Tiong Bahru’s New Face

Maybe it is solely me but sometimes I fill that old things should remain as they are so as to best preserve their beauty. Therefore, to be frank, I really hated the new colour scheme for Tiong Bahru’s art deco flat. The bright colour seems to me too childish and just destroys the old-ness of the whole building. This seems to be the direction that the government has been taking recently. Look at Chinatown or the MICA building ( if you don’t know, it is the colonial style building opposite Funan). The end result is really poor taste.

I really do not understand why there must be bright colours for the old buildings. Wouldn’t a fresh paint that is identical to the original be a better option? I mean if the aim was to preserve the building, wouldn’t restoration be a better option that a renovation? I mean if we were to go the Andy Warhol way of recoloring everything to look as if there were decorated by a clown, the solemnity of the building would immediately be lost and the building would look identical to a new building that was inspired by the past. Then the reason for preserving the building would be lost that way.

So please, do not make a joke out of these old buildings. Let them have their original voice or else it would be lost in the sea of time.

An unwritten part of history

Think of Bugis and people would think of the shopping centre( Bugis Junction) or Bugis Village or even the National Library. But did you know that 20 (30?) yeards ago, it was a street that was filled with rowdy hawkers and cheeky sailors with beautiful drag queens walking amongst them. These beautiful beings were so popular that it was even publicised in postcards and even into a movie ( which was banned).

These unheard stories was one of the many that was being told in a talk recently conducted for Indignation 2008. although it was actually about the gay crusing spots in Singapore’s history, what was more interesting was the pictures of old Singapore and how it had changed since. For example, i had no idea that Esplanade refered not to the theatre but actually to a road near it. The amusing stories of how sailors would climb up naked to peep at drag queens conducting their “business” made me smile.

It was actually an interesting talk and I felt that it displayed a quirkier and more fun side of Singapore that I had not found in textbook. So much for Singapore being dull and all.

Day Dreamer

by Adele

Daydreamer, sittin’ on the seat
Soaking up the sun he is a
Real lover, makin’ up the past and feeling up his girl like he’s never felt her figure before
A jaw dropper
Looks good when he when he walks, he is the subject of their talk
He would be hard to chase, but good to catch and he could change the world with his hands behind his back, Oh…

You can find him sittin’ on your doorstep
Waiting for the surprise
It will feel like he’s been there for hours
And you can tell that he’ll be there for life

Daydreamer, with eyes that make you melt
He lends his coat for shelter because he’s there for you when he shouldn’t be
But he stays all the same, waits for you and then sees you through
There’s no way I could describe him
All I say is, just what I’m hoping for

But I will find him sittin’ on my doorstep
Waiting for the surprise
It will feel like he’s been there for hours
And I can tell he’ll be there for life
And I can tell he’ll be there for life

The Maze of Churches

As a driver said to me when I arrived, Macau’s roads is so unlike Singapore’s in that it is narrow and ever bending like a maze. But this was what I liked about this small city. Walking through the ancients streets, going from destination to destination, you would be able to see things that exists in Hong Kong movies. Victorian buildings and old shop houses, you can feast your eyes on these unchanging buildings. Of course, the churches were also beautiful. This photo above has a story about it.

I had just finished looking around the church and felt that I had shot whatever beautiful angles of the church. However, just as I left, I saw this stranger on this stairway, snapping at the church. Looking at the angle, the church truly did present a different view and I uttered instinctively ” Nice View” and the guy looked at me. What struck me at first was that this guy had no arms. But in that moment, I just smiled and both of us just turned to look at the view, enjoying this gift given to us.

Sunday Mornings

When i was young, Sunday morning was always with my parents. I would be woken up by my parents, go with them to whatever wet market they want to go and have breakfast with them. After the meal, they would go n buy the grocery needed for the week while i waited at the entrance ( i was too squeamish after seeing the fishmonger kill frogs alive).

Anyway, as i grew into the inevitable teenage years, i learned to sleep late and wake up late as well. I no longer feel the urge to eat with my parents. They were too uncool to me . Not as if i was the stud of the school. But eating with your parents , to me, seems to be torture to my pimply teenage souls . Very soon, my parents no longer wake me up and this morning ritual became moot.

Now in China, i found that i really do enjoy going to the wet market and listen to the bustling sounds of the morning. As i drank my morning coffee at a roadside stall, i thought of how my father would want his daily coffee and then i smiled.

Perhaps, try as we might, we do become our parents in the end :p

My Daily Walk 1

It has now been a habit of mine to walk alone through the area near my workplace after lunch.. And i would try to capture some of the lifestyle of the people there during my walk. Lunch, to the chinese people, are different from what i experienced in Singapore. Here, everything comes to a standstill as people rest during their lunch break and take a nap especially under the sweltering heat of summer.

In No Man’s Land

Last week, i went alone and traveled to Shenzhen (?) to meet my friend from Hong Kong.. Before i met them, it suddenly struck me that i was really in a foreign country.. Sitting in the shopping center and seeing the passer by, i realize really how far i was from home.. I suddenly know how people must have felt when they leave home and stay for a long period, knowing no one when they arrive and no idea what to expect..

Run, Fan, Run

There are always stories where teachers would sacrifice themselves in the wake of disasters to ensure the safety of his/her students. And this time round, when the Sichuan earthquake happened, many such stories surface out. From the news, we hear of how teachers being killed when ensuring the safety of their students.

However in this report (sorry, this was in Chinese only), we can see the complete opposite- that of the teacher running first, not caring about his student. For the benefit of those who don’t understand Chinese, the teacher in the report had run out of the classroom first, leaving his students behind, when the earthquake started. The guy then bragged about his escape from the earthquake in some forum. The worst thing however came in the last line of his post in which it translates roughly to “In this situation, I would only sacrifice my safety and life for my daughter only. I would not risk my life for other people like that, including my own mother.”

This triggered a huge negative response from the China blogosphere and the teacher was scolded and criticized heavily for not caring about his student and was questioned on his suitability to teach (Out of curiosity, he is a graduate from one of the top universities of China. – a point that was picked up by China bloggers who called him an insult to his school). His answer: There was no official rule that a teacher must save his students in the wake of an earthquake.

It is only human nature that when there is a disaster, people would start fleeing for their lives without caring for other people. After all, this is a mechanism for survival.

However, there are some situations in which these instincts are ignored for some higher principles. For example, we have heard of how mothers have used themselves as a human shield in car crashes so that their child is protected or how people fight impossible battles so that others can escape.

With these two sometimes opposing voices in our head, people can choose to listen to either one and their decision can be understood. So why were the people so disappointed then? I guess this all boils down to how people perceive teachers. For me, I feel that teachers serve a role as a surrogate parents. Not only do the teacher teach our kids, they would, in our mind, have to take care of them as well and safety of the kids is a teacher’s responsibility as well. And instinctively, we would want the teacher to treat our kids as his or her own as well. However, this is not always the case

In Singapore, at least, I know that teaching is not exactly the ideal profession for other people. Do you know how the NIE (National Institute of Education) is viewed as for the JC people for my time? Well, to put it bluntly, it was a dumping ground for the students with poor performance in their exams, save for those who really desire to teach. So you see, the bulk of the teachers are essentially forced into their profession. Some then would really discover the joys in teaching and really become good teachers. But what about those who were forced and then still feel lousy about teaching? Then they would just treat it like their job and would not do a thing outside their job scope. Of course I cannot say how many of them are like that but they definitely exist. And so it is not so puzzling that this teacher ran away. Hey, it is only his job. Why should he endanger himself needlessly so that other can survive? After all, it is not his responsibility.

So is he right or is he wrong? I guess, he is human to run away and can be forgiven. But to brag about it is just too crass. I guess the only thing at fault is that he was too human and that society’s perspective of teaching is just too narrow.

Enjoying Solitude

There was a line in a book that i once read that struck me quite forcefully. It went like ” Maybe she is genuinely a person who enjoys solitude.”. When i read that line, i was like ” that was me right there!”.

Solitude. That is what a person often has , i think. Or i guess that is what is centered around my life. I really do enjoy walking down the streets, a tune in my head and seeing the people around me and that is what i do often when i was back in singapore. Go for long walks, see the sight, stop by whatever sight interests me or just sip a cup of coffee at starbucks watching either the pedestrian walking along the busy streets, getting on with their lives.

So i guess that was one reason why i cannot be husband material. Freedom and solitude really plays a big part in my life

But isn’t it strange because many a report has stated that man is a social animal and would literally die without contact with human. So this raises an interesting question, do i really enjoy solitude or do i pretend to enjoy them because i have so much of it?

Prince of Racism

Well, a few days ago, i went to tomorrow.sg for a quick read about my homeland when i saw this disgusting video on line.. I.e this video ( warning : this is extremely NSFW although i did watch it for work :p)

Well, as can be seen, it is truly disgusting and the person should be shot.. I mean where is the respect for other people? Seriously, i fully expect people to start copulating soon if that is how thing goes ( or maybe they have already.. hmmm..)

Anyway, the discovery of the day was the fact that a certain “prince” had been found to have written some inflammatory racist comment about malays and sparked off a furious discussion among the bloggers..

For the post, pls click here…

As you can see, the photos show a lot of erm.. himbo-ness which proves that there IS a asian male version of a stereotypical blonde.. I mean how can a guy be so rude to almost everybody? And the language! Or how my eyes bleed from the excessive use of the F word ? Now i do not claim to be a saint but is it not too much? And the self pictures clearly show a person who is either very very gay or extremely vain lol…

ANyway, among the midst of discussion ( with sideline discussion of whether he was gay or not), someone (whom i presume was someone from the hardwarezone forum where there was a thread on it) called the police and it was reported in Channelnewsasia at here.

SO what do i think? Well, Singapore is indeed a country with a lot of races and the government wants everyone to be harmonious and what.. And so any post or comments that are racists should and must be exterminated by right..

But seriously, who isn’t racist? i mean in my army days, i would often hear racist jokes about malays and indians and even after ORDing, i would still hear and even say such comments such as ” i hate indians” or “malays are stupid” . And i dare say that many or most of singaporeans have made such a comment about other races as well..

Now, i am not trying to defend the guy.. After all, he is pretty stupid to have blogged about it without caring whether it would be picked up by the blogosphere of the community as well.. If he had wanted, he could have protected it or what.. I know blogs are places to air your feelings or such but there are something that should be kept in private ( such as ur racist feelings).. Or even if you do want to, please keep it down a bit to avoid the oversight and such.. Or make it humurous ( which is how a lot of racism is expressed :p)

Hope this blows over soon 0_0