Sunday, September 19, 2004
Got this off a site and added my own observations
36 signs you've been in Singapore too long, especially if you come from a Western country
-> 36 sign you were from Singapore, and now stay in a Western country
1. You've lost your sense of irony, sarcasm, and cynicism.
-> I've regained these.
2. You don't know what's lame and what isn't anymore.
-> I know!
3. You think there's nothing wrong with putting chili sauce on everything you eat.
-> For the first two months, that's exactly what i did. Nowadays, i use BBQ sauce, mustard etc.
4. You wait for instructions from people in authority before doing anything. Always.
-> It's quite unfair. Some of the people i know in APOC doesn't wait for instructions, while some here do.
5. You join queues without knowing or caring what the queue is for.
-> It's actually quite common here to see long queues, for things such as Fable, Halo 2 (already tons of people are planning to queue up on 11/8 night at game shops)
6. You know what "queue" means!!
-> See above
7. Your idea of a good night out consists of having dinner at a hawker centre, drinking beer, and then going to another hawker centre and eating again.
-> Have a nice meal, enjoy some music if possibe, and relax
8. You've lost your ability to criticize people in higher positions than you, even if they're wrong.
-> Criticize all you want, but here the political atmosphere is getting somewhat closer to Singapore than youw ould think.
9. You think it's okay to have only one meaningful choice on a ballot.
-> Here, it's choosing the lesser of two problems.
10. "Crossing the country" means taking the MRT to the end of the line.
-> Just crossing the city takes a while, even at 70mph on the freeway.
11. You have a high tolerance for nagging.
-> Get to the point, man!
12.Most or all of these acronyms make sense to you: NUS; NTU; ERP; SDU; PAP; MRT; LKY; GCT; PRC; TIBS; SBS; SMS; JB; JBJ; AMK; AYE; PIE; ECP; ISD; ISA; 5 C's; CPF; CHIJMES; SPG; CWO.
-> Other than internal acronyms, nothing else have as much of these.
13. You use too many acronyms when you talk, or you create new ones.
-> again, only for internal discussions. It's funny how many references to MOM we can get.
14. You think that nothing makes a girl or guy more attractive than to dress exactly like hundreds of thousands of othe girls and guys who all dress exactly like girls and guys in malls.
-> Individuals rule! by wearing the same individualistic clothes 8)
15. You think that S$100,000 [= US$ 57,000] is a reasonable price for a Toyota Corolla and S$1,000,000 is a reasonable price for a bungalow, but S$5 [= US$2.85] for a plate of fried noodles is a barbarous outrage.
-> I got my car for 3400 USD. A plate of "singapore" fried noodles cost about 10 US.
16. You believe that not being able to get decent roti prata outside Singapore is enough to keep the best and the brightest people from leaving.
-> I'll live. Helps in my diet too!
17. You see nothing wrong with forming committees of select elite people to deliberate and study ways to stimulate creativity and spontaneity.
-> Sad to say, my immediate dept forms meetings of selective people to discuss ways how to do more meetings (ala Dilbert)
18. You justify every argument with the phrase "in order for us to be competitive in the 21st century."
-> Actually, for this point i think here's actually pretty similar to Singapore
19. You think everything should be "topped up."
-> Supersize is no longer in vogue!
20. You see nothing unusual about an organization of trade unions spending more time owning and operating supermarkets, parks, drugstores, amusement nightclubs, and financial services than planning the next strike.
-> Strikes!
21. You believe that a lack of land is enough justification for the goverment to do what it wants.
-> Here, a perceived risk is enough.
22. You wear winter clothes indoors and summer clothes outdoors.
-> Wearing the clothes IN the season they are meant for.
23. Durian and belachan no longer stink to you.
-> Durians here are frozen to minimize the smell. THANK goodness. Belachan, hard to find man.
24. You like to have fun, but not too much fun, since you need to correctly gauge the amount of fun necessary to achieve the optimal result. Any more fun that that would bring shame to your family and your country.
-> Just like the Beach Boys said/sung "fun fun fun fun fun"
25. You're not confused by a street naming system that locates streets like Clementi Road, Clementi Street, Clementi Crescent, Clementi Lane, Clementi Drive, Clementi Way, and Clementi Avenues 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 all within walking distance of each other.
-> here all streets are numbered in the correct order, and a general sense of direction is helpful, though the signs could've been clearer.
26. You get irritated if you don't see a sign telling you how long your wait's going to be for a bus, a train, or the expressway to take you where you want to go.
-> Relax and chill.
27. You're certain that Holland Village is for hippie bohemian artist types and not for overpaid yuppies.
-> There are quite a number of bohemian gathering areas.
28. When you cross the border into Malaysia, you automatically and deeply fear for your life and your wallet. Especially your wallet!!
-> Here, people cross the border into Vancouver for good and cheap food.
29. No matter what you're doing at the moment, you'd rather be shopping.
-> I'd rather be relaxing at home/
30. No matter how miserable you may be here, you thank God you're not in Indonesia.
-> Phew.
31. You're impressed by high-rise apartment buildings with actual lobbies instead of bare exposed pillars on the ground floor [such as are found in much government-built housing].
-> It's almost a rare thing to see any buildings more than 5 levels tall in my immediate area. Only the downtown areas of major cities have buildings tall to block the sun.
32. You forgot what chewing gum tastes like.
-> I dont even care what it taste like.
33. You're sure that the best way to change social behaviour is through consistent and comprehensive government-sponsored campaigns that permeate as many aspects of daily life as possible. And when they don't work, you never speak of them again.
-> Just do what you want to do man.
34. You agree that what the government thinks of your personal habits and lifestyle should determine whether you get a condo and how much you pay for it.
-> You get what you pay for. No one else cares.
35. You've become a fan of either Arsenal, Manchester United, or Liverpool when you barely knew what soccer was before you came to Singapore. And you don't care that none of these teams are Singaporean!
-> Simi si soccer?
36. You think a bus is incomplete without a TV.
-> Thank goodness the transit here doesnt have TV at all. Enjoy the ride.
-> 36 sign you were from Singapore, and now stay in a Western country
1. You've lost your sense of irony, sarcasm, and cynicism.
-> I've regained these.
2. You don't know what's lame and what isn't anymore.
-> I know!
3. You think there's nothing wrong with putting chili sauce on everything you eat.
-> For the first two months, that's exactly what i did. Nowadays, i use BBQ sauce, mustard etc.
4. You wait for instructions from people in authority before doing anything. Always.
-> It's quite unfair. Some of the people i know in APOC doesn't wait for instructions, while some here do.
5. You join queues without knowing or caring what the queue is for.
-> It's actually quite common here to see long queues, for things such as Fable, Halo 2 (already tons of people are planning to queue up on 11/8 night at game shops)
6. You know what "queue" means!!
-> See above
7. Your idea of a good night out consists of having dinner at a hawker centre, drinking beer, and then going to another hawker centre and eating again.
-> Have a nice meal, enjoy some music if possibe, and relax
8. You've lost your ability to criticize people in higher positions than you, even if they're wrong.
-> Criticize all you want, but here the political atmosphere is getting somewhat closer to Singapore than youw ould think.
9. You think it's okay to have only one meaningful choice on a ballot.
-> Here, it's choosing the lesser of two problems.
10. "Crossing the country" means taking the MRT to the end of the line.
-> Just crossing the city takes a while, even at 70mph on the freeway.
11. You have a high tolerance for nagging.
-> Get to the point, man!
12.Most or all of these acronyms make sense to you: NUS; NTU; ERP; SDU; PAP; MRT; LKY; GCT; PRC; TIBS; SBS; SMS; JB; JBJ; AMK; AYE; PIE; ECP; ISD; ISA; 5 C's; CPF; CHIJMES; SPG; CWO.
-> Other than internal acronyms, nothing else have as much of these.
13. You use too many acronyms when you talk, or you create new ones.
-> again, only for internal discussions. It's funny how many references to MOM we can get.
14. You think that nothing makes a girl or guy more attractive than to dress exactly like hundreds of thousands of othe girls and guys who all dress exactly like girls and guys in malls.
-> Individuals rule! by wearing the same individualistic clothes 8)
15. You think that S$100,000 [= US$ 57,000] is a reasonable price for a Toyota Corolla and S$1,000,000 is a reasonable price for a bungalow, but S$5 [= US$2.85] for a plate of fried noodles is a barbarous outrage.
-> I got my car for 3400 USD. A plate of "singapore" fried noodles cost about 10 US.
16. You believe that not being able to get decent roti prata outside Singapore is enough to keep the best and the brightest people from leaving.
-> I'll live. Helps in my diet too!
17. You see nothing wrong with forming committees of select elite people to deliberate and study ways to stimulate creativity and spontaneity.
-> Sad to say, my immediate dept forms meetings of selective people to discuss ways how to do more meetings (ala Dilbert)
18. You justify every argument with the phrase "in order for us to be competitive in the 21st century."
-> Actually, for this point i think here's actually pretty similar to Singapore
19. You think everything should be "topped up."
-> Supersize is no longer in vogue!
20. You see nothing unusual about an organization of trade unions spending more time owning and operating supermarkets, parks, drugstores, amusement nightclubs, and financial services than planning the next strike.
-> Strikes!
21. You believe that a lack of land is enough justification for the goverment to do what it wants.
-> Here, a perceived risk is enough.
22. You wear winter clothes indoors and summer clothes outdoors.
-> Wearing the clothes IN the season they are meant for.
23. Durian and belachan no longer stink to you.
-> Durians here are frozen to minimize the smell. THANK goodness. Belachan, hard to find man.
24. You like to have fun, but not too much fun, since you need to correctly gauge the amount of fun necessary to achieve the optimal result. Any more fun that that would bring shame to your family and your country.
-> Just like the Beach Boys said/sung "fun fun fun fun fun"
25. You're not confused by a street naming system that locates streets like Clementi Road, Clementi Street, Clementi Crescent, Clementi Lane, Clementi Drive, Clementi Way, and Clementi Avenues 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 all within walking distance of each other.
-> here all streets are numbered in the correct order, and a general sense of direction is helpful, though the signs could've been clearer.
26. You get irritated if you don't see a sign telling you how long your wait's going to be for a bus, a train, or the expressway to take you where you want to go.
-> Relax and chill.
27. You're certain that Holland Village is for hippie bohemian artist types and not for overpaid yuppies.
-> There are quite a number of bohemian gathering areas.
28. When you cross the border into Malaysia, you automatically and deeply fear for your life and your wallet. Especially your wallet!!
-> Here, people cross the border into Vancouver for good and cheap food.
29. No matter what you're doing at the moment, you'd rather be shopping.
-> I'd rather be relaxing at home/
30. No matter how miserable you may be here, you thank God you're not in Indonesia.
-> Phew.
31. You're impressed by high-rise apartment buildings with actual lobbies instead of bare exposed pillars on the ground floor [such as are found in much government-built housing].
-> It's almost a rare thing to see any buildings more than 5 levels tall in my immediate area. Only the downtown areas of major cities have buildings tall to block the sun.
32. You forgot what chewing gum tastes like.
-> I dont even care what it taste like.
33. You're sure that the best way to change social behaviour is through consistent and comprehensive government-sponsored campaigns that permeate as many aspects of daily life as possible. And when they don't work, you never speak of them again.
-> Just do what you want to do man.
34. You agree that what the government thinks of your personal habits and lifestyle should determine whether you get a condo and how much you pay for it.
-> You get what you pay for. No one else cares.
35. You've become a fan of either Arsenal, Manchester United, or Liverpool when you barely knew what soccer was before you came to Singapore. And you don't care that none of these teams are Singaporean!
-> Simi si soccer?
36. You think a bus is incomplete without a TV.
-> Thank goodness the transit here doesnt have TV at all. Enjoy the ride.
