Work-Related Travel Beckons - and my first set of wheels

6 September 2013

It has been a few months since my boss mentioned that I was to be posted overseas to take a field office admin & accounting manager position, and in these months living in Singapore, I assessed what I had - a decent job; a small but great apartment; good friends; and I even picked up a number of new skills (cooking and bottle-cutting(!)).

I obtained my driver's license in 2000 and had less than 20 opportunities to drive a car over the past 13 years in Singapore. I have incessently bitched about the prices of cars in Singapore, though I did get by with the public transport system. I presumed the lack of a car reflected a lower social status and a key reason why I remained single. I shall not share my views on materialism and the Singapore girl.

My Aberdeen experience provided me much needed driving practice, and since those 4 weeks and 1,100 miles covered in June 2013, the seed of owning a vehicle had been planted in my mind.

The evening of 6 September 2013marked another milestone in the fulfilment of the material-based Singapore dream. I BOUGHT A CAR. A second-hand Fiat Grande Punto. Despite the ridiculously high prices, the dodgy car dealer, the free rides my friends have been providing me all my life thus far, and more importantly, the fact my boss told me in confidence that I will be posted overseas for a long term assignment within 2 months from 6 September.

Impulsive but necessary. That's how I felt. I was not going to let a few words from my superior determine my lifestyle. After all, the messaege was only verbally communicated and nothing had been presented to me in writing.

It has been less than a week since I collected the vehicle - there are loose parts vibrating at startup, the car has transmission issues on occassion, and I am threatening to take legal action against the dodgy car dealer. But my life has changed. I feel empowered. I can go anywhere, meet anyone, fetch a friend, at anytime. My only limitation would be to drink less alcohol to stay out of trouble with the law.

And then this posting to New Zealand kicks in. New Plymouth to be exact. Population 50,000. 4 hours away frrom the nearest major airport. At least a year or two away from my friends, family, apartment, and now my very own new used car.

FML.