I treated myself to a day at the salon today – my first Singaporean hair appointment. If you are not a girl, you should know that most girls are very particular when it comes to hair salons and stylists. After two years in Jersey, I did not find a single hair dresser who was worth a repeat visit. It took me ages to find the perfect stylist in Columbus, mostly because I had to make enough money to afford her. Finding a stylist in Singapore who can deal with American hair and knows his or her way around shades of blonde and bleach solutions is like finding a diamond in the rough. So, when I saw an ad for a Western stylist who is Vidal Sassoon certified and knows her blondes in Expat Magazine, I immediately, though somewhat skeptically, called to make an appointment.
My cut-and-foil appointment turned into color-only appointment, lasted three hours and cost me more than my Marc Jacobs wallet. However, the salon owner was absolutely fantastic, I had the best shampoo experience of my life and I learned more about living in Singapore than I have to date. I had a great time – I just need a really good job to justify returning on a regular basis.
Speaking of a really good job – it’s about that time. Today marks the end of May, the last day of my personal vacation. When I left my job in corporate communications in March, I wanted to experience life without work for two straight months before launching into the next chapter of my career. Now that my two months has concluded, I am beginning to seriously research my options. Paul’s employment pass finally came through last night, so now my dependent pass is in the paperwork stage. Once I have the dependent pass, I will be able to begin working.
Searching the more than 8,500 jobs available on one of Singapore’s leading jobs search websites, I found a few that were intriguing. I considered applying but I am currently lacking one vital communications skill – to ability to speak Mandarin. Right now, thanks to Ryan Courson, I can say, “hello,” “thank you” and “Where is the toilet?” While better than not knowing any Mandarin, this is not enough to make me a desirable candidate, so I have some learning to do.
When I find the right job, it has to meet my flexible schedule requirement. We have one set of friends coming for a week in September, another set of friends who are talking about visiting at some point, an offer out to brothers and sister and we have a set of parents trying to fit us into their schedule. All of these people will be coming for a week at a time. I also intend to spend six weeks in the States for the winter holidays. Ergo, I will need the ability to either not work or to work very few hours while friends and family are in town as well as the ability to perform my duties from the United States in the winter. I would have to be really good at my job to convince anyone to hire me under these conditions, so I think it may be best to just work for myself.
My hair stylist nearly convinced me to continue the Singapore expat wife tradition and start my own company. And so begins the researching as I consider this option…
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