I have to hand it to Obama. I’ve begun to see him in a new light after catching him on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He was laid-back and offered honest opinions about what’s being reported and happening in the presidential race now. His continuous efforts to portray a down-to-earth image of himself and almost like a regular man on the street appear to be paying off.

I’ve always admired and looked up to Hillary Clinton. She’s indeed a role model for women all over. However, Obama promises not to be a laggard in the race up to the White House. Jon Stewart asked Obama what he thought of Hillary Clinton as an opponent and he was very respectful towards her. He said she is a very smart and capable woman but pointed out that people may want someone who’s more active in the local community rather than in Washington alone which is clearly him of course. Hmmm, as a world citizen, I would prefer if the President of the United States had a clearly defined foreign policy and didn’t alienate the world in his/her agenda. Hillary appears to fit the bill for that. On her official website, Hillary says that "The next president’s most urgent task will be to restore America’s standing in the world to promote our interests, ensure our security, and advance our values." I like her notion that America needs to "start engaging our enemies again." I guess this is following in the footsteps of Bill Clinton and doing something different after America’s miserable military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I am not sure exactly what Obama’s stand on foreign policy is. To me, they’ve been pretty vague and generalist so far. He also risks doing a "Kerry" by being wishy-washy on certain topics. For example, he initially said (during the CNN debates) that he would meet without conditions with leaders of renegade nations and then recently blundered by saying he would "unilaterally bomb Pakistan if actionable intelligence placed high-level al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan and President Musharraf would not act". Ok it’s good he recognises that Musharraf ain’t a saint like Bush’s been naive enough to think and that it’s highly possible that Osama and gang could be stashed away under Musharraf’s blessings. However, he’s pretty much committing international political suicide at a time that America actually needs Musharraf. The Hillary camp has been quick to pin all this on Obama’s lack of experience.

Jon stewart brought up this issue of inexperience as well. I thought Obama responded very well:

Jon: (on topic of inexperience) Have you thought of running a smaller country first?
Barack: (obviously in jest) No, but I did think of invading a smaller country first, like say Grenada?

Haha that was a good one.

Jon stewart himself later said, hey Hillary has been in the senate only a few more years than Obama and her years as First Lady doesn’t exactly go into the resume does it. Hmmmm, well I know I’m biased towards Hillary but she’s very much unlike other First Ladies. Barbara Bush and Laura Bush both stayed in the background while Hillary partcipated actively in politics. As her web-page states, as First Lady and U.S. senator, Hillary visited more than 80 countries and met countless world leaders as America’s representative. In the Senate, Hillary has continued to promote America’s interests through her work on international affairs.

I definitely liked Obama’s comment on his GOP competitors. He called them "decent candidates". Jon Stewart called it the "worst back-handed compliment ever". LOL. Honestly, I cannot disagree with Obama. I don’t think the presidential race has ever had to contend with two Democrat forerunners rather than the traditional GOP vs Dems. The Democrats are on a roll - they’re controlling Congress, have many governorships and are smirking after the GOP bungled with Iraq and Katrina. The nearest contenders appear to be Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Frankly, I don’t know anything about Romney and the only things I know about Giuliani stems from 9/11. And Giuliani does seem more like a Dem rather than a Republican, esp with his not-so-pro-life stances. Well well well it’s gonna be an interesting lead up to 2008. I hope for Obama’s sake he gets his act together if he wants to remain a strong competitor for Hillary whom I sincerely hope will win and become the first Female president of America. (Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee!)

I’m unapologetic for the lack of updates. Blogging has had become somewhat a chore for me….nevertheless, I thought I shall blog about something that has been bothering me for quite some time. Over some time, I realised I’ve become aunt agony of sorts….to cab drivers!?! *yikes*

I find an excuse to take cabs to and fro work daily take cabs regularly, so I’ve come across many types of cab drivers. I can profile them into various categories but I can say with some confidence that most of them fall into the "my customer is my aunt agony" category. One thing’s for sure - my Singlish has improved by leaps and bounds.

Category 1: Suffers from inferiority complex so finds the need to tell you in detail of his life before he was retrenched blah blah blah.

My role: I’m supposed to emphathise with him, to tell him I’m sure it’s all right, as long as you’re happy, it’s ok blah blah. Being a cab driver is a very respectful job blah blah blah, you’re very important too cos without you what would I do? I’ld be lost blah blah blah…

Category 2: Gah-men hater - doesn’t know anything about international politics (tony who?) but knows EVERYTHING about Singapore politics. And hates the gah-men. Complains non-stop.

My role: lots of "oh is it"s and "oh really"s and "aiyoh"s or "oh man!"s. This category has been nursing their hatred for too long, you can’t do anything about it. Anyway my knowledge of insider Singapore politics is like er limited so I cannot comment at all.

Category 3: LTA/cab company hater. Being an idiot, you gripe about being charged for peak hour surcharge even though you got into the cab at 9.29 am. One minute later you wouldn’t be slapped with the surcharge. OR worse, you get charged for $4 booking fee if you book at 9.25 am even though your cab comes at 935am. Now you really asked for it. So the cab driver goes into lengthy discussions about how it’s not his fault and LTA/cab company is the really bully. Uses colourful language like #$%@^^$

My role: Lots of "ya loh"s and "how can like that one"s and "really!!??!!"s… This category also has nursed its hatred for too long for you to do anything about it.

Category 4: Suffers from superiority complex. Finds the need to boast about his belongings. "Actually ah, I already have one MErcedes and live in a condo one". "I just drive cab to pass time". Or worse, tells u about all the "fun he’s had when he was young". I encountered one driver just the other day who told me in vivid details of how he was bribed in many instances and made "tons of money" and only drove "jaguars" in his young days.

My role: Lots of "wah, so good one" and "wah don’t like mahjong ah"s and "your car just sitting and rotting at home give me la"s. *rolls eyes*

Category 5: Neat freaks or just grumpy old men who need an excuse to scold you. I rarely eat in cabs but there was ONCE I was REALLY hungry and all I popped into my mouth was a ferror rocher chocolate and the bloody cab driver scolded me endlessly. Even asked me I was taught any manners. He was indian and said I shouldn’t disgrace indians with all these actions. I was like WTH….?

My role: *so shocked cannot utter a word*, start to defend myself but it’s no use. Ask him if he’s born in September. He says yes and what’s the connection with anything. I tell him all people born in September are neat freaks and that it’s perfectly all right to feel that way. It’s his turn to be dumbfounded. (Hah! he totally didn’t see that retort coming! - see it’s very important for aunt agony to know horoscopes well) I cooly alight from the cab, take my receipt as usual but this time take mental note of his cab number. Better not take his cab ever again!!!!

Category 6: "I hate my previous passenger". Complains endlessly about their previous passengers.

My role: Emphathise empathise empathise. Contribute stories of how I’ve encountered such people too and how "they cannot make it one". Embellish with lots fo "ya lors" and "how can like that one ah"s.

Category 7: Stalkers. Ok they’re not exactly stalkers but I keep getting the same drivers! There was one time my friend and I kept getting this guy for 3 straight times. They’re creepy cos they think they know so much about you. They usually live near you and know the security guard at your apartment and wait outside your house in the morning and says "shipyard girl right" the moment you get into the cab.

My role: Make some lame conversation about how shipyard girl sounds unglam and joke about how he shouldn’t wait for me like that cos the security guard teases me about being VIP and having cab waiting for me. Cab driver ignores me and starts talking about his bad day yesterday. And I have to comfort him. Bleargh.

My role as aunt agony is dumb. Why don’t cab drivers have like a hotline to call when they’re bored or something. It’s clear that they’re bored. But all I want to do is read my storybook during my ride. I so don’t wanna be aunt agony…but I feel bad for them so I just do my bit to make them feel good…for like a while at least.

Caught the latest news. Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s cricket coach was found dead. Some conspiracy stories have emerged, including that he was poisoned and strangled, possibly to hush up any aftermaths of match fixing. Cricket has been abysmal this year, to say the least. It’s hardly any consolation if India even makes it to the Super 8s, after being slapped in the face with regards to the defeat by Bangladesh. Of all the minnows in the world, being defeated by Bangladesh is really worse than being slapped in the face. Probably akin to being run over by a car when all you were expecting was a gentle breeze.

Anyway, today I received insight into the new meaning of overhyped. I’m referring to Mr. Bean’s Holiday.

You wouldn’t quite believe it, but there was hardly a cinema you could get a seat at for this movie on a Saturday. Virtually all cinemas had sold out or selling fast status. That’ll probably give you the idea that this is some kind of blockbuster movie but it isn’t…and you probably should not expect it to be one. Instead, it’s a typical Bean movie which his usal bag of trite and hackneyed tricks that lead him to a disaster-filled path where he tries his best to get out of the huge mess that he created himself (and others too). It isn’t anything new but some parts of the movie are really overdone, like it’s too ridiculous or something - even for Mr. Bean. Too much for some cheap laughs, if you ask me. And the fact that there were kids who were sleeping during the movie points to the questionablity of the entertain-ability of the movie. If kids can’t appreciate Mr Bean, who can?

Earlier in the day, went to Olio Dome at Suntec City for lunch. I would recommend this place. The mixed grill is really good (ask for the steak to be replaced by chicken thighs and you’ll be pleased too). The soup’s good too and I dare say that the service was exemplary. The decor and ambience are soothing with the use of sofas and wood.

We didn’t make it to the NATAS fair. Decided to give it a miss and go full steam to find a bloody cinema that had seats for Mr Bean, which clearly was an uphill task. Finally ended up at Great World City, rotting at TCC for hours before catching a late show. The TCC there is pretty good. Service was really good despite the fact that we were kinda hogging the comfy seats. I discovered a magazine to look forward to every month - Harper’s Bazaar. It’s one of the few magazines I’ve come across that can engage me for hours and makes me wanna read and look at every single page. It got me glued - the writers really have good style and the photography is simply amazing. Loves it. Oh - and I got new shoes… but I need more pairs! My shoe closet is literally begging for more inhabitants. Perhaps I’ll get more shoes this weekend. Wish me luck!

By actually seeing Britney Spears flashing her crotch not once but twice. I’m truly grossed out. Somebody please hand me the puke bucket.

It’s also quite sad to see Britney continuing to look like trash. I mean I never liked her but Kevin Federline’s jerk moves have oozed some sympathy for her. And seriously, does she have to do this to herself? And please, partying like that is only meant for hotties like Paris Hilton. Not Britney. She looks like a goon. Why does Paris even bother with her and dumb lindsay lohan.

I’m insanely crazy over tonytail bands but I only wanted two bands and the shipping costs a whopping $15. Anybody wants to share with me? They’re soooo pretty. I wanted them as soon as I laid my eyes on them in Vogue.

I know I receive a lot of flak for criticising some celebrities but sometimes I really don’t understand why some people can even get celebrity status for being a singer or an actress when they clearly can neither act or sing.

Like Missy Elliot.

I mean, can she actually SING? All she does is say "Yeah yeah yeah" 1 minute before a song or in the middle of a song and she’s actually known as a singer and people like Christina aguilera (who clearly has a divine voice) clamour to collaborate with her.

And missy elliot is not even pretty or stylish. Like Paris. *drools*

And there’s this Pharell guy. He can be a great producer for all I care but why is he known as a singer? All he does is appear in some skanky video with Mariah Carey (who appears as slutty as always enough though she clearly has a divine voice) and say a few words like "Say something". Bah, it would be better if he said nothing at all.

The one who takes the trophy home for being a noise filler is without a doubt Kevin Federline. Without a penny to his name and a single which is an outright insult to the very word music, he’s better off making a name for himself as a back-up dancer once again other than a celebrity baby procreator and noise filler who can’t sing for nuts.

The only smart thing britney spears ever did in her life was dumping him.

Dear America,

I’m a fellow citizen of this world. Pardon me for being a busybody but I feel I have a right to give you this message. I feel I have that right because what you can do indirectly affects me too. Apparently your country is the most powerful country in the world and it also has the biggest free market economy in the world and it’s also one of the biggest pollutors in the world. So that basically means that if your economy is shity it can potentially be shity for me too and since we all share the same atmosphere I could be dying from all the bad environment policies that come into play too. So I have an indirect interest in making your country better and hence a better world for me too.

7th of November is an important day. You have to vote responsibly. Vote responsibly because there is a serious chain of events that occur upon you giving your vote to the wrong guy/woman. For example:

Bad vote > Wrong guy comes to power > Wrong party majority > Wrong policies implemented > Record deficit > Turmoil in the world > Unhappy people all around

The above situation is purely hypothetical and does not resemble any person/party intentionally. Yeah, let’s just imagine Iraq didn’t just have a foreign invasion (and Sadaam’s trial comes to an end coincidentally around this time - great timing by GOP?), Kyoto protocol didn’t get rejected by Bush and there was no a shity recession for a long time. Whatever.

I’m watching the midterm race closely. The events running up to it are pretty interesting - including the whole Haggard fiasco, etc. Clinton’s triumph on Fox was good to see too. Heh, he’s come a long way and hopefully can steer Hilary towards Capitol Hill come 2008.

Anyway, vote responsibly yaar.

Best Regards,
Fellow World Citizen

P.S.: Here’s a video you should watch to remind yourself WHY you should vote responsibly.

I think most of my friends know that I’m a very demanding customer. I usually expect to get what I pay for. To my understanding, that’s the least I should expect simply because I am the one paying. I’m the customer and customer is always right. I know some people think I can be a “mean” customer sometimes but you see I know what the limit (grey lines indeed) is because I used to be in customer service too. I too was on the frontline once and that too at an organisation known to be the best in the world for what it does. (yes, changi airport is always the best!!!) I’ve been on the receiving end of demanding customers (never bad) but I’ve always also believed that they deserved better. I’ve also appreciated being appreciated for good customer service. So as much as I can be a demanding customer, I can also be a very good customer. I believe in giving credit where it’s due. People who exhibit good customer service definitely deserve to be appreciated.

I totally salute the Go-the-Extra-Mile for Service (GEMS) Movement [I think it’s part of the whole “Remaking Singapore” thingy]. I think it’s raising service standards here and those who’re doing their bit to increase service standards should be applauded.

I recently encountered some amazing customer service. I went to an Esprit outlet at Wisma Atria. There I wanted this particular top which was a sale item but my size was no longer available in that outlet (actually my size was available but the collar thingy was spoilt). Then I ran into this amazing lady called TingTing at the cashier where I was paying for some other items. And the lovely girl said she could check out for me if the other Esprit shops in town had that particular top I wanted. I told her I would hover around since it wouldn’t take much time to check that. She soon came back to me and told me that unfortunately none of them around the area still had that top in my size in good condition. But did she give up with that? Nope. She took my number and name and told me she’ll scour around and call me back. I left my name and number with her and went about shopping again (and meet Tby who was excruciatingly late).

I pretty much forgot about it until she actually called me an hour later to tell me that she actually found a shop in Singapore that sold that top in my size and was in good condition. I was pleasantly surprised. It was really sweet of her. She needn’t have done that. But she was willing to go that extra mile. Really nice. I went to buy the top the next day and took a feedback form to fill out.

I think this post is in appreciation of good service more than anything.

And people love my top. Even my doctor said it’s really pretty. lol.

I hate taking the MRT. It’s a pain in the ass. Seriously.

Ok fine, the MRT isn’t that bad. As long as you erase all the moronic people commuting with you. They’re all morons. Here’s why:

1. The people who take the escalator with you - they don’t understand what’s LEFT and RIGHT. Stand ONLY on the left side damnit. Why don’t you get simple english? WHY?!?!?!

2. Why must you RUN for the damn train? It’s Boon Lay for goodness sake. It’s BOON LAY for crying out loud. It’s the first station. There’s NO ONE in the train.
3. Speaking of no one, you have to let the people who want to alight, alight. How can there be no one if you don’t let them get off? So stop standing IN FRONT of the door. Are you blind? Or are you color blind? Don’t you see the damn yellow lines??? Or may be you’ve forgotten to dig your ears this year. You do know it’s said in all the four official languages that you should stand BEHIND the yellow lines right? And don’t you go wagging your skinny little finger at foreign immigrants. Don’t tell me that you, clad in nice little office attire, don’t understand any your four official languages. You … you …. @#$@!$!$#%###
4. I know teenage years can be tough. I know you are feeling very angsty. I know you like to listen to angry angsty rock music. Been there, done that. BUT there is no need to let EVERYONE know what you’re listening to. We know you’re angry with the whole word. Look around you. NOBODY cares. Get over it and become 20 soon. And PLEASE, for the love of God, get earphones. I hate kids teenagers with gigantic headphones.
5. I hate smelly secondary school kids. They act like the word "BATH" doesn’t even exist in their vocabularies. Somebody should enact new laws making it mandatory for kids to have BATHS after their dumb PE lessons or whatever physical stuff they do in school BEFORE they take public transport of any kind. I mean, seriously, this is air pollution. It’s bad enough with the haze that my eyes have been irritated. Now you want to add to my irritation with my poor nose?
6. And moms. Have you heard of the word "PACIFIER"? It’s what you use to keep your damn babies shut up and not cry THROUGHOUT a two hour journey. Ok fine, it ain’t two hours but it sure does feel like it! All thanks to you and your complete apathy towards your fellow commuters.

I think I have a solution to all these problems. You should segregate all the people. You know like in some countries, men and women travel separately, like in separate carriages or something? Yeah, we should have that here too, only there should be more degrees of segregation. Like all the moms can be with their screaming bratty kids in the mom+kids carriage (creates social bonding among moms and kids alike too!). There should be a smelly secondary school kids carriage where they can all interact and stuff. One should be there for people who pretend not to hear/see signs instructing them to practise common courtesy cannot understand any of the four local languages and hence cannot follow basic guidelines.And one for angsty teenagers - they can all pretend to love rammstein together - whatever. And one more for sane people like me who can FINALLY have a peaceful journey and making my damn trip worth paying for, hence justifying whatever fee hike.

Or better yet. Just fine them. Fine them ALL. I’ve enormous respect for the whole disciplinary state thingy. It sure works. $500 for every kid who plays music beyond 20 decibel. There goes your pocket money. No more rammstein cDs for you! Hah!

I was quite shocked to learn of the military coup in Thailand. I mean, it really took me by surprise. Perhaps it’s because I’ve not been watching the news for so long (I miss my BBC) and only limit myself to internet-based news. My dad was in Thailand during the coup but luckily he was 3hrs away from Bangkok. Even though the news reports said that it was a "peaceful coup" apparently there was little or not activity for one or two days.

It’s interesting to see how the seismic political circles around the world are moving recently. Unrest in Hungary where much of the legislature is center-right. Sweden did a U-turn to the right. Hezbollah in Lebanon creating tension in the government there. Unknown political status in middle-east. Uproar over the Pope’s comments regarding some ancient issue. And now Thailand. Does it not seem that the world is shifting ever so more to the right?

The funniest part, it seems, is the reaction by Pakistan. "Pakistan Wednesday expressed the hope Thailand would stay calm and avoid violence following the coup against the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra." Perhaps, people have forgotten that Pakistan itself had a government put into power as a result of a coup. And the guy who led the coup is still in power. Doesn’t it seem funny (and ironic and quite frankly, ridiculous) that the world has forgotten that, forgotten about the billions poured into it despite its blind eye towards sponsered-terrorism in Kashmir and forgotten about lifting sanctions altogether just to buy its support. Why bother upholding democracy when you’re prepared to sacrifice it just to further your own military prowess?

Today, someone asked me (the Deutschephile) if I liked Germany or America. Without hesitation I said Deutschland of course. Then I thought deeper about it and tried to rationalise why so many people loved America. After being here for some time, I realised that there is something that makes America truly a great country - something truly remarkable and worth admiring.

Not too long ago, people wanted to live the American Dream because they saw America as the land of abundant opportunities. It still is a land of opportunities but now I recognise it to be a land of equal opportunities. Due to my own set of principles and beliefs, I don’t believe that everyone was born equal but I do believe that everyone should be given equal opportunities.

Perhaps I’ve mentioned it before (at least in my old blog) that I’ve long admired America for its Anti-Discrimination laws.  

As far as I know, the federal laws are the most comprehensive in California and I don’t quite know of any country which comes close to providing equal opportunities and stressing the importance of doing so. I used to look at the American Dream with disdain, at least during the backlash against outsourcing and immigration debates in U.S. I wrote an article long ago on the demise of the American Dream too. Even though it was meant to be objective, I think it showed a certain bias.. I’m no longer biased. I hold the view now that the American Dream is worth living for especially if you’re in search of the land of equal opportunities cos I don’t think any country is going to come close any time soon.

Speaking of articles, my latest article is available on newstands this month and it’s on my pet topic of interest. My foreign publications will be available online from mid sept so watch this space!