28 Jun: Happy Pink Dot Day Singapore!

Today is Pink Dot day, in support of the gay people in Singapore.

I'm glad we have Pink Dot. Not because it's just horray that gay people can come out of the closet but rather, this event gives hope and comfort for parents of gay people, to witness that there are people out there who will not ostracize against their children in our "selective" conservative Singapore society.

Some particular religious people fanatics have been trying to shove their views down our throats lately with their loud outcry that this Pink day event is pure abomination, a destruction to family values and family units, an erosion of family values because they think that gay people are out to destroy the world and will stop reproduction in their tracks and cause millions of family units to fall apart. They made it sound like being gay is "contagious", a fad, a "lifestyle" that will make it appealing for straight people to convert to "gayism". I dont know if I should weep for their ignorance

I remember when i was growing up in the 70s, 80s, many adults of all races used to "advise" me to stay away from Albino people. I was warned told that Albino people are "cursed", "evil", "freaks", "something wrong", "parents did evil things so it is their punishment/ retribution" or it might be "contagious". Down syndrome kids I remembered were targeted too with such hurtful ignorance. I remember when I was volunteering at Down syndrome school in the 90s, there were still parents who would whip their toddler or child out of the pool (with horrified expression) faster than u can blink when our Down Sydnrome charges were happily going into the pool.

Fast forward 30 years on, Albino people are no longer shunned or ostracised or deemed "abnormal" creature. Parents of Down Sydnrome kids no longer have to weep or despair behind close doors because they no longer have to fear people calling their children devil spawn. The veil has lifted and I thank Science for clearing the "mystery" and proving that it all boils down to Genetic coding and has nothing to do with what the parents did or did not do right. It is something that Mother nature decided should happen.

I once asked my husband, "Why dont Science just prove once and for all that being gay is to do with genetics and nothing to do with lifestyle choices? That will SHUT ALOT OF RELIGIOUS people up and give gay people a place in society and recognition they deserve." We talked alot about it, as to why there isnt funding for something so fundamental about human make up. We talked about ethics, if parents would end up wanting to genetically modify their kids if they discover their kids are gay? We talked about religious groups' reaction on the studies since that will over throw their centuries claim that being gay was wrong. We talked alot, but ultimately, we realised no one will fund this sensitive & non monetary project. So to me, if religious groups are so HELL BENT on telling me that being gay is wrong and it's not genetics, then PROVE it to me via scientific research. Otherwise, I will stick to my belief that being gay is genetics, not lifestyle. I am more inclined to believe that industrialization and chemical toxins polluting our food chain has a bigger role in altering our genetic makeup.

I have several friends who are gay.
One of them comes from a family of 6 kids, 4 sons and 2 daughters. The father is homophobic and a typical Testerone driven chap. They grew up on a farm and there was no internet in those days when growing up and they are of Christian upbringing. There was absolutely NO INFLUENCE of gay people and yet, out of the 4 boys, 2 are gays and till this day they do not dare to tell their parents outright they are gay, out of respect for their parents feelings. (Though the father cannot be so blind when their sons only bring back one particular male friend back respectively every Home visits for many years). How can being gay be a lifestyle choice when nothing in their growing years support this claim? Gay was not a topic to be spoken of in those 60s and 70s...so nothing would have planted that idea in their head that "being gay was something they should explore". Nothing. To further fuel my own curiosity, I asked them. "At what age did u actually feel an attraction for male or that u kind of realise you were gay?"

They told me they didnt know they were gay. There was no labels then when they are growing up but they knew they had never felt anything for girls but they started having crushes on boys when they were as young as 10yo. To those who insist that being gay is a choice, I simply ask, why would a 10 year old kid (esp one who goes to church) decide to wake up one day "deciding" that they want to be attracted to same sex, going against everything they were taught, and face lifelong bullying and ostracism? Who in the right mind would choose such a difficult journey to love if they have a choice?

As for religious shoutouts claiming being gay is wrong, I would say to you "My brother/ Sister, you are being wrong. Your eyes are being blinded by the devil to create discord amongst men and you have forgotten the simple teaching of Love all, Judge not. Live and let live."

The word that has been thrown around "Lifestyle", I don't quite get your definition of the word used.
People who persists on buying branded goods is chasing a "status" lifestyle. People who only eats organic food is after a "healthy" lifestyle. Lifestyle is something that one goes after to achieve a purpose. So in those outcry of "gay lifestyle", what exactly is it? A lifestyle of being persecuted by non accepting mainstream? A lifestyle of being called faggots when your manhood feels threatened? A lifestyle of suffering from possible cutting of ties by your own family members? Again I ask, what benefits does this "lifestyle" does this entails in the eyes of the protestors? Gay people comes from all quarters, all walks of life. Being gay is not exclusively to the "rich and famous" and so it cannot be a "lifestyle". If someone is poor and yet still gay, how do u explain that hard choices if it's not mother nature's work?

Gay people or recognizing their right to love the same sex does not destroy family units, nor will it erode the family values. Family units are destroyed by many things such as ADULTERY, WOMANISING, ALCOHOLISM, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, GAMBLING, MIS-COMMUNICATION, GREED, DISTRUST, DISRESPECT, CONFLICTS with in laws etc but never by gay people. Gay people couldnt crave for more stable family, more than you realise.

If you want to throw the argument that gay men "sleeps" around, then I will tell you "Straight man" (or straight rapists) sleeps around too and spread HPV, HIV, STD to many woman (or even married partner and their babies) too" Some straight men are equally guilty offenders of irresponsible sleeping around. Some straight men also double timed their partners. Some straight men also enjoy engaging anal sex with straight women. So it's misguided that only gay people are wanton or sole source of spreading sexual diseases. In any case, unless you are gay, what gay people might or might not have isnt going to infect you will it since u wont be allowing anyone to poo jab you right?

As for family values which religious people proclaim that gay people will erode, what family values may that be? U mean to propagate? Well, in that case, should all single people, consciously choosing to be childless couples and priests and nuns be stoned to death as well since they are not abiding by God's words either? Incidentally, gay people do not necessarily stop procreation, infact, gay people DO DESIRE to recreate and many has done so via surrogate mothers or donor sperms. Think Matt Boomer the actor with his own brood. So no, gay people will not cause the extinction of man kind. If you say "gay parents" will raise gay kids, then should all parents of convicts or criminals themselves be banned from ever having kids because they wll be bound to raise a child who is after a criminal lifestyle? There are no proof either that gay parents raise gay kids nor single parents can only raise kids who will not believe in marriage, but on the contrary, many well educated straight kids have been raised by loving gay parents. However, the law prevents more gay couples from proving the fact that they can be equally good parents as straight parents.

So No, I disagree that family values will be eroded. Gay uncles, and aunties are equally loving to their niece and nephews. They too teach them to be upright person, respect elders, be useful to societies and be compassionate. So how is gay relatives an erosion to family values?

Some online anti-gay people say "oh allowing them to love same sex is ok, then we might as well condone pedophiles since it's their freedom to love" I shake my head at such desperate grasp of the straw, arguing with no logical sense. Pedophiles are a crime not just because it's an adult molesting a child, it's a crime because they are knowingly inflicting trauma and doing something against the unknowing child wishes. It's NON CONSENSUAL because the child has no knowledge of the thing being done to him or her. It inflicts horror, anguish and possible lifelong suffering from a pedophile act and it's hurting the kid. That will explain why a 40yo man touches a 10yo child is wrong but a 50yo man having sex with 20 yo woman is not despite the the same age gap.

 How can Gay people be drawn in comparison with pedophiles boogles me, when gay people do NOT inflict pain on children nor anyone else? It's a private love affair. They dont go around shoving their dick at you and if they do, that's call Rape and that's jailtime. Speaking of pedophiles, Catholic Churches have long been exposed to harbour plenty of Priest Pedophiles and yet nothing was ever done to them. So should churches be shut down then since it's all so wrong and we can never be sure of whom the church is harboring as a potential pedophile?

I will be honest and say I grew up believing gay is wrong, and was told "dont share food with gay people because they will spread Aids to you." Yes, my parents are rather old school and conservative. They probably might have hung their head in shame for rest of their lives if I had been gay. However, I remember on a trip to Taiwan when I was 10 or 11 year old on a tour group, there was this 2 guys who were always seated at the back of the coach keeping to themselves. Yet, I rem too they were very nice to me, taking time to talk to me and entertain me on the bus as we travel from one sight to another, watching out for me in crowded places. My mum wasnt too pleased and reprimanded  me  frequently thruout the trip for "talking to the male companions". For many days, I had the best time of my life. I had "2 big brothers" to play with me since my own brothers were grounded in Singapore for NS and school.

Looking back, I realised now that the 2 big brothers were actually a gay couple, and it explains why all the uncles and aunties kept their distance. As fact stands, bright as day, I didnt die from Aids sharing their food during meal time or taking their snacks. Neither did my exposure to these gay people at my young age erode my way of family thinking nor destroy my family (though it was my dad's affair with another Malaysian woman that did the irreversible damages). And no, neither did I turn gay just because I saw them kissing privately. I totally have NO IMPULSE nor Desire to try to kiss another gal either simply because my genetic makeup is different. Even with gays friends, nothing will compel me to sleep sexually with another woman. Even going to a convent school with all talks of "lesbian couples", and all the hand holding etc, I know without a doubt I am only attracted to guys no matter how close I am to my gfs. Nothing will possess me to be "influenced" to become gay just because I am surrounded by all these "lesbian" talk back in school. So trust me when I say, gay people cannot convert you nor change who you are fundamentally. It's just like the Thai boys who want to be woman, you cannot help wanting to be who you are.

Discrimination against gay people may never end unless Science can prove them wrong. 

I hope that day comes soon

I dont expect many to come round to understand that being gay is not a lifestyle. I dont seek their belief but I seek their tolerance to not lash out or actively cry out against gay people. Gay people are everywhere.

Australia celebrates gayism openly with Mardi Gras every year and yet, their family units remain strong and people are still popping children left right and center. New Zealand has changed their legislation towards gay people and you do not see their country falling apart with a surge in divorces or children turning gay.

At the end of the day, it's your choice whether you want to accept gay people. 

However, think about it. You might even be friends with one, eating food prepared by a gay person, watching entertainment brought to you by gay people, wearing clothes designed and made by gay people and you wont even realise it and you prob in no way have suffered. So dont judge for the sake of judging unless you have concrete proof that harm has been done to you or mankind as a whole.

As for my gay friends, I celebrate your right to love and be loved.

Happy Pink Dot Day!

May 2014: Hong Kong: HKGCC Free Ride Day!

29th May 2014

Today is HKGCC FREE RIDE DAY!

Yup, you read right. Is there any other way to say it except for....
AWESOME!!

A campaign launched since 2011, Public and tourists can enjoy free rides on any tram between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan on May 29. This year’s Free Ride Day covers over 100. The Star Ferry routes have also been expanded to include crossings between Tsimshatsui and Wanchai, in addition to the Tsimshatsui-Central route."

The event meant to convey the message: ‘Building a Prosperous Hong Kong with All Members of Society.’

Source: Read here

Do we ever have anything as such in Singapore? Not that I can rem. All that I can ever rem back home is the constant "justification" of increasing transport prices. If there is any discount or "free", it always come hand in hand with an agenda or problem such as to ease traffic congestion, train breakdown etc but not because it's of goodwill to the society.

I think Hk people, has the heart in the right place.

All the wrong things people are saying these days in Singapore.

It's rather unfortunate these days...to see an insurmountable rage against foreign residents in Singapore these days. Of course, having loud mouth twats with the likes of Anton Casey of British origin doesn't help the situation.

The first response I received when I repost this on my FB was from my American friend.

"Thank God this pinhead isn't an American. I was worried for a moment that an "Ugly American" was going to taint the rest of us. Sounds like a he is a Brit, but one that has enjoyed the benefits of living in Singapore for too long and has forgotten reality."

My response to him was that in general, the Americans residing in Sg that I am acquainted with are relatively a PC lot. They may be loud-volume (even when sober) but they dont generally pass such irresponsible statements. Sure, there are one or two condescending pricks here and there but that's at a personal level and most people left it as that.

This Mr Anton Casey's (itchy fingers) comments took a life of its own (via many other papers as well such as Guardian)because it was so callous and uncalled for, and at a time where the fury against (excessive) foreigners is at its height. To start off, no one was targeting at his nor his family. This chap just woke up one day, took issue with the fact that his fancy car "Mr Porsche" had to go to the workshop and decided to post his disdain and  fairly low opinion of the commuters in a public media.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=702504856461351

These are exactly the sort of twats that gives expat spouses of Singaporean a bad name. My man's first response when he read this was "What a prick. What's his problem?" (I guess my man and I belong to the Poor category since we had never owned a car in Sg). As to why people as such couldnt express their bigoted views behind closed doors instead of posting such irrelevant antagonistic posts publicly is beyond basic comprehension. I say behind close doors because from experience, these people dont form such nasty character over night. They are already rotten. He was either born or bred into a prick, and so nothing will change that. He probably is someone who makes nasty comments all the time behind close doors or during private sessions but as to why he decided to post something as unfunny and followup with belligerent video is something I have yet to work out why. Then again, I must presume here that his olfactory receptors are probably so high up his arse that probably explains the "stench" he smells all the time around other people, thinking it was others when it was just him and his "potty" mouth..

Someone in his FB crowd must be really offended to leak his un-PC post to TRS since it wasnt a public post. I looked around some of my friends post who happened to work in HSBC and could only surmised that this chap appears to be strikingly repulsive  from Day 1. My friend who was his excolleague in HSBC indicated that Mr Anton Casey always had that "Colonial Master Syndrome" as well. That's all him period. As such his postings came as no surprise to people who are acquainted with this unfortunate being. (apparently even from his grammar school days back in UK).

As someone in UK commented, that's what you get when you go around poking a hornet's nest and ended up in hospital. Do you deserve it, depending, but did you have it coming. A definite YES. So dont blame us or the media for hanging you out to dry. You incurred the wrath of the people not because it was injustice done to you but it was solicited, indirectly.

What I do find unfortunate though, is his decision to drag his son into this whole mess that he dug for himself. Regardless if his son is an equally smug little being due to undesirable parental non-role model, he still shouldnt have subjected his kid into the public eye. I suppose he thought it would "funny" coming from the "mouth" of a kid than a full grown adult, hence lessening the barb sting of his unwarranted comments and followup taunt?

It's unfortunate that other expats who are happy to integrate with locals will be tarred with the same brush stroke by people who dont know them. It will be a stigma with the "selective thinking" group that ALL well off foreigners are arseholes. I already have expat friends who shared their bad experience of being thrown things, verbally abused at (by stupid young adults who probably have too much time on hand which is of their own doing) when they finished dinner at hawker centers.

When I was reading the comments about this chap, I was dismayed at some of the accusations throw up. Do people not "think" anymore when they type their comment?

Firstly. Those torrid swear words that were so hurtful to the eyes... 
Seriously people, can you express your anger in a less vulgar, hateful form? I get your anger. I'm pissed even when I'm not residing in Sg now. Yet, can we be more civilized with our "words". All the CB, KNN etc etc and indignant bashing of other "negative" comments based on their own unfortunate experience are really unwarranted (and these people have left for their greener pastures). When have we become so closed minded that we cannot seem to accept that there will always be other nationalities who had bad experience in Sg? Though I draw the line between personal lamenting and ranting, vs this unprovoked scanting insult of EVERY Singaporean incident.

If you have time, go read the Guardian page and the comments section (link above), LOTSA of Brtions disagreed with his actions and yet they were able to mock him succinctly and in a more humorous manner without getting too offensive. I learnt a new insult just from the page. Someone called him an "Odious Oik". Gotto Love it! Funny like hell but point made!

The message is clear though, many do not condone his actions. Isnt that the only message we are trying to get across to our foreign companions squeezing in our small island? What's up with the flood of horrid verbal abuse?

Secondly. All the "mockings" and ridicles about his son or his wife.
That gotto stop.

Stop giving him a chance to play victim here.

Adults, grow up. Take issue with his comments and make your case with sound arguments. All the ill comments about the kids doesnt say anything about the offender but rather it reflects alot about the sort of hotheaded person that you are, and you effectively nullify any thing u say to be worthless with such personal attacks. (Personal attack is defined as belittling others with name callings/ labelling / irrelevant swearings / making ungrounded baseless assumptions etc). Some people commented that because the twat drag his son into the foray so he was fair game. Really people? Really? You would stoop to the very level of the person u are condemning. In the first place, we already know this British imbecile's action is unwarranted, so rather than taking issue with what he said, you rather take issue with irrelevant fact that his son was in the picture or that his wife isnt interested in local men? It wasnt exactly that the offending words came out of the boy's or wife's mouth you know. The father "pretended" that it was his son who said that. So the arsehole is the dad, not the son. So why is it so hard to target your offence at the RIGHT person?

Thirdly, some people asked about "Why there is no vetting by the govt of such arrogant people?"
People, ANY COUNTRY when issuing work permits and PR, do not interview the chap to find out if he is an arsehole. What is relevant to the process is whether the candidate has relevant work expertise to bring over, and if his COMPANY vouch that he is an asset for the position, and the govt verifies that the applicant has no criminal records.

Being employees of any company, we know that every company has its fair share of arseholes that comes in all shape and sizes and gender and race, may it be local or foreign. Do companies NOT hire people because of rumor that the person is an arsehole? No. They hire people based on their qualifications and experience. Look at the "peanuts pay" guy with the golden tap with NKF, there are countries and companies who will still welcome such people. So will it be plausible that Singapore immigration be any different when they are in search of "talents"? Do company HR SACK arseholes just because of popularity votes of whether he is MR Nice? No. Dismissal often comes at the heel of illegal actions such as fraud, bribes or scandal that is detrimental to the company's public image, examples such as moments when their staff decide to threaten or endanger the poor renovation workers next door for too much noise, or when their fingers decide to grow a mind of their own and type horrible offending statements or confidential leaks.

Asking why the govt allow Mr Casey to work in Singapore is akin to asking Bernice Wong's parents as to why they agree to their daughter marrying a loud mouth bigot like Mr Casey. Irrelevant questions. Both the parents and the govt will tell you his wife vouch for him and he has done nothing to date to prove otherwise, maybe until now? What can the govt say if he ticks all the official boxes on the form? There is no character assessment in the process and there will never be one because its subjective. One cannot be sure it will never be a case of "I dont like your face". So we need quantifiable criterias to access potential PRs. It's the company that will do the character assessment with all those personalities tests and interview processes to weed out the undesirables that wont fit into the company culture. So if HSBC take him under their wing, what basis does the immigration has to to say no if the company is supposed to have done the necessary character reference and checks? So will people quit with the "Govt brings in such trash" broken speech. No, get your facts right. Dont just point your finger randomly if you want credibility in your statements. Be a voice of Reason, not Anger. The govt may have enabled the influx process but it's the COMPANIES that endorsed and brought them over, and no company will know how much an arsehole their staff is until they reveal themselves to be so. Plus I repeat, if they bring money to the firm, most HR dont care if they are twats in personal lives.

Anycase, I suppose this outrage and uproar stems from the fact that it is mouthed from a non Singaporean by birth. Would this play out differently if it was uttered by a Singaporean, say some K-pop contestant, Stephanie Koh with a lousy attitude and public persona?

Personally, I was more disgusted by Singaporeans like Ms Wee Shu Min ("Get out of my uncaring elite face") , or the TV portrayal of another 21yo belligerent Sg girl than this prick.

Anton Casey's a self loving fool and twat, I get it.
He doesnt like Sg but he just like the fact he can chase money here, I get it.
He's British and doesnt owe us allegiance, I get it.
He is what his society, his country and his parents made him to be, I get it.

However, what I dont get is a born and bred Singaporean slagging off her own countrymen on public media with a non apologetic attitude, with all the reasons that I dont concur.

(See her self righteous justifying video here)
http://youtu.be/ydANJ5qLHG4

No country is perfect, and no govt has the right bag of tricks to every situation.
No country has all the right purrrfect mix of citizens either. We all come with our set of nice and baddies.

Let's break down her "reasons" for slagging Singaporeans, which is even more offending than her "I'm not proud to be Singaporean" comment.

"Everybody" vs "Majority"
Firstly, she needs to go back to school and learn what "EVERBODY" means. You do not get to redefine "Everybody" as "Majority". Majority isnt even TRUE to begin with!

“Singaporeans are not nice people.” 
I rolled my eyes when she made comparisons between Australia and Singapore, about greetings and asking if she is alright. Japan being the most courteous country in service, dont have its citizens greeting everyone esp strangers on the street either. Everyone loves going to Japan. Yet staying there is a different story. You dont have to love a country to be there either. So is Singapore. That's the difference between Asian and Western culture. Our societies have evolved differently and to use that social cultural difference to diss your own countryman as not nice is relatively shallow on her part. While living there, yeah sure they made small talks at counters, trust me, it isnt always sincere and its just to make their job less boring. If you asked me, I prefer the fast and furious efficiency check out in HK than in Sydney. The last time I was cursing under my breath when the cashier decided to chat on for good 5 mins when it should have been over in 30 secs and the rest of the lanes were closed being late night.

Singaporeans are not nice? At least its still relatively safe in comparison to Sydney on the streets. When I walk past clarke Quay, I dont have to worry about being accosted by drunks but in Sydney, I will NEVER walk along down Oxford street on a late sat nite given the same situation.

I had lived in Australia and I dont particularly like living there (which explains why I left instead of making comments about a place i dont fancy living in by choice), and neither do some of my fellow friends who have all moved back to Singapore one after and other after the work stint ( Finance, Medical, etc) , for various reasons of their own. Yeah sure, Australia is great in some ways but I definitely do not concur that service is better. I assume she has never been left waiting on the line for over an hour (with NO ONE ANSWERING) while calling Telstra customer hotline when the expensive internet network failed for no reason several times a month, despite paying the most expensive plan. Neither has she I supposed, bought all her own white goods and have delivery men dumping them at your doorsteps and expect you to someone carry the heavy washer etc to the laundry room yourself because as quoted "THAT"S not my job. My job is to deliver and thats your doorstep". I suppose she rented apartments or had the luxury of her parents setting up the place for her, hence never having to deal with much reality.  And I suppose she is young and hot, so she enjoys her work at a bar. Good for her. Try working in a white collar job and you will see a different side of trying to meet your dateline from Asia and your Ozzie counterpart doesnt GIVE A SHIT because it's 4.30pm over their time and its almost time for happy hour down the bar at Oxford street or Darling harbour whatever. 3 hours ahead due to daylight savings difference? Oh sorry, NOT their problem. Urgent? Email me and I will get to it (maybe next day). Oh whatever, the sky isnt gonna fall. So young gal, dont talk as if you KNOW everything. Australia is great but it isnt perfect and has its own share of problems.

“Singaporeans are narrow minded.” where she brought up comparison of minmal wage in Oz and Sg.
As for minimal wage system, the verdict is not out yet if its the best course of measure in Singapore at the moment because of high inflation etc. It will be built into the system eventually I am sure but there is also a reason why it cannot be a shock therapy of change at one go. The minimal wage system works if all situation is status quo and ideal. Yes, I agree wholeheartedly that we should do something about the wage gap and poverty in Singapore but what makes you little girl think so highly of your deduction when u are no economist? It's sooooooo easy to give a simplistic comparsion between wages of waitress in Oz and Sg isnt it. Any idiot can do that.

Let's give a picture that minimal wage is enforced. Do you seriously think that with padded increased in pay, then all problems are solved? No. With minimal wage increase across ALL industries in one go, ALL companies WILL increase price regardless esp those involved in labor intensive jobs, and with that comes price inflation overall. When prices increase, the rate of living again increases. When the cost of living increases again, the income gap vs disposable income possibly widens even more and no one can predict by how much.It could possibly be worse than current. So the very people we have set out to help will again be faced with the inevitable increased in cost and net or deficient in disposable income despite the pay increase. There is no magic forumla to calculate what is the "right amount" of increase in pay to make it work. However, with minimal wage increase in targeted sectors currently, I think the idea is sound but I'm not convinced by the execution. Seriously, $1000 basic pay is low. However, they need to start somewhere and to avoid a massive shakeout.

In HK, the minimal wage is enforced, and talking to HK SME owners, they found it a bane rather than boon. The pool of money that they used to reward and motivate the staff to work hard (to weed out lazy workers and reward the hardworking ones) is now part of the mandatory income. Rem, we are talking about SME here and not MNCs with a vault of cash behind them. There is disgruntle, and now change in morale because there is no incentive to work hard anymore because even lazy people has the same pay. You ask, "why not continue to reward the hardworking people" The question is, if you as owners want your price to stay competitive, raising the price too much to cover the difference will drive customers away and how will that generate more income to reward staff? It's a chicken and egg question.

As for those who complain about foreign staff in Singapore as waitress and cashier, again you have no idea how many waitress, cashier or kitchen job in Sydney has gone to foreigners from Europe and Filipinos as well. Don't believe me, go to Harries' Farm, or Wollies or Target. All the checkout and inventory staff are Filippino. Go to Darling Harbor or Oxford street,  the restaurants are filled with foreign staff from Europe. Australia is going cheap, squeezing margins and cutting corners in many aspect BECAUSE of high labor cost. Even the well loved "Father of Australian cusine" Bilson restaurant had to fold because of cited "increased cost" as part of the reason. Australia has her set of pros and cons so little girl, stop making comparisons that you and I dont always have the full picture on. We are basing it on our own experiences but that is narrow view of you isnt it? The precise angst you have for your own fellowman is a depiction of the very trait you proclaim to despise.

“Singapreans are submissive.”
As for education, it's really what you made out of it. If your teacher tells you not to do something, ask why not. Did you? No? You just accepted it begrudgingly and held it against the WHOLE educational system because of your ONE single experience because you too, were too cowardly to speak out to question your teacher. So are you not also "part of the mould".

In my almost 2 decades of local education, I had many teachers who told me I shouldnt do certain things. When I was in primary school, I was chosen to be in the school choir but I had wanted to join brownies. I was literally BLOCKED by teacher's politics to ban me from brownies (and I was primary 5) because both activities were held on sat clashed and the teacher did not want to set a precedent of someone dropping out of competition winning choir. I didnt accept it and neither did I go crying to my parents. I merely engaged the teachers and made my views known till the music teacher backed down. She gave me a choice in the end. She explained to me the reasons, the pros and cons and left me to make my decision.

When I was in Secondary school, my AEP Brit art tutor saw my friends helping me glue the icecream sticks together and "warned" me that I was not allowed to gain any "external" help or I will be marked down. Again, I questioned his "warning" openly, asking him if he should marked down my classmate claywork since he had his hands all over the pottery he helped to shape and design. Why is his help acceptable when he actually "shaped" the pottery saving it from collapse, while my friends were merely doing the mundane work of gluing things I told them to do when the ideas, art directions, and gluing everything together was all mine? Again, I earned my apology from him for that (after 2 weeks of cold war) and it was never spoken of again. As for her point on "creative Tawainese Art teacher in International school" that her sister went to, I had experience with Taiwanese teacher in Singapore. This Taiwanese art teacher told me purple was a "bad color" for a isotonic drink-can design and again, I call her out on it. She was furious that I refused to change my purple silver colour choice for her "pastel" colour. Is that creative? Afterwhich, she forced us to participate in Sat calligraphy classes which was non essential and I objected. She claimed calligraphy will help in our "creativity" but I told her sorry, I beg to differ.  Even after she complained to my class home tutor, my Irish born home tutor couldnt bring me to task because it was supposed to be voluntary basis with no grades involved. Plus, she too agreed that the argument that its "creative" is subjective. In the end, the Taiwanese art teacher left our school because she couldnt fit into the "liberal school system" and I graduated with distinction with my Art subject in O levels. Point is, just because its not Singaporean doesnt mean they are better and I didnt allow anyone to back me into a corner with no valid reasons that could appeal to me. In college, the new council tutor in charge banned "outdoor" orientation for freshies when it had been an 8 year tradition. Again, I objected and well "bickered/ reasoned" with him for a week. Finally he relented after we reached a compromise on safety issues etc. We had a good talk and in the end, while he still wasnt my fav tutor because he was "army" trained, yet we respected each other's view on things, without ever having to come to blows or display of bad attitude like saying stupid things "I'm not proud to be Singaporean".

So my point is, we all have our moments in school. It isnt the system that is at fault making who you are. You ARE who you make yourself to be. There will always be followers in schools who are happy to abide by the rules, there will be troublemakers for wrong reasons, and there will be people who dont back down in the face of wrong "directions" from authorities. I dont go around tarring or blaming every teacher to be boring, narrow minded, not think out of the box or the educational system based on my few experiences. I dont conform for the sake of conforming but neither do I carry an attitude that the rest are "losers" just because I dont agree with the majority. There will never be a one size fit all system, deal with it and that's when parents and peers come into the picture.

“Singaporeans are not creative.” 
This is a bug bear for me. Why does she even need to go to "K-Pop" competition which she claimed to be conned into to reveal her "creativity" and talent? If she has true talent, look at the tons of You tube stars who actually ARE creative (definitely more creative than her boring videos) who actually made artistic music videos, sang with beautiful voice, team up with other local you tube talents, produced their own mini sell out concerts and produced their own CDs. All without having to join American idol or X factor etc and they are a sensational hit in You tube. THAT"S WHAT I CALL CREATIVE and TALENT> not people as the likes of you who claim to be talented and artistic but have produced nothing worthy to date. You bring to shame to all my musician friends who actually perform gigs in Sg and invited overseas. I'm sure you heard of GSE (the great spy experiement), a local band that brought their music to as far as New York, Perth Cannes etc. These are not creative talented Singaporeans???????

How about Chinese Music Arena such as lyricists or composers such as "Liang Wenfu" (Wiki) and Li SiSong, SiWei (think Stephanie Sun), where these people have produced HITS for famous singers such as Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau etc. These people didnt need "COMPETITIONS" experience to make their talent known and THEY HAVE MADE SINGAPORE PROUD without a chip on their shoulder, nor being a media trash like you little girl.

My personal view.
The fact that she can talk so openly about her freedom of choice is simply, her family background allows her to be so. If her parents were poor, and she had no exposure to Australia school or system, will she still be so unapologetic? No. I can flat out tell you she will be leading a completely different life. I dont give a shit if she likes Singapore or wants to stay in Singapore, but I dont care for her attitude.In Sg we often say "rich so what? big fuck?" So I will say to her "21 and earning your own keep so what, big fuck?" No, it doesnt really bother me but what bothers me is the number of non thinking adults who seem to lap up everything she spews on that unworldly small minded video of hers.

Anycase, I stumbled across another funnier blog in response to this silly gal. Read if you have time.
http://toseekagreatperhaps.com/2014/01/16/why-i-am-not-proud-to-be-singaporean-from-a-foreigners-eye/

Even "lunch stealers" dont want our Singapore citizenship

It was our wedding anniversary and so my man decided to take me out for a weekend celebration at Four Seasons Hotel HK.

Was having dinner at the Chinese Restaurant,LUNG KING HEEN It had a great nite view to the harbor!

Then came a table of 8 Filipino seated next to us. Initially I wasn't paying much attention until they started talking loudly in a mixture of Tagalog and English.

They were talking about their IT work and about how they got their SG PR easily having only stayed in SG for 2 years. One guy was really LOUD, the one with semi bald head, and I commented to my husband that he was the Filipino version of a China man. So loud and crass. It was impossible to not hear him talk.

I was minding my own business until my ears caught them talking about Singapore. What can I say, you can take a girl out of Singapore but you can't take the Singapore element out of the girl.

Even though I don't live in Sg presently, what they said was like a stab to my heart. That our citizenship has really gone down the gutters. (Not that I didnt already know that with the flooding of PR in our country but to actually HEAR it from a foreigner's mouth really made me hot behind the ears.)

The really loud guy have been in SG since 2005 and you can actually hear the Singapore accent from his speech mixed with his Filipino accent. He asked one of his younger guy Filipino "So you converting to SG citizenship?"

You should see the "HORROR" look on the young guy's face and he replied immediately "NO NO! I am just PR, I dont want the citizenship." They said something in Tagalog and they all LAUGHED and the fren repeated the question as to why not?

The young chap replied "I'm only there for career and family."

I assumed they thought it was safe to talk that disparagingly about Singapore (and loudly mind you) in HK.

Later on, they continue to talk about plans to work in London etc..and asking another lady about her experience on the cross over.

Having read what our dear PM Lee warned us about recently, it was ironic and like a HUGE slap across our face. Fantastic isnt it? Even lunch stealers DON'T WANT SG CITIZENSHIP.

Footnote:
I dont usually add a footnote but I felt compelled to do this based on some mistaken and "not so nice" comments. 

This post isnt about shaming the foreign workers, nor about being anti-global workers. That has NEVER been my stand throughout this post or in my blog. Which is why you dont see details like the companies these folks work for here, ther names nor do I take clear pictures of every single one of them to go viral on FB. Which is also why I declined to have this post reposted in TRE or any websites where it might trigger more extreme responses which is not my intention. I'm not here to encourage hate post in case some of readers perceived my post wrongly, or their selectively reading and jumping to conclusions to is their key problems.

However what this post IS about, is stating an incident that I have encountered, which contradicts what our nation's policies seemed to be geared towards - desperate attempts to lure foreigners to be PRs and then to convert them to SG citizens, and making reference to the recent comment warning us about "lunch stealers". Plus these folks talked so loudly on such sensitive issues that I figured if they are not afraid to be heard, they shouldnt be afraid to be "seen" either.

One more note, precisely these are seemingly well educated professionals (aka the sought after targets) that makes the whole situation an irony. If these people are taking cheap shots at us, then who exactly are we as a nation attractive to? These folks merely confirmed what many of us believed, they are not here to make Sg their home forever, to integrate with us, they are just here for career and family well being, and some nastier ones to milk the system (eg: buy HDB and resell for a profit when they give up their PR and head elsewhere).  Without a link like a local spouse, or some other commitment,  it's hard to imagine any of them being concerned for the nation or any integration intent.  

Finally,the issue in this post has nothing to do with globalisation of workforce, but rather that I am disappointed with these fellow people who are here in our land, drinking our water, working amongst us, enjoying whatever comforts they have are taking cheap shots and mocking its host nation and her people. THAT is not nice is what I am saying. I dont see what is wrong with highlighting such ill behavior, esp if they are happy to be heard in public arena without care.

Singapore not considering poverty line assessment? WTF?

Singapore is not considering having an official poverty line, as it would not fully reflect the severity and complexity of issues faced by the poor, and may also lead to those above the line missing out on assistance.

CHAN CHUN SING: "If we use a single poverty line to assess the family, we also risk a 'cliff effect', where those below the poverty line receive all forms of assistance, while other genuinely needy citizens outside the poverty line are excluded."
- Straits Times. 23 Oct 2013. 

 https://www.facebook.com/theonlinecitizen/posts/10152015383181383

Is this where SG is heading?

Poverty line is a hand in hand assessment along with GDP to gauge how well a govt is running the country, you shouldnt have one without the other. For the longest time since 2005, it has become more apparent that Singapore is being run like an institution rather than like a country and with all the fixation about KPI, shouldnt then poverty line should be part of a good governing body's KPI? You keep talking about people falling through the cracks, we know that. However, exactly HOW MANY people are falling through the cracks with your vision? How do we know if the country is truly doing better or worse without any statistics to back your claim? 

Otherwise to give an analogy, it will be like a highly paid self-acclaimed (but rather irresponsible) top surgeon trumpeting his own horns, crowing only about one's success op stories but neglecting to share how many failed ops he has. Given a 100 patients, what's the point of saving 20 patients but failing the other 80? Is that still a desirable doctor? 

So, when I read the extract quote above, my first reaction was.."WTF?"

Honestly, I dont really get this statement. How does establishing a poverty line statistics deprive other genuine citizens outside the line? Hello? Social services are run by man, not robots. Human can be flexible. You mean you cant help genuine cases because they are above a yardstick estimate and you need to stick to the line? You think this is classroom marking system? Where 50 is strictly the passing mark and anything under is failure?  Social services should render help regardless to genuine cases even for borderline cases, no? That's why we have case by case assessment isnt it? The ability to use their discretion and compassion. Otherwise what do you think civil service officers are for? Just to fill up forms and answer emails and voice mails? 

Plus having a poverty line does not translate to govt running amok with all the social benefits. You will still have stringent evaluation and assignment or provision of benefits as per necessary and not "receive ALL forms of assistance" as Mr Chan put it across. While I stand corrected, please also spare a thought of the pride, integrity and dignity of poor people. You sound as if our fellow poor citizens are all out to fleece the govt given every opportunity they get. Do you know that there are many poor old grannies would rather slough picking cardboard than ask govt for money? If I'm the tax payer and given a choice, I would rather helping my own people, the genuine poor citizens, than pouring our money into infuriating free scholarship for foreigners, YOG and meaningless projects (ahem...*sky garden*) that amount to nothing except face value. 

Hong Kong already published its own poverty line this year, and this state doesnt even have their own full fledged elected govt. Yet, they seemed to display a more humane way of running the state.  

It was published about a fifth of its people are living in poverty and I'm VERY SURE the actual figures of poor people above the poverty line goes beyond this. I'm living in HK and I'm telling you, its very very very very hard to imagine living in HK based on the below poverty line criteria. 

Accoding to the 2012 poverty line set By  the number of households, one person household is under HK $3600, two people HK $7700, three people HK $11500, four people HK $14300, five people HK $14800, six or above HK $15800.

HK, a city with a surging number of millionaires and home to some of Asia’s richest people, finds a fifth of its population living in poverty.About 1.3 million people, or 19.6 percent of the population, were below the poverty line last year, according to a report commissioned by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and released on Sept. 28. The benchmark, determined for the first time, was set at half of the city’s median household income, excluding impact of tax and welfare transfer, the report said.

“The poverty line is a useful reference point for knowing whether the situation is improving or deteriorating, ” Willy Lam Wo-Lap, an adjunct professor of history at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said by phone

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-29/hong-kong-poverty-line-shows-wealth-gap-with-one-in-five-poor.html

"REFERENCE POINT" Get it Mr Chan CS? A reference point, NOT an unyielding criteria line to implement social benefits upon. 

Huge praise to Hainanese Chicken Rice store At Far East Plaza, Singapore.

Wonderful experience today!! 

Took mum and dad to the Hainanese Chicken Rice for lunch at Far East Plaza today. There was a long line and at least 3-4 groups of people before us. I grabbed some spare chairs and had my in laws sat down & wait by the side while I Q. In under 5 mins, the chicken rice stall guy approached our parents, found out they were with me, and immediately sought the consent of the young people before us to serve us first because they didnt want old folks (our parents) to wait so long. This is TRUE service.

I was pleasantly surprised and thanked all the people before us for being nice enough to let us go ahead. Throughout the service, they happily spoke to us in Cantonese and constantly checked on our parents if they are ok. They werent pushy too and told us to order extra later only if the portions really wasnt enough. This is one place that hits the right spots all the way from food to service. 

Thank you!

Singapore Fuckwit Moment 4: Korean BBQ @ Orchard Central

After all the fuckwit moments at heartland malls, one would assume things will get better as we head on to the "heart" of the city state - Orchard Road...I need a strong heart to withstand all these people who doesnt deserve the job they are holding.

My gf drove us to Orchard Mall for a "quiet dinner" on this hard pissing down rain weekday night. We arrived about 6pm and were seated promptly by this Filippino waitress. I was looking through the menu on the BBQ meats, that had both the Korean and English description.

On the left of the big menu was all options in A, and on the right was all the options in B.

Looking at the price difference and the Korean description difference, I waved for the staff over to explain to my mild confusion.

Me: Could you explain the difference between this item A2 "Marinated Beef Ribs" vs B5 Marinated Beef Ribs? They are both beef ribs in English but in Korean, they read different.

FT Staff: Oh, on this page (pointing to the left page), these are marinated meat, You can have pork or chicken. On this page (pointinf to the right page), you can get other items and beef.

If you know me, I really have no patience for idiots that do not answer the question. However in this case, given that she is a Foreigner whose English may be wanting, I repeated myself.

Me: Yes I can read thank you very much. I am not asking you what items are on Page A. I am asking you what is the difference between this item A (finger pointing) and this item B (Finger from another hand pointing)

FT staff: Oh they are the same.

Me: I dont think they are the same because the Korean text reads differently, and the pricing is different. Can you check?

FT Staff: Oh they are the same. (not bothering to check)

Me: So if they are the same, why are they on different pages? 

Ft Staff: Ahhh..they are the same trust me. They are Marinated Beef Ribs.

At this point, I know she was a lost cause. I didnt want to ruin my eve and dinner date with my fren because of a fuckwit. How can the 2 items be the SAME?!!! They might be the same as in Marinated and as in beef rib meat. However what is the difference?!!! God almighty I wanted to slap this woman so hard when she refused to check and still give me replies not relating to my questions.

I told her to give me a min.

Not because I needed to select what I want to eat, but rather I needed that min to calm myself from this stupid moment. 

My gf looked at me.

I told her "I dont trust her. I dont trust a place who doesnt know what the fuck they are serving."

She agreed and we left for the Korean BBQ at Dempsey instead since the rain stopped.

Why?

Why is the training so poor?

Why couldnt the staff even be familiar with their menu?

Why are they shamelessly located in the middle of the city.

Why is this useless person being employed from overseas?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why am I surrounded by FUCKWITS?!

Singapore Fuckwit Moment 3 - Nex Shopping Mall Taxi Stand.

I met my ex colleagues for CNY lunch@ Nex during my trip back. It's another place filled with Singaporeans who are fuckwits. Why does it keep happening to me? Why do these fuckwits constantly seek me out to torment me, and lower my already rock bottom opinions of my birth country?

Incident #1

I went to Cold Storage@Serangoon Nex to made my purchase so that I can get the second WMF pot for my mum after the fuckwit Cold Storage policy rejecting my $60 purchase incident.

While waiting for the cashier to put my purchases into my recyclable shopping bag, I accidentally dropped my soy bean drink and some of the drink spilled onto the floor. I quickly picked up the cup and looked for the spare large Starbuck tissue paper (left over from earlier purchase) to wipe up the small puddle. The cashier saw and called someone to get the cleaner to mop up the mess.

This is when 2 Singaporean fuckwits entered my life.

The first was the CS Chinese cashier.
I grabbed my soiled tissue after soaking up the soybean drink and wanted to throw it into the dustbin next to me (but was placed behind the cashier). The closelid bin was not exactly within stepping distance so I politely requested the cashier (who was an all time spectator all this while) to press open the bin lid with her foot so that I can drop the tissue.

The reaction was "What for?"
Oh you FUCKING FUCKWIT.
What do you think?
That I am going to hand you the dirty tissue in your hand to throw it away you fuckwit?

I replied her "To throw these" and I point to the almost dripping tissue.
The CS cashier reluctantly open her dustbin.
Why she was so begrudging was beyond me.
I just ignored her before I pop my blood vessel.

If you think that was end of story, no not really.
This Singaporean Middle age man who was Q'ing behind me gave me the DIRTY disgusted look while I was wiping up the mess.

What the fuck?
So you Mr High and Mighty Fuckwit thinks that someone else like a cleaner should be the one to clean up our mess and that I am being excessive moronic to do the right thing is wiping up the mess?
It's not like the soybean spilled anywhere near your fucking lowlife cheap nasty unpolished dull black shoes. Neither was I blocking your way or holding the Q up. So what the fuck is your problem?

The cleaner came and mopped the mess up.
All the accusing eyes as if like I have nothing better to do than go around spilling my paid drink.
What is happening to Singapore was the first thing that pop into my head.

Incident #2

After the CS incident, I rushed off to the taxi stand outside Nex.
I dont know how many taxi stand there is around Nex but the one I went was situated near the Espirit store.

This is the place that really made my blood boil with the numerous SELFISH SELF-ABSORBED, SELF- CENTERED SINGAPOREAN FUCKWITS. Oh my god! The amount of arseholes in Singapore is amazing.

You see, the taxi stand is situated right in front of the private car alighting bays. 2 bays to be exact.
The road was only a 2 way lane, and there was already a long line of taxis building up on the left most lane.

Guess what these Singaporean private car owners did that really tick me off?
Instead of being considerate and sensibility to drive their fucking private cars into the alighting bay, these arrogant drivers actually STOPPED their cars in the middle of the 2 way lane and allowed their passengers to unload in their own sweet time?!!

WHAT THE HELL?!

It wasnt just one car.
It wasnt just one Singaporean arsehole-jackarse-moron-mega fuckwit. It was MANY selfish fuckwit drivers.

In the span of 20mins I was standing there.
I counted at least 6 private cars who did that.
Mercs, BMW, Honda, Toyota, KIA, etc. Commoner cars or luxury car drivers alike, all FUCKWITS.
Some hog the middle of the 2 lane. Some literally stopped on the outer lane.

Either way, these fuckwits literally BLOCKED up the traffic behind them, meaning the taxi drivers couldnt move and we were all waiting and jammed there not because there were no cabs but rather because of Singaporean drivers who do not deserve to own a car NOR own a license to begin with.

What made the whole situation even more exasperating?
That there was actually a Malay Uncle who was hired to work at the taxi stand, with a super MEANINGLESS NON-VALUE Added job of waving at the taxis to come forward.

Uncle, Taxi drivers KNOW how to drive their cab forward when the passenger before boards the prior cab. We dont need you to wave to taxi to drive 5 inch forward. You are being useless. What is your job scope? To manage traffic near the mall, that means not turning a blind eye to errant private car owners flouting all the rules behind you. You only need to walk forward 3 steps to tell these drivers to move into the private car bays instead of just staring at them. Why do we need to pay you to stand there to watch the mess. You take a salary, then please, do some meaningful work. Otherwise, inform your boss the problems. Or get traffic police involved. Dont just stand there dear lord.

If that wasnt all, Singaporeans are all so fucking lazy.
You know how the taxi line up in one straight file? These people standing before me are for lack of a better word, idiots.

If the first person in the Q is heading for the first cab, in HK, the 2nd person in Q will naturally walk towards the 2nd cab in line. However in Singapore, the 2nd person will NOT walk. They rather just stand there and WAIT. Wait until the 2nd taxi slowly inch forward a few inches before they will open the door and board. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH WALKING that extra 3 steps you lazy bitches?????!!

I swear my head was hurting from this "cultural" shock coming back to Singapore during my hols.
It's super unbearable to witness and be part of these fuckwit moments.

When it was my turn, I walked to the 2nd cab, only to discover that Singapore cabs do not have auto door open unlike in HK. In HK, when both my hands are caught up with grocery bags, the driver would always open the door and the guy who help man the taxi Q will walk forward to hold the door open till I settled into the cab. THAT's HK. However, not happening here in Singapore. They want to copy HK but copying NOTHING right.

I asked the driver, do Singapore cabs not have auto swing open door?
The answer he gave me was no.
The answers my friends gave me was some have it but NO ONE ever uses it.
So WTF?!!!!!!!!

Singapore is bragging about top port or shit airport etc, but they cannot even get the basic day to day events right. So what is the fucking point? Where is the focus? Singaporeans travel so much to overseas and experience so much service and yet they cannot fathom the fundamental service they need to provide? How dismal and absolutely horrifying.

I dont need my country to be focus only on GDP or firefighting the backlash or picking on the govt from A-Z. I need the people to wake up and take a good hard look at themselves and things happening around them. Stop blaming the govt for everything. Everything I had experienced, those fuckwit moments are created by Singaporeans themselves, not the govt. We need to grow up else we will just be acting like a bunch of good for nothing teens who just want to rebel and complain.

Singapore Fuckwit Moment 2 - Cold Storage

Is Singapore getting filled with dumbwits to do the jobs? My recent experience tells me that the service industry is seriously waiting for a major overhaul in its human resources. People, you need to start hiring people with BRAINS. Stop employing fuckwits and piss your customers off.

This recent incident really had my jaws hanging wide open.

For those who frequent Cold Storage in Singapore, you might rem the promotion of WMF pots at discounted price with minimal $30 purchase in a single receipt back in early this year Feb 2013.

I had wanted 2 pots. One for me, and one for mum. In any developed service oriented country, you would expect this to be a no brainer right? WRONG. I guess in Singapore supermarket, the promotion department likes to make you go through the painful time consuming way.

I did my shopping at the Cold storage located in the mall next to Expo MRT station.

At the cashier, I did my purchase and my bill came up to $60 exact. There was NO instructions as to where to do the purchase, or how to do the discounted pot purchase. That was fine thinking the cashier would know since she WORKS there right? Well, turns out she is even more clueless than me because she didnt know what the fuck I was talking about. I had to tell her that the pots were on display at the main entrance. Then she told me to go to the people in the MEAT section to get help.

I may not of rocketing IQ, but I am not as dumb to believe that the guy selling me butchered meat will know anything about the pots promotion if this cashier knows nothing. So obviously I knew she was clueless.

Not wanting to hold up the couple behind me, I had to carry all my heavy purchases with me and headed back to the main entrance to grab the pots, hoping to find some floor manager. Nope. NO ONE was there. No staff, no manager.

So I grabbed the pot and headed back to the cashier. Unfortunately, it was either that Indian cashier I had earlier or the Chinese trainee at the other checkout.

The Indian cashier asked me if I wanted the 2 pots. I asked her, well I have $60 purchase in a single receipt, so I can get 2 pots right?

To my surprise, the answer was a NO.
I can only buy one pot with one receipt.

WHAT THE FUCK?

I thought you know, with the crappy Singlish and all, I may have misunderstood her and I didnt want to jump to conclusions about how moronic it would be if I heard her correctly the first time. So I clarified and asked again

Me:  "Did you just say I cannot buy 2 pots, even though I met the minimal $30 purchase and now I have $60 purchase in a single receipt."

CS cashier: Yes. You can only buy ONE POT with ONE RECEIPT.

Me: Are you positively sure. Can you check with someone because nothing on that promotion sign board mentioned that it is $30 or nothing. It merely states I need to fulfil the $30 criteria.

The CS Indian cashier turned to her chinese colleague and asked if she knew. The CS Chinese cashier just shrugged and replied dunno. Call Ms xxx.

The CS cashier called her manager or whichever fuckwit holed up inside some snug office and sure enough, I could hear the loud woman over the phone telling the cashier "THE COMPANY POLICY says only $30 per receipt for each pot."

So I asked her, then why dont you void the transaction and split the whole receipt into two receipts then since it is your company requirement, which by the way is not advertised or indicated ANYWHERE before I made my purchase.

The Indian CS Cashier gave me a blank look.
Then she replied "Sorry I cannot."
There is no such company policy.

Honestly, at this point, I gave up.
It's too mentally exhausting to fight against stupidity and fuckwits.
It's just a pot.
I can make another purchase another day to meet the $30 requirement.
At this point, my brain hurts from having to deal with this whole lot of fucking SG morons.

I dont know if it's company policy, or there are alot of hired help with BAD ENGLISH and they cannot comprehend the minimal $30 purchase requirement. By the way at this point, I need to emphasize that every staff including Ms xxx Useless Loudspeaker over the phone there was SINGAPOREAN with a LOCAL ACCENT. Not Foreign hires.

In HK, this will never happen.
I have redeemed plenty of quality pots, knives etc and NOT once, I have to deal with such crap.
In HK, the supermarket staff are always on the ball, knowledgeable, and even if they dont know, they will call someone and clarify till they are satisfied and get back to the customer. Not like in SG, where these people have no idea how to serve or any passion about their job. Please, hire someone with brains...what happen to common sense in the service industry?

Fuckwits...loads of fuckwits...
Sg is driving me nuts with all the excess surplus of fuckwits.

Singapore Fuckwit moment 1

On a happier note.
Went to the new Singapore Marine Life S.E.A aquarium @ Sentosa. Touted the biggest aquarium in the world. Arrr....honestly...it might covered the largest ground area but I dont think it is the largest aquarium in my memory. In Japan Osaka, there was a whale shark in the tank, and in Vancouver they have the Beluga whale. How is it possible we have the largest? You mean we have the most combination of fish variety or that we showcase the most species from various continents? Perhaps. However "LARGEST" by definition here is lost on me because it doesnt feel large. In fact, I thought the tank in itself feels small than some others I have seen.

On a not so cheery note is that in this trip back, I discovered a lot of fuckwit singaporeans at work.
Take for example the Aquarium staff

My friends and I book the ticket at vivo city not being told that we have to change the ticket reaching the aquarium entrance. We were told to head to the customer service booth. There was a travel agent before us and there was some dispute between her and the staff, where the agent loudly claimed that there were missing tickets of over 40tickets out of the 200 plus.

She was counting sooooo slowly that the cows would have come home and head out to the farm again the next day. So i politely asked the Indian staff if she could just kindly exchange our voucher for tickets and let us go on since she was DOING NOTHING and just standing there, GLARING at the agent lady. The staff snapped at us and said to wait because the computer before her is in use. Fine. We waited though I dont get what has exchanging vouchers for tickets got to do with data entry on computer. I wasnt buying a ticket.

We waited and the agent was still counting at number 20+ and there were stacks in front of her. I wished I bought the tickets at the ticket booth next to us instead because that was way FASTER. Another chinese staff popped over to see what the Indian staff was busy with. My friend knocked on the window panel and asked the chinese staff if she could just helped us, and the building Q behind us. This would never happen in HK. NEVER. Period.

Again the chinese staff said the computer was in use. I asked her "There's TWO computers here. Can't you use the other one?" She replied the computer is not in operation (whatever that means with that sentence that is wrong at all counts) I asked her "Isnt that INEFFICIENT?" Guess her reply. "YAH." She replied yah!! @!!!!!!! @$#$%$^%  WTF?

Another 5 mins went passed and steam was rising out of my head. The chinese staff then knocked on the window panel and told us to give her our voucher tickets. I watched her take our tickets, walk over to the ticket sales side, grab 2 new tickets and gave it to us.

So WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?
First you told us to wait because you needed the computer, and then now voila! You simply exchange the tickets without having to do anything via the computer. SO what the hell was I waiting in the first place again????

To me, this was seriously a SG FUCKWIT moment...

First nite out at Sentosa Board walk

Went back for 2 weeks and unfortunately fell pretty much sick on the last week. That was a bummer since I had to cancel quite a few appointments I had been looking forward to. The heat in Singapore wasnt as bad as my friends had scared me. Apparently it cooled down a little the day I touched down. Amen.

Went to Sentosa Board walk.
First time ever since the thing had been built for ages.
My fren proposed chillout drinks at Wine Company there and we saw the fireworks that was set off just when we arrived. The place was full for the airconditioned seats so we took the outdoor table. wasnt too bad that nite thankfully. They could do with external fans though...

How much the place had changed! I couldnt recognise it. Actually, it is NOTHING like I had remembered. How much the landscape has changed. What used to be just a simple linking bridge for vehicle and pedestrian surrounded by open-ness is now a designed walkway....

 It was a warm nite but a simple drink, food, friends conclude a pleasant nite

Kampong Spirit? How to...??

Read this article from CNA about Mr Khaw's recent wishlist " Help revive the Kampng Spirit."

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1202025/1/.html

Wah pianz! I dont know if the lousy journalism in mainstream media did shody work in downsizing his speech, but this article annoys me.

My feedback to you Mr Khaw?

Kampong spirit? 

You are making a lame joke right?

How to if we locals are banned from cooking curry in our own home if our "newly minted" non-integrated neighbors hate the smell?

(http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110808-0000102/Number-of-neighbour-disputes-hit-high)

How to if our newly minted neighbors complained about adoption of dogs when their babies are making noise all day long?

(https://www.facebook.com/notes/hawk-cut-weis/of-ferraris-prcs-and-social-integration-putting-things-into-perspective/368844529841068)

How to if your public corridor is so freaking narrow to mingle without blocking anyone? 

How to if there are still signs that says no playing in the voiddeck for kids in the same block? 

How to if your freaking walls are so THIN and crappy that you hear the excessive & persistent noise coming from your neighbor's home (up, down, left, right or even NEXT BLOCK like in CCK) & it is pissing you off more than you want to chit chat with them? 

http://temasektimes.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/choa-chu-kang-resident-lodges-report-on-filipino-drummer-to-nea-and-spf/

MR KHAW, I know talk is cheap but seriously, you are older & "consumed more salt than me eating rice", so please try to make speeches with more sense than making grandiose speeches trying to impress. Dont sound like you care. MAKE SURE U CARE. The least you could do is remove the obstacles that are hindering your so called-vision of "KAMPONG SPIRIT IN the CONCRETE LAND". 

I too miss the Kampong Village head that acts fairly, credibly, and actually SOLVING the communities problem without all the empty talk. 

Bout of Rambling. Waiting for the bus in HK vs in SG...

My previous waiting spot

The story behind this unassuming photo was rather amusing, well at least to me!

I was first in line for the minibus. It was pissing down hard and everyone was probably like me, wishing desperately for the bus to come even though we know its prob stuck somewhere in the crazy Causeway bay traffic at the usual afteroffice peak hours.

The traffic area my area in Causeway bay/ Happy Valley has been increasingly trying over the past year with the seemingly increased number of cars on the road. Didnt do us any favors when I overheard an earlier conversation of the driver with another passenger, that the traffic authority had slowed down the changing lights interval for our side to reduce the bottleneck coming from the other end. We are in between happy valley that leads to Wanchai to central, and on the other end we are smacked right in Causeway bay with the ramp up to Admiraty and Central. Somewhere has to give...guess we picked the short straw...

Any way back to the story at hand.

Waiting in line, patiently...

For anyone who has been to HK will know, everyone has to file in a straight line for the bus. I guess that's possible because we have such an efficent minibus network system here in HK where commuters didnt have to wait long for the tpt to arrive.

For those who may not know, it is a common practice to stand by the edge of the pavement curb, since we are sharing the same narrow walkway with other passing through human traffic. Tonight wasnt any more different except the rain compounded the accessibility problems with all the huge brollies clashing with each other. Still, we managed, civilly and cordially. The way of life on HK island at least.

We waited over half hour today for the bus which usually comes every 5+-10 mins, shorter wait 2-5mins during non peak. I was pretty fine until the rain suddenly swished down fat pellets of raindrops hammering against my legs and brolly. I looked at the long Q behind me. Everyone was still rooted at their spot, expressionless.

Then it hit me.

Why the hell am I standing in the rain when there is the building shelter behind me?

It was a risk.

If I were the only one who moved off, people can or will assume I had dropped off the Q and I may lose my spot. However, I felt REALLY stupid to be a sitting duck getting drenched at the lower torso when there is a dry spot just 3 steps behind me.

So I thought, what the hell, let's inch back a little and see what happened next.

I took a giant step back.

I looked at the people in the Q.

The woman directly behind me didnt budge.

Maybe she didnt noticed as her back was turned.

However, in less than 5 seconds, the 3rd man dressed in a suit noticed what I did.

He immediately took a giant step back too.

We were still the only 2 who did that.

However, my confidence was blostered by the guy.

So I took another step back.

Immediately, he matched my act.

We looked at each other and smiled, for we were both now standing relatively out of the rain.

What happened next was interesting.

After the both of us took the lead, it was like a domino effect.

The people behind immediately followed suit and presumably, everyone was happy to be out of the rain.

Talk about fast reaction! Except the lady in number 2, who seemed not to noticed that everyone has left the curb and took shelter under the building cover.

It was like a full min later that she finally noticed there was no one next to her. (Funny sight)

Only then did she scurry back to take her place next to me again.

I thought the whole episode was a funny moment.

It was a calculated risk to "test waters" by taking that giant step back.

Yet, ALL it took was for one more sensible person to match my act and that helped influenced the dozens of people behind us. My conclusion is that we have a lot of smart local people in HK who are quick the size up the situation and pick the win-win option, well except for one. Hahahaha.Kidding, I'm sure you guys know what my conclusion really was...

When the minibus finally arrived, I didnt immediately step forward as I waited for the sole passenger onboard to alight. Before I could react, this Hk couple appeared out of nowhere from my left and was about to "cut" our Q boarding the bus. He was telling his wife to "hurry hurry! there is no one!"

I looked at him.

He looked at me.

Silence

Suddenly it dawned on him there was this long line of people behind me.

He balked at the door, did a sudden turn, grabbing his wife and ran off the opp direction without a word. I wanted to laugh.

As I boarded the bus, the minibus driver was laughing and commenting to us while the rest of us rapidly board the bus.

"What a funny guy! Did he honestly think that there will be NO ONE waiting for the bus at this hour? How can he not see the Q snaking round the corner? No way he will be boarding this bus!"

I started to laugh.

At least I know that even if I didnt stop him, the driver would have.

This is one of the plus points I love about HK.

The systematic line to board the bus & their relatively observant drivers. 

Granted there are no fancy bus shelters aka advertisement shelter like those in Singapore, however as a commuter, I much rather be boarding the bus in the sequence that we were there first on the spot, than having to squeeze, fight, get shoved with many other people who are rushing to board a (crowded) bus esp during peak hours.

I had once waited for whole hour @Suntec city bustsop, only to miss 4 buses of the same number simply because I wasnt good at fighting and vying for a spot near the door.

I couldnt sum up the courage to be a Super Bitch or do it the PRC push & shove way because I wasnt brought up to "fight with claws out" over something that should be socially civilised in the first place.In the end, I gave up and took a cab home. It was frustrating over the time wasted & still not able to board that freaking bus. That incident was 3 years ago, and given the recent spate of MRT breakdowns, I am pretty sure the bus wait isnt going to get better.

In the past (yes.. the good ole days of less than 5million people) when I was growing up, even though there wasnt a Q system, but at least people politely form a line to board the bus when they see the bus coming. People just naturally fall in line. Now, it's just a mess with everyone crowding ROUND the door. Unlike the old spacious bus stop WITHOUT the advertisement boards, the current freaking narrow shelter isnt helping the situation.

I dont know why, but I had thought all along, logically as a country progresses economically, the infrastruture and way of life should be better, at least for a country like ours who loves to clamour for the top spot in all those ranking charts of world surveys.However, sadly it hasnt seemed so for my country.

No, not lately.

I guess they can easily pin a value or check the box against conditions such as "safety" ,"cleaniness" ,"efficiency", "business friendliness", "ease of adaptability for foreigners" but they cannot pin a value on "civilised behavior", "empathy" ,"helpfulness" because these are character traits of the people, not the ROI value of a country. The necessary elements to sustain a country organically from within but sorely neglected in my country.

It's disappointing because there was once a brief glimpse of potential for this young country, but now for various unaccounted reasons, she has fallen to "shambles" in so many ways. Of course we are nowhere near 3rd world country which so many naysayers like to put it, but seriously, it is a far cry from the sort of country I had envisioned when I was growing up.

I havent lost the loyalty (yet) to my own motherland Singapore (nope not china by long mile), but I had certaintly lost the naivety thinking that it's one of the best city state with best practices and facilities. Living abroad has certainly opened my eyes and broaden my mind, the ability to make concrete comparisons and not shooting blanks in the air.

I wonder how the people in charge in our country's public services esp public trpt can get their dose of reality, short of crashing the existing system or being forced to leave their jobs coz they simply screwed up. While not everything is bad in Sg, yet what will it take to see those necessary changes, or recovery? Recent news. LTA was thinking of serving a fine to SMRT for each failure to "comply" to the proposed additional framework. Great, how does that benefit us as commuters? Another impending fare hike? Perhaps, it will take the edge off more if SMRT offered one extra free ride to all affected commuters, not just free ride for the affected ride. Afterall wont that be a more equitable "fine-reward" scheme considering it is OUR time you are wasting and not LTA? 

I digress.

At the end of the day, to simply quote a Sg friend, currently living abroad as well... "In SG, we havent moved on socially. We think we have, but really, we really havent..."