1. These singles may be earning a good income but
they do not see why they have to pay a premium
for dating services.
They baulk at paying more than $30, the
government-subsidised rate that the Social
Development Network (SDN) usually charges for
dating events.
Ms Joan Ong, co-founder of dating agency
Champagne JSG, says some singles even think that
dating service providers are “social workers who
should live simply and earn just enough to get by”.
“They will question the cost of the events and
say that we shouldn’t even be charging them
because matchmaking is a social service,” she adds.
“They think that the Government pays us to do
what we do.”
Singles on a budget can try these solutions:
GO FOR SDN-RELATED EVENTS
A host of dating services and events from
accredited agencies like Singles Mingle and
Champagne JSG are available for $25 under the
SDN Trust Dating Treats promotion. Visit SDN’s,
website www.lovebyte.org.sg, for details. The
promotion ends on Sunday.
NETWORK AT MASS EVENTS
Get to meet at least 80 other singles at this
networking event.
Connecting People, Linking Hearts
By: My Perfect Link
Date: Early January
Cost: $10
Sign up: You have to be a member of My Perfect
Link to attend the event. Membership is free. Visit
www.myperfectlink.com for more information.
DATE ONLINE
Look for potential partners online and follow up
with dates at your own cost.
Eteract
www.eteract.com
Cost: A one-month membership costs $24, while
one that is valid for a year costs $88.
Singapore Lovelinks
www.singaporelovelinks.com
Cost: Membership is free, but if you and the party
you wish to contact are on a free membership
plan, you will have to upgrade to a Gold
membership before you can send a message. A
one-month gold membership costs $29.99, while a
one-year membership costs $119.99.
If not for their long working hours and erratic
schedules, this lot of singles would be extremely
eligible. They are high-fliers with good jobs in the
finance industry or are senior executives in MNCs.
They have engaging social skills and enough life
experiences to make good conversation.
But they are so busy that they spend whatever
free time they have catching up on their sleep.
“They don’t plan their weekends. When they
are free, they will call up old friends for coffee,” says
Ms Lydia Gan, founder of Clique Wise. “They
hardly make any new friends.”
Furthermore, they are frequently out of town
and are unable to maintain personal relationships,
notes Mr Andrew Chow, founder of Table For Six.
Ms Gan relates the story of a client who always
put his career first and assumed that men had a
longer shelf-life on the dating scene. By the time he
wanted to settle down at 42, he found himself
lacking the time, energy level and dating skills.
The younger women he wanted to date were in
their early 30s and found him too old for their
tastes.
Here are some solutions for the busy bee single:
CUT TO THE CHASE
Find out quickly if your date’s character suits yours
in this class. It shows you how to use the
Enneagram, a system that teaches you about the
habits and quirks of different personalities.
Are you my type?
By: Table For Six
Date: Feb 5, 2 to 5pm
Cost: $48
Sign up: E-mail your name, mobile number,
gender and date of birth to andrew@tableforsix.sg
USE YOUR GEOGRAPHICAL ADVANTAGE
Find singles who work around you through this
website that matches singles based on their office
location. Now you will know who is working as late
as you and would like to grab supper.
Who Works Around You
(www.whoworksaroundyou.com)
Cost: Membership is free until further notice.
GO FOR ONE-ON-ONE MATCHMAKING
Since you do not have time to socialise, make use
of dating services that will set you up on dates with
people you might click with. Visit the Registry of
Dating Agencies (www.rda.gov.sg) for a list of
accredited dating agencies that provide
matchmaking services.
M
arketing manager Ezen Ho
has been looking for love for
the last three years.
The 28-year-old attends events for
singles at least once every two
months. She has gone to teas, taken
part in driving rallies and even gone
on blind dates organised by her
friends. She is also searching on
Lovestruck.com and Singapore
Lovelinks.
The business management
graduate from Singapore
Management University has herself
organised two singles’ events – a
canoe polo session and a four-day
white water rafting holiday to
Malaysia – to “kill many birds with
one stone”.
“Even if I don’t find anyone who
is suitable for me, they might be
suitable for my friends,” she says.
The longest relationship she has
had in three years lasted four months.
It ended because of “communication
problems”.
Ms Ho began going to dating
events at 25 because she wanted to
start looking for Mr Right early.
“I was usually the youngest
participant,” she says. “But I’m glad I
started young, especially when I see
women in their 30s at these events
who are still looking for a life
partner.”
The bubbly extrovert says she takes
a proactive approach to dating
because she meets mostly women or
married men through her work in the
beauty industry. “I am at a stage in
my life where I know what I want
and I’m just waiting for the right
candidate.”
She wants a man under 35 who is
witty, kind and goal-oriented. He
must also be as adventurous and
spontaneous as she is.
Ms Ho has backpacked in South
America and gone on road trips in
Australia.
Last month, she turned a planned
trekking holiday to Ladakh into a
humanitarian mission when floods
hit the region. With five friends, she
left for the Himalayas with $3,000 in
cash donations and 150 pieces of
winter clothing for the victims.
So far, she has not clicked with
anyone she has met as most were
introverts, she says.
“Many of them blend with the
wallpaper,” she says. “They don’t take
the initiative to start a conversation.
When I ask them what they do in
their free time, the answer is always
the same: swim, jog, cycle, sleep.
“I do get jaded sometimes and
wonder if I should keep going for
these events when the men are so
similar.”
But she keeps hopeful. “My
mindset is to make friends with
everyone. Anything else I get would
be a bonus.”
Lacking in grooming skills and social etiquette, the
clueless single is the bane of dating event organisers.
Mr Andrew Chow, relationship coach and
owner of dating agency Table For Six, says some
men arrive at events with a smart-casual dress code
in T-shirts, baggy jeans and track shoes, while some
women turn up without make-up.
He says: “If you don’t make a good first
impression, others won’t have the patience to get
to know you better.”
Many clueless singles do not know the first thing
about tact either.
A man at one of Mr Chow’s dating events asked
a woman he was meeting for the first time how
much money she had in her CPF account.
“He had been told that it was rude to ask about
her pay. So he figured out what he thought was a
clever way to find out her financial status.”
Here are some tips for the clueless single:
GET GROOMED
Get a style update and find out the colours and
kind of clothes that suit you.
Make Me Beautiful – Your Colours And You
By: Exclusive Match
Date: Jan 8 next year, 1 to 4pm
Cost: $65
Sign up: E-mail the event title, your name, IC
number and mobile number to info@
myexclusivematch.com.sg. Call 6227-0307 or visit
www.o2match.com for details.
LEARN SOME ETIQUETTE
Get advice on how to develop deeper connections
and get out of awkward situations with class.
Growing Connections
By: Clique Wise
Date: Dec 4, 3.30 to 5.30pm
Cost: $55
Sign up: E-mail the event title, your name, gender,
mobile and IC number to register@wow-her.com.
sg. Call 9795-0568 for details.
TAKE THINGS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Instead of the usual dinner-and-movie routine,
learn to come up with creative and fun dates.
Creating Fun Dates
By: Clique Wise
Date: Nov 28, 3.30 to 5.30pm
Cost: $55
Sign up: E-mail the event title, your name, gender,
mobile and IC number to register@wow-her.com.
sg. Call 9795-0568 for details.
CLUELESS SINGLESBUDGET SINGLES BUSY BEE SINGLES
Photographer
ASHLEIGH SIM;
Styling
GLADYS CHUNG;
Hair & make-up
MELISSA YEO (9768-2813)
Ms Ezen Ho, a self-professed tomboy,
regularly attends dating events. She shares her
experiences with GLADYS CHUNG
A self-confessed tomboy, Ms Ezen Ho, 28,
usually wears jeans, sneakers and a tank top
(left) when she goes on dates. She seldom
wears make-up.
For this Urban makeover (far left),
make-up artist Melissa Yeo gave her a
feminine and glamorous look with dark
eyeshadow, light blush on her cheeks and
loose curls that frame her face.
Urban dressed the marketing manager in
a feminine silk top with ruffles and a silk skirt
with pleats. We jazzed up the looks with faux
pearl necklaces and strappy heels. All were
from Banana Republic.
Ms Ho’s response: “I’ve never seen myself
look so feminine before. It gives my
confidence a boost.”
She likes the make-up, “but it’s not
something I would do on my own because it
takes too much time”.
She also loves the hair.
“I intend to buy a curler and I’ll use it
when I’m getting ready for dates.”
Unlike most girls, shopping is not a
favourite activity of hers. She shops only once
a year and spends about $300 in total.
“I never knew that I look good in ruffles
and blush colours. I will start looking out for
outfits like these,” she says.
“But I doubt I will start wearing heels
because I just can’t walk in them. They’re too
impractical for me.”
Blouse, $119; skirt,
$119; necklace,
$229; bracelet, $99;
ring, $89; sandals,
$209, all from
Banana Republic;
Vitra Heart Cone
chair by Verner
Panton, $5,325,
from Space
Furniture, Level 2
Millenia Walk
LOOKING
FOR LOVE
FROM TOMBOY
TO HOT DATE
18 19