SINGAPORE SHORT STORIES

well before the advent of blogs, i did keep a diary, and guess when I started? I started to write diary during my NS times, when it was definitely a very bad time for me. At that time, I was quiet and the bunk mates thought I was an antisocial and.......... well, many bad things happened to me as a result. I wrote diary from the day I was enlisted. While others were sleeping, calling their girlfriends, there I was, scribbling away in my diary...... I even brought a few chunks of paper out in the jungle and wrote under the moonlight while doing sentry or to pass the time while being 'tekan' by the commando mosquitoes. I wrote and wrote, transferring the scribbles of paper to my proper diary when I was free during my NS time. Then, my diary grew and grew...from one notebook to 5 notebook. I also continued to write when I was in Thailand, Taiwan and Brunei doing training. So, my diary that I started while in NS chronicled my days of life from Day 1 to my ORD day. Some years back,

As I walked out of my lift today, a 50 years old looking local woman put out her hand and asked me to give her $2. I rejected her, only to hear her begging for me to give .......... This was not the first time I was approached to give money to strangers, this was the 4th or 5th time I was being approached. I was being approached by two Chinese Nationals some other times, and by 2 to 3 locals including the woman I encountered today. It was hard to ascertain whether the old lady really needs the money or is a quack. I believe though Singaporeans are generally well-0ff, there still exists a fraction of society who really needs help socially and monetarily. I may be able to give her $2 today, someone may give her another $2 tomorrow, but will it solve the problem? All these donations will just help her temporarily. I believe the best person to help her is herself but she may not be in the best frame of mind to know that. On hindsight, if not for my rushing of work, I should have listened t

"25-year-old Captain Ho Si Qiu, a platoon commander at the Singapore Armed Forces Officer Cadet School, collapsed at 7am at the end of his 21-kilometre run. Medics attended to him within 30 seconds. At the medical post, an intubation was performed and when no heart rhythm was shown, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was immediately carried out. Captain Ho failed to respond and was sent to the hospital some 20 minutes later. The cause of his death is being investigated. " -CNA Another young life taken during sports activity......... There have been a number of cases this year whereby young fit, energetic and young atheltes collasped after some exercises/sports and never to recover again .....

How time flies! Today, the Sheares Bridge Run comes once again! Similar to previous years, I participated in this year’s run, which has been billed as the Singapore Bay Run to reflect the increasing strategic positioning of the Marina Bay to Singapore. In Marina Bay, one has the upcoming IRs, the Singapore Flyer and the Floating Platform which will be slated to stage key local and international events. Mentioning the Floating Platform, this year’s run will end at the platform for all categories! It is thus a different experience with a different finishing point. Last year’s finishing point was at the Padang. I participated in the 6km run, not that I do not have the stamina to tackle longer distances (in fact I am a long distance runner), but I just want to enjoy the scenery, the festive mood along the whole running route. More important is the feeling of running on busy roads in the CBD (how many times in a year can one do that?). This year’s event was better arranged as promised by th

Sometimes, when one is working, one need not be too engrossed in the work too much and neglect safety. How dangerous it is for the man in the picture!

How many of us can stop and observe the surroundings and realise the beauty of nature? Many of us are caught in the daily grind of city life, it is time to learn to slow down and realise the beauty of nature!

A fourth university is in the pipeline. The creation of another university is to create more graduates and hence more knowledge workers for the knowledge era and to feed the demands of the globalising economy. Personally, I hope the government will adopt a considered and holistic evaluation before deciding to embark on the creation of another university. True, there will be many graduates with the creation of another university, but Singapore is always subject to the vagaries of the global economy. Problems abound should there be an influx of graduates into the market who could not find suitable jobs in the future. What distinct features should the new university have? Should it be a full-fledged university or a specialised university? Instead of building another university, Singapore should attract more foreign prominent universities into Singapore to offer an alternative mix of international curriculum for the students. The sudden closure of New South Wales university and similar sud

Singapore is determined to host the Youth Olympics in 2010. According to MCYS, it is hoped that through the hosting of the Olympics, the local youth sport arena can be revived and our youth will be inspired to take part and excel in sports. On a personal note, I believe we do not really need the organization of such a mega-event to revive interest and spur our youth to participate and excel in sports. There are many ways to galvanize our youth towards sports that we can explore collectively. Of late, Singapore is headed towards economic pursuits such as the clinching of events such as the F1 tournament slated to commence end of this year. Even the building of tourist attractions such as the Fly Wheel, the IRs, the new Botanic Gardens and the development of Marina Bay smacks of economical factors. These developments no doubt may become nice places of attractions for locals to hang out with. However have these developments really factor in what Singaporeans really want? The historic Nati

One spends the major portion of his time in work. Thus if he is not happy in work, he will most likely be unhappy in his life. Indeed, in work, one can seldom be happy, due to office politics, unreasonable bosses, terrible colleagues. ....... Cultivating a good relationship whenever possible with colleagues is important to have a happier work life. This happier work life will lead to a happier life. To achieve that, many people may wear a mask when working, humouring all their boss and colleagues. When work is over, they return home, and take off their mask to assume their other family roles. Sometimes we read how people are so stressed at work but do not voice out and when they return home, they release their pent-up anger, abusing and/or scolding their servants, children and wife.

I am always disappointed to see many people in my office lazing around at work and putting on a false front at work. Some are blatantly playing internets, msn, reading online newspapers, chatting, playing games ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, One should work hard at work and be deserving of a day's pay. But with increasing globalisation, increasing contract work, divestment, mergers, acquisition, there is no social compact between the employer and employee. There is no heart string to bind the two and the modern employee is always dispensable. The modern employee does not owe the company their loyalty knowing that they themselves can be laid off too. Thus is it any wonder when there is an opportunity to laze, people will stoop to this basic instinct?

I really have the pleasure to indulge in good hawker food at reasonable prices these two days, one at an upgraded hawker centre and the other at an old market. The term, ‘hawker centre’ is an oxymoron as hawkers are mobile beings and thus how are we able to put them in a centre? The National Environment Agency (NEA) has upgraded many old hawker centres to good standards, aesthetically, hygienically and physically. However, with the renovation of the hawker centres, the price of the food has risen and the old charm of the hawker centre is no longer there …. …

From my visit of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Sago Street today, I learnt that the personification of the future Buddha, Maitreta Buddha is not really a fat, happy and bald monk. According to the learning exhibition hall on the 3rd storey, this fat and happy monk lived in one of the early Chinese dynasty and he could forsee the future Buddha and often shouts out his name. As no one really knows how the future Buddha looks like, over time, the future Buddha becomes personified as him.

Are personality tests always accurate? I certainly do not think so. I believe human beings are made up of a host of personalities and these personalities do change over time and after some mind-etching experiences. Thus if one is to sit down for a personality test made up of multiple choice questions, there are definitely overlaps of answers for which he could choose. And hence there should be a range of personalities for any person. Society needs people of different personalities to function. Some are born leaders, some are followers, some are carers and some are tyrants. If you are interested, please go to google and search for personality tests to find out more about your character !

As I was walking along the pavement, I suddenly heard a loud thump and saw the woman in front of me slip on a wet drain cover, and landed 180 degrees to the ground. Her husband helped her up, asking her whether she was okay and her answer was affirmative. I hope she is okay now, because such a fall may cause undesirable damage to the spinal bones. The stock market also suffered a similar heavy fall. Many stocks went crashing down, and to a new low ……………………

I watched the rally live in the NUS university cultural centre. It was an eye opener as I saw many important figures like the DPM, Chief Justice, Chief of Defence Force just around me in the reception. Overall, I can say that this year’s rally was very concise, precise, to the point, relevant to Singaporean’s immediate concerns and packed with whole punch of humour! PM Lee cleverly infuses humour into his rally speech, for example, he remarked how Minister of State of Education Lui Tuck Yew wore red to match the old samusi lady he was chatting! Education, income gaps, CPFs and housing rejuvenations were the key focuses in this year’s budget. Singapore decided to increase the proportion of graduates to 30% in years to come and decided to build a new fourth university. Academics remarked the building of another university should be geared more towards meeting the needs of Singapore and Singaporeans rather than for the sole purpose of raising the number of graduates. This is a relevant po

Today, PM Lee will deliver his National Day Rally Speech at the National University of Singapore University Cultural Centre at 1845 hours. Billed as the most important speech for Singaporeans of the year, his speech will shed light on the directions for Singapore in the years to come. It is highly expected that PM Lee will cover the rising ageing population and the widening income gap, both which possess social problems for Singapore. And last but not least, Singapore like other countries will not be spared from the effects of globalisation, and hence this aspect will also be expected to be covered in PM's speech.

Taliban in Afghanistan has struck again today, capturing another hostage: a German woman this time round when 19 Korean hostages were still being held in captivity by them . Terrorism is always a war to be fought by the cooperation of all countries. The terrorists always seek or rather resort to undermean techniques to realise their purposes. Terrorism after 911, in my opinion has become even worst after the war against the Taliban and the war in Iraq were fought. These two countries, especially Iraq has become living hells, when car bombs are set off everyday, murders and other heinous crimes conducted freely ....... There is no turning back now, terrorism will never fade as long as the twisted ideologies of some radicals group is always alive which influence the future pipelines of successors of terrorisms.

I do not know whether it is a matter of lowest quotes which may compromise the quality of public facilities, but to I had discovered that the lift in my block suffered from very poor quality. Last time, when I lived in the older estates, when the lift just closed, I could still press for the door to open, for my neighbours who had attempted to take the lift just before it closed. With the new design, on many days, I find myself frantically pressing the button to open the lift door for my neighbours who had rushed to take the lift. Unfortunately, the lift door refused to open and the neighbour stared at me, mistaken that I had refused to help press the door for their entry. This small glitch of the lift could put a damper on the relationships between the residents of the whole block as misunderstandings develop and misperceptions grow.

well, one interesting thing I would like to share with readers was an incident relating to a knock on the door. Last week, around 0600 hrs, when I had just woken up and brush my teeth and when my brother had also woken up, we heard our door being knocked by someone in this early hours. It was incessant knocking, amidst the silence of this hour, and the rattlings on the doors continued for two rounds. Looking through the peephole, I saw a nothing, black pitchness and it made the atmosphere even eerier. I knew I have to open else the rattlings on the door would just continued. With my brother behind me, though I was nearly 30, this kind of thing still made me tremble a bit. With a deep breath, I unlocked the door chain, positioned myself to be sideway (just in case an Ah long threw acid water or wat or ghost do silly things), and with a swift turn of the door, I opened it to find ................. a short white-haired man, who looked intoxicated. He was familar to me, living two storeys

As I live everyday in this small tiny island, I always observe that Singaporeans seem to be engulfed in a state of complacency: believing that the good and prosperous economy is always a given and enjoying the fruits of the economy without realising that our economy is one that is subject to the vagaries of the global economy and global, regional competition. Singaporeans seem to be apatheic politically and apatheic socially, always asking government how it can do to better improve their lives without thinking that the whole country as a whole depends on each and every Singaporean. Singapore is scare of natural resources and our most valuable resource is our people. We need talented people as well to continually innovate and be the drivers for our economy in the midst of increasing competition regionally and internationally. Singapore welcomes foreign talents, which will help us further grow our economy and create jobs for Singaporeans. However, the notion of ‘foreign talent’ is one th

Two Korean female hostages had been released yesterday as a goodwill gesture by the Taliban towards the Korea government. The fate of the other 19 Korean hostages remain to be seen. This remaining group of hostages consisted of 16 ladies. Two korean male hostages had been killed to date. When the female hostages were found, they were draped in Arabic costumes. Lets pray for peace to the remaining Korean hostages!

At this moment of writing, the fate of the 23 Koreans who were abducted on 17 July 2007 last month: 2 were shot and killed 2 sick women are in the process of being freed by the Taliban on medical grounds The rest were still captives

The content of Singapore's TV shows is getting from bad to worse. Just see the variety shows that we have now on Monday by Jack Neo. In this variety show, an obese woman is featured every week to be made joke of, being called 'pigs' and other stupid names. I pity the obese gal who willingly takes up such a role to be ridiculated in front of all Singaporeans. She has no sense of pride at all, and to think the producers of this variety show resorts to such a low class humour, to appease and make Singaporeans laugh. If Singaporeans still laugh at such low class jokes, then we are indeed fools both mentally and for paying to watch such low-class jokes and to have our mentality insulted. I have just watched a snippet of a variety show just now around 2130 hours on Channel 8 today at 12 Aug 2007. I watched how a gal, a willing partner subjected herself to have her hair cut by Quan Yifeng, one of the hosts of this show (title of this show, i dun bother to find out, if you want, yo

A colleague of mine lost his father when he sent him into a hospital after a fall. He developed complications during his stay in the hospital which eventually led to his death. I lost my grandfather the same way too. It was just diarrhoea for him and then once he went into the hospital, more complications set in and eventually he told me he could not make it and he passed on. I have heard many similar stories before for old folks sent to hospitals for simple health problems and to never return. Is it due to old man's health or the doctor's use of medications which may prove too strong for old folks? Sometimes I shuddered as to the real cause of these old folks' death? Is it due to poor resistance to medications or complications developed or..............?

Different people exist in the world. The thinking and mindset of people shape their actions. This thinking is affected by experience, education, family upbringing. I was shocked to see some people, though in their fifties still act like a child. Others act in a very demanding and selfish, greedy and arrogant manner. Nothing satisfies them, they want MORE of everything.....and when there is any goodie, they want more and think the whole world owes them a living. Though the material life of Singaporeans is on the upside, their spiritual front is still lacking. True enough, there are 666 000 millionaires in Singapore, but how many of them are millionaires in heartware? Singaporeans lead a fast life and also their lives they lead are increasingly influenced by the West. It is sad to see falling moral values among Singaporeans, including young teens. There are so much ungracious acts committed by Singaporeans in everyday life. Littering is always a perennial issue. Bus misconduct is always

With 3G, video and camera phones now the norm in today’s society, news broadcasting has also taken on a different dimension. STOMP is one such innovative channel of news generation and broadcasting. With STOMP, everyone with a 3G, video or camera phone or digital phone can be reporters, news generators, with the videos or images taken to supplement their ‘news’. A visit to the STOMP website and one will be baffled by the hundreds of news reported by ordinary folks with pictures and videos to substantiate their stories. These stories can however be deceptive and there is no one to confirm the veracity of the stories. A picture can be interpreted by the ‘reporter’ in different ways subject to his own bias and perceptions. For example, a man telling off an old man who is a bully may have his photo taken and interpreted by the reporter as bullying an old man and uploaded to the cyber world and the distorted view soon disseminates ………

Today, as I was waiting for the MRT to work, i saw a young man, aged no more than 25 yrs old, also taking the MRT. What set him apart from the rest of the regular commuters was that he was using a pair of crutches and he has only one leg! It is obvious that he was going to work. Can you imagine what a strong-will man he is? Despites being left with only a leg and having to commute using crutches, this young man is still trying to lead a normal life despites his handicap. Seeing this, sometimes I feel guilty of being fussy about things here and there when in life, some people are much less fortunate than us. It is a solemn reminder that we should treasure our lives, our health and also to help others in need. More importantly, we should let go of some small problems and realise we are happy and fortunate.

In affluent Singapore, one can still see beggars, young, old, male or female. Some are actually foreigners. In the newspapers today, it was reported that China will jail those giving to beggars and the beggars who receive the donations. Singapore may want to follow suit.

The happiest man in the world is an insane man. An insane man is trapped in his world of idealistic globe and eutopia. I have seen an insame man listening to a walkman and smiling, laughing happily, oblivious to the surroundings, unconcerned that others view him in pity and trapped forever in his world ... ...

The quarterlife crisis is a term applied to the period of life immediately following the major changes of adolescence, usually ranging from ages 21 - 29. The term is named by analogy with mid-life crisis. It is now recognised by many therapists and professionals in the mental health field. Alexandra Robbins and Abby Wilner coined the phrase with the first book to identify this phenomenon: Quarterlife Crisis, the Unique Challenges of Life in your Twenties. The phenomenon has been identified in Japan as " freeter ". Emotional aspects Characteristics of quarter-life crisis include: feeling "not good enough" because one can't find a job that is at one's academic/intellectual level frustration with relationships, the working world, and finding a suitable job or career confusion of identity insecurity regarding the near future insecurity regarding present accomplishments re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships disappointment with one's job nostalgia