April 2018, a month to be out of the comfort zone.


The first quarter of the year has gone with me enjoying all the vacations and all the free and lazy time I had at home. From this month onward, there is no more time for me to waste. Holiday is over. It’s finally time for me to fully transition into a ‘working adult’ stage in life. Nearing the end of last month, I was very fortunate to be called for a job interview in Singapore after having made multiple job applications over there prior to that. With many well wishes and a smooth enlightening interview, my application is successful. With the application for a work permit on-going, I am expected to commence work by mid of this month. I am very delighted by this opportunity.

Working in Singapore is a goal for most people (especially Malaysians) as the currency there is very high. Besides that, Singapore’s wider exposure to international projects (beneficial for my architectural profession as it will enable me to gain much more cross-country experience) and the country’s great record in efficiency, discipline and cleanliness are also very attractive. I also find that architecture in Singapore also tends to be more daring and innovative. However, stressful life is also something you will hear from Singaporeans. I will try my best to maintain my work-life balance while putting my utmost effort and passion into my job. Excelling as an architect in Singapore is my goal beginning this month.

Working in Singapore is also good in the sense that I am not that far away from my home (in Malaysia). I can ride a bus home (few hours) with very cheap fare or take a short flight if needed. I always find that venturing out to other places (or countries) is a very good thing to train and improve one self to become more independent and knowledgeable. I live in Malaysia, then I studied in Australia, and soon I will be working in Singapore. Three countries covered! Who knows what my next stop is; maybe I’m sticking to Singapore permanently, or returning back to Malaysia, or going elsewhere for a fresh new environment? But for now, the thing that is right in front of my eyes is Singapore. I’m leaving my comfort zone this month for it.

Today is the first day of April and that means it’s April Fool’s Day. It’s nice to enjoy watching prank videos but certainly not nice if you are a victim of a prank itself today. Beware of your playful friends or families today. Haha…they may get you. Anyway, just enjoy the day (it’s a lovely Sunday). It’s also Easter Day for the Christians! For the Chinese, most will be having their Qing Ming (tomb sweeping) this weekend. We are doing it next Sunday. I have been skipping it for two years already as I was in Australia for my postgraduate study (past two years). Hence, this year I’m here to fulfill my duty (as a son as as a grandson) to perform all the traditions and visit my mom and my grandma’s resting place.

April 1st is also the death anniversary of a very iconic and beloved Hong Kong superstar, Leslie Cheung. This year marks the 15th anniversary of his death. Leslie Cheung was a highly successful singer and actor, and is often regarded as one of the founding fathers of Cantopop. With multiple best actor wins in films and popular male singer wins in music industry, Leslie is a huge talent and a pop icon of Hong Kong. The news of him committing suicide by jumping off from a hotel building in Hong Kong on 1st April due to severe depression shocked his fans, media, industry peers and the public.

This will be the month that many nice movies are coming out. I’m very much looking forward to watch ‘A Quiet Place’; a horror movie that has been receiving very positive early reviews. Its premise looks exciting. The movie tells about a family who must live life in silence to hide from creatures that hunt by sound. I think this one is going to be very good. I had the same expectation for ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ which is coming out near the end of this month. This movie needs no further explanation and is going to make a lot of money in worldwide box office. It marks the culmination of 10-years of Marvel superhero movies which will see the superheroes teaming up together to battle against the deadly boss, Thanos who finally appears to collect Infinity Stones to power up his Infinity Gauntlet. Really can’t wait for it.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)