Posted by Cottontimer on 02 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: Singapore, What the @#!
I just called the U.S. to change the address of one of our magazine subscriptions.
Me: ## Street Name, SINGAPORE #######
Customer Service: And is that still in the United Kingdom?
Me: @#! No, that’s in Singapore. Republic of Singapore.
Posted by Cottontimer on 10 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Singapore, What the @#!
Singapore isn’t as crowded as some other places in Asia, like Hong Kong, but its population density at 16,392 persons per sq. mi. is definitely higher than the U.S. at 31 persons per sq. mi*. So you’d think that people here would be more mindful of personal space and try not to take up more than their share and not to invade others’. Not so.
Example #1
We were at IKEA last weekend and the place was absolutely heaving. It was even more crowded than usual because renovations are in progress. As we tried to make our way through the corridor that led from the entrance to the first display area, a fat-a** woman and her friends blocked the way with their cart while they stood chatting. There was only enough room for one person at a time to squeeze past them. Not being in the best of moods, when I got to them, I pushed their cart aside and said clearly and loudly, “EXCUSE ME!” Fat A**’s response?
“Beeech.”
Thank you. That’s the way I like it.
Example #2
Stephen, my mother-in-law, and I were hanging out at Singapore Changi Airport’s new Terminal 3 (which is gorgeous by the way). We were wandering around when I called out to Stephen to come over and check out the soft serve ice cream at one of the shops. As Stephen turned to look, a boy about 10 years old pushing an overloaded luggage trolley came along. As I was shouting “STOP! STOP!” and trying to pull Stephen out of the way, the dimwit kid ran into Stephen!
Instead of apologizing to us, his mother tried to blame us for not getting out of the way. HELLO!??!! We’re the victims and you’re blaming US?!
Who lets a 10-year-old push a trolley piled so high that he can’t see where he’s going? And what kind of moron kid can’t understand someone shouting “STOP!!”???
We were standing at the front of the shop and not in the middle of an open area blocking people. And it wasn’t as if Stephen was running around getting in people’s way as he is sometimes apt to do.
Fortunately, Stephen wasn’t hurt badly although he limped along for a little while. He was more scared than anything else.
And to think I’m driving in Singapore now. Somehow I suspect the drivers won’t be much better. Stay tuned for upcoming incidents of road rage.
*Actually, according to Wikipedia, Hong Kong has a population density of 16,470 persons per sq. mi which isn’t much higher than Singapore’s. And this list of countries by population density has Singapore higher than Hong Kong!
Posted by Cottontimer on 31 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Singapore
My new corner office in Singapore on our enclosed balcony. It even comes with a sleeping baby and peeping tom (in the window behind my chair that looks on to the living room).
Posted by Cottontimer on 25 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Singapore, What the @#!
#195 Unwanted touching and comments
a) Random woman pats my 6-week-old baby’s head while she’s sleeping on me in the sling.
b) Random man-woman (can’t tell which) walks by and pats my 5-year-old’s head while he’s having a major tantrum in the shopping mall.
c) Old-lady saleswoman asks if the sling is wrapped around my baby too tight.
“She’s fine,” I reply through gritted teeth with my heaviest American accent.
d) Saleswoman who’s obviously younger than me and probably has no kids comments on my baby’s thin hair (?!).
“She’s only 6 weeks old,” I reply.
“Oh. You didn’t shave her head at one month?*” she asks.
“No.”
End. Of. Story.
*Chinese custom.
Posted by Cottontimer on 18 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: London, Singapore
Posted by Cottontimer on 19 Feb 2007 | Tagged as: Funny, London, Singapore
Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! We went to a Singapore UK Association Chinese New Year banquet last night where we enjoyed the drag stylings of Ivan Heng. That is, everyone thought Ivan was hilarious except for Stephen who said Ivan was an “ugly man.” It’s probably more accurate to describe him as a man who makes an ugly woman, but it was very clear to Stephen that Ivan wasn’t meant to be a woman. In any case, every time Ivan came out on stage, Stephen escaped as fast as he could. We spent half the night outside the restaurant peering through the windows.
Stephen was at his sweetest last night, though. When I was finished getting ready for dinner, I asked Stephen how I looked and he said, “You look beautiful, Mama.” And while we were loitering outside the restaurant hiding from “Ivana,” I asked Stephen who was prettier–me or Ivan Heng–and he said, “You are, Mama!” Since he also didn’t like Ivan’s exaggerated old lady poofy curly hair, I asked him to compare my hair to Ivan’s and he said, “Your hair is nicer, Mama.” Me 3, Ivan 0. 
NB: I’m kicking myself for not having asked for Ivan’s autograph or had a photo taken with him because he was on a popular UK medical drama, Cardiac Arrest, that I’ve previously written about for A Hearty Life.
*Hypersaturated photo created with Picasa
Posted by Cottontimer on 20 Jul 2005 | Tagged as: Me, Singapore
Thanks to everyone for your well wishes last week. I somehow caught a very bad sinus cold that knocked me out. Fortunately, Marv and Stephen were spared.
Bad timing too because I got sick right before we went back to Singapore to inspect the flat* apartment we purchased last year. Renovations were completed a couple of weeks ago and we needed to tie up some loose ends. Marv’s sister kindly lent us furniture until we move (back) to Singapore for an extended period and can buy our own.
Despite borrowing some things and having others selected for us, the flat apartment actually feels like home. The feng shui master was right about our compatibility.
Posted by Cottontimer on 23 May 2005 | Tagged as: Singapore
Like typical Americans, when my friend, D, and I first met Marv during our sophomore year in college and found out he hailed from Singapore, she asked him if they still lived in grass huts. She was only half joking.
A couple of years later, I visited Singapore for the first time during Christmas as Marv’s girlfriend. I was blown away. Singapore was as modern as San Francisco and even more dazzling and glittery.
I was asked Saturday night which Asian city I could imagine retiring in someday. Without hesitation, I said Singapore. It is cosmopolitan with every modern convenience imaginable; English is the official language; and the cost of living is not so high that I couldn’t enjoy my life. Fortunately, Singapore is probably where I will be for most of my adult life. I’m still hoping that I’ll be able to spend my old age in California.
Singapore has had a short, yet amazingly successful history as a country and has a brilliant future ahead.
From As the Future Catches You by Juan Enriquez,
In 1950, Singapore was an isolated, tiny poor island…. It wasn’t even a country before 1965.
Its future was so bleak that its leaders went to Malaysia and asked whether it would be willing to absorb Singapore and make it part of its state.
Malaysia’s leaders decided that absorbing Singapore would make their country poorer and declined the offer.
Singapore had no choice but to educate its people, reform its government, attract knowledge and get to work.
By 1985, Singaporeans were producing $8,116 per person…
Their ex-colonial masters, the British, were at $11,237.By 1999, Singaporeans were 2 percent wealthier than the Brits.
The future belongs to
SMALL POPULATIONS
who build empires of the mind,
and who ignore the temptations of–
or do not have the option of–exploiting
natural resources.
Posted by Cottontimer on 21 Apr 2005 | Tagged as: Singapore
Where were we for the past seven days when cardinals were deliberating over who would be the next Pope and white smoke began wafting from the Sistine Chapel chimney?
We were in Singapore for the main purpose of making some decisions about the renovation of the flat we purchased last year. While most of our friends assumed the responsibilities of being homeowners in debt years ago, we have managed to escape thus far by being overseas. After becoming parents, however, we decided it was time to make a home base in Singapore where Marv’s company and family are located.
The most important features of a home for us are comfort and cleanliness. Marv and I are not Architectural Digest people and like to keep things simple and easy to maintain. This made things much less stressful for us although I still find myself second guessing some of our color choices.
We’re hoping to achieve a fresh and natural springtime feel and selected:
There are still many more things we need to get including furniture, TV’s, and a washer and dryer. It’s mind boggling. We can almost hear the numbers on our bank account being dialed down.
Stephen didn’t have a clue that we were establishing a home for him in Singapore. He was too busy having fun. On this trip, we finally managed to tear ourselves away from shopping malls to take him to the Singapore Science Centre. While there, he pushed every button he could find, took a picture with planet Jupiter, and tried McDonald’s chicken McNuggets for the first time (we still eat there occasionally even though I’ve read Fast Food Nation and watched Supersize Me). Stephen also got a chance to frolick in the playgrounds at shopping malls and Singapore’s residential HDB blocks. And, of course, he got his space shuttle and accompanying booster rockets, external fuel tanks, astronauts, satellites, and other space paraphernalia. He doesn’t know that I’ve got other goodies for him hidden away for special days in the future.
Shopping was rewarding for me too. I limited myself to buying just one nonessential item - a Canon Ixus 50. My Olympus Camedia C40ZOOM, which we purchased more than three years ago, has been replaced with this sleeker, faster, more sophisticated, and less battery hungry 5.0 megapixel camera. Hope I won’t be similarly replaced in the future.
Apologies to friends in Singapore who we didn’t get to see. Someday, we’ll just be a hop, skip, and jump away.
Posted by Cottontimer on 14 Dec 2004 | Tagged as: Shopping, Singapore, Vietnam
With globalization, things are getting cheaper and cheaper. Even people with small budgets can now become shopaholics. The dollar bins at Target are filled with plastic Sesame Street figurines, lavender bubble bath, and wooden puzzles. Ross Dress For Less has $7 Nike t-shirts, $5 Mary Engelbreit books, and DVDs for less than $10. Instead of being dirt poor with nothing to their name, it’s now possible to be dirt poor with lots of clutter instead. We’ve made a lot of progress.
I struggle constantly against my desire to acquire more material goods. I thought I would enjoy the spirit of the holiday season in California and Singapore, but instead, I started feeling repulsed by the blatant consumerism all around me.
Signs outside the OG department store in Singapore remind us that “the joy of giving begins with shopping.” Perhaps my problem is that I haven’t been shopping enough.
Or maybe my problem is that I am not advanced enough, not progressive enough.
“The largest mall shows our progress as a society,” said Fu Yuesheng, general manager of the New Yansha Group on the company’s completion in Beijing of the biggest shopping mall in the world.
Phooey on human rights and environmental protection. What we need to make the world a better place is to do more shopping and build more malls.
