Going Offline

Tell us more about what you do for work.
I’m a journalist, and I just started working at Gov Insider, a digital publication focusing on innovations in the public sector, in January this year.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yeah, and actually, my goal is to write about TV, media, and culture.

It’s really different from what I’m doing now, but I’m only just breaking into writing as a full-time thing, and when this opportunity came up, I thought it would be interesting to have a go at it. I like topics about politics and society as well anyway, so I just went for it! It’s an interesting place to be, and I’m learning a lot.

What’s been the most memorable experience you’ve had recently?
Well, my online friend of 15 years recently visited Singapore from the Philippines, so we spent quite a lot of time together hanging out and eating. It’s crazy because that was our first time meeting each other in person, yet it felt like we’d known each other for years!

I mean, we have known each other for years (laughs), so I feel like we slipped into this dynamic of longtime friends very quickly and easily.

15 years is a really long time to keep up a friendship online! Was there any kind of initial awkwardness when meeting each other in person?
There was no awkwardness at all, which was surprising to me, because I feel like I can be pretty awkward on the first meeting, but for us, we really just slipped into old routines.

When we were teenagers, we used to call each other all the time along with a couple of other friends, so even when we met in person, we just slipped into that ease of conversation very naturally. You know, when you’ve been friends with someone for so long, it doesn’t matter how often you meet or catch up, because when you do, you just pick up wherever you left off.

For us, we just had a great time hanging out and getting to know each other offline, so it was fun!

What else did the two of you do while she was here?
Well, she really wanted to check out Love, Bonito (laughs).

Believe it or not, I had never actually been to their shop, but the person who founded Love, Bonito graduated from my junior college (JC). So when I was in JC, we had a lot of inspirational sessions and talks, and they would always bring up Love, Bonito and be like “Someday, you too could start your own business, like Love, Bonito” (laughs). So I feel like that’s what I know Love, Bonito as—not so much a fashion brand, but more of a source of inspiration for those inspirational JC talks.