Things to do in Singapore!

Most people assume there’s nothing to ‘do’ in Singapore, but in truth – there are many things to do, though the experience might not be as culturally rich as, say, a visit to the American Museum of Natural History (RAWR!) or a stroll through Central Park.

Well, perhaps it’s just the prejudice innured into us by politicians past and present, that we have never been good enough, aren’t and never will be good enough. But I think that one will always find things to do as long as one gets access to the information from the organisers themselves.

It’s not always easy, and I don’t have the perfect solution (though Facebook + Google Reader + Twitter + a whole host of other Web 2.0 apps, along with mailing lists help a lot in getting info), but as part of my belief that we need to share as much info as we can (perfect knowledge and all that jazz), I’ll do my bit to advertise about stuff that’s happening which is relatively affordable for anyone, from couples on dates to students.

So!

In the next few months or so, I’d ideally like to go for these two things (click on the links for more info):

  1. The Image of Our Landscape (Price: Free!).
  2. Baba Bling: The Peranakans and Their Jewellery (Concessions on Fri evenings.)

I know, I know – some of you might be thinking: ee yer, so [insert appropriate pejorative here].

But believe you me – it’s good for all of you to start going for these things. Without not being preachy enough, it is all too often that Singaporeans ironically end up becoming tourists/foreigners in their own land.

If a clown.

I like this poem, not only because its premise hinges on Stephen King’s cultural sensibilities, but also because it asks a very important question:

What could be sadder … than a clown in need of a context?

Yes, there is nothing sadder than a clown searching for a context, and it is especially apparent in today’s world – we have so many people working in jobs that just don’t fit them, either because these people haven’t evolved to meet the needs of this era, or because they were the wrong people for the job from the very beginning.

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The land that time forgot.

I’ve been plagued by a spate of carelessness/clumsiness recently – first it was misplacing my bike keys; most recently, I dropped my watch and broke the glass portion covering its face.

It’s probably fatigue but I’ve also had a lot of things on my mind recently, and I know I’m not as sharp/alert when I have too many thoughts to think about and not enough time to sleep off the weariness of the day.

In any case, I had to make my way down to the service centre at Tannery Lane to repair the watch. This was quite interesting for me and I must digress a little in order that I tell this story.

Since setting up shop at Potong Pasir, I’ve always considered the area and its surrounds to be akin to the land that time forgot – it’s 2009 but the precinct has retained its 1980s-esque quiet, sleepy-town feel.

This is much unlike the hustling, bustling HDB estates of nearby Serangoon and Hougang, where I live, and I’m actually quite envious of this luxury afforded to Potong Pasir-ians (?).

I say luxury because I acknowledge the trade-off that upgrading brings: you get lifts on every floor, but there’s a lot of noise and people and unnecessary things that come with it.

Anyway, if Potong Pasir and its surrounds is the land that time forgot, then the watch service centre was utterly Jurassic.

While waiting for my watch to be repaired, I found a catalogue for Color Club watches, along with a brochure that lauded Crystal Time (the service centre) as the cutting edge retailer of the 1990s with its recent venture into marketing high-top shoes with zippers all the way to the ankle.

Seriously.

Well, I wish I had stolen the brochure and the catalogue so that I could scan them in and upload the pics to share the awesomeness of the moment with everybody but I don’t think it would’ve been nice to have kept their history for myself.

Nevertheless, I thought it was a rather quaint experience, if I may say so myself, much like discovering how my sister’s significant other still plays arcade games in Indonesia. Yes, those thingamajigs where you hold a stick in your left hand and punch some buttons with your right hand for a token’s worth of happiness.