How its all been going

The short answer is: Well.

The long answer is, well, long.

Its vague yes. I guess there are plenty of stories to tell, and not all of them flattering, but there are plenty of good things going on too. I'm finally starting to get settled into my job and actually getting some productive work done. Its not actually a job which requires a lot of brains, but its not a job which could be done by me 5 years ago either.

The thing is, I'm almost defining my job scope as we go along. There is of course a certain minimum standard I have to meet, but apart from that, the amount of work is really only constained by the amount of time we have to do it. Technically its only meant to finish up by June next year, so it sounds like plenty of time, but theres a lot to cover.

I need to go through data from lots of different countries and make sure its 'right'. This is all to report figures to regulatory authorities to determine how much money our bank needs to do its everyday things and keep some on the side for a rainy day. Its nice to know the outcome of my work will have a profound impact - think billions of dollars of funds going to or fro.

Apart from my job, I seem to be meeting plenty of people. However, they all seem to be similar to me. That is, they're all from western countries who've moved to Singapore to work. I think now I understand why the foreign students in Australia all seem to hang out together. Its not really that they don't want to hang out with the locals, it can be hard to meet them if you're not from around there. They all have their circles already set up, and its not easy to be a part of them. The background and things which bring them together are likely to be different. Whereas if you're with people who are 'like you', then you have more in common, more to talk about, and therefore are more likely to hang out together.

I guess its not all bad. At least they don't hang out with me because of my money. Yeah you know the stereotypical Singaporean girl who seems to think thats a huge status thing - the ones who buy Gucci bags on credit because it apparently reflects how good a person they are. Well, it seems true on the male side too. However, bags aren't quite so common. Its more about their car or shirts.

Or maybe I'm just jealous I don't have a Gucci bag.

I'll let you decide.

EDIT: Apparently, I've already written about this before