Life as a footballer

Life can be a breeze as a footballer. I mean a leisure footballer. One can just play football as a hobby, watch football and live football just to enjoy what one likes most. And this is despite whatever income one is getting. It is a different kind of happiness, and very healthy as well. A lot of fresh air and sunshine. A lot of sweat and perspiration, laughter and excitement. And friends. There is no need for snobbish pursuits like attending concerts or poisoning one's body with drugs and alcohol. They called it fine wine or brandy. The danger of this kind of free and easy living is that these people can be easily manipulated. Someone will tell them how come others are living in big mansions and flying all over the whole for their holidays. And that life is unfair to them. These people can easily be worked up emotionally and run wild. They will forget that it is a lifestyle choice, that they have taken a path of pleasure and lesser stress. That they play and had played since they were school children. No need to sweat and be stressed by the system. Life as a leisure footballer can be fun as a lifestyle choice.

Why is the taxi fare system so wrong?

Everything in the system is wrong. Even the piecemeal recommendation is wrong. And everyone is crying foul. How could this be when we have the brightest brains managing the system. Or we don't have the brightest brains doing it and need to transfer some of the brightest brains to look at the system? Hey, we are spending millions on salaries and this is the easiest thing to do and the commuters should not have to suffer from a faulty and ineffective system. It is so messy that you need to carry a calculator or a computer to keep tap with how the system works. And to talk above reviewing the system now is a sure sign that it is not working. What is happening?

Life in the 50s and 60s

We were poor, terribly poor. We tightened belt everyday, living a day at a time. We ate things as substitution from those we could not afford. Instead of milk powder, we had condensed milk and of the cheapest brand, the General. Rice was the poorest quality. Our clothings were branded, like Moon Rabbit, Good Morning, Sea Gull and Double Happiness. We don't used hand washing solution or washing powder. A bar of multipurpose Sunlight soap will do for everything, wash hair, wash face and body, wash clothing, was bowls and pans. And we rented out every rooms to strangers. We welcomed strangers into our homes and shared everything, toilet and living rooms with them, cooked in the same kitchen, no privacy, no fear of security etc. We are going down that path today. It is progress, the Singapore way. We are better off today, huh?

Exchanging places

The Goh Poh Seng case is an example of how Singaporeans are exchanging places with foreigners, forced by circumstances to leave their homes, and their places taken up by foreigners. And the speed of this exchange is getting faster today when Singaporeans are leaving home to find employment elsewhere because they can't find it at home. And jobs at home go to foreigners. And this is considered a good thing. Goh Poh Seng belongs to a generation of Singaporeans who thinks and writes about Singapore. They did that because they cared, they were concerned and involved in the affairs of Singapore and its people. But it was a time when alternative and deviant views were not tolerated. And that mentality has resulted in what it is today, an apathetic society. Even when the country is flooded with foreigners, when Singaporeans are becoming a minority in their own home, do not raise an eyebrow. On the other hand, another line is being pushed that all these changes are good and necessary. And the masses just live and mind their own business. No one really care. So no one really want to talk about it and let children run the country. And what are their interests? Sports medals, bar top dancing, discos and pubs and high living. If we cannot find people with the passion and commitment to this country, to love this country and want to see it grow and become better for its own people, we are going to be an extinct race in no time. There will be Singaporeans, all new and manufactured overseas. The original Singaporeans, where would they be? The song that Singaporeans today are no difference from the new Singaporeans, all were migrants, is a dangerous song to sing. We are giving up our homes to strangers who carry a new piece of paper and called themselves Singaporeans. And we believe that this is good for us.

Talks and more talks

Parliament debated quite a bit on the high cost of living. Debated or talking cock, I could not see any difference from what was happening in the kopitiam and cyberspace. All talks and no action. The closest to doing something to minimise the pain of inflation is the call to substitute what one is used to now with cheaper stuff. That is perhaps the only thing actionable that came out of Parliament. Yesterday I briefly saw a statement flashing past the TV screen on being kind by Vivian Balakrishnan. Yes, that is the right thing to say. Let's show a little kindness to the less fortunate. But to many successful people, what is the sweat all about? Use the car less, plan your route, product substitution, buy kopi from kopitiams that did not raise the 20c cuppa, etc etc. What the heck, everything is still cheap and affordable. And some quarters even called for taxi fares to double or triple to make taxis more easily available instead of the current hide and seek game. So, where is the problem of rising cost when people are willing to pay so much more, even for the use of taxis?