The 3-D Entry: Divorce, Decisions & Delifrance!

Dear Diary,

I am back after quite a while.. =) A combination of computer breakdown (just paid $230 to get my laptop LCD screen working) and accumulated office work kept me busy till today. I can, at last, pen down my thoughts after such a long hiatus. This evening, the rain was falling. Wanted to skip dinner but eventually pop into a Delifrance restaurant. Somehow, I just wanted a good meal with good service. Pharmacy is a service industry. Serving our patients or customers can be fulfilling and exhausting at the same time. Seeing the food laid before me, the pleasantries exchanged, the container of shredded cheese brought for me… it was a reward I wanted to give myself… that meal exceeded $10. However, I couldn’t help noticing that I was the only one eating alone.

While I was in the reservist camp on Monday (15/1), I received news from my boss that I was promoted. I was elated. A good healthy bonus and a pay increment… thank God, haha… then again, it almost seems that God reminded me that a career is not everything. Just days back, I met up with a friend and was quite shocked when she told me that she is in the process of divorcing her husband. I was shocked but did not show it. Divorce is something that I know the church forbids. Divorce is something I know is wrong. Divorce seems like a distant statistic I see on newspapers or societal reports. Divorce just seems like the Iraq war. You know it is there, you know it is bad but you don’t feel it and you don’t really care much about it.

On Monday (22/1), I sat under the starry sky at a small pub in United Square with that friend. The ancient square lamp which illuminated our table like a candlelight, the live-band belting out oldies… Maybe the small glass of beer made her talk. I don’t know but divorce seems suddenly so real. “5 years,” she told me. That is the length of her marriage. Financially, she is well off. National service with the military did not make me any stronger. Yes, I can tolerate knocks on my shins, needles into my veins… but watching a friend cry softly is almost a sight too hard to bear. Maybe it is part of growing up and making right decisions. Decisions that may alter the very route your life will go.

In Singapore, life is like a program. Everyone tries to follow its “ideal” schedule. When to study, when to marry, when to buy a HDB flat, when to have kids, when to buy a bigger house…. It is fine to have plans and targets but bear in mind that we should not compromise on good decision-making just to meet chronological objectives. Come end-of-March, and I will get to upgrade my phone. I have already a couple in mind… Motorola Z3, Nokia 5300 or Sony Ericsson K610i…. When the time comes, I will reassess all the available phone choices in the market again. Even if it delays my purchase of a new mobile, it is worth it when I eventually make the correct choice and use it for the next 2 years. Marriage is for life. Think carefully. May we all make good decisions in life by the grace of God.

God Bless,

Andrew