Twenty- five Seven

Personally speaking

Recent Posts

  • A thank you gift for helping women who help you


    Currently I’m in Singapore which has a large overseas population and according to the Ministry of Manpower figures , in June 2015, the number of foreign domestic workers was registered at 227,100. These women come mainly from neighbouring countries, leaving their families behind in order to earn money to send back home. Often times though, their money isn’t put to good use back home and they often end up feeling like they’ve achieved nothing at the end of their working life.
    AIDHA is a Singapore based NGO offering domestic workers financial skills through Sunday classes taught by volunteers who are themselves professionals in the financial world. Thus equipped with a financial education, these maids stand a chance of improving their lot in life.

    I thought I’d share the link to their newsletter with my readers to give them an idea of what this organisation does.
    We all need helpers in our lives especially professional women who work : a good, reliable domestic worker is a Godsend who ensures that your own home is well run. Isn’t an AIDHA education the best Thank You gift for the woman who helps you?

    I’m posting this on Gratitude Circle as well as WRITE TRIBE PRO BLOGGERS CHALLENGE

  • #MondayMusings-Be natural,be ambitious 

    This weekend I came across a book that set me thinking – why are women ashamed of being ambitious. Yes , it’s true: a man who is ambitious is considered a real man,a go getter, a person worthy of emulating while a woman who is ambitious is called less complimentary names. This is possibly the reason why most of us remain where we are, too scared to step out of the box and claim our place in the sun. 

    Mrs.Moneypenny’s Careers Advice for Ambitious Women is a book that I found lying around the house. I picked it up and was hooked

      

    Mrs. Moneypenny—star Financial Times columnist, TV personality, wife, mother, and owner of a successful small business—is worried about women. She understands that although women can’t have it all, they’re expected to do it all. .

    Heather MacGregor aka Mrs.Moneypenny deconstructs the myth that the ambitious woman is a b₹&ch . In a light hearted manner and easy to read manner, she shows you how easy it is to fulfill your ambitions, why you should be ambitious and how you can have it all. 

    Being ambitious is normal 

    What is even more encouraging is that you can claim your ambitions and your career at any stage in your life. Citing examples of real women who’ve become business leaders, Mrs. Moneypenny gives practical advice to women in business- the importance of qualifications, networking etc. While her methods may not always be possible (I, for example, can hardly go back to education at this stage and age,long distance,virtual or otherwise) the underlying message is a great takeaway – it’s perfectly natural to be an ambitious woman. 

    At least when I was growing up, ambitious women were considered aggressive, unfeminine and therefore, unseemly. We were made to feel guilty for not being perfect mothers and were encouraged to work only as a supplementary income earners in jobs that didn’t threaten our primary roles as housekeepers and mothers. 

    Embrace your ambition

    The road to the top is rocky and hard with tough choices to make but Mrs.Moneypenny advises everywoman in the workforce who hungers to reach the top, to embrace her ambition and take the right steps to get where she ought to be! 

    Now isn’t that a powerful and encouraging message for all of us women out there? 

    Do drop in and read other bloggers’ posts at WRITETRIBE’S #MondayMusings.

      

  • Singapore Diary

    Well it’s a fortnight since I landed in Singapore and after my initial bumbling attempts at getting into the building, I’ve become quite proficient at tapping myself in and out.

    I’ve had some wonderful eating experiences like the informal brunch at the kid friendly Food For Thought, the super relaxed and classy PS Cafe , a typically Singaporean culinary experience at the Axis Lounge & Bar High Tea at the Mandarin Oriental and the yummiest Dimsum at the iconic Din Tai Fung. 

      
    Yesterday I visited Serangoon Road which immediately made me feel comfortable and at home. We had gone to the BLS visa centre at to submit some visa documents and stepping into the building was literally like stepping into India. Luckily the work got done but while we were waiting Daughter No 1 had a sugar low so I quickly went down to find some biscuits to munch. A small shop inside sold some home made snacks and potions of curry rice but I thought biscuits were a better option especially since I spotted a grocery store peeping out from the basement. That was quite a shop – three floors of Sahakari Bhandar! Of course nothing else was like the Sahakari Bhandar I am familiar with and I was literally lost with the brands of biscuits available . Finally I managed to find something remotely recognisable (and substantial) so I picked it up and marched on the travelator going down only to realise that the cash register was up! So I had to go down and then go up only to find that I had to go through the store all over again to get to the cashier. Luckily an assistant spotted me and helped me out of my predicament by allowing me to get in from the exit. 

    It seemed funny to be checking just a packet of biscuits especially after the customer in front of me had two dozen rolls of toilet paper! I was given a token and asked to pay at a self service cash register . 
    As usual I didn’t have my specs on so when I was asked to verify my token number I blindly pressed YES and inserted the 10 dollar bill. To my horror , the machine asked for 115 more dollars to complete the transaction. That’s when another assistant came up and told me that I had verified the token of a previous transaction and proceeded to clear that up. 
    She then told me how I had to CHECK the numbers on the screen and match them with my token before punching any buttons . Feeling more than foolish, I pointed to my eyes and signed that I had no spectacles! Ah ! she said in granny commiseration and almost patted my hand in sympathetic understanding. 

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