Singapore - A place of Pleasure or of Torture?

Singaporeans - How Openminded Are They and In What Sense?

Is Singapore a Place of pleasure or is it one of torture? Are Singaporeans openminded or are they too brainwashed to think beyond what is directly in front of them?

These are the 2 questions that have been running around in my mind for a very long time.

From an outsider's point of view, Singapore is an absolute paradise, until they meet the people. Bear in mind that it is not everyone but just a small handfull of human beings who tend to spoil it for the rest of us. Having been on the receiving end of some of these people, I can understand why some people never want to go back to a place after they have visited it and have met some really "nice" people.

These are my thoughts on the 2 subjects.

For the first one, to me, Singapore in not a place of pleasure. It is 1. too hot. 2. too many kiasu singaporeans who want to be the first into the train, out of the train, onto the bus, down the bus, onto the escalator, in queue for whatever it is they want to get. Although Singapore has a "be courteous" campaign every year, yet there are many instances of discourteousness, which are more then courteousness. Every day on my way to work I am faced with such people, and I can say that I am ashamed at times to be called a Singaporean.

Yes we do have places of interest, places that can be called pleasurable, but its the weather and the people that destroys it. I can understand why tourists and some foreigners who come here visit or to work, do not want to come back after meeting some of these people. Because I too face the same thing.

For the second one, to me a lot of singaporeans are not very openminded. When I say that I mean they sometimes cannot accept someone else who has a different opinion contrary to theirs. The other I was in the office talking to some of my coleagues, and the subject of Michael Jackson and his charges came up. Well I said that I felt he was very pityfull, and that I had compassion and everyone stared at me like I had grown horns.

It is sad that people just believe what they see on the new or in newspapers. To me, news was to make you think as well as to make you aware of the things that are going on in the world. You should never believe everything you see or hear on TV and in the news.

So is Singapore a place of pleasure or is it one of torture? And are Singaporeans as openminded as they want they are? I will leave that to you to decide.

There are a few people in my life with whom I am seriously considering severing ties. I wonder how some people can become even more childish as they grow older. I have always thought that a person would grow up to become a more mature and openminded person. But it seems that I have been proven wrong again. It is sad how some people can become... Whats that word? More selfish and selfcentered even after a year out of school. Is it the world that has made them that way? Or were they like that in the beginning but I was just to blind that I did not see it?
After talking with some others or mutual friends I should say, I have found that many of them agree with me in these situations. These people are not worth worrying about or even thinking about. But then, they are still aquaintances aren't they? I would not want to do this, but to me, it has come to a point of where "enough is enough". I absolutely refuse to go through it anymore!!!!

Whoever you are reading this.... Let us hope and pray that you are not one of them!!!!

Then it come to my next question. What actually are friends? Are they people with whom we can talk with and who can understand us? Or are they people who pretend to be understanding and friendly, but are actually cold, proud and selfcentered? Are they people who care about us and our worries and problems? Or are they those who think only of themselves, their worries and problems and want others to worry about them?

Are friends real? Or are they just a fantasy in our minds where we Imagine those around us are our friends? I miss my close friends in the States. They were those whom I respected and with whom I could talk about anything in the world and who did not judge me. They were friends who could do anything and not worry about being tired or dirty. They were what I call REAL Friends!

I wonder if I will ever find such true friends as they were? Or like I said, are they only just imaginary?