Whoo! Got the Jason Mraz Album!

Good news for me! Got the Jason Mraz album 'We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things". It might be a very random album name but so are the songs in the album,which genres stretch from pop to acoustic and a bit of rap. Its a real good album, but no less is expected from an experienced singer like Mraz. I've got my 2 favorite songs of the album on the playlist, 'The Dynamo of Volition' and 'Live High'. Thats all for tonight.

Little Ironies: The Stories Of Singapore; The Taximan's Story

• The Taxi Man's Story

1. What is the irony of the story?

The irony is the fact that the taximan criticizes young people of our generation for being too immature by hanging out at places like Hotel McElroy; while he still goes there to make an easy living as Hotel McElroy is a popular spot to earn more money. This is an act of contradiction, and instead of 'practising what he has preached', he has gone against his stand and decides to put money and making a living over his own beliefs and mind-set.

2. What are the themes raised in the story?

The themes raised are:

• How young people of Singapore have grown to be bold and reckless; as compared to the youth's of the 'old' Singapore.
• Differences of the 'old' (taximan's generation) and current (Lay Choo's generation) Singapore
• How making a living in Singapore has overcome the need to stand up for our own beliefs and make a stand to whatever opposes us

3. How realistic is this story?

This story is very realistic as it touches on how fast Singapore has advanced, be it for the better or the worse, just like how the current youths of Singapore have been 'learning' from older generations more quickly. This is realistic as it narrates a current affair of Singapore.

4. What do you think of the taxi man? Do you feel sympathy for him?

I do not think highly of this taximan. Although it is alright to put your job ahead of everything else in order to survive, I think Singaporeans should also have a sense of pride at the same time. We might be a small country, but we are advancing fast and it is important for us to be proud of what we believe in; rather than let that belief crumble under circumstances like earning a quick buck. Therefore, I do feel sympathy for this taximan as he struggles between putting the food on the table and having a sense of pride.

5. Do you agree with his lamenting?

As his 'lamenting' is supported by evidence through experience, I do agree.

6. What about the other characters in the story? Do you feel sympathy for them?

No.

But maybe the 'madam'. She has to bear with the taximan's rants for the whole trip. Seriously pity her ;)

Summary

Anyway, for a clearer view of what I am saying above, I have made a summary:

So, the story starts of with a first person account of the taximan.(Note: the whole story is about him speaking, no other dialouge or narration included.) This taximan is engaged in a rather one-sided conversation with his passenger, whom he adresses as 'madam'. The setting of the story: 'madam' is a teacher and is rushing for a meeting. So, the taximan goes on and on about how the younger generation of Singapore are being unfillial to their parents by stating that they have a school -related activity while in actual fact the child is off enoying themselves in the company of their 'European or American boyfriends', which the taximan claims are filthy rich. He also states a personal experience as evidence, with his daughther being the unfortunate culprit. but in the end, the irony would be evident. find out for your self in Catherine Lim's Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore

A Fictional Account of a Mentally Retarted Person

today was a bad daey fr mi bcos i saw my fren gt mayd fun of. three pepul wen into de mentul instituitin n started to say bad tings abt my fren. i fil sad fr him. whiy do dise pepul treat us so badlee. i noe we dum pepul al gader here so de doktors can help us. whiy do the doktors alow dise eveel pepul to distrb us. it is not fair bcos we al are born dis wae. we canot controel it. now i fil sad fr al my frens here. i remembr de doktor sayin mi n my frens hav an eye q of biloe 70. i wan de doktors to help us jus like charlie gordon. lyk dat we wun b mayd fun of. n dat wuld b gud. liyk dat we can show de pepul we are not dum. dat is wad i drim of smetmes in my slp. bt de doktor told mi my drim is not reyl. bt de operashun charlie wen troo mayd him smart. ok. tmrw i wil ask de doktor to giv mi the opershun. den my eye q of 59 wil go haiyer n dat wuld b gud

source: http://www.fitnessforyouth.umich.edu/mentally_challenged.htm

Funny Scene At McD's

On Saturday, a funny thing happened at a crowded McDonald's restaurant when I was queueing up for a burger. When waiting my turn, a cashier was reprimanding a fellow colleague, saying "Why you go throw away the receipt?! Now where is it?!" Her colleague,who had her hands filled attending to a customer, replied in a inadequate mix of singlish and english,"Ask my mother lah!" Obviously disgusted, the customer shot a piercing gaze at the woman, before the woman apologised cheekily.
Other than that, there was also a another incident, when I was ordering a 'fillet o' fish'. Like stated above, the fast food restaurant was crowded, therefore orders were carried out ironically slowly. After a 5 minutes wait for the burger, the same cashier shouted out "Hey,where's the fillet ah?!", only to be echoed by another colleague "Yah, where is it? Swimming ah?!" Without further hesitation, the fillet 'swam' out.

Well, to me, that incident reflected badly on McD's customer service. They cannot expect to gain customers with incompetent behaviour as such, and especially with the global economic crisis, good service is essential to make up for customers that have turned down restaurants because of tight expenses. So I hope any kind of McD's personnel will stumble across this post, and maybe heed my advice and strive for improvement.

Blog Prompt: Article on Goal-Setting

Article On Goal-setting
By Dr William Tan


‘Many a one has succeeded only because he has failed after repeated efforts, if he had never met defeat, he would never have known any great victory’
- Orison Sweet Marden

I am writing an article today about 'goal-setting'. A goal is a vision of where you want to go. These goal setting templates can help you to take small systematic steps to make your vision blossom into reality. Imagine the following scenario:

You are just starting your vacation, your bags are all packed and you are ready to go! You are going on a road trip across the country. As you pull out of your driveway and onto highway, you have a clear idea of the direction you want to go and how you are going there. You know where you will be staying tonight and the next night, and you have planned to visit some tourist sights along the way. And obviously, you are sure that you can catching all these breath-taking monuments before time runs out.

Why? Because you are being realistic and measurable. Similarly, your goals have to be realistic, but at the same time a target that will definitely will be a challenge to achieve. As I assume readers of these magazine are in the prime of their youth, I advise all of you to make full use of the time that you have now to set worthwhile goals. However, be aware of the obstacles ahead too.

Goals keep us focused and motivated in life. They help us see light at the end of the tunnel and guide us through difficult period when many others would quit. So, work towards your goals; work towards success.

I'm back!

Okay, so I've finally posted again after three really busy days. Of course, there is a reason to the absence, mainly because of work and a crazy fever. Sadly, Liverpool have lost the lead to Man Utd, who got away yesterday night with a narrow1-0 win after off-par striker Dimitar Berbatov headed the ball in at the 90th minute, allowing Man Utd, whose longest winning steak this season only measured up to 3 games(compared to Liverpool's 5 game winning streak), to unfortunately scrape all 3 points.
Anyway, the famous (drum-roll please..) Merseyside Derby will be held on Tuesday,4.00 a.m. Well, I got school then so won't be able to catch the sure-to-be competitve match.

Thats all the news for now.