Friday 21 August 2015
Sleepless in Singapore - any advice please?
Hi guys, yes I am now in Singapore. I have not been arrested yet and so far my biggest problem is this inability to sleep at night. I sleep from like midnight to around 3 or 4 then boom, I am wide awake as my body thought I was simply taking an afternoon nap. I struggle to go back to sleep then crawl out of bed by noon feeling like a total wreck. It is nearly 6 am now and I have been up for two hours and have given up trying to sleep. What do you recommend to help me get over his jetlag as it hits me without fail every time I come to Singapore? Mind you, the last time I was spared this as I spent some days in Oman before traveling to KL, so the transition between London and Singapore was a bit more gradual. But as my first stop this time was in Brunei, the jetlag has been just awful - much like when I used to fly direct in 2011. I will blog more soon....
Take sleep aid in the night to help you sleep. Then stay awake all day. No naps. No alcohol. Lots of water.
ReplyDeleteHi Alex,
ReplyDeleteHan here.
Can meet?
Been reading your articles for some time now, and it will be nice to be able to meet you in Singapore.
Can email me @ seahhan@gmail.com?
Cheers.
Have you tried meditation? Here is a link for a short guided session one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEzbdLn2bJc).
ReplyDeleteNo caffeine. Don't sleep for a solid 14-16 hrs according to your biological clock. Then when you hit the sack you will probably sleep until the next day afternoon.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much guys, I am practically adjusted, I slept well last night but alas my partner had yet another poor night's sleep. i paid the price yesterday though, had nearly a full day's activities with 3 hours sleep (and refused to move off my friend Robert's very comfortable sofa but if they had left me there, I would have slept for 8 hours or more....)
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ReplyDeleteWell Shawn. I have a very simple answer for you.
DeleteI have spent today sightseeing with a good friend of mine (also a regular reader of my blog) and he is a student again after having forged a very successful career in IT. He wants to move abroad and leave Singapore but found that it was going to be virtually impossible with IT so he is retraining to be a radiography specialist to get that work permit and once he completes his NYP diploma, he can work in any country he wants as the world is his oyster - he is a specialist expert in a field that is highly paid and he can easily access work permits in any country he wants.
I laughed when i read your post as you're soooo incredibly Singaporean that you're making a silly mistake. (Sorry I am about to start swearing.) Do you think the real world actually gives a fuck if you get a B or an A at university? Newsflash Shawn: nobody gives a flying fuck. It is not important. your grades are not important. You Singaporean students are so ridiculously obsessed about your grades that you fail to consider the most important transition in your life that is coming up: the transition from being a student to being a working adult, a working adult who holds down a job and gets paid for it. Like honestly, nobody gives a flying fuck about these grades you talk about. Like if i am some big shot CEO in a company looking to hire fresh blood, you think i will have the time, energy or inclination to go through your results with a fine comb or will i be focussing on the more important issues like whether or not you will fit into the working environment and what you are like as a person to work with.
Sorry but it is fucking pathetic how you Singaporean students are under the illusion that us working adults give a flying fuck about your grades. No. We don't. We really don't give a shit. Your student bullshit crap bores the fuck out of us. We deal with everyday business transactions that are worth millions of dollars per contract - in contrast, your student bullshit is worth jackshit : hence that is why we don't give a flying fuck what grades you got.
But let me move on to the main point: if you wanted to work abroad, then it is just too fucking late for you man. What the fuck are you doing in NUS with a useless degree like statistics? It doesn't lead you in a clear career direction: certainly not. Work permits are to do with supply & demand and currently there is ZERO demand for statisticians in the west. Why the fuck did you choose to do a useless degree that is clearly not suited to you (hence your poor grades) and then think oh what do you mean it is not going to get me where I want to be?
This is a mega Facepalm moment man - i'm sorry to say this, but so many Singaporean students are so bloody focussed on their studies they don't even think about their working lives and if they are actually doing a degree that will be useful to them in terms of what they wish to do. You sir, have a useless degree that's gonna do fuck all for you.
what steps can you take? Complete your NUS degree then reapply to NYP to do a course in allied health care. that will easily get you a work permit for the West. Statistics is probably one of the most useless degrees you can get.
Sorry for the swearing and sorry i don't have any good news, but you really should have thought twice before starting your useless degree man.
Shawn, male nurses are in high demand in Canada. Actually, most health care related skills are in demand. Think outside the box.
DeleteAlex, I think you need more sleep. LOL!
By the same logic, geography and french is also "one of the most useless degrees" for emigrating to the West. But the difference is that Alex studied in the UK and managed to get a post-study visa at that time.
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DeleteHi Puppet. One point you have not noted is that all that happened a long time ago - i graduated in 2000 on a scholarship for what is admittedly a pretty useless degree. Well the geography was completely useless but the french was far more useful. Those were back in the days of the Labour govt in the UK who took a far more open door policy when it came to work permits, immigrants and foreigners. Under the current Tory govt in the UK, it is faaaaar stricter when it comes to settling in the UK; especially with thousands of refugees trying to get into the EU right now (have you read the news?) Different times. i was luckier.
DeleteGrades are really unimportant for nomination in immigration. The best way is retraining, provided that the certificate course is recognized overseas in the country you want to move to. Getting into the country is one step. Getting a job is another. Sometimes, you might have to redo everything from scratch, and do something totally different from what you studied in university, just like my plans to study a fitness and physiology course to work in the fitness industry and allow me to prolong my time in Australia, instead of hankering after academic jobs which are now rare. Having the residency does not make it easier, and you will still face some hurdles, but at least it is one step cleared. You need to remember like what everyone else has said, grades are really not the most important.
DeleteIt is okay Shawn. Get married to a UK gal! Hahaha. Jk jk.
DeleteIf you are that desperate to get into UK, you may want to try working in SG, saving up like crazy, before enrolling into one of the top UK universities. (If you have good A-level results).
My friend from Peking University (China) took another similar route by doing really well in university, graduate at the top of his cohort and is on his MPhil 2nd Year, Economics, in Oxford. You may want to try that. :)
OK some points on this general topic:
Delete1. Sorry I fucking swore so much. I am rude and vulgar but my regular readers will know I mean well.
2. Yes I had a fucking useless degree but hey, I did it on a scholarship at a very prestigious British university and whilst in hindsight, i may have chosen to have done a more useful degree - the fact is I managed to get away with it and it wasn't like i was fucking unemployed for ages and penniless. I just got on with life in the working world and whilst my degree didn't really help me, it didn't hinder me either.
3. You cannot fall into the trap of saying, "oh if so-and-so could do this, then I can follow his route as well". I did what I did ages ago, I am 39 years old today - the immigration laws in the UK have changed soooo much since and the rules of the game are totally different today. If Puppet thinks he can insult me by saying that my degree is useless, let me be the first to say that my degree was FUCKING useless but hey, so what? You can fucking curse & swear all you want at me and my fucking useless degree all you fucking want you motherfuckers (enough fucking swearing for you Puppet?) - but it still doesn't change the fact that Shawn ain't gonna get a work permit with his NUS stats degree. Boo-fucking-hoo. Puppet grow the fuck up.
4. Even if I as a British employer wanted to give you a job, guess what? I cannot get you a work permit! This is because all British employers are governed by the laws of the land as to what jobs are eligible for work permits and which aren't - and short of you training as a nurse or radiographer, even if I have a job offer for you today, you cannot take it up without a work permit and that's just the law (which is the same in most countries with minor variations). So there's no point in trying to impress me when you're not even eligible for a work permit.
5. Dakota - he can get married to a British guy too (we have gay marriage) or just any EU guy/gal would do.
6. A student visa does not lead to a work permit. You start from scratch once u have graduated.
Oh and Kev, my lasik surgery is on weds, I will call you once my eyes are feeling a bit better.
DeleteKevin, unfortunately many Singaporeans think that degrees and grades are going to get them a life overseas. Not that easy. Hubby and I were lucky. Our degrees were unimpressive, but we were willing to work in jobs we were over qualified for. Eventually, we managed to crawl our way into the careers we could live with. How many Singaporeans are willing to make sacrifices like we did? Many think as graduates they should slip into a position worthy of a university graduate. That is a sense of entitlement. Graduates are plentiful in the west. Question is whether you have a skill that is in need. When I applied to stay in Canada, we were actually told that chefs were in high demand. Yes, chefs! Luckily hubby managed to get a job in sales because they were impressed by his soft skills. That degree meant little to his employers. The soft skills were what impressed his employers so much that the personnel manager went with him to immigration to talk to the officer about how valuable he was to the company, and that he should get his work permit. That was our foot in the door. Applying for PR was easy after that because we were gainfully employed. I had to do a lot of volunteer work to impress immigration. Years later, hubby no longer had to stay in sales. However, his soft skills always got him jobs. Not his degrees. He had two degrees, by the way. So, Shawn, what soft skills do you have? How willing are you to make sacrifices?
DeleteHow have I omitted that your emigration route was ages ago? I wrote "...managed to get a post-study visa at that time". You seem to have a problem with reading carefully, just like in other posts.
DeleteP.S. Before you tell me to "grow the fuck up", let's just say if anyone needs to grow up, it's the one who thinks he can taunt / impress others with his swearing.
Shawn:
DeleteUK employers must pass the "resident labour market test" in order to employ foreigners and many countries have variations of this, as Alex said. But how well is it enforced?
Some employers will bend over backwards to hire you if they value you enough. (So you need something more impressive than grades.) Just look at how Silicon Valley companies sponsoring H1B visas. Of course, politicians may try to clamp down on this in future.
Alex:
How have I omitted that your emigration route was ages ago? I wrote "...managed to get a post-study visa at that time". You seem to have a problem with reading carefully, just like in other posts.
P.S. Before you tell me to "grow the fuck up", let's just say if anyone needs to grow up, it's the one who thinks he can taunt / impress others with his swearing.
Puppet: you're the one who kept leaving troll comments on Alvinology despite the fact that I can edit comments there and can remove spam. LOL. And if you don't like the way I swear, then may I politely suggest that you fuck off elsewhere to another blog: you're not obliged to read my blog. Duh. And I'm a blogger, not some customer service manager who is obliged to take you seriously and be so polite to you, so it is in my power to say, if you are not happy, please fuck right off, thank you very fucking much.
DeleteAs for "resident labour market tests' and how well it is enforced, well the more highly qualified you are, the more the employers have a case to make. So for example, if you are in a grey area, ie. you are an IT specialist who is very good at what you're doing and IT specialists/coders are not on the list of occupations which are granted work permits (like nurses, medical health professionals, education specialists), then they CAN try to make a case for you to the Home Office (the UK equivalent of the ICA) and it will be treated on a case-by-case basis. There is nothing to stop the employer from making a case on your behalf but at the end of the day, if you simply "bo liao" as they say in Hokkien - ie. if you are a fresh grad without much work experience, if you are simply lacking substance, if there's just no meat to your bone when it comes to your career (yet), then even if (hypothetically speaking) an employer does make a case on your behalf, it is highly unlikely to get through the system. In short, whilst there are certain loopholes that exists, they are pretty much for highly skilled, highly trained, highly experienced professionals who earn a LOTTA money, not fresh grads on their first jobs. Reality check, please. So whilst what Puppet said is true, it doesn't really apply to Shawn who is an undergrad from NUS. Sorry mate, you're a student, just someone who has yet to achieve anything to impress employers yet. You're young - but perhaps you already have something very impressive under your belt, care to tell us more about yourself? If you can get past my swearing, you will see that I am actually quite a helpful person here, LOL.
And I totally agree with everything Di said.
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DeleteShawn: you will not end up getting much lower pay if you go to the West (Germany, Canada, USA, UK, Oz, NZ etc) - you will only end up with lower pay if you go to a poor country like India, China, Thailand, Vietnam etc. It's common sense mate. As for non-relevant jobs: don't be stupid, you don't get to dictate what job you wanna do (who are you to choose?) - instead these countries get to decide what kind of professionals they want to issue work permits to and right now, it does look highly unlikely that your degree will lead to a job which they will need enough to issue a work permit for. How can i say this any more clearly: WAKE THE FUCK UP LAH STUPID, Learn the fucking rules of the game and stop dreaming that you actually have any choice in the matter as to what kind of job you get to do in the west.
DeleteAs for climbing higher - facepalm, that's another FUCKING STUPID PIECE OF BULLSHIT THAT FUCKING STUPID SINGAPOREAN IDIOTS COME UP WITH, OMFG. Like seriously, what the fuck? How high you climb is entirely up to you, it has nothing to do with racism or the country's culture - it fucking pisses me off when you fucking stupid singkies have the fucking nerve to say something stupid like that. Sorry for fucking swearing but that's the most fucking stupid piece of fucking bullshit that you have said Shawn. Grow a pair of balls and take responsibility for your own success or failure in life. Loads of Asian people make it in the west and become very successful that's because they are very intelligent and know how to create their own paths to success - and you have the cheek to place the ball in someone else's court? Fucking hell, that's so fucking stupid. Only a Singaporean can come up with something hat bloody fucking stupid.
Anyway, I've stopped reading after that statement. You wanna work in these big investment banks with such a fucking pathetic defeatist's attitude? Dream on. Not with that fucking useless attitude. These MNCs select winners with positive attitude, not losers like you.
@Limpeh Calm down, don't get so upset.
Delete@Shawn In life, you have to go through trials and tribulations in order to get what you want. There is a rather superstitious belief I believe you had already wrapped your mind in, that in order to get to destination X, you will need to do A -> B -> C -> X. I don't know whose advice are you following, but one thing for sure is that the circumstances NOW is totally different from yesteryears, and the situation NOW plays by different rules. Singapore is totally different from what she is 10 years ago...what makes you think everything is static and constant?
What had success in the past (etc, Limpeh's success path, or anyone from 10-20 years ago) cannot be carried over to you in the present. Circumstances have changed greatly - immigration has tightened, the population is increasingly discontented with the migrants, people are now more well-educated, increasing conflict in the Middle East...
Don't get so upset that you have you do something that you feel is inferior to you. Change your attitude.
(For example, this blog 1 second ago wasn't the same when this comment was published! Circumstances have changed in a blink of an eye.)
The most important thing is to open your mind. Look around for friends to make. Never look down on anyone. Don't make friends for shallow purposes.
DeleteYou might meet someone who can help you.
Shawn, you build up your soft skills even before you start work. What leadership roles have you taken on in your community? How have you contributed to society? Who can vouch that you have excellent instincts and often think outside the box? Yes, you show your excellent communication skills during the interview, but they are also looking at the whole profile of you as person. This is not about grades and degrees. It is about you as a product. What have you done as a person in your 20-odd years? My husband has had a few corporate jobs in his life. No one has asked him his grades at school. In fact, everyone has asked him about his track record and management style. He had to sell himself as a product to them. Given that you have no track record so far, don't you think you should set your goals lower and be more realistic?
DeleteWhat have you on your portfolio other than school? Herein lies your soft skills. Of course, you will have to reinforce that image during your interviews and during your employment. Point is, you have to create your product even before the interview.
As for low paying jobs, non relevant jobs, not being able to climb the corporate ladder, etc., listen, kiddo, you are going to be a fresh graduate! Chances are you will not slip into that ideal job right away. You know, that job worthy of a NUS graduate. The one that pays you well enough that your mom can go around making announcements to the relatives. The one that is relevant to your statistics degree. The one that offers prospects for corporate climbing. The one that is going to make you rich and a view from the corner office. Of course JP Morgan has just that job waiting for a NUS graduate like you because no one else would fit the role. Sigh, my dear, that is highly unlikely. Granted you did not say you wanted to get PR status abroad. You said you want to work abroad. Even so, work permits are hard to come by. Perhaps if you have a proven track record, you MAY stand a better chance. A fresh off the boat graduate with skills that are not highly in demand ... I doubt it. You said you want to get rich. Me too! Don't we all? Baby steps, young man.
You wrote,"I want [to] work abroad not because I can't make it, but because I believe I deserve much more." Wait a minute. Two things I want to point out, people who work abroad do so not because they can't make it. As we have pointed out to you, it is darn difficult to do so. Secondly, you may think you deserve certain things, the world out there doesn't. Most of us have to crawl through our rivers of shit to get to freedom (reference to Shawshank Redemption). I certainly did.
You often need to drift through the mud for a while before getting to the bright pearl. Contacts are very important for this. Never underestimate the power of friends, contacts and even acquaintances.
DeleteWhile you are a NUS graduate, there are still perhaps hundreds and maybe even thousands of people better than you Shawn. UCL, Oxford, Cambridge - you gotta do something to stand out.
Delete@Dakota: Indeed! That being said, my girlfriend who's from Cambridge has had no success thus far in finding even an ordinary job in Singapore after moving here with me.
DeleteIf anyone can offer any advice, I would be very grateful! The harsher and more realistic, the better - I've heard enough well meant but not too useful kind words already. She graduated with first class honours in Politics, Psychology, and Sociology - perhaps not one of the most useful qualifications around, I'm afraid. She's tried applying to everything from research positions at NUS to sales to teaching English/GP, but the response has been poor, to say the least. (Limpeh's post on Angmohdan helped inspire the applications to teaching positions, but even that was fruitless)
P.S. I feel bad posting this comment on a post where poor Limpeh is trying to figure out how to get more sleep, but I think that ship has already sailed.
Maybe social work? Her degree seems to be related somewhat to the social services sector, since Sociology and Psychology are generally subjects which prepare you for working in allied mental healthcare professions.
Deletehttp://news.yahoo.com/migrants-using-fake-syrian-passports-enter-eu-border-094700556.html
DeleteGet a Syrian passport, even though you are chinese. Accuse them of racism if otherwise.
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ReplyDeleteOh and the jetlag is getting better. Some nights I sleep better than others. Last night i managed to sleep from 2 am to 7:30 am and i am up, trying to exhaust myself today so I will sleep a lot better tonight. It is my lasik surgery on Wednesday morning.
ReplyDeleteHi Limpeh,
ReplyDeleteI am in Singapore for a vacation and would be interested to meet with you. If you are keen, please email me. All the best for your Lasik tomorrow.
Have been lurking for the past 1 year but I must say this is the first time I seen so many "fucks" in your comment section. Keep calm and carry on :)
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha. No lah, it's just that Shawn wants to talk big about his ambition, what he wants to earn and what he wants to achieve, what he deserves etc yet he contradicts himself by already placing a big part of his success in the other court by claiming that if he is in the wrong country, that may impede his chances of climbing higher. My point is simple: a winner who will go on to achieve everything he wants is a man who will take responsibility for his choice and not blame others for his failure. He has not even started working yet he is already starting to find excuses? Good grief.
DeleteThat's very true and personally I think this is the biggest failing of Singapore's "culture", the sense of self entitlement that permeates the whole society... That said, I hope you have a good rest tonight and perhaps write us a new post on the upcoming GE in 11th Sept? Cheers :)
DeleteThere is technically no such thing as a right or wrong country, but what is right or wrong for YOU. In any case, that is already half the battle won when you have a 'can do' attitude, unless circumstances are against you. If circumstances are against you, even then, you can still change them.
DeleteLoved the discussion. It resonates with me since the young ones under me all seem to have this sense of entitlement. It keeps my own views in check and grounded as well.
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