The Birthday..

Unlike previous years, I had someone special to celebrate my birthday with this year. The celebration took place the night before my birthday, at a restaurant which provided a stunning view of the skylines of Singapore, as well as sumptuous food and champagne to go along. The ambience was excellent but what's more important is the company - The One. Although we had no photographs taken then, the memories of that day will forever be etched in my heart. Thank you darling, for making this my best birthday ever.

I love being a tourist of Singapore. Indulging in fine dining, lazing on the sofa at hotel lobbies looking at others tourists checking-in, strolling hand-in-hand with The One along Orchard Road/Esplanade absorbing in the Christmas atmosphere, happily snapping away pictures of Singapore icons and ironically getting other tourists to take pictures of us, heartily consuming greasy local delights at hawker centres, checking out for cheap deals, exploring unfamiliar routes, taking cable car rides etc. I never knew that Singapore's view at night was so breathtaking. I never realised that our tiny island has so much to offer. With the wide array of entertainment, the beautiful sights and the right company, I'm contended to stay put here during this long vacation before I embark on my "journey" next year.

The Posting..

Received my school posting over the weekend while I wasn't at home. Coincidentally the same thing happened during my previous posting. Barb had the honour of ripping apart the letter once again. So I was posted to a neighbourhood school. I kind of expected it as eighty percent of the schools in Singapore are neighbourhood schools. The odds of getting into a non-government aided school for a second time were slim.

Although my practicum school was an autonomous school, I wasn't particularly impressed with it. My practicum school just didn't live up to my expectations. Perhaps the reason was that I myself came from an autonomous school. Up till now, it disturbs me that the principal doesn't enforce any kind of discipliniary action when 90% of the students do not sing the national anthem or recite the pledge. His rationale was that the problem was prevalent 20 years ago. If it can't be rectified then, what can be done now? I find his rationale totally absurd. The fact that the students show little respect to him and the teachers doesn't surprise me at all.

Overall, I'm not too disappointed with my posting. I should have no complaints since it's only 6km away from my house and this time round, there are at least four people who are posted together with me to this school. Perhaps the relevant authority has realised how mean they were to me on the previous two occasions, leaving me as the lone-ranger in a totally new environment (not that I really minded actually). Anyway, I've heard a couple of horror stories from ex-students of that school. Ironically, I've heard positive remarks from ex-teachers. A matter of different perspective? It doesn't matter which school I get into actually. Afterall, students are all the same. It's the colleagues and the overall school environment/culture that really makes a huge difference.

In a totally unrelated note, I'm thoroughly pissed with someone who borrowed an expensive (costs more than 2k) item from me and doesn't show any intention of returning. In fact, he has been blatantly ignoring my messages. Absentmindedness is totally out of the question as the item is so freaking big that there's no way he could have missed it. I attribute it to the fact that he doesn't have integrity or perhaps his teachers didn't teach him CME. The One thinks otherwise. His theory is that all guys are jerks and that he's still sore about a particular matter which I shan't mention here. Morale of the story? It really doesn't pay to be kind. I can only blame myself for being naive into believing that he had no other hidden agenda when borrowing the item from me. I absolutely loathe people with no integrity. No use being so freaking intelligent when you seriously lack values.

Traffic Woes..

In response to Minister of Transport's plea for Singaporeans to take public transport rather than drive, many Singaporeans have taken this opportunity to write in to the Forum to complain about Singapore's public transport system. Singaporeans just love whinning. Their common complaints? Long waiting times for buses, irregular timing for buses, squeezy trains and buses etc. Their suggestion? Emulate Switzerland's transport system.

In my opinion, our transport system is close to being top-notch. Those whiners obviously haven't stepped out of this little dot to experience the public transport outside Singapore. With the peanuts they are paying for public transport fares, what do they expect to get in return? Yes, public transport fares are rising over the years, but it is still low compared to other countries.

Anyway, even if Singapore does have a world class transport system, does it really mean that they would choose public transport over the car? I reckon not. Here are my reasons why the car wins hands down.

1) Comfort. Maximum number of people in a normal car? 5. Bus? I don't know. Probably 50-100 for a double-decker bus. MRT? Hundreds or even thousand. And the most annoying part of public transport: The person standing or sitting next to you might just be a stinko who keeps picking his nose or a psycho who keeps staring at you.

2) Privacy. With strangers surrounding you in the MRT or bus, conversations with your friend(s) are limited to general and trivial stuff like the weather, Singapore Idol, TV dramas etc. There's no way you can talk about personal and controversial matters on the public transport unless you want the whole world to know about you or you want to spend a period of time behind bars.

3) Convenience. Not every place that one wants to go is located near the MRT station or bus-stop. Sure one can always take the cab. But when returning, what are the chances of one flagging down a cab at the deserted place?

4) Saves time. Example: My home to Jurong - by car: 35 min (non-peak hour), 50 min (peak hour). By public transport - minimum 100 minutes. Yes, there are counter examples but most of the time, my point is generally true.

5) Increase bonding time. Imagine 30 minutes a day with your loved ones in the car. That translates to days over a period of time. Sure, you can increase bonding time with your kid on the public transport but it won't be quality time due to reason number 2.

6) Thrill of driving. I loathe it when females who can afford it do not drive/learn how to drive. They say they prefer being chauffered around by their boyfriend. They obviously don't know they are missing a lot in life. I just love blasting my favourite song on the radio while speeding down expressways. Yes, traffic jams are irritating but it builds up one's patience and lets you admire the different types of cars on the roads.

7) Prestige. One of the 5Cs. No explanation needed. If one can afford it, one would obviously drive a car rather than take public transport.

Yap, that's it. On a related topic, I didn't have to pay parking fees today even though I parked for 2.5hours. Maybe the gods were trying to cheer me up after a lousy day yesterday. I hope there would be more compensations to come.