I got interviewed for some research on single women early this week. When my friend asked me if I was willing to be interviewed, I was like...'Yeah sure, as long as it's not about how we are losers for being single.' And she was like, 'No! OF COURSE NOT!!' So I agreed to be interviewed and some of the questions posed to me really made me reflect and ponder. Let me just share some of the things that I was asked.

One of the question posed was: 'Describe your worst date.'

My answer: It was when I just came back from Australia, and freshly single (Ok, if you count 1 year as being single) and I met this guy while online dating. As all online pictures, he looked rather decent, ok maybe even bothering on good looking. So we chatted for a little bit and then we decided to meet up. When I met him, my first instinct was to run. I am serious. Ok, why was this so? Cos 1. He had shades on while we were in the shopping mall. I HATE PEOPLE WHO DO THIS!! Why would you wear shades indoors???? Unless you have conjunctivitis, in which you are supposed to be home, you do not wear shades indoors! 2. He was a Malay guy, but called himself Don. Erm...Don Juan D Marco, anyone? He did not look like Johnny Depp, may I add. 3. He was speaking in the most mat way...I don't know why I did not notice this while we were chatting online...But he was saying something to me, and then compared me to his ex gf, and said 'Alamak, you campak 10 batu.' loosely translated as 'My God, you throw 10 stones'. Are we confused yet? I was. So I asked him, 'Excuse me?' And he explained that means I was 10 times hotter than his ex gf. ??????????????? So obviously I already wanted to die, and then things got worse as he brought me to a club. I was fine with clubbing and we went to Attica at Clarke Quay. Then he decided it was not 'happening' enough for me, or if I may quote his exact words 'Tak gerek ah', and told me he would bring me to some place even more 'gerek' (happening). And I found myself in a.......DANGDUT CLUB. For those of you who are laughing your asses off, shut up. :P For those who have no clue what a dangdut club is, it is basically a Malay club, playing Indonesian music, usually danced and gyrated to by Indon women, or lusty old Malay men. Vile. So I was stuck there, and then Mr Don Juan, being a supposed big shot there, took the mike, and decided to dedicate a song for me AND SANG AN INDONESIAN ROMANTIC BALLAD FOR ME!!! I was beyond mortified, and I remembered slinking lower and lower into my seat. I then found an excuse to go back, and we shared a cab, and then the final nail to the coffin was when he asked me, 'So, your place or my place?' WTF right??? I gave him my coldest stare I could muster and told him 'I am going back to mine and you are going back to yours.' Needless to say, that was the last time I saw him.

When I was narrating the story to the interviewer, she was beyond entertained. She was laughing and choking on her crabmeat pasta, and I was like...'Yeah, it's funny now! Not so funny when I was going through it ok!'

Her next question was: Your best date ever

My answer: With my first boyfriend. He was the sweetest, nicest and kindest guy I knew. We were together for 7 whole years and I loved him with all my heart. Every date with him was the best date. He was such a thoughtful guy. Things just didn't work out cos I think our paths changed as we got older. He wanted very different things in life from me and I figured our life together if we ended up being married would be one full of compromises. Being young, I wasn't willing to compromise on many things which I wanted to try and do. So we ended things, but I still remember him as my first love, and the sweetest one.

She asked me if I regretted making that decision to end things. I actually stopped to ponder over that question. And I honestly answered her, that at times, I do regret about that step that I took. Because I knew that if things did not end, my life would have taken a very different turn. I might be married with kids now, living in a private apartment, with a car. I will be teaching but probably not as established as I am now as my priorities would be completely different.

She asked me if that was what I want in life. I told her I am actually not sure. Different people have different paths to lead in life. I always believe that God has plans for us, and when I look back at my life and what I have accomplished, I am happy. If I ended up married, I would not have the opportunity to travel so much. I wouldn't have pursued my masters, and studied abroad. I wouldn't have met all my wonderful friends in Australia, all of whom are some of the most important people in my life. I probably wouldn't be so established in my career. And most importantly, I wouldn't be so passionate about what I do as my energy would be diverted elsewhere.To me, one of the biggest satisfaction I get in life is to see my kids who are downtrodden, with no self esteem, and have decided to write themselves off, to make a turn in the way they view themselves through me. I enjoy the power I have to make my kids have faith in themselves, and realise that they are full of potential. And I get the most satisfaction when they graduate from school, and do well outside, and still remember me and tell me that they love me. And when I think of these things, that is when I know that I have no regrets making the decisions that I have made in my life as these decisions have brought me to where I am today.

So I looked at my interviewer in the eyes again, and told her, there are so many things that I want in life, and for the moment, I am happy with my lot in life. Does it mean that I do not want to be married, with kids, a nice apartment and a car? Of course I do. It's just taking a slightly longer time, and until it happens, I am not going to twiddle my thumb and waste precious time when I can actually be living my life in the fullest way possible. :)

It's Valentine's week, and I just thought this was an appropriate time to post this. Happy Valentines to all, and for all my single ladies out there, remember that we rock!