small world, small land, small mind
after being back in sunny-rainy-humid singas for more than 3 weeks now, i am beginning to tire of it. sadly, it must be admitted that singaporeans have nothing better to do. for lack of a better description, the reason for shopping and eating to become the national pastime has dawned on me.
as a land-scarce island, we lack the option of taking a drive, of getting away from the [madding] crowds. i once watched a show put up by 2nd-year theatre students about stereotypes. one of them being "asians like to live in small spaces". tough though it is to debunk this, i'd certainly not find any reason to, as i dodge members of an errant crowd on orchard road. the 10pm crowd is as viscious (and viscuous) as the 6pm one.
that the giant christmas ornaments lend a rather contrived atmosphere bothers me to some extent. i can't remember feeling this way in earlier years. even my jam-phobic dad (who'd go to any extent to avoid traffic jams) used to willingly get stuck in the orchard-road jam in order that we could admire the lights from the air-conditioned interior of our car. adding to more pollution than if we had been outside jostling with the crowd, i know. but still.
in order to promote a robust economy made up chiefly of year-end spending, shopping centres - even those in the heartlands have lent their horses to the bandwagon of parting more-than-willing customers with their cash. junction8 has become a veritable strawberry-shortcake wonderland, with a stage set up for competitions, lucky draws, road shows and various other forms of marketing gimmicks. it has become a labyrinth i would have loved to lose my 8-yr-old self in. still, i suppose there has to be something left by way of "childhood joys" for the kids of the present generation.
the crowds on the streets and in the characterless malls take on a sinister appearance once i realise they have nothing else to do with their free time, save more shopping and window-shopping and hanging out where "the lights are much brighter, listening to the music of the traffic in the city, lingering on the sidewalks where they neon signs are pretty..." petula clark sure knew what she was singing about, downtown.
as a land-scarce island, we lack the option of taking a drive, of getting away from the [madding] crowds. i once watched a show put up by 2nd-year theatre students about stereotypes. one of them being "asians like to live in small spaces". tough though it is to debunk this, i'd certainly not find any reason to, as i dodge members of an errant crowd on orchard road. the 10pm crowd is as viscious (and viscuous) as the 6pm one.
that the giant christmas ornaments lend a rather contrived atmosphere bothers me to some extent. i can't remember feeling this way in earlier years. even my jam-phobic dad (who'd go to any extent to avoid traffic jams) used to willingly get stuck in the orchard-road jam in order that we could admire the lights from the air-conditioned interior of our car. adding to more pollution than if we had been outside jostling with the crowd, i know. but still.
in order to promote a robust economy made up chiefly of year-end spending, shopping centres - even those in the heartlands have lent their horses to the bandwagon of parting more-than-willing customers with their cash. junction8 has become a veritable strawberry-shortcake wonderland, with a stage set up for competitions, lucky draws, road shows and various other forms of marketing gimmicks. it has become a labyrinth i would have loved to lose my 8-yr-old self in. still, i suppose there has to be something left by way of "childhood joys" for the kids of the present generation.
the crowds on the streets and in the characterless malls take on a sinister appearance once i realise they have nothing else to do with their free time, save more shopping and window-shopping and hanging out where "the lights are much brighter, listening to the music of the traffic in the city, lingering on the sidewalks where they neon signs are pretty..." petula clark sure knew what she was singing about, downtown.
posted by limegreenspyda at 4:09:00 pm
6 Comments:
And you've only *just* come to realize this? Heh. :P
The key to surviving December in Singapore is to avoid Orchard Road at all costs.
Of course, last year, I actually went Xmas shopping on Xmas Eve --- silly me ;)
hear, hear.
try Christmas in Melbs one day. I'm actually having quite alot of fun =) even though i miss home
Haha, find something different to do lor! Haha... I just went over to the new National Library the other day, quite nice... Got Cheng Ho exhibition somemore! Haha....
Boredom is a state of mind. But then again, I'm an easily amused kind of guy ;)
maoie: i think it's never been too huge an issue with me until now, somehow. i'm a late bloomer, i'm sure you know. :D
tym: ... and the next thing you'd advocate NOT to do (but end up doing anyway) is visit chinatown on the eve of CNY too.
s: so. what have you been doing since getting your ass back to singas?
adinahaes: yup. will be doing that next year. a summer-y christmas should be nothing too out of the ordinary, hey?
barney: what?! you've only *just* gone to visit the library at bras basah? i've already been there twice since coming back!
it doesn't help that most friends are working during the day either.
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