Showing posts with label Chung Lyn-Yi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chung Lyn-Yi. Show all posts

Saturday, August 7, 2010

I Love Singapore because it works

weekend today August 7 - 8, 2010, COLUMN, PAGE T3
From http://imcms2.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/PDF/20100807/0708COW003.pdf
Website: http://www.todayonline.com/Columns/Inreallife/EDC100807-0000051/I-love-Singapore-because-it-works
By Chung Lyn-Yi, lynyi@mediacorp.com.sg, 05:55 AM Aug 07, 2010



PHOTO: Chung Lyn-Yi loves how efficient it is in the little red dot.
(Art: Faizal)
weekend today August 7 - 8, 2010, COLUMN, PAGE T3
http://imcms2.mediacorp.sg/cmsfileserver/showimageCC.aspx?450&347&f=2079&img=2079_251387.jpg&h=450&w=347



PHOTO: Chung Lyn-Yi
weekend today August 7 - 8, 2010, COLUMN, PAGE T3


Appreciating the nuts and bolts of Singapore, Inc
PICTURE this: It is a blazing hot afternoon in Toa Payoh Central, the thick of suburbia. A foreign worker, clad in black from head to toe like a ninja, is quietly spraying weed killer along the edges of the tiny tiles on the floor. There must be something like three million of them, but our man is going about his job in a precise, determined fashion.

His mission is to stop the wee leaves, peeking through the cracks, from growing all unruly. Left unchecked, they could displace the tiling and trip up the unsuspecting passerby. But, never fear, someone has thought ahead.

I remember sharing this memory with a scruffy Swedish backpacker in a hostel in Vienna six years ago. I was the first Singaporean he had ever met. Once I had corrected his impression that we were a part of China, he enquired: "So, what's Singapore like?"



PHOTO: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wFKQCC29wQ__8uxkDpjV9vDHXCTlwqSr41OqLU2vfF0WdSUJ-ax4Q-ocTF5zHMJ8LkSp9hplUl75xF4XVO1DK5Tpdd9dbFH9jw5jwgRBDN22QpeqarBk22sWq6eRJA1W02HHjf4oBMw/s1600/singapore.jpg http://wellheeledtraveler.blogspot.com/

"Small, but efficient. We encourage clean living in many senses," I said. "We're taught to take care of ourselves but, at the same time, are taken care of."

Having come from an international academic conference in Budapest, I had repeated this answer many times, to the point where it probably sounded rehearsed. I might have mumbled it with waning enthusiasm as a result, but his reaction made me laugh out loud.

"Ah, Utopia. And run by ninjas, too!"



PHOTO: http://rlv.zcache.com/i_love_singapore_t_shirt-p235602678561246216t5hl_400.jpg


Years later, a friend confessed to being part of these invisible forces at work. "Ever notice that flags mysteriously turn up right outside your door around National Day? You know, to help you get into the patriotic mood?"

Cynics might see a darker side, but I find it endearing that we are so doggedly efficient and systematic on all fronts. Even friends who have left the country, seem to have seen the light.

My buddy, who has made a place for herself in London, knows it too well. It took her just two days to have a new passport made here, but she shaved years off her life trying to get anything else done in her second home, as evidenced by the following rant.

"You move to a new apartment and need a landline. You can't get through to the phone company on your mobile, but you try again and again, burning 40 pence ($0.80) a minute, premium rate.

"Finally, you book an engineer - earliest slot in three weeks, but they can't tell you exactly when. You're given a window of between 8am and 5pm. So you take leave for it, and wait. 5pm rolls by, no engineer. So you call the phone company again, and have the same difficulty getting through. You ask ever so politely where he is. They say: 'Oh, sorry, do you want to schedule for another date, three weeks from today?' You have an aneurysm."

"You try to get a National Insurance number, much like a SingPass. The only way is to call a number and arrange an interview with a department of whatnot. They are just as bad as the phone company. After the umpteenth try, you get an automated voice telling you to leave a message after the beep. It beeps, and the voice goes: 'The mailbox is full. Goodbye!' You rip your lung out."

A friend in Brisbane has similar frustrations. "I'm risking hundreds of dollars in fines every day, parking near my house, because I don't have a pass. It takes two to three months to process - minimum. You tell me, where can I hide a car?"

I could go on with the stories, but they invariably end the same way. "This would never happen in Singers!"

It is this quality of life, so easy to take for granted, that gets me all defensive when someone criticises our little island. I have come across visitors who adopt a condescending or pitying tone when talking about citizens here. Words like "stifled" and "nannied" get tossed about, riling me into a rare nationalistic fervour. Stand up for Singapore they say, at least to a disrespectful guest.



PHOTO: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2513/3711861588_b1de15e29f.jpg

It may not be perfect, nor does it claim to be, but it works for me. Where I want to, I will give it five ninja stars.
By Chung Lyn-Yi, lynyi@mediacorp.com.sg, 05:55 AM Aug 07, 2010

The writer is a senior producer at Channel NewsAsia.




PHOTO: One People, One Nation, One Moment Of Glory!
weekend today August 7 - 8, 2010, PAGE T15
http://imcms2.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/PDF/20100807/0708MTW015.pdf


Reference
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

Saturday, February 13, 2010

No love for Valentine's Day? You're not alone

WEEKEND TODAY, FEBRUARY 13 - 14, 2010, VOICES, PAGE 35
http://imcms2.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/PDF/20100213/1302VCW034.pdf
By Chung Lyn-Yi, lynyi@mediacorp.com.sg
05:55 AM Feb 13, 2010





Some couples do seem to get it right but I prefer to spend it in the company of girlfriends




For years, I have regarded Valentine's Day as something that is "much to his horror, mush to her delight".

I know a little appreciation for a significant other goes a long way. And I respect the need for one sweet day to spoil and be spoiled.

But I otherwise have no romantic notions about the affair, which I have learn, can go easily from V-Day to D-Day. Sometimes, there are painful presents involved that make you reassess your entire relationship.

One friend described to me, mournfully, a laser-cut wood carving of her name, given by her boyfriend. It was too plain to be a plaque, too prominent to be a paperweight.

"It's like he thought you didn't know your own name, and needed a reminder," her mother said, not helping.

My friend did not know what to do with this store-bought wooden expression of love. But it probably lasted longer than she and her boyfriend did, before it too, was dumped.

To this day, it ranks right up there on the top of our Worst Gift List. And it is second only to the Titanic soundtrack, played in erhu.



I had stumbled upon this rare instrumental CD in a neighbourhood shop years ago. (On a serious note, you have not experienced torture, until you have heard My Heart Will Go On teased out in the wailing strains of the Chinese fiddle.)

Much as I love a good gag gift as well, there are some things that make you go "Hmmm". For example, I recently read that soft toys of giant microbes are massively popular gifts in the States.

An innovative online retailer has gamely stocked up on heart-shaped boxes in the run-up to this weekend.

And it all sounds rather cute until you realise that it is not the Love Bug but viruses such as Herpes, HIV and H1N1 that are flying off the shelves.

I guess the chance to say "I gave my darling a sexually-transmitted disease for Valentine's Day" is too hard to pass up for some. Only for those who love a sick sense of humour.

Then there is the issue of bloomingly expensive bouquets. These are beautiful to have and to hold. But, they can plant seeds of doubt in your mind, on whether your potential husband knows the value of money.

I know some people who try valiantly to make the most of these overpriced flowers. They either dry out the stalks, or Google how to make potpourri. But as my friend observed: "Dusty rose often looks better as a colour, than as a dead flower in your living room."

To top it all off, there might be Valentine's Day restaurant promotions that leave a bitter aftertaste for the evening.

I remember feeling horribly hungry after one such set dinner at a modest Italian eatery. The teeny tiny portions did not match the huge price that was in itself, hard to stomach.

And I was too shocked by the coincidentally hiked-up prices of the a la carte dishes to order more.

I must stress that some couples do seem to get it right. They enjoy thoughtful gift exchanges without overstating the importance of the day.

And they have fun-filled celebrations that do not cross that line between cosy and casual, and costly and contrived.


PHOTO: http://www.seek4shopping.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Wags_2.jpg


But for all the other reasons above, I prefer marking Valentine's Day the non-traditional way - in the company of girlfriends rather than men. We will huddle up with a good DVD and random bits of comfort food like potato chips, cheese and sashimi.

I expect a night of laughs over the "ghosts of boyfriends and Valentines' past" and presents which are pretty, yet practical. And I can think of no better people to celebrate a day of love and affection with, than the girls who are in many ways, the supporting cast through all of life's drama.


PHOTO: http://www.vacationplanning.net/blogs/blog_christen/09-07-27/Girlfriends_Getaway_to_WaterColor.aspx


There might be nosy relatives who look unconvinced by our single-mindedly indulgent plans this Valentine's cum Chinese New Year. But this will not dampen our spirits.

In any case, we can just tell them: No catty remarks in the Year of the Tiger.
Chung Lyn-Yi, lynyi@mediacorp.com.sg
The writer is a senior producer at Channel NewsAsia.



PHOTO: Sentosa's Light of Spring from 13 to 21 Feburary 2010 (Free Event)
WEEKEND TODAY, FEBRUARY 13 - 14, 2010, VOICES, PAGE 36
http://imcms2.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/PDF/20100213/1302BPW036.pdf



Reference
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)