Chen Tu Zi always has got something to say...

03:19 am - Midnight rants

I was surfing someone else's blog when I came across his halloween celebration pictures. Then I went, "Hey, I DID NOT celebrate this year's Halloween hor?" It is in me... the urge to dress up differently from the rest of the 364 days. It's a once-in-a-year chance and I missed it. Not to mention I ain't getting younger any longer. Also not saying that older people may not indulge in Halloween costume fun, it's just that it is harder to find people who dare dress up given that more than half the population are neurotic over their age.

So come next year Halloween, I want to see something different in the mirror.

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Read the ST forum pages today (Monday) and saw this letter from this ang moh about the attitudes of drivers in Singapore. I got a neck sore just by nodding in agreement. He made a few valid points which I felt should be emphasised here.

(I do not have the article with me now so I would have to remember the details from memory)

He was referring to the incident a few days ago when some goon test drived a car and flipped the whole carriage. No one was injured, as compared to one death resulting from a similar incident a year back.

Then he mentioned about drivers in Singapore modifying their cars despite the speed limits in place on our roads. I personally detest such modifications and found them to drop the aesthetic appeal of the car. How about that, an expensive ugly car. I shall snap some photos when I see such cars and post them here. But even in the absence of photos, I am sure many Singaporeans have seen such cars in motion, zipping through the roads without signalling their intention to do so and hogging the right most lanes of our roads. Making their engines roar, thinking it would put Schumacher's car to shame and halogen lamps that are bright enough to put the street lights out of work.

Don't mistake me for being authoritarian-minded. I am not. I don't demand that all such drivers revert what has been done to their cars. They have the right and choice to make such modifications. Rather, I am ranting about the common attitudes drivers of such cars have. It is no sheer coincidence that people who drive dangerously have such cars. I attribute the causes of such behaviours partly to movies such as Initial D and Fast and Furious. The tend to showcase suave men with supposedly suave cars. Throw in scantily clad women and the whole show resembles that from some porno flick.

What is it with men and their big fat ego? You think I would be impressed when you floor the accelerator and hit 140km/h? Hell no, I'll be grabbing on for dear life and reprimanding myself for ever agreeing to hitch a ride from you. Girls who find the "need for speed" sexy can go fuck themselves.

Part of my rage stems from the fact that someone I knew recently got involved in an accident with a car. He was riding a motorcycle and the driver apparently did not signal, nor did he check his mirror and blind spots. Such poor driving habits would eventually get you into trouble one day and you mark my words. I've seen drivers tail-gating behind me as if being a few meters faster would make them a million dollars richer. MANY people tail-gate and if you don't believe, look out of the bus, car, taxi, motorcycle tomorrow when you hit the roads. Do these people seriously think that if the front vehicle were to execute an emergency break, they'll be able to avoid collision in time?

Defensive driving is the way to go and I think that all drivers should be schooled into this way of thinking so as to created safer roads for all.

08:51 pm - Price of Singapore Beef Increases

Today could be counted as an unlucky day but surprisingly, I took it all in my stride. First, woke up in the morning and as I was about to leave, I realised my Havaianas flip flops were missing. This was the third time my flip flop has gone missing in a short span of 1.5 years, since I've ORDed.

But this time was different. No feelings of rage. Just happy go lucky and the intention to go down to NUM to purchase another pair.

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Price of Beef Increases in Singapore

Yes. Beefcakes to be exact. NUM has decided to raise the price of Havaianas flip flops (I do not know if it is true for all models, neither do I know if this price increase is across the board) and that left me wondering it it was due to rental or salary increment.

This latest marketing salvo (albeit poor) has left me wondering if I should carry on patronising them. Come to think of it, I never bought much from them and after this incident, I suspect I would never be going back there anymore except to scoff at their exhorbitant prices with comparison to my Thailand buys (which, quality wise is comparable, if not better).

Jeremy... Always smile in the face of adversity!

07:44 am - GST climbs to 7%

I have to complete 12 more online lectures for my Math module (MA1505). That's for not attending early lectures every Tuesday and Thursday. Still burning 7:40AM oil.

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Channel News Asia Article

Oh I read CNA's website and just realised that our GST is gonna increase to 7%. Well, my knee-jerk reaction is to complain (yes, unfortunately. 17 years of education has taught me that.) and criticise the government for not being sympathetic to the financial situations of people falling within a certain income bracket.

But I knew I had to find out the reasons supporting this increase. In a nutshell:

finance the enhanced social safety nets

tilt the balance in favour of lower income groups

to finance infrastructure investments

implementation of social programmes

Country	Value-Added Tax Amount
Singapore	7%
Thailand	7%
Malaysia	5%
Japan	5%
Philippines	12%
Australia	10%
Korea	10%
New Zealand	12.5%

These are just some figures I found on the net. Many countries from the European Union have VATs amounting to over 20%.

I do have a feeling that someone from somewhere is going to use the cliche argument that "Oh, do you know Singapore has one of the lowest (if not lowest) GST in the world?" Raising GST to 7% may be good for Singapore as a whole but by employing this reason to sell to its citizens is purely a lack of imagination.

Brings back memories of the transport fee hikes when some Mercedes-riding-public-transport-grouses-oblivious somebody said "Oh, do you know Singapore has one of the cheapest public transport in the world?"

The point I am trying to bring to everyone's attention is that there are a myriad of factors affecting the way things are. Scrutinise them and judge objectively. Employ critical thinking.

I need time to digest these information and track the relevant news before I comment again. But no time leh. Exams. Ok la, time can be planned.