Thumb Not Quite Green

I woke up early today, curse of the internal early riser clock. It was barely 7.30 am but I couldn't get back to sleep. I ended up getting a head start on the gardening I planned on doing today. Planting the seeds I bought yesterday was easy enough. Pruning rose bushes isn't too tough either. But there were spiders & webs. I ended up yelling & running away when I very nearly hurled a spider onto myself. The caterpillar I came across next made me abandon ship. Guess I don't quite have a green thumb at all.

A Little Bit Of Gardening

There the lone red rose stood. On either side of the red rose are white rose bushes. I've always known they were there as white roses have been blooming since the day we moved in. I was pleasantly surprised to see this lone red rose in bloom when I got back from work yesterday. As you can see, it's most definitely not a bush. (Don't mind the wilted newspaper. It came from my neighbour's house.) I think I might just start taking better care of the plants around the house. On the opposite side of the driveway, are 2 christmas trees. 1 was brown & my landlord told me that it has been that way for a while, most probably dead. The other 1 right beside it is still green & healthy. Recently, I noticed some green returning to the supposedly dead christmas tree. I didn't do anything to it which now made me feel that I should. 

The temperature has been in the 20s for the past week in the day time. So I decided that it's time to start sowing some seeds despite it not being quite spring yet. We bought a few packs of seeds, a pack of potting mix, Seasol & Powerfeed from Bunnings. I'll get to work tomorrow after our movie date. A colleague told me that rose bushes need pruning & I did a search online on how to prune rose bushes. So I'll do that tomorrow as well. 

Called home for almost half an hour today. I broached the topic of having them over for a short visit. September is just round the corner so I won't have enough money saved up. Even if I fly my parents over on a budget airline, the boarding for Wang & Puggy will cost more than the air tickets themselves. The next following months will be unbearably hot so it won't be a good time for them to visit. I suggested next March or April as it'll be cooler yet not enough to be considered cold. Still, it's still more than half a year later, so I can take my time to plan it out. 

The red rose & "dead" christmas tree reinforces the message that no matter how hopeless a situation may seem, things can still turn around. When the conditions are right, miracles will manifest. 

Another Breakthrough

This should be a post written out yesterday but I got home later than usual so I didn't get around to doing it. Yesterday, my CNM asked to have a word with me & my 1st thoughts were, "Oh no. I hope it's not something bad." Always the pessimist. Turned out that she felt that I'm doing well & she wanted to train me as an all rounder. So I'll be able to scrub, scout, do recovery, CSSD, AU & Lasik, basically every section in the day surgery unit. I'll love to be able to do that as it'll increase my value in the company as well as let me gain additional skills. Also, she's increasing my contract hours from 20 to 30 per week. Yay! She said that she knows a good worker when she looks at the resume & even before hiring me, she knew I'll be a good worker. This is the 1st compliment I received without a negative undertone. I can't say I'm good but I'll definitely continue to try my best.

While doing my morning gongyo yesterday, I was thinking of legitimate ways to have my parents come over. I've not done any read up on any of these visas but the ones I could think of were reunion of family visa & investment visa. Yeah, I always allow my mind to drift & sometimes even daydream about the "impossible". I was just daydreaming that if I win 5 million in the lotto, I can bring my parents over on the investment visa. (& I'm not someone who buys lottery.) Then on the way to work, the DJ on the radio announced that the powerball game had snowballed to 50 million dollars. I was thinking to myself, 有那么巧吗？So I told myself that I'll go give it a try after work, buy a ticket or something. Then my CNM announced that she's collecting $10 each for the powerball. Haha. What a coincidence. Anyway, always play responsibly & never more than what you can afford. I'll do more research for a semi-permanent visa for my parents when I'm more stable financially. Something that'll allow them to stay longer per entry rather than the tourist visa.

Temperature is coming up. Makes winter feel exceptionally short. I don't even require the comforter when I sleep at night anymore. I think I might be able to start growing my herbs & chilli even before spring officially begins. I'm thankful for the chance to be here, being able to grow as a person & develop spiritually. As usual, I send a quick thank you into the universe as I gaze upon the night sky.

Nothing Is By Chance

I just saw the most magnificent moon set in my life on my drive to work. Remember several months ago we had a case of the super moon where it appeared 16% larger than usual as its orbit brought it closer to earth? This was even larger & golden yellow in colour. Not to mention a full moon.
Every morning after my morning gongyo & before I leave home, I'll quickly glance through my FB on my mobile. This morning, I came across an article shared, on Shyakamuni's teaching. Now, I don't know if he really said these but in the article, it says that nothing in life is by chance. Not even the smallest, insignificant thing. Everyone who you come into contact with, every incident you encountered are there for a reason. There're no coincidences in life. When the time is right, certain things will manifest in your life (this I know for sure is taught in my Buddhist studies).

So, me having the chance to view the moon set is due to me being at the exact place, at the exact time. I start 8 am today. If I had started at 7.30 am, I would have missed the beautiful scene.

Being here, with lesser stress & unhappiness, I find myself more tolerant of people & events. I find that my pace had slowed, allowing me to appreciate the beauty of this world instead of rushing from 1 place to another. I feel I have developed spiritually. So I guess I was meant to be here.

Weaning Off GPS

Like, finally! It's not like I need it for some time now. But like a child who outgrew his/her security blanket but insists on keeping it, I found myself clipping the GPS to my windscreen before my journey to work & back home. I don't need it, I just like having it there. Finally, I told myself enough is enough & proceeded to wean myself off it.

I didn't go cold turkey. Instead, I muted the GPS yesterday on the drive back home so even if I didn't look at the screen, I wouldn't get verbal prompting. But in the event that I did get lost, I still can refer to it. Of course, I didn't need it. It was a hot day yesterday. (Well, hot to me at least.) As I was approaching the petrol kiosk near home for a top up, the mounting, together with the GPS fell off. I think it was the heat that caused the suction cup to fail.

This morning on the journey to work, I repeated the tactic. Nope, I still didn't need to refer to the navigation. I drove home without the GPS for the 1st time today & I'll do without for the drive to work tomorrow. So there! I finally weaned myself off the GPS for work trips.

Feelings On Migration Thus Far

Heard quite a few comments from people I know personally & not about what their "friends" have to say about their migration. The remarks are usually negative, something along the line that they're traitors, they're weak as they can't take the stress & pace of SG, they're parents deserters, grass is definitely not greener in Australia, etc. I don't have people saying that to me, at least not in my face. But if these people are your friends, they'll be happy for you & not dumping truckloads of negativity on you.

As many migrants have said, migration is a very personal choice. We all leave for different reasons. Most importantly, we must be happy with our decision. Let's not allow ourselves to be derailed by other people's comments.

I don't want to paint a beautiful picture to mislead people. From my previous posts, you would have seen how we struggled initially. The doubts, the uncertainties had crippling effects on us. Even till now, I don't feel that I fit in. Am I better off here than in SG? Hmm... tough question. Being here means I'm not getting any contributions to my CPF. 1 day whatever little funds I have in my CPF will be depleted & I'll have to come out with $800+ cash per month for my HDB flat that my parents are still staying in. On top of that, I'm still paying $200+ for PruLife, PruSave & PruCash as well as my parents' bills in SG. That's easily $1400 a month.

As long as I'm able to nett 5k (on sole income) I'll be able to sustain with none left for savings. If hubs can bring in some income to help with the rent, I'll be able to save the equivalent. On the other hand, I do feel I'm getting more out of life. On my days off, I get to do what I desire rather than recuperating from work. I no longer suffer from insomnia due to overworking & stress. So while I may not be better off financially, I'm defintely getting a better quality of life. Every night when I let Ton out, I'll look up to the sky & the view of the stars never cease to awe me. While staring into the night sky, I'll send a thank you out into the universe for whatever I have now. 快乐其实是可以很简单。

Feeling Emo

Opened up my blogger app to type a new entry when I realised this post from Sat was not uploaded.

It's dusk. Dolly & Sharon met up for cakes at Bakerzin at Paragon. Bet they're either sipping on tea or shopping right now. I just came out from the cinema, having watched Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes. The movie put me in a sombre mood. Makes me miss the gals whom I've not seen since the day before I left. The girls who took time to meet up with me on 1st May becoz I refused to have them send me off at the airport the next day. Makes me remember the lunch I had with my parents at the kopithiam opposite my block before we left for the airport. 思念好痛苦啊!

War claims many lives, even those who are not actively participating in it. We need to stop all these violence in this world. We're not that different at all. We just need to be more acceptant of people who are different from us, be it in race, colour, religion or beliefs.

Increasing Daylight Hours

The days are getting longer. When I 1st started work, it would still be dark as I drove into the car park & it would be completely dark by 6 pm. Recently, I noticed that the sky has been turning light when I'm leaving home & it's bright enough to see without lights at 6 pm. Winter is coming to an end. Though spring starts on 1st Sept officially.

It's been 13 weeks since we 1st step foot on Aussie ground. I still have no sense of job security. I don't know if I ever will. I guess it stems from my inability to get a job. I know if I lose this current job, I most likely have to go back to SG coz nobody else will hire me. In SG, I can jump from discipline to discipline without fear coz someone will definitely take me in. But I know being too senior can be a problem. Dolly is having a hard time finding another job becoz her salary range is too high. My salary range is even higher, so perhaps me too, will have problems finding jobs if I'm still in SG.

Lack of security though, keeps me on my toes, always thankful for another day of income, thankful that I can still manage to stay here. Hubs still haven't found a job. It's the usual emails that say "Sorry, you're not successful on this attempt." J suggested getting a forklift license. The 2 days course cost $550 & I know hubs. He won't even spend $10 getting proper food so why will he spend $550 on something that can't even guarantee a job?

It's Sat but I've been awake for an hour. Your body gets used to waking up at a certain time & you just can't sleep in even if you want to. I shall go bake some cinnamon rolls then. It's a craving brought on by James Patterson's book. Seems that warm, sticky cinnamon buns are "the best" breakfast made by Alex Cross's Nana Mama. Yep, I love them too.