2024 Week 25: Bits and Bobs

Just thinking how different life would have been had we decided to reproduce. If you have kids your life has a template, or at least a "north star", for 2 decades at least. Very convenient. Jon and I would probably be doing the standard 40 hours a week job, zoning out to Disney+ and ordering GrabFood on weekends. 

We wouldn't be feeling the malaise that comes from having too much freedom and bandwidth. We would be steeped in middle-class smugness and we would feel secure about our place in society. We probably wouldn't be in an open/polyamorous relationship. Good god, we might not even have all these pets!

-

Reading Michael J Sandel's The Tyranny of Merit now. Feeling engaged because the book engages with some of the issues I mentioned in my last post. I realise that marinating in a meritocratic society for so long has really harmed us in some ways. If we can only move towards a more luck/fortune-based understanding of our positions in life, society would be a much nicer one to live in. 

-

I haven't been taking my last fortnight of the internship very seriously. I'm afraid it shows, because people have started asking why I don't go to the office. I guess the short answer is that I've lost interest. 

I just don't care about people or children all that much. I met this volunteer whose face completely LIT UP when she talked about working with kids. Then I realised: omg, wait that's me with animals. I care more about taking the policymakers to task about inequality. Issues like housing policy and universal basic income, those are what I was more interested in. I guess it's very theoretical and academic rather than human.

However, at least I learnt some of the aspects of volunteer management and I think I do okay in this area. So not a total disaster! Volunteer management is definitely transferable, especially to other nonprofits.

-

I told Joel I've gone from (a) "yay I have a purpose!" to (b) "oh shit my purpose kinda sucks" to (c) "omg I have no purpose again" to (d) "maybe purpose doesn't have to be grand; I can just tend to my humble little business and live well and kindly."

Maybe this stupid purpose thing is just a toxic construct to keep you striving needlessly and finding fault with your objectively wonderful life. 

-

A little grooming story:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pets Hideout (@pets.hideout)

-

I've done too much this week. Tired.

MON: (PH) Cried, ate really old soup, went to Junction 8 for bubble tea and donuts. Peppers, mushrooms and beef balls for dinner, walked to Bishan North for waffles. Watched Bridge Across the River Kwai.

TUE: Gym, canned tuna/lettuce/tomato for lunch, then a bunch of work. Sent Uzi home. Came back, made bulgogi beef rice.

WED: Gym, lunch with dad at Mayflower, CatSmart stock-up, a bunch of work, groomed Robbie, salmon/spinach/sweet potato for dinner, then more work at night.

THU: SPCA VOICE, Chaozu check in, dinner + Sephora with Jon

FRI: SPCA VOICE, caught up over dinner with Van

SAT: Cried again, checked Robbie out. Groomed the ridiculously cute trio. Went home to wash fur off face, went out again to meet dad for dinner.

-

So SPCA VOICE. It's an animal welfare advocacy conference with the major animal orgs (SPCA, ACRES, SOSD) present, along with smaller outfits (The Stray Affairs, SMACC). The vet industry (Singapore Vet Association) was also represented as were the government (AVS), law (Pro Bono SG) and policy pusher (Louis Ng).

I'd been thinking about what the next step is for Pets Hideout. Where do I want the business to grow - and what do I want to develop personally? So having an overview of the local scene and people involved was just perfect. 

I can absolutely rule out the vet industry and anything to do with government. And, as important as the work is, I'm not gonna work at a whistleblower like SMACC - it's just too horrible having to watch animal cruelty videos.

So I guess the sweet spot is managing the commercial business while contributing in some capacity to an animal shelter or rescue group. There are quite a lot of possibilities in both areas but the skills/experiences have a lot of potential to cross-pollinate. So that should keep me busy for the next year or so I think.