Starbucks @ 5pm

A period of non blogging picks its own halt.

I can't say that i haven't the content to blog about for the past few months, perhaps just not the motivation to. Ideas are always there to be penned down, perhaps to capture the flowing nature of thought, perhaps for future references at one's past convictions. For the past few months at least, neither was a part of my concerns. I, for one, dun like to read stuff that i wrote previously - they often have this immature and infantile vibe; and i never really had a problem processing my own train of thoughts. Perhaps the only reason for me writing, hence, would be to serve a more communal -social- purpose. (Facebook and TWITTER???? never does justice to any period of anyone's life. Often simplified and glorified, these social-networking tools serves not the purpose of letting people understand the depths of your life. Simply put, they Suck.)

I realize how unique a community Singapore is. Singaporeans live in a world of their own, with a few friends, a few social activity, a mechanized way of life, and best of all: they simple DO. NOT. CARE! I was walking around town the other day when i saw some singaporean semi-blind not-so-good singer on the streets. No i do not care that he was semi-blind, but the fact that he is kinda BIG in other parts of the world and here in Singapore, half the people don't know who he is and the other half couldn't be bothered to be excited. I bet if michael jackson were to appear before the hello kitty queue outside macdonald's a few year back, the crowd still wouldn't give up their places in the queue just to get a picture with MJ. In other parts of the world, he would have been mobbed to death - for love or for hate.

Ever been to a concert in Singapore? The fans would be there literally just to SEE their favourite bands. They don't cheer, they don't stand up, and the most enthusiastic thing they do is to hold up their mobile phones, and wave it around like a light stick. (because the light sticks at the entrance cost $2 each.) The audience are actually more concerned about their dates than wanting to risk looking uncool. This is Singapore, we simply don't give a damn! And boy do i love it this way.

We're immune to market speculations because singaporeans judge the economy by the amount of pay they receive each month. So long as we're not getting the pay cuts, we don't really care that there is a global recession. When the government gives out a GST package, we take it as a political move for us to vote PAP - and spend it like the whole country struck 4D simultaneously. What did you expect Singaporeans to do? Save that money so that everytime they buy a $10 item, they can use the money to pay the additional 20 cents tax raise? No way we're going to do that, because singaporeans simply don't care! We got to respect the government for imbuing this characteristic into all 2nd and 3rd generation Singaporeans. In a way, we have become peerless, fearless, mindless. We're immune from psychological attacks, and we've become what we are today - uniquely socialist-capitalist. Think of it this way, the government says its for GST restructuring, pays the money, is perceived as a good bribe for voting, people don't care, people spends the money like angpow, subject the money to multiplier effect, recovers the singaporean economy enough that the people don't feel the pinch in GST raise. Brilliant.

It is hard not to be a cynic in this place we're living in. Everyone is socialized to be a cynic by default. We speak english, we speak chinese, but we have this particular disdain towards the caucasians and the Chinaman - we think they're smelly, or too hairy.

Singaporeans love each other A LOT A LOT, they just do not realize it. This particular kind of love is not the same kind that the chinaman have for each other, national pride and loyalty and shit. We simply don't care for all those. Singaporeans love each other because they are SO singaporean. Of course, one will not come to realize this until they are abroad. Walking among a sea of Chinese, its not easy to tell the Chinaman from the Singaporeans - until we speak. In Hong Kong, and you hear a familiar "Don't want la! Super CMI can?", HA! you know you found a Singaporean. Inside a Shopping center, and you see a chinese person going for the more expensive food because there is no queue, "Siao. i rather pay more.." and thats another Singaporean. We are Masters of Utility, Masters of Efficiency, Masters of Indifference. There's an auto utility calculator born in all of us, and we know better than to bother about values or principles. We say we do, we always SAY. But no, we're all indifferent to politics and a tsunami unless its at Sentosa. Because we simply don't care!

We HAVE become metropolitan, don't ever doubt that. Singapore does not have a capital, because we ARE a capital. We have successfully become who we need to be to survive. We have developed a culture, one that is undetectable by foreign sociologist accusing us of not having any. Ours is a culture of the Fastest and the most Furious. Ours is an unachievable culture for 99% of the other countries in the world - Uncle Sam included. Ours is a culture of understanding that culture is a waste of resources.

ah, that is a long overdue national day post. But i sincerely feel so. and now i have wasted a few minutes of my life writing about it.