The glass doors slid open quietly and I stepped through, relieved to be leaving the office building. It was almost 11pm, and I was bone-weary. My eyes hurt from staring at a computer screen for hours, my skin yearned for a good rub of moisturiser and my body demanded a shower just a few degrees short of scalding. I needed to go home.
The cab was waiting. I got in next to the driver, buckled up and let out a sigh - the soul-deep appreciation kind. The driver chuckled.
"Work so late..." he smiled, and I detected compassion and amusement in his tone.
"Yah lor. 14 hours leh, Uncle."
"Wah! And I thought I work long hours... ha! Ha!"
I smiled a small, polite small. I wasn't interested in conversation. I wasn't interested in pretending to be interested in someone else.
"Nowadaaay..." He paused; a painful punctuation to his wretched grammar. "..Singaporean all workaholic. Ha! Ha! Haaaii...." He trailed off in an amused, eloquent sigh, fluently local in its resignation and faint sneer of self-mockery and pity. I knew it well, all Singaporeans know it well. "What to do. That's life." *That* sigh.
I obliged the conversation on the same vein. "What to do. Client want is client want lor." I heaved a competitively gusty sigh of my own.
He glanced over. "You must be very tired ah, Miss."
"Of course."
"No more life ah... ha! Ha!"
"Ha ha," I responded weakly. "Wake up, go to work, come home, go to bed, wake up, go to work..."
"Cannot like that lah... we need to get enough sleep you know. If not, very jia lat one. Need to recharge our body."
"Weekend lor.."
"Ha! Ha! Weekend is very precious hor? But recharge halfway oso, suddenly our friend jio us out... Maybe go for a drink. Recharge halfway, oso must go."
"Yah." I mumbled.
"But, must lah. If not, no so-sher life, oso cannot lah. Hor?"
"Ah. Yah."
"But, a few friend can already lah. No need so many. Got no time to ennertain all oso. One or two good friend, can last you for life, good enough lah!" He smiled peaceably.
I agreed wholeheartedly. Wise words, I thought in the brief silence. I must remember that.
And so. Just in case I don't get to meet you this weekend - I love and miss you Bibi, intensely so. I am really happy that we're best friends, and I intend to keep you for life. Here's to you, us, and a fuckload of fun years ahead. Happy 19th :)
10 comments:
just out of curiosity, which PR firm you doing your placement at?
PS: I major in journalism and will graduate from uni at the end of this year, and i'm contemplating of trying out the PR field instead.
thank you :)
Could you email me instead? I don't want this blog to turn up in search results when someone Googles the company. thescarletcat at gmail. :)
LER,
would you do pr at mcdonalds? Like, your only client would be ronald mcdonald...
AND THEY'D PAY YOU FABULOUS BUCKS.
WOULD YOU?!?!!??!
In-house PR? Yes, I would.
I've always wanted to tell you this, but 510 always reminds me of Levi's jeans.
lol.
OMG LE RAINE I WORK SIXTEEN TO EIGHTEEN HOURS EVERYDAY. WITHOUT PAY.
Okay lah. I'm just telling you to be thankful for the shining blob of PR on your resume.
And that I found your blog + email (MSN?) address.
(=
- The Jeremy Boo (evidently)
Oh. My. God. Darling, that's not a job, that's slavery! Your resume is going to look superb, no doubt. Editor all.
BTW we're probably gonna be working together next month, since CommunicAsia's coming up. Which is a relief - I could do with some genuine conversation.
yay for you too, love. -censored- is like the top...3 or 4?
Anyhow, add me on MSN! It shall be a interdependent relationship. You can bitch about your boss and i shall weep to you about my writer's block.
vanistoi@hotmail.com
-BIG GRINS-
edited: I'm so sorry, I forgot. I edited it the moment I published it!
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