Poverty

Sometime in May, the Straits Times did a special write-up on the destitudes who are somehow neglected and left behind in currently-booming Singapore. It was something very close to my heart. Although I never had to beg for food, I wasn't exactly born with a silver spoon, maybe not even a copper one. Well, you could say "poverty" is a very distant relative whom I wish to turn my back on.

The past 3 decades have been dedicated to pawing my way out of this darkness. I would like to think I'm on the right track, no matter how long the journey takes. As a kid, I've had my unfair share of drooling over friends' new toys and "visitorless" festive seasons. It wasn't a good feeling.

But no matter how gloomy the going was, one person in my life refused to give up --- my Mummy dearest. Like I said, although I categorize myself among the have-nots, I never had to go hungry once, I had new clothes even during non-CNY days and I could take up taekwondo lessons. All because my Mum scrimped and saved and splurged sparingly on us 4 siblings.

She did her best. I love you, Mum.

While I had all those, I knew what poverty was like. Maybe I took the express route to knowing poverty. You don't wake up smiling. You asked God too many times "why", but never gotten an answer. You trudge along with eyes on the concrete in most things you do, which are not many things, cos you can't afford them anyway.

Maybe being the youngest had its privileges. My siblings were good to me and so was my eldest cousin. They doted on me in most ways, while I duly reciprocated with good academic results, unwittingly shaping myself into the poster boy of the family, probably what they saw as the last vestige of hope to get out of the gutters.

Believe it or not, I never gave my Mum any trouble all these years. Through constant reminders by my eldest bro, I grew up always considering my Mum's feelings whenever I made any major decision. The only time I got into trouble was when I got caught for playing truant 3 days in a row during college days. But I consider that more my arse luck for getting caught than anything else. Come on, everybody played truant at least once before.

Anyway, I went through the entire local academic system, hoping that one day it would do me good. While I was not exceptionally hardworking, I managed to do relatively well in the scholastic arena, even on a latchkey kid lifestyle. I remember the days when my sis would cook all my meals while my parents were out working.

But no matter where life took me or how I sidetracked occassionally, my objective in life was always clear - to make good. It's been tough, very tough. But I'm still looking forward to this privileged lifestyle, yet I try hard not to to lose myself in the course of achieving it.

Now, I have a degree, a small business, drive an SUV and a matchbox of a flat. Seemingly comfortable to some, but far from what I set for myself.

It's a hard fight, but I'm pressing on in this Singaporean Dream. Just so I can tilt my nose up a couple degrees higher, just to give Mummy dearest the bragging right...


redcocoon

Video Killed The Radio Star

As I was on my way to work today, I heard this radio commercial about a new condo called, The Quartz, by Guoco Land. It really reflects the downfall of advertisements on the radio.

While I can't remember every word in the ad, the gist of it is a guy lamenting the end of World Cup 2006 and sulking about what he's gonna do with all the free time now. Perfectly normal situation most guys face now.

Here comes the disappointment, aptly delivered by a lady. She responds by telling him to head down to the new showflat at The Quartz, going on to highlight the key attractions of this new condo project, suggesting that its the best time to buy.

Hmmm... lemme get this right... guy sad with end of World Cup ... wondering what to do with free time ... woman asks him to go buy a condo. Ok, that works out just right.

Conclusion:
-Women indeed ARE from Venus
-Advertising executives are earning way too much
-Property market must be booming, for people are not paying too much attention to ads


redcocoon

Cathay Returns, So Does Superman ... I ain't!

We decided to catch a movie yesterday. It was either Superman or Pirates of the Caribbean. We ended up at the newly opened Cathay so we could meet up with my buddy, Ah Tiong, for pre-movie dinner and post-movie drinks. By virtue of ticket availability, we would be watching Superman Returns.

Well, paying a visit to the new Cathay was an experience I looked forward to. I haven't paid the old dame a visit since my school days. There was also an article in ST that put it in rather bad light - uncomfortable seats and lacklustre tenant mix.

Ok, my very first impression of Cathay was inked while looking for a parking space in the very tight carpark. The driveway did not allow a driver much margin for error while negotiating a turn - I had to reverse a couple of times so as to make the tight bends. Well, I soon realised Cathay was more forgiving to itself in terms of mistakes.

Stepping out of car and into the lobby, we had to navigate through a labryinth of monotoned walls to find the main thoroughfare. I told wifey,"I don't like this place already". When we get to the shopping area, we saw many empty shops.

As we settled into our seats, I thought they were rather ok, although they don't rock back and forth like other cinemas. To be fair, I thought it wasn't really uncomfortable, until the show dragged on for 2.5hours.

Yup, although Superman is faster than a speeding bullet, the show really was a bore to me. Admittedly, even to a straight guy like me, this new guy Routh does look good as Superman. That's why everytime Superman appears in a poser scene, I can hear the 2 young ladies to my left cooing and ah-ing away; the same ones who leaned forward from their seats with a glint of tear in the corner of their eyes as Superman was put on a life support machine. Talk about losers.

Oh yes, 15minutes into the show, loud drilling sounds travelled through the thinly insulated walls to our movie hall for another good 20minutes. First time in my history of cinema-going. I'm sure, like me, there was someone contemplating going to the box-office and screwing someone up; but didn't do so cos no one would be rewinding the show for you. Silently, I hoped that some action from the movie would mask the unpleasant noise. Ridiculous!

Maybe because Superman's arch-enemy Lex Luther is merely human, unlike Spiderman's. The only bad thing Lex did was to dip his stolen crystal-stick into the waters. There was a lot less action than I hoped for. With a the computer-aided graphics available today, they only managed to make Clark look cooler as he took off into the sky and when he landed. Honest.

That was when I felt really uncomforatble in the seats. Thinking about it, my speculation is that the almighty and very busy management of Cathay sat on the sample seats for 5 minutes and decided on them, instead of running the full gauntlet of a boring film. They would have realised the seats are really a pain in the ass.

As I gratefully stepped out of the cinema, we made our way straight to the carpark, only to be meted out with the final disappointment of the evening. As my car inched towards the exit gantry, $6.30 was magically deducted from my Cashcard. Yes, $6.30 for my car's unpleasant stay in the carpark.

Honestly, the souped-up Cathay didn't do anything to me. The only nostalgia I felt was that short walk from Picturehouse to Plaza Singapura for dinner - I remember doing that often during my younger days. I ain't heading back to the much-hyped theatre anytime soon. I never really missed this old dame that much anyway...


redcocoon