One for the books

We’re approaching the end of October and it has been one crazy year. After a shaky start and a very rough middle, I feel like the next two months has the potential to get better (come on, phase 3!) or much worse. In any case, this year has certainly been one for the books.

Although there has already been some unexpected bright spots these past months. One of best things to have come out of all this circuit breaking is the extra family time we get to spend with the kids.

Look at these babies. Have they all gotten big or what?

So Truett survived his PSLE. We experienced the entire spectrum of emotions leading up to his exams (by that I mean me. Tru remained super chill throughout the whole process) – starting from optimism to trepidation to frustration and eventually despair, it was a fun time for all of us.

He came home after his final paper, yeeted his bag across the living room, shouted “FREEDOMMMMM!!” and has been celebrating ever since.

It’s been almost a month since his last paper and the poor boy is still suffering from PTSD. Some mornings, he’ll sit at his desk and grab his textbooks like he’s on autopilot, then let out a huge sigh of relief and be like “phew, I was about to study and then I realised that there are no more exams! Guess I’ll be gaming over here instead lol.”

The other kids have been observing his immense misery during exam prep and his indescribable joy these days and I think there’s a lesson to be learnt here, which is the value of delayed gratification, or that you can’t really know true joy without suffering, or as Theo puts it, “exams are very bad”. One of those.

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In other news, I’m really excited to introduce Gen X Singapore, a new content portal delivering content for well, Generation X.

Depending on how you cut it, Gen X is typically defined as those born between 1965-1980, but I’ve always felt more like a Gen Xer than a Millennial. I’m painfully aware of the irony here (with Millennials and their obsession with Harry Potter references) but I see this as a sorting hat situation where your generation chooses you as much as you choose it. And if so, I’m definitely Ravencl…I mean, team Gen X.

I’ve been working on the site with a friend, Theresa (who is a classic Gen Xer and a veteran in the editorial scene) for the past several months and it’s been a joy coming up with content for this overlooked, low-maintenance, self-sufficient generation. We get to geek out over our shared love for Star Wars, the Mandalorian, old-school bands, iconic Gen X movies and the experience of growing up in a different time.

But more than just being a throwback site reminiscing about some defining Gen X moments, it’s about looking at the world through the eyes of a Gen Xer today.

In the upcoming months, we’ll be working with talented Gen X writers to cover pretty much everything that Gen X cares about, ranging from lifestyle to entertainment to finance, to travel, to relationships and parenting, as well as develop some really fun video content.

Come by for a read if you’re a Gen Xer or feel like one.

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In other other news, we’ll also be launching a cafe space at Rowell Road some time in the next two months. Yeah, I know, siao one. As if we’re not already up to our eyeballs with work and kids and the new website. Let’s also open a cafe!

I guess part of the why is that this has always been something we wanted to do. To have our own space where we would sell all the things we liked to eat – basically coffee and cakes and cookies and pies. There will also be bacon somewhere in that menu.

I did think it was a little late in life to be picking up a new skill from scratch but if Jason Statham can take up piano at a late age, I’m pretty sure I can learn to barista at 38.

Also, the kids have spent an embarrassing amount of time pretending to sell imaginary food in their pretend cafe and they’re really excited to be selling real food to real customers so I already have five very committed employees who will take payment in the form of hugs and high fives.

Just kidding, I’ll pay them in snacks of course.

We’ll have a proper skilled barista on the team but if you’re feeling adventurous enough, drop by when we open and I’ll make you a cup of coffee myself.