litany of complaints...
before u get me wrong, its George's, not mine.
pple have always seen me as a friendly, reliable and (hopefully also) mature friend who is always willing and available to spare a listening ear to listen to their problems. and i am really very happy to be trusted and be able to provide this service.
over the years, pple told me about their relationship problems, their unobtainable crushes (or of the pple who crush or propose to them), their unsolvable family issues, neverending financial issues, unsurmountable political/environmental issues and often even philosophical issues (of which i like best). i hope ive been helpful in relieving their stress by the action of sharing, and that my advice have proved more helpful than damaging.
since my return to sg for this summer break, ive heard more than my fair share of problems from friends. but its fair enough. im pretty free and always interested (ie kaypoh) to hear about relationship issues anyway. but things seem to get more serious than that.
just a few days ago, my neighbour, a malay mother of 3 girls, youngest in p4 and oldest graduating from poly this year, popped over just before 11pm with slices of a homemade durian cake and we spent about 1 hour+++ chatting about family, the as-yet-unseen economic recovery, kid-raising in sg, migration out of sg, baking, financial management and much much more than is appropriate to be mentioned here. well, it wasnt so bad. kind of nice to talk with a intellectual mature housewife once in a while. (even if it was at the expense of my darling who waited futilely over skype and msn, sorry dear. =*)
but tonight's experience is a bit over the top. after sending darling off to her mum at orchard, this middle-aged (~40?) english-speaking chinese man chatted me up while i was waiting for the jurong-bound train: "boy, u finished NS already? Nonsense Service right?"
with such an innovative pickup line, this uncle (whom i found out later to be George) proceeded to gave me a whole lecture of the general lousiness of NS and the SAF (of which i know very well), of LKY and GCT and his ineffective son LHL, how he was posted as a "hokkien peng" even though he had an A Level cert, how he stood commanders up, about white horses, that he travelled the world (and i think he lived in LA), dropped snippets of history into his talk, supposedly chatted with health minister's daughter this afternn, atomic bombs, and a whole boatload of other complaints about Pay-And-Pay, the gahment, and everything else Singaporean.
and of course, i kept my peace, kept my mouth shut from joining him, and smile my radiant smile which everyone loves.
but really. this is getting out of hand.
(on hindsight, i wonder. if sg really that bad now? is the rose-tinted glasses im currently wearing more tinted than i tot? why did both adults reflect the same issues to me: leave the country?)
anyway, he alighted from the train with me, and obtained my email address (and im sorry to peter.koh(at)gmail.com, i didnt intentionally wished u be spammed). and i had to walk a round-about route home fearing he is a real lunatic and might follow me home.
but he was a nice guy. just plain feddup with the country, with the world. and he actually thanked me for being kind enough to listen to his rumblings, which allowed him to calm down, unlike "other pple which agitate me even more, until i talk until they run away leaving their tatoos behind". note i never addressed his complaints as "rubbish", cuz i know they are not.
uncle george, take care of yourself. hope i have been of help. hope u found urself a nice coffeeshop in sembawang to have a good rest. wishing u all the best.
pple have always seen me as a friendly, reliable and (hopefully also) mature friend who is always willing and available to spare a listening ear to listen to their problems. and i am really very happy to be trusted and be able to provide this service.
over the years, pple told me about their relationship problems, their unobtainable crushes (or of the pple who crush or propose to them), their unsolvable family issues, neverending financial issues, unsurmountable political/environmental issues and often even philosophical issues (of which i like best). i hope ive been helpful in relieving their stress by the action of sharing, and that my advice have proved more helpful than damaging.
since my return to sg for this summer break, ive heard more than my fair share of problems from friends. but its fair enough. im pretty free and always interested (ie kaypoh) to hear about relationship issues anyway. but things seem to get more serious than that.
just a few days ago, my neighbour, a malay mother of 3 girls, youngest in p4 and oldest graduating from poly this year, popped over just before 11pm with slices of a homemade durian cake and we spent about 1 hour+++ chatting about family, the as-yet-unseen economic recovery, kid-raising in sg, migration out of sg, baking, financial management and much much more than is appropriate to be mentioned here. well, it wasnt so bad. kind of nice to talk with a intellectual mature housewife once in a while. (even if it was at the expense of my darling who waited futilely over skype and msn, sorry dear. =*)
but tonight's experience is a bit over the top. after sending darling off to her mum at orchard, this middle-aged (~40?) english-speaking chinese man chatted me up while i was waiting for the jurong-bound train: "boy, u finished NS already? Nonsense Service right?"
with such an innovative pickup line, this uncle (whom i found out later to be George) proceeded to gave me a whole lecture of the general lousiness of NS and the SAF (of which i know very well), of LKY and GCT and his ineffective son LHL, how he was posted as a "hokkien peng" even though he had an A Level cert, how he stood commanders up, about white horses, that he travelled the world (and i think he lived in LA), dropped snippets of history into his talk, supposedly chatted with health minister's daughter this afternn, atomic bombs, and a whole boatload of other complaints about Pay-And-Pay, the gahment, and everything else Singaporean.
and of course, i kept my peace, kept my mouth shut from joining him, and smile my radiant smile which everyone loves.
but really. this is getting out of hand.
(on hindsight, i wonder. if sg really that bad now? is the rose-tinted glasses im currently wearing more tinted than i tot? why did both adults reflect the same issues to me: leave the country?)
anyway, he alighted from the train with me, and obtained my email address (and im sorry to peter.koh(at)gmail.com, i didnt intentionally wished u be spammed). and i had to walk a round-about route home fearing he is a real lunatic and might follow me home.
but he was a nice guy. just plain feddup with the country, with the world. and he actually thanked me for being kind enough to listen to his rumblings, which allowed him to calm down, unlike "other pple which agitate me even more, until i talk until they run away leaving their tatoos behind". note i never addressed his complaints as "rubbish", cuz i know they are not.
uncle george, take care of yourself. hope i have been of help. hope u found urself a nice coffeeshop in sembawang to have a good rest. wishing u all the best.
