Awas, Awas...

('Awas' means 'Be careful' or 'Caution' in Malaysian...you can imagine what would be waiting to jump on you just behind the next corner..)

GIMME A BREAK!!

find some more Desaru pictures right here

I already mentioned a while ago that one important feature of Singapore lifestyle seems to be that there's no need to look out for a hobby if you are employed in certain companies. You won't have much time to enjoy it anyways. I try not to generalize, but it is quite visible that many local employers squeeze the most out of their employees. Many companies only extend contracts on 1 year basis, therefore there's no need to fire anyone... Peer pressure and funny corporate cultural rules are quite prevalent...e.g. don't leave earlier than your boss (nobody will admit that, of course..). You'll have a GREAT time then, if your boss is a nutty workaholic..

On the other hand, this goes nicely along with the fact that job volatility is enormously high. Employees are very quick in quitting as soon as better package pops up and leave scorched earth behind them...Many departments face quite a difficult challenge in the constant need to find replacements.

(Leif after a normal week)

I am quite lucky then to enjoy a piece of German corporate culture here, including some more regular working hours. By contrast, my flatmates Thu Zar and Leif (both employed under local contracts) share the same fate by spending most of the day at work (Leif even told me that his office with KPMG is usually crowded with employees and clients at midnight (!) as if it is just time for lunch..and one still has to resist to feeling guilty for leaving early then..). In 9 out of 10 cases I reach home earlier than them, even after extending my office hours into Starbucks Coffee quite extensively..

(the girls: Thu Zar and Serene; the boys: Leif and me)

DESARU..

..is a lovely holiday region in Malaysia (but also a tad exciting as you will read below) only a few hours East of Singapore..packed with resorts on the coastline to satisfy mostly Singaporean weekend relaxation needs (which are quite obviously existent). We decided to go there just for 2 days, to have a change of scene.
The presence of only Sipo numberplates and the well-known singsang of typical spoken Singlish can be heard everywhere. Funny thing was that for us it felt a bit stupid like swapping one resort for another. Our condo pool in Singapore was even bigger than the one in this dedicated upper class resort. The main difference was that it took only 30s here to get to the beach and not the usual endless 5 minutes like at home in Sipo :-p


INTRUDERS!!

I guess most of you know that I love running more than any other sport..I am still of the opinion that one will be able to run a marathon anywhere in the world as soon as you manage to do it here in this tropical climate. Well, I am not that far yet. But according to Kaizen, the intention is to improve slowly, but steadily..

Well, my second and last run that weekend on the beach almost got me to the next bay. Many Malaysians were there on the way..families playing, having lunch, young female Malaysians who had to start giggling and tried to run with me for a few meters ;-). It must have been a bit more than 7 kilometers, before I decided to stop and head back.

However, when I slowed down I heard some loud noise coming out of the jungle. I thought it might have been some Malaysian working on lumber, so I wanted to briefly say hello. I reached the trees, stopped, but to my surprise there was nothing...not even a sign that someone could have worked there. That very moment a loud scream came up to my right, letting me flinch. I turned my head and looked right at an angry monkey, snarling and showing his teeth, while slowly closing in on me from about 3 meters distance. Two slightly smaller versions were behind the first bigger monkey..guess I must have set a step into their living room or something...

No need to start a discussion here, so I slowly stepped back (I was not really protected with my adams costume...meaning naked except a trunk), never letting them out of sight. They jumped down from the trees and followed me on the sand, leaving a distance of maybe 5 meters between me and them. So what to do? Still hearing their constant, growling snarl, I thought it might be only polite to return the favor and yelled at them with full force (must have been a good view seeing a caucasian in his trunk on a Malaysian beach shouting at a few monkeys..). The two smaller ones withdrew a few meters, but their leader was only slightly impressed...just changed to a suprised look and did not advance into my direction any further, when I finally turned my back on them and started to slowly run back..Seems like Papa monkey won this time.

Maik