APEC 8 - 15 Nov

The APEC meeting has kicked off today. The Christmas decorations were already out in end October this year. This year's decorations are grander than last year's coz my country is out to impress the dignitaries. Well nobody's complaining. To me, it's a waste of both taxpayers' money and electricity.

Here are the pictures of what I've taken while taking a long walk from Orchard to Plaza Singapura at Dhoby Ghaut.

Thanks to APEC!

Pictures by Mode Attitude Culture

October / November Rain

Raining during this period makes me a happy person.

Born into a country close to equator, we have always been experiencing humid weather. Having rain is common but it's definitely a fresh breath of air especially it came late October instead of mid month.

All thanks to global warming! The weather is getting more erratic and I really hate the dry spells that were happening. It's scary coz the sun is especially glaring and it gets too hot for comfort.

I love the cool weather so that I can wear my knitted stuff without looking like an idiot coz most of my stuff consists of knitted material. It reminds of Christmas is coming especially this period.

Looking forward to more rainy weather.

Not motivated

Heya

My sincere apologies for not updating my stuff regularly. Thanks for support! Will update soon.

Cheers

Mundane Daily Musings

Called me a fool but I'm a pacifist

Recently, I'm watching a documentary on US soldiers who were operated in a makeshift hospital / operating theatre in war zones. In fact, the perimeters outside the hospital are constantly bombard by bombs.

Honestly, nobody could who feel the pain than those who have their loved ones located / died there. I really duno how long is 'war' gonna end. It's quite sad knowing the fact that some of these people are unwilling to go to the warfront coz they have many commitments back home and they cant wait to get back their normal lives.

Nobody wants to hear bad news of their loved ones being injured or not making it back. I do believe these people who are stationed there are well aware that they maynt make it back somehow.

I see the pains in the eyes of their parents, siblings, etc. Even those who survived the world, they do have to cope post war traumas in their everyday lives due to the situations that they face. Some of these are injured soldiers whose lives are destroyed. Thanks to the bombs surrounding them everyday. These soldiers rarely want to go back to war. These are just ordinary folks and even the Congress members are not keen to send their sons to the war front.

I really ponder whether these people to go to war are going for the right reasons coz they are staring death in their faces. At the end of the day, it's the men that are suffering and not the leaders. Dont these people think about these soldiers are also somebody's child, sibling, parent, friend, etc?

Are wars necessary? Dont people ever learn their history lessons? In the end, nobody gains. Dont these people get it?

Dont take things for granted

Recently, I've quite a bit of time to explore around SG.

IMO, here are some of my findings :-

• SG is aging population but it's aging faster than the media has reported and it's scary.



• The behaviour of the general is getting more oblivious than ever.



• The sense of individualism is getting stronger.



• The list goes on.

Have been travelling via the public transport for quite a fair bit recently and noticed that SG's aging population is accelerating at great speed. There's quite a number of senior citizens around and we will have more dependents than previous generations due to the low birth rates. Honestly, many of them are not attracted by the baby bonuses as the living expenses are sky high in SG. In terms of standard of living, we are ranked number 2 after Tokyo for being an expensive place to live in. Coupled with the lack of salary adjustment to cope with the increasing cost, SG has proved to be an expensive place to be in even for her citizens. I feel the gap of rich and poor even more during the recession.

The second and third points are kinda related. With the advancement of SG's affluent, SG citizens are lacking of developing proper manners. There are so many examples to cite. Some people have no sense of courtesy especially when they ask me to share my table after I've settled down and taken my bite of the food. What better timing to irritate me and they expect me to give them a pleasant smile after they sat beside me. Hey, choose a better timing instead.

Another peeve that I dislike is sitting beside a male commuter because they open their legs and it's very annoying as well as disgusting. I understand males are built differently from women but this doesnt give them the right to open up their legs as if they are parading their wares.

The other thing is commuters seem to find you comfortable especially when they are falling asleep and keep slipping to your side. I mean if you are tired, then sleep early if you could coz I'm not your bed. If I encounter such people, I will elbow them. But I wasnt like before coz I'm simply frustrated.

There are seats that are labelled as reserved yet there are many able bodies will still grab that seat. I'll try to avoid this seat as much as possible. In Taiwan, I see the kindness in her citizens and many able bodies give up their seats for those who need it. Besides Taiwan, I do see people queue up to get into the trains. Dont understand why many people dont queue in an orderly fashion to get into the train.

The other thing that I find it annoying is people who speak loudly or blast the music in their earphones. First, I'm not keen to listen to whatever nonsense that you are trying to express. For those whose music are leaking from their earphones, dont take for granted that your ears will be fine coz these will turn deaf in long run. No, I'm not cursing you coz these people take their ears for granted and havent experience deafness.

I'm unsure why I'm writing this coz am experiencing personal frustrations about such things. Ok, too many rants already...

Billboard country

I dont know how you feel about SG becoming a billboard country or rather so-called cosmopolitan. I'm scared that we are the ones who will ultimately finish all the natural resources. Not our parents generation but our generations and more to come.

I see the commonalities in both Tokyo, Japan and Times Square, USA. These cities are vibrant, active (24/7) and use lotsa electricity to make the billboards come alive. It's scary to see SG going into this direction when you go down to Orchard Road and see more lighting displays, huge TV screens, billboards, etc.

I'm not entirely a very environmental conscious person but I'm trying in my small ways by recycling my papers both sides and cutting down my use for plastics.

The weather in October is very unbearable and there's humidity and heat to be dealt with everyday. This is too much to bear coz it's usually rainy during this period. I really wish rain could come soon.

I do hold fear that my children and many future generations to come willnt be able to witness certain things that I'm seeing now if we dont act now.

21 - 25 Oct : ASH Cosmetics

Do you like to try the latest makeup that redefine killer looks? Would you wanna go it a try?

Apparently, this is a marketing gimmick to create awareness of the effects of smoking on women. Even the makeup is made of cigarette materials such as tar and ash.

Thought I was very interesting and creative to raise awareness as shock tactics may not work anymore. Marketers have to think 'out of the box' now especially for matters close to heart and decided to use makeup to reflect the effects of smoking.

Looking forward to more interesting marketing campaigns.