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Goodbye Singapore, Take-Two?! Another Sunset Surprise
Another Sunset Surprise
Gratefully
sharing with you a short sunset chapter of my life here in Singapore, which of course, may
or may not be so interesting to you, but probably the Padang sunset photos will
do the trick and keep you company? So yes, on to our little spiel about my
so-called “Singapore sunset”, while using a bit of Padang sunset photos, which
I think is better and more suitable for what I am about to share? So confusing,
so is my life right now, but no worries – on to our blog post, my friends!
You see, on
my birthday month, I’ve decided to travel to Padang – one of the many
islands of the biggest archipelago in the world, Indonesia. I traveled there to do
a bit of “eat, pray, love” kind of Julia Roberts moment, which, truth be told,
what I was going through back then, was completely unrelated to what Julia
Roberts was going through (but maybe it was more of the idea of testing if Indonesia
has that power to transform you... does it truly work to do a bit of
introspection in Indonesia?
So does it
work, Indonesia? Yes and no. Yes, introspection works, and no, no matter where
you are in Indonesia, you can do harness the insane power of introspection, and
whether it is in Bali, or Padang, or Jakarta, it should work if you
would want it to! So, yes, maybe this is a quite a long riff about why I would
want to talk about my “Singapore sunset”, while using “Padang sunset” photos.
What’s it all about, you may ask? Here goes…
You know how
much I love and am so attached to Singapore, so please believe me
when I say that I mean well when I say that Singapore is a pain in the
behind (at least to me). Singapore is notoriously
known to be the most competitive economy in the world (hooray, yes!), and with
that, you kind of get not only upsides but also super competitive
downsides. Downsides that will not only rattle your core but scare the
soul out of you. Mine happens to be related to ACTUAL down…sizing,
which is, of course, a downside. I had to undergo a company downsizing
for a multinational company. Just like a stereotypical downsizing
exercise, wherein your boss suddenly transforms into a rebel, and you find out
who your real friends are in the process. Easy, but not easy.
Nevertheless, that’s
just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Mine happens to be related to
TWO retrenchment/downsizing exercises, from two powerful multinational
companies who are game changers in their own rights, two different industries,
and two surprising reasons. All not related to my work performance. Of course,
this fact is hard to believe and digest, if you go through the particular
process, especially if you are in the gradual progression of your career. The
ordeal is unbelievable and the feeling is quite unshakeable. Sleepless nights,
yes. Numbing feeling, yes. It’s true how it’s being overhyped on movies and TV
series, but even more so in real life. But, still love Singapore, yes.
But just like
the Padang sunset, when I visited it, while I was on the brink of being
extinguished from my second retrenchment exercise, there was a turning point
moment for me in Padang. No self-pity, no
drama, no negativity. Just pure realization amidst the introspection and
rejections happening.
I was
reminded of the fact that life moves on. It reminded me of how much
traveling and seeing different sunsets from distinctive places can help vitalize
one’s self and beliefs if you allow it to. It’s a simple yet powerfully
reflective way to prompt you to rethink things through, no matter how life
turns out to be. Despite all the palpable pain and numbing next steps that
I had to go through to ensure that I land a new job in Singapore, I made my Padang
sunset surprise a point to remember --- a daily reminder of how life moves on
and how everything works out in the end. That I had to take the risk
and err on the side of optimism.
Every sunset
became a souvenir reminder of how I respond to setbacks and how the universe
helps out in the process. Each sunset is a beautiful cue to never ever give up
in life and in yourself. And with that, a new sunrise is about to unfold – a
new job, a new chapter, new life is about to unravel, and I am deeply excited
to share the wave of new beginnings here in Singapore, still.
