Hola! Encantado! Mexican dinner at Magarita's... 
Followed by.... Mr See's Birthday Bash @White Rabbit 
How coincidental then I just realized, that I am going to White Rabbit again tonight for dinner, and to watch Spanish movie "Bad Habits" at the Picturehouse after! In light of the coming National Day this Saturday, August 9th, the patriot in me has decided to post about... Traits that make us One People, One Nation, One Singapore 
*THE CRINGEWORTHY ones* *Lack of courtesy. Saying thank you, holding open doors, helping others.... Basically social graces in general. Often when I travel overseas to say, down under in Australia, the difference is felt quite glaringly. The Sunday Times' own courtesy investigation last year showed that many Singaporeans are still impatiently trying to board the MRT without consideration for disembarking passengers. Friends always complain about how Singaporean drivers NEVER give way. Seems like everyone is too busy being kiasu.... Which brings me to the next trait... *Kiasu-ness One of the first things that come to mind when I think of Singaporean traits! Singaporeans are brought up in a damned rat-race that starts since childhood. We are brought up constantly feeling the pressure beat others in everything, be it in school, work, owning the snazziest new handphone, grabbing the best Great Singapore Sale items, or piling food as skyhigh as possible on our buffet plates. A culture as such is self-centered, and is possibly the reason why we have no time or thought to think of others. Everyone's literally "scared to lose out". Admittedly though, every country and culture has it's own form of kiasu. It is just that Singaporeans can probably get a tad extreme, AND we actually managed to come up with the perfect term for this phenomenon. *Queuing up..... like sheep... or animals that blindly follow the pied piper.. lalala... Whats the deal with the donuts and Hello Kitty?? Can anyone say "nuts" and "heelloooooooo?" *Complain kings & queens Perhaps it's precisely because we Singaporeans have it so good, that we start to tekan the small, insignificant things, just for the sake of it.
- We're a boring city
- Our English isn't good enough - Too many foreign talents - Not enough creative talent - Local women are inadequate compared to China women - Local men not good enough - Singapore government is too strict .... Amongst many others. Or, any issue you're not happy about....."COMPLAIN!" *Overly Pragmatic Singaporeans are encouraged, in great part by societal influences and parents' pushing, to follow their heads and wallets more than their hearts. Doctor, lawyer, banker, Indian chief (kiddin'), are all "better" than going into film, design, music, or writing. Dreams are set aside in the name of pragmatism. No wonder we are sorely lacking in the arts scene and appreciation for it. I also find Singaporeans are usually afraid to take risks and explore. We've been brought up to make the safe choices. I remember after the A-levels, I asked some friends why they didn't want to further their studies overseas and expand their horizons when they had the option to. Their reply? "Too comfortable here lah." O_O Shocking. *The way we propose I've heard horror stories of how some Singaporeans decide to get married by asking "Want to sign up for a HDB flat?" Very very scary. *THE ENDEARING ones.... KINDA* *We "chope" seats and tables with tissue paper (sometimes newspapers or office passes too.) This is just plain funny! Whoever started this trend in the first place? A true sign of our KIASUness... for a long time I never even knew about this unspoken golden rule! Oops, and I thought I was lucky enough to get free packets of tissue all those times when I sat down at my seat.... *We love food. Makan makan makan! I guess this is the most endearing trait to me because it's the one I identify with the most :) I love food, especially asian food. I can't live without spice (the hotter the better!), and our local fare. Yummmmmm! Singaporeans also have a funny habit of diligently tracking the whereabouts of their favourite hawkers, i.e..you know that the famous Tiong Bahru Bao is now in Jurong, the famous Outram Char Kuay Teow is now in Hong Lim Centre and the famous Lau Hock Kien Hokkien mee from the old Lau Pa Sat is now at Beach Road. We have countless number of food shows on the telly. We'll queue up 1 hour for that delicious bowl of laksa. We'll even drive from one end of the island to the other just to eat from a "famous" stall. What to do? Our food is THAT good. And more about gastronomical delights... * Singaporeans are often always looking to add chilli or ketchup to his food. Fries, chicken, noodles, whatever. Mmmm. (someone I know is guilty of this A LOT) *We move to where we want our child to go to school. Another manifestation of Singaporeans' kiasu-ness? I mean wow, parents will go through all the trouble of selling their house, finding a new place, packing, moving, and all other physically tiring activities just to get their kids into a primary school of their choice. It's only PRIMARY SCHOOL?! But in a way, I reckon it is sweet because it just goes to show how much our parents want the best for our children. * We need campaigns to tell us how to be courteous, to flush toilets, have sex, etc. Another thing I find hilarious but has grown to become distinctly "Singaporean". We're always being told what to do. Whether we actually do it is another story altogether though ;) *Singlish This one ah, needless to say lah. Everytime I'm overseas this is the surefire sign heard from a mile away to let me know a Singaporean is nearby. 
So what if other people catch no ball ah? Our very own language leh! Gahmen always say we not creative but Singlish is a very creative fusion of different languages and dialects ok! Innovative use of words and quirky... i like!! Go anywhere in the world, can hear someone talk Singlish, it's like "wahh!! fellow country man!" Give warm warm feeling in da heart u know? If our Singlish is not "Uniquely Singapore" then what is ah? ;) *The way we swear I don't think any other foul language compares to our brand of vulgarities, for example KNNBCCB (abbreviated). Nothing quite as astonishingly offensive as well. But then, there's just something really colorful, insulting, and at the same time really funny about our local swear terms :)
♥ Singapore. my home. | 
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