Home Alone

My parents are on a cruise and I've been left alone at home for close to a week. There are pros and cons. I can get to cook when I usually can't, because my mum doesn't trust my cleaning skills! Lol. True! It does get quiet though. I have to keep either the tv or the radio on so that there's some noise. I keep more lights on because I'm alone.

On the rational side, I have responsibilites and tasks to fulfill. It takes some effort to remember to carry them out but it tests my maturity and independent nature, that I can be trusted. I've another chance to show this in Oct.

I miss my parents though. When my dad called back, I was glad to hear his voice. They are coming back tomorrow afternoon. I can't wait to find out about their travels and tell them about this fabulous lunch I had after a baptism service. I pray God brings them back safely to me. :)

Accents

Accents can be abused as a concealment for improper spoken English and vulgarities spewing even. The person may sound 'cool' and "refined" but if one cares to listen beyond the pretty packaging, one will be repulsed after that. It is substance above everything else. Accents can't disguise what's ugly. The truth will come to light. Remember this.

The Internet and Blogs

My modem was not in operation for a week and I could not surf the Internet for that period of time. Initially, I was fine with this unexpected occurrence but as time went by and hope that I could do so again surged, I started feeling a few withdrawal symptoms. The day I could do so, I felt as if life was back to normal for me. :)

There have been articles in the newspapers about the various types of blog entries found online. Two adults in their 20s were charged with making racist remarks in their blogs, spewing vulgarities at a certain race. This spells insensitivity and a potential racial division in our tight-knit society, which may lead to racial riots and national dissension. An inter-school blog championship was also held and Victoria JC won it. Also, the tsunami survivors had documented their feelings about the disaster in their blogs, personal recounts but not in the fictional sense.

A Day in the Life of a Coffeeshop Muser

I was eating at the same coffeeshop I had encountered bad service at sometime back. This time the lady was really polite towards me. Maybe she was tired or in a bad mood that night, or maybe it was due to condescension of a radical division. I'm just guessing.

I was just looking around while waiting for my food and a few customers caught my eye. There was a lady eating alone like I was but she finished her food in record time. Woa, I thought only guys could achieve that. No offence to her. A mother and son were eating at another table and all they ate was plain rice with omelette. I don't think that will suffice for me, as it is very bland in taste and I will need more dishes to complement my rice. A big group of students were having dinner after school and they reminded me of my schooldays when I would have a meal with my good friends too. We used to patronise this Japanese restaurant along Upper Thomson Road.

Service to customers

This issue has been one of the popular topics discussed in the newspapers. It is primarily on salespeople giving bad service to customers and practising double standards towards foreigners as opposed to locals. The other side of the coin has been mentioned too, that customers must show they deserve that good service.

I encountered a grouchy lady selling Western food in a coffeeshop today. She had given me 3 pieces of serviettes and the fan had blown them away. My friend helped me ask for more after I had finished eating and she said she had given me already. My friend said I had dropped it and she said I ought to be scolded for that. She wasn't joking. Her face was perfectly serious and grumpy. She gave 2 pieces eventually but we were left wondering what she was thinking about.

I was however fine with her behaviour. I wasn't surprised with it because getting stallholders in coffeeshops to give exemplary service isn't easy due to their lower educational level. I reckoned that she was in a bad mood and was tired too. She was still looking grumpy when serving other customers. Oh well.

More humbug on model exam answers

I refer to a letter in the newspapers on this topic, stating that "those who rely on model answers for success will look for a crutch." It is "a lack of thinking ability, only (to) help to retard one's mental faculties (and resulting in) a dearth of inventors." Another seems apparently fed up with this and questioned in his letter as to whether "this issue should be brought up with CASE" against the publishers, if MOE did not look into the matter.

The most obnoxious effect of following model exam answers is that of mere regurgitation. Funnily enough, students seem to do worse when 'vomiting' them out onto the answer scripts, as compared to when giving their own two cents' worth towards the exam questions. Strange but true, as heard with my own ears. This was a no-no even while doing my degree. The examiners' comments each year contained lashings towards students who did just that till the phenomenon stopped altogether. There is literary plagiarism but this is "exam plagiarism" then. The only thing positive is the increase in their memory power but not much creative thinking and mental exercise.