Biscuits as a Centrepiece on a Conference Table
You can hardly stretch beyond half the width of the conference table unless you lay your body on the table and make a reach, like a tired secretary cavorting with her boss.
Yet, the biscuits are placed right at the centre of the table, out of the usual reach of the meeting participants.
It's like a gesture of fake friendliness, a rhetoric open invitation (if such a thing exists).
The biscuits, coated in their luscious cream and chocolate, sit safely, losing their crispness in the humid surroundings.
Like a centrepiece, it sits looking pretty, wiling not a bit under everyone's eyes but becoming less savoury with time.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Spaggeddies (Marina Square)
Spaggeddies (Marina Square)
They are having a 1-for-1 for Mamma's Specialties to celebrate their opening.
Valid till 31 Mar.
They are having a 1-for-1 for Mamma's Specialties to celebrate their opening.
Valid till 31 Mar.
Imperial Kitchen (Marina Square)
Imperial Kitchen (Marina Square)
Pu'er Tea - F (God! There was only colour, and no taste!)
Nanjing Duck in Brine - D (Tasteless thin slivers of duck breast.)
Li Bai Drunken Chicken - F (Honestly, there are better wine out there. Chicken was quite tough, even though it's the leg - Drumstick and thigh)
Deep fried pork ribs - B (Succulently cooked through with a sweet-tangy sauce topped with chopped spring onions and served with sweet chilli)
Wanton in Chilli Oil - A (The wantons were great!)
Wonton Soup - A (See above)
Shanghai Tan-tan Noodles - A (For noodles), C (For sauce - too much peanuts, the cheap alternative)
Beijing Dumplings - C (The chef innovatively tried to pack in the soup into these a la xiao-long-bao, but they didn't impress)
Deep Fried Egg Whites with Red Bean Paste and Banana - F (For god's sake, how could any one use high gluten flour to hold up the egg whites and expect the resulting dessert not to taste like rubber balls?!)
Service - B
Ambience - C
Decor - C
Number of excuses for less than good food - A+ (They never seem to run out of them!)
The meal came up to under $60. Forgettable.
Pu'er Tea - F (God! There was only colour, and no taste!)
Nanjing Duck in Brine - D (Tasteless thin slivers of duck breast.)
Li Bai Drunken Chicken - F (Honestly, there are better wine out there. Chicken was quite tough, even though it's the leg - Drumstick and thigh)
Deep fried pork ribs - B (Succulently cooked through with a sweet-tangy sauce topped with chopped spring onions and served with sweet chilli)
Wanton in Chilli Oil - A (The wantons were great!)
Wonton Soup - A (See above)
Shanghai Tan-tan Noodles - A (For noodles), C (For sauce - too much peanuts, the cheap alternative)
Beijing Dumplings - C (The chef innovatively tried to pack in the soup into these a la xiao-long-bao, but they didn't impress)
Deep Fried Egg Whites with Red Bean Paste and Banana - F (For god's sake, how could any one use high gluten flour to hold up the egg whites and expect the resulting dessert not to taste like rubber balls?!)
Service - B
Ambience - C
Decor - C
Number of excuses for less than good food - A+ (They never seem to run out of them!)
The meal came up to under $60. Forgettable.
Different lives
Different lives
A friend is getting a 25.5% pay increase to jump ship and he's wondering if he should.
Darn!
I'll be lucky not to get 25.5% more work without extra pay...
A friend is getting a 25.5% pay increase to jump ship and he's wondering if he should.
Darn!
I'll be lucky not to get 25.5% more work without extra pay...
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Just a little more...
Just a little more...
Just a little more turned out to be too much. But you gave your life for the organisation you probably loved. Still, the question is, Had it been worthwhile?
I hope you are in a better place.
This post is dedicated to the SAF officer who died suddenly during the biathlon on Sunday. His name is Bernard Tan Cheow Han. I know of him, but did not know him personally.
Just a little more turned out to be too much. But you gave your life for the organisation you probably loved. Still, the question is, Had it been worthwhile?
I hope you are in a better place.
This post is dedicated to the SAF officer who died suddenly during the biathlon on Sunday. His name is Bernard Tan Cheow Han. I know of him, but did not know him personally.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain
Took a quick browse of the Annie Proulx's short story, Brokeback Mountain. Was not very long, about a few tens of pages.
Read it at Times Marina Square when my dinner partner went to negotiate some major business deal.
It was well-written. Something like a porno story out of a internet gay-porn site. The words were used in a very succinct and cutting manner.
Annie wrote in a very masculine way. It did not feel like a woman's work at all.
Still, it was quite electrifying to read the concise story that became a hit. Lee Ang left nothing to imagination - he fleshed out the suggested portions of the story.
But he did it in a tasteful way. Small wonder he is an auteur. We are mere movie buffs. Anyway I must say that the movie was great and so was the short story.
Someday, I'll get the book.
Took a quick browse of the Annie Proulx's short story, Brokeback Mountain. Was not very long, about a few tens of pages.
Read it at Times Marina Square when my dinner partner went to negotiate some major business deal.
It was well-written. Something like a porno story out of a internet gay-porn site. The words were used in a very succinct and cutting manner.
Annie wrote in a very masculine way. It did not feel like a woman's work at all.
Still, it was quite electrifying to read the concise story that became a hit. Lee Ang left nothing to imagination - he fleshed out the suggested portions of the story.
But he did it in a tasteful way. Small wonder he is an auteur. We are mere movie buffs. Anyway I must say that the movie was great and so was the short story.
Someday, I'll get the book.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Should Teachers Blog?
Should Teachers Blog?
Life in the Sunday Times today explored this question.
I am just reminded (yet again) of my run in with my principal when she told me that what I blogged can be used against me.
I wonder what is so damned great about a teacher that s/he must trade off his or her privacy and private life to do the job.
I sold my time to the education ministry to do my work. I didn't PROSTITUTE myself to my job.
So why am I deprived of my rights to do what I want?
Even though I can agree that back-biting and politics should not be brought open into cyberspace, the fact remains that teachers NEED A PLACE TO VENT. And if everyone can be venting on the internet, why can't teachers?
Why not regulate when teachers inhale and exhale their next breath as well?
Life in the Sunday Times today explored this question.
I am just reminded (yet again) of my run in with my principal when she told me that what I blogged can be used against me.
I wonder what is so damned great about a teacher that s/he must trade off his or her privacy and private life to do the job.
I sold my time to the education ministry to do my work. I didn't PROSTITUTE myself to my job.
So why am I deprived of my rights to do what I want?
Even though I can agree that back-biting and politics should not be brought open into cyberspace, the fact remains that teachers NEED A PLACE TO VENT. And if everyone can be venting on the internet, why can't teachers?
Why not regulate when teachers inhale and exhale their next breath as well?
Bug Problem Solved
Bug Problem Solved
Finally located the source of the bugs which had bothered me for a long enough period of time.
It originated from a packet of unopened bow-ties (pasta).
I won't go on any more.
Finally located the source of the bugs which had bothered me for a long enough period of time.
It originated from a packet of unopened bow-ties (pasta).
I won't go on any more.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Snow White
Snow White
Just thought this was very funny, but I couldn't remember where I had seen it.
The gist of it goes:
After umpteenth times that Snow White failed to get the pictures she had sent in to develop, the counter lady told her, "Some day, your prints will come."
Just thought this was very funny, but I couldn't remember where I had seen it.
The gist of it goes:
After umpteenth times that Snow White failed to get the pictures she had sent in to develop, the counter lady told her, "Some day, your prints will come."
Bliss
Bliss
Bliss is currently broadly defined as:
Eating a bowl of piping-hot self-cooked porridge with fermented beancurd and preserved olives while watching in succession 2 hours of television programmes.
Go figure.
Bliss is currently broadly defined as:
Eating a bowl of piping-hot self-cooked porridge with fermented beancurd and preserved olives while watching in succession 2 hours of television programmes.
Go figure.
Zap Zap
Zap Zap
Never failed to be damned irritated by the massager advertisement that goes "zap zap" here, "zap zap" there. The advertisement markets the massager as a vibrating belt which reduces the size of parts of the body.
I think it goes:
"Zap zap hips, zap zap hips.
"Zap zap thighs, zap zap thighs..."
So irritating.
Maybe it is also time to
"Zap zap breasts, zap zap breasts",
because oversized ones were thought to cause bimbo-ism.
But it is definitely time to remove it from the copywriter's head:
"Zap zap brains, zap zap brains"
Small (pun intended) wonder there isn't much intelligence left.
Never failed to be damned irritated by the massager advertisement that goes "zap zap" here, "zap zap" there. The advertisement markets the massager as a vibrating belt which reduces the size of parts of the body.
I think it goes:
"Zap zap hips, zap zap hips.
"Zap zap thighs, zap zap thighs..."
So irritating.
Maybe it is also time to
"Zap zap breasts, zap zap breasts",
because oversized ones were thought to cause bimbo-ism.
But it is definitely time to remove it from the copywriter's head:
"Zap zap brains, zap zap brains"
Small (pun intended) wonder there isn't much intelligence left.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Class Gatherings
Class Gatherings
My lunch partners spoke of class gatherings today. One looked forward to meeting his ex-classmates while another hated the fakies and bragging that came with these gatherings.
I personally don't like gatherings. At least I did not like what happened to those gatherings that my class had. They were oblique bragging sesisons.
Now that I had my own form class and I meet them regularly enough, I try to keep those gatherings apolitical. We talk about everything under the sun. Everyone is equal. In your group of friends, it does not matter who earns more, who holds a higher postion, who is more influential... The group congregates because there is a common, shared life between them.
Simply meeting and appreciating that your friends are around and they still care about you is the best thing that can happen. And that is what is important.
My lunch partners spoke of class gatherings today. One looked forward to meeting his ex-classmates while another hated the fakies and bragging that came with these gatherings.
I personally don't like gatherings. At least I did not like what happened to those gatherings that my class had. They were oblique bragging sesisons.
Now that I had my own form class and I meet them regularly enough, I try to keep those gatherings apolitical. We talk about everything under the sun. Everyone is equal. In your group of friends, it does not matter who earns more, who holds a higher postion, who is more influential... The group congregates because there is a common, shared life between them.
Simply meeting and appreciating that your friends are around and they still care about you is the best thing that can happen. And that is what is important.
Housewarming
Housewarming
Visited an ex-colleague couple who had their housewarming on Sunday. Didn't expect that many other ex-colleagues are also staying in the same estate as them. In fact, they were close neighbours.
After that, went to another ex-colleague's house and bitched till the roof nearly collapsed.
It had been a long time since I left the school and many things have changed.
Fortunately, we are still us. Stronger, more steely determination, more resilient, but also more haggard, less cheerful.
It was a good chat on Saturday and things have changed a great deal. But the enduring friendship remains strong. Fortunately, some things in life remain constant.
Visited an ex-colleague couple who had their housewarming on Sunday. Didn't expect that many other ex-colleagues are also staying in the same estate as them. In fact, they were close neighbours.
After that, went to another ex-colleague's house and bitched till the roof nearly collapsed.
It had been a long time since I left the school and many things have changed.
Fortunately, we are still us. Stronger, more steely determination, more resilient, but also more haggard, less cheerful.
It was a good chat on Saturday and things have changed a great deal. But the enduring friendship remains strong. Fortunately, some things in life remain constant.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
My daily breakfast
My daily breakfast
1. 6 types of cereals and muesli
2. 12 types of different berry mashes, rhubarb compotes, yogurts...
3. Fried pancake
4. Grilled tomatoes
5. Hashbrown
6. (Steamed) poached eggs
7. Beef sausages
8. Bacon (those that were freshly made had so much fats attached to it, those which were leaner were tougher - they were reheated leftovers)
9. Sunny side ups - with the yolks raped
10. Boiled eggs
11. Breads
12. Spreads
13. Danish
14. Weak coffee - a tiny pack of sugar would have sweetened it
I can recall all these because the same items were served every day for breakfast in Canberra.
Sydney? No breakfast provided.
1. 6 types of cereals and muesli
2. 12 types of different berry mashes, rhubarb compotes, yogurts...
3. Fried pancake
4. Grilled tomatoes
5. Hashbrown
6. (Steamed) poached eggs
7. Beef sausages
8. Bacon (those that were freshly made had so much fats attached to it, those which were leaner were tougher - they were reheated leftovers)
9. Sunny side ups - with the yolks raped
10. Boiled eggs
11. Breads
12. Spreads
13. Danish
14. Weak coffee - a tiny pack of sugar would have sweetened it
I can recall all these because the same items were served every day for breakfast in Canberra.
Sydney? No breakfast provided.
Size matters
Size matters
Those who know me know that I am big. Fat. Round. Whatever.
So I flew to Australia on a Boeing 747. I typically dislike flying on 747s. The last time I took a 747 a few years ago, I found the seat small and tight and the pitch was hardly enough for me to stop my knees from knocking into the row in front.
This time around, the seats were wide - comparatively, I could wriggle my bum in the seat and adopt a couple of seating leaning positions.
There was this woman who is probably 5 feet flat at most (1.52 m) and her hips were 1.5 times mine.
She first complained that the seats were so small.
Then she went to the toilet midway during the flight and when she returned, she told her friends that the loo was so tiny.
The toilet design on a plane beats some of the toilet designs in Canberra hands down. Rydges Hotel, where I stayed in, had a ground floor gentlemen's room with a door that opens into a pillar. It would have taken a gymnast or an acrobat to get past that door to enter the toilet. I nearly couldn't manoeuvre myself out.
I wonder what would have befallen Miss Big Hips.
Those who know me know that I am big. Fat. Round. Whatever.
So I flew to Australia on a Boeing 747. I typically dislike flying on 747s. The last time I took a 747 a few years ago, I found the seat small and tight and the pitch was hardly enough for me to stop my knees from knocking into the row in front.
This time around, the seats were wide - comparatively, I could wriggle my bum in the seat and adopt a couple of seating leaning positions.
There was this woman who is probably 5 feet flat at most (1.52 m) and her hips were 1.5 times mine.
She first complained that the seats were so small.
Then she went to the toilet midway during the flight and when she returned, she told her friends that the loo was so tiny.
The toilet design on a plane beats some of the toilet designs in Canberra hands down. Rydges Hotel, where I stayed in, had a ground floor gentlemen's room with a door that opens into a pillar. It would have taken a gymnast or an acrobat to get past that door to enter the toilet. I nearly couldn't manoeuvre myself out.
I wonder what would have befallen Miss Big Hips.
Royal Highnesses
Royal Highnesses
Her Royal Highness The Queen and His Royal Highness The Supreme Bitch were in Sydney at the same time.
Unfortunately, they didn't see each other.
But the Supreme Bitch met the Queen on her birthday in London in 1999.
Interesting how things in life go.
Oh yes, when the Supreme Bitch came home, it seemed that the Queen followed. :-)
Her Royal Highness The Queen and His Royal Highness The Supreme Bitch were in Sydney at the same time.
Unfortunately, they didn't see each other.
But the Supreme Bitch met the Queen on her birthday in London in 1999.
Interesting how things in life go.
Oh yes, when the Supreme Bitch came home, it seemed that the Queen followed. :-)
SQ 222
SQ 222
Took the flight back on 16 Mar 06. Departed Sydney punctually at 1655 h.
Sat at the end of the plane. Good choice cos the seat cushions were still firm. Or at least still existing. When I flew down to Sydney earlier, the cushions on the seat was almost worn out, giving me a freaking painful butt.
But what stood out was the INCREDIBLE level of service. I never knew you could feel on the top of the world in economy class. Just two cheerful, responsive, meticulous, proactive stewardesses and a steward made the entire section properly fed, well hydrated throughout the entire flight.
When we hit turbulence, they simply calmly walked out of their rest areas and cheerfully but firmly got everyone to belt up and helped whoever was fiddling with their seatbelts.
One of them was from Korea. It is amazing that the recruitment programme was so successful. Imagine the Singapore Girl coming from Korea - if it were not for being loyal to the company and committed to the job, who would have bothered?
The girls epitomised what the Singapore Girl ought to be. The premium is worth it. And they have set new service standards against which the rest of the crew has to live up to from now on.
Took the flight back on 16 Mar 06. Departed Sydney punctually at 1655 h.
Sat at the end of the plane. Good choice cos the seat cushions were still firm. Or at least still existing. When I flew down to Sydney earlier, the cushions on the seat was almost worn out, giving me a freaking painful butt.
But what stood out was the INCREDIBLE level of service. I never knew you could feel on the top of the world in economy class. Just two cheerful, responsive, meticulous, proactive stewardesses and a steward made the entire section properly fed, well hydrated throughout the entire flight.
When we hit turbulence, they simply calmly walked out of their rest areas and cheerfully but firmly got everyone to belt up and helped whoever was fiddling with their seatbelts.
One of them was from Korea. It is amazing that the recruitment programme was so successful. Imagine the Singapore Girl coming from Korea - if it were not for being loyal to the company and committed to the job, who would have bothered?
The girls epitomised what the Singapore Girl ought to be. The premium is worth it. And they have set new service standards against which the rest of the crew has to live up to from now on.
Where you stand
Where you stand
Where are you from?
Singapore.
Oh, when did you arrive?
Sunday, 12 Mar.
So, when are you going back?
. . .
They are just so intent to see you go home. It's so clear you are not welcome here.
Where are you from?
Singapore.
Oh, when did you arrive?
Sunday, 12 Mar.
So, when are you going back?
. . .
They are just so intent to see you go home. It's so clear you are not welcome here.
Food Down Under
Food Down Under
1. Kangaroo Meat
2. Oysters
3. Bugs
4. Nectarines
5. Raspberry tart
6. Savoury pizza bread
7. Turkish food (exceptionally high class food and surroundings, courtesy of our wonderful hosts)
8. Flat whites (cafe latte)
9. Pork two ways (belly meat and fillet)
10. Semi-skim milk (smooth, like full cream milk)
11. Cheese
12. Bread (savoury pizza style, pesto with ham rolls, cheese bread)
13. Yogurt
14. Tuna sashimi
15. Salmon sashimi
16. Korean kimchi
17. Dinners which cost in excess of $75 for 2 people, excluding tips.
18. Australian wines
1. Kangaroo Meat
2. Oysters
3. Bugs
4. Nectarines
5. Raspberry tart
6. Savoury pizza bread
7. Turkish food (exceptionally high class food and surroundings, courtesy of our wonderful hosts)
8. Flat whites (cafe latte)
9. Pork two ways (belly meat and fillet)
10. Semi-skim milk (smooth, like full cream milk)
11. Cheese
12. Bread (savoury pizza style, pesto with ham rolls, cheese bread)
13. Yogurt
14. Tuna sashimi
15. Salmon sashimi
16. Korean kimchi
17. Dinners which cost in excess of $75 for 2 people, excluding tips.
18. Australian wines
Saturday, March 11, 2006
What a crowd
What a crowd
The entire departure area in the airport is full of people taking flights out of Singapore. And there are groups and groups of tourists who have just arrived.
The entire Changi Airport is bursting at its seams.
And as I approached the gate to board my flight, the sheer queue of people waiting to get their hand luggage x-rayed absolutely positively put me off. I beat a hasty retreat, knowing very well that I am going to regret this decision.
But tell that to my tightening bladder. I think a more sane decision would be find a place to take a leak before joining that dastardly queue.
Sigh... I hate peak period travelling.
I'm going to sleep through the flight to Sydney. Wish me luck.
Oh yes, I just saw a teacher briefing a big bunch of kids outside the departure gate just now. Many parents were crowding around listening in. Let's hope they are NOT on my flight. God! I could have slept all night and even begged for more.
Now, pass me the hot towel to clean myself and I'm going to dreamland.
Oh no... Now there is a bunch of screeching housewives walking past... I'm going nuts.
I hear my bladder complaining and am standing cross-legged now. I'm off.
The entire departure area in the airport is full of people taking flights out of Singapore. And there are groups and groups of tourists who have just arrived.
The entire Changi Airport is bursting at its seams.
And as I approached the gate to board my flight, the sheer queue of people waiting to get their hand luggage x-rayed absolutely positively put me off. I beat a hasty retreat, knowing very well that I am going to regret this decision.
But tell that to my tightening bladder. I think a more sane decision would be find a place to take a leak before joining that dastardly queue.
Sigh... I hate peak period travelling.
I'm going to sleep through the flight to Sydney. Wish me luck.
Oh yes, I just saw a teacher briefing a big bunch of kids outside the departure gate just now. Many parents were crowding around listening in. Let's hope they are NOT on my flight. God! I could have slept all night and even begged for more.
Now, pass me the hot towel to clean myself and I'm going to dreamland.
Oh no... Now there is a bunch of screeching housewives walking past... I'm going nuts.
I hear my bladder complaining and am standing cross-legged now. I'm off.
Period of absence
Period of absence
Will be off to a working trip to Canberra and Sydney. Will be back after 16 Mar.
Any entries during that period would be incidental.
Have a nice time while I slog away...
Will be off to a working trip to Canberra and Sydney. Will be back after 16 Mar.
Any entries during that period would be incidental.
Have a nice time while I slog away...
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Education as an unwanted service
Education as an unwanted service
Background
There had been a request that I give alternatives to my earlier posting on Symptomatic Relief. My arrogant reply was that the omission of the alternatives was intentional, not because I am unable to give them, but because I treasure my freedom still. I don't particularly fancy living on Sentosa as an ISA detainee.
Perhaps what I can do is to give the request some air time and provide a sneak peek into my mind. That's perhaps all I can do and I wouldn't want to go beyond this.
Introduction
Education has been treated as a panacea to many social ills. Countries with the means to provide affordable education to the masses do so, with every intention of achieving high literacy rates. A well educated population means that job opportunities become easier to come by. Multinationals are more likely to consider setting up their factories or outfits in countries with high literacy rates (and implicit in this argument, the presence of prerequisite infrastructure). These factories and money-churning outfits need workers and the well-educated workers are then able to be gainfully employed.
As with all well-educated work forces, the work to be undertaken is more towards adding value to the products rather than simple downline production or menial work. This means that the corresponding renumeration of these workers will be higher. As a result, the general standards of living will improve. (Implicit too, is that the cost of living will also increase, but that would be another story.) However, while social ills may be reduced, many other ills cannot be eradicated. An uncultured population remains uncultured, even if they are educated. Because even if their education provided them enough immersion in culture, nothing has overtly changed in the society they are in that requires them to move away from their undesirable past: the repugnant actions, the uncouth behaviour, the sloppy ways still remain.
Aim
In this entry, I wish to argue that the mass provision of education is neither prudent nor necessary.
Education as a ever widening safety net
As with all populations, there are the movers and the shakers, the leaders and the followers, the sprinters and the laggards. Not everyone wants to be a leader (although I would think that everyone wants to have a lot of money). Not everyone has a mind for studies, just like an elephant like me with duck feet can never expect to ever be as skinny or athletic as the average Joe. Neither will I expect to wear a pair of proper cowboy boots, because if the length (width) fits, the width (length) won't. Ok, I digress. But the point remains: Not everyone will take to education like a fish takes to water. Not everyone will master mathematics or chemistry or even learn that you have to use the past participle after the verb has/have/had (well, in most cases, you do!). No one can claim that education will be the solution to everyone.
Yet, in our deep-rooted belief that education is the universal medicine to all social ills, we keep expanding the catchment of education. We believe that if we manage to keep everyone in the school system long enough, everyone will be educated.
But how many times must we remind one other that getting an education and being educated are entirely different issues? Yet, the equivalence is drawn every time. The glaring differences (I won't even use the notion of subtlety here) are blurred with broad strokes.
We expand and expand and expand our educational streams and institutions. In the name of providing differentiated education to different parts of the student spectrum, have we considered that there are those whose real education is from the university of the society? Mandatory education does nothing for them.
Cost Effectiveness of Education
If more and more people are being kept within the education domain, then why does the cost of education not go down? Instead of obeying the law of economy of scale, cost of education has been rising year on year. Just take the recent university and poly fee hikes as an example.
Yes, we may be attracting top brains to our local institutions to put them on the education map, we may be upgrading our infrastructure to provide better service or better education to our students, but why is it that the increase in student intake (and therefore the increase in fees) insufficient to pay for all these?
Without going into higher end education because it probably makes a difference when you are taught by a Harvard-trained professor as compared to a XYZ-trained professor, let us concentrate on basic education.
We are now training batches and batches of teachers. One the one hand, the education service laments the insufficiency of teachers. On the other hand, schools are expected to reduce class sizes, provide differentiated education, additional classes, CCA etc. But what is our priority? What is the true bread and butter of a teacher? Have we got our priorities messed up?
I clearly recall my days when the Cambridge Examination Syllabi were not reduced, schools were in double sessions, and we managed to complete our syllabi on time for the exams. Why is it that with the current reduction in syllabi and full-day school system, more and more schools are finding it difficult to complete the syllabi?
The reason is perhaps simpler than we would think: Because the quality of students have dipped. The PSLE T-score is dependent on the raw score and the passing/failure rate can possibly be pre-determined. I am not sure about this but if this indeed happens, students who make it into the secondary schools may not be of the same calibre year-on-year. This is especially so for the mediocre to poor performers who made it into each stream. As a result, a lot of time is spent on trying to teach these slow learners.
Are they in stream X because they are really stream X calibre or does the larger landscape allow them to slip into stream X? Until we know the answer, we can perhaps only postulate a guess. Also, teachers are given so much additional work that teaching is perhaps no longer the main job description of a teacher.
Then why is education costing so much when teachers actually teach so little, as compared to all the other work they have to do?
The Real Customers of Education
The education we provide do not necessary reach the very people we seek to educate. The education system is filled with enough undesirable pupils to make teaching a tough profession. While teachers stay on and try their best to win these strayers over, teachers also realise they are not gods. There is only so much that can be done. However, there is still a lot of convincing the people out there that the teachers have done their best.
Schools as a welfare shelter or child care centre
When widespread education is provided, parents clamour for more. Many a parent will in fact love to find a school that takes his or her child, keep him or her there, and educate him both academically and morally, and take over the absolute parentiing responsibilities from the parent him- or herself.
The mandate of the school has changed - in fact artificially and unreasonably expanded - by the very customers to whom an indirect service has been provided. How can education or the school become a surrogate parent that needs to impart full familial upbringing and values to the children? This is preposterous!
Life and Culture Education
As a learned population, we are failures in life and in culture. How many of us actually know our cultures well? How many of us have the resilience of our forefathers (even if we had more knowledge than them)? How many of us still secretly harbour undesirable habits like sitting with their legs resting on a chair a la rickshaw man style? How many of us remember to turn off our handphones in a cinema? How many of us know about marriage and funeral rites? How many of us even remember death anniversaries? What do we really care about? Our next meal, our next hairstyle, our next pub to visit, our next item to shop for... We have degenerated into a bunch of people who are entrenched in our mundane lives. How many of us even know who his or her MP is? How many people even remember who is Yusof Ishak?
We live a wandering life - educated and learned by all means but aimless. We think we know a lot but many people around me still do not understand why I try to start Friday afternoon meetings after 2.30 pm, especially if I have Muslim members. Many people are conceited, arrogant, full of themselves. Self-confidence is a positive trait but when you forget that you need to leave space for others to co-exist with you, then your values are suspect.
Alternatives
Excessively providing education to school-going age pupils is akin to throwing pearls to the swines. Some of these young ones do not have the aptitude or the interest in education. They would much prefer to spend their time doing something else.
One alternative is to require them to serve protracted NS for 4 years. This way, we can get them regimented fast and instil in them proper discipline. They could eventually go back to school after 2 years in NS. A bit of physical hardship does make the young ones think twice about staying out of school. But this is also transferring the problem.
The holistic solution to a problem like this is to provide basic tier education services which are wholly paid for by the parents - children from needy families can be exempt and children who achieve 100% accounted for attendance get 100% fee rebates at the end of the year. The other cases are pro-rated. After all, as with all services, people will abuse them. But people have yet to abuse money.
The parents of a child that drops out of this system will homeschool the child, failing which the child will be institutionalised. All fanciful stuff like character development programmes, flashy extra-curricular activities, enrichment programmes such as outings and field trips should be outsourced to private service providers. These service providers can be government schools whose main mandate is to provide an alternative to value-add against the open competition out there. If these schools fail, then the teachers lose their jobs.
Parents must be made to face legal punishments together with their children if neglect can be proven in cases of character development and morals. Just like we fine people who spit indiscriminately, when a child is caught for spitting, punish the parents as well! If it were not the case that the parents were also guilty of that habit, they might well have not made the effort to inculcate the correct values. Correct them at once - confine them for a week, let them spit but collect the spit. End of each day, make them swallow everything they spat out. Tell me that this will NOT work!
Teachers' pay should also be driven by the market and his or her customers (students) - a good teacher commands a higher salary. This way, teachers will be motivated to do their best and students will also have a say to decide on the quality of education they receive.
Considerations
These are radical ideas which may or may not work. But endlessly providing education as a solution is not going to work. A horse by the river will stop drinking once it is sated. No amount of forcing will make it drink anymore. Current education opportunities are saturated for the "normal" population. The needs of the educationally subnormal and gifted are far from being provided sufficiently. Here, we face an unwanted service at one region and those who need help, education does not want to go there.
This anomaly takes more than mere lip service to address. Something real has to be done about it. However, when it will be will really depend on when resources will be made available.
Conclusion
We are still a long way off from being a cultured, learned, tolerant, sensitive nation. School children recite Mr S Rajaratnam's ideals in the form of our pledge. The words are simple:
We the citizens of Singapore
Pledge ourselves a one united people
Regardless of race, language and religion
To build a democratic society
Based on peace, justice and equality
So as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.
But in the stark simplicity, how many of these have we imbibed personally? Why hasn't widespread, affordable, and accessible education to the people done its job? At who do we point our fingers? Teachers? Principals? Pupils? Parents? Stakeholders of education? Only we ourselves know best!
The great man is dead. Hopefully, his ideals for Singapore will not fade away with him.
Background
There had been a request that I give alternatives to my earlier posting on Symptomatic Relief. My arrogant reply was that the omission of the alternatives was intentional, not because I am unable to give them, but because I treasure my freedom still. I don't particularly fancy living on Sentosa as an ISA detainee.
Perhaps what I can do is to give the request some air time and provide a sneak peek into my mind. That's perhaps all I can do and I wouldn't want to go beyond this.
Introduction
Education has been treated as a panacea to many social ills. Countries with the means to provide affordable education to the masses do so, with every intention of achieving high literacy rates. A well educated population means that job opportunities become easier to come by. Multinationals are more likely to consider setting up their factories or outfits in countries with high literacy rates (and implicit in this argument, the presence of prerequisite infrastructure). These factories and money-churning outfits need workers and the well-educated workers are then able to be gainfully employed.
As with all well-educated work forces, the work to be undertaken is more towards adding value to the products rather than simple downline production or menial work. This means that the corresponding renumeration of these workers will be higher. As a result, the general standards of living will improve. (Implicit too, is that the cost of living will also increase, but that would be another story.) However, while social ills may be reduced, many other ills cannot be eradicated. An uncultured population remains uncultured, even if they are educated. Because even if their education provided them enough immersion in culture, nothing has overtly changed in the society they are in that requires them to move away from their undesirable past: the repugnant actions, the uncouth behaviour, the sloppy ways still remain.
Aim
In this entry, I wish to argue that the mass provision of education is neither prudent nor necessary.
Education as a ever widening safety net
As with all populations, there are the movers and the shakers, the leaders and the followers, the sprinters and the laggards. Not everyone wants to be a leader (although I would think that everyone wants to have a lot of money). Not everyone has a mind for studies, just like an elephant like me with duck feet can never expect to ever be as skinny or athletic as the average Joe. Neither will I expect to wear a pair of proper cowboy boots, because if the length (width) fits, the width (length) won't. Ok, I digress. But the point remains: Not everyone will take to education like a fish takes to water. Not everyone will master mathematics or chemistry or even learn that you have to use the past participle after the verb has/have/had (well, in most cases, you do!). No one can claim that education will be the solution to everyone.
Yet, in our deep-rooted belief that education is the universal medicine to all social ills, we keep expanding the catchment of education. We believe that if we manage to keep everyone in the school system long enough, everyone will be educated.
But how many times must we remind one other that getting an education and being educated are entirely different issues? Yet, the equivalence is drawn every time. The glaring differences (I won't even use the notion of subtlety here) are blurred with broad strokes.
We expand and expand and expand our educational streams and institutions. In the name of providing differentiated education to different parts of the student spectrum, have we considered that there are those whose real education is from the university of the society? Mandatory education does nothing for them.
Cost Effectiveness of Education
If more and more people are being kept within the education domain, then why does the cost of education not go down? Instead of obeying the law of economy of scale, cost of education has been rising year on year. Just take the recent university and poly fee hikes as an example.
Yes, we may be attracting top brains to our local institutions to put them on the education map, we may be upgrading our infrastructure to provide better service or better education to our students, but why is it that the increase in student intake (and therefore the increase in fees) insufficient to pay for all these?
Without going into higher end education because it probably makes a difference when you are taught by a Harvard-trained professor as compared to a XYZ-trained professor, let us concentrate on basic education.
We are now training batches and batches of teachers. One the one hand, the education service laments the insufficiency of teachers. On the other hand, schools are expected to reduce class sizes, provide differentiated education, additional classes, CCA etc. But what is our priority? What is the true bread and butter of a teacher? Have we got our priorities messed up?
I clearly recall my days when the Cambridge Examination Syllabi were not reduced, schools were in double sessions, and we managed to complete our syllabi on time for the exams. Why is it that with the current reduction in syllabi and full-day school system, more and more schools are finding it difficult to complete the syllabi?
The reason is perhaps simpler than we would think: Because the quality of students have dipped. The PSLE T-score is dependent on the raw score and the passing/failure rate can possibly be pre-determined. I am not sure about this but if this indeed happens, students who make it into the secondary schools may not be of the same calibre year-on-year. This is especially so for the mediocre to poor performers who made it into each stream. As a result, a lot of time is spent on trying to teach these slow learners.
Are they in stream X because they are really stream X calibre or does the larger landscape allow them to slip into stream X? Until we know the answer, we can perhaps only postulate a guess. Also, teachers are given so much additional work that teaching is perhaps no longer the main job description of a teacher.
Then why is education costing so much when teachers actually teach so little, as compared to all the other work they have to do?
The Real Customers of Education
The education we provide do not necessary reach the very people we seek to educate. The education system is filled with enough undesirable pupils to make teaching a tough profession. While teachers stay on and try their best to win these strayers over, teachers also realise they are not gods. There is only so much that can be done. However, there is still a lot of convincing the people out there that the teachers have done their best.
Schools as a welfare shelter or child care centre
When widespread education is provided, parents clamour for more. Many a parent will in fact love to find a school that takes his or her child, keep him or her there, and educate him both academically and morally, and take over the absolute parentiing responsibilities from the parent him- or herself.
The mandate of the school has changed - in fact artificially and unreasonably expanded - by the very customers to whom an indirect service has been provided. How can education or the school become a surrogate parent that needs to impart full familial upbringing and values to the children? This is preposterous!
Life and Culture Education
As a learned population, we are failures in life and in culture. How many of us actually know our cultures well? How many of us have the resilience of our forefathers (even if we had more knowledge than them)? How many of us still secretly harbour undesirable habits like sitting with their legs resting on a chair a la rickshaw man style? How many of us remember to turn off our handphones in a cinema? How many of us know about marriage and funeral rites? How many of us even remember death anniversaries? What do we really care about? Our next meal, our next hairstyle, our next pub to visit, our next item to shop for... We have degenerated into a bunch of people who are entrenched in our mundane lives. How many of us even know who his or her MP is? How many people even remember who is Yusof Ishak?
We live a wandering life - educated and learned by all means but aimless. We think we know a lot but many people around me still do not understand why I try to start Friday afternoon meetings after 2.30 pm, especially if I have Muslim members. Many people are conceited, arrogant, full of themselves. Self-confidence is a positive trait but when you forget that you need to leave space for others to co-exist with you, then your values are suspect.
Alternatives
Excessively providing education to school-going age pupils is akin to throwing pearls to the swines. Some of these young ones do not have the aptitude or the interest in education. They would much prefer to spend their time doing something else.
One alternative is to require them to serve protracted NS for 4 years. This way, we can get them regimented fast and instil in them proper discipline. They could eventually go back to school after 2 years in NS. A bit of physical hardship does make the young ones think twice about staying out of school. But this is also transferring the problem.
The holistic solution to a problem like this is to provide basic tier education services which are wholly paid for by the parents - children from needy families can be exempt and children who achieve 100% accounted for attendance get 100% fee rebates at the end of the year. The other cases are pro-rated. After all, as with all services, people will abuse them. But people have yet to abuse money.
The parents of a child that drops out of this system will homeschool the child, failing which the child will be institutionalised. All fanciful stuff like character development programmes, flashy extra-curricular activities, enrichment programmes such as outings and field trips should be outsourced to private service providers. These service providers can be government schools whose main mandate is to provide an alternative to value-add against the open competition out there. If these schools fail, then the teachers lose their jobs.
Parents must be made to face legal punishments together with their children if neglect can be proven in cases of character development and morals. Just like we fine people who spit indiscriminately, when a child is caught for spitting, punish the parents as well! If it were not the case that the parents were also guilty of that habit, they might well have not made the effort to inculcate the correct values. Correct them at once - confine them for a week, let them spit but collect the spit. End of each day, make them swallow everything they spat out. Tell me that this will NOT work!
Teachers' pay should also be driven by the market and his or her customers (students) - a good teacher commands a higher salary. This way, teachers will be motivated to do their best and students will also have a say to decide on the quality of education they receive.
Considerations
These are radical ideas which may or may not work. But endlessly providing education as a solution is not going to work. A horse by the river will stop drinking once it is sated. No amount of forcing will make it drink anymore. Current education opportunities are saturated for the "normal" population. The needs of the educationally subnormal and gifted are far from being provided sufficiently. Here, we face an unwanted service at one region and those who need help, education does not want to go there.
This anomaly takes more than mere lip service to address. Something real has to be done about it. However, when it will be will really depend on when resources will be made available.
Conclusion
We are still a long way off from being a cultured, learned, tolerant, sensitive nation. School children recite Mr S Rajaratnam's ideals in the form of our pledge. The words are simple:
We the citizens of Singapore
Pledge ourselves a one united people
Regardless of race, language and religion
To build a democratic society
Based on peace, justice and equality
So as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.
But in the stark simplicity, how many of these have we imbibed personally? Why hasn't widespread, affordable, and accessible education to the people done its job? At who do we point our fingers? Teachers? Principals? Pupils? Parents? Stakeholders of education? Only we ourselves know best!
The great man is dead. Hopefully, his ideals for Singapore will not fade away with him.
In the name of helping...
In the name of helping...
Northlight School will be set up to take in 13 year old students who have failed PSLE twice. It aims to train these students vocationally and place emphasis on their character development. The 3-year training programme will also include 10 week attachments annually.
I will state a few quick observations here but I am taking the position of the devil's advocate.
1. Imagine the poorly educated parents of these students going around telling others that their child is now in "No light school". How not very bright.
2. Since ITE is not the end and since ITE takes in PSLE failures who are at least 14 years old (i.e. triple PSLE failure students), then is Northlight the new end?
3. Do we now have a new stream called Express (Condemned)? How else do we exclude these pupils from regular education so quickly? Do they have a way back to mainstream education?
4. Do we need to review child labour laws? Are 13 year olds legitimate workers? If not, how do the work attachments feature?
5. Why do they need to repeat PSLE? Why can't failures who know what they already want simply opt to DSA to Northlight? Why does the system enforce an additional year of misery on pupils who have already decided that they can't pass PSLE? And if the child is forced to take a second try, why not simply review laws to allow the currently superannuated pupils a third try? Maybe they are third time lucky, maybe they are not?
6. If the drop out rate at vocational institutes is 60%, then what is the expected drop out rate here?
7. If going to VIs already carry a stigma, then does going to Northlight mean carrying an albatross?
Let's hope there are answers.
Northlight School will be set up to take in 13 year old students who have failed PSLE twice. It aims to train these students vocationally and place emphasis on their character development. The 3-year training programme will also include 10 week attachments annually.
I will state a few quick observations here but I am taking the position of the devil's advocate.
1. Imagine the poorly educated parents of these students going around telling others that their child is now in "No light school". How not very bright.
2. Since ITE is not the end and since ITE takes in PSLE failures who are at least 14 years old (i.e. triple PSLE failure students), then is Northlight the new end?
3. Do we now have a new stream called Express (Condemned)? How else do we exclude these pupils from regular education so quickly? Do they have a way back to mainstream education?
4. Do we need to review child labour laws? Are 13 year olds legitimate workers? If not, how do the work attachments feature?
5. Why do they need to repeat PSLE? Why can't failures who know what they already want simply opt to DSA to Northlight? Why does the system enforce an additional year of misery on pupils who have already decided that they can't pass PSLE? And if the child is forced to take a second try, why not simply review laws to allow the currently superannuated pupils a third try? Maybe they are third time lucky, maybe they are not?
6. If the drop out rate at vocational institutes is 60%, then what is the expected drop out rate here?
7. If going to VIs already carry a stigma, then does going to Northlight mean carrying an albatross?
Let's hope there are answers.
The Point of No Return
The Point of No Return
Quite amazing, to make up one's mind to end it all. To jump off that tall building or swallow those pills or slit those wrists take a hell of a lot of courage.
Not to mention, stupidity.
But there is a bigger underlying question that needs to be answered. Why. Yes, why. Why do these people do it?
What have made them decide that they have gone past the threshold of no return?
One does not decide to die and goes about dying in a short period of time. There must be the signs.
The withdrawal, perhaps? The sudden social (or anti-social) behaviours? The out-of-the-blue, off-the-cuff actions that are so out of place? Talk? Changes in body language? Lack of interest? Giving away things? Talking in riddles? Leaving behind or willing away things?
While I am tempted to chastise these quitters for their cowardice, I refrain from doing so. Because they have embarked on a path that requires a lot of bravery to execute.
Yes, life is precious. But what if the living has already decided that life is worthless?
We owe our being to our parents, but to whom do we credit our misery then? Did a person ask to be born?
I have a feeling that many people are not living out their own lives; they are living another life for another. In other words, someone is living out their failed aspirations through the poor sufferer.
I have discussed this more than once, but thought it might be useful to revisit this - after all, this is high jump season (Mar Common Tests coming!).
Suicide is another ill of our instant society. It is a solution, isn't it? Never mind the roasting in eternal hell. Heck, didn't Someone say any person will be forgiven if s/he believed in Him? S/he will believe in Him before s/he slits his/her wrist/swallow the pills/jump off the building then.
Let the living manage the fall out of my actions. After all, they are all living well, aren't they? Surely, the dead must have been lulled into feeling that his/her past existence meant nothing at all. Or that no one cared. Or the hole that they have dug for him/herself is too deep to climb out of.
Nothing surprises me anymore, except the exceptional courage that some people have to end it all. And ok, perhaps the erroneous "foresight" that s/he has past the point of no return.
I am only curious now how the person actually felt as s/he hurtles through the air, past the real point of no return. Will s/he even have an opportunity to feel any regret? Or does s/he feel only bliss?
Quite amazing, to make up one's mind to end it all. To jump off that tall building or swallow those pills or slit those wrists take a hell of a lot of courage.
Not to mention, stupidity.
But there is a bigger underlying question that needs to be answered. Why. Yes, why. Why do these people do it?
What have made them decide that they have gone past the threshold of no return?
One does not decide to die and goes about dying in a short period of time. There must be the signs.
The withdrawal, perhaps? The sudden social (or anti-social) behaviours? The out-of-the-blue, off-the-cuff actions that are so out of place? Talk? Changes in body language? Lack of interest? Giving away things? Talking in riddles? Leaving behind or willing away things?
While I am tempted to chastise these quitters for their cowardice, I refrain from doing so. Because they have embarked on a path that requires a lot of bravery to execute.
Yes, life is precious. But what if the living has already decided that life is worthless?
We owe our being to our parents, but to whom do we credit our misery then? Did a person ask to be born?
I have a feeling that many people are not living out their own lives; they are living another life for another. In other words, someone is living out their failed aspirations through the poor sufferer.
I have discussed this more than once, but thought it might be useful to revisit this - after all, this is high jump season (Mar Common Tests coming!).
Suicide is another ill of our instant society. It is a solution, isn't it? Never mind the roasting in eternal hell. Heck, didn't Someone say any person will be forgiven if s/he believed in Him? S/he will believe in Him before s/he slits his/her wrist/swallow the pills/jump off the building then.
Let the living manage the fall out of my actions. After all, they are all living well, aren't they? Surely, the dead must have been lulled into feeling that his/her past existence meant nothing at all. Or that no one cared. Or the hole that they have dug for him/herself is too deep to climb out of.
Nothing surprises me anymore, except the exceptional courage that some people have to end it all. And ok, perhaps the erroneous "foresight" that s/he has past the point of no return.
I am only curious now how the person actually felt as s/he hurtles through the air, past the real point of no return. Will s/he even have an opportunity to feel any regret? Or does s/he feel only bliss?
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Symptomatic Relief
Symptomatic Relief
Too often we seek symptomatic relief, forgetting the larger worries.
The population grew too fast - decree by law to curb babies production.
There are too many cars on the road - enforce road pricing and regulate car growth.
There are too many illegal hawkers on the streets - send out health inspectors to book them, confiscate their goods and tell them not to come back and peddle their stuff again or risk being sent to jail.
The environment is too dirty - start a Clean and Green Campaign.
The people are not courteous enough - start a courtesy campaign.
The Chinese are losing their roots - impress the Chinese populace that Chinese (hua yu) is cool.
Some of our more athletically-inclined pupils are "losing out" in the academic pursuit - have the Direct School Admission.
I'm hungry - eat instant noodles.
We are an instant society seeking instant relief from the many ills we see. We are a distorted monster with many parts tweaked out of balance and out of sync with the other parts.
We are not holistically whole; we are a Frankenstein monster of cannibalised parts brought alive by some lightning.
The society is given a collective brain and it surely can think. But everyone little thinking bit wants the ills it identifies to be rectified immediately.
Single ills are easy to cure, but collective failings need a whole-of-system review.
What do we solve so that we could solve all the problems, or most of the problems, in the shortest time?
We had hoped that education is going to be the panacea. But has education worked its magic?
While I hope to say, "Only time will tell", I believe there are already some answers out there.
Do we and should we take a really good look at the system again?
Too often we seek symptomatic relief, forgetting the larger worries.
The population grew too fast - decree by law to curb babies production.
There are too many cars on the road - enforce road pricing and regulate car growth.
There are too many illegal hawkers on the streets - send out health inspectors to book them, confiscate their goods and tell them not to come back and peddle their stuff again or risk being sent to jail.
The environment is too dirty - start a Clean and Green Campaign.
The people are not courteous enough - start a courtesy campaign.
The Chinese are losing their roots - impress the Chinese populace that Chinese (hua yu) is cool.
Some of our more athletically-inclined pupils are "losing out" in the academic pursuit - have the Direct School Admission.
I'm hungry - eat instant noodles.
We are an instant society seeking instant relief from the many ills we see. We are a distorted monster with many parts tweaked out of balance and out of sync with the other parts.
We are not holistically whole; we are a Frankenstein monster of cannibalised parts brought alive by some lightning.
The society is given a collective brain and it surely can think. But everyone little thinking bit wants the ills it identifies to be rectified immediately.
Single ills are easy to cure, but collective failings need a whole-of-system review.
What do we solve so that we could solve all the problems, or most of the problems, in the shortest time?
We had hoped that education is going to be the panacea. But has education worked its magic?
While I hope to say, "Only time will tell", I believe there are already some answers out there.
Do we and should we take a really good look at the system again?
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Lebanese Food
Lebanese Food
Had Lebanese food for dinner tonight.
Was an interesting meal, and healthy too.
Parsley leaves salad, red bean salad, brinjal paste, stuffed vine leaves, okral (ladies' fingers) are part of the meal. All interesting and I like them a lot.
Well, more about it when I get to know these better.
It was served with Lebanese bread, mini cheese pizza, mini thyme pizza, and spinach pie. An acquired taste, no doubt, but it was an enriching and pleasant experience.
Will go there again!
Had Lebanese food for dinner tonight.
Was an interesting meal, and healthy too.
Parsley leaves salad, red bean salad, brinjal paste, stuffed vine leaves, okral (ladies' fingers) are part of the meal. All interesting and I like them a lot.
Well, more about it when I get to know these better.
It was served with Lebanese bread, mini cheese pizza, mini thyme pizza, and spinach pie. An acquired taste, no doubt, but it was an enriching and pleasant experience.
Will go there again!
Where you stand
Where you stand
Was eating dinner at a coffeshop opposite a Hotel 81 last night.
At the entance of H81 by the roadside, there was this woman in a maroon power suit, a brief case and in heels making a call.
Then she walked into the hotel.
Are you thinking what I am thinking?
* * *
Same place, there was this bald, skinny caucasian man. He paced up and down the entrance corridor of the same hotel.
He was making a calls and after finishing a call after a few laps on the tarmac, he disappeared into the hotel.
Are you thinking what I am thinking?
* * *
An man in his 50s brought a woman in her late 20s or 30s and walked into the coffeeshop where I was eating.
He seated her down and said in Chinese, "We'll just eat what I order, ok?"
She did not reply.
I know they have come from across the road.
So he ordered a big plate of Indian Rojak and finished the food in no time. They paid up and left.
I've stopped thinking.
But I am indeed happy that there are people who might not have to spend the night alone.
Was eating dinner at a coffeshop opposite a Hotel 81 last night.
At the entance of H81 by the roadside, there was this woman in a maroon power suit, a brief case and in heels making a call.
Then she walked into the hotel.
Are you thinking what I am thinking?
* * *
Same place, there was this bald, skinny caucasian man. He paced up and down the entrance corridor of the same hotel.
He was making a calls and after finishing a call after a few laps on the tarmac, he disappeared into the hotel.
Are you thinking what I am thinking?
* * *
An man in his 50s brought a woman in her late 20s or 30s and walked into the coffeeshop where I was eating.
He seated her down and said in Chinese, "We'll just eat what I order, ok?"
She did not reply.
I know they have come from across the road.
So he ordered a big plate of Indian Rojak and finished the food in no time. They paid up and left.
I've stopped thinking.
But I am indeed happy that there are people who might not have to spend the night alone.
Poor Management
Poor Management
A certain hotel cafe in Singapore serves Taiwan Porridge Buffet Dinner from 6 pm to 1 am nightly.
As the charges are economical, the cafe is usually packed, with advanced bookings of about a fortnight.
Went there last night. Discovered they have a new rule.
Dinner buffet will end at 10 pm and the supper seating is at 10.30 pm. No bookings are allowed for supper. And I was there at 9.20 pm.
So the waiter and the supervisor gave their instructions: If you want to eat dinner, you have to vacate by 10 pm. Otherwise, you will till 10.30 pm, stand outside and queue.
I tried to ask to be seated while I wait for supper, then they said, if you are seated, we will charge you dinner prices, and then supper price again.
Between waiting almost an hour and paying twice, I walked off.
I finished dinner at 10.15 pm and came home.
If a particular buffet were so saleable, the easiest thing to do is to enforce seating times. You can do this by allowing diners two hours (or an hour and a half, depending) to consume their dinner. They can be issued count-down timers or given time chits stating their end time. Of course, they can go beyond the time, but that would incur additional charges, depending on the number of dining sessions used.
In this case, you can have a constant flow for dinner, you can take in a constant stream of customers and you never have to keep people waiting for too long, not knowing when the next table will be freed up.
Isn't this a better idea than to make famished diners waiting for dinner either leave half-way into dinner or starve till the next available seating?
Singapore service standards have a long way to go indeed!
A certain hotel cafe in Singapore serves Taiwan Porridge Buffet Dinner from 6 pm to 1 am nightly.
As the charges are economical, the cafe is usually packed, with advanced bookings of about a fortnight.
Went there last night. Discovered they have a new rule.
Dinner buffet will end at 10 pm and the supper seating is at 10.30 pm. No bookings are allowed for supper. And I was there at 9.20 pm.
So the waiter and the supervisor gave their instructions: If you want to eat dinner, you have to vacate by 10 pm. Otherwise, you will till 10.30 pm, stand outside and queue.
I tried to ask to be seated while I wait for supper, then they said, if you are seated, we will charge you dinner prices, and then supper price again.
Between waiting almost an hour and paying twice, I walked off.
I finished dinner at 10.15 pm and came home.
If a particular buffet were so saleable, the easiest thing to do is to enforce seating times. You can do this by allowing diners two hours (or an hour and a half, depending) to consume their dinner. They can be issued count-down timers or given time chits stating their end time. Of course, they can go beyond the time, but that would incur additional charges, depending on the number of dining sessions used.
In this case, you can have a constant flow for dinner, you can take in a constant stream of customers and you never have to keep people waiting for too long, not knowing when the next table will be freed up.
Isn't this a better idea than to make famished diners waiting for dinner either leave half-way into dinner or starve till the next available seating?
Singapore service standards have a long way to go indeed!
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Teen Curfew
Teen Curfew
So, the police is finally doing something about loitering teens.
But is this something useful? I don't seem to see much point in despatching patrols out to "book" teens who are loitering, only to JUST inform their parents.
Why bother? If I had my way, when police "book" teens, their parents will be fined $150 each time their children are booked.
Better still, fine and attend parenting classes.
I believe married couples should attend parenting classes before they can be allowed to be parents.
In fact, dating couples should be tested and awarded marriageability licenses before they are allowed to register their marriages.
For too long, the holy matrimony has deteriorated to the unholy trinity or worse, the orgy quadrinity. Why can't two people who were madly in love when they married each other stay mad? Why must they sober up all of a sudden and spread their misery elsewhere?
And then, what folly to think that having kids will save a marriage? The kids are innocent. Kids will never save a marriage. They simply prolong the inevitable, adding unnecessary agony in the waiting process. If the parents decide that the kid is no longer reason enough to stay together, then the divorce will tear the child apart as well.
But I digress. The point is, teens leave home in the night because the home has become unbearable. Parents at home are largely to blame for such cases.
A home that is harmonious and happy is a home that children would want to stay in. If the home is dysfunctional and the parents are always seeking to pin blame on their children and worse, there is sibling rivalry or mutual sabotage, then whoever stays at home is going to bear the brunt of any outbursts.
No sane person in the right frame of mind would give up a perfect evening to be scolded senselessly and irrationally by parents who simply need someone to vent their anger on.
Small wonder teens escape the comfort of home and loiter.
For unruly teens who are caught, for instance, those causing niusance to the neighbourhood, by all means, arrest them and get them punished. School-based public caning should be a reasonable way out. After all, this would mean that the stakeholders of education are cooperating with one another to ensure that the young are properly brought up. For such cases, triple the fine for the parents to $450. Then maybe the parents will cane the child at home again.
Then the child will run away at night and loiter. And they get caught again.
Soon, we can be exempt from paying taxes. The parents of errant kids will be paying for our progress shares!
Remember the recent slide in COE prices but owning the car is still a money burner? We now can apply the same concept on parenthood. We can dispense with the parenting license as rearing the kids itself is debilitating enough. So, people will think twice about having kids or if they do have kids, they will be careful in raising their kids to be responsible kids and responsible adults.
Otherwise, we will always be dealing with kidults. These are those who physically age but never mentally mature.
So, the police is finally doing something about loitering teens.
But is this something useful? I don't seem to see much point in despatching patrols out to "book" teens who are loitering, only to JUST inform their parents.
Why bother? If I had my way, when police "book" teens, their parents will be fined $150 each time their children are booked.
Better still, fine and attend parenting classes.
I believe married couples should attend parenting classes before they can be allowed to be parents.
In fact, dating couples should be tested and awarded marriageability licenses before they are allowed to register their marriages.
For too long, the holy matrimony has deteriorated to the unholy trinity or worse, the orgy quadrinity. Why can't two people who were madly in love when they married each other stay mad? Why must they sober up all of a sudden and spread their misery elsewhere?
And then, what folly to think that having kids will save a marriage? The kids are innocent. Kids will never save a marriage. They simply prolong the inevitable, adding unnecessary agony in the waiting process. If the parents decide that the kid is no longer reason enough to stay together, then the divorce will tear the child apart as well.
But I digress. The point is, teens leave home in the night because the home has become unbearable. Parents at home are largely to blame for such cases.
A home that is harmonious and happy is a home that children would want to stay in. If the home is dysfunctional and the parents are always seeking to pin blame on their children and worse, there is sibling rivalry or mutual sabotage, then whoever stays at home is going to bear the brunt of any outbursts.
No sane person in the right frame of mind would give up a perfect evening to be scolded senselessly and irrationally by parents who simply need someone to vent their anger on.
Small wonder teens escape the comfort of home and loiter.
For unruly teens who are caught, for instance, those causing niusance to the neighbourhood, by all means, arrest them and get them punished. School-based public caning should be a reasonable way out. After all, this would mean that the stakeholders of education are cooperating with one another to ensure that the young are properly brought up. For such cases, triple the fine for the parents to $450. Then maybe the parents will cane the child at home again.
Then the child will run away at night and loiter. And they get caught again.
Soon, we can be exempt from paying taxes. The parents of errant kids will be paying for our progress shares!
Remember the recent slide in COE prices but owning the car is still a money burner? We now can apply the same concept on parenthood. We can dispense with the parenting license as rearing the kids itself is debilitating enough. So, people will think twice about having kids or if they do have kids, they will be careful in raising their kids to be responsible kids and responsible adults.
Otherwise, we will always be dealing with kidults. These are those who physically age but never mentally mature.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Gingered Syrup
Gingered Syrup
Sitting at my computer checking my mails now. The hall windows were open and I had the fan turned on. It is not too hot an evening but it is quite humid. Just had my bath and preparing for bed.
Then the breeze entered the window, bringing with it the smell of gingered syrup. There is also the distinctive smell of pandan leaves in the syrup. I am wondering what is simmering in that pot of sugared water - sweet potatoes, dumplings, what?
This smell reminds me of dessert and even though the night is warm, a piping hot bowl of something sweet is still welcome.
Love that feeling of the warm and slightly spicy gingered syrup going down the throat, slightly warming the stomach as it enters.
How nice, that warm feeling inside a person.
I've a bottle of gingered sugar. Maybe I'll just make myself a warm glass of gingered milk later.
Or I'll take cold comfort in imagining that I've taken a good cup of the warm brew.
I think the latter. For it's calorie-free.
Sitting at my computer checking my mails now. The hall windows were open and I had the fan turned on. It is not too hot an evening but it is quite humid. Just had my bath and preparing for bed.
Then the breeze entered the window, bringing with it the smell of gingered syrup. There is also the distinctive smell of pandan leaves in the syrup. I am wondering what is simmering in that pot of sugared water - sweet potatoes, dumplings, what?
This smell reminds me of dessert and even though the night is warm, a piping hot bowl of something sweet is still welcome.
Love that feeling of the warm and slightly spicy gingered syrup going down the throat, slightly warming the stomach as it enters.
How nice, that warm feeling inside a person.
I've a bottle of gingered sugar. Maybe I'll just make myself a warm glass of gingered milk later.
Or I'll take cold comfort in imagining that I've taken a good cup of the warm brew.
I think the latter. For it's calorie-free.
Resistance is easy
Resistance is easy
I did not turn on my computer yesterday. I kept myself busy watching television programmes instead.
I think cable is something wonderful. Actually, more accurately, having money is wonderful. How else can I get cable?
I caught so many shows last night, beginning with channel surfing over dinner, then the 7 pm Chinese serial and Strong Medicine (I'm definitely addicted to this one already!), then 8 pm Zhang Fei show and intermittently swapping channels to make sure I don't miss other shows, such as Travel and Living's Whatever his name's Indian trip with lots of food, and over and over across many channels.
I even took a bath midway through the shows.
Caught the ending of the Channel 5 news and went to bed.
Resistance? No sweat.
I did not turn on my computer yesterday. I kept myself busy watching television programmes instead.
I think cable is something wonderful. Actually, more accurately, having money is wonderful. How else can I get cable?
I caught so many shows last night, beginning with channel surfing over dinner, then the 7 pm Chinese serial and Strong Medicine (I'm definitely addicted to this one already!), then 8 pm Zhang Fei show and intermittently swapping channels to make sure I don't miss other shows, such as Travel and Living's Whatever his name's Indian trip with lots of food, and over and over across many channels.
I even took a bath midway through the shows.
Caught the ending of the Channel 5 news and went to bed.
Resistance? No sweat.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)