Taxi uncle, can you go to...?

Imagine you are a taxi driver. A passenger flags down your taxi, tells you the address of the place he wants to go to, but the location does not ring a bell. However, the passenger is unable to offer you more details or point out landmarks around the destination.

What will you do?

1) I do not know the place. Take the next cab.
2) You need to give me more details.
3) I can drive you, but can you check the street directory while I drive?

I think most taxi drivers react by (1) and (2). This is based on my two experiences with 10 taxi drivers in the past week. Unfortunately, none of them used (3).

In the first incident, I have the name of the destination and the exact location at Dunearn Road, but four taxis at the cab stand do not know the place. I have never been there either and could offer limited information.

One taxi driver said, "You need to tell me the exact location."

"Uncle, I have told you the exact location. It's at number XX, Dunearn Road."

"You need to tell me which part of Dunearn Road. Dunearn Road is very long, you know."

I give up.

"It's okie, thanks for your help. I'll try the next taxi."

Finally, I met a taxi driver who knows "roughly" where the place is, and we managed to find it with the help of road signs.

In the second instance, I have the address of my destination, which is a private estate, but there are no specific landmarks nearby. Similarly, I have never been there before.

4 taxi drivers did not know the place, and were not helpful in offering an alternative solution, like in the form of (3).

Eventually, I hopped onto the fifth cab, "Uncle, do you have a street directory? Maybe I can check and give you directions while you drive." He agreed, and finally I was on my way.

I do not blame taxi drivers who do not know how to go to certain places. I know many became taxi drivers only after they lost their jobs due to retrenchment, so it is natural for them not to be that well equipped with the knowledge and locations. But I just wish they could be more helpful.

I cannot speak for all passengers, but I do not mind looking through the street directory as the driver works his way on the roads, especially if the destination is in some uncommon location. I just want to get to where I need to be on time, and the taxi driver just wants to earn a living, so I am perfectly fine with helping each other out.

Having said that, it can get quite irritating though, if the taxi driver does not know how to get to a place that is relatively "well-known".

On a side note, I realized it is exceptionally important for taxi drivers to have a street directory on board.

I once met a taxi driver who pulled out a street map (the kind meant for tourists) for me. I almost fainted. He then handed me a street directory which is almost 10 years old. I just wish I had taken another cab then.

In Search of the Sunflowers

The IMF/WB meetings came and passed by in the twinkling of an eye.

To most people, the meetings did not have much significance.

A person I interviewed put it very aptly, “They hold their meetings. I lead my life.”

Most people probably did not have much of an idea what was discussed in the meetings. This was partly because the material was too technical, and also, the meetings were too exclusive and not relevant to most.

But now that the IMF/WB is over, there is something I am very interested to find out.

The fate of the sunflowers.

A few days ago, I saw the roadsides around Cityhall and the Singapore Management University (SMU) being lined with rows of sunflowers.

This was the first time I saw sunflowers "sprouted" out from the ground, along the roads in Singapore.

My first thought was, “Gosh, they look so comical, so weird and so out of place!”

And I could not help but giggle at the ridiculous sight of the sunflowers standing so tall and upright.

But after a while, I realized the sunflowers actually look pretty cute where they were.

Like many other flowers and plants, these sunflowers were planted before the IMF/WB meetings (people call it “for show”), and some people predicted that they would be removed once the meetings are over.

Would they? Or would they not?

Today, two days after the meetings ended, I went in search of the sunflowers.

I started my walk from Cityhall, and treaded the route to SMU. I walked round SMU, but I could not find the sunflowers.

Oh no, have they been removed already? I thought.

And then as I walked further…I saw them finally!

They were still standing tall and upright, but some had lost all their petals, and looked rather miserable.

So, the authorities did not remove the plants right after the meetings, as rumoured. But as to how long the flowers were going to stay there, I do not know.

Probably till they wither and die?

I am actually quite skeptical about the way the authorities “dolled” up the places where delegates might pass by during the course of the IMF/WB meetings. Imagine what this money could do had it been used to help the poor and needy?

Take the analogy of receiving guests at your house. It is definitely nice and proper to clean and tidy your house and in anticipation of their visit. But to spend a fortune to repaint your house is a little over the roof.

To me, cleaning up the streets and doing normal maintenance like repairing damaged facilities are alright, but things like putting on new “clothes” for the trees in the Orchard area, and adding so many new plants along the roads, are a little unnecessary and extravagant, although I agree that they do add a nice and cheerful touch to the surroundings.

But now that the bright flowers are in place (and the money has been spent), I wish they could remain there permanently. But how much it is going to cost to maintain them, is another important factor to consider.

"鬼城"

最近的几天，你有没有去一趟“鬼城”？　　

我指的是在IMF和World Bank会议举行期间，一日间变得毫无人气的新达城购物商场。　　

平时新达城购物商场被人潮挤得水泄不通，购物者多得商店的店员应接不暇。到那里用餐更是一桩头痛的事，这里要等，那里要排队，没有一点（其实何止一点）耐性，肯定受不了。　　

这几天，到新达城购物商场逛街的人少了，非繁忙时间甚至只见小猫两三只，店员和工作人员比购物者多。把此时的新达城购物商场形容为“鬼城”，一点也不夸张。　　

我平日不时会去新达城，虽然常常要人挤人，但是它的地点适中，交通便利，去那里逛街消费很方便。　　

这几天，我有机会到新达城会议中心为IMF和World Bank会议进行采访，而会议中心与购物商场仅仅隔着一道门。　　

但我却没有踏越这道门。　　

尽管购物商场的商家这段期间各出奇招吸引购物者，这家举行大减价，那家推出优惠，但我却对近在咫尺的购物商场无动于衷。　　

听同事说，这是道单向门，只能出，不能进。如果进入购物商场后，必须绕道，再走好一段路才能够回到新达城会议中心。　　

哎哟，这么麻烦，干脆不去了。　　

有一名友人说，他原本打算到新达城购物商场和朋友聚会，结果考虑到有可能需要“绕道步行”，“浪费时间”，最后决定“能避则避”，更换了聚会的地点。　　

说穿了，就是我们太习惯方便的生活。都市人每时每刻都和时间赛跑，吃饭和逛街的地点是否方便，无疑成了首要考虑的条件。　　

交通讲求方便、购物也要方便、吃饭更要方便。食物再好吃、东西再便宜，如果少了便利，只会像“鬼城”那样被冷落。　　

IMF和World Bank大型会议在本地举行，提高了新加坡的知名度，将来也可能对新加坡带来无限大的商机。但对广大老百姓来说，最大的影响或许只是少了平日的方便。　　

新达城购物商场的商家这几天肯定愁眉不展，但随着IMF和World Bank大会今天圆满落幕，相信他们很快就会重展笑脸了。

Press Centre

This is how the IMF/ World Bank Press Centre looks like.

It was an eye-opener for me to see so many reporters from the various international media all congregated at one place. Reuters, AP, Bloomberg, DowJones...these are names that I only read about on the internet. Interesting.

But the meetings and seminars are not my cup of tea. After all, I am not an Econs student, and financial charts are no more than strangers to me.


On the far background of this picture are the Singapore Desk, IMF Desk and World Bank Desk. The representatives are there to facilitate queries from the media. They also make regular announcements to inform journalists on press conferences.

There is free seating in the main area of the Press Centre, so journalists can sit anywhere they like. There are two or three phones attached to every table, with broadband cables available as well. The big brothers like Reuters, AP, Bloomberg and DowJones etc have a booth exclusive to themselves. SPH has one too.

There are two tea breaks in the Press Centre, one in the late morning, one in the afternoon. I have not had the luxury of tasting the delicacies although some colleagues say the food is superb!

There is also free supply of mineral water situated around the convention centre. Just open any refrigerator and grab a bottle, as easy as that.

For those journalists who are extremely motivated and interested in enhancing themselves through reading, there are a lot of free books and publications available. And I mean a lot. There are even more on sale.

I would say that the whole arrangement of the press conferences and seminars are very media-friendly, as they are held just a few steps away from the Press Centre. But the Civil Society Organisation (CSO) protest area is quite a distance away, and it can get quite tiring having to make trips to-and-fro!

Change of View

I was never one who fancied studying abroad or working overseas.

After I finished junior college, while many friends around me applied for overseas universities and overseas scholarships, I was happy and contented to stick with my decision on a local one.

I would not say I would definitely get an overseas scholarship if I applied then, but if I had tried hard enough, there is a chance that I might succeed.

But I did not even make an attempt. Neither did this option cross my mind.

It was partly due to my father, whom I know, did not and would not want his children to go abroad for studies.

I guess most traditional parents share the same sentiments. They are afraid that their children might change, or worse still, decide not to return to Singapore, if they receive an overseas education. They are worried of losing their children this way. It is not because parents do not trust their children, but because they are wary of the foreign environment.

I must say, at 18 then, I was sensible enough to make a choice without hurting my parents.

After I started working, I hear of friends going abroad to work or for training. Although I envy such learning opportunities, I felt no extreme pull factor.

Perhaps I am so used to my comfort zone that I simply did not feel the urge for a big change.

Recently though, I begin to embrace the idea of working abroad for a short while.

There was no particular incident that changed my view, but just that I feel I should try to experience more while I am still young and enthusiastic.

The other day, I met a young man from Philippines on the MRT. He asked me for directions and when to alight. We then started on a conversation. He told me he had come to Singapore alone to work, because he felt there were more opportunities here and he needed money to provide for his family. He said this was the second time he came and the first time he was cheated of part of his salary by a Japanese boss. But that did not make him lose hope, neither did he gave up. He went back home and returned recently to try his luck again.

And he was merely in his early twenties.

How different we are, I thought then.

Perhaps if I have the chance to work overseas, I would truly understand and emphathize with the difficulties of foreigners working in Singapore, and learn to appreciate what I have here.

I wonder if I will have this opportunity before the big 3 falls on me?

Teaching—a Cushy Job?

"Do you know why people become teachers? So that they can go home early, knock off at 5pm, lah!"

"You know what? They have long holidays some more! So good, leh!"

My mouth dropped open when I heard this on a bus ride home.

It came from a teenage boy who sat behind me.

He was talking to a female friend. Or rather, he appeared to be bragging about his "knowledge" and how well he knew of the teaching industry to the friend.

I am not a teacher, but I was shocked at his statement, because it certainly does not do justice to the teacher friends I know.

I don’t think any of them go home at 5pm. Even if they do, it probably means they have to drag a whole load of worksheets or books home to mark.

There is black sheep in any industry, including the industry responsible for molding the future of the new generation. I believe there are teachers who really go into teaching for the sake of the high pay, and they simply do the bare minimal (even if they do not admit it). But it not fair to think that all teachers think or act that way.

A teacher friend once said, "It is easy to be a teacher, but it’s not easy to be a good one."

When I heard the boy make such badly informed statements, I was really tempted to turn around and ask him, "What do you know about teaching?"

It is the same as telling an office clerk that he has a cushy job because all he does is sit in front of the computer, check emails and photocopy stuff.

It is also like saying a full time housewife leads an easy life, because she can watch television all day, play mahjong whenever she feels like it, go shopping if she is bored, and best of all, she does not need to answer to a boss.

I think any clerk or housewife will jump at anyone who says this.

But I can’t really blame the boy. One can never really understand the woes of another. Besides, students only see teachers at work when they are in class, and it is natural for them to think that teachers go off work when lessons end.

But I just do not like the teenager’s conceited tone.

Well, fortunately I did not do or say anything to the teenager, else I would have missed part two of his speech.

He went on to talk about living in HDB flats and condominiums.

"Next time I want to live in a condominium, I like the feeling of having neighbours who are also your friends."

His friend asked, "Can’t you make friends with HDB neighbours?"

"What I meant is to do things like swimming in the pool downstairs with your condo neighbours…anyway, it’s difficult to make friends with HDB people, lah. They don’t have this culture, they just keep to themselves. Condo different, leh. People mix around."

While I agree that nowadays, most HDB dwellers usually close their doors and hardly know their neighbours, I do not think the situation could be THAT different in a condominium. Either I am ill-informed, or such a friendly condominium truly exists.

Is it just this boy, or do teenagers these days think this way too?

I sure hope he is just one of a kind.

A short take

I was told today that something I wrote cannot and will not be published.

There is a column in my newspaper which my colleagues and I take turns to write. Sometimes we comment on serious current affairs, sometimes we share little snippets of life, sometimes we write about light hearted issues.

The other day, I did a short take on a news report I did recently. Unfortunately, it will never live to see daylight.

Not because what I wrote was not good (although nobody said it was good either), but because, as I was told, if it was published, it may have a damaging impact on the person (let’s name him X) I commented on, and the after effects might prove damaging to myself as well.

In a mild case, X may never accept an interview by me again, and in a more serious case scenario, the mega organization where X works under may not want me to cover their news in future.

The fact that I penned it down meant that I was prepared to face whatever repercussions there are to come. The mild and serious scenarios went through my head before I wrote my piece, but I wrote it anyway.

Perhaps this is the kind of liberal journalism I hope to see. Perhaps this is the kind of journalist I want to be.

I was never one who broke rules back in school. But that does not mean I did not debate and argue on the need for more flexibility and openness.

I do not like to conform or adhere to old systems or the usual ways of doing things, just for the sake of convenience. The older I get, the more I am sure about this.

Perhaps it is this rebellious streak in me that makes me cut out to be a journalist. I enjoy the feeling of treading on a thin line between what can and what cannot be done.

But sometimes, one person’s strength is not enough. As I had learnt.

In case you think that I wrote about some big shot or some important political figure, do not be mistaken. X is in fact, a rather ordinary person, and I consider my piece to be rather subtle.

But I need to be more subtle. I was told.

Sigh.

I certainly do not want to jeopardize my career, not at the expense of a trivial case, but neither will I be contented being somebody else’s mouthpiece.

This whole incident has taught me some important lessons.

That I am still a greenhorn.
That I have yet to master how to look at things from a broader and wider perspective.
That I have to think before I leap.

There is still a long way to go for certain systems which have been well in place. For now, they will remain.

Changi Airport's reply

In one of my previous entries, I gave an account of the mess in the 24 hour food gallery in the transit area of Changi Airport.

I wrote an email feedback to the airport some time after that, and received two emails. One was from Changi Airport's Assistant Commercial Manager, the other was from the Senior Manager of the operator of the food gallery, Palms Food International.

Although I accept their explanations, I am not totally convinced or "appeased", for that matter. Unfortunately, I am unable to make checks on the food gallery, so if you happen to travel abroad recently, do stop by the food gallery within the transit zone and see if the situation has improved. If it has not, do let me know.

Below are the actual, unamended extracts of the explanations:

From Changi Airport:
We have noted your disappointment with the Food Gallery in Terminal 1. We take a serious view of this matter. Please be assured that we do not condone food and beverage operators who fail to maintain high standards of operations. We have forwarded your feedback to the operator, Palms Food International Pte Ltd and are currently investigating it jointly with them.

From Palms Food International:

We have investigated and found out that there was a last minute delayed flight from Saudi Arabian Airlines, SV 825. 300 paxs came in together around 3am. As we had minimum staffing during midnight and delayed fight at this timing is not common, we apologized that we have difficulties to call in more staffs at that time, thus causing such a mess. All our staffs are briefed on this issue and are reminded that the tables must be cleared in the shortest possible time after the customers left the table. We will monitor closely and increase our service staffs and cleaners, if necessary, to ensure that such incident will not occur at our outlet.

I am not trying to be picky, but I do hope Palms Food International will make an attempt to check for typo and grammatical errors before they send out mails in future.

The Devil wears Prada

10 reasons why you should watch "The Devil wears Prada":

1) If you think you have the worst job in the world.
2) If you find that your boss is hedious, devilish, and is all out to make your life miserable.
3) If your whole life revolves around your job, and only your job.
4) If you turn up late (that is, if you turn up at all) or have to leave early for gatherings with your family or friends because of work.
5) If you jump whenever your phone rings. And it's your boss on the other line.
6) If your phone rings whenever you are supposedly off-work. And again, it's your boss.
7) If you realise (hopefully in time) that your love relationship is breaking up.
8) If you have a female boss.
9) Simply, if you hate your job.
10) If you have time to spare (other than work) for a movie!

I went to catch this movie last week, under the recommendation of a friend who has a female boss who fulfills the criteria of the devil in the show. Ouch!

The best reward I got is that it made me feel my life (and job) is not that bad after all.

As I am typing this, a card which a friend gave me when I first started working hangs over my computer monitor, "When you love your job, your work makes life sweet and fruitful."

It's motivating when I have had a good day, and it brings a smile to my lips, but it pricks to read when I have had a lousy day.

"I love my job. I love my job. I love my job! I love my job!"

That is the chant I have been practising ever since I watched that show.