Skip to main content

Day7+8+9 Brief Summary

2:48 am, Lavender Street, Singapore.

I am extremely exhausted. The soles of my feet are aching because of my shoes' poor arch support, and the fact that one does not get around Singapore other than walking extremely fast from one busy point to another hectic destination. The pace here, especially in a conference, is disturbingly accelerated by rigidly constructed timetables and the unfamiliarity of location or landmarks exacerbates our physical conditions. I have bore the brunt effects of urbanity - my back covered in a sheet of sweat and forehead glistening with perspiration. All of this is, of course, hidden by my now very much worn-out and crumpled suit, away from unsuspecting glances.
The fact of the matter remains that high-stress environments do not ally themselves harmoniously with equally high temperatures. The result of that is a climate of stress and sweat that, for me, increases the threshold of happiness - it makes it that much harder to be content and satisfied here. I even find it harder to be happy.

That or you find the nearest air-conditioned place. Maybe I just have excessive sweat glands or I am not well-suited for this weather. Here, my conscience is embattled - the former argument suggests that perhaps my biological composition has to do with my happiness, which is quite erroneous; the latter argument suggests that perhaps I still can not adapt to my home region's climate, which is equally as outrageous.

Anyway my ramble has a point, it is easy to have many trifles, discomforts and trivialities make us angry and frustrated. I, for one, find it hard to concentrate when I am sweating profusely, my feet hurt or a combination of those plus many other things. It is hard to look past those nagging concerns down the road, and I often complain. But sometimes, just sometimes, I remind myself of the opulence I am immersed in daily and the luxuries already enjoy. Who am I to demand more and on what grounds could I justify my partaking of this rather decadent lifestyle?

I am thousands of miles from my current home, in a suit, wasting productivity in committee session (sorry MUN-ers, it is a noble academic exercise but little more than that), meeting new people but forging rather shallow friendships, not having a worry about the world since my wallet is full and here I am whining about my feet and beads of sweat upon my necklaces upon necklaces of affluence. It does not help to hear others complain about these little things that, when harbored in ones mindset, will be magnified into uncompromising leviathans that just irritate and aggravate us.

All of this will not do. I must stop complaining and suggesting how thing's should be. Criticism will not make things better, nor will excessive, self-righteous comments miraculously change things. I will blog more about my experiences in committee session and activities in Singapore quite soon. Do expect several semi-rants slash comparisons between Malaysia and Singapore; and also how 300 plus people in committees just does not work.

Other than that, I am having a wonderful time in Singapore.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

To grandpa,

I write this to proclaim my love for my beloved grandfather who has passed from this realm not two days ago. My grandfather and I enjoyed a close relationship since I lived not far from him when I was in Malaysia. Grandpa lived a very healthy life well into his twilight years. Since I was little, he would take me to the city park almost every other morning just for a morning stroll, and I was always treated to a good breakfast with soy bean milk with grandmother after. Grandpa's house was large- my family and I would visit everyday to eat lunch with them. For many years, it was the hub for festive occasions, be it Chinese New Year, Christmas, relatives visiting, funerals and so forth. I have chosen the house as a setting for countless essays during my primary school years, when I had to describe happy memories or celebrations. Indeed, Grandpa's home was such a collection of merriment and was very much an integral part of my childhood. Grandpa was always there a...

3 Months in Malaysia: The Feeling of Belonging

Have you ever experienced leaving a place for many years and, upon your return, feel that you've never left? Unfortunately, it feels that I've been gone a long time from my home country, Malaysia. I feel some form of friction at the workplace, with the language, culture, sensibilities and norms. This is expected and what I perceive to be a natural process of re-acculturation and re-assimilation - re-settling myself into this place I call home . However, the stakes are a lot higher for me and I've got a set of goals for myself. I'll try to highlight one aspect per entry, so this post will be about the process of 're-learning' and 're-education' here in Malaysia. Having worked at a law firm for two months and now in a political party as a researcher, I've got some serious catching up to do in terms of catching up to speed with the pulse and current affairs of this nation. As I devour books, articles and writings that shed light on the many events t...

Walkability

I've spent close to 3 weeks in Singapore for a work trip recently.  The city is a gleaming example of prudent, sensible & effective public policy. Every square-inch of the island has been mapped out, years before, with the room to rework the space if the need arises. Let's talk about walking, specifically, the decision to walk to your destination and forgo other means of transportation. Not enough people in Malaysia like to walk. Many blame the weather, the cracked sidewalks or that it's simply much easier to drive or share a ride there. Their reasons are justified. However, I'd argue that walkability is the end result of many policies aligning to create just the right environment to inspire people to lace up their shoes and make that walk. These policies are, in no particular order of importance: spatial planning, accessibility, public transportation. Using Singapore as a case study, I'll provide some observations and thoughts. Spatial Planning:  S...