Wednesday, March 2, 2011
'Anyone is guilty who watches this and does nothing'
There was once in my primary school days when a Malay classmate of mine and a Chinese classmate started insulting each other's religion. I do not really know what happened then as I was just walking past the school field and I saw them fighting and there were many people trying to pull them apart. As I approached them, I heard words like: DON'T MAKE ME STUFF YOU WITH PORK! SHUT UP, YOU YELLOW BANANA! MALAYS SUCK! THEY ARE NIGGERS! YOU JUST BATHED IN URINE, EH? It took me and a few classmates to talk them into stopping. Being primary school boys, we could not do anything much other than leaving this to the form teacher of our class. If I witness such incidents again, I will definitely go and stop those people, no matter I know them or not, racial discrimination is not a good thing to be spilling out of one’s mouth often.
Mississippi Burning
Basically, I do not really like this movie that much. Firstly, it is due to the racial discrimination, segregation, and even the private sentences by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) like lynching. The discrimination is seriously too devastating even when one thinks about it. There were also many scenes in which people are beaten up badly, killed in various methods, killed by guns, killed by lynching or even killed after being beaten up seriously from grave injuries. The shot at the person's head just at the start of the movie was quite disturbing for me as some of the blood splattered on the faces of those in the car, who were then all killed as well. The lynching was indeed a very cruel way to end one's life, just imagine one day if your parent wakes you up can tells you to bring your siblings and run away, and when you return, the body of your parent is hung up on a tree. It would not look nice, thinking of it sends a shiver down my spine, still. The part when an FBI agent went to tell the mayor about the boy whose scrotum got cut off, just by hearing it makes one feel sick, luckily, the scene of it was not shown in the movie. The movie is good for educating children about racism, but I hope that there will be a censored version, which is less disturbing.
Reflection on My Singaporean Story
Why are Singaporeans so ‘Kiasu’ (Afraid of losing)?
My mother is one of the most ‘kiasu’ housewives I have ever met in my entire fourteen-year life. She literally bargains for everything she buys. Sometimes, I am really irritated by her way of bargaining. Why must she bargain?
I believe that most housewives have the same mentality that bargaining helps to save money. It might be true as a matter of fact, but, does it really work for everything people buy? It is just not nice when you try to bargain more and more. Shop owners have to earn too. If he agrees to a lower price already, I do not see the need to bargain even more. Compromising should be the essential thing. If both sides agree on a price, close the deal! I really do not understand my mother.
On a family holiday to Hong Kong a few years ago, my mother did what she was the best at again. Once, my family and I all went to a place where there were many stalls like a night market, but they would be there every day without moving. As we walked down the alley in between the two long rows of stalls, we chanced upon a stall selling large keychains. My sister got her eye on one which was like a fox’s tail. My mother then asked for the price. It was eighty Hong Kong dollars.
The stall owner charged my mother 150 dollars for two if she wants. My mother immediately tried to lower the price to 130 dollars. The stall owner then tried to compromise with 140 dollars. In the end, my mother closed the deal with 135 dollars. It took my family ten full minutes of waiting, including the entire bargaining process, and the time my mother took to choose among about ten of them. Happy after such a killing, my mother finally left, elated. She seemed to be the only one happy, with all of us irritated at the long waiting time.
Recently, during the Christmas period, the entire family went out together to Takashimaya for shopping from morning to night. When my mother went past one of her favourite boutiques, the large sign ‘STOREWIDE SALE UP TO 60%’ was like a super strong magnet, which attracted my mother immediately. Again, the rest of the family had to stand outside the boutique like wooden blocks for another fifteen to twenty minutes. My mother has a particular shopping habit, which is to buy more clothes and shoes only during the Great Singapore Sale and festive seasons when many boutiques have a sale going on. Due to this massive sale islandwide, she would go shopping very often during this period of time, and resulting in my family and me waiting for a long period of time outside the boutique. Again.
During the last week of the December holidays, when my family and I went to a night market, my mother chanced upon a packet of five fanciful hairclips. Once again, my mother did what she was the best at.
“How much is a packet of hairclips?” My mother asked the stall owner.
“Nine dollars” The stall owner replied flatly.
The stall owner looked very angry, with tightly knitted brows, sitting on a stool of an empty stall.
“How about six dollars?” My mother started to reduce the price of the packet of hairclips.
“Lowest price can only be eight dollars” The stall owner insisted.
“Seven?” My mother tried to cut the price as much as possible.
“Eight dollars.” The stall owner did not budge.
“Seven-fifty?” My mother tried to get the lowest price possible.
“No! Eight dollars is the minimum! Go away! I do not want to do your business!” The stall owner rebutted hotly.
My mother was taken aback by the stall owner’s temper. By seeing the amount of hairclips left on the shelf behind the stall owner, it seemed like business was not good for the stall owner. This could well be the reason why the stall owner was so bad-tempered. The reason why business was bad for the stall owner could also be his hot temper.
This was also the first I saw my mother fail at bargaining. There is a chinese saying ‘shang de shan duo zhong yu hu’, which means when people try something, usually bad, too many times, they will meet obstacles stopping them from continuing. My mother finally met someone who would make her fail her bargaining. It was the first time I saw my mother fail at bargaining in my entire fourteen-year life. My mother was then particularly grumpy during the entire period of time when we were at the night market, which was not desirable for me as she kept disallowing from buying tidbits which I liked.
One of the most recent cases of bargaining was two weeks ago, when my older sister needed to buy a laptop from her junior college education. There was a promotion going on as we entered Funan Digital Mall. As we walked around, my sister got her eyes on a laptop with a cute little design. It had quite good functions too, with a free mouse. My mother wanted to upgrade a particular system of the laptop for free as the one provided was an older version. The promoter said that it could not be done as the price of upgrading it was sixty dollars and he could only give her a free three-month mobile internet broadband. Satisfied after closing quite a good deal, my mother readily agreed. Another successful bargain for my mother.
Sometimes, I wonder whether my mother could write a book entitled ‘Tips on How to Bargain’. It would definitely be a hit for housewives.
My mother seemed to not bargain so much now whenever she bargains. Maybe the hot-
tempered stall owner served as an experience for her not to bargain too much. This could be in turn good for my father, sister and I as we need not wait for a long period of time again.
Reflection:
I took a long time editing this essay and it can be my blood and sweat. Do give me comments on how I can improve it further. This story is partially true of my mother, I only further exaggerated it by much. Indeed scenes of bargaining and even scenes of housewives being told off my shopkeepers can be seen in Singapore often and it does not serve as a very special sight any more. I find it not quite a nice sight and I do not understand why do people bargain. I only think that bargaining is essential only when the prices are too high, if not, I really do not see the need to bargain any furthermore from the price given by the shopkeepers.
My mother is one of the most ‘kiasu’ housewives I have ever met in my entire fourteen-year life. She literally bargains for everything she buys. Sometimes, I am really irritated by her way of bargaining. Why must she bargain?
I believe that most housewives have the same mentality that bargaining helps to save money. It might be true as a matter of fact, but, does it really work for everything people buy? It is just not nice when you try to bargain more and more. Shop owners have to earn too. If he agrees to a lower price already, I do not see the need to bargain even more. Compromising should be the essential thing. If both sides agree on a price, close the deal! I really do not understand my mother.
On a family holiday to Hong Kong a few years ago, my mother did what she was the best at again. Once, my family and I all went to a place where there were many stalls like a night market, but they would be there every day without moving. As we walked down the alley in between the two long rows of stalls, we chanced upon a stall selling large keychains. My sister got her eye on one which was like a fox’s tail. My mother then asked for the price. It was eighty Hong Kong dollars.
The stall owner charged my mother 150 dollars for two if she wants. My mother immediately tried to lower the price to 130 dollars. The stall owner then tried to compromise with 140 dollars. In the end, my mother closed the deal with 135 dollars. It took my family ten full minutes of waiting, including the entire bargaining process, and the time my mother took to choose among about ten of them. Happy after such a killing, my mother finally left, elated. She seemed to be the only one happy, with all of us irritated at the long waiting time.
Recently, during the Christmas period, the entire family went out together to Takashimaya for shopping from morning to night. When my mother went past one of her favourite boutiques, the large sign ‘STOREWIDE SALE UP TO 60%’ was like a super strong magnet, which attracted my mother immediately. Again, the rest of the family had to stand outside the boutique like wooden blocks for another fifteen to twenty minutes. My mother has a particular shopping habit, which is to buy more clothes and shoes only during the Great Singapore Sale and festive seasons when many boutiques have a sale going on. Due to this massive sale islandwide, she would go shopping very often during this period of time, and resulting in my family and me waiting for a long period of time outside the boutique. Again.
During the last week of the December holidays, when my family and I went to a night market, my mother chanced upon a packet of five fanciful hairclips. Once again, my mother did what she was the best at.
“How much is a packet of hairclips?” My mother asked the stall owner.
“Nine dollars” The stall owner replied flatly.
The stall owner looked very angry, with tightly knitted brows, sitting on a stool of an empty stall.
“How about six dollars?” My mother started to reduce the price of the packet of hairclips.
“Lowest price can only be eight dollars” The stall owner insisted.
“Seven?” My mother tried to cut the price as much as possible.
“Eight dollars.” The stall owner did not budge.
“Seven-fifty?” My mother tried to get the lowest price possible.
“No! Eight dollars is the minimum! Go away! I do not want to do your business!” The stall owner rebutted hotly.
My mother was taken aback by the stall owner’s temper. By seeing the amount of hairclips left on the shelf behind the stall owner, it seemed like business was not good for the stall owner. This could well be the reason why the stall owner was so bad-tempered. The reason why business was bad for the stall owner could also be his hot temper.
This was also the first I saw my mother fail at bargaining. There is a chinese saying ‘shang de shan duo zhong yu hu’, which means when people try something, usually bad, too many times, they will meet obstacles stopping them from continuing. My mother finally met someone who would make her fail her bargaining. It was the first time I saw my mother fail at bargaining in my entire fourteen-year life. My mother was then particularly grumpy during the entire period of time when we were at the night market, which was not desirable for me as she kept disallowing from buying tidbits which I liked.
One of the most recent cases of bargaining was two weeks ago, when my older sister needed to buy a laptop from her junior college education. There was a promotion going on as we entered Funan Digital Mall. As we walked around, my sister got her eyes on a laptop with a cute little design. It had quite good functions too, with a free mouse. My mother wanted to upgrade a particular system of the laptop for free as the one provided was an older version. The promoter said that it could not be done as the price of upgrading it was sixty dollars and he could only give her a free three-month mobile internet broadband. Satisfied after closing quite a good deal, my mother readily agreed. Another successful bargain for my mother.
Sometimes, I wonder whether my mother could write a book entitled ‘Tips on How to Bargain’. It would definitely be a hit for housewives.
My mother seemed to not bargain so much now whenever she bargains. Maybe the hot-
tempered stall owner served as an experience for her not to bargain too much. This could be in turn good for my father, sister and I as we need not wait for a long period of time again.
Reflection:
I took a long time editing this essay and it can be my blood and sweat. Do give me comments on how I can improve it further. This story is partially true of my mother, I only further exaggerated it by much. Indeed scenes of bargaining and even scenes of housewives being told off my shopkeepers can be seen in Singapore often and it does not serve as a very special sight any more. I find it not quite a nice sight and I do not understand why do people bargain. I only think that bargaining is essential only when the prices are too high, if not, I really do not see the need to bargain any furthermore from the price given by the shopkeepers.
Hwa Chong Annual Cross-Country 2011!
Last Wednesday, on the 23rd of February, Hwa Chong Institution held the annual cross country run. For the secondary two students, which is what I am, we had to run 3.6 kilometres within the school compound. I was satisfied with my results as I took 24 minutes to complete the whole run of 3.6 kilometres. As for the other levels and the teachers, the secondary one students ran a distance of 3 kilometres, while the staff and students of other levels ran the same distance as us. There was also a Milo van giving out cups of cold milo to students who need a drink desperately. A sale of cans of isotonic drinks was on too, selling cans of isotonic drinks at 70 cents each, which is counted as quite an affordable price already. It was a tiring day for me after such a long run. I will definitely look forward to this event again next year.
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