It was relatively easy for us to make friends with friends of friends , resulting in many friends. However, as we step into the corporate world, status and career change our perspectives of friendships. Many people make friends at work so that they will updated with the latest news. So how many truste /reliable friends do you think you have as an adult? Do indicate ur age, industry as well..
This year while totally clueless and walking aimlessly around Causeway Point after completing volunteer work, an insurance agent popped across my eyes amidst the crowd enquiring about the charity that was represented by the collar shirt donned on my torso. Her accent felt Taiwanese, although I later clarified that she was from PRC. My aunt later commented that these days, only insurance agents are good to us, i.e. make friends with us ordinary blokes. I agreed partially.
This lady was almost a decade my junior, same religion as I am, she had studied a fair bit about my charitable organisation and wanted to exchange some views with me about what she felt - basically in her words she was a participant of this charity's youth group while she was in National University of Singapore, and since this is a charity and she probably needed a higher income, she joined the financial industry after graduation with double degrees instead of a working at a non-profit. Still, my point is, she is a decent friend, although she is probably an acquaintance or lesser. In an economic viewpoint, because there is an absence of any competitive interest, I was from an industry and discipline other than what she was trained and working as, and there is a common background that both of us came from. Perhaps, more so, because the train station was also where I once spoke aimlessly with my first crush during university.
Without talking money and sex upfront, there was a friend found, probably a friendship felt. And since I work with non-profits, if you tell me that I am going to die really soon and therefore I have to upgrade some medishield coverage, basically such 'friendships' excite me even more when I imagine about cross-selling coffins and undertaking services to the financial consultant.
I will probably leave this reply as 'this is', since over the past week all the People's Action Party candidates had presented themselves as everybody's best friend, i.e. everybody has a best friend, and this time of the year, 69% of adult Singaporeans voted their 89 best friends and more than 80 wore white shirts which I am also agreeable with.
At an age of 33 when Jesus did without any friends other than pieces of wood that made Him a roasted delicacy for an 'opponent', I don't ask the Good Lord or Lordess for friendships, although making enemies are what I am not exactly lousy at.
As an ex-deputy corporate director, imho personal best friend, and life mentor once taught me at a Japanese MNC, 'Keep your enemies close to you', I never worked in the same corporate team as her again since she joined IBM and I joined practically any company but IBM.