HUAT AH SINGAPORE HUAT AH
I was on the way to Paragon when I misread it as 'Dragon'. And nearby was Lucky Plaza, and I made this comment on how the name was unsophisticated. It's disturbing how what was once accepted, simplified, is now simply dismissed as unsophisticated and as something to be frowned upon. Is this a desertion from our roots, a paradigm shift, or are all these simply a disease of prosperity?
I find such undeserving names unpretentious. I like such names. I don't like names that brings to mind glitzy, glamorous stuff, like 'Paragon'.
And when I stepped into the place it was much too bright. Everything was too bright, the reflection off all the glass within the building, shop fronts, marble floor...everything. Too reflective. Too much. It's a turn off. I really don't like bright places. It's bad for my eyes. I really really really don't enjoy glitzy places. Too reflective, too cold, too distant, too..unattainable.
I prefer dimmer places, because I've spent the better part of my life (childhood) in rather dim shopping malls, running around marbled floors which don't reflect my face, running on escalators which don't always work, observing lizards scaling the innards of such shopping malls, et cetera. I really am not accustomed to bright places.
And I'd love to change this blog colour scheme to black background and yellow font, but I can't be bothered with finding a new 'skin' and I don't know how to do html shit.
As a rule of thumb, if you can't relate the place you're bringing me to with scenes from zombie movies(dark places because zombies normally smash light sources), don't bring me there.
So...Singapore's 45 now. I'm not really sure what to say about this revelation, which isn't much of a revelation since everyone, everything, every country ages. I don't know if the society has brainwashed me enough or not, but I think that if patriotism is a sign of successful brainwashing, I have the symptoms (:
True, I didn't stand up to sing the National Anthem nor say the pledge at 20:10, I didn't really pay attention during NDP, I didn't move my lazy ass to join in the celebrations in Sengkang, I was lacking in passion when the fireworks were spammed, but that doesn't stop this heart from loving Singapore. I mean like, yea sure the lip-syncing SUCKED, FUCK YOU Corrinne May, at least lip-sync better and not treat the audience like idiots. Lip-syncing is very anti-climactic, and it disagrees with the notion of sincerity completely. What, didn't sleep well last night so you have a sore throat? Or what, forgot your lyrics so you have to lip-sync?
I am pissed, because I care. And because I care I find it unacceptable that Kit Chan who sang 'Home' 12 years ago could sing it 'live' while Corrinne May cannot.
If everyone were to lip-sync, what's the point of broadcasting this whole event 'live'? The organizers might as well dig up archives of past year NDPs to broadcast. I'd rather hear an imperfect version of 'Song for Singapore', complete with her being off-tune, off-beat, off-topic, rather than one that's lip-synced to.
Yawns.
I can understand why Singaporeans despise their own kind. Singapore doesn't exactly have what we call a 'gracious society', but that doesn't mean we aren't trying, right? There are things I dislike about Singapore, but by and large I am proud to be a Singaporean. I like Singlish, I like the fact that we all understand each other, I like the fact that even though we aren't that well-established in every area, we try, in our unsophisticated way, to conquer what we are deemed unable to conquer.
I like the fact that we can 'book' tables with packs of tissue papers. No, seriously, I'm not being sarcastic here. It's a very kiasu act, it's not gracious at all, but it's so primal, so territorial, so humane that it's in a way, heartwarming. Really, I'd be quite freaked out if I were to enter a foodcourt without seeing such a scene.
I like the fact that we've got people from all walks of life on our public transports, that the elderly are not really discriminated against, that racial discrimination isn't that apparent, that I can speak in Chinese whenever I want without being stared at weirdly.
I like the fact that we've got an education system here that works. As in, employment wise of course. The true essence of education was ruined when globalization occurred, but what's left of it we excel in.
We live in a very safe place, what's there to complain about? Lack of freedom, lack of freedom of speech, no opposition party? At least what we have here is more...appropriate than what can be seen in most other Asian countries (think about Japan and their ever-changing Prime Ministers). We win some, we lose some, and I think we've won more than we lost.
I still like the idea of complaining though, it's what makes us so Singaporeanish. That's whiney, yes, but don't we all whine, even if it's only in the mind? Being expressive is better than being pretentious. By complaining about how Singaporeans are whiney aren't you being whiney yourself, thus affirming your roots as a Singaporean?
And I like the fact that we can dig our nose in public without being frowned upon.(:
-- 8/09/2010 09:06:00 PM
