Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Caretaker of the islands of the Great Barrier Reef

Apparently 34 000 people applied to be the caretaker of the Great Barrier Reef, well the islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Apparently, it is the Best Job in the World. Hence, 34 000 people want it. Apparently, of the 16 that are shortlisted, one is from Singapore. But as with anything great that has to do with Singapore, the person involved is a foreign import. An American School Phys-Ed teacher. Teaching in Singapore. So, we take the opportunity to boast that someone from our sunny shores got shortlisted.

I wondered about it for a while. If anyone would take it. I wondered if I could do it. Scanning the list of requirements,

- Excellent interpersonal communication skills ( Who am I going to communicate with? The birds of the sky and creatures of the seas? Anyway, check, interpersonal communication skills)

- Good written and verbal English skills (Check. I blog, I teach English, I speak English)

- An adventurous attitude (Not sure about that. I was adventurous enough to risk having twins and had twins! Does that count?)

- Willingness to try new things (Hmmm.... so so I guess. Depends on what new things)

- A passion for the outdoors (Depends, do I have a clean bathroom, a nice bed and air- conditioning to come back to?)

- Good swimming skills and enthusiasm for snorkelling and/or diving (Swimming yes, snorkelling and diving... right family, wrong Ng)

- Ability to engage with others (I used to make a pretty good living out of teaching and engaging people. So, I guess... Check)

- At least one year’s relevant experience in terms of

a) feeding the 15 000 species of fish (I'm not sure if I can count up to 15 000. Does it involve feeding them wriggly worms?)

b) cleaning the pool- I'm not sure if they mean this figuratively or literally. Whether it is really a swimming pool or they are referring to the ocean is a swimming pool.

c) collect the mail (I'm guessing, that doesn't just mean, walking up to the mail box and opening it)

So, I'm not entirely sure if I'm qualified. Although it is appealing for various reasons.

  1. I'd be able to sleep as much as I want and need.
  2. Get a tan.
  3. Read all the books I'd want to.
  4. Blog to my heart's content even though I'm not sure what I'd blog about.
  5. Take a break from everything and earn quite a pocketful of small change.
But Packrat scoffs at me and says I won't be able to do it for various reasons.

  1. I need social interaction.
  2. I'd miss my kids. Packrat, I'd pack him along.
  3. There are no spas at the Hamilton Islands where I can get my brows and nails and whatnot done.
  4. There are no shops.
  5. There will be no McDs on the island and hence, no iced tea. How would I survive?
I think the most important reason is that I am a social person and find it a regular necessity to do things with other people. Packrat, on the other hand, has got no problems going it alone. Of course, had he applied and got it, I'd still insist he takes me and perhaps I'd make regular jaunts to the nearest city.


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Ondine tossed this thought in at 09:32

1 thoughts...

1 thoughts...

At 5:43 pm Blogger seriously! said...

You cannot live on Hamilton Island lah.
Who will do your nails? Stingrays??

 

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