably, yes. Especially if they're Popeye's.
19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.
I think I have fewer headaches and stomach upsets now than I used to when I was in college.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good stuff".
I live in Singapore. No such thing as a $4 bottle of wine.
I admit that I try not to buy any bottle that retails for less than $20 here though.
21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
I suppose this means not having refrigerator-cold leftover pizza for breakfast, which I've never liked. I've always liked breakfast food, though for quite a few years in university and the years thereafter, I didn't eat breakfast at all. Now I down coffee at such a rate that I feel like I'm back in my early twenties again.
22. "I just can't drink the way I used to," replaces, "I'm never going to drink that much again."
Tell me about it!
23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
Aw man.
24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
No, but that's also because I usually go straight to the bar from work.
25. You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn't apply to you and can't find one to save your sorry old ass.
Hey, I found plenty!
This was not designed to be a meme, but there's nothing stopping you from turning it into one if you're in need of blog fodder.
Labels: Domestically challenged, Freelancin' living, Personal, Pop culture
posted by Tym at 6:30 PM
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Help wanted
You know it's a bad sign when you meet friends for lunch and the first thing they say is, "Wow, you look tired, man."In no particular order, I need:
- A WorkSpace.
- A less hyperactive cat.
- An electrician --- or rather, someone who can figure out how to detach our ceiling light covers so that we can replace the lightbulbs. We have been living with only one working light (instead of the two needed to illuminate the whole space) in our bedroom for more than three years, and now the lightbulb in our attached (ensuite) bathroom has given up the ghost too. Anyone know a good handyman who can fix anything?
- A vacation.
- A drink.
This blog post has been brought to you by the vices of workoholism and coffee addiction, and the sublime delight of a champagne truffle mooncake.
Labels: Domestically challenged, Freelancin' living, Kitty corner, Personal
posted by Tym at 11:47 PM
Friday, September 22, 2006
TGIF!
There's no better to start a Friday evening than to have a delightful colleague come in at 6 pm bearing well-powdered doughnut holes from Four Leaves Bakery for everyone.Labels: Food for thought, Freelancin' living, Twitteresque
posted by Tym at 6:16 PM
Friday, September 08, 2006
Still tapping away here
It is entirely apt that as the clock chimes 1:28 am and I start on a final piece of work (deadline: tomorrow), my iTunes on shuffle mode selects New Order's "Working Overtime", followed by the Postal Service's "The District Sleeps Tonight."Labels: Freelancin' living, Geek girl, Twitteresque
posted by Tym at 1:34 AM
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Note to self
Consume coffee immediately after lunch in order to kickstart work for the afternoon, rather than zombie virtuously through the afternoon and capitulate to the coffee craving only at 5 pm, by which time several productive hours have been wasted.Technorati Tags: coffee, caffeine
Labels: Freelancin' living, Twitteresque
posted by Tym at 6:00 PM
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
On completing a government survey
Cross-posted to Metroblogging Singapore.We got a letter from the Ministry of Manpower last week, informing us that our household had been shortlisted to participate in their annual labour force survey. I actually have a penchant for doing surveys (filling out forms is fun!) and government surveys get my full attention because I don't think I'm a very "typical" Singaporean, so I like to think that my survey tells the government a little something they didn't expect.
Of course, there's also the possibility that my survey results merely generate such pronounced statistical outliers than my perspective is effectively rendered moot. But anyways.
The first thing that stumped me about this survey was having to indicate the Head of Household. The survey defines the Head as "normally the eldest member, the main income-earner or the person who manages the affairs of the household."
To wit, my "household" situation:
- My household consists of exactly two people: my husband and myself.
- Between the two of us, my husband wins, hands-down, the prize for being the "eldest member" of the household.
- But the question of who is the "main" income-earner isn't as straightforward as that. He used to make more than me, then he switched careers and I made more than him, but this year I switched careers too, so the jury's still out on who's going to emerge as the "main" moneymaker.
- As for managing the affairs of the household, what does that mean anyway? Is it the person in whose name the utilities are registered (me) and paid for (shared)? Is it the person who pays for our home mortgage (shared)? Is it the person who bought the last household appliance (a rice cooker, me)? Is it the person who answers the door (usually the cat)?
- Finally, why can't a couple be jointly Head of their Household? Why must there be only one Head?
Anyway, I decided that in the interests of skewing the Labour Force Survey results, I would put myself down as the Head of Household. After all, I was the one logging in to fill out the survey, right?
Then we got to that little category that is so fanatically important in Singapore officialdom: race. My identity card identifies me with an Indian sub-category that I've always felt isn't entirely accurate in terms of my ethnically mixed ancestry. I tried to get it changed once, but was firmly told by a government official that the category I wanted (Ceylonese-Chinese) didn't exist in their system and so I would have to pick one and couldn't elide the two. Rather than contend with the impossible impenetrability that is a government bureaucracy, I decided then to leave my identity card information as status quo.
This survey provided even more limited options: Chinese, Malay, Indian or Others. The survey's definitions of race state that the Chinese/Malay/Indian categories are for people of Chinese/Malay/Indian descent respectively, and "Others" is for everyone else. It doesn't tell you what to do if you're of both Chinese and Indian descent, so I decided to go with "Others".
Now that those two pesky questions were out of the way, the rest of the survey was actually a breeze. You can see the survey questions for yourself.
Our only other somewhat atypical response was for "employment status", where we both clock in as what the survey terms an "Own Account Worker": "a person who operates his own business without employing any paid workers in the conduct of his business or trade." I'm glad to give the numbers for this category a boost because I think there are more of us solo/independent operators around than people realise, and that has all sorts of implications on a country's economic and social systems.
So now I've done my citizenly duty for the year. Can't wait till the next form comes along.
Technorati Tags: Singapore, government, survey
Labels: Freelancin' living, Gender agenda, Personal, Singapore stories
posted by Tym at 10:09 PM
Sunday, August 20, 2006
I need a WorkSpace
Will someone please hurry up and develop one of these for Singapore already, please? Tankyu.Technorati Tags: Singapore, WorkSpace
Labels: Freelancin' living, Twitteresque
posted by Tym at 10:26 AM
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Gripe
Even though I'm a freelancer, the decent thing to do if you're going to call me after dinnertime, particularly when it's hardly an emergency, is to apologize for interrupting my evening before you barrel on with your request. Thankyouverymuch.Labels: Freelancin' living
posted by Tym at 10:16 PM
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Hiccup
The funny thing about being a freelance writer is that I work industriously through several consecutive weeks and weekends, then in the middle of the afternoon today, I look down at my to-do list and suddenly I've got nothing to do. Not that I'm out of work --- just that I've done whatever can be done as of today and everything else has to wait till after all the meetings that are lined up the rest of the week, before I know what to do next.And it's a funny thing to be at a loose end in the middle of a weekday workday, when everyone else is in the middle of their nine-to-five routine, but I don't even have new email to read.
So I watched some Buffy. And balanced my chequebook and bank accounts. And backed up my data on my brand-new hard drive, which necessitated some External Hard Drives for Dummies-style consultation with the brother.
The next few days and the weekend probably won't be so much like this. Which is why today is nice.
Labels: Freelancin' living,