Friday, March 5, 2010

A Belated Gong Xi Fa Cai (Happy Chinese New year)

Well it’s goodbye Ox and “Hello Tiger” (as many a High Class Hooker has been heard to say of late!).

As the dust settles on the biggest celebrations in Singapore and other parts of Asia, we have said goodbye to the steady ox who steered us in the right direction away from further crisis, and welcomed the Year of the Tiger. There has been much anticipation in these parts for the tiger to arrive bursting with energy and hungry to succeed.

Some people have used this time to highlight the plight of the tiger, extinct in most places, and almost extinct everywhere else. The criminal and mostly unpunished behaviour of the Chinese and Indians seems to be doing a great job of almost wiping out one of the most beautiful and majestic animals known to us. Maybe this timely reminder will make some think twice about buying tiger skins for vanity, meat for protein, or crushed bones for sexual arousal. If you’re that desperate go buy a dirty magazine, and if that doesn’t work, ask Tiger his secret!!

Here in Singapore the budget was announced in conjunction with CNY and the hope of a successful one. Big money is on offer, but only to those who work harder. The message comes from the very top and it is very clear; work harder, increase productivity, succeed, and you will retain your jobs, your property values and your quality of life. If you don’t, Singapore will loose momentum on the world stage, the economy will shrink and we will all go backwards into the mire – nothing like scare tactics to get people motivated! The PM is right of course, to loose momentum now would be a disaster after the hardships and ground made up over the last year, but it is a bit of a worry when the mantra is “Cheaper, Better, Faster” and the P word is used in every other sentence that comes out of government’s mouth – that word being “Productivity”. Regardless of how nicely the ribbon is wrapped around this budget package, you can’t help but get the feeling it will come with a human price. The government says productivity can be improved by simply doing things more efficiently and therefore “Cheaper, Better, Faster” but without the right management, skills and encouragement it could just spell even longer hours in the workplace and less time with the family.

Interestingly, we’re starting to see more stories in the public domain about those “less fortunate”, who will never be able to keep up with the Productivity demands due to lack of education, health or old age. Concern is being raised about how the year might unfold for these groups and the lack of compassion or charity shown by the government. Having been here for almost 2 years now, this is the first time we’ve noticed real concern being raised on the social aspects of living in Singapore, rather than commercial. It does make you wonder what will happen to this place when ex PM Lee Kuan Yew pops his clogs. Some would argue that he still holds the power of government here, and he rules with an astute, but iron rod. Once gone, the opposition can take their chance and take control of a new Singapore concerned as much about her people as her bottom line. Interesting times ahead, but for now we must just concern ourselves with pushing Productivity, Productivity, Productivity!!

And as things heat up in Parliament, so they do on the mercury scale with temperatures on the up again. We’ve had the driest February in decades and although you could say Singapore has a permanent heat wave, we are having an even bigger one now. It’s hot and it’s humid, sending most people to anywhere with air con or Sentosa Beach. Sentosa is now a main draw for most locals on the weekend with the recent grand opening of a new resort including a Universal Studios Theme Park and Casino! There will be another Casino opening shortly on the waterfront too. At Sentosa Casino there is a $100 fee to be paid before you’re allowed anywhere near a table. The policy has been put in place to deter problem gamblers and ensure that only those who can afford to gamble do so, although some have argued it’s just another form of tax and that it won’t stop addicts, they’ll simply pawn or borrow more just to get in. Regardless, the grand opening last weekend was a huge success with some still queuing to get in at 12.30am Sunday morning!

So, other than the weather and Gamblers Anonymous, what else is hot right now:

What’s Hot
My Photographs – well not quite, but they might be in the future. I’ve been guided to a couple of stock photography websites where you can basically upload your photos, people look at them and if they like them they download them for a fee and use them for news stories, advertising etc… You then get a small % of that fee for your work. After some trials and tribulations (and figuring how the hell you get your stuff on these websites!!), I now have a grand total of 14 photos in my “portfolio” and have made 3 sales!!! Woohoo!! I have so far made a total profit of $1.05 Let's all go to Sentosa Casino lah!!!

What’s Not
The dating game. Once again the youf are under the spotlight for not dating, not getting married and not having kids. It’s a serious issue and one which seems to be dumbfounding parents and the authorities alike as young people look for creative ways to dodge the Big C word. During CNY advertisements where placed in all forms of media from young men asking young women to be their “pretend date” when they went home to visit the rellies. Rather than face the wrath of some old Aunty demanding to know when she could bring the hat and gloves out of the box again, they took complete strangers home disguised as long-term partners. Some where quite willing to drop their standards to an all time low exclaiming that “it doesn’t matter if you are ugly, you can still be my girlfriend for the weekend”. How nice for the "ugly" amongst us!!

And Finally
We continue to enjoy practicing yoga most days. Gareth is becoming surprisingly supple, can sit in a half lotus, lay on his back with legs folded in half behind him and we can both touch our foreheads with our big toe!! While still a bit podgy the weight is definitely coming off, and we’re looking and feeling so much healthier both in body and mind. We recommend it to everyone.

Namaste and 3 Ohms

J & G