There's been...news. at this point, i don't know whether it's good or bad for me, hence the omission of an adjective before "news". then again, the badness or goodness of any piece of news is a mix of the circumstances, and what you make of it, right? sounds logical enough. anyway, the news is that IPOS has deemed my application as unsuitable for the role. without an interview, too! pretty sure i did update my resume to suit the job requirements, but well...guess that it didn't work. this has given rise to many feelings within me, which i think i should sort out.

i have two primary emotions now - disappointment and fear. i'd have thought that my time in the IP firm might have given me an edge over the other applicants. apparently not. i guess three months doesn't really count for much, when taken into perspective. of course, it's not just the duration of time, it's what you did during that duration. those 3 months felt like 6, and i think i learnt more than someone else would have learnt in a similar position with another company. regardless, that's still not good enough for IPOS.

fear has two aspects in this case. the more obvious fear is that i won't be able to find a job. word on the street is that a recession is coming soon, and i suppose that means a negative/pessimistic outlook in the short term. and with the bad experience with the IP firm, it's thrown my thoughts about my own future career aspirations into some confusion/conflict. as you'll remember me saying, it sucks to have someone tell you that you're not good enough. whether it's true or not is another issue, but just hearing it doesn't feel good. and in a way, that's the message that i've been having to face for the past few months. at least in grad school, my professor showed that he believed that we were capable, but just had to find the correct answer. what he actually thought may have been something else, but i will choose to believe what i've seen from our interactions.

the second aspect is fear of change, and that is tied to my plans moving forward. a few posts back, i mentioned that if IPOS didn't work out, i'd focus on plan japan. now that that seems to be becoming a reality, there's a fair bit of hesitation. part of it has to do with uncertainty, like i don't know if JET or any private company will accept me. the next part comes if they do accept me - there are so many things to look into: the car, insurance coverage, figuring out what to bring over and how to bring it over, storing the remaining things in singapore, and that's not even considering the JET application process! i'll go into more detail tomorrow, i think. i've had chats with two friends, and i think i've got to sleep on the info from both conversations to process all of it properly.

-random thought of the day: It is at our lowest point that we are open to the greatest change.-

Beyond the main theme of this post (ways to make money), i don't know exactly what i want to talk about. so, forgive me if this turns a little rambly. i suppose i should be a bit more clear - i'm going to explore ways for me specifically to make money. therefore, it's going to be based on my circumstances and preferences, and might not apply to the general reader.

i suppose a good place to start might be to identify my wants and goals. like i've said before, i don't think that what i want is too unreasonable. all i want is a place of my own to live, a decent-ish car, and enough money to make the occasional irrational purchase and help someone in need if necessary. for personal fulfillment, i suppose that i find joy in mentoring/teaching people. not necessarily about science, by the way. i just like to know that i played a part in a person's growth and development. i also quite like writing, be it with pen and paper, or digitally as i'm doing now. it would be impossible to blog at least once a month for 16 years without at least somewhat liking to write, right?

you might then ask the most obvious question - why not be a teacher or a professor? while i do like teaching, i don't like the administrative aspect of the job, or dealing with troublesome parents. and to be a professor, it takes brains...brains that i don't have. when people ask me this question, i often tell them that while i can solve problems, i can't find problems/questions to solve. that's a large part of what a professor does. moreover, the grad school experience was a little bit of a deterrent, as far as academia goes.

to be a bit more...demanding, maybe; i'd also like a job with flexible hours - something like grad school, but without the soul-crushing failure aspect. you know, freedom to appear and disappear whenever, or even not show up. the learning lab's hours are a fairly good approximation of that already, and it helps that i usually know my schedule a week in advance, for preparation purposes. and of course, it goes without saying that a positive work environment and good colleagues are paramount. i had the latter for the most part in the IP firm, but not so much of the former. the learning lab seems to have both to levels with which i am satisfied. next question - if the learning lab is so good, why not go full-time there? because if i do, most of the good things will become less good, or even bad. i'm really happy with my current arrangement there, so no point in messing with that.

accounting for all that, what possible job options do i see in my future? here's where i'm going to go a little crazy with ideas, so bear with me. i think that it's important to have a primary job, that is the most stable and can generate a steady source of income. for most people, this would be their regular day job, the one they spend the most time on. that would have been the IP firm for me, but bleh. in addition to this day job, having one, preferably multiple, alternate source(s) of income would be good. for completeness, i'll list all ideas that come to my mind.

main jobs
right now, it's a toss-up between IPOS and japan. i've spoken at length about these two routes, so i won't repeat myself here. the conflict (assuming i have my choice of which route to take) is that of making more money while being trapped in singapore vs taking a massive pay cut for new experiences overseas. i'm not kidding when i said massive, by the way. think close to 50%, or even more. at this point in time, i feel so-so about IPOS. if it comes, i'll take it. if not, i won't really bother too much. i guess that kind of tells you that my heart is more inclined towards japan. problem is, that teaching english in japan is not really a long-term career. but it will (hopefully) open up other paths once i'm there. as for what those other paths/careers may be...i don't know, nor do i want to think that far ahead at this point.

tuition/tutoring is a weird one, because it can be both a main job and a side job to me. i've heard of tutors raking in 5 figures a month, so it's definitely lucrative. plus, in singapore's competitive academic environment, there won't be a lack of students. problem is, i'm not a very marketing/PR person, so i'm not really good at attracting students. my JC classmates did (jokingly?) mention pooling money to set up a tuition centre, so maybe that'll be something to consider in the future; someone else does admin while i focus on teaching.

side jobs
ideally, a side job would generate passive income, ie. something which i can leave alone to generate money. the popular routes here seem to be investing in stocks and shares, and/or collecting rental on property. the problem with that is, capital is needed to get started. these are things where money grows money. it's definitely not impossible to start with very little; i know 2 literal examples of rags to riches. it'll be harder, though. i actually wonder if it's possible to do investing full-time? there'd be a lot of free time, since stock market and all. working from anywhere is also possible, as long as there's a computer with internet connection.

stupid as it sounds, i've given some thought to the idea of starting a youtube channel. some of the successful youtubers have made full-time careers out of it, and earn a decent amount due to ad revenue, sponsorships, and merchandise. i wonder, though, what content would i produce? i've seen successes in areas as diverse as cooking, comics, gaming, history, pets, pens, music, comedy, or a combination of two or more of the above. that kind of tells me that the exact area isn't important, but to just get started. it's also possible for people to get popular without showing their faces in their videos, so that's no excuse for me. the only possible issue i see is having to listen to my own voice when doing video editing/checking for errors. you know how some people are said to love the sound of their own voice? that's totally not me. i'm the opposite, in fact. i remember there was this module in grad school where we had to give on online presentation (powerpoint + audio voiceover) of about 10 minutes. you would not believe how much i cringed while doing it, and how much more i cringed while playing it back to check it. still, it might be something worth considering, provided i find something to make videos about. getting fit, maybe? although i'm not sure how i'd make it into something that would be interesting to the average viewer. watching a person work out can't be all that exciting, can it?

on a more whimsical note, i've occasionally thought about writing a book. i figured that since art and music are no-gos for me, writing might be an avenue for creative expression. while i don't think that i'll be the next neil gaiman or anything like that, it might be nice to let my voice be heard in some form. as with the youtube idea, i don't know what kind of content to produce. i've thought about writing a story of some sort. as time goes by, though, it gets harder to come up with original content, since ideas and concepts are being created by people all the time. personally, i think i'd rather write about the past or the present, not the future. maybe an unspecified time period might work? don't really have a good storyline idea, though. off the top of my head, there's the tried-and-tested hero's journey format, the wacky adventures format, the finding fulfillment in life format, among others. as for length, the 7 books of harry potter total just over a million words, meaning an average of about over 140000 words per book. the alchemist, on the other hand, comes in at about 45000 words. which reminds me - do i want to develop an expanded universe with plans for sequels, or just make it a one-shot? let's leave that for when i actually settle on something to write about. alternatively, i could go the other way, and write a study guide for chemistry. with all the study guides available, i'd have to find something to set mine apart. conciseness, maybe. just the key concepts and memory devices. should be easy to keep each topic to about 5 pages, and therefore, the entire book should be less than 100 pages long. one issue i foresee is that it might be rather plain/unexciting, since a lot of it will just be content. it might be a more steady source of income than writing fiction, since textbooks and guides have to be revised every so often to align with the ministry's syllabus.

even after writing all that, i'm not much clearer on the route i want to pursue. my current stand is still the same - not research, not academia. that pretty much leaves corporate or freelance work. a part of me wonders what i can do to start on the potential side job ideas. after all, there's no time like the present to start, right? maybe i'll list some character and plot ideas for the book, and see where that takes me. not exactly sure what i can do as far as the youtube thing goes. on the investment side, i can probably do some market research for promising companies to invest in. as for the main job side, i'll call IPOS if i haven't heard anything by the 29th of this month. at the same time, i'll start preparing my JET package in september. the statement of purpose sounds like that thing that will make or break an application, so that's something i will put maximum effort into.

it's quite absurd, isn't it? you'd think that by 30 years old, a guy would have found his niche in the world. after all, that's about a third or more of an average person's lifespan. the only excuse i have is that most of those 30 years were spent in rather isolated and protected environments (schools), so that limited my exposure. i kind of envy how some people can work for the same company for their whole career, rising through the ranks, and then retiring gloriously and having a nice peaceful life after that. but well. hopefully a decade or so down the road, i'll look back and laugh at this, kind of like how present me is laughing at undergrad me, worried about getting second upper honours. don't know if you've seen that picture of a humanized rubik's cube...let's see if i can find it.

there we go. i know that things will fall into place one way or another, i just don't know when or how. while i won't deny that i can't really see how the pieces are making up the puzzle just yet, i'm going to choose to believe in the process and to keep moving forward. that's the least i can do, right? also, i'm going to choose to take some action, starting with the implementation of plan get fit next week. need to go to the gym, as well as go grocery shopping. having a positive self-image does actually help with the overall mental state, and everything associated with it.

-random thought of the day: Time to watch my budget closely again...-

Good news to start today's post - i think the residual negativity from work-related issues is going away. i haven't had a work-related dream for the past 2 to 3 days! still did have other weird dreams, though, like meeting an american final fantasy raid group. still, i think that there is progression. unfortunately, no news from IPOS yet. not surprising, seeing as we've just had a long weekend. ironic that i was so looking forward to getting 4 consecutive days off work, only for it to not matter at all when the holiday finally arrived. hoping to hear from them by the end of august.

there's no news on the JET program side, either. then again, the recruitment post usually goes up in early september, so that will coincide nicely with the IPOS timeline. and since the deadline for JET application is typically around the november-ish period, i can prepare the documentation first, and submit it around october-ish if IPOS still hasn't replied by then. the trickiest thing will probably be getting recommendation letters. i need 2 of them, and i plan on asking my learning lab mentor, as well as a japanese lecturer from NUS, simply because i think that these will be the most relevant to the application. apart from that, there's the statement of purpose thing, which i will get down to writing by early september. still not quite sure of the context in which to frame it - should it be like why i want to go to japan, or how will going to japan help my future career progression? good thing i have a couple of JET alumni contacts, as well as current JETs, to consult on this matter.

and in the event that the JET program doesn't work out, there's still the private company route to explore. i've talked to someone who's working with gaba, so that may be something worth considering. the benefit of private companies is that the application and starting times are much more relaxed than those of the JET program. downside is that the teaching hours (and hence, income) can be a bit less predictable. but, let's cross that bridge only if we have to cross it.

i was just thinking, given unlimited resources, what would i do with my time? thought that this might give me a clearer idea on a direction to pursue in terms of work. i suppose another way to ask this question would be, what makes me jump out of bed in the morning? or, what would i not mind doing, even for free? all these are variations on a common theme - what do i really want? strangely, i'm having a hard time coming up with a clear answer. most of my answers don't really have anything to do with typical work- or job-related activities right now. probably have to meditate on this for a while, because not having a clear road ahead is a recipe for failure. should dedicate a post to this; might help clear my head a little.

last thing today. i haven't been exercising, but still managed to strain a muscle in my left shoulder. the area between my spine and shoulder blade started hurting today for some unknown reason, probably because i slept on it wrongly/weirdly. right now, most movements are accompanied by a jolt of pain, but i've felt worse. with luck, it'll get better in a couple of days. despite the injury, i should continue taking small steps and venture out of the house more. you know, get more sunlight, fresh air, that sort of thing. makes me sound like i'm a plant. should also maybe consider checking out paya lebar quarter, since if IPOS goes through, that's where i'll be.

-random thought of the day: Need some direction.-

Mental and physical health/well-being are quite closely linked, at least they are for me. have to admit that i've mentally been in a not-good place for the past week or so. and if i'm being perfectly honest, i'm not quite out of the woods yet. wouldn't go so far as to call it depression, though. i feel as though saying that i'm suffering from a mental condition doesn't do justice to people in tougher circumstances, or to people who are like, actually depressed and suicidal. not that i can't have a mental condition, but i just don't think i do. is that confusing? anyway. this has manifested in several worrying symptoms - lethargy, sleeping more, apathy, aversion to socializing, mild flu symptoms, and just generally feeling down. normally, what i'd do is to acknowledge these feelings, work out why they exist and what i can do to overcome them, and set a timeline by which to overcome them. my original timeline was to be over it by this past monday. as you might have guessed, that didn't work out. hopefully at least a part of it is also due to me actually falling sick; that might make it easier to explain.

perhaps i've been affected more severely than i thought. i've been having bad dreams almost every time i fall asleep. there was even one dream where i reapplied to the IP firm! call me crazy, because there is no rational reason for me to even think about that. worst thing is, i don't even know what i need now. practically speaking, a job. but i meant on a mental/emotional level. counselling/therapy might be a good start. apart from issues caused by recent happenings, there are a couple of earlier traumas/issues that i want to work out. problem is, i don't know where to get started in looking for this kind of help. IMH? or i should start asking friends for recommendations.

on the physical side, i just don't feel good in general. pretty sure i've gained some weight, and i just feel less fit. should really make use of the gym membership, and the remaining office season parking that i wasn't able to get refunded. it's kind of a vicious cycle, isn't it? not feeling good mentally leads to not feeling good physically, which leads to not doing exercise. that worsens the mental state, and so on. there's got to be a way to break through and set things on an upward track instead of this downward spiral. i suppose the best way would be to go about it by tackling both aspects at once, ie. see a counsellor/therapist and go to the gym. have to get started one way or another.

should probably update about work plans too. i applied to IPOS, to be a patent examiner. in a way, it's kind of being on the other side of things. patent attorneys apply to IPOS for patents, examiners decide if the patents get granted or not. i figure that having some background knowledge in IP will put me in better stead as compared to most of the other applicants. the expected wait time is about 2 weeks, so that means i should get a reply by the end of the month? and i've resolved that if that doesn't work out, i'll focus on plan japan. sure, going to japan might mean taking a pay cut, having to sell the car or finding someone to take it over, but just the thought of going to japan, and all the possibilities that that entails, might be enough to offset all the negatives. not to mention that it'll give me an opportunity to move out and live alone. i think part of the unhappiness originates from people i'm living with. and who knows? maybe there'll be more possibilities for romance in japan. but let's not paint too rosy a picture of japan just yet. at this point in time, i think i'll just see what fate has in store for me.

moving forward, i think the best strategy to adopt right now is to do what i can, one small step at a time. no tuition this weekend, so that gives me a bit more time to sort out this uneasiness and general sucky feeling. above all, i think the most important thing now is to have hope, while taking concrete steps to improve the current situation. after all, even the protagonist in the alchemist was sidetracked for a year selling crystal ware in egypt. so yes, just do what i can.

-random thought of the day: Maybe it's the national day curse at work again.-

Distraction post time! thought i'd blog about something a little different for a change, and that's my pen hobby. i don't consider myself an expert by any means, and i'm still in the process of figuring out what i really like. of course, you may wonder why people pay so much for pens, when their only function is to write. i could say the same for cars, clothes, or almost any other consumer good. but that's not the main point of this post.

might be good to explain how this fascination started. i have a childhood memory of a green fountain pen with a gold cap, and a bottle of black ink. i know the ink was parker quink, and i'm pretty sure the pen was from parker as well. in school, i always preferred blue ink to black. i still do, actually. think it's because black gives me an impression of seriousness, which is good under the appropriate circumstances, but also of boring-ness, which is not good under most circumstances. by secondary school, i'd already settled on my pen of choice - a pilot G1. yes, i know that the G2 exists, and it's click mechanism is more convenient than the G1's cap. but there's something classic about the G1 which i like a lot. while in grad school, i started to buy some fountain pens, just to give them a try. at that time, my priority was nib width and overall look of the pen. still used my G1 for tests and exams, though, because i was worried about a fountain pen not writing, having to refill ink halfway, or any other similar mishaps that could possibly happen, especially with the added pressure of a time constraint. not good to tempt uncle murphy. instead, i used fountain pens for leisure writing (mainly random scribbles and quick notes, since i have this blog for more coherent stuff). over time, i bought a few nicer pens, and my priority list expanded to include nib material. still didn't use them much in daily life, because i was afraid of contaminating the nicer pens with chemical-stained hands from lab work. i did end up "sacrificing" a couple of cheap pens for lab use, and filled them with a notoriously difficult-to-clean ink. the only reason i even considered using that ink was because it was a brilliant shade of blue. downsides are that it's acidic and quite bad for pen parts, and it permanently stains most materials. it looks great, though!

i'd thought that moving to the working world would give me more opportunities to use my pens, but most things were digital in the IP firm, and i ended up sporadically using my pen for note-taking there. while i have to use pens a lot in the learning lab for marking, they give free stationery, so might as well use that instead, right? besides, with the standard paper quality these days, water-based inks tend to get absorbed really quickly and show up on the opposite side of the paper (aka. showing/having bleedthrough). that's not a concern for gel-based inks. we'll see if my next job allows for more pen usage.

as i get more involved and gain more knowledge about pens, i find that my priorities/criteria for what i look for in a pen shift somewhat. right now, i'd say that ink capacity/filling system is the most important, followed by the overall look and feel of the pen (colour, size, weight, transparency), then by all things nib-related (material, size, width, smoothness). the filling system matters most to me because i realize that it's tied closely to ink capacity. i'm the kind of person who sticks with a few inks for a long time, so having the flexibility to change inks often isn't that important. i also fear running out of ink, so small-capacity things like cartridges and converters have fallen out of favour with me. currently, my preference leans towards vacuum fillers and eyedropper-filled pens. the reason that the nib, despite being arguably the most important part of a pen, has become less of a priority in my view is because i realize that nibs are quite easily interchangeable and modifiable between pens. with limitations, of course, like pen brand or proprietary fittings/sizes. as for appearance, my only hard rule is no gold trim - but that's a personal preference.

while "more expensive" usually translates to "better" in the pen world, there are diminishing returns past a certain price point, and also accounting for users' preferences. for instance, despite having pens in the 3-digit price range with fancy gold nibs, my current favourite pen is a deep blue one (the one i posted a picture of several months ago), with a titanium nib. ok, fine, its total cost still runs into the 3-digit range (mainly due to the nib), but the pen itself with the default steel nib was only about $50. not sure if i really really want that 700+ euro pen any more. of course, i wouldn't complain if someone gifted it to me, but to spend my own money on that...not unless i'm like, 100 times richer than i am now. as far as pens go, i want to try broader, smoother nibs, to see if my taste leans more in that direction. i'm currently using fine nibs, because i've had to regulate my handwriting size while in school. maybe it's time to let loose a little in that regard. moving forward, i think i might progress to buying more nibs, and rotating them with the pen bodies that i already have. think it'll save me money in the long run, unless i destroy any of the parts in the process.

since i'm talking about spending money, i remember reading something about jeff bezos (founder of amazon). it's a comparison of relative wealth, something along the lines of "jeff bezos spending $2000 is equivalent to the average american spending $1". figures may change due to fluctuating net worth of him and the average american person, but you get the idea. that's insane to think about. i'd happily spend up to $25 on a good meal. scaled up using that ratio, that would be $50000. he can afford to spend that on one meal! i don't think any food in the world is worth that much. anyway, it's a relatively small sum to him, but it's a lot in absolute terms. i just wonder how i can start building wealth. the consensus seems to be that if you want to be well-off, find a high-paying job and work for the rest of your life. if you want to be rich, become a politicianrise up the ranks and become a director or CEO. if you want to have tons of money, start a successful business. maybe i should give the business thing more thought, although it doesn't help that i am naturally adverse to business-y things. i do have a contact that i can tap on, but i don't want to go that way unless it's a serious last resort.

last thing. i've reached a tentative decision regarding the future of this blog. what i think i will do is reach a nice post number here, then archive this and restart. haven't decided if i want to continue on blogger, or start anew somewhere else. this is post number 1733. what's a good number to stop at? knowing me, anything that ends in a 5 or 0, so 1735 is possible. knowing me even more, i'd be more likely to go for 1800, but that might take too long. 1750 is an acceptable compromise, i think. i'd have stopped on the post number corresponding to my birthday, but we've gone past that already. well, nothing's set in stone there yet. i might just take this as the last post, or go by a date instead. depends on how i feel at a later stage, i guess.

-random thought of the day: Last week of downtime.-

Usual practice is not to keep depressing stuff up top for too long, so let's write a hopefully long-ish post so that it goes out of sight quickly.

today is the second day of my umm..."holiday", and it's been going well enough so far. been sleeping (a lot, come to think about it), and generally relaxing. maybe it's my body catching up on the sleep debt. i think that in my next full-time job, i'll have to take a day off every month, just for sleep. that is, provided everything goes well and i get a permanent position, of course. but we can worry about that in a couple of weeks.

i've got a few last thoughts on the whole work situation. yes, i know i said that i didn't want to blog about depressing stuff, but i guess it's good to see what lessons we can take away, so that we actually grow from the experience. first of all, the job hunt process is kind of like dating, i guess. you try it out with a company (person), and hope for a mutually beneficial relationship. you make money for them, they pay you money. like some people who just don't click, some people and some jobs don't go together. maybe that was the case? and if my attitude towards and behaviour in a relationship is anything to go by, i will do my best to make it work, even if the chances are slim to nonexistent. the difference between this and my previous relationship is that the other party chose to break it off first. sticking with that analogy, i suppose it's only natural to take some time to move on, and i shouldn't blame myself too much for thinking about it. that's not an excuse to wallow in self-pity or to brood over it, but i should bear in mind that it's ok to take some time to get over it.

not sure if i've written about this before, but it seems to me that singaporeans (myself included) are generally more inclined to be followers, and that our perceptions and opinions are very easily shaped. for instance, the "singapore dream" has been drilled into us since young. get good results for PSLE, go to a top secondary school (preferably single-gender so that there won't be any dating distractions), get 6 points for O-levels, go to a top JC, score straight As at A-levels, study some prestigious degree in NUS/NTU/SMU (preferably law or medicine, or double degree), then graduate with first-class honours and land a high-paying job, marry someone making at least as much money as you, have a few kids (preferably one boy to continue the family line), and repeat for the next generation. this process produces what i'm thinking of as cookie-cutter people, who grow up with a warped sense of values. like, people are more inclined to judge a person by their academic qualifications, their salary, all the superficial stuff which, while nice, aren't the most important things. some people may be perfectly fine with this route, and that's great. while others who may have flourished better in arts or other disciplines get looked down upon because their grades for STEM-related stuff aren't good. i'll admit to being one of the lucky ones who showed a bit more talent for science, and being born in the right time and place certainly helped. the easily-influenced thing, though, is something i'm guilty of. let me explain with a personal anecdote. in army, most of the people in charge of you will encourage you to go to command school - i.e. you eventually end up as a specialist or officer. command school is glorified to be so attractive - "people will have to salute you everywhere you go!", "you get to carry a sword!" or "you can tekan other people!". it actually plays to a person's ego and their desire for power. but when everyone around you keeps telling you something, that thing gets easier and easier to believe. i will admit to getting caught up in the whole command school craze, to the point where i felt like a failure for not making it to command school due to not being physically fit enough. but a while after that, i realized that army was something we just did to get it over with. there's a popular saying that "SAF" stands for "serve and *something* off". it was almost laughable, when i remembered how much i wanted to be a "good soldier" and excel in army. not saying that that's wrong - there is value in taking pride in everything that you do. but for me, who never wanted to do this national service thing, and who didn't (and still doesn't) have any intention of making a career out of the army, it was rather absurd how easily i was so-called brainwashed.

maybe a part of it is the perception of scarcity - like, the thought process is that there are only so many vacancies available, so you'd better secure one. this ties in perfectly with the kiasu mentality, which singaporeans are (in)famous for. just like how artificially restricting the supply of diamonds and an amazing marketing campaign causes their price to go up, the same can be said about many other things in life. it makes sense in the army context, because if everyone's at the top giving orders, who takes those orders? umm...so how does all this get tied in with things that i learned from the job experience? well, the patent attorney exam is apparently notoriously difficult to pass. so maybe it was the allure of that additional credential that made me want to pursue it. also, it's a reminder that there are more unconventional jobs out there, and that these jobs might be considered "lousy" in mainstream thinking. but as long as it pays decently enough, there's nothing wrong with going for them.

one other thing that i should be grateful for is that i didn't let the salary get to my head, and didn't make any huge purchases over the last 3 months. well, the only major purchase would be my gym membership, and that's something that i can tank with no problem. i was contemplating signing up for NUSS membership at commencement due to the promotional rate, but in light of this development, that will have to wait. speaking of purchases, singpost apparently tried to deliver my titanium nib this afternoon, while i was asleep. just means that i'll have to go to the post office tomorrow. might be a good thing too - have an excuse to get out of the house. since i have to step out, might as well use this opportunity to go to compass one to settle my library fines and look into getting a new pair of glasses made. i've been feeling that the vision in my right eye has been getting worse. might be from staring at a computer screen for hours every day at the IP firm. anyway, it's a good chance to get PC glasses as well, since i foresee more computer-staring in my future line of work.

something was a little fishy these past two days. i think someone i'm related to (apart from chemical engineer cousin) reads this blog, and i don't know about it. there is no reason how word could have got out so fast, considering i told only like, 3 people? either that, or my aunt is lying. how else can someone give me unsolicited job information within a day? i've said it before, i should be prepared for whatever i post online in a public domain to be discovered. yet, there are people whom i really don't want sticking their noses into my business doing just that. regardless, it may be time to start afresh. haven't decided how i'll do that yet, though. there are a couple of options - archive this blog and start a brand new one, clone this blog for archive purposes and continue using this URL, or shift to a new platform completely. while i do feel a sense of loyalty to blogger, i also have to admit that some other blogging platforms have overtaken in it terms of functionality. well, i'll sit on this idea for a little longer. potentially for another 67 posts.

looking forward, i suppose i should discuss my job plans. i do think that i can go further in IP, just perhaps i did too much too soon with the firm, and ended up crashing. the next possible position in as an examiner, with IPOS. good news is that they're moving to paya lebar, so it's a little nearer to home. horrible traffic, though. better news is that there's a virgin active branch there too. what are the odds? having been through the experience of not landing a job, i also do have a backup plan. after talking to scary JC friend, i've also decided that if IPOS doesn't work out, i'll take it as a sign that working in singapore is not meant to be at this point, and i will focus on plan japan instead. probably through the JET program, but i shouldn't limit myself in that regard, either. that's the rough idea for now, though. apply to IPOS and see how things go. if i get rejected off the bat, or if the offer is unsatisfactory, i MIGHT look towards another IP firm. if IPOS accepts and probation works out, that's fine and well. if probation doesn't work out, then probably plan japan. might do me good to get away from singapore, too. i realize that the overcrowding situation is not doing my health (physical and mental) any favours.

anyway, that's it for tonight. have to do a bit more cleaning and go out tomorrow. one good thing about the work experience is that it's gotten me to wake up early-ish (before 8:00am) every morning, so i feel like i've got more hours in my day. next step is to actually use those hours for productive stuff.

-random thought of the day: Joined a new guild!-