Living A Double Life

I am not in two places at one time, but I do live a double life.

In one, I live next to 300 hectares of wood and spend much of my time cleaning out leaves during autumn and chopping wood for fire during winter. Here, the air is very fresh and the surroundings quiet.

Here, I enjoy the sound of nature: of birds singing and the trees swaying in the wind.

Here, I converse in French and drive on the right side of the road.

In another, I live in this tropical island city state, amidst skyscrapers and dense residential estates.

My favourite occupation here is roller-blading by the sea and then having my ‘mee-pok ta’ (noodles) at my regular heartland coffee-shop.

Here, I enjoy the casual, humid and sweaty environment.

Here, I speak Singlish to make sure my orders are correctly placed.

Professionally, I am an information security specialist serving mostly banks in developed countries. In another, I sell environmental systems serving governments, mostly in developing countries.

Living a double life is fun, but it can be stressful, since I cannot be in two places at one time.

Some people live a double life in two countries: one of them overt and the other covert and unknown to their spouses - making it a quadruple life!

Michael Chua