The little boy in the grreen cap is Max! My kid whom I've been seeing the entire of this semester and half of last semester! I regret not giving him a big hug before leaving though!
This semester has been so incredibly different from the last that it almost seems as if I've been here for more than a year. And I bet next semester's gonna be a hell lot more different again! I'm a little afraid when I think about the potential differences and changes I have to go through again, such as moving out of hostel into our own (rented) apartment, which literally entails living independantly on your own, cooking and cleaning your own toilet, vaccumming the house, doing the laundry and getting groceries from swakoo supermarkets without mummy to drive you around,
I realised I'm really spoilt with what we have in Singapore. Our safe and secure neighbourhood which allows me to accidentally leave handphones in taxis and STILL get them back (unlike our SUPER FRIENDLY neighbours across the causeway), how we have bus stops walking distances away and buses which arrive at 5 minute intervals or less and not HALF AN HOUR APART. Train stations that are walkable (city hall to bugis to raffles) and not across the freaking river.
But a few things I absolutely love here is their regard for human rights and welfare. THe poster they currently have up on the buses (I'll take a shot the next time I get on one) goes somethign like this:
In 2009 837,449 passengers commuted using Queesland Transport services,
We hope you've enjoyed our service.
Please thank our drivers with a smile =)
It was really really sweet and thoughtful of the government to do something like that. Perhaps to us they're inefficient or lazy (which the aussies themselves often admit to) , but think about it, when we all turn 60 and you look in comparison at the 2 groups of people again, who has more savings? us. Who's retired? them. Who's enjoying themselves and feeling more content? THEM. I don't think it's fair to say they're slack, it's they're policies which make them knock off at 5pm and not do over-time!
A lecture a couple of weeks back on Organisational Psychology really put things into perspective. Look it up and give it a quick read, I hadn't heard of it much till I actually had the lecture. It's basically all the common sense we never really put into common use. Such as worker's satisfaction and such for the sake of the company. It's something I think we really lack. A good demonstration of organisational psyc is with companies like Apple and Google. why do they do so well and why do their employers stay? Because they're damn happy to. They even get laundry done for them sometimes!
When I go back I want a bicycle, Chiochio, bring me go buy from IMM ok? And I shall cycle home from there. (Therefore it's your job to make sure I don't get lost)
Random, heh.
I spent 1.5 hours driving to buy BRANDS chicken essence from chinatown, which is about 25 minutes drive away from hostel (not including jam) so... I got lost as usual, and it was freaking hot la. But the people here are SO helpful!! I stopped at pizza hut to ask for help, and the cook let me come into the kitchen as the delivery guy explained the route to me. haha.. then I got lost again and this time this awesome Irish uncle got me to follow his very nice BMW sports car to where I needed to go. They're just so trusting and helpful here. My dad's now extremely cynical when it comes to helping and I doubt he'd ever help anyone again because he got screwed over by this asshole of a motorcyclist last year who accused him of causing him to crash. And my dad helped him to the hospital la.
Insurance paid the freaking retard $20, 000 and my dad had to fork out another $800 and 3 month driving suspension. Now he drives something else... he drives my mum up the wall and I think she's about to crash.