Now let's recall the source of our household income. Right, from my mum, the sole breadwinner who worked in the school canteen. So, ever wonder what happened during school holidays? Yup, household income stopped.
My mum was a very thrifty lady. She would save up in preparation for the holidays without income. However, it was never enough. Therefore, she would find jobs during the school holidays in order to make ends meet. From dishwasher at restaurants to selling joss sticks outside temples, she had done quite a few jobs in order to sustain the income for the family during school holidays.
Receiving my annual bursary from the government did help a little to offload my mum's burden. So it paid to study hard. However, I really want to play a part in earning some money myself.
When I turned 14 at Secondary 2, I decided to find a vacation job. As I was only 14, employers were not willing to employ me. Fortunately, together with a classmate of mine, we found a job in a warehouse. It was really a tough job where we need to carry huge cartons of canned food down from high storage to the ground, repack the canned food into smaller boxes, and stacked the boxes up ready for delivery to supermarkets. I could still remember my arms aching immediately after lunch on my first day of work.
So every day for that vacation, I would go to that warehouse for work. Lunch was a simple bun which I brought along with me from home. Although it was tough, but the workers there were great people. Sometimes, they would fool around with us in the warehouse during our break time.
Payday was on Friday when you get paid for your week's labour in hard cash. Our wage was $20 per day. It was quite a reasonable amount for the job nature. I could still remember the sense of satisfaction when I received my first $100. I gave $50 to my mum and keep the other $50 for my own use.
From then, till the day I graduated from my tertiary study, I had done a variety of vacation jobs. I've worked in a supermarket together with my mum, a promoter in a shopping centre, an office boy in a bank, a data entry clerk in a computer board, and even a hotel attendant at Raffles Hotel. The experiences in these workplaces really enriched my life. While working in the supermarket, I learned about the way supermarket operates. While working as a hotel attendant, I got to experience working in odd hours like going home at 1 a.m. via hotel's transport and the joy of receiving tips for providing good services. While working in the computer board, I picked up some computer skills on my own. These experiences are invaluable parts of my life story.
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Nothing To Lose
Non-FictionIf we realise that we came to this world with nothing, then perhaps every gain would be sweet and every loss would not be so painful.perhaps that's the secret to happiness.
