Sunday, September 24, 2006
Today marks the first day of Ramadhan. We had our typical early breakfast of rice before the crack of dawn. I could not sleep yet so I guess this is a wonderful moment to update the blog.
The week has been pretty busy but not hectic. I had a Seoul's Garden Buffet Lunch with the ladies at Takashimaya on Tuesday. We called it the "last moment to pig out before the fasting month" type of treat. We spend nearly four hours in the restaurant- eating and chatting endlessly.
Yesterday I had a day out with Baby Dearie. We went to catch a movie at The Cathay before heading to Newton to have dinner. "The Haunted Apartments" was not really that haunting but it was a rather decent movie. I still could not figure out why is the movie rated as NC-16. It may be probably due to a particular scene where a couple sucked each other blood from the wrists during dinner time. Maybe. Our dinner at Newton was deliciously wonderful-as usual. We were sitting beside this group of Japanese businessmen. I was overhearing their conversations throughout most of the time since we were sitting very close to them. At first, they were conversing in English. It seems to me that they were practising their English Language with each other since they were speaking very slowly and one of the men kept on translating what the other man was talking about. Then, their conversation seems to flow after they switched back to Japanese language. One thing I noticed about them was that Japanese people are very polite. Extremely polite. They did not talk loudly or act rowdy in public. And they actually bowed to the drink seller for the good service. Such gracious group of people.
Is that what the government wants the Singaporeans to be? Like the Japanese people? The government recently launched the "towards a gracious society" campaign. Nevertheless, I honestly do not believe that such a campaign would have a profound effect on our society. First, Singaporeans are becoming immune towards campaigns because there are too many of them! Second, such a campaign which touches on the moral aspects of individuals should be taught at home, not by the government.
In my opinion, kids nowadays are becoming more spoilt brats. Parents are becoming more protactive of their little darlings. I mean, just take a look at the kids in primary schools. Their parents actually carry their bags for them and some, even hold umbrellas for them, as if their precious babies would fry and burn under the hot sun even for a mere five minutes. Get real people! Let these kids carry their own bags. Let them experience the harsh reality of life. It wont hurt them. In fact it would have been better for these spoilt brats since life in Singapore is getting more competitive and fast paced.
If I have kids (not anytime sooner, mind you!), I would make sure that they are independent even at the young age of four. No way am I going to carry their bags and stuffs. I would make sure they know how to behave themselves just like the Japanese people. Maybe we should learn from them in order for us to become gracious people instead of the government organizing another round of campaigns. ¶ 6:17 AM
The week has been pretty busy but not hectic. I had a Seoul's Garden Buffet Lunch with the ladies at Takashimaya on Tuesday. We called it the "last moment to pig out before the fasting month" type of treat. We spend nearly four hours in the restaurant- eating and chatting endlessly.
Yesterday I had a day out with Baby Dearie. We went to catch a movie at The Cathay before heading to Newton to have dinner. "The Haunted Apartments" was not really that haunting but it was a rather decent movie. I still could not figure out why is the movie rated as NC-16. It may be probably due to a particular scene where a couple sucked each other blood from the wrists during dinner time. Maybe. Our dinner at Newton was deliciously wonderful-as usual. We were sitting beside this group of Japanese businessmen. I was overhearing their conversations throughout most of the time since we were sitting very close to them. At first, they were conversing in English. It seems to me that they were practising their English Language with each other since they were speaking very slowly and one of the men kept on translating what the other man was talking about. Then, their conversation seems to flow after they switched back to Japanese language. One thing I noticed about them was that Japanese people are very polite. Extremely polite. They did not talk loudly or act rowdy in public. And they actually bowed to the drink seller for the good service. Such gracious group of people.
Is that what the government wants the Singaporeans to be? Like the Japanese people? The government recently launched the "towards a gracious society" campaign. Nevertheless, I honestly do not believe that such a campaign would have a profound effect on our society. First, Singaporeans are becoming immune towards campaigns because there are too many of them! Second, such a campaign which touches on the moral aspects of individuals should be taught at home, not by the government.
In my opinion, kids nowadays are becoming more spoilt brats. Parents are becoming more protactive of their little darlings. I mean, just take a look at the kids in primary schools. Their parents actually carry their bags for them and some, even hold umbrellas for them, as if their precious babies would fry and burn under the hot sun even for a mere five minutes. Get real people! Let these kids carry their own bags. Let them experience the harsh reality of life. It wont hurt them. In fact it would have been better for these spoilt brats since life in Singapore is getting more competitive and fast paced.
If I have kids (not anytime sooner, mind you!), I would make sure that they are independent even at the young age of four. No way am I going to carry their bags and stuffs. I would make sure they know how to behave themselves just like the Japanese people. Maybe we should learn from them in order for us to become gracious people instead of the government organizing another round of campaigns. ¶ 6:17 AM
