Culture Shock - Arriving in singapore

the lynx · Post by **the lynx** » Mon, 06 May 2013 5:14 pm

Anyway, welcome back JR8! Hilarious post, as always

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Mon, 06 May 2013 6:42 pm

the lynx wrote:Anyway, welcome back JR8! Hilarious post, as always

Oh thanks, the welcome (generally) is unexpected, and it is very kind of you

p.s. But can I point out that pigs don't 'stink'. If they are associated with odour, it is as a result of the confined conditions in which we humans so often make them live. I've said it before, they're also very friendly and intelligent animals; more like dogs in some ways. If you find the sweet-spots just below their shoulders on their back, and give it a thorough scratching you'll be rewarded with much appreciative squealing, and you'll have a friend for life. Cows in captivity are arguably just as 'dirty'. Have their own kind of tapeworms (IIRC Taenia Saginata) which we can get from them too. Then add to that the fact that they're really very very thick compared to pigs... but I know what you Malayus are like, so just sayin

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Mon, 06 May 2013 7:31 pm

Today:

50% of public escalators appear to be out of order. It means I end up walking miles for crossings at ground level, which is a bit of a challenge right now. (example: there is no ground-level crossing across Orchard between Scotts and the south side of Ngee Ann City.

There are steps everywhere, usually with no hand-railings.

There is a sign outside of Wisma Atria 'Wheelchair crossing 100m'... but there is apparently no such crossing?

Some much better looking and dressed people out and about today.

Fighter jets overhead all pm. Why do they do this right over a city-centre? (is it about instilling fake fear?)

Concept restaurants. Rather than just going and grabbing some food, they want to sell you a concept of what to eat, how to order it and so on. (Choose the meat/fish, then choose the dressing, then add the sides... etc etc etc]

Fresh green-lip mussels in Cold Storage and they relatively cost peanuts. Looking forward to cooking bucket loads of them again!!

Not a half-way decent sandwich in sight.

Bakers shops like Bread-Talk and Cake-History selling so much junky looking food.

Getting back to hotel, going to sit by pool. suddenly feeling very rarefied and privileged compared to some people (tray-aunties etc) who are working long days for peanuts just a block or a few away. The feeling of a huge wealth-gap.

Advertising signs with audio, competing with the Orchard Road traffic. What a racket.

7pm+ pneumatic drills still going. What a racket.

Some young girls still dressed like and wearing 'Ugly Betty' style glasses. Oh dear, I thought that trend was well over.

Mid-late teenage youngsters, with whom I am challenged, or unable, to determine their gender.

A guy going past in a silver lame-style (metallic weave cloth) t-shirt top, decked out with an image of Damian Hirst's skull, and the skull on the shirt being covered in diamonte's. I couldn't help myself, it was so OTT that I had to chuckle quietly to myself. Cue: Him turning around and giving me a poofy death glare-stare!

Girls wearing micro-shorts.

Definitely some better looking people today. But one none-too-shabby early 30s lady, nice looking, well decked out, but eating/something with her mouth open as she passed. Yeuh.

The clicking of expansion/contraction from the room windows (due to the daily temperature changes).

Addadude · Post by **Addadude** » Mon, 06 May 2013 7:43 pm

JR8 wrote:A guy going past in a silver lame-style (metallic weave cloth) t-shirt top, decked out with an image of Damian Hirst's skull, and the skull on the shirt being covered in diamonte's. I couldn't help myself, it was so OTT that I had to chuckle quietly to myself. Cue: Him turning around and giving me a poofy death glare-stare!.

Hey! You stared at me first!

movingtospore · Post by **movingtospore** » Mon, 06 May 2013 8:36 pm

JR8 wrote:Just went out for an end-of-eve stroll, I wanted take-out ice-cream really, but just got out of the hotel and got a group hit-on by 3 young girls (a 'Group-on'?)

Weird - respectable looking, very attractive... but so clearly on the game, or some game.

Shock + saddened for them too.

p.s small pot of HD or BJ ice-cream $8-9, for like 100ml...

It's Sunday...beware of maids looking for some extra pocket change.

Brah · Post by **Brah** » Mon, 06 May 2013 10:44 pm

AngMoG wrote:
Brah wrote:... lower rents ...
No lower rents yet, quite the opposite. We recently moved house, the rental for 2BR HDB around Katong/Paya Lebar is now $2,500. Decided to get condo instead for a few hundred more.

This is not what I'm hearing. I renewed last year for a negligible increase, a friend in our condo just renewed at a discount, and the prices in the condo are down from this time last year, as they are in other condos.

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Mon, 06 May 2013 11:07 pm

movingtospore wrote: It's Sunday...beware of maids looking for some extra pocket change.

Yah, but are they mass hitting on 'touristy-looking' people simply passing by around the Orchard/Scotts area/junction 8-!

Sergei82 · Post by **Sergei82** » Tue, 07 May 2013 11:18 am

Brah wrote:
AngMoG wrote:
Brah wrote:... lower rents ...
No lower rents yet, quite the opposite. We recently moved house, the rental for 2BR HDB around Katong/Paya Lebar is now $2,500. Decided to get condo instead for a few hundred more.
This is not what I'm hearing. I renewed last year for a negligible increase, a friend in our condo just renewed at a discount, and the prices in the condo are down from this time last year, as they are in other condos.

I renewed last year for 50 dollars increase only. Still that is not a discount.

Sergei82 · Post by **Sergei82** » Tue, 07 May 2013 11:22 am

Finally I'm not the only one resenting about the following!!!

JR8 wrote:50% of public escalators appear to be out of order.

there is no ground-level crossing across Orchard between Scotts and the south side of Ngee Ann City.

Not a half-way decent sandwich in sight.

Bakers shops like Bread-Talk and Cake-History selling so much junky looking food.

Mid-late teenage youngsters, with whom I am challenged, or unable, to determine their gender.

Definitely some better looking people today. But one none-too-shabby early 30s lady, nice looking, well decked out, but eating/something with her mouth open as she passed. Yeuh.

AngMoG · Post by **AngMoG** » Tue, 07 May 2013 1:31 pm

Sergei82 wrote:
Brah wrote:
AngMoG wrote: No lower rents yet, quite the opposite. We recently moved house, the rental for 2BR HDB around Katong/Paya Lebar is now $2,500. Decided to get condo instead for a few hundred more.
This is not what I'm hearing. I renewed last year for a negligible increase, a friend in our condo just renewed at a discount, and the prices in the condo are down from this time last year, as they are in other condos.
I renewed last year for 50 dollars increase only. Still that is not a discount.

Maybe the increase just hit me a bit late... I renewed last two years for $50 and $100 . But this year looking for a new place, is when I noticed how much rent had gone up.

iloverice · Post by **iloverice** » Tue, 07 May 2013 4:48 pm

JR8...welcome back...

Really nice posts.. hahahaha very well written...

the lynx · Post by **the lynx** » Tue, 07 May 2013 5:11 pm

JR8 wrote:p.s. But can I point out that pigs don't 'stink'. If they are associated with odour, it is as a result of the confined conditions in which we humans so often make them live. I've said it before, they're also very friendly and intelligent animals; more like dogs in some ways. If you find the sweet-spots just below their shoulders on their back, and give it a thorough scratching you'll be rewarded with much appreciative squealing, and you'll have a friend for life. Cows in captivity are arguably just as 'dirty'. Have their own kind of tapeworms (IIRC Taenia Saginata) which we can get from them too. Then add to that the fact that they're really very very thick compared to pigs... but I know what you Malayus are like, so just sayin

Well I love pigs, on my plate!

Would love to pick up the discussion on tapeworms from where we left off long time ago... but let's do this in another thread before our fellow regulars start to abstain from meat!

Post by **nakatago** » Tue, 07 May 2013 5:35 pm

JR8 wrote:50% of public escalators appear to be out of order.

They're not out of order; they're just temporarily stairs.

JR8 wrote: there is no ground-level crossing across Orchard between Scotts and the south side of Ngee Ann City.

LTA hates pedestrians.

JR8 wrote: Not a half-way decent sandwich in sight.

You said it.

Your best bet is Subway. Yeah, I know!

JR8 wrote: Bakers shops like Bread-Talk and Cake-History selling so much junky looking food.

The funny thing with Bread Talk is they don't have just bread.

JR8 wrote: Definitely some better looking people today. But one none-too-shabby early 30s lady, nice looking, well decked out, but eating/something with her mouth open as she passed. Yeuh.

Yeah, I've seen a highly educated woman do that; apparently, that was not part of their education.

Hidy Ho · Post by **Hidy Ho** » Tue, 07 May 2013 5:46 pm

JR8 wrote: Girls wearing micro-shorts.

This makes it all worthwhile ....

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Tue, 07 May 2013 6:05 pm

the lynx wrote:[
Well I love pigs, on my plate!

Would love to pick up the discussion on tapeworms from where we left off long time ago... but let's do this in another thread before our fellow regulars start to abstain from meat!

Eeeee...eeeeiii, dirty babi-lover!! - as my wife sometimes remarks about my love of good pork.

(She's had pork before though, more than once, and said she enjoyed it. She probably might not admit it today though, as pious as she is,... unless I got her drunk first lol.... ;-D)

Well I'm always interested in discussing parasitology (micro- and zoo- ology, and so on). So if you go and open a topic re: it or similar, I'll hit you with a surprising fact on T. Saginata that you might not know!

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Culture Shock - Arriving in singapore

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