Live life to the fullest, so you won’t have regrets

IN SPITE of the gloomy economic outlook, I find myself spending more than ever.
Call me financially foolhardy, but I’ve never been at a better time in my life to live life to the fullest.
After all, I am young with no obligations or commitments, have a stable job which pays decently, and most importantly, I find [...]

25 random things about S’pore youth

WORLDWIDE, randomness has reached a tipping point – and you can blame Facebook. The social networking site has got millions generating a list of their innermost quirks called, somewhat unimaginatively, ‘25 Random Things About Me’.
In the past six months that I’ve lived here, I have worked with, observed and come to respect one native [...]

Growing closer to a faraway home

By Phyu Sin Chaw
UNLIKE other Burmese, my family didn’t go ‘home’ very often. The term for Myanmar seemed awkward, because my family moved to Singapore when I was a child.
But I remember ‘home’ as my grandparents’ house, a five-minute walk from the famed Shwedagon Pagoda.
I remember life in a developing country being pretty inconvenient, but [...]

Best to stay upbeat amid downturn

By Goh Wen Zhong
DO YOU remember the first day you started your career? I won’t forget mine in a hurry – it was Sept 15 this year, better known as Meltdown Monday.
It was a very hollow feeling indeed: the excitement of finally embarking on a career as a corporate [...]

Coming home from overseas study: It’s the toughest part

By Cassandra Chew
NOBODY told me moving back home from overseas studies would be this difficult.
Unlike my summer visits, where being in Singapore was merely physical relocation, moving home meant re-integration – a process I would have preferred to keep at arm’s length.
It was not that I resisted being in Singapore. I was more than happy [...]

A wok to remember

By Feng Zengkun
AS AN overseas student in New York, my life in the city is temporary.
Everything that is brought from Singapore has to be taken back eventually, or given up in New York.
With that in mind, I was very strict about what went into my suitcase during my first two years.
When I was packing to [...]

Beijing Olympics: A fierce dose of pride

By Soh Wee Ling
FRIENDS have been asking if I will head to Beijing to catch the Olympic Games since I am so close to Beijing (if 1,500km can be considered close), but I think I will stay put in Shanghai.
In Shanghai, I do not have to put up with massive traffic jams or inflated prices [...]

How cupcakes fired up my idealism

By Cassandra Chew
THERE are few things in life that transcend borders and barriers the way love and smiles do.
But I am discovering a possible third universal thing: Cupcakes!
Last month, I launched a fund-raising campaign for an educational trip to Thailand.
Having grown passionate about fighting child trafficking in my four years abroad, I almost lost my [...]

Treat domestic helpers as equals, not servants

By Cassandra Chew
THERE was one year as an undergraduate when I spent every Friday as a domestic helper to a family in New York in the United States.
I was the Mandarin-speaking babysitter who arrived at their home at 8.30am.
I ate sandwiches with the family at lunch and took a break while three-year-old Oscar napped. I [...]

Intangible costs of living abroad – without family

By Goh Wen Zhong
THE month of May in Britain is generally a welcome one – better weather aside, it sees two public holidays, both on a Monday.
This provides an opportunity for Londoners to return to their hometowns and spend a long weekend with their loved ones. Much as I would like to do the same, [...]