one hour gone

hello there, i’m now two hours ahead of Singapore! that’s a good thing cos one hour does make a difference. i hate it when the three hours’ time difference obstructs me from chatting online with people.

and like i know i should be calling my dad just to keep him updated on my life (otherwise he’ll nag and nag and nag) but i can only call him late at night. after a day of research articles my brain is reduced to pulp and i can’t stay awake for late night phone conversations. now that it’s daytime, i’m waiting for my cordless phone battery to charge. -_-||

one thing i hate about daylight savings is that i have to go around setting clocks and watches back by one hour. only ally is nice enough to set herself back by one hour, the rest of the gadgets and stuff have zero initiative, bah.

baffling news

1) don’t worry about having no rice in Singapore, our trusty government will never let that happen. oh, you mean people are stocking up rice because the prices are gonna be higher? ohhhh…then better continue stocking up cos the backup rice supply is not going to become a mechanism to keep prices down. rice is still gonna become more expensive. for the low-income group people, don’t worry! the GST offset package is about to save your life in July. it can buy you a year’s supply of rice! no, wait. wasn’t the GST offset package supposed to help everyone with the increase in GST and not inflation?

what’s growth dividends anyway? am i eligible for that? i seriously have no idea and i can’t keep track, with so many different schemes to help needy people like me. i’m gonna be unemployed and utterly broke in july.

2) plenty of ways we can spend money and we choose to develop a place that is constantly developing. yeah, i know Orchard is the MAIN shopping belt every tourist has to visit and stuff like that, but the way they have to make every tourist destination state-of-the-art simply reminds me why there are no historical districts in Singapore. to the people in charge of planning and developing Singapore, the very few few-decades old buildings and handful of barely-a-century-old buildings scattered around seem to suffice as historical value.

3) fortunately we’re not only spending on town areas. the government has decided to invest in Jurong! oh wow! Jurong will no longer be The Industrial District and All Places Weird of Singapore! i cringe when i think of the Discovery Centre, the Science Centre, the abandoned Tang Dynasty, etc. finally, the place i’ve lived in all my life would no longer be the kampung of Singapore. that is, if all things turn out well and Jurong doesn’t become a white elephant. i mean, a place in the extreme west is a place in the extreme west and i guess i’m not overly confident about how things will turn out.

one point remains baffling: they want to build 2,800 hotel rooms in Jurong in anticipation of visitors? who the hell would want to rent a hotel room which is so far away from everything else? turning Jurong into a commercial hub doesn’t mean it will become popular with tourists right? or maybe Jurong hotels will become the popular place for business travellers cos hell, it’s just next to Tuas where a lot of MNCs are located, you know? like the time i was stunting as a receptionist at The Office and this overseas business visitor called in advance to ask if there were any hotel rooms within 30 minutes drive from The Office. hurhurhur.

4) now that Jurong is gonna be the location, maybe those who had rejected HDB flats in Jurong would change their minds. better to buy them cheaply now and sell them a decade later when prices rise. for the next ten years, just tahan a bit and travel to town more often lor. maybe that’s what they mean when they say there’s no housing shortage in Singapore, there are still plenty of vacant flats in Jurong available. all along there were plenty of flats in Singapore hor, this very same guy said it’s because applicants were fussy whaaat; want good location, good price, good schools, etc. etc.

5) am i the only one who doesn’t remember any problem gambling campaigns before the IR was decided upon? the IR is still far, far off from operating and there are like, a million and one campaigns for problem gambling. problem gambling is a problem Singaporeans should never have. we must have a casino in Singapore so that we can attract more visitors, but don’t get negatively influenced by all the evils yeah? Singapore Pools not that bad an influence what, they only offer 4D and Toto and Big Sweep and soccer betting and dunno what. not as sinister as a casino mah.

6) lastly, duh. young, affluent Singaporeans expect world-class standards. world-class standards of what? are they sure it’s only young and affluent Singaporeans? i’m young but not affluent and i expect world-class standards also what. i thought being affluent wasn’t a criteria to become a world citizen? strange, strange.

i wonder

it was weird how only a couple of days ago, the authorities decided to tell the public that the terrorist-on-the-run doesn’t really walk with a limp, but that he limps only when running or walking briskly. say earlier will die ah? will jeopardize national security if such information is leaked is it?

now they tell the public about the attire he was wearing when he escaped. in addition to the fact that he had probably changed out of the attire.

if i were a terrorist escaping from everyone i would have changed out of the detention centre attire the moment i was out of sight. and a terrorist with common sense would have thrown the attire away, right?

and i guess that guy would have done that many many days ago and seriously, where would those clothes be now? probably some cleaning uncle or auntie would have thought they were some random discarded clothes and sent them on to the world of garbage. maybe they’ll be found in some landfill or among ashes of the incinerator by now.

it really makes me wonder why those jokers didn’t release such information immediately when it would have been a lot more useful and timely.

were they very confident that they would be able to capture the terrorist very soon and with minimal help from the public? and now that days have just zapped by without any clues, are they getting desperate and thus releasing more of these too-late information, hoping they would still be of some help?

well, they thought mr. terrorist might be breaking cover soon eh? come on, he’s a freaking trained terrorist, not a pampered boy on a school camp! he must be really, really dumb if he appears just because he has “gone for more than 100 hours without shelter or food”.

‘Singapore’s reputation “has taken a knock”?’

I think it’s damn sia suay lah.

summer blitz

i thought this summer vacation would feel like a long one, being three months long. but it’ll be over in less than two weeks’ time. i’ve been back so long i’m beginning to forget that i have to pack up and leave this place again. it’s not that i’m feeling sad having to return to canberra, it’s just that i’ve enjoyed myself thoroughly and i’m dreading the cold turkey i’ll face when i’m back there.

three months of rushing through the preparations for the brother’s wedding, for the chinese new year celebrations, several different job assignments and meeting up with people. maybe that’s why the three months seem a lot longer than it really was.

it’s a pain being equally happy in both singapore and canberra cos i hate to leave either place. for now, i hate to leave my life here but hey, i’ll be back in july. for good.

these few days i’ve been thinking how cool it would be if i could just stop time when i want to. when i’m out with friends, when i’m just lazing around at home. fast forward the times when i’m unhappy or cranky. pause during the moments when i’m happy and satisfied. skip the parts when i’m pissed.  if only lah.

great, it’s 1am and i’m starving but too lazy to get food from the kitchen and refusing to sleep on an empty stomach. besides, i’ll be in the air this time next week. why waste precious time sleeping?

the redemption job

i wasn’t so sure before taking up this part-time job, but now i know singaporeans are suckers for instant dips and lucky draws. most come with this look of anticipation because they know there’s a lucky draw. i do things step by step and get them to choose a colour for the notebook they get to redeem with $80 purchase. then they give me this disappointed look, cos they thought “got lucky draw one”.

then i get them to do the instant dip and some of them are so excited i really wonder why. most people assume the whole box is filled with “thank you for participation” notes, which i swear is untrue. the luckiest shopper had five instant dip chances and she won a prize for each dip. that’s my idol.

those who really, really love lucky draws and yet not win anything in the instant dip are momentarily gloomy until i ask them to fill up the coupons for the grand draw. that brings a smile to their faces again. it might be some chinese thing to love lucky draws cos all other races seem a lot more calm. unfortunately the chinese are the same group of people who complain about lousy gifts when what the booth offers are far better than the worst lucky dip i’ve seen.

there’s this rather cute nutcracker thing which is one of the prizes. i hate to tell shoppers they’ve won a nutcracker in the lucky dip, cos they always ask “i’ve won a WHAT?!” so i have to explain to them a nutcracker is a device to crack nuts and show them the lever at the back of the figurine nutcracker and where to put the nut and why it might not work perfectly cos it’s more of a decoration than a real nutcracker.

there are all kinds of people here - the irritatingly atas shentonite who thinks they’re a level above everyone else, the typical office lady with pretty manicures, businessmen who look embarrassed they’re actually doing these redemption and lucky dip stuff, auntie shoppers with kids in tow, rich tai-tais, etc.etc.

there were these kids who were so irritating i really wanted to glare at them. i restrained myself cos it was working hours and i gotta remain professional, eh? there are also plenty of fussy and demanding office ladies who whine like nobody’s business when i tell them the purple and pink notebooks are out of stock. there are the crazy working ladies who behave like how i would with my friends and they can be pretty entertaining at times. of course, there’s plenty of nice, normal people over here.

there are always people who approach the booth when it’s closed and ask me if i could just make an exception and let them redeem their stuff even though it’s non opening hours. they get pissed when i tell them the booth is only open during lunch time and after office hours. so now i tell them everything’s locked in the cupboards and my boss has the key. and to those shoppers who ask if they can have the purple and pink notebooks in the display cabinet, i can’t let them have those cos the display cabinet is locked and my boss has the key. i think it’s pretty smart of me cos they have no idea who is my boss, they wouldn’t raise hell at me or the boss and they actually think i would help them, if only i had the keys. yeah right.

they just don’t know i don’t even bat an eyelid when conning people.

i’m sure my boss wouldn’t blame me for using this excuse cos she’s a nice boss and pretty cool about most things, yay. so nice that she let me work without wearing the silly christmas hat even though i was all ready to wear that with a pained soul. when i asked her if i could help her with anything, cos i was so bored, she told me i could switch on my laptop and play games if there are no customers. boss like that, where to find?

this sums up the generally happy career i have for the time being.

say hi to me if you drop by change alley, i’ll be “that girl at the redemption counter” until christmas eve.

dazed

day 2 back at home. my room resembles a disaster zone with my belongings strewn around. i’ve been attempting to clean up everything in my room cos the last time i was back, i didn’t really bother keeping everything in order.

now i’m finding things from many years ago and i’m wondering what the hell they’re doing in the desk drawers. there’s tonnes of things to put in the correct places but i have no idea how i should rearrange everything. i need space, lots and lots of space.

i’ve also been on an eating blitz. it’s scary how much i’ve been eating. unhealthy breakfasts, lunches and dinners. i need to slow down on my eating missions; it’s been raining a lot and i haven’t been able to go for swims.

the warm weather is making me feel freaking sleepy…

back

i am back back back! landed after 11pm last night, thanks to the one hour delay on qanta’s part again. yet another delay, the third one i’ve had in the last 5 qantas trips. it could be just my luck, or it could be qanta’s poor operations.

in any case, i discovered that each time i’m back, there’s more junk in the house. junk in the kitchen, in the guest room, everywhere. mostly because of the light renovations carried out in the first half of this year and somehow, the junk is still here and i suppose it will linger for some time. the neat freak in me is tempted to do something drastic to get rid of all the junk but i’m lazy.

the modem is now located in the kitchen and because i haven’t figured out how to connect wirelessly, i am seated at the kitchen counter using the internet. with piles kitchen junk surrounding ally and really, it isn’t a very nice place to work in. soon i’ll setup the wireless and move the old pc out of my room so that i can use the internet comfortably in my room. that sounds like a lot of work, darn. we’ll see how it goes.

right now i should just concentrate on thinking about my haircut, the photo-album-to-be, how to create more space in my room and how to earn more money. yah, a lot of serious things to think about. i still have to do some self-reflections on time management, remember?

the last time i heard, this is supposed to be my summer holidays.

it’s just him

mm lee said it takes only 20 minutes to get anywhere in singapore.

for him, maybe. i hate to be impolite to elderly folks but seriously, bullshit lah. he obviously hasn’t tried commuting from my home to the airport, let alone during peak hours when the darned PIE would jam like crazy. we need a minimum of 45 minutes to get to the airport and that’s with smooth traffic and speeding throughout the journey. i don’t even wanna talk about taking public transport to the airport.

in fact, i suggest he personally explore the island transport network someday, the real network beyond his chauffeured car. i admit the transportation system is far from being the worst in the world. but hey, just the bus journey from my house to jurong point takes 20 minutes can? the linear distance is only 1.65km, according to streetdirectory.com. yeah it takes less than 5 minutes if i get there by car but i am one of those people who may never own a car in singapore cos of COEs and ERPs.

my point is, try and give a more realistic figure if he’s just trying to impress others. if he’s not trying to impress, then at least get his facts right before making such statements. if 20 minute’s travel time is a fact for him, then perhaps being my neighbour for a day will help him gain a better perspective of what things are really like for us commoners.

crossroad

 

it’s getting increasingly difficult to make decisions. when i decided to do this course, it was mostly based on impulse and it took me less than a week to make the decision. it was that kind of immature recklessness that urged me to take up the challenge.now that i’m exactly halfway through the course, i have no idea whether to stay in australia or to go back to singapore after graduation.

the thing about singapore is that i was born and bred there, my family and friends are there. and these mean a hell lot of things to me. but at the same time, because they mean so much to me, it’s sometimes less painful to distance myself slightly. but sadly, other than family and friends, shopping and food (the abundance of it 24/7) and the amazing availability of wireless hotspots which are free and faster than what i have now, there are no other reasons to keep me there.

on the other hand, living alone here in australia is so serene sometimes i forget that there’s other people in the world other than myself. it’s good cos i don’t have to consider others, don’t have to make sure i don’t piss them off, etc. etc. the people, the weather, the possibilities of travelling are all great. i’m enjoying my stay here so much that i don’t want it to become history. that one day i’d reminisce about my days in australia and not actually being here.

but i know i wouldn’t want to stay here if i’m to get a job in marketing. australia isn’t exactly a very happening place for marketing things, the action’s in (or moving to) asia i think. and with singapore being such a centre for regional offices and a platform to enter other asian markets, i’m definitely more attracted to the marketing industry over there. of course, it’s hell of a challenge getting a good marketing job in singapore.

tsk.

ironically, if i knew i had to make such a difficult decision someday, i don’t think i would have come here. not even for the fun and experience.

and the benchmark is…

i can’t help being cynical sometimes, the module i’m taking which demands that we critique, critique and critique. that makes me even more, erm, critical.

but let’s look at some excerpts:

Malay/Muslim community is better off now than 25 years ago: PM Lee

• More Malay students are pursuing post-secondary education and more in the community are also holding better-paying jobs.
• Mr Lee gave an example - more than 80 per cent of Malay students now make it to post-secondary education such as ITEs and polytechnics.
• More Malay/Muslim households have upgraded to better housing too. The vast majority own their own homes – 93 per cent, that’s about the same as the national average.
• Collectively, these indicators reflect a community enjoying higher living standards and better quality of life.
• Although the community has shown progress, Mr Lee said it still has to tackle some pressing issues such as the problems of dysfunctional families.
• Though such problems are not common, Mr Lee said they could affect the educational performance of the Malay/Muslim community.

1) and they’re really comparing against? i mean, as a whole, all singaporeans have better-paying jobs, education levels and housing than they did 25 years ago right? so there’s something very warped about the way they are doing comparisons. or are they segregating the comparisons according to communities so that the chinese, malays and indians can progress in their own directions, with varying speeds? so, ahem, where’s the value of their findings?

2) i’m pretty sure quality of life and living standards doesn’t just mean higher disposable incomes and owning houses. the last time i heard, it also included cost of living, work-life balance and stuff and to me, it certainly includes not having to work past the age of 55. okay, at most 60. their definitions of quality of life and living standards don’t include the non-tangible variables eh?

3) yes, i know education is the big thing on the sunny island now. but seriously, if i were them i’ll worry more about the character, psychological and moral development of kids in dysfunctional families. what’s the point of being educated if one grows up to be an evil person? besides, hasn’t our friendly media featured countless stories of people who made it big despite having dropped out of school?

right, back to the real article critique i have to submit tomorrow.