Singapore.......

Singapore is fine city is one of the most common t-shirt u see when u roam around in Chinatown to pick up one. It is true. Here every silly breaking a rule can be fined well. It has it's own advantages. The discipline does come at a good way. though not very really enforced i see that the rules are kept here whereas other way

When I first came in singapore, I noticed all the people had a different outlook. Being only the second country i'm in, I was definitely amazed when i started and still am. It is a really clean city. But then it is not fully as good as I saw first. But the fact that I come from India did help in me not being bothered by it all. I should say the large number of professionals mostly foreign is definitely helping the modern singapore. But the main difference between India and Singapore is People here consider this their homeland and love it and try to maintain it good, whereas Indians are bothered only about their own things and complains why the garbage they threw on the pavement. The 300 S$ fine does help them to be better, but not just that it is also the outlook of the people.

If you cycle through an underpass here, the fine is a 1000 S$. If you cross the road not through the zebra crossings you can be fined 20 S$. If you feel thirsty in the MRT or Bus and have a sip of water you can be fined 500 S$. But I haven't seen it enforced anywhere but there is a lot of disciplne in the place. Everybody keeps the law mostly, unlike India where people is just checking out, "How the rules can be broken?".

( The casino entrance... there got some money from me too... how much..? that's a small secret)

People are rich here undoubtedly, but the difference is there they are ready to pay taxes or they are forced to because they have a correct and direct way. If you are rich and with your luxury you definitely pay more. If you have a car, that is if you ready to pay a lot of money to auction a COE("Certificate of Entitlement") to own a car for a ten years and to scrap it unless you are to pay again for another COE(don't think "hey we have road tax!", this money is huge), you will end up paying for parking and road usage and like that. People here don't mind it, may be we convert and think. But being willing to pay out so normally is difference in their outlook. But then the money makes the country good.

(one of the many)

The rules here aren't very liberal and it is not simple rule. I can say the media is restricted, duopolies. telephone operators, public transport, casinoes, Mall builders. Don't know no surety of healthy competition here. But nobody is bothered. I guess everybody just bothers their business.

(check out the cheap price tag)

The polity here is also I had say a bit shady may be, but also plans the development. Though there is a lot of restrictions and fines. Gets the feeling everything is good and there is a lot of money flowing around. Seeing a lot of maserattis, porsches, lamborginis, ferraris, bentleys.. Everything has a richness touch to it.. Big malls and all costly and funny. The money is there, but there is a lot of people living normal professional life as well. Can't help feeling suspicious and jealous of a good place i guess. I dunno whatever it is Singapore life feels good.

(A view of singapore skyline at night from top of Marina Bay Sands)

But then Singapore is a cosmopolitan city, they do well mostly. But i cannot say the discrimination based on their origin and race is non-existent. Well nothing can be that perfect, after all they can see me as an intruder that creates a lot of problem to their homeland. I don't want to create a problem here, but i guess I don't look good enough. It always makes me think "Do look like a wicked crook?" or something. I don't blame them. I guess I ain't very handsome either.

Anyways I enjoy the city, had some fun last time 7 months and a small island 43 kms long and 25 kms wide and saw a lot of stuff and i guess though the solitude hurts at times, it was fun and at times i had good company of people around here. I really don't know what to do this time around. Let us just wait and see.

(small model of where I was. The Marina Bay)

I just wish I could do something to make India better, make it get a bit more respect from people, and not just be a cheap and disgusting tourist place where you can spend less money to enjoy a different kind of vacation.

(Another Singapore Night Skyline from top of Marina Bay sands)

Check out more(some are better)pics of singapore on My facebook profile.

http://www.facebook.com/thakks

The professional pathway.. 6 years and counting...

Being a professional was never a dream of mine... may be it was for my parents... The life had no much option anyways talking from a kerala viewpoint for a person who was studying well (by marksheet values). It was just result of me avoiding the opportunity to stand up to a 100 question and chosing to "not to chose myself" when it was important. I didn't want to chose and I didn't stand up to my parents theory for my future..

I should say the 4 years training to be a professional was nothing but just fun of life.. and learning some lessons of lesson never to be forgotten which was worth it. The life in campus with all the people around was memorable. The learning to be professional was not there, Neither was the learning to be an engineer. The "learning" was plagued by problems and learning the extremes to which the glorious "NIT" rulebook which was a compilation of rulebooks available to the rulewriters.

Due to the luck of my ancestors, or due to a mistake somewhere in the equilibrium of the world, i get placed against all odds. If i thought, life was good.. I was proven wrong pretty quickly.. just as the celebration was getting over. I fell into final and critical issue after a long break, as if the mistake in equilibrium was fixing itself.The professional life probability hadn't left me too far, a miracle sends me through to the professional life destroying any chance to escape by a hair's breadth.

Then with no much time left in the clock for joining the dream stream of millions, i get into a train to hyderabad for the first and last time till date... and reach there after a whole 24 hrs of travel and on july 15th 2009, i become a professional "theoretically". and after a fifteen days of training with a lot of things to wonder about and with a lot of things to dream.. actually kind of looked forward into the professional life for the first time in life..

Then started the adventure, an adventure that lets you lose your dreams, but still end up learning a lot. The adventure that has now covered over a astonishing 2 years has consumed mostly all the dreams i had. Reasons like my love for learning more and more and excitement to understand the technology involved is keeping me through the counting time in this(If you think it is kind of a show off statement, I beg to differ, to catch up with people who has learned engineering theoretically in the best institutes of India was difficult for a engineering ignorant like me, and i kind of enjoy catching up..).

But I'll definitely dare and is sad to say that there is a "sword of Damocles" held in its place by a lot of reasons and unhappiness hanging on top of my professional life and if you ask me why I can't tell, because only the good things need to be applauded in public. Bad things should be discussed behind closed doors.

I know not anywhere professional life cannot be too better, but it definitely be better. the better it gets, more happier we get. I have seen a lot of people who are in a worse situation than me, but generally human nature we compare it with the best. There are a lot of better things also in the world. i don't want to search for anything better in my professional life, I'm just bored of it.. I'm disappointed.. I had say after all the "great expectations" I had in the beginning is the root cause of it. May be it was a bit too much to believe the sweet talk blindly, may be i was just wishing too much more than i deserve.

Whatever After two years, I did learn a lot of engineering and lot of life and truths. But now i definitely have no idea where to go and neither do I have any idea "What do I do with my life?" and "What do I want to do with my life?".

Disclaimer: I don't know whether my thoughts felt offensive for anyone or everyone. But this is definitely my feelings and my expressions. Leave me to it.