Wow. Five years since my last post. Well, a whole lot has changed in five years. I never knew what dreams are made of and i never knew what it was like to achieve your dreams. Through hard work and pure grit and determination, you can achieve your dream. There will be times where you think your goal is just out of reach or it will take you a longer time than originally hoped for but trust yourself to make small leaps of faith and many unimaginable things can be achieved. As a Muslim, i believe Allah is the best of planners and alhamdulillah, He is the best of planners.
There were times i doubted myself about my life and what i wanted to do because the journey to achieve my dreams is taking longer than i had imagined. Five years ago i was still in the National Service serving in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) as a Third Sergeant taking NSmen for Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) and conducting Remedial Training (RT) as well as IPPT Preparatory Training (IPT). In 2014, i had my drivers licence and in 2016, i passed my 2B motorcycle licence. I learned how to get a motorcycle of my own and started managing my own finances. Things are starting to change in NS and i am proud of the things i have gone through. The 1 year and 10 months duration of NS actually passed by quickly and i have completed it. During NS, i actually contemplated with my career choices as i was given a choice to continue training NSmen as a full-time Fitness Trainer. However, my dream was to be an Engineer and probably being a Fitness Trainer would not add to my resume. Plus, i found it a chore to be physically fit all the time. It was not really my forte. So, i decided to hop on the trending bandwagon of being a Private Hire Chauffeur. At that time, the business was booming and Uber was the hot favourite Private Hire booking platform. It got off to a pretty awesome start and i started earning my own income right after i had my Operationally Ready Date (ORD). Seven months on and i found myself tired with having to drive long hours just to earn an income. The worst part is that the income was not stable and sustainable because it very much depends on the volume of trips per day.
So i decided i needed a more stable job. Hence, i starting sending my resume to agencies whom i am interested to work with and got several offers. Not many got back to me because i was young, 21 years old who just ORD and only got an A level certificate. I was disappointed many times but i pressed on and finally landed a job in a warehouse near where i live. The work was taxing because it demanded physical strength to carry and pack boxes of electronic parts into trucks and pallets. I quickly decided six months of this was enough. I looked for other jobs which required less physical work and more office environment and that is how i got offer at my current job at Singtel. I was quite fortunate to have been offered this job in the first place because i heard from my former manager which hired me that the next person who came for the interview for the same position i was applying for was considered over-qualified. So the next best candidate was me.
Six months went by, i was offered another six months of contract extension under the agency. So after one year, they changed the agency to another company and i was again offered a six months extension. I was looking for more stability and so they put me up for a direct contract with Singtel. After 18 months under agency contract, i converted to a direct contract. Fast forward, i am currently serving my second direct contract which i just renewed about one month ago. All in all, the start of this journey was a simple step of trying to find a stable job and with a little luck, it goes a long way. I am thoroughly satisfied with my current job and it suits my school schedule. Although the ultimate goal is to still be an engineer, let's take it one step at a time.
In the midst of all that, i got married to the love of my life, Nur Syairah, whom i met in school. I have been talking about her in all my posts and i knew she was the one for me. I am glad things turned out well and we are currently expecting a baby girl due in October. Now, that is one occasion i am excited to attend.
Thank you Allah for being the best planners. All that you have written for me, my wife, my child, my parents and my family. Alhamdulillah.
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