Work work work

Here's the problem with living in Singapore. There are three things that people do a lot of: eat, shop and work. Especially work. The "normal" working week here is 6 1/2 days. By the time you get to work and fight traffic home in the afternoon of that "half" day, you've really spent a whole day working. In other words, Sunday is your only day off.

As expats in Singapore we tend to conform to the same schedule. True, my work only requires me to be here Monday through Friday for 8 hours. The reality, however, is that we end up working overtime and spending our weekends catching up on other work and daily humdrum, like paying bills or we spend them comotose in front of the television, trying to assure ourselves that this is in fact home and we are allowed to rest.

Don't get me wrong, I admire the work ethic and all this work has helped me to pay off bills faster. But let me put it this way: there is a reason that the birth rate here is dangerously low. No time to make babies! Of course you could always get a maid to help, and many do. Personally I hate the thought of other people taking care of my dirty laundry. No pun intended.

Different people, different strokes.

Really, the work situation isn't that bad. The key is to have something that you are passionate about to fill that one precious day off per week. There are so many options here, from paintball to sailing to ceramics to pilates to kung fu to swimming to archery, tennis, you name. For me it's wakeboarding. Ahh, life is good.