Do u really understand smart causal?

Monday, August 22nd, 2005

How do you define "Smart Causal"?
Hot weather aside, honestly guys, what do u classify smart?
I asked the question becoz i think Singaporean guys are generally terrible in their choice of attire not befitting the occassion. I am not judging whether the buys have any fashion sense. I’m faulting people who have no sense of judgement in what they choose to wear for events that specifically indicate smart causal or formal attire. These inconsiderate folks would often choose to think their presense should suffice and compensate anything they wear. These groups of people are often classified into
a) Arrogant SOB: People who thinks they are "rich enuff" such that basic courtesy and common sense eludes them. These lot think rules doesnt apply to them at all times and the world should revolve ard the way they think should be. Turning up in Gucci Sandals and Hugo T-shirts with Prada pouch becomes "smart causal" doesnt make things rite.

HELLO! Restaurants ask for code of dressing, not BRAND of dressing.
b) Lazy SLOBS: Guys who canx make any decent effort in wearing the right attire becoz they figure who will notice what they wear. Plus they think it doesnt make any difference. Well for your info, it does. Your frens who go thru the effort to organise something nice or restaurants who hopes to achieve an image hopes for your due respect as well. Its not about what YOU THINK or FEEL. Its about respecting others and the efforts they put in.
In many nice restaurants i have been to in sg, guys, always the guys, who would be in the crappiest faded T-shirt and jeans with joggers (track shoes) or worst, offending sandals would be dining there as if they were in a food court.
I have seen when managers turn these people away or offer to loan a pair of pants, these people kick up such a huge stink as if their life’s saving has been cheated. I have frens who tell me these people will even write in to complain abt the "sort of arrogant service or attitude".

These selfish, self indulging, self centered people honestly upset me and i honestly think they dun deserve to be dining in nice restaurants. Managers should kick them out for they ruin the efforts of other patrons who made a nice effort to blend in with the the nice ambience created for us, but in return, many sg guys fail to reciprocate the niceness in return.

I’m not saying caucasian man dress better. In fact i see many caucasian man in t-shirts and berms along the street, but the difference is, when the occasion calls for it, they are dressed decently in a nice crisp shirt and SHOES. Not flip flops, not fancy sandals or joggers. The shirt doesnt have to be branded or frivolous looking, a plain stripped or coloured shirt will do. Tie isnt even required. Is it that difficult?

When i was in Les Amis, Blue, or even grand wedding dinners, its terrible to see our local blokes in t-shirts and jeans. Jeans i can accept, but T-shirt is never never smart in any definition. Even collar polo is a stretch for me. What happen to "dressing decently" in singapore?

I was at Shiro at the other day. Attire was smart causal. When u make a reservation, they tell you that attire is smart causal. When we turn up for dinner, there was a big sign that says "Smart Causal". After we were seated, i noticed with disgust that the guy on the next table, facing me was in a faded grey, stretched t-shirt, tucked out, with jeans and joggers.  I looked around and out of the 8 tables, 6 were non chinese which dressed approperiately, my table and the crap table next to us. So i said to my fren, "So much for smart casual ruling for some". I dun know if he was pricked by what i said but i hope it jolt him a little.

After the couple next to us left, we asked the manager what exactly is smart causal. According to the floor manager, they were forced to concede by irate customers that t-shirt and jean is smart causal. Some hurl verbal abuse, some threaten to complain..so eventually only berms is not acceptable. I told her T-shirt and joggers are under no circumstances is ever smart, and causal only refers to jeans. She explained she had been complained alot when she used to turn customers away and she canx turn "business" away. Well she isnt the boss, i understand her dilema.

So it takes 2 hands to clap. Customers who understand and play by the rule, and restaurants who should stick to their principles. While you may lose a couple of "indignant" customers, there will be many more back to support you if your food is truly value for money.

Should we all be losing ourselves and principles in the hope of not "offending" customers or turning away paying customers ? Shouldnt we be doing the right thing and when enuff is truly enuff, we should put our feet down to stand up in what we believe in. If a restaurant aims to target the middle and upper cliente, then STICK to it and be daring to enforce your rules. Chatter box goes all out to rent you pants, i respect that.  In other countries such as Australia, States, there is a cloaks room or some spare room with spare pants/ jackets where "unknowing" guests gets to borrow and change into something more approperiate. I think its a nice culture to have and hold on to.

In Singapore, we want alot of things. We want to be first in everything we have and do. Good and fine. But in the pursuit of such achievements, its terribly sad if we continue to fail to enrich ourselves in areas that doesnt have a scorecard.

What is music to the deaf and what is art to the blind?
If one cannot even appreciate the simple act of dressing for the right occassion, one canx help but ask, what hope can we have for instilling "art and culture" into these group of people?

Hong Kong and pretty faces!

Wednesday, August 17th, 2005

Went shopping during weekend and I realised one major difference between HK and SG. Pretty faces. No i’m serious. HK stores are filled with good looking, young, engergetic staff! *okie, but the taxi drivers there are really old and grumpy in comparison*

Everywhere in HK in different malls (eg: restaurants, lingerie stores, shoes stores, boutique etc), i am always greeted chirpily by either a really pretty gal or guy. Some are not like super dashing but at least their smile is pretty captivating and they are always eager to serve. They dun follow you like some forlon puppy, nor do they throw you dirty looks (esp when you dress in t-shirts). They dun aim to judge, they aim to serve. It was utterly refreshing!!!

Plus the fact they are young, they are such a burst of energy. I guess i’m just abit tired from being served by grumpy aunties in their thirties or forties back home here, or some young partimers who are just out to make a quick buck…Sometimes a visually delightful (non snobbish) face with good product knowledge makes a difference to how long i wanna stay in a shop! heh…

Incientallt, I went to Hugo Boss on sun looking for a pair of shoes i saw in HK. Not only do they NOT carry the fantastic design which was a complete sold out in HK, our stores here were stocked with crappy canvass like shoes. I asked the sales gal and she said there isnt such a design. I feel like slapping her when she kept insisting there wasnt such a design and i was mistaken. Hello miss, i just came back from HK, dun tell me there are no such designs. Just tell me you guys dun carry cool funky designs in sg and store only the boring cheap looking stuff that looks a suspicious duplicate looking from Timberland.

Its just irritating at times when sales simply keep telling me I’m wrong. If i could have my way, i could have told her "Go to HK Miss Snob and open your HUGE eyes and look beyond your Nose", which of coz i didnt. Being the "nice" customer as i was, i just walked out and simply refuse to spend a penny in places that has horrid sales service.

PS: incidentally, the only two stores in sg that has 100% chirpy and helpful staff at all times are Giordano and Anges B! *Applause*

Baking brownie

felt like baking a choc brownie on sunday nite in the middle on working on my report. yeah funnie how cravings come about at such unearthly hour (11pm). Took out my stash of hershey and started melt all the sinful rich goodies into one melting pot.

baked too much and decided to bring it to office. bad mistake. Everyone started to pester WHY i baked a brownie (since i had never brought any to office previously). Christ, why CANX i bake a brownie? Its funnie really, having to treat people and entertain their immense curiosity. One even went as far as to asking if i was getting married! Ha! I never knew one has to BAKE anything before they are allow to be wed! *chuckles*
Apparently truthful answer didnt satisfy anyone or it was too "unreal". So i ended up havent to ask "Why canx i bake a brownie?" They just looked stunned, laughed and said "Coz you dun look like the sort who would be so homely."

May laughed and said" yeah if its me, people will just eat and not asked why.. but you just dun look like the sort…"
Sigh… looks like i gotto be a little more dowdy looking before i start any goodwill baking! At least i learnt my lesson and kept the newly made chuck of almond jelly dessert at home and slowly consume it all on my own! ha ha ha!

Holiday: Off to Hong Kong!

Wednesday, August 10th, 2005

Trip to HK was great! Life couldnt be more enjoyable!!
Good food, good sleep and catching up with frens there. Not to mention a enormous crater i below in my wallet after one afternoon at Agnes B. Saw a couple of jacket that were too irresistable. Not to mention the sales gal was extremely helpful and full of matching ideas….

For some reasons, the buyers at HK simply have much better taste than those in Singapore. I can never find anything i particularly like in SG’s stores, but put me in HK and i’ll go crazy within the malls anytime.
I prob should have put up at Conrad rather than Sheraton since i spend almost all my time in Pacific Place and Central area. Would have save me the travel from train. But prob not a good idea since i wont be spending just what i did!! I’ll prob blow my 3 months pay away given another 2 more days!
Everything is more or less abt the same as i last rem. Except the weather was really stinking hot and sticky. God bless the soul who invented Aircon!!!!

Had couple of dinner and lunches with Michelle and some others. The gals told me abt the flesh eating diseases. Apparently its such a good scare that they decide not to venture to the wet market there anymore and stuck to supermkt. We all concluded how lucky Singaporeans really are to be "free" from fear in our day to day life.

During dinner, we laughed about how the "grass always seem greener" on the other end. The ozs and states folks bitch abt their tax, expensive rents, houses and their govt policies. They all love sg. Truly they do and canx wait to be stationed back here. The only thing they lament abt was the lack of interesting jobs in sg. Then we went on abt people in sg who in turn only bitch abt "expensive cars, erp, inflations" etc and asking for more tax break and govt help for themselves. Hey, where’s the sense of proportion and perspective here?!
I guess people are never grateful no matter how much good things you put in. They dun see how lucky they are and the good things they have till they lost it. I guess its fun staying away for a while just to get out of the mono life, but at the end of the day, i cannot imagine how people have so much inane things to b*tch abt sg.
I read in a forum once abt how "expensive" living in sg is. True it isnt as cheap as it used to be, or worse, we canx compare to china, msia and vietnam. We are developed, not developing ctry. Even stuff HK is more expensive than we are in general. I def have no idea where these people got their yard stick of "expensive" from.

Anycase back to HK trip, one thing i have to admit is i really admire their MTR system all these years. Our LTA has really gotto buck up. The HK people thot of everything possible to ease the confusion of trains for visitors.
For one, they have an organised system like ours, but BETTER in a way. They have everything we have and MORE. They have blinking lights on the route panel (with LARGE PICTURE OF ROUTES) and arrow signaling the direction and at what stop you are heading to. They even have an LED on both side of the doors to indicate which side of the doors are opening so that commuters can get ready to alight on the right side! They have announcements in 3 major language (Cantonese, English, Mandarin) whether in verbal or written. Even the guiding stubs on the floor are rubberised to prevent slipping instead of metal like sg’s (apparently our implementor has never taken a train on rainy day to understd the possiblilty of splashing rain and wet floor). For years, singapore has been copying HK in the transportation system and the type of buses we used but we just canx seem to get it right.

What i fail to understand is why do LTA always "copy" half heartedly, and never the useful features? I used copy becoz i would always see the new stuff in HK first before seeing it in sg. HK had the big yellow rail buses and pass card before we do. They had wonderful train design while we are still ploding on with ours.
I thot it would have been really useful to have everything HK had in their MTR for ours. Having different languages and the directional sign routes within the train are great! Didnt we pride ourselves in multilanguage society? While we preach to be multi racial, the language used has always been predominantly English. Why? Its all recorded messages isnt it? Even during a short breakdown, the train driver apologised in cantonese, mandarin and English. And ours? Only in some muffled English.

But what impresses me the most are the people. They too have arrows on the floor. There wasnt a need for any reminder (like sg) for the people to allow comnuters to alight first. People simply Q at the door and automatically waited till most have alighted before going in. Despite the higher traffic volume and much much bigger crowd, no one shove me during peak hours. No one threw me dirty looks as if she is the greatest queen that all must make way. No one hogs the entrance and becomes a physical hinderance to everyone else. Everyone simply just walked into teh train  as much as they could and if they couldnt, they just stop in line and wait for the next train. It was like a dream sg is trying to achieve for years and still fail somehow… i havent figure out how they did it yet but i was mighty impressed i tell u. I hope someday, for once, we can be better at service orientation than other countries i have come back from. Afterall, there really isnt anything to hold us back is there?

Holidays to HK!

just got back from office and tired like hell. Feel like some cinderalla. Starving, overworked and fatigue like hell. Hopefully there wont be anymore changes in the report tomorrow!

Going to be "unpatriotic" and heading to HK for hols this weekend till National day is over! Havent been there in 4 years and canx wait to savour the good stuff again! Yummy. My cantonese is rock bottoms now and hopefully i will get by this time. The thot of endless shopping for next few glorious days is too exciting and my only source of motivation to work the long hours now.

K better be off for dinner while i patiently wait for my Bleach 43 to be downloaded! Yippee!