What That Defines Us

I remember reading an article whereby the writer points out that each time he meets new people, the conversation inevitably always focuses on what each other does, for a living.

I agree that this topic always comes up and it works very well as an icebreaker because EVERYBODY does something for a living. For some, what they do for a living is what they esssentially live for and hence, a subject they most love to talk about.

When I stopped working, I admit that I struggled with an identity crisis. For a long time, I kept wondering to myself what I should put in the column "occupation" whenever the need to fill up a form arises. The truth is, I found it difficult to just proclaim myself as a housewife or homemaker. My past 9 working years have been a rather ambitious one looking for recognition in the form of promotion and monetary gains.

Therefore in the beginning, I used to write "freelancer." I honestly think now that is the most vague profession anyone could profess to hold! Sig.Ot used to make fun of me and asked what exactly I was freelancing at. Well, I write sometimes and I could do translation work which I have done before. Oh, I could be a hand model too! My hands were shown on NTV 7 and SBB's ATM screens.

When I stopped working, it annoyed the hell out of me when people asked me what do I do everyday. Not so much that they are genuinely interested to find out what I do daily, but I suspect they are curious to see what kind of identity do I hold now without a job to qualify me. Have I turned into an aunty who only knows the price difference of carrots in the local wet market vs. Cold Storage.

I am proud to say that for now, I have finally come to terms with my new profession as a full time mother and wife. I can opt out of having to go to the market on Tuesday and sit in a coffeeshop reading instead. I can accommodate my friends' lunch dates requests by scheduling it around my facial appointments. I can bake cakes for my neighbours as thank you gift for looking after the house when we were away.

Most importantly I get to spend time with Eddie everyday while baking 2 buns in the oven. That's productive isn't it?