Saturday Takeout Lunch

Thai Takeout

Garlic chicken over rice with egg and cucumber. Cost $1.50. Thai food is great, and there are a ton of different dishes to try, but sometimes, I still crave a burger or pasta or even something with potatoes in it.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Didn’t get a beer, but I did get a refreshing malted beverage in a green can along with some spicy Thai sausage.

Job Hunting Amid COVID-19

While the world begins to vaccinate itself and implements new policies based on what vaccine is received (looking at you, China), countries are dealing with how to hire employees amid a pandemic. Most organizations have gone remote, removing the necessity for foreign workers to get a visa or deal with entry requirements, including expensive quarantines.

Though I can’t speak for many countries, I can attest to my experience, having applied for numerous jobs in Singapore over the past two months. There are appears to be four “types” of jobs:

• Companies whose JD blatantly states that they are hiring Singaporeans or Permanent Residents only and that if an applicant requires a work visa, they need not apply. It doesn’t seem “fair,” whatever that might mean, but at least they’re upfront about it...

• Companies that hold the same belief as #1 but don’t say anything in the JD. Though a few hours later, you will receive an e-mail either explicitly stating the same thing (per photo) or either that they are not moving forward with your application.

• Companies who make no mention of only wanting Singaporeans, but when applying, direct you to a website require a SingPass ID number that can only be obtained if you are a Singaporean, Permanent Resident, or current work visa holder. Very smooth.

• Companies that are open to hiring foreigners. This is rare to find, and though they might be open to hiring a foreigner, I don’t think they’ve thought through the logistics, such as applying for a work visa, figuring out who will pay for the $2,000 quarantine, and other things that go into hiring a non-citizen.

I’m lucky to still have work during such unpredictable times, and I enjoy the freedom that working from home provides, though I am eager to get back into an office and have face-to-face conversations with coworkers. I’m not sure what the future will bring, and I will continue applying for jobs in Singapore, though at this point, it seems a bit futile.

UPDATE:

I finished the 1st draft of my 2nd novel - “A Viral State” and am starting the editing/proofreading process to get it ready for literary agents.

Beijing Sandstorm

These photos were taken by my friends in Beijing. There’s, clearly, a massive sandstorm underway and the AQI is through the roof. It’s things like this that make me believe I made a good choice leaving China.

Sunday Snacks

Chiangmai Update

It’s been a while since I wrote something substantial on here, so here’s what’s been up with me lately:

Applying for jobs in Singapore. Going to the gym every day. Currently reading The Crying Machine after just having finished Kafka On The Shore. Finishing up my novel (1 chapter left) - but then I get to start the daunting process of editing, finding a developmental editor, copyeditor, proofreader, and then getting it sent off to literary agents. Working online every day and super busy lately due to China’s Two Sessions.

I’ve also been thinking about buying an apartment vs. renting for the rest of my life. I think the biggest factor in the debate is about living somewhere long-term, especially abroad. If I bought a place, I’d definitely want to live there, and at this point in my life, I’m not sure I want to commit a number of years living in 1 city that I would call “home.” Yes, I spent 7+ years in China, but it was always going to be a transitory experience, so I didn’t invest too much in making China a home.

The other thing about buying a place to live is I’m not sure what my life will look like several years down the line. Do I get a place with multiple bedrooms in case I want a family? Or a place with stairs which could be a problem when I’m older? Or do I buy something in my price range that’s suitable for my current lifestyle? There’s certainly a lot of factors that go into buying a home, and it’s something that takes time to think about. It’s something I’m mulling over and keeping an eye on rather than simply a dream idea of one day being a homeowner.

At this point, finding a “real” job is my current priority, as well as finishing up and taking the next steps to finalize my 2nd novel. Chiangmai is nice, but I’m ready for COVID-19 to end and for things to get back to normal, as I assume most people around the world are. It’s been a wild year since COVID hit and I’m happy with how things have turned out, despite the many challenges that have occurred along the way.

Random Building

I haven’t been out and about much lately, so here’s a picture of a cool building I saw.

Job Hunting in Singapore

Looking for a job in Singapore is proving to be more of a challenge than I had thought. I knew that COVID would play a factor, but the other issue is that many companies are only looking to hire Singaporeans or Permanent Residents. I get that hiring a foreigner right now is tricky, but it’s super discouraging when I read the job description, get excited about the opportunity, and then at the very end, I don’t qualify because I’m a foreigner.

The other thing, and maybe I’m just dumb, is many job applications will ask “Are you eligible to work in Singapore?” Technically, yes but do I currently have a work visa? No. So what does that question mean? Also, if I choose “no”, it’s hard not to think that my application immediately gets sent to the trash because some algorithm determines that a “no” answer isn’t a candidate worth pursuing.

The other tricky workaround is that when I click “apply”, for over half the jobs, I’m taken to a Singapore government website in which I’m required to enter my SingPass ID number, which is something that foreigners/non-permanent residents don’t have, so I can’t apply for the job and the company doesn’t need to look bad by writing “Singaporeans only”. Well played.

Job hunting is tough, especially when you factor in COVID, closed borders, and HR teams that seemingly don’t want to have to file paperwork to hire a foreigner. I’ll continue searching and filtering through jobs that I qualify for, though it’s certainly not a process I enjoy.

Happy Lantern Festival

Pad Thai

Writing Update

My short story Dimensional was published in the latest issue of SERIAL. You can check it out here.

I also wrote an article about using WeChat as someone living outside of China for Beijing Review.

Chiangmai Night Market

Went to a night market in downtown Chiangmai on Friday night and it was dead. There were a lot of vendors, all selling tourist knick-knacks, but hardly any people. COVID-19 restrictions and regulations have hit Thailand hard, and it’s evident that without tourists, the city will remain quiet for the foreseeable future.

Day Out in Chiangmai

More Thai Temples

Simple Dinner

Thai Dumplings for New Year

Happy Chinese New Year 2021!

Chiangmai Immigration

Today was rough. Went to immigration because my 2-month Thai Tourist visa was set to expire. I arrived in Thailand on Dec. 11, went to immigration on Feb. 10, thinking I would renew my visa 1 day in advance. Immigration tells me I overstayed my visa by 2 days. I argue that I didn’t. Immigration won that battle. I was fined 1,000 baht ($34). The worst part was they stamped an entire page in my passport saying that I had overstayed by 2 days. Just let me pay the fine and move on, no need to give me a permanent reminder that somehow 2 months from Dec. 11 ends on Feb. 8. I think my error was thinking it was 2 months and not 60 days. Whoops.

Chiangmai immigration also informs me that I failed to call them 24 hours after I arrived and told them where I was staying, despite filling in several forms at airport immigration with my intended address after quarantine. I was fined 1,600 baht ($54). I told them I wanted to extend my visa by 2 months as that was a new policy they had due to COVID. They acknowledged that, indeed it was, but first, I needed to do a 1-month extension of my tourist visa, and then after that, I could apply for the 2-month COVID extension. 1-month tourist extension cost me 1,900 baht ($64), and in 1 month, I’ll extend it again for another 1,900 baht. Expensive day at immigration.

On a side note, I’ve also been applying for media jobs in Singapore and once again realized how much I hate applying for jobs. A ton of work goes into a single application, all for a form-generated e-mail 6 weeks later informing me that they’ve decided to pursue other candidates. I’m certainly not at a point in my career where I would be headhunted and given a “personal” job application experience, but these days, with ATS and automatic e-mail replies and tedious online forms, applying for jobs feels a lot like I’m trying to beat an algorithm rather than actually trying to find a mutually suitable work environment.

Super Bowl 2021

Watched Super Bowl at 6:30am yesterday in Chiangmai and then went to my buddy’s house for a beer and lunch. The fish and shrimp pictures were taken last week, so I’m still holding strong for my No Meat Monday 2021 challenge.