The Retirement is Over
All good things come to an end, and so the days of me tapping on my laptop in bed and mooching about the house working on my websites have ended. I’ve taken a job with a local internet startup, Bezurk – a travel search engine as a designer / developer. Which means going into an office and talking to other humans during the day.
It’s just as well, as it had got to the point where I would struggle with basic words and sentences over dinner in the evening – merely emitting a series of grunts and facial expressions that barely passed as communication. I like having ‘auntie’ come round and clean the flat every day but when that becomes a highlight, it is definitely time to break free.
The office is right on the edge of the central business district on Boat Quay, over looking the river and colonial district in the upper stories of an old shop house. The view is not bad at all, which is nice. Even nicer was that despite being the last one into the office I’ve got the best view, out of the windows. It seems they could tell I was a ‘creative’ type.
My walk to work is now very similar to Jo’s although she’s mostly at the client site (or the blooming Philippines) so there has been no shared commute along the river as yet. But I look forward to the day where we skip down the riverbank full of the joys of full-time employment.
However if you have ever visited Boat Quay you’ll know it as a strip of slightly dodgy restaurants, stretching endlessly into the distance with hordes of laminated menu-wielding Maître’De attempting to rugby tackle you into their establishments. By the time you reach halfway down the street you have to question why, if you wanted chilli crab, you would chose this gentleman’s place rather than any of the fourteen identical places you’ve already passed?
I have been recommended several techniques:
- The straight-ahead stare: simply march furiously in a straight line ignoring all and sundry including oncoming pedestrians. Slightly risky given the restaurant promoters habit of guiding you with a straight arm outstretched from the shoulder. A WWF style clothesline should not be a feature of any walk to work.
- iPod: The mythical power of the white earbuds is said to eradicate evil spirits, restaurant representatives and any chance of functional hearing past your 50th birthday.
- Surround yourself with locals: I’ve achieved some success with this approach, but maintain a central position. If you should slip to the back of the group you will be picked off like a baby gazelle, forlornly limping after it’s mother, as the lions (and their wipe clean menus) close in.
I think my only solution is to by a T-shirt and scrawl on it in big black letters “DON’T BOTHER ME. I WORK HERE.”
Food
A Singaporean tradition I had not been aware of up until now is the ‘proper lunch’. Most of the office, certainly the local contingent will decamp for a full meal at one of the extremely reasonable local eating places. However if I keep eating two meals a day, I shall need a second seat on my return to London!
I understand from Steve (who works with Jo) that he, having been here a few weeks now, is yet to cook at home as he goes out with the tiny Singaporean girls on his team and attempts to keep up with them as they demolish huge plates of rice and noodles at his local hawker centre over lunch.
I have been training however; a curry last night with Steve, in Jo’s absence (Manila), has resulted in a distinct lack of meals today.
Back to the ‘grindstone’
I’m settling in nicely, the team are a small but internationally varied bunch and have made me feel very welcome and I hope that over the coming months I can begin to make real difference to the place.
It’s a bizarre sensation to be heading back to work and be happy about it. Might have something to do withn the 20 minute walk and work I enjoy, seems to be the exact opposite of the jumped up PowerPoint-ing I used to do…
Andy 27 June 2007
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