Singapore "Beach Boys"

The hubby and I were on a moonlit stroll last night, i.e. we took a 30 min walk home to work off our dinner, and passed by The Arts House on our way back. While browsing in the Earshot café, I discovered several albums by a local male a cappella group. What an unexpected surprise! They were not bad, with a quirky blend of local irreverence, universal humour and vocal harmony that I'd missed since my undergrad days in New England. You can read more about them at Budak Pantai (or literally, beach kids in Malay). I've also included a short clip of their adaptation of Fools Rush In below. Pardon the crummy sound quality.

What is success anyway?

The Wall Street Journal published an essay on money and happiness today. Excerpts are below. Full article can be assessed here.

Lots of us still go job prospecting every now and then. Sometimes we even make the leap to something new. But there's a lot more agonizing over which switches make sense -- and which ones ultimately just aren't wise. As we get further along in life, the size of the next pay stub isn't nearly as reliable a guidepost as it used to be.

For one thing, we're a lot shrewder in spotting the hidden ugly side of some high-paying positions. We also ponder whether our new colleagues and bosses will pass the "good people" test. In other cases, money doesn't define our ambitions as much. Of course, some high-paying jobs really do turn out to be passports to a better life. The gutsiest people simply walk away from career tracks they don't like, sacrificing pay if necessary for a new job that connects with their greatest passions. For most of us, such wonderful alignments of money and freedom never quite happen.

In fact, sorting out such trade-offs becomes the defining struggle.... We have grown used to the chase for success, and sometimes it can be hard to step off that track. We also hate to retrench so much that upstarts and plodders overtake us. Yet we have families and hobbies that clamor for time, too. None of us wants to job hop our way to ruin, becoming the pitiable workaholic with the busted marriage and the empty mansion.

Thinking about careers

My former Aussie flatmate sent out a recent Forbes article called "Don't Marry Career Women" which contained an amusing point and counterpoint about dual career marriages. I forwarded it to my mom, sister, ex-classmates (read: girls' school and women's college alumnae) and other friends to spread some feminist love. No surprises which view I subscribe to!

On other fronts, job searching is fun. Not. In pursuit of further self-discovery, I came across this. Tai tai didn't make the shortlist.

Ya think?

Your Career Type: Enterprising You are energetic, ambitious, and sociable. Your talents lie in politics, leading people, and selling things or ideas. You would make an excellent: Auctioneer - Bank President - Camp Director City Manager - Judge - Lawyer Recreation Leader - Real Estate Agent - Sales Person School Principal - Travel Agent - TV Newscaster The worst career options for you are investigative careers, like a mathematician or architect.

What's Your Ideal Career?