Personally, I agree. I can't see how a small outfit can be better than a Fortune 50 like Shell in terms of opportunity and payback... unless you go in as one of their inner circle. Assuming you haven't committed a career limiting move and fallen out of favour in Shell lah.

This post has been edited by seantang: Dec 16 2009, 11:54 PM

Even with the cheapest car, with 2.6K you're looking at spending at least half your take home pay on it (including running costs). Not sustainable, if you ask me.

I'm having trouble logging on to LYN from home. I'm using Singtel BBOM and a "server is taking too long to respond" error always pops up. But I can log on just fine at work or using Wireless@Sg. Anyone else experiencing this problem? Started last week.

I have no issue with any other website though. Downloading torrents and direct downloads are fine. It's only LYN...

But if you're using Singtel BBOM and LYN is ok... then it can't be Singtel blocking the IP address.

Funny...

You're right some do.

But not as a rule. And not everyone gets it. It depends on how much the company wants to attract & keep employees... and which employees they want to attract & keep as well.

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Added on December 23, 2009, 10:19 amDepends on your definition of job-related.

This thread is unique in that everyone here transplanted their entire lives for the sake of their jobs. In that sense, the quality of our lives plays an integral part of the quality of our jobs... and in my opinion, that is job-related.

Ask any expat. When they define their job assignment... how much of it is with regards to their "job description" vs how much of it is dedicated to the quality of life and lifestyle?

Other threads might define job-related as only things that happen within working hours, 9-5, on company business etc. But here, getting an answer on what you do in the office - can very well be less important than how many hours you need to sit in a bus, or whether you have nice a nice takeout dinner, broadband and cable tv waiting at home, or where is the best place to meet other singles. With friends and family being a few hundred km away, this seemingly non-job-related stuff plays a much bigger part of our 'overall job satisfaction'.

So, appreciate it if the moderators could give us some leeway to stretch the boundaries once in a while. At the end of the day, the discussion always comes back to what brings us here in the first place... our jobs.

This post has been edited by seantang: Dec 23 2009, 10:19 AM

For salaried staff in a non-production environment, OT of the Over Time type is rare. Own Time type is very common.

This post has been edited by seantang: Dec 23 2009, 05:05 PM

I compromise... Take taxi to work in the morning and MRT home in the evening. The whole point of coming to Singapore is live a better life. And public transport in Sg vs owning a car in KL... not a better life by a country mile,

I'm using the free Microsoft Security Essentials. I didn't see any logs of LYN being blocked. And it doesn't matter if I'm using IE8, Firefox, Opera or Safari. Cannot access LYN via Singtel BBOM, even when I'm on VPN.

Do let me know what you find out.

This post has been edited by seantang: Dec 26 2009, 10:37 PM

Of course it is. The granting of PRs is at the discretion of the authorities.

Ummm... you misunderstand me.

"At the discretion of the authorities" means that there are no "rules"... only NON-BINDING guidelines. That means the govt can CHOOSE to follow the guidelines, OR NOT... on a case by case basis.

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Added on December 27, 2009, 9:30 pmI did. I got my PR within 3 months of arriving in Sg.


This post has been edited by seantang: Dec 27 2009, 09:30 PM

EP-P1.

Just tell the company you can't get transport. Anyway, what kind of job is this? Didn't they have a specific date you need to start work, eg Jan 1 - instead of 'depending on when the EP is approved'?

Sounds mickey mouse to me.

Yeah, how is the current company "not releasing" you?

What document is this 'MOM'? I've never heard of it leh.

And ESPN.. made my Starhub shares drop.

But then again, Starhub has one year to look for alternative sports channels... and there are many, for eg. ITV etc.

Reads like it's more in your favour than against. All you have to do is serve the required notice period. Your employer cannot "not release" you.

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Added on January 1, 2010, 12:45 pmDepends on your usage pattern and whether you qualify as a hubber.

If you already have a Starhub mobile line and cable tv, then adding cable bb will get you the 30% hubber discount on all the services. That's a significant saving.

If you won't get hubbing, then it's really a matter of cost. Choose the package the best meets your needs. In terms of performance, it's really dependent on the individual location and circumstances. Sometimes it's fast, sometimes it crawls and this applies to both sides and whether you or your location will encounter issues is really arbitrary. The only factor you can fully control is how much you pay.

I also like Starhub's Maxonline Flexisurf which is pay per use. I got the cable modem for S$88 bucks when I signed up, with no other charges (regular or additional). I pay only for the days I use it. I use it as a backup to my Singtel BB on Mobile. Useful when I want to download huge amounts of data since BBOM is lower bandwidth, and furthermore Singtel BBOM has a data usage cap.

This post has been edited by seantang: Jan 1 2010, 12:49 PM

Did your friend also tell you how it is done? I mean, exactly how does the Singapore govt disallow cohabitation?

Has she told that to the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people sharing houses, flats, rooms and other living places? I'm not sure... but I think this group of outlaws are called housemates or co/sub-tenants.

This post has been edited by seantang: Jan 4 2010, 10:06 PM

How do the customs tell the difference between a new laptop and one that you've been using for a while?

If customs deem you to be importing, then whatever you bring in will be subject to import duty and other import restrictions like censorship, SIRIM, laser products, items which transmit/receive etc etc. The trouble with Malaysia is that import duties are all over the place, across an endless list of specific products. I really don't know if laptops are dutiable, but if customs wants some "kopi money" or simply just want to make your life difficult, they can detain you while they "refer" to their records. And you.., will miss your bus.

Singapore also has such import regulations, but they generally give allowance for personal consumption ie. they don't consider you importing. So, for Singapore, bringing back one new laptop is a-ok. Bringing back 6 or 12 is importing.

So if you insist on bringing back the box etc, you're just broadcasting to customs that you're importing. If it's for personal consumption, you would have discarded all the packaging.

At the end of the day, you can try. Perhaps your bags won't be looked at the checkpoint.