A Singaporean In Australia

"The warm weather is killing you," the all-seeing Eye of the North said.

Lady Dandelion was right. I was a sick cat in Singapore, regularly plagued by heat related illnesses. So it was a pleasant surprise that for all my 2 years in Perth, I did not get sick even once. I didn't think I got healthier and attributed that largely to the weather here. It was great, I almost forgotten how it felt to be sick. The all familiar hard throbbing of the head, an inflamed throat to painful for even honey to flow and the giddiness that clones images in the eyes.

I endured that since the start of the previous week. The discomfort even stopped me from something as simple as doing blog updates (no, my blog wasn't hacked, in case you bought that) By Thursday afternoon, I threw in the towel. I calmly arranged for the casual worker to do me a favour by sending the car-less Afghanis to work, handed them the keys, drove them back home for the last time of the week and told them to be good in my absence. Yes - I told my company I would be sick and would not be coming in the next day. That is something that will be frowned upon in my previous companies in Singapore. Here, I found the liberty to be outright honest - I'm going to get fucking sick, so see you on Monday (hopefully)

I knew I was going to be sick for a while. It was just the kind of feeling just before a high wave hits you. When I finally made it home, it was full blown and I knew I was in trouble. A day would not be sufficient to fight the war against an old enemy. 3 days later, I turned up at work barely fit, with only half the symptoms fought and buried. Well at least I could type words today, so I should be heading back to full health soon. It took me one week of trouble and counting to fight this. It's no coincidence, the warm weather is my bane. In contrast, I had never sneeze once coming out from the bath shivering in the Winter chill. Most of my friends here could see I enjoy the cold more than themselves. Some people with different alignments will probably suffer opposite symptoms, ailing regularly during Winter, but spend the whole Summer sipping pineapple in their backyard pools without getting sick at all. For now, I have to endure the sensation of blowing hot air out of the nostrils (so that's how being a dragon feels like), teary eyes, a half-healed throat and thick phlegm stuck in pockets of my lungs. We are heading into the final stage of the battle. As we are heading into the most undesirable climate of the year, it's better to be sick during the early stage than later. This one will set me up good for a long time.

An old friend told me he used to jog in the freezing mornings of the Polish cold during his honeymoon. He claimed to be a polar bear and would never feel cold even in those climates. It's a pity he is unable to consider migrating to Australia due to family constraints. While it may sound a bit ridiculous to consider moving out of Singapore just for climate or weather, it really isn't if you consider most Singaporeans move here to seek a more balanced lifestyle. 

What these people actually have in mind is reducing the number of hours they have to work a week, which they found almost impossible in Singapore, so that they have a few extra hours to spare for the family or themselves. If a few extra hours can make a difference, adequate to force a drastic move, how about 24 hours of fantastic weather for 3/4 of the year? Even for the warm (bad) 1/4 of the year, I sleep well at night because night temperature drops very quickly. Take today's 31 degrees Celsius high for instance, I will get to enjoy a cool 14 degrees Celsius tonight. Good climate that help make work feel less weary, sleep more fulfilling, play more joyful. Nothing stimulates sensory cells of a human being more often than weather. I suppose not many of us appreciates the importance of good climate right down to its intrinsic value.