Tourists Paid but Didn't Fly: Anti-Asian Anti-China/Chinese Amsterdam, Europe

9.45a.m. Monday 2021

Amsterdam? You want "not rowdy" tourists who would appreciate your city? Well,  you have just scared 2 away. What a pity for the Netherlands and a waste for us. 

I tried to defy all odds in order to go but itz not Covid that stopped us. Itz anti-Chinese reports coming out of Amsterdam, Europe and the USA. 

At this point in time,  my brother and I should be in the hotel room in Amsterdam planning on going somewhere already planned last night. Today this Monday,  the Albert Cuyp Market will be open. So that will be the first thing we will be going to. Landing at 6.50am at Schiphol airport yesterday Sunday, we would have missed Albert Cuyp Market since it's closed on Sundays. What is after Albert market today? I don't know. I don't plan until I get to Amsterdam. Will there be time enough for Philips museum at Eindhoven and get back to our Amsterdam hotel by evening? Probably not if we spend too much time at the market. 

We would have spent some Euros on food and maybe bought some interesting vintage items or anything. We would be strolling and enjoying the canals and beautiful summer scenery and trying out their coffees that bloggers have been raving about. This morning,  we would have just woken up in a nice quality bed with crisp white sheets in the expensive (yet the cheapest for its quality in all the accommodation listings) hotel room, showering and thinking of where to go for the rest of the day. 

Would we have completed our 9 nights and 10 days enjoyably without Anti-Chinese or Anti-Asian incident? We will never know. 

Because we didn't go. I paid for the flights from Singapore to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to Bucharest, Romania, plus 9 nights of an Amsterdam hotel room,  but we didn't board the 777-300 plane on Saturday 11.55pm.

We will never know if all of that happened as imagined. Whether we succeeded in finding the hotel on Saturday morning after landing, whether we were happy. 

We will never know whether we got from Schiphol airport to the hotel intact, safe from Anti-Chinese hate attacks . Whether we got a taxi or took the tram to the hotel. Whether we boarded the tram without incident if we had chosen that mode of public transportation. 

We will never know what it was like taking the tram. Or how difficult, or easy, it was to use their OV chip cards. 

We will never know what the food at Albert Cuyp taste like. Or what it would have been like to browse the stalls while walking through this "largest" street market in Europe. 

We intended to visit Philips museum in Eindhoven because my brother is a fan of their lightbulbs. My plan was to stay at Amsterdam the whole time and explore other regions of the Netherlands via trains and trams. For Eindhoven, I planned to take train from Amsterdam to Eindhoven and return to Amsterdam by evening because it's said that Eindhoven at night is not safe. 

Bro has been looking up to Philips as an inspiration. But now we won't know what it feels like inside the museum or what we would have seen. The museum gave us more of a reason to visit the Netherlands since we know nothing of the country. 

I certainly wasn't aware of "slanted-eyes" bullying that has been practised in the Netherlands for years, to the extent of tormenting Asian children throughout their childhood, or that Asian hate has now progressed to "gratuitous violence"---spike in reports due to Corona/Covid blaming China.

I have been so desperate to leave Singapore that although I read of the Anti-Chinese rally in Amsterdam,  I presumed it happened to Dutch-Chinese living there and not to tourists. I assumed that as tourists,  we would be spared. Though an Anti-Asian rally happened just 2 months ago,  I thought the unrest had perhaps cooled and it should be fine to travel there. Besides,  thus far,  I haven't read of a report where tourists were targeted.

I didn't want to check up on Amsterdam or Romania because they are only 2 out of 3 countries that we can go to without tests or quarantine (Romania is also cheaper overall than Amsterdam.). The other country--Albania--is difficult or impossible to access without going through horrible European airlines from Amsterdam,  and no direct flight from Singapore to Albania. 

Croatia that used to allow free entry for Singaporeans, is off-limits without tests and vaccination. Same for Turkey (I assume it's due to the discovery of UK/Delta variant in Singapore that Singapore was taken out of their list for green entry without restrictions). 

I didn't want to know (even though there was a nagging feeling to check). I didn't want to see any negative reports about Amsterdam or Romania because there was no other choice besides Amsterdam and Romania. I had to assume they are safe. That's how much I needed to leave Singapore. 

But after booking and paying,  it occurred to me that I should just have a look online. Googled "Asians and Covid and Amsterdam".  And did the same for Romania. 

All the ugliness came up. Amsterdam's anti-Asian discrimination, Romania's pickpockets, stray dogs, snatch thieves, child beggars and old buildings that are the verge of collapse due to government policy that don't incentivize them being torn down. 

It was a moment of revelation completely different from the romanticized bloggings. 

The more I read of the anti-Chinese situation in Amsterdam, and the attacks in Europe and  the USA,  the more fearful I got. Oh my God moment. 

This was serious news. They have started  physical violence against Chinese or Chinese-looking persons. They don't care where you are from. They attack before you can even explain. 

And I had just paid for the Amsterdam hotel and Bucharest flight. The booking platforms state no refunds in the event of cancellation or no-show. 

It was either forfeit the money or forfeit our lives if we fly there. 

I so much wanted to go. I already booked and paid, and for weeks, prepared things to bring. I even had a hard time with my brother in opening a new global multi-currency account with OCBC bank (don't do that unless you need the cards over the counter on the spot). 

Took an hour or more just to open the account linked to a savings account which I also had to open to get the global multi-currency account. 

I put total $9500 ($5930 euros) combined into the 2 accounts. Was prepared to put more if not enough during travel. 

I planned to stay longer in the Netherlands but too expensive. So based on cheapest airfare days,  it became reduced to just 9 nights. We would then leave for Romania and stay there for 1 month or 2 and see how. 

I paid total $3073.15 ($1918 euros) inclusive of OCBC's expensive exchange rates back and forth, but we didn't go to Amsterdam or Bucharest. Flight 777-300 left Singapore at 11.55p.m. for Amsterdam on Saturday with 2 empty seats that I had chosen and Paid for with care. 

All because of anti-Asian hate attacks now across Europe and the USA. 

Stupid Europe say they want tourists.  Actually,  they want only Caucasian tourists. 

If as Europe says, their economies are dying due to lack of tourist cash,  then I say for Amsterdam,  penis-suit-wearing tourists is all you are going to get since Netherlands and the rest of Europe are cutting out a big chunk of Asian money. 

Amsterdam pretends to be prim and proper by announcing they only want tourists who respect their "beautiful" city.  Well, my brother and myself have respect but after reading online reports of attacks,  Amsterdam and the rest of Europe won't be getting our money. The downside is that we don't get to see any beautiful European sceneries either. Lose-lose situation. 

What is so beautiful about a country that has been tormenting other people since childhood? 

All the online posts about travel destinations and how many European countries are open for travel are for Europeans and Americans. All the positive reviews are from European/Caucasian bloggers. Their experiences are unsurprisingly positive. What about experiences of Asian tourists? 

Europe makes travel difficult by wanting the digital travel pass which I already blogged is big mistake. Plus they haven't controlled the Covid numbers low enough yet they are opening to tourists. Plus there's anti-Chinese or anti-Asian discrimination. Now is not the time for such discrimination if you want money. 

As tourists entering your country,  we run the risk of bumping into Covid and its more contagious variant Delta. Plus the amount of money spent just planning a trip to your country. Just to see...

Discrimination and racist treatment against us who are not even from China? Just to see old architecture and canals? 

Do we even have time to explain that we are from Singapore before we get attacked? 

Europe needs to do better for tourist dollars.

At first and even now,  I regret spending that money without checking the countries more factually first instead of just reading travel blogs. My defence is that it is a reflection of how badly I want to leave Singapore. 

Yet  I cannot regret not going because the latest news is that Europe is unable to control Delta virus. 

While booking,  I also considered that there's a risk of virus exploding. Airports may close,  stranding us in Amsterdam whereby we don't have so much money for long stay . We cannot return to Singapore even if we are not stranded because returning means $2000 quarantine in hotel room for 14 days. 

So we'll be floating around outside. 

Europe wants tourists but European countries also need to consider how hard it is for travellers from Asia to get there. If you want European or Caucasian or American tourists only,  then say so. 

I still want to go to Europe. Even though I see online that Amsterdam has toilets problem. But I don't know when, if ever, I am going. 

Age Discrimination in Singapore as bad as Anti-Asian Anti-Chinese in Europe and USA

5.40pm Tues 29 June 2021

I notice Singaporeans, due to their small village mentality,  cannot discern situations before offending people. That's how they get people angry with them. Examples: red T-shirts "Ambassadors" and security personnel. 

Hurt and anger directed at them can be easily avoided if they only use their brains. 

For instance,  just now I was sitting away from the crowd to a quieter area at Vivocity board walk on street level.  I was taking out a piece of pita bread and just about to spread some pepper tuna with a spoon when I heard a security male call from across the pond, "Auntie! Wear mask after you eat Ok?". 

??? He called me what? I looked up at him,  really displeased.  My meal totally ruined,  my mood for some peace completely gone. 

What a stupid, hateful man.  

I said,  "I am not 'auntie'. Don't call me 'auntie '." and turned back to my food. 

Just as we don't appreciate racism, don't insult people based on age-discrimination.

I don't even know him. We are not related in any way.  I have 2 university degrees (what has he got?).  I just want some peace to quietly eat my meal and get a decent Wi-Fi connection from being closer to Sentosa.

Why insult me? I haven't even taken a bite of my pita bread. And he's telling me to wear my mask "after" I have finished. Come on. You cannot let me eat in peace first? 

Of course after eating,  I will put my mask back on. Needless to say. He is so free walking back and forth just like the library "service ambassador" that he can't wrap his brain around that and must say useless things. 

How would you feel if someone tells you off at your meal? 

I wished that when it is his turn to eat,  his food will drop to the floor. 

As a person,  regardless of race or age,  you gotta have common sense. Where is the benefit in getting a stranger angry with you? The anger directed at you is bad. Why incur it? 

The better course of action is to walk away first. Let the person eat.  Give the person some space since it's obvious the person wants to be alone from the crowd.  Then after a suitable time,  walk back. If by then,  the person didn't wear a mask,  then tell him/her nicely. Just say,  "Please wear your mask. ". That's all. No need to call the person any age-discriminatory terms.

It's just simple consideration towards another person. It's also self-preservation from people's anger and hate and evil eye towards you.

There is no difference between the Anti-Chinese/anti-Asian racism in the Netherlands and Europe, and the age discrimination in Singapore. Both are attacks on people. 

I regret that because I feared racist attacks in Amsterdam,  I let the plane fly without me. I should have left.

Very tired of Singapore. No meaning. All fakery and illusions. I am sure the poor woman who lost her son to the army understands this all too well. She made a terrible mistake in inculcating the wrong ideas in her son, resulting in his death. 

EU Travel Covid Digital Pass

13 June 2021 Sunday 6.28p.m.

I didn't expect the EU (or Europeans) to be so stupid. Travel pass. Now? And they say they are desperate for tourists. If really desperate,  the travel pass shouldn't be implemented, at least not now. Are they even thinking of tourists outside of the EU? 

Now the EU countries have become a question: Are you worth it? 

And it appears countries such as Amsterdam and Malta realize this. Ergo,  they are starting to, or planning to, clean up their image. 

It's now like a beauty pageant. Who is the prettiest and  most worth spending money on?  In the past, such EU countries could get millions of tourists. Not anyhow anymore. 

In travelling to the EU now,  we take a big risk. Besides exposing ourselves to the virus...

The travel pass makes it an even harder decision. We could be stranded in an EU country because we don't have the travel pass. We might be denied entry into supermarkets and cafes and public transport because we don't have "entry pass". And we can't come home because there'll be 2 weeks of quarantine at a $2000 cost and tests which we are trying to avoid in the first place. 

1) Worldwide, or even Europe, vaccination percentages are low, not even 50% of their populations. And there's shortage of vaccines for many countries. Issuing the pass now denies entry to many travellers who haven't been vaccinated. 

2) What about travellers who prefer not to be vaccinated due to various risk concerns regarding the vaccines and allergies? Also,  going to clinics/centers to get tested exposes people to the virus. And until better (non-invasive) testing becomes available,  the travel pass is a barrier to EU travel. 

3) It's surprising that the EU is not democratic after all.  What individual rights? Like the US has said of the EU,  "no vaccine, no service". Segregating people into 3 categories is forcing people to be in one. If not compliant, then one simply cannot enter. So how can the EU say they need tourists?  Even if they mean only EU tourists,  many of the EU countries are still having high infection numbers with low vaccination percentages. 

4) The travel pass is based on the assumption that vaccinations and PCR tests are accurate and reliable.

Come 1 July,  there will be an explosion of infection all over the EU since the message is that vaccination and prior PCR testing or recovery testing equals "safe". People will be complacent since it is assumed that everyone who have entered are "safe".

The EU seems to be ignoring reports of cases of infection or re-infection and deaths even after vaccination and negative test results. 

It's also unknown whether vaccinated people can transmit the virus or are spreading the virus (although if they are transmitting, infection numbers in the population would have gone up with increasing vaccinated percentages). 

The vaccines were released in a hurry and vaccinations done in the absence of more data. Meaning, the world's populations are being used as guinea pigs. 

5) Discriminatory. What happens to tourists who go to the EU before the travel pass is issued? They are stuck without the travel pass and become forced to take tests in order to leave or go to another EU country?

I really want to go to the Netherlands now to see the famous markets and second shops and museums. But this Amsterdam regulation troubles me. Won't the restaurants deny me entry in order to get more customers and lie that they are full because I don't have an entry pass? 

6) I am disappointed to think that Amsterdam may have to wait before I can go,  if at all. I have been checking flights and hotels reviews and it certainly looks very bad. 

Apart from the travel pass problem, Netherlands hotels are expensive, above $100/night. Even for that price, they don't fix the heating and air-con before guests arrive. No breakfasts. Paid breakfasts are poor. The Dutch seem to be stingy people since room price don't include breakfast. They may not clean the room. No bathtub. No swimming pool. 

Despite their stated regulation that masks must be worn at the airport, review shows and mentions that passengers crowd around without wearing masks. 

Then there's the negative reviews of KLM. They do have direct flights from Singapore to Amsterdam. But. Poor meals, flight delays, no refunds. Nobody answers the phone,  uncontactable office that don't exist? I find their online booking platform goes weird when I am checking prices for one-way tickets. 

I look to SIA since they also have direct flights,  although at higher prices. Their booking platform is also suspiciously oddly behaved.  So I asked their messaging box if they still fly to Netherlands or to the Hague. And the reply contains no greeting, just "No". No to which one? SIA always been like that or only now? No wonder they are in financial trouble. 

All these problems just to get to the Netherlands... Plus the Travel pass. It's not that I don't wanna go. It's just more and more impossible.

Even at the risk of exposure to the virus, my brother and I still want to fly because every day, we grow despondent, stuck in Singapore. Meaningless. 

At this time,  there's only Netherlands,  Romania and Albania open freely to Singapore residents. No direct flights to the latter two. 

It's not that I don't wanna go to the Netherlands.

I just read an article about Amsterdam. And I have also checked with a few enough hotels to know hotels don't accept cash, which I thought was strange. 

Amsterdam don't take cash. Supermarkets take only Maestro cards. Not even MasterCard allowed? The writer goes on to warn: be careful of buying 2ndhand bikes from street sellers. The bikes might be stolen or be missing vital parts. And don't buy drugs from street sellers because it's illegal. Cyclists may run through tourists who stray or linger. As the canals go round the buildings, you might get lost without GPS or Google Maps. 

Another writer says don't walk out late at night in Eindhoven in the suburbs or might be mugged. 

However,  Amsterdam/Netherlands is one of the safest countries. Uh-huh. 

I don't even need to go to Amsterdam to feel familiar with it. The mess and the restrictions sound like Singapore but worse. We would just  be stepping from one to the other but pay more.

Carousell SG is Shit Again for Sellers

13 Apr Sat: Update:

It is a newly created "Algorithm" designed to only allow "unique" posts instead of new postings. Limits both buyers & sellers.  Difficult for sellers because often there are same brands of popular items. How to be unique? A duck is a duck. How to call it something else? There are so many GG7x Molten basketballs listed. It's impossible to be the only unique GG7x Molten.

==========


Fri 5 Apr 2019

Same shitty MO from Carousell. If there is a better alternative than Carousell, go for it.

1) Admin seems to be unemployed & very free to keep deleting postings. If your listings get "attention" from the stupid admin, you will notice. It is not a systems glitch.  You can test.

a) If you see your listing appears for "moments" & suddenly disappears upon refresh, it is not a glitch. It is the stupid admin purposely deleting your post. You can try posting the same listing again at another time & if it remains there, it means the admin wasn't looking or not online at that time to delete.

Very troublesome & stupid Carousell admin. Never change since a few years ago when that shithead admin tried selling men's bags with false claims & kept deleting my posts that were selling the same bags as him. Should still be the same admin now since the MO is the same.

I don't know why investors keep putting money into the admin's pocket. Put money into Carousell pocket = the admin don't work & very free to "adjust" the system until it becomes difficult for sellers to sell.

Carousell = trouble for many sellers. It's very hard when you need money urgently. Very hard when you need to put food on the table. Carousell admin don't know what it feels like to be poor & hungry, keep purposely deleting sale postings.

I hope the stinking, insane admin experiences poverty & paths blocked by the actions of other people. Then maybe he can learn what it feels like.

b) In the search results, your listing will not be seen by buyers but you will still see it in your sales page. So you will mistakenly think that your listing is displayed when actually, the admin already deleted it.  So, you will notice that you have no buyers enquiring about that item at all. You will think that nobody is interested when actually, no buyer can see it.

c) Normally, the same post cannot be posted again, but if you can post again, it is because the first one already deleted by admin.

d) Carousell admin will also delete seller's account without explanation just because a buyer falsely accuses the seller. Just because of 1 buyer's shit, you can lose your more than 100 items sales page & postive feedback reviews.

2) Carousell unfairly treats sellers. Without checking or clarifying with seller, they will act only on the buyer's accusations & delete sellers' account.

Every time when dealing with buyer, it is high risk for honest sellers. Almost all buyers are unreasonable, inconsiderate & selfish. It is purely business but buyers always think sellers are at their beck & call.

When that happens & buyer complains, Carousell will not check with seller & will just shut the seller's account.

Many sellers have already been avoiding Ebay or pulling out, because Ebay has been unfairly siding with buyers. Carousell is also not respecting sellers at all.

3) Carousell admin has been trying to "fine-tune" the search system until they mess up the whole system.

When buyers want to browse, they usually will just anyhow type some general words to see the results. They are not going be detailed to narrow down their search. But new postings at Carousell are not showing up in search because of very tight keywords set by admin. Buyers have to type specific keywords before a listing will be displayed (if not already deleted by admin).

So, in search results now, you will see a lot of old postings even when you set filter search as "recent". More than a month old, even 1 year-old listings. Meanwhile, a lot of new listings are not displayed or end up very far down in the results.

For instance, you type "air purifier" in search function & put "recent" as filter. You will get a lot of old listings. To see your newly listed post, you need to type the brand. "Samsung air purifier" & then you will see it further down the results.

Buyers who are just browsing for air purifiers are not going to type any brand if they are just looking. New postings should automatically appear at the top of the search results. Why all the old listings? Remember, I said the filter already set to "recent".

Carousell admin is making it hard for sellers to sell. Sellers are getting no response for their items because buyers are not able to see the posts.

4) With the admin being such a shithead, I dare not even give my card details to pay for any 3-day bump or any shit like that. You dare to trust them to fulfill what you paid for?


Example: 

Buyer with psychological problem. He wanted to buy a men's sling pouch. I let him choose day, time & place. He told me the clothes he would be wearing so that I can identity him. I also told him what I would be wearing. But on that day, he changed his clothing & just walked around without bothering to check around even though I was nearby. I saw him & wondered if he was the buyer because his clothes wasn't as described.

So, ended up he just walked away when I was just nearby! Then he messaged me on Carousell, accusing me of not turning up & not replying to his messages on that day.  I said I was there & waited but he didn't turn up.

I was so fed up of his brainless accusations. I didn't say I am too poor to afford data plan for my phone. I am so poor I don't have phone subscription.

Why did he last minute change his identifying clothes? Terrible.

He then complained to the Carousell admin who didn't even check with me. The admin allowed him to post negative comment in my review box.  Even after I explained in the review box, the admin still deleted my account without talking to me first.

I don't understand why buyers always last minute change their timing when they themselves had chosen the day & time. As a seller, I am not at their beck & call. I have other things to do before the meet-up.

If you say meet at 5pm, then I will be there at 5pm. I only get free wi-fi at my downstairs. I don't have phone subscription. Even if I have phone that's plugged in 24/7, it is also very inconsiderate to expect me to agree to sudden last minute change of time.

Why do buyers suddenly change to earlier timing & then accuse seller of not turning up, not serious in selling etc...?

Very inconsiderate.

I already let the buyers choose time & day. And yet they demand for last minute changes.

Even worse, buyers will say they will come between this and this time... & make seller wait the whole day.

One Singh woman: she came with a Singh man in a car. She herself agreed to her own timing & day to pick up. But on that day, she last minute changed to earlier timing & then accused me of not turning up.

And then SMSed me regarding the agreed meet up time with "you better be there at this time.".

Better be there? You think you are who? Completely no respect for the seller. If you arrive earlier than the agreed time, that is your business. I have other things to do before the meet-up time. You last minute change time & expect me to be there?

When she saw the vintage item, she shook her head & pretended like it was dirty. My items are very well kept. And vintage items cannot look 100% perfect like new. Aged-look sure have. I suspect she wanted a discount. Really hateful behaviour.

Then she said she needed to "check" first whether everything is in order. I assured her that everything was in order. I said "If you are not buying, I can sell to someone else.". Straightaway, she appeared surprised & quickly said, "I am buying!".

I am not racist but there are some patterns exhibited by such race of people that reflects badly on them. Their tactic. Pretend to be unhappy with an item, expecting to get discount. And then surprised when I say I can sell to other people if they don't want. Suddenly, they will want.

Another buyer was an Indian woman from India. She wanted some baking trays. Said got a few scratches & appeared unhappy. Dragging, keep complaining, wasting time.  I said, "It's ok. I can sell to other people if you don't want.". I took the trays from her, walking off & found the trays still stuck to her hand that was refusing to let go. She then paid.

One guy arranged his own timing. I told him to give me advance notice 1-2 hours before coming. But he didn't say clearly what time he was coming. So I went out. Then he said I didn't show up & accused me of not being serious about selling.

Let me tell everyone, ok? I need money. I am always serious about selling for money. Just let me know time & place & I will be there. Simple. If you last minute change this, change that, I cannot guarantee I can be there.

Current Activity

12:58am 4 Oct Thurs

Current activity:  Reading research papers review online.

What's better than Distributing Flyers (Singapore)?

4:27pm Today is... *checks laptop bottom corner* Wed 25 July

I found out yesterday that I make a very bad flyer distributor.

I stood there, looking upwards at several blocks of HDB flats @ Toa Payoh & considered which of these apartments contain school children...  It does not help that no clothes are flapping out on bamboo poles from the windows, kitchen or otherwise. All windows mostly closed. What the heck... did they all keep in all the clothes? All dried on this hot day? Are they not home? Do they even have school kids?

Another part of me was scolding myself: What the heck are you standing there for instead of going up there & giving out flyers?

Fact is... I have a limited quantity of flyers. Strongly bearing in mind an online comment by a guy who stuffed 500 flyers into mailboxes & got only 1 reply.... I strongly do not want to waste my flyers in such a shooting spree. Randomly shooting flyers is a waste.

Another fact is... I strangely have an aversion to messing up people's door by inserting a flyer...

Another fact is.... I don't think it's gonna work coz I once gave out 200 (or maybe more) flyers along the entire stretch of Orchard Road on a super hot day & not a single result.

I am reluctant to give out flyers. It's like giving out junk. There has to be a better way. But what to do when you have no money & almost everyone living in HDB flats are uneducated with no money?

I am stuck with 400+ flyers.... out of 500. *grimaces*

Singapore is such a miserable place to be in.

Did you read about that stupid Russian man who stayed in Singapore with 4 kids & he's applying for Singapore citizenship? Consigning his poor 3 sons to serving the army when they turn 18. My god. That's what I mean by selfish & stupid parents.

If you wanna apply for citizenship, do it yourself. But don't do it to your kids who don't know anything & can't choose. You are shackling your kids to a servitude that they are innocent about. You are clipping their wings so that they cannot fly when they grow up.  You are damning them to hell.

I really want to distribute flyers to Hougang but the trip to & back is about $5. If no result from the flyers, I would've spent $5 for nothing. I'm too broke for that.

I need free publicity....

My lack of money is shouting at me to:  DO SOMETHING!!!

You know.... Ken Seeroi should meet up with Chris Broad... Oh... I just checked ... Ken Seeroi already has a wife. What a pity. Two cynically cool men meeting up...is sexy. Married is not.

And now, I've to go to the library ... walk there.. to Self-Study in order to pass an exam in... one month? Two months? I don't think I'm gonna make it...  >.<

Grammar... Reading.. I keep thinking if only we can download the language into our brains. It's faster. Just plug in, fast download like Data in a few hours or minutes.  Plenty of time left till exam time. Relax.

Gee.... come to think... as I start thinking... I haven't thought about how to teach English to people who don't know English... O.O  Do we start at ABC? Good heavens.

I mean... what to introduce first? If past tense & present tense isn't first... then.... what is? Vocab? Cat? Dog? That sort of thing? *thinking*

Sentence construction? The fact that they can print on a T-shirt "Are You Enjoy Spring?" means they don't know the "ing" in describing a motion. When actually, they do have the same idea in their street slang such as "gugu-ru", which means Googling (if you don't know something, google it).

Maybe I should start with that?

I am reminded of the time when I asked 2 school girls for help with buying a ticket at the machine in a convenience store. And they just completely pounced on my small notepad of scribbled English as if they could read....

They took over my notepad, flipping through the pages... devouring the scribbled words... while I watched in quiet surprise at the attention they gave to the directions that I had written to get myself around.

Are they sure they know what they are reading? Coz it's not just in English. It's in scribbled English. I mean... it's in my handwriting.

簡単な英語シンガポールで！英語を習う!

簡単な英語シンガポールで！ 恐れることはありません！月〜金：午前10時〜午後9時 土曜日と日曜日は午前10時から午後9時まで。 時間を選択してください。すべてのレベルが大歓迎です！ 会話型英語、ビジネス英語または学校英語。 シンガポールの忙しい労働者、主婦、学生のために！ Dhoby Ghaut MRTの近くの快適なクラス。 みんなの手ごろな料金！ 今すぐサインアップ！ フレキシブルなタイミングと日数！一緒に学びましょう！gmail.com に書き込んでください thezinepin

Looking @ Chris Broad's Instagram...

Hell shit! I also got my own photos to show! Even better ones than his!! I got one picture perfect like straight outta National Geographic. Really.  Women in full kimono walking along a path. From the back.

U know, Chris is so photogenic. Handsome fellow. Looking at one of his photos... I suddenly realized I gotta have a large poster of his face in my room. To join the ones that I already have of Richie & Lee Min Ho. People will wonder who is that? I'll say "Chris Broad".  I don't care if you know him or not. He's handsome to me.

Yo, Chris. Can I hug you? U look so squishable. I mean, soft. Huggable.

シンガポールの英語クラスレッスン [学ぶ]

こんにちは、あなたがシンガポールにいて、英語を学びたいなら、私はあなたに教えることができます。 私はシンガポールで15年以上の英語教育を受けているシンガポール国立大学 優秀卒業生です。 私はあなたに英語で何かを教えることができます。 会話英語、ビジネス英語、ライティング、リーディング、スペル。 Dhoby Ghaut MRT の近くの快適な会場。 4レッスンのみ $180。各レッスン1時間。英国の標準英語です。 心配しないでください。 忙しい日本の専門家、学生、主婦に最適です。 あなたの友人を連れて一緒に楽しく学びましょう！ thezinepin@gmail.com

残念ながら、私はシンガポールの日本人に英語の教育サービスを広告する方法を知らない。 メッセージを広めてください。 ありがとうございました。


# シンガポールで英語を学ぶ

Flyers Haters in Singapore...

Are stupid Singaporeans. They have no talent, no entrepreneurial spirit, zero. They live in a stupidly simple world in their brains.

They hate flyers & hate flyer distributors & hate advertisers without considering how hard it is to do business in Singapore. They have no intelligence to think beyond their own selfish little gate & their selfish little world behind it which they think they own but actually don't.

These flyer haters didn't buy their flat. They are only renting it long-term. They own nothing.

One fellow even said flyers are a waste of resources. Yeah? You think people don't know that? Is that a revelation?

You think individuals & businesses want to waste money, waste  "resources" on distributing paper?

What options do individuals & small businesses have in Singapore when it comes to low-cost advertising?

In a country where you are not even allowed to make money from selling "your" flat, what options do we have? Tell me.

One would say there is the "internet". The same fellow said: there is the internet, why would he read flyers?

Yeah? Have you personally tried promoting a business online & witnessed the result if any?

Have you personally taken out money to pay for a classifieds ad & witnessed the result if any?

Have you personally tried promoting or creating awareness for something you want to do? No.

Fact is, you can't even save your own ass even if your life depended on it.

Have you personally gone on the street giving out flyers to a target audience just so they will read it  & not throw away that piece of $ which you paid for?

Do you know what it feels like to see someone take your flyer, walk a few steps & toss it into the trash bin?

That flyer that you paid for: You designed it. You searched for the lowest cost printing shop. You negotiated for the best price per piece. You decided you are going to distribute the flyers yourself. You had to think of where to target your distribution.

Every flyer carries your every thought, your every $, your every wish for your own hope to succeed.

Do you know what is hope? 

People who criticize flyer distributions & make fun of the individuals behind the ads & call just to disturb... these people are evil-hearted pieces of shit that deserve to live in shitty Singapore. They deserve to die here with nothing to show for at the end of their lives. Not even their "house" is theirs. They own nothing.

It pisses me off to read of one shithead guy who says he goes to "school" & hates it when people gives him flyers. Piece of shit. If you hate flyers, just don't take. He went to the extent of bothering the town councils & other agencies who ignored him.

If you are still going to "school", nobody is going to listen to you because you know shit. What experience have you got? Zero. Your "world" is just that few inches of iPhone screen & you want to talk as if you know something.

Can you choose not to serve in the Singapore army? Likewise, people who distribute flyers to create awareness for their business have no choice.

Have you worked 15 hours straight just to pay 1 utility bill? With little to spare for groceries? Have you tried looking for food in the supermarket with just $1.10?

If you have personally stood in the hot blazing sun or drizzle to give out your own flyers to strangers, you will never say you hate flyers.


3:11am 21 July Sat

Later in the day, I have to go to RWS run by fucking foreigners who are so rude & evil & ungrateful. Why did the Singapore government let them in to work? They are in managerial positions when they have no right to be.