Misc Thoughts
Anger Management
We were at a BD party 2 weeks ago and witness this boy (around Dominic's age) throwing a major temper fit because other kids kept cutting queue at the water station. When his mother pulled him aside, he started raising his fist and shouting at his mother as if he was going to fight her.
I was a bit shocked to witness this and was also shocked at how the mother allowed him to behave this way towards her. She was only addressing the problem at hand - ie. other children cutting queue. Then the grandma came over and used the 'distraction' technique by pulling him away from the scene and tried to cool his temper down, basically in the tone of 'poor boy needs to cool off his anger'.
Frankly, 'distraction' is a useful technique for a baby who does not know right from wrong. I guess to the grandma and mother, the boy is still very much a baby to them. It won't surprise me if the boy grow up with an anger issue and thinks that it is ok to be rude when he is angry and the world has to do something to pacify him when he is mad.
Serangoon Garden Saga
I must confess I am conflicted about this issue of having a foreign worker dormitory at my doorstep. On the one hand, I am disgusted at the idea of treating the foreign workers as if they are criminals. They are to stay within the confines of the dormitory, they cannot talk to the maids outside, they cannot even buy things at the neighbourhood provision shops, they must watch their steps, don't litter, don't get drunk in public, don't pee in public, etc.
On the other hand, I can totally understand why the residents are uncomfortable with having thousands of them housed just right next door. I can't say I will be thrilled if the same thing were to happen to my neighbourhood.
Face it, the entire legal system involving the hiring of foreign workers is discriminatory. Work pass holders are welcomed. We will have International schools built for them even. But construction workers, cleaners and maids treated differently. Make the employers responsible for their every move. If the maids get pregnant, fine the employers. Can you blame the employers for seeing red when the government decides to house the foreign workers (MEN!) just right next door?
Over 1000 workers housed within that small estate is really quite too much. I could understand the residents' concerns. When the news came out that the authorities were going to seal off the access roads and construct a separate access road leading directly to the CTE, and reduce the number of workers to about 600, I thought it was a good compromise.
For a while, I thought ST was rather biased, playing on the discrimination card by slanting their reports such that the residents appeared to be snobbish middle class. After reading today's papers, however, I am no longer so sympathetic towards the resident of Serangoon Garden. Now that they cannot hide behind legitimate concerns, e.g. security and overloaded public facilities, we can see their true colours. Ship the workers to have their recreation time at AMK or Bishan but not SG??!! Now I am offended. You mean residents in AMK or Bishan are not so high class so can mingle with the foreign workers? Sheesh! That attitude really stinks!
Cost Cutting Fad
I was telling Richard that this cost cutting thing is almost like the latest fad. "Hey! The latest trend is frugality so let's see what we can cut! Gee, how about going to Bintan instead of Phuket for this year's holiday?"
Some of the things people said they were cutting were really like frills and I seriously wonder what kind of impact it made to their bottomline. Looking at the things they cut, it does not sound like they are having problems making ends meet even with the rising costs. That's why I say it is like a fashion trend. It was hip to go green. Now it is hip to be frugal.
Rising costs is a real issue and I know that there are real people badly affected by it. I am very thankful that we are still managing fine right now. Don't have to resort to cost-cutting measures like bathing only once every 2 days. Hahahaha........I am not kidding though; it was really something some people said they did.
Anyway, somehow, I feel that I would be making a mockery of the problems faced by people who are really suffering due to rising costs if I start talking about how I cut cost by not buying one too many branded stuff that I don't need, or eating less at restaurants that charges over $40 per head.
We were at a BD party 2 weeks ago and witness this boy (around Dominic's age) throwing a major temper fit because other kids kept cutting queue at the water station. When his mother pulled him aside, he started raising his fist and shouting at his mother as if he was going to fight her.
I was a bit shocked to witness this and was also shocked at how the mother allowed him to behave this way towards her. She was only addressing the problem at hand - ie. other children cutting queue. Then the grandma came over and used the 'distraction' technique by pulling him away from the scene and tried to cool his temper down, basically in the tone of 'poor boy needs to cool off his anger'.
Frankly, 'distraction' is a useful technique for a baby who does not know right from wrong. I guess to the grandma and mother, the boy is still very much a baby to them. It won't surprise me if the boy grow up with an anger issue and thinks that it is ok to be rude when he is angry and the world has to do something to pacify him when he is mad.
Serangoon Garden Saga
I must confess I am conflicted about this issue of having a foreign worker dormitory at my doorstep. On the one hand, I am disgusted at the idea of treating the foreign workers as if they are criminals. They are to stay within the confines of the dormitory, they cannot talk to the maids outside, they cannot even buy things at the neighbourhood provision shops, they must watch their steps, don't litter, don't get drunk in public, don't pee in public, etc.
On the other hand, I can totally understand why the residents are uncomfortable with having thousands of them housed just right next door. I can't say I will be thrilled if the same thing were to happen to my neighbourhood.
Face it, the entire legal system involving the hiring of foreign workers is discriminatory. Work pass holders are welcomed. We will have International schools built for them even. But construction workers, cleaners and maids treated differently. Make the employers responsible for their every move. If the maids get pregnant, fine the employers. Can you blame the employers for seeing red when the government decides to house the foreign workers (MEN!) just right next door?
Over 1000 workers housed within that small estate is really quite too much. I could understand the residents' concerns. When the news came out that the authorities were going to seal off the access roads and construct a separate access road leading directly to the CTE, and reduce the number of workers to about 600, I thought it was a good compromise.
For a while, I thought ST was rather biased, playing on the discrimination card by slanting their reports such that the residents appeared to be snobbish middle class. After reading today's papers, however, I am no longer so sympathetic towards the resident of Serangoon Garden. Now that they cannot hide behind legitimate concerns, e.g. security and overloaded public facilities, we can see their true colours. Ship the workers to have their recreation time at AMK or Bishan but not SG??!! Now I am offended. You mean residents in AMK or Bishan are not so high class so can mingle with the foreign workers? Sheesh! That attitude really stinks!
Cost Cutting Fad
I was telling Richard that this cost cutting thing is almost like the latest fad. "Hey! The latest trend is frugality so let's see what we can cut! Gee, how about going to Bintan instead of Phuket for this year's holiday?"
Some of the things people said they were cutting were really like frills and I seriously wonder what kind of impact it made to their bottomline. Looking at the things they cut, it does not sound like they are having problems making ends meet even with the rising costs. That's why I say it is like a fashion trend. It was hip to go green. Now it is hip to be frugal.
Rising costs is a real issue and I know that there are real people badly affected by it. I am very thankful that we are still managing fine right now. Don't have to resort to cost-cutting measures like bathing only once every 2 days. Hahahaha........I am not kidding though; it was really something some people said they did.
Anyway, somehow, I feel that I would be making a mockery of the problems faced by people who are really suffering due to rising costs if I start talking about how I cut cost by not buying one too many branded stuff that I don't need, or eating less at restaurants that charges over $40 per head.