Come Come Paradise

There's no overtime pay. You can't claim for a cab until it's way past dinner time; sometimes bedtime. There's no dinner. There's a ridiculous expectation for you to meet all deadlines, even if multiple projects are due the next morning on short notice. There's no gratitude. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, there's yelling.

So my girlfriend's family came to Singapore for her ACCA convocation, and both her brothers were into games. Naturally, we went around hunting for game shops. Her elder brother bought Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and The Orange Box for XBox 360 and her younger brother was looking for Kingdom Hearts for the Nintendo DS; it took us quite some time before we chanced upon it. My girlfriend wanted to get Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story for the DS. I, on the other hand, was looking for a few games that were becoming rare; namely Okami and No More Heroes for the Wii. My girlfriend helped to purchase the last copy of Okami at a local game store, but we had absolutely no luck finding No More Heroes. I went online to check and apparently, according to a forum discussion at Gamespot, the game was banned in Singapore >_>.... I got desperate and bought it off Play-Asia. All I have to do now is wait for it to arrive...

Sometimes I really wonder if this stupid island is a good idea at all. Not that home is a perfect place; not that there's a Utopia anywhere at all.

But in a world where the system is so powerful, so systematic, so objective, success from sheer creativity or innovation is generally achievable only by the rich, or the really fortunate who happen to be at the right place at the right time. The education system is broken. But because the elite want to keep their children in power, the broken education system is allowed to persist. Money can buy a total dumbass this magical piece of paper called a degree which will typically lead to a bright future, and there lack of can cause an intelligent, gifted individual to lead a dreadful, miserable life.

It's a very careful island. A very smart island, that recognises this system, and exploits it remarkably well. So well that seemingly, there is no form of corruption, no flaw, no problem. And even if there is any, it's done legally and slowly and invisibly, like many other parts of the world. It's legalised. And because it is legal, nobody questions it. Incentives instead of bribes, taxes instead of robbery, salary raises that do not cope with inflation instead of slavery, branding and marketing instead of telling people "I'm ripping you off and you know it and you buy it anyway" and publishing really scary news about things that happen in the rest of the world to make people believe that they're in a safe and happy place; so much so that the scariest local news that I've seen published here is that of a cat torturer and what he did to the poor cats, which actually made the front page! All these to allow the system to continue; all these to keep the invisible social caste thingie going on for many generations to come.

Back home, it's all that and more! Sodomy accusations for political gain, throwing people out the window and calling it a suicide to cover a dark secret, and blowing people up to keep their husbands' penises in their pants. Our dear leaders are generally stupider and less subtle. The opposition is sadly incompetent. Yet I prefer home. /facepalm

Home is a recurring topic on my blog for a few reasons. Since I left for Singapore, I have learned to appreciate the things I used to take for granted in my hometown. This post is to remind myself about these things.

Rooms
I've never really had my own room; I've always shared a bedroom with someone. When I was little, I slept in my parents' bedroom. Then when my brother was old enough, he and I shared a bedroom which I grew to dislike. And when my grandmother moved in with us, we started sleeping on a mattress laid on the floor in her room because it was air-conditioned (I know, I know... sleeping in my grandmother's room is weird. I get that all the time). And right up to before I left Singapore, it remained that way.

And when I got my first job in Singapore, I had to find myself a place to stay. A whole apartment would have cost me my entire salary, so the next best thing would be to rent a room. That room cost me $350 a month until my brother graduated and moved in with me in the same room. The rent was adjusted to $400 a month and so I was only paying $200 a month. When my girlfriend came to Singapore, I moved in with her for a short period of time, until we were forced to move out because the housemates figured they deserved the whole place to themselves and that they had the right to kick us out of the house despite the fact that they're tenants sharing half the house; the only difference is that they pay a majority of the rent because they rented the master bedroom (I know, that's unreasonable and all but we didn't exactly have a choice; the bitch refused to surrender the landlady's number to discuss the matter for obvious reasons). So we had to move in with a family in Tampines, and we've been staying in this room for exactly a year now at the rate of $670 a month ($335 per person). That translates to approximately RM1,620 a month at the time of this entry. And we're not staying in a luxury apartment or a condominium; we're paying for a common room with no attached toilet in a HDB flat.

And what does this $670 room provide? It has 2 closets; one for each of us, and a permanently installed rack. They provided a mattress, pillows, and a bolster. And that was it. $670 includes internet access, water and electricity. Our landlords were kind enough to provide some space in the fridge (which we hardly use), and we are allowed to use the washing machine about once a week. Since there is no attached toilet, we share the toilet with the maid which is fucking annoying because she talks on the phone in the toilet and stall our baths, laundry and shit (quite literally). And that's about it.

Now $670 may seem steep to some of you but at the time we signed the contract, it was the best deal we could find. Our landlords are kind people, and we're thankful for it. But like most Malaysians working in Singapore, I cannot help but to compare. RM1,620 for a room in a pathetic flat every month is fucking absurd!

I asked a friend earlier today about his rent. His room was rented out for RM250 a month. That's at least 6 times cheaper than in Singapore. MORE THAN SIX FUCKING TIMES CHEAPER! He shares the room with a roommate, which means he pays half that amount for rent. That's RM125. It's not inclusive of utility bills, but he pays a little more than his other housemates for having air-conditioning in his room. How much does his utility bills average at? RM50. That's a total of RM175 a month for him. This room is housed in a double-storey terrace house. And he gets to park his car in the porch. No landlords, so no issue there.

RM175 vs RM810 a month. That's RM635 more every month. RM7,620 more every year excluding the 1 month's worth of rent I have to pay to the property agent. Sure I earn Singapore Dollars but I don't earn 4-5 times more than any of my peers do. And I sure as hell am not getting a better deal.

Today I spent a little more time in my room than I usually do and I noticed a few things. I sleep better. My room is bigger. I now have a proper bed with a big mattress. I get to blast my speakers without disturbing my neighbours. I get to sing in my room; something I don't do regardless of where I am in Singapore. I also sing when I drive alone but that's a different matter... I get to stick stuff on the wall. I get to use the bathroom ALL the time. It's less dusty and more spacious. I get to buy my own desk and other furniture without having to worry about moving every year. And the best of all, I don't have to pay a single cent.

Little things that I have never thought would matter. Yet it makes a huge difference.

PS: I have moved into 3 different places in less than 2 years, and our landlords are moving again so we obviously have to move, too.

I got a job offer from a reputable company today; that's the best news I've had in a while!

Someone said that this is the turning point for me, and I hope that it's true. I'll work hard, and I'll make things better for everyone dear to me for sure! This is a promise to myself.