My First Experience in a Part-Time Job Wasn't Great, But it Helped Me Discover What I Wanted and Didn't Want

Having always been a bit different (some say VERY), I naturally gravitated towards the self-employed/freelance/entrepreneur world.

Once I found it, of course.

My first foray into the working world was as a part-time admin assistant in the F&B department of a local country club. It was a holiday job, just before I started studying in Temasek Polytechnic (Biotechnology!)

The job came through an introduction, so I got it pretty easily. And because there were 6 months between getting my O level results and the start of my polytechnic course, I had plenty of time.

I found soon that I likely wasn't entirely needed, because most of the tasks were straightforward and I finished them in short order, thus ending up with a lot of downtime.

One of the tasks was supposed to take over a week, but I got it done in 2 days.

Unfortunately, being in an office environment at a low ranking job, and partly because I was introduced into it, I couldn't look like I had nothing to do even though I really had nothing to do.

This was extraordinarily hard.

I couldn't sit around reading, and there were no modern mobile phones with ready Internet access. The computers here weren't exactly very fast and there just wasn't that much on the Internet in those days anyway.

Within a couple weeks, I was completely bored. I didn't have the autonomy to spend downtime the way I wanted to, and I didn't have anything challenging or interesting to do.

I left after 2 months to preserve my sanity.

I am thankful to the person who got me the job, because I did learn a number of things, and it gave me a number of stories to tell since then.

It also taught me that I needed to find work that I could pour myself into and that I really couldn't stand tedium.

Also, I'm thankful to the person because I earned enough to go LAN gaming every day for the next 4 months (If you remember when this was a huge thing, you're likely of a similar age to me. :p ) before my poly course started.

Yes, I was a gamer. And through gaming, I learned a lot of very useful principles for designing learning programmes (again, a post for another time).

If I could go back in time, I don't think I would have changed this bit of my past, boring though it was. I feel that it had great formative value.

Even in Terrible Situations, There Are Some Who Shine Brightly

When a market unfairly stacks the deck against sellers, you're certain to end up with sub-standard products and services, all to compete in a race to the bottom.

When the sellers actually play along and, in turn, plays the same game with their contractors / sub-contractors, you know you have a really problematic industry.

And then you take a step back and realise that this is tried in almost every industry, but there are sellers and providers out there who fight back.

These are the ones to learn and take inspiration from.

Thank you for showing us that we don't have to take unfair treatment, even if they are policies, and even if they seem like unsurmountable obstacles.

Watching Masters at Work Have Taught Me Much

It's always a pleasure to watch a master at work who's passionate about his/her craft.

The calculated moves, graceful handling, and infectious enthusiasm all make the experience captivating and awe-inspiring.

I've seen them in many professions - painters, chefs, jewellery smiths, professional speakers, handymen, and more.

Even though they may not have time to explain everything that they're doing, I still learn a great deal from simply observing them.

Some day, I hope to join their ranks of mastery.

I don't know what it'll be in yet, but it's something I aspire towards.

Should I Start A New Instagram Account for Professional Purposes?

Over the past 2 years or so, I’ve been actively taking pictures while I’m at school workshops and other public events. Of course I have older pictures, but I never took them with specific purposes in mind.

I believe I have gathered enough to start putting them together into an online portfolio of my work.

Most of the major topics that I cover have been photographed to some degree (some more than others, of course, due to differences in frequency).

So, of course, the next step is to decide what platform I should make the portfolio on.

Since it’s mainly pictorial, I thought about using Instagram.

The reason I don’t use my personal account is that I’d prefer to reserve it for my truly personal life and interests - namely food, travel, and photography.

As such, I’ve registered another Instagram account and I plan to start posting soon.

It’s definitely going to be slow-going, but I figured it’s worth a shot.

After all, it’s better to put up a short blog post than none at all.

Let’s get started soon!