An old friend has been offered a position in a rural township in Queensland and she is moving there for the period of her contract. She is hoping that she can stay on after it is all over. And knowing how she makes her living in healthcare, I have no doubts about her ability to find work in some major city after that.
Its been a long while since I last saw her. The only other time being just after I came back from Australia. We took pictures together and I could not possibly believe that that was me then.
She slipped the photographs to me over the table and remarked, ‘You have lost so much weight since then. Singapore is not treating you right and is stressing you out. You have to come with me to Australia and put some meat back on you.’
Of course, I made my usual protestations. I eat well here, too well in fact because I have all this incredible hawker food within reach. I am huge in contrast to all the stick thin girls here. I am not entirely stressed out yet and I need to work here for sufficient experience, particularly in my line, before I can try to get a job elsewhere.
She listened, just like she always does. Then she said,
‘Well, if there was nothing holding you back, meaning you can find a job just as easily, you would leave, wouldn’t you?’
I nodded.
‘Where?’
To which I told her about my insane hopes and dreams. She didn’t laugh, nor did she comment. She merely said,
‘Well, then I hope you do it. You will be the first, but I hope you do. Because this place just sucks your soul.’
And she told me all about her own hopes and dreams.
Funny, the only common ground I could find was that we had to leave in order to fulfill them.
