Employment Pass Medical Checkup

Heads Up: This is a continuation on my blogging about applying for an S-Pass employment visa in Singapore. If you miss part one, scroll to the bottom of the page for links to the corresponding sequences! 

So even though I was at the doctors less than a month ago to get all my last minute immunizations (Read:  Hurt a Lot) but apparently I am off again! A mandatory medical examination for any application for a Work Pass is required, no if, and's or naked butts in hospital gowns about it.

Yes, that's right, while I've been poked, prodded and forced to turn my head and cough while looking all so uncomfortable, it appears as if I need to go back to the doctors yet again because Singapore prefer's their own medical professionals confirm your health. I guess its only fair, while most doctors in the States are usually pretty qualified, it's probably the only way to remain fair to all the dozens of other countries... who's medical profession is sometimes a bit... off from the modern standard.

So in Singapore most Raffles Medical Centres allow for walk ins... and are also impossible to get onto the phone to confirm their business hours. Seven calls to seven clinics and I was ready to scream. Either they'd put you on hold for an hour and never come back, transfer you to the wrong line or accidentally hangup on you, forcing you back into the wait queue. It wasn't bad customer service, most of the nurses working the lines were genuinely aghast at the mishandling of my calls but I firmly believe it was the lack of phone training that lead to so many mistakes.

Finally I managed to nail down a time to try out the clinic in Asia One, an immense skyscraper which oddly seems to boarder a vast open field. I guess its meant for future construction but still, there is a random stretch of open land in the heart of Singapore's most urban region, that seems to extend for over two miles right to the ocean! It would be like all the land from the Empire State Building to the East River was just forgotten about... it's just weird to see in a city.

I known, shut up on this odd tangent and get back on topic.

So I arrive promptly at 9:00 AM, when the clinic opens and am the second walk-in through the door. I handed over my passport (Bring more than one form of photo ID to be safe!), my approved declaration of my work pass (this was provided by my company Human Resource department once the Ministry of Manpower approves my application to work in Singapore) and the standard medical exam check list. If you lose it, you can find it here.

It is a basic check list to be filled out by the examining doctor, so make sure it is blank when you hand it over to the front-desk nurse. She will hand you a piece of paper with a row bar-code sticker on it this is now your best friend and never let it out of your site until your done. Each sticker will link to an electronic report of your medical test results, it means the doctors doing your exam won't force you to carry around giant tomes of information for them to refer to. Its all going to be on this flimsy piece of paper.

Now it's time to play the waiting game. This waiting room, while very clean and high-tech, with a HD-plasma television play the latest news from CNN and only the most illustrious business magazines on its coffee tables surrounded by fine leather furniture, it still uses the wall mounted number counter that you see at the deli!

After the first woman goes it and returns after twenty-minutes, its my turn. I quickly find myself sitting across from a boy in a doctor's coat... Yes I said boy because instantly I thought the woman before me had forgotten her 12-year old son when she departed. Instead, with a surgical face mask pulled up to his eyes, he asked to see my ID to confirm my identification.

I knew I had given this to the front-desk nurse but one thing my parent's always taught me, NEVER argue or lie with the Police, Firemen, Military and especially Doctors. So I instantly produce my passport, however being that the picture is six-years out of date (Plus I looked stoned in my picture... I WASN'T! I had the flu!) he wasn't too convinced. This is where those extra pieces of ID come in handy, and I quickly produced my US drivers license, college ID and my social security card. That seemed enough to convince him and he quickly launched into the examination once he was satisfied.

The first exam is blood pressure, the chest exam and abdominal exam... which I didn't like because honestly its someone poking you with something cold and telling you what to do... its possibly the reason I also don't like personal trainers... why pay someone to tell you to do something... it seems self-defeating. I also won't give this boy/doctor any points on bed-side manner and my usually liberal usage of curse words were kept tightly under-check... mostly...

The exam of course ends with the standard blood exam. This exam is a deciding factor on whether your pass it approved, failing even one portion of the two criteria points means an automatic reject of your application. If you test positive for pulmonary Tuberculosis and/or HIV... I'm sorry but you can be subject to immediate repatriation.

I know its horrible and discriminatory but Singapore's health system is premier in the world... and few people argue against the local medical establishment when you realize that the country is an isolate island surrounded by medically poorer and larger countries... and a world travel hub... the kind of place where an minor epidemic can spread like wildfire with catastrophic results. Singaporeans have been actively trying to eradicate Dengue Fever and the Mosquitoes who carry it... a species that is incredibly prevalent in this region of the world. At least in temperate zones you have summer to purge the populations, here in the tropics its a year-round threat. Dengue, has a nearly two-week incubation period, while for adults it comes off as a sever cold/flu... complications are common small children who become infect.

Any form of infections disease is an immediate reason for rejection of any form of visa in Singapore and will instantly black list you. You'll have to immediately be repatriated (within reason of course) and you may be barred from ever returning as a tourist.

Back to the blood test... to which I believe I did fine with... except having to watch the needle plunge into my arm. I'm fine with the pain, the blood, the minor ache in your vein after the fact... but the image of that piece of metal piercing my skin always makes me jump and shriek like a little girl... alright not that bad but I go rigid like a board expecting the needle will come bursting out the other side of my arm at any second...

And for those that didn't slam my blog shut after that amazing act of imagery, I can say that was the worse part... physically.

While the medical examination is held in one office, the actual chest X-ray that is required is hosted in another. Now I knew why this office was so beautifully decorated, it was because they hadn't to host any of the more expensive pieces of medical hardware.

The actual x-ray machine was a good 15-minute walk away, this time in Raffles itself. Again this office was walk-in... and being that it was now 9:40 AM... it was packed.

Thankfully x-rays are not as common as you think... but you have to mention that's the reason you are there. Stating your there for a employment pass medical check-up can have them start the process all over again, wasting your valuable time... saying that you were sent from another office for a specific procedure and then presenting the paper with the sticker bar-codes on it. This will save you a ton of time... and not have you waiting in the wrong line for 30-minutes... like me... who then got shifted to a line that took... 2-minutes!

X-ray is super fast, taking less than two scans and completed in under a minute. If you not keen to stand half-naked in a strange room with a crowd of people outside... wear a light under-shirt and they generally will let you get away with it.

When your finished they will be taking your medical card given to you at the start (the one with all the bar-code stickers) and your off, nothing to really show for it. That's because in four to five business days they will call you back and hand you back your medical examination form, filled out by the doctor with all the notes if you passed or not.

As the AngMoh is still in Singapore, you can tell I passed. With this finished, the approved Employment Pass Application and my personal documents/IDs... its time to head onto the Ministry of Manpower to hand in my paperwork and get my pass!

Read about it in the next post: Registering for Employment Pass.

For those that missed it, here is the complete S-Pass Application Process. Click below for:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (2013)

So over the course of the last weekend I've been getting bombarded by a lot of questions in relation to immigration bill that passed through the United States Senate yesterday. The notable portion of the bill that got a lot of people pinging me for responses was the fact that while the bill had been passed, the clause allowing for foreign-born LGBT spouses of Americans could be sponsored for green cards.

As has been headlines or at least worthy of a paragraph or two, was the dropping of said clause from the bill in the name of getting it passed the conservative members of the Senate... namely the Republican members of the Senate.

Here's some questions I've gotten and answers I've given. If any details are misquoted or misinterpreted them, please correct me... my co-author, proof reader and fact checker seems to have wandered off as of late.

1. Can't you can still marry in any one of the states same-sex marriage is legal in and then sponsor for a green card through them?
• Nope! See my previous post to hear me complain about that one but under the Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA, the federal government is not required to recognize same sex marriages performed in any states, territory or protectorate. As such, even if same sex marriage is legal in 12 states, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Maryland, Washington, Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota and DC, along with civil unions in 8 states, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, and Wisconsin, the federal government determines visas, green cards and immigration law, meaning if passes a law, like DOMA, banning federal recognization of same sex marriages or unions as legal marriages, then its banned for everyone. If DOMA is repealed, then those rights could be extended to bi-national same sex couples.
2. Doesn't this law just protect illegal immigrants from Mexico?
• No per say, it actually has specific clauses to lift restrictions on immigrants seeking to enter the high-tech markets of the United States. Right now the current law, the H1-B, only allows a skilled foreign immigrant to enter the country on a 2-year visa for a total cap of 6-years. At the end they either can have a company sponsor them for a green card or return home. This bill will increase the number of qualified workers that can enter the country.
3. The bill only got through because they were going to require all the illegal immigrants to be finger printed.
• Not entirely, never lovable and always conservative Republican Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions tried to rail road that through but instead it was reduced to foreigners leaving through the 30 busiest international airports, in order to track those that leave or have over-stayed their visas.  
4. Won't this make it easier for your foreign boyfriend to find an American job?
• Yes and no. It does lessen the restriction by which companies can hire foreign skilled workers, it however does not release the limitation on the length of the resulting work visa. It also doesn't address the prevalent problem of companies actively avoiding the act of transitioning a work visa to a green card when the visa limit is reached.
5. Under the bill can't he seek American citizenship? Wouldn't that be better?
• This one is tricky but I guess the answer would be, would you be able to give up your citizenship that quickly? As Americans, we assume all foreigners entering the country also want to be American. It's natural given the whole 'melting pot' idea we learn about as kids. Is it really that easy to give up your home and nationality.

First things first, while I am very bitter the LGBT-clause was dropped and a sour taste is left in my mouth when I see pictures of the bipartisan Senators congratulating themselves on a job well done, the tiny voice of reason that is my conscience has pointed out that the bill could have helped some or none at all.

Republic lawmakers on the committee openly declared that any LGBT immigration protections would mean they'd kill the bill in committee and vowed if it passed, it surely would die on the Senate floor when time came to vote. This was the line drawn in the sand and the Democrats either had to accept it and move forward, or just give up everything and literally have months of legal research, networking, compromises and talks fall through in a matter of one week. Anyone who has tried to work their way through American immigration law will know, it is the most complex and insular system anyone will ever invent, next to the hellish monstrosity that is the American tax law. Few will have to wonder why many skilled and educated workers have no problem just staying to get an education or a nice job, but always end up retiring back to their home countries... its just too much trouble to deal with.

Notwithstanding this, while the number of bi-national same-sex couples in the United States number into the tens of thousands, the number of illegal immigrants in the country ranges into the millions.

As angry as it makes me feel, that logical conscience of mine whispers into my ear that it was the needs of the many that outweighed the needs of the few. Honestly, you have to admit that most gay couples in the United States tend to be more financially stable, more likely to be educated and most entered this country under legal visas that have just expired. Now I am not saying their are illegal alien LGBT people, I guarantee there are, but in general I would have to say that the majority of those being protected under this bill were those that were going to be the victims a kind of discrimination without any form of protection, a term that technically could be called legal slavery or economic slavery.

No its not some fancy word play, its a situation where an individually is barely paid enough to survive economically while being prevented from ever advancing under threat of persecution, legal reprisal or even punishment. Illegal aliens enter the country, yes illegally, but the vast majority usually are coming to the United States for a better life, then promptly find they can make barely enough to survive, with the constant threat if they try to fight for a better life and pay they will be arrest and deported, a threat usually thrown out by their criminally cheap employers in the face of a defiant immigrant.

Its an act of discrimination that was made illegal in America when slavery was declared illegal. Situations like this tend to however punish the victim and not the victimizer. Yes, those employers could be in a lot of trouble and certainly could face jail time, but many of those illegal aliens will face deportation, a fate that some consider worse than jail time.

The bill will help any illegal immigrants to apply for temporary legal status that allows them to live and work in the country within six months, then apply to get their green card in 10 years and American citizenship three years later.

This bill will also work to strength borders along Mexico, increase the number of H1-B visas and make it easier for individuals to attain citizenship.

Completing My S-Pass Employment Application!

Disclaimer: Because I mention my job in this post I am enforcing the anonymity rule with comments. Do not mention my name, position, company or office location. Any comments that do will be deleted. Same applies to me, I will NEVER refer to my position, company, its location beyond country, refer to colleagues or anything they say. I will also never post pictures, taken of either colleagues or on the office premise. In general I will be as vague or broad as possible with details! Thank you.

Heads Up: This is a continuation on my blogging about applying for an S-Pass employment visa in Singapore. If you miss part one, scroll to the bottom of the page for links to the corresponding sequences! 

So for those that haven't heard of the "Boyah Dance" I have been doing it extensively in the last two days, throwing paper into the air and screaming like a shrill Banshee on crack. That is because I have officially been made an offer by a company.

I GOT A JOB!

Yes, only one month in Singapore and I've managed to lock down a position with a local company. Do not take my success as the standard, even I am a bit astounded I got in the front door that fast. A tiny part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop. The only thing I can say is that my efforts to saturate every job application on LinkedIn may have paid off.

Sorry, as I stated in the above DISCLAIMER, my rule of anonymity on this blog forces me to hold my tongue on what my future job is, where I'll be working or what I'll be doing. Plus this is so if my future bosses stumble onto this site I won't be ripped a new one for talking about work in excruciating detail. So fair warning for my friends trickling in from my Facebook link, don't post comments with my name, the company name, office location or even my future title... it truly pains me but I will be deleting them.

Can't affording getting my lovable ass fired before I even begin!

So to help you guys who are also interviewing in Singapore, I'll walk you through the most important portion of job hunting process, finishing you Employment Pass Application, the equivalent of the H1-B work visa for Singapore.

Interview

When you interview with a company you are going to have to make clear from the start that you require a Employment Pass (EP) in order to work in Singapore. Getting this out of the way quickly can you get past a lot of frustration. I had two phone interviews end within seconds when I mentioned I needed a EP and they weren't interested. 

Easiest solution, just write in the summary section of you resume. You'll hear less responses, but you'll hear more serious responses. 

Don't feel put out, Singapore has over 1.2-million foreign nationals in the workforce and issued nearly 176,000 Employment Passes in 2011. Out of those over 15,000 are Americans, not counting their families. The government is currently pushing to have that number increased even further before 2020 and the only notable restriction currently is the Foreign Worker Quota applied to companies. This quota is split as such, 20% of a company's total employees in Singapore can be foreign, 80% must be Singaporean. In order to achieve a higher quota, they have to hire four Singaporeans for ever one foreigner. 

With an national unemployment rate of barely 1.9%, the lowest in the developed world, this is actually very easy to achieve for many companies. 

Job Offer

Now after you've interviewed with the company and they make an offer, you have to officially accept before they forward you the Work Pass application and your contract. They won't send you a thing until you speak the words "I accept the offer." Try to keep the confetti and fanfare down a bit, so no boyah dance before the future employer. 

Now you can download the application from the Ministry of Manpower website, but wait for the version the company is going to send you. That is because in some cases the company could fill in its corporate information (Big ID numbers that you can't hope to answer). 

The Ministry of Manpower claims that you should never send in an application that is older than 30-days, claiming that in that time the form could have been updated. Seriously, when was the last time a bureaucracy updated their forms? (Example: see DMV)

Best to wait for them to send you a copy, that is because as a company they are issued the Work Pass Application directly from the Ministry of Manpower the second they update. 

Work Pass Application 

Currently as of May 2013, you have to fill out the S-Pass Application (Form 8). It seems like a daunting and confusing form but here are some simple things I can go over to make it easier.

Section 1A to 2B

First off, in most cases Section 1A to Section 2B can be left blank. That is usually filled out by the company.

However the very top section your going to notice the application is going to be asking for a passport sized photo. Now this is not going to be the picture you took years ago at the post office that made you look like a drunk and cross-eyes (screw you, I had the flu when it was taken seven-years ago!). 

Instead you have to get a recent photo of yourself. Most malls in Singapore have a photo-booth to do that but if your feeling cheap like me, just get someone to take a picture of you with your iPhone in just a nice shirt. No one wants to see your pants, just your upper body. Then just re-size your fancy and glamorous model shot to the 25 by 35 millimeters standard (210 by 240 pixels if you want to be extra, super, obnoxiously exact). It doesn't matter if its black & white or color, but use color if you can because its easier to go color to black and white then from black and white to color.

Section 2C

Section 2C is where your going to begin, your not in charge of the company so mark No, and then if your applying for your first job in Singapore as an expatriate, check the first box, because you need both a work pass and an S-Pass. I can't advise on switching jobs, if you know, please comment below ↓.

Again you are going to notice the application asking for Company’s CPF Submission Number. Skip it, unless they tell you, your not going to find it without pulling a lot of teeth and getting really frustrated. 

Section 3

Section 3 can be skipped unless you used a employment agency. I did not, so sorry I can't add a thing. 

Section 4

Section 4 is where your going to start filling in your personal information, very self-explanatory. It's here you have to note if your married or not. Here is where you have to make sure you have a copy of your marriage license handy and if its not in English, a translated copy from your country's embassy. 

Section 4B is also where you need to add in your passport information. In most cases you'll note if you have a Hong Kong Special Admin Region, International Certificate of Identity, International Passport and Macau SAR Travel Permit. Again you'll need to make sure you have a copy of passport with the photo and the passport number visible.

Now the race section, that's normal on almost anything even if secretly I think its a bit racist and unnecessary  I pass it off more as a requirement for census demographics and statistics that the government just loves to gobble up. But the religious declaration portion, that tripped me up.

At first I took some offense to this! How dare they ask me this question! I am atheist but raised Catholic, yet I am very reserved about having to declare my beliefs are in any official capacity. They are my beliefs, I shouldn't have declare or defend them, I'd prefer to keep them privately to myself the way I am most comfortable with.

But in looking into the status of religion in Singapore I was oddly surprised. The population breaks into the following:

• 33% Buddhist
• 18% Christian
• 17% non-Religious
• 14% Taoist
• 5% Hindui
• 0.7% Other

The government does allow for religious freedom but it is also strictly secular and does not tolerate any religious discussion or speech in the public forum like advertising, political speech or protest, censoring it regardless if it is positive or negative as its seen as adversely affecting racial or religious harmony. I found this oddly comforting, back in the United States myself and the rest of the LGBT community are regularly denied benefits or rights by conservative Congressmen and several former Presidents under the guise of it going against " What God Intended". Now Singapore doesn't have many LGBT protections or rights but still it doesn't throw "God's Law" in your face when trying to have a political discussion.

Sorry, I ran off on an tangent again, back to work. 

Section 4C is where your going to fill out your residence information. YOU CAN NOT APPLY FOR A S-PASS IF YOUR NOT IN SINGAPORE! Don't worry if your currently holding up at a hotel or a friend's place but are going to moving out to a glorious HDB apartment any day now. You can just add in the employing company's address and they'll just forward the mail right to you there. 

Section 5

Here is where you can prove all that money your parent's spent on your education was worth it. The application ask for you to list the last two higher education institutions you attended. If your like me and think your Bachelor of the Arts (Journalism Degree!) is all you need to prove your smarts, don't worry, just leave the second batch of boxes blank. 

Again, make sure you have a copy of your diploma. I just took a picture of it and made sure to keep the wood of the table it sat on out of the background. A fair number of companies also require copies of your college transcripts and GPA's, so time to start worrying about those semesters of consecutive C+ grades. Most places will be happy with just a scanned copy of your diploma. If you don't have it, time to call mom and have her head over to the local copy center and walk her through the painful process of working a copier. 

The next part is Section 5B, Societies/Organisations Membership. Unless your a major member in a major political party or action group, like chairwoman of the National Party of Female Republican for Horticulturists with a Peg Leg, skip this portion. 

Section 6

This area is for your spouse to fill out if you checked "Married" in Section 4. Now regardless if your spouse is filling out there own S-Pass Application, you still have to fill this out. That is because if your spouse decides to be the stay-at-home parent or loses their job, adding them on your Application will keep them from facing a lot of headaches. Having your name and reference number on their application will ensure someone at the Ministry of Manpower will know not to sent out an order to leave Singapore or be deported when they see their no longer working. 

Section 7

Employment, this is where your going to be listing every job and position that you've held previously. For most of us this list won't be very long, for me it was only two positions in two years. Sorry summers waiting tables, you aren't applicable unless I used a college degree to get in.

You will have to fill out:

1. Total Period of Working Experience
2. Total Period of Relevant Working Experience

The first one, Total Period of Working Experience is how long since you graduated from college have you been working. Now for me, that's from October 2011 until today. Just use this Date/Time Calculator to figure that out.

For me its 1-year and 7-months. 

Now from this number you have to note for the second one, Total Period of Relevant Working Experience, is how long you've been working that can directly be correlated to the position your taking on. Since I'm working in the same industry this whole time, that entire 1-year and 7-months I can add to that part. If you've recently gone back to school to get a degree and are now re-entering the work force for a new job, sorry but your Relevant Working Experience get's scaled back unless you can toss in an internship or twelve. 

Next, you have to fill in the information on your future position your taking the offer for. That simply is the fixed monthly salary in Singapore Dollars (how much total your making with commissions , basic monthly salary in Singapore Dollars (the basic amount your making without commission), the job title and the office address I'll be working out of. So since I'm working for the same amount each month, its the same for both sections, then the name of my future position and then the location of where my future desk will be sitting.

Be careful, I sent in my first version with my salary and my previous salaries set for a complete year instead of monthly. That got the HR people sending me a confused email asking how I could possibly make so much in a single month... God I wish but that required a quick change and an email back that wasted time. 

According to Section 7D, since I'm a licensed professional like a nurse, lawyer or doctor (my mom would faint with glee if I was), I don't need to do a thing here other than check no. 

Section 8

This is your last part (Hooray!), and is pretty basic. Unless you've done anything drastic in your past, like been arrested, deported, forbidden to enter Singapore, spit in the Queen of England's pancakes (Fine, I'm joking), everything should be a No except for Section 8G, if your currently in Singapore.

Now since you have to be in Singapore to apply for a job, you can give one of three reasons what brought you into the country originally: 

• Study
• Work
• Other (Visitor Visa)

Because I am not already here on an existing work pass or here to study at a university, I have gone with the third option. I arrived in the country and went through customs, walking away with a 90-day extended stay visa. I just have to note that my length of stay is three-months. 

So after finishing Section 8 all you have to complete is sign your name twice, date the signatures and then your done! Everything after this is meant for official use or to be stamped by the company.

What to Add

Now that your application is done, let's confirm our checklist to make sure we have everything to submit. 

•  Form 8 S-Pass Application form: 
• Completed and Signed by Applicant. 
• Completed, Stamped and Signed by Sponsor Company 
• 1x Copy of supporting documents. REMEMBER: Non-English documents must be accompanied by an official English translation done by a certified translator, High Commission/Embassy or a notary public.
• Copy of recent Passport or equivalent.
• Recent picture at sized for passport. Pick any picture of yourself 25 by 35 millimeters, white background, in color or b&w. 
• Applicant’s Educational Certificates:
• Diploma/Degree Qualifications
• Registration or Support Letters from the respective Vetting Agency/Professional Body/Accreditation Agency. This is only needed for licensed professionals: 
• Doctor – Singapore Medical Council
• Dentist – Singapore Dental Council
• Pharmacist – Singapore Pharmacy Council
• Nurse – Singapore Nursing Board
• TCM Practitioner – Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board
• Lawyer – Singapore Attorney-General’s Chambers
• Football Player/Coach – Singapore Sports Council
• Support letter from International Enterprise (IE) Singapore (For application submitted by Representative’s Office).
• Official marriage certificate (For applicant with Singaporean spouse only).

Travel

Now a key thing to remember is the second you submit your S-Pass Application Form, whether sending it directly back to the employer or right to the Ministry of Manpower, the moment that application leaves your hands YOU CAN NOT LEAVE SINGAPORE until its approved. 

Every time I went in to talk to my future employers, they asked me repeatedly "Are you planning to travel?" I had to explain as humor-filled as possible and without a hint of desperation, that no, my glamorous life will not be including going anywhere in the world that can't be reached by local bus. 

Just remember, if you decide to take a weekend on the islands of Thailand, up to Japan to grab some authentic sushi or even  taking a care ride over to Malaysia for a little rain-forest hiking... you've just made a big mistake and could have reset your entire application process. That is because if you are not psychically in Singapore, your application is stopped, sent back to the bottom of the queue and has to go through all the steps again. 

I'm sorry but as it's been made clear to me, there are tragically no exceptions to the rules. 

So get ready for some weekends cruising the local malls because your jet setting is on hold for the time being.

Submitting

So with everything done, scanned, copied and filed away, its now time to submit the papers to your future employer to have them add in their own information, double check all your stuff and submit it to the Ministry of Manpower. 

And your done! Congratulations you've completed your S-Pass Application! It normally will take between 3 to 10-days to get a confirmation. Once it is, you technically can start working! In the meantime you'll have some documents to complete before heading off to get your official Employment Pass!

Read about the employment pass medical examination in the next post: Employment Pass Medical Checkup

For those that missed it, here is the complete S-Pass Application Process. Click below for:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

Job Hunting With A Shotgun

So my speed of posting has slowed, but can you blame me? You can... shut up then! I've been hitting the pavement running trying to find a job, literally in one case last week I nearly hit the pavement face first after almost taking a spill down the stairs at Raffles Place during a rain storm. Seriously, its like Singapore is a country that hates friction, I mean really almost all the apartments come with slick tiled floors, its as if the country was never introduced to carpet... but I digress on another one of my lovable tangents...

I guess that is going to be the topic for today, job hunting in Singapore. Or in my case, running down the street throwing stacks of my resume into the air like confetti.

Recruiting Agencies Vs. Recruiting Departments

As of my current experience I can without a doubt declare that recruiters both in Singapore or abroad and recruiting for jobs in Singapore are some of the worse! Now they are bad all around the world and I highly recommend just avoid them like the plague they are.

Just skip over recruiting agencies and go straight to the company's HR or recruiting specialists.

The reason is simple, the recruiting agency is working on commission and are only interested in filling a position with a body. They ARE going to act like your friend and butter you up just to get you in the door, enticing you with a position when in reality they have no intention of hiring you and are literally throwing you to the wolves to show they are doing their job. If you happen to get the job, then yippy, they get a commission... if not... yippy, they get salary!

Company recruiting departments on the other hand can be picky and stringent in their reviews, they are more likely to tell you even before you get in the door for an interview that you are not a right fit and thank you for applying. At the same time they also work in your line of business, are more likely to ask industry relevant questions and you'll be able to rapidly gauge the competency of the company you're trying to join.

I highly recommend if possible, to avoid recruiting agencies and throw your resume right into the face of the company recruiting specialists.

Late Interviewers

In most cases, your interviewer is not sitting by the phone with bated breath, counting down the seconds until you interview. They instead are trying to shoehorn you into their schedule while balancing a thousand different things. As I've noticed with Singapore, this is ten times worse.

According to at least a dozen of my friends, its common for interviews in Singapore and Asia as a whole to always start much later than they were scheduled and to arrive on time, but expect to have to wait. In fact, do not schedule multiple interviews in one day, if you can't, place at least two-hours between them, in addition to the time you intend to spend traveling there. That way if they run over, you're safe.

Do not take offense if your interviewer is 30-minutes to an hour late, take the time to grab a coffee, get some food, brush up on your notes. I had one female interviewer who was 5-hours late, then I took offense and professionally/respectfully/while biting my tongue, asked for a better time to talk.

Blitzing Hiring Process

Asia in generally has an incredibly accelerated hiring process, to the point where you're going to feel like you're being launched from a catapult! If the interviewers like you, expect to be called back as quickly as possible and for them to start the process of hiring you instantly.

When you go for an interview, go in expecting that you are going to be grilled on everything from the start. Don't think you're just going in for a casual conversation with an interviewer, but you are going to be sitting before the company CEO and expected to sound like a semi-articulate human being who doesn't drool on his own shirt or appears to be missing a chromosome.

It will save your ass in the long run when you don't have to review your notes every other second between interviews, can think on the spot and most of all, don't say "ummm" every other word.

Salary

Before you even begin the process of interviewing, make sure this is pay you want. Singapore, like many Asia countries, calculates salary based on month, not year. It makes your pay sound small but don't choke every time they tell you the pay. Remember that many government taxes in the United States don't exist in Singapore, so you won't be losing huge chunks of it to the massive social security and federal taxes that guzzle up your dollars.

Don't hesitate on the salary when being hired, if you don't like it and can't get it higher, walk away immediately. If they do like you they should and will most likely increase the base pay of the position. If they won't and you can't live with it, say thank you but no thank you and walk to the exit very slowly.

A key thing to remember, is once they make an offer you are expected to take it as quickly as possible. Waiting is considered disrespectful to many companies or that you're weighing your options with one of their competitors. Companies hate to feel like they've been played! They will retract the offer if you are unwilling to accept it almost instantly when its been made!

Employment Pass

Now for any Expat hunting for a job abroad you have to spend a lot of time studying the different visa's that you can apply for. Some countries can vary immensely, from immigrant meccas like Singapore... to backwards, confusing and outright concern immigration laws like in the United States. You have to understand what you are applying for to make sure you are not going to get screwed up in the long run.

In America, all foreign-born individuals seeking employment in the country have to get an H-1B and only then can use it for three-years, which then can be renewed for a total cap of six-years... and then you either have to get your company to sponsor a green-card or leave.

A concern number of US companies are instead letting workers go instead of transitioning them to a green-card due to the cost associated with it when hauling in a new H-1B worker or even an American is cheaper by leaps and bounds. Another rising statistic has been found also, H-1B workers are paid a lower salary than their American counterparts, meaning that some companies have started to use them as a cheap but highly-skilled source of labor. A source of skilled labor we then spurn by not allowing them to seek residence after they've spent 6 years of their lives here and send back overseas, where again a concerning number of them have begun to pop up in competing Asian companies.

Hint: The prestige associated with working at a US company quickly earns brownie points in most interviews for Asian companies. Working in a big city like LA or New York can also gain you a huge boost!

Again, another one of my tangents, but its something that personally grinds my gears.

In Singapore the visa process is incredibly simple, to the point where a simpleton like me can understand it. Through the Ministry of Manpower, a company can apply on behalf of a new employee for the following passes:

• P1 Pass: Make a fixed monthly salary of S$8,000. This includes any legally married spouse and children under 21 and can be extended to parents. 
• P2 Pass: Make a fixed monthly salary of S$4,500. This includes any legally married spouse and children under 21.
• Q1 Pass: New graduates who make a fixed monthly salary of S$3,000. If making over S$4,000, this can includes any legally married spouse and children under 21.

There is even a self-assessment test that can be taken in order to determine if your application for a pass would be approved. See Here.

Sorry to most but your score increases immensely if you have previous job experience and a college degree. With two-years work experience and a bachelors degree I came back with a "Most Likely to be Accepted." When I took this test two years ago when I was just about to graduate college, it was a big, red sign saying "Unlike to be Accepted."

This is in no way saying you will or will not be accepted for a work pass, you need a legitimately recognized Singaporean company to sponsor your pass in order to get it approved... Sorry I know nothing about how that works for the self-employed. 

Well that's all I can offer for those seeking employment in Singapore. If you have any questions or quibbles, you know where to find the Ang Moh... no, not at Denny's... why does everyone think that?

Singapore Arrival

I've landed at Changi Airport! Its 6:50 AM (Singapore Local Time) and I'm just off the plane, trying to work that pain of my neck from those... comfortable airplane seats. I can never sleep on planes, I'm one of those who was genetically locked to only sleep in beds. Expect the real posts to start once I leave the terminal and walk into the wall of humidity everyone has warned me about.

The flight was uneventful save for the landing. My arrival in Singapore was just as I expected, with screaming, rolling and near death... okay, I'm going overboard but allow me to paint the canvas for you.

The first real thing I saw when we entered Singapore airspace was the lightning storm. At first, looking out through the window I could see the white hot crackles of light burning out like veins in the Human body. They illuminated these great white, snow covered islands... until I realized there was no water around those islands... or below them... just a shear drop of black nothing. They were clouds, flashing into existence all seven-seconds before they plunge back into that deep blackness you get only just minutes before the sun begins to crest the horizon.

Yep, that's correct, we were landing in a storm with lightning crackling around us. I didn't even see a hint of Singapore from above until less than a minute before we landed, the clouds white washing us so that we couldn't see anything until the tarmac was almost inches below out massive A380 plane (Imagine a 747 but that second floor goes all the way back.)

So my first few seconds on this island began with a near terrifying drop down towards the ground on a machine moving 500 MPHSs!

Excuse me, I have to go change my pants...

In the interim as I trade my undergarments, I am trying to find the London Outbound Singapore Airline flight that carries my boyfriend. Thankfully they have a stewardess armed with an iPad with all that information, so I do believe I may have found the right location to catch him at. Hopefully I won't have to stand atop some high point in the middle of Changi Airport and have to scream his name until security wrestles me to the ground.

Off again!

I've Landed... in Deutschland

So this post is delayed, more or less because I don't have data enabled on any of my mobile devices while traveling abroad and can't find a decent Wifi hotspot because I'm too damn cheap to pay $4 for only an hour.

I have landed... in Frankfurt!

Yep, there are no direct, non-stop flights to Singapore, well there are but again, too damn cheap to take them. So that means a stop-over in Germany for two-hours while they clean/fumigate the plane before letting us re-board and continue on.

Right now I've been in flight for around ten-hours and boy are my arms tired... no seriously, I somehow managed to prop myself in the corner of my seat at just the perfect angle to make everything in my body twist and contort like a yoga instructor. I feel like I have the bones of a 70-year old, and considering my grandmother just hit 75 and still swims daily I should probably now shut up.

Thoughts so far, I am happily impressed with Singapore Airlines. How do I describe it to those who have never flown abroad one of her planes before, imagine you are in a fancy hotel lobby, the kind you see in a Mad Men-esque episode, where you feel you have to dress in a suit and carry a drink to look far more proper and poised when you know your lying through your teeth. Now put that Mad Men hotel lobby on a plane and that's what you feel like on Singapore Airlines. By far one of the nicest flights I've been on, considering I'm just an economy-class passenger... for the third time, I'm cheap!

Everything they have is adjustable to your needs, like when that person sitting in front of you inevitably leans their seat back, the television screen can tilt up, the tray table doesn't end up in your chest and the headrest can mold to any odd angle you try to work your neck in. All the stewards and stewardesses talk in whispers, not too quiet to hear but as if they don't want to startle you as they ghost about the cabin in their silent slippers. Even the glare of the overhead lights in an otherwise darken night cabin somehow seemed subdued.

That's I guess that the theme is in this hotel lobby-like plane, everything is subdued and just seems to glide along like a perfectly choreographed production.

I was fortunate to get a seat by the window, don't ask how I used my ninja skills because I honestly just picked a row the day before take off that had the least number of people in it. The odds were in my favor because from my window, the center seat in our row was empty and the row seat was held by a small man who was easy to dive over when I inevitably had to use the bathroom 11-times during the voyage... Hey! I drink like a fish and pee like a race horse... Wow, that sounds terrible.

So right now its waiting out the final 45-minutes left until the second round take off of my plane. I don't know how my boyfriend is doing, due in part because he booked his ticket much earlier than me and instead of taking Singapore Airlines the whole way, he instead is taking the Virgin Air route to London, then transferring to a Singapore Airlines flight back home. Ironically he left two-hours before me but will be arriving an hour after me, the perks of being on the same plane the whole time means your lay-over time is far, far shorter.

Well time to see how deep I can get into my next book while I wait for them to mop out the carnage of my last flight. Keep you update, landing will be at 6:50 AM Singapore Time, which will be 6:50 PM East Coast Time.

American Departure

At 8:50 PM, the Ang Moh vaulted through JFK airport security, only being stopped by the TSA three times (new personal best!) and boarded his plane for Singapore Airlines.

He wishes everyone reading a heartfelt goodbye and well wishes! 21-hours until D-Day... or S-Day... you know what I mean... just go with it!

Out With the Old, Into Changi Airport

My plane leaves in little more than five-hours, my bags are expertly packed/crammed and I'm riding down I-95, facing a terrible dilemma... can I still get a slice of pizza at JFK?

Fine, that is the worst thing to think before starting the first real leg of the adventure but after everything I've had to do the last few weeks, it just seems so appropriate. I mean it's the final completion after packing up an entire apartment, then hauling it down four-flights of steps, 80-miles south to the parents' to then again select only a tiny faction of all those items to then take on another excursion 9585-miles over the ocean, packing it into two check-in bags, one for the overhead, another under the seat and heck packing a final one to bash my head in with.

To sit here now, in an SUV flying down the asphalt with my dad driving and my boyfriend in the back reading something 'important' on his iPhone, I'm more concerned about a tiny distraction like food instead of surviving a 21-hour flight. I try to put the idea of leaving my family and friends behind me, that this is the farthest I have ever lived away from them, having someone visit will involve an international flight that literally will be a day long.

So what can I impart to those also traveling abroad, about to get on that plane and not look back?

1. No matter how you word it or spin it, your parents are not going to be pleased that their child is moving to the other side of the planet. Just bite your tongue and take the tears, disapproval and even the accusations. They're inevitable and avoiding it is only going to make it worse. 
2. Never get all your vaccinations on the same day, it's going to hurt like hell if you do. 
3. Pay attention when deactivating your phone, you may accidentally turn your mother's phone off instead.
4. The service guys for your Internet are going to offer you anything to keep your business. I do love the thought of owning a unicorn but I think I made the right decision to say no. 
5. Even with three people sitting on it, if the bag won't shut on the first try then its not going to shut on the tenth try.
6. Check what paper you print your E-ticket on. That inappropriate cartoon your dad printed for his buddies could be on the other side. 
7. Shut the top of the photocopier when you make duplicates of your important papers, your black and white face in the background can be shocking to immigration officers. 
8. Planning a party with the intent of getting rid of the last of your food and alcohol is a guaranteed failure. People will inevitably bring more than they eat/drink and you'll be in a worse spot than before. 

And that's what I've come up with as my final wisdom before my plane takes off. 21-hours from now and I'll be landing in the bright sun of a new morning in Singapore.

Wish me luck! The real adventure begins... wow, that was cliché...

Update: My final meal was KFC, a Twister Wrap to be specific! Good... not amazing...

Checking Off the Bucket List

Ang Moh has been bugging me incessantly to write another blog post. And because I know that it really is something I want to do as well, I am relenting and finally writing another post a day before our departure.The primary reason that I have not been updating this blog as frequently as I would like to is because we've been exceptionally busy readying for the big trip back to Singapore.

For me this has meant getting my fill of American TV, like Game of Thrones Season 1 and Season 2, the Voice, The Walking Dead, and the odd episode of Glee, American Idol, and spending meaningful time with Ang Moh's family members and living the good old suburban life. I must admit that if we were to break it down, it'll probably be 80% watching TV, 20% hanging with family.

The suburbs takes some getting used to for a city-boy like me. Something about the suburbs causes my body to shut down for the night at 7:00 PM, and there are the occasional moments where I feel trapped because we don't have any available cars - although when everyone is home, four cars are piled into the driveway. As much as I like the open space, the occasional herd of deer one spots crossing the road, and the cheap drinks, I don't think the suburbs and I are meant to spend more than two weeks at a stretch together.

So in the 20% of time we spend meaningfully with family, we've been hitting up our bucket list, which on hindsight is oddly dominated by food. Here's what we've done so far (and let me emphasize again, this is the suburbs, so don't be expecting crazy helicopter rides, wild parties, and the like!):

• Power Hour at Dave and Buster's with the Ang Moh's kid brother who's finally turned 21. For the uninitiated, as I was a mere four-years ago, Dave and Buster's is a huge arcade and fun center for adults and kids alike. There are game machines, bowling, pool, food and a full bar. And Power Hour, is a magical 60-minutes where for $10 you get to go crazy on the arcade machines. We hit up old favorites like Daytona, and I discovered the joys of hunting when I had target practice shooting at virtual wildebeests on the Serengeti.
• Taking the Golden Retriever and French Bulldog for walks around the neighborhood with the younger sister.
• Errands like picking up Grandma Ang Mo from the hairdresser and going grocery shopping with the 93-year old; cleaning out the garage, cleaning out the basement.
• Dinner at Kasdon's, which is an institution in the Yardley area where Ang Moh's dad has been going to since he was a wee toddler of five-years and sitting at the bar with Ang Moh's granddaddy.
• Burgers and shakes (we actually didn't get shakes) at Nifty Fifty's - old school diner which was popular years ago. But things don't really change much in the suburbs. 
• Stuffing my face with Ben and Jerry's ice cream! On a side note, their Canoli flavor isn't great on it's own, but is absolutely heavenly mixed in with coffee like an affogato. 
• Happy hour at Jo Jo's - the bar & restaurant that the younger sister works at where I learned that a "bar pie", as exotic as that sounds is really a personal cheese pizza, and I prefer Espresso Martinis to Peanut Butter Martinis. 
• Happy hour at the Langhorne Ale House where a pitcher of Margarita goes for just $10!

Speaking of happy hours, another reason I couldn't live in the suburbs is I don't drink and drive. Out here, cabs don't ply the roads and it's impossible to walk to the bar down the street! All this talk about food and drink, mostly drink is making me thirsty. Time to pop open a Coors light and enjoy the gorgeous spring day on the deck. 

One Travel Book Down, Thirty-Two Left to Go

My second to last night in Philadelphia and my last meal with the family without fuss, a nice dinner at the kitchen table with chicken shish kabob, sweet wedges of red, green peppers sandwiching each piece of meat between them. The first words out of my sister's mouth the moment the food is whittled down to a few of the more burnt bits of meat no one is going to touch is my sister saying "What language do they speak in Singapore? Singaporese?"

And for the ten-thousandth time I try to tell her Singapore speaks English, just like Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand... only to get a stare from her that hints what I'm saying isn't getting through. So I offer her up one of my travel books, the first one that I really finished, the one my Singaporean boyfriend gave to me when he first wanted to introduce me to his home country after the decision to move abroad became official.

Her inquiry on my opinion on the book inspires this post... my first travel book on Singapore... out of the thirty or so that I've gotten.

Notes From an Even Smaller Island by Neil Humphreys. I found it to be an informative book, definitely hitting several topics of both history and cultural significance that I have yet to see in most other books.

What really hit home was the kiasu phenomena among the population. This odd Singapore phrase struck me so much for some reason, since its translation literally means "scared to fail." It resonates so much with the old American phrase "keeping up with the Joneses," a fact I find more ironic since that is my surname. People in Singapore are so worried that they could lose at something, be second place or end up with any less than perfect, they are willing to do anything, even if its entirely illogical and possibly outright insane in attempting to achieve even 'perceived' success. Its continued appearance as a theme throughout the book really helped to color the culture of the country and even prepare me when I could deal with a similar situation. Read more here.

Humphrey's humor really helps to move the book along and his details on the Aunties/Uncles, the Singaporan tendency to value security over the lime light or the exception to eat all your food or appear rude are tiny tidbits that I feel all the better for know... and secretly concerned about.

Now on the con side, this book would definitely been tossed into my "To Be Sold at Bargain Store" after the first chapter or so because I did not find Humphreys' writing style all that appealing. He was informative but the tone set throughout the whole book was largely of complaining, of humorous events of culture shock and misadventures that can keep you interested for a bit. Yet fifteen chapters worth and I could hear myself muttering at the end "Shut up! Just shut up already!" in a bitter tone of annoyance that I hadn't found myself saying to a book since the time my high school made us read Catcher in the Rye... damn I still want to punch that whiny Holden Caulfield in the fact!

I'd recommend it to anyone (sister's included) but with a healthy warning of what to expect. Off onto his three sequel books, Scribbles from the Same Island, Final Notes from a Great Island and Return to a Sexy Island. Wish me luck at not punching someone... damn... too late...

Don't Worry, It Will Only Hurt A Lot!

My shoulders are sore, my mouth taste like sand, eye's dilated to the size of dinner plates and my level of humiliation is through the roof. No, I haven't just gotten back from spring break in Florida, I've been to the doctors... and the dentist... the eye doctor... and because of my infinite brilliance of scheduling, all in the same day!

I'm about to travel abroad so of course I want to use every bit of my insurances (fine, my parent's insurance) to make sure I am in tip top shape... and after my little experience I think I should share the correct things to do when traveling abroad for an extended period of time to sidestep most of the stupid mistakes I made... there weren't too many... alright, they were big mistakes but there weren't a lot of them so they even out... shut it and just keep reading!

First and foremost, go right to the travel medicine clinic. I know, it seems like the last thing you want to do but in order to avoid the confusion, the fusing, the annoyed nurses staring at you at the doctor's office, it should be first on your list and moment your ready to go. These people deal with travelers every single day and know from the get-go that 99% of them have no idea what to do. They have little pamphlets on everything you can want and from those times I worked at a check-in desk in high school, I guarantee they've read them all at least seven times each!

Make sure to bring a record of your vaccinations along with a list of all your allergies, aliments and oddities (stop judging me, I didn't have that many!)

Second tip, vacationing abroad and living abroad are two different things. You have to tell them that because living abroad for years against two weeks means those shots your gonna get become a lot bigger and a lot more numerous. Now don't worry, its not too much. First thing they ask you when you call for an appointment is where your headed and be specific with countries! Saying you may travel around south-east Asia to a travel clinic doctor is like saying "Oh, I'm going to roll in raw sewage in ever country I go to!" Don't lie, don't say its a possibility or you think maybe. You think your going to Thailand  Malaysia  Japan, China... the works... you think you could be there any time for any reason in the next three years, you tell them. Because of that my simple shot for Hepatitis-A grew to include a shot for Typhoid Fever, another shot for Yellow Fever, another for Tetanus and to top it off, four test tubes of blood drawn to make sure you have the appropriate antibodies from childhood vaccinations. Check the CDC website on travel's information for more details.

Now these places can be expensive and will cost around $250 and more (your gonna lose $80 just for coming in!)... but a quick call to your insurance company can lead you to the only hospital in 100-miles that will take your worn and bent plastic insurance card! A massive bill then becomes a $30 copay.

The reason you need to go to the travel clinic first is because when you leave they hand you a nice big folder of information on your destinations, along with prescriptions for a number of terrible things (seriously, Malaria and travel's diarrhea CAN KILL, you definitely don't want to locked up at a hospital with that!). Inside that folder is a folded yellow card, on which every one of your doctors has to sign-off on, detailing your immunizations, your medications, even what your eye sight is.

This little card is now your best friend to accompany that folder you've been building with your social security card and passport. You know the one you'll have to be prepared to whip out any time you travel farther than 50-feet from you home. As you head off to your other doctor's appointment, in my case a cleaning at the dentist (No cavities! Suck it floss, I never use you!) and a psychical (seriously an EKG-test is freaking cold!) they are going to sign this little paper, confirming that your are both sane, healthy and seriously medicated. Also because they are going to ask you what medications you are on, you can hand them over the nice list of very exotic and very expensive drugs the travel clinic put you on so their own cheapy, run of the mill crap drugs don't counteract it or make you ill!

Once your done, your all set to go... maybe leave a few days to recover since those damn Tetanus shots really do make the muscles ache!

Mother Nature's Slap Goodbye

I'm from New England, no matter where I've lived or worked I've always felt an affinity for the weather of north eastern coast of the United States. And like a parting wave, New England has decided to bid me farewell with its usual sweet nostalgic grace... and for those that are not native to this area such grace appears as freezing rain coupled with howling wind that can make trees snap like toothpicks and flood warnings inundating the nightly news.

Its my last weekend in Philadelphia, trapped inside due to the storm and left with my family, which leaves me with a twinge of sorrow coupled with a growing desire to throttle my younger siblings. Now I know, that's a terrible thing to say about one's siblings but all in all their attempts to understand my move to another country are often colored by the usual American preconceptions.

My brother asks me "So is Singapore a democracy or is it like China?" So I answer that "Yep, just like America", Singapore is a democracy with a Parliament, President and Prime Minster. But when I get to the fact that for most of its history independent of the United Kingdom it has been dominated by a single large party, the People's Action Party, his response is that knowing smirk that so many Americans love to gleam when they suddenly come to their own conclusion that their country is better than someone else's. "So its not really a 'democracy' then."

You can hear my growl of frustration, can't you?

My sister on the other hand, she's more hung up on the fact that gum is technically illegal in Singapore. We've told her about the culture, the food, the history and even though she's a teacher herself, she keeps erupting with new schemes to smuggle in tons or the sticky, bubble blowing goodness with startling originality and my growing concern.

My father treats it a bit like an adventure, he listens and says he wants to visit which is a good thing. My mother... she tends to get weepy as our flight date arrives and shamefully I try to change the subject to anything but us leaving when she's in the room.

But the one person that actually surprised me, who really made an effort that while carrying a tiny twinkle of disapproval but a startling interest to learn everything she could about my future home was my grandmother. When I arrived last Thursday for lunch at her house with vegetable lasagna on the table (I gag, I hate the stuff but will never tell her that!) and instead of giving me the usual topics of conversation most of my family has brought up when I tell them we are moving... "Do they have cell phones and the internet?"... "Can they speak English?"... "Is the food weird?"... she actually had spent the day at the local library (Yes, they still have those) finding every book she could on Singapore. Well a local town library only had three books but by God she had read them all and prepared talking points and questions she wanted to ask me. We ended up spending nearly three hours Googling pictures and videos of Singapore so she could see the island as much as possible without having to leave her warm, well lived in town house and garden she swears that without here attention daily just seems to fall apart.

Too say I was proud of the woman is a absolute failure of words to describe what I felt at that point.

But that about sums up my two weeks home in Philadelphia with my family, running left and right trying to convince them that Singapore is no different than here, that yes it is thousands of miles away but I have always been fascinated by the number of similarities, paralleled and quirks our two countries share.

I guess right now, as I've laid out my travel books the same way I did with my text books in college, with biggest in the middle, smallest on the outside, highlighter in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other, I've been trying hour over hour... fine its been 20-minutes... to immerse myself in all things Singapore before I leave.

One of those in particular I've found to be the most informative is not the travel books, the reports I read on the US Embassy website for Singapore. It actually was a children's book my boyfriend and I got in a care bag during the 2012 Singapore Day in New York.

Yes it is a little on the heavy-handed side trying to entice people to come back to Singapore (the country has a concerning brain-drain going on against a influx of foreign immigrants) but seriously, it was the easy book a found that detailed out some really interesting facts about the history and culture of Singapore.

Did you know the Samsui women of China held a special place in the history of the construction, largely coming from China in the late 1930s to work in construction and were best known for the distinctive red hats and black scarfs they always wore. A woman construction worker, that was unheard of in that era and the Samsui ladies actually had to take a vow never to marry in order to work abroad and almost all of them actually kept it! Could you image having to leave your homeland to work abroad in order to support your family at home, but the catch was you could never marry or even fall in love. You can see the ironic parallels in my own reason to move to Singapore, leaving to follow the the guy I love but with the hope of a job to accompany that once I arrive.

Expatriate Guilt

Alright, so the biggest thing that I have noticed while trolling almost every website and book on American emigration and expatriation is the surprising lack of emotions on moving away and being separated from your hometown (save for the endless comments on missing a good burger or having cell phone reception everywhere). Most books allocate a brief section on how hard it can be and sometimes tears are shed but really, the vast majority seem to glaze over it, like the writers somehow have blocked it out with the feeling of adventure and excitement, mixed with some comical culture shock.

And the biggest aspect of moving abroad that I have noticed is completely absent, the term I have now come declaring copyright status on... Expatriate Guilt!

Fine, people move away from their parents all the time, across the country, to every state in their grand old country, where the idea of a car/train/ferry ride home to visit becomes one of those classic 80s road trip movies. But going the next level, leaving the country, becoming an expatriate, means that a trip home has to be a precisely planned affair of packing, lay-overs and immigration/customs lines where every border agent seems more pissed off than the one before.

Expatriate Guilt becomes even more apparent when you realize what you are leaving behind, more importantly... who.

Your parents, siblings, grandparents... hell that bitchy old spinster aunt you only ever see on certain mandatory religious holidays but try desperately to avoid ... are now in another country, no longer will visiting on weekends or certain one day holidays be a possibility. Your trips home become worse than living in another state, you'll have to coordinate like NASA mission control to get home for just a week or so. And next comes the triage, what time can you visit to see the most of your family and yet avoid being drowned in the torrential floods of Thanksgiving/Christmas or summer vacation travelers.

Now lets take that horrible feeling of separation (I'm sure we have a few readers who aren't totally emotionally dead inside!) and match it with that loving but concerning level of stubbornness and a hint of xenophobia our baby-boomer parents seem to just extrude from every pore. These parental units will most often declare, "We love you honey/baby/creature who claims its my child, but we have no interest in ever visiting you in that country we've never heard of but instantly know is one of those weird, backwards countries, probably with no running water."

Now I am not nay saying on parents all over the world. Most of our parents are now in there fifties and sixties, they are in that weird twilight before retirement but their energy is sapped from thirty-years of a career they may or may not have chosen to use in order to support us when we were little kiddies. Travel to a foreign, exotic country (hell, we can even lump Canada into that) where they may or may not speak the language, where the climate is totally opposite to the one at home and certainly none of the food appears appealing for consumption, is completely, totally, absolutely, a big fat... NO!

And that leaves us back where we began, Expatriate Guilt, the feeling that you can only visit your family on an extensively planned mission that is over so quick, you feel like you never left the airport check-in counter, sprinkled with the gut wrenching knowledge that your loving but resolute parents are not going to visit.

It is something anyone moving abroad will most likely face. Be prepared for homesickness on a level you have never dealt with since your parents dropped you off on the first day of kindergarten.

Maybe this feeling is a passing one, that only appears when one is on the way out and quickly is drowned out by a new culture, language, exploration, discovery and guzzling as much as the local liquor as possible. I think I will attach that to the reasoning behind such little attention being given to this wonderful combination of elation, sadness and being kicked in the nuts - Expatriate Guilt.

DOMA: Defense of (Gay)Marriage Aspirations

So first things first, the one question that everyone from my best friend to my mother to that odd hobo who rides the subway in only a blanket (okay that last one is made up) has been asking me is "Why can't your Singaporean boyfriend stay in the United States? You're American and gay marriage is legal in New York state, just get married!"

If it was that simple you'd instead be asking, "Why is he running down the street screaming and ripping his shirt off? Is he happy?".

Time for a little lesson on the long and loving relationship between the LGBT community and the quirky federal government of the United States of 'Merica (as my best broster Phinn calls our great nation).

In 1993, Baehr v. Miike came before the Supreme Court of Hawaii, and the court, being fair minded, logical and even possibly a decent group of human beings, declared that unless the state government could find a compelling reason to declare same-sex marriage illegal, they couldn't block it. Of course the knee-jerk reaction from the government followed, if Hawaii could find the legal high-ground to allow same sex marriage, then it would set a precedence and allow other people in other states to bring their own cases, opening the door for a legal push for marriage equality.

Of course, the always kind and caring Republican Party decided that it was in everyone's best interest to moderate societal development and in 1996 enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), setting into federal law that "...no State, territory, or possession of the United States or Indian tribe shall be required to give effect to any marriage between persons of the same sex under the laws of any other such jurisdiction or to any right or claim arising from such relationship."

In summary, this became the founding bedrock by which the federal government can and still does legally refuse to recognize the marriage/union of same-sex couples who wed in states where same-sex marriage is legal in cases of taxation, property ownership, adoption, medical decisions and yes, the one that affects us and 36,000 other bi-national couples, sponsorship by an American spouse of their foreign born significant other.

Even if we've been together for three years, been living together for almost two years, have toyed with the ideas of marriage and children like every couple does as they progress through the stages of any healthy relationship, it doesn't matter where the federal government is concerned. 

Yes, the Obama administration has declared that they will no longer defend the law if challenged, the Immigration and Naturalization Service will "pause/freeze" deportation proceedings on married same-sex couples when one spouse is American, and the Supreme Court of the United States has said as of March 27, 2013 that they will start hearing cases against DOMA, we are still faced with the a terrible situation of legal discrimination.

A law on the books is still a law that can be enforced even if most everyone is not enforcing it. 

Now we run into the question that my mother brings up in that worried, motherly way that is vaguely unnerving and concerning at the same time. "Is Singapore a better place for you two to live in?"

Yes Singapore is not a mecca for the rights of the LGBT-community, there are still laws on the books that make job, civil-service and military discrimination legal, the culture is still a few years behind understanding that gay men don't solicit every man they see for sex or are campy, effeminate prissy queens. 

But it is more welcoming to international immigrants than the United States and let's face it, when it comes down to it, financial security is one of those major bedrocks that help long-term relationships survive into senile bliss. America can not provide us with jobs and a source of income to sustain us despite our level of education. 

Singapore however openly welcome those from abroad, but like many Asian countries, there is an older generation where the idea of two men/women together is something that is best treated with averted eyes and fervent gossiping behind closed doors, coupled with a younger generation of open-minded individual who are a wonderful mix of acceptance and live-and-let-live mentality. 

And let's face it, I've only made it as far into the Pacific as Hawaii, so the idea of travel and adventure is helping to temper most of my fears. 

So there we have it, the history behind the reason why in the land of the free we are still not equal, and why we must leave to find a chance for opportunity and security, in another country that has less rights but potentially a better chance of living our lives. 

International Incident in the Works

So like any grand idea, this one came about over copious amounts of alcohol when my two favorite Singaporeans tried to teach me some lessons on Singaporean culture. Long story short, I am a terrible student.

But one of the ideas that came out of this discussion over fruity drinks and beers was for me to write down my experiences in the far east. See I have a sarcastic humor and most people say I'm as lovable as a shovel to the face. The sole reason I'm moving is that the one person in the world who can make my sarcasm alleviate just enough to make me nearly, kind of, sort of, almost seem like a human being is...

...the Singaporean I'm head over heels, crazy in love with.

About a month ago we both found ourselves victims of the recession, out of work, living in an expensive Manhattan apartment, with few job prospects and bills raining down on us like dollar bills on a bachelor party stripper. Worse yet, one of us was facing the end of a work visa that was to expire. Now as an international couple we face a problem most couples do not, one of us was only in this country on the grace and goodwill of the federal government, only as long as they could convince an American company they were worth being hired over a native-born citizen.

After weeks on the prowl like a diabetic in a cupcake store and a dwindling deadline we came to the final decision that the welcoming arms of the Statue of Liberty were not enough to keep us in our home, around our friends, a close but respectable distance from my parents. It came down to the moment where one of us would have to leave the country or become an illegal alien, subject to arrest and an immediate deportation by the INS with those stereotypical unmoved, scowling guards you see in those crappy rom-com movies.

That is until we came to the conclusion that while New York City and the good ole U.S of A could not provide for us, the welcoming, skyscrapers of sunny Singapore possibly could. Singapore, a mecca for immigrants, where one in three people living on this island city-state are foreign-born.

The decision to make a move 9531-miles (15,339- kilometers, damn I have to learn the metric-system!) was a lot easier then you think, the man I love is there which means I'm just a hop, skip and a 23-hour plane ride away! But after the decision was made, the worries started to set in...

Will the Singaporean parents like me?

Will I be able to comprehend Singlish?

Can I survive in a country where it is 86F every day of the year, being so fair that I am nearly transparent? (Seriously I'm so white, put me in front of a lamp and you can see my brain!)

As of yet, I can't answer a single one of those questions.

But over the course of this blog we can figure that out together, the sheltered American white guy in a hot, tropical island country in Southeast Asia.

Here we go!