Reduce All Creation To Ash

It's that time of the year again which for some reason gets me emo.



There are many people and things I should be grateful for.But as I reflect, I realise it's the negative stuff that refuses to go away.



Coming to university I thought, would have liberated me of certain prejudices and stereotypes.However, instead of this being the case,I've acquired new prejudices and new stereotypes and had old prejudices and stereotypes reinforced.



The only difference now after one semester, is that I can attempt to justify my negative perceptions of certain ethnicities and certain groups of people, better.



Misanthrope



Is what I'm becoming,I fear.



And it appears, I've good reason to become one.



Our happiness as human beings comes in relation to the misery of other human beings.



Take freedom for example.



In order for us to perceive our freedom,we have to view people who are not as free as us or have parts of their freedom suppressed.



e.g. : A woman living in the civilized world would see herself as having freedom as opposed to a woman living in a theocratic state.



Love is another sick joke.



In order for us to feel that feeling of being special and cared for we must view people whom the vast majority of society despise or doesn't even realise,exist.



And I'm talking about all forms of love.



Want to feel grateful for your loving family?



Look at someone who doesn't have one.



Want to feel grateful for your friends?



Look at someone who doesn't have any or who is treated badly by his.



Want to feel grateful that you're together with your special someone?



Look at someone who hasn't found their special someone.



Want to feel grateful for your god's love?



Look at the people you think won't be going to heaven with you or the people you hope, go to hell.



I suppose my arguments have major flaws in them and I hope that is the case.For my waning idealism is only being sustained by optimism.



Though there is one thing that I've learnt this semester, which might lead to my future redemption.I'm not sure why but something just gives me the feeling. this statement is important.



"The things we hate about other people, are the things we hate in ourselves."



Merry Xmas everyone :D

Reference: http://ashleyjoseph.blogspot.com/2009/12/reduce-all-creation-to-ash.html

SIA, SilkAir to raise fuel surcharges

TRAVELLERS planning to fly with Singapore Airlines (SIA) or its regional arm SilkAir in the next few months should book soon, because fuel surcharges are about to go up.



Round-trip tickets issued on or after April 1 will cost up to US$8 (S$12) more for ultra long-haul flights to Canada and the United States.



Those flying to regional points like Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila will pay US$4 more for a round trip, when the fuel surcharge goes up from US$32.



All other passengers, including those flying to China, India and Europe will pay a surcharge of US$108 for a round trip, compared to US$104 now.



The increase is the result of a rise in the price of jet fuel over the past two months, SIA said in a statement yesterday.



A barrel of jet fuel now costs about US$76, compared with US$67 in January.



SIA and SilkAir cut fuel surcharges twice, late last year and in January, when the price of jet fuel fell.



The increase will bring the surcharge back up to pre-January levels, though SIA said it will continue to keep the surcharge under constant review.

Reference: http://singapore-sodom.blogspot.com/2007/03/sia-silkair-to-raise-fuel-surcharges.html

CB Has Opened Up, Cocky No More

Yesterday I received an email reply from CB about my earlier complaint feedback. I can't help but feel that the email looked rather like a standard reply. The bank probably only filled in the blanks with my surname and the date of my email:

"Dear Mr Koo,



Thank you for your email dated 03/02/07.



Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience you had experienced.



At CB, we place significant emphasis on the quality of our service and customer satisfaction. We truly appreciate your time in providing us your feedback and we will endeavour to continue to improve our level of service in order to serve our customers better.



We wish to thank you for taking the time to provide us with this valuable feedback. We have since forwarded it to the relevant parties to assist you directly with your queries.



Thank you and have a nice day.



Sincerely,

JS

Direct Banking"

At slightly past 7 pm tonight, my handphone rang. I glanced at the caller-ID display - it was an unfamiliar handphone number. I answered the call. It was JY. He had called to offer me his apologies. He said that after reading my blog, he realised that he was "too much" that day. He explained that he was not himself that day. So it must be his identical twin brother whom I spoke to that day.



I said that I hoped that he learnt something from this incident. Not everyone was a pushover. He said he surely did. I reminded him about Helen, the coffee lady and told him that I accepted his apologies and asked him to convey my acceptance to the bank.



Now that JY had apologised, I am willing to put this incident behind me and I hope that CB and JY could too, without any hard feelings. Please don't retaliate by raising my loan interest rate some more. I am really at your mercy. On the other hand, it would be good to show how genuinely apologetic you are by slashing the interest rate.



Actually, I would very much have preferred JY to offer his apologies by commenting on my blog. Then, I would look less like Mr Lee Dai Soh telling a one-sided grandfather story here. Yes, it would be nice if JY could do what bluemad did, when I complained provided feedback about my not-so-pleasant experience when shopping around for an LCD TV.



I know what Mr Lam Chun See is thinking - that I look more and more like a difficult customer who likes to complain rather than that the service standards in Singapore sucks, am I right? Sheesh.

Reference: http://victorkoo.blogspot.com/2007/02/cb-has-opened-up-cocky-no-more.html

Sucked in

My daily consumption habits of news online brought me to an interesting story by a Singapore news portal which asked the question, how many people out there think that Singapore sucks?



The answer, according to the news portal, can be found in the number of members who belong to a Facebook group called 'Singapore Sucks' - which has 375 members at the time of writing. And was created by a Singaporean (so it has been reported).



Under Basic Info, the Facebook group says: "While Singapore has enjoyed stable economic growth for decades now, its people and culture have not progressed forward. Prolonged periods of tight government control on all aspects of life have created an atmosphere of workaholism because there is simply nothing else to do."



"The purposes of this group are to raise awareness for people from everywhere in the world about the current state of Singapore and for members to vent their frustration.



And it goes on to say that "Singapore needs a liberal government... and for that to happen Singaporeans have to change and have to start asking for a change."



The page goes on to list a number of "facts" which supposedly highlight Singapore's backwardness in a number of areas and mentions everything from its rankings in the Reporters Without Borders' Worldwide Press Freedom Index, to accusations the nation is supporting the Burmese military junta.



To be honest I am surprised the Facebook is group still active (it gained nearly 50 more members since the article in the news portal was published) especially now that mainstream media has turned its attention to it.



But what do you guys think? Will it get shutdown - does it deserve to be? And if the Group gets shutdown now does it not prove the point of its creator about Singapore's media laws?



If something similar were to happen here with an anti-Malaysia Facebook group being discovered - what would the media's reaction and government's reaction to it be?

Reference: http://ambootleg.blogspot.com/2009/04/sucks-to-be-you.html