streaming

its never too early to choose: science or arts stream?

two of a kind

so i caught the kids are all right, the movie that recently has all of singapore's conservatives up in arms because it supposedly promotes a homosexual lifestyle by portraying the central characters, a pair of lesbians, as being able to have happy, functional relationships.

it was serious enough that the censors only allowed a single print run for the movie, which meant that the movie was only allowed to be screened at one cinema. sheesh.

in any case, i was happy to see that the cinema was filled to the max. was it more of hype and commotion or cinephilic interest, i am not sure, but it sure is heartwarming and consoling to see that people are not as homophobic as the government.

the film was alright and the plot was ok, save for the part where the sperm donor paul decides to leave his hot african girlfriend for one of the lesbian mothers. i mean, seriously? you expect me to believe that? haha. and rather than seeing how potentially damaging homosexual relationships are (according to many christians and the government), i saw the beauty of long-term relationships, and also the challenges involved in maintaining one. how it is important not to take any one for granted, and to remember people for their good points, rather than their bad. i am also now more than ever convinced that everyone has a right, regardless of sexual orientation, to build and sustain meaningful family relationships.

sometimes i am ashamed, because these supposed "abominations of nature" can do so much better than the rest of us "normal" people. sigh.

me against the virus

i need to get ready for mser tomorrow, you bitch.

reflection of myself

thanks to jh, i am now hooked on ymfy as well.

amazingly enough, i found myself right on the first post. an excerpt:

"
In the beginning, everything about them will excite you. Their opinions on Woody Allen (GIVE ME MORE!), their upbringing, their aspirations: it will all be riveting. Study them like an archaeologist would study bones.

...

Two months go by. You go to work, you go to your lover, and you go to dinner with your friends to talk about your lover. “It just feels nice to have somebody, you know? Whatever we have, it’s normal. It’s refreshing.” Say these words over and over even if you don’t know what they exactly mean. [truncated]

And then things begin to dissolve into crumpled wrapping paper. You start to get annoyed at them for things that would’ve made you smile two months earlier. [...] Think about who your lover really is. Know every little detail of their life, about their strained relationship with their mother, about the time they cried in front of a convenience store. Know it all and begin to understand that it doesn’t mean shit.

(and) Their anger will turn you on and you’ll respond, “I’m not incapable of loving. I’m just incapable of loving you.”
"

indeed. its not even the beginning yet but i can already see the end coming.

bahget 2011

so you have it. budget 2011. how was it for you? did it meet your expectations? could the government have done more? or have they done too much?

for me, the budget was the same as every other year. cold, calculated, and convenient.

the government had pledged to help low and middle income families with the rising costs of living. their solution? a one-time off $100 to $800 "grow and share" package. what? you mean after a bumper year of 14.5% (oft cited, but actual value needs to be further substantiated in another post) growth, a one-time shot in the arm is enough to help all singaporeans? logic will tell you that keeping costs low, and not disbursing financial assistance, will be more helpful to the everyday singaporean. simply because $800 today will be worth $700 tomorrow, and probably even less the year after given our crazy inflation rate nowadays. but cash in the bank is always good, especially with myopic singaporean and the elections round the corner.

as expected, most of the budget initiatives also came from cpf top-ups. how convenient! by doing this, the government can pass off the illusion of helping the people without actually having to draw on its coffers. because as we all know, cpf money is virtual money. you know, sort of like a walt disney cartoon: comforting to see that sum in your cpf bank account, but you know that you can never touch it until the day you die. i think the only person who has benefited from this portion of the budget is our dear cpf chairwoman herself, ms ho ching.

the only part of the budget which i agreed with was the abolition of the radio and television license fees. finally! this should give mediacorpse some wake-up call and hopefully kick them on their asses to produce some shows that can actually be watch-able.

so while you go out and celebrate and count your blessings, the larger question remains: is this the best that the government can do? i thought that they could have done more, especially when mr tharman announced that the government was putting $4b back into the reserves. cut back financial aid? curtail government spending? yes, if public spending is in deficit. but i guess we are so uniquely singaporean that we have to be "responsible and prudent" even in good times. certainly, i do not wish for us to be too extravagant, but a little bit more tangible reward would not break the bank either.

and lest you forget, you forgetful singaporeans, the public transport fare review exercise and gst increase are upcoming. you think you can get your money so easily? ha! wait long long.. =P

on why we need to keep housing prices low

the friends around me are all starting to get married, so sometimes they talk about property. which had somewhat piqued my interest as well. in housing prices, not marriage. so anyway, i was horrified that it costs $562,000 nowadays to afford a NEW 5-room flat (120 sqm, dbss) in amk nowadays. 30 years ago, the same flat would cost like $70,000, $100,000 max.

well even taking into account inflation of about 3% a year since 1980, that is still like a 500% increase in hdb prices! but salaries have only at most, doubled in numerical value for the averageman since then.

for its part, honest hdb had changed its mission statement from aiming to provide low cost housing to "affordable" housing for the general populace. but what is affordable? in no way does a $500,000 30-year mortgage sound like affordable to me!

so now, there is a lot of talk about all the problems plaguing singapore, like our low TFR, foreign competition, rising cost of living, and i have figured that the most effective solution would be to tackle the root cause, which is to keep housing (and specifically public housing) prices low, because:

- young couples cannot afford to buy houses, how to get married?
- no marry no babies.
- no babies means more foreign talent.
- more foreign talent means artificially depressed wages.
- rich get richer, poor get poorer.

as a result, those who eventually settle down and have a family in singapore would find that they have extinguished their cpf savings paying for their mortgage by the time their children are of university-going age. so what happens now? their children probably would take a loan from the bank to finance their studies, get into debt even before they graduate, and then the entire cycle starts again.

you may say that i'm whining, just complaining but not suggesting any solutions to solve the problem. but hey i'm not a million-dollar paid minister, so don't expect me to do the thinking for you.

open transfer window

time and space sure worked to the advantage of torres

feeling topsy and turvy this week. actually it started from last week, before cny. the incongruous sms from the pa enquiring if i would be free on the 7th for an interview was the first sign. i thought nothing much of it during the holidays - after all, this was the military and we all know what happens to rumoured postings right?

that's right, they stay as just that: rumours.

then i went for the interview and found out a bit more about the situation. i was still not hoping much for anything, because i had not heard anything firm yet from anyone. plus, i did not know how many other candidates were there for the post. were there other people vying for the post as well? was this just a weak attempt at "fair employment"? and, of all the people in the world, why in the world would they choose me?

but an email came, confirming that i had indeed been shortlisted (and possibly selected) for the post. with effect from XX 2011. yippee i thought, but i also wondered how in the world would i be able to make the move, especially with all the upcoming ops and with me being the only one around to see things through.

true enough, another email came swiftly enough, not to block but to postpone. well, ok its not that bad but now i think the post might go to someone else who can post in earlier because as a boss, how can you justify leaving a post vacant for several months while waiting for a particular chosen one to arrive? well, exceptions are possible if you are an overseas scholar, but i'm not and that's another story for another day.

sigh. i hate this time and space thing but it seems to be the reality everywhere.

hopping for good luck

in the new wabbit year! gongxifacai, hongbaonalai!!!

wow so fast and its already 初四; end of the long cny holidays and time to head back to work tomorrow.

but oh well at least its been a super 4 days of feasting and drinking and tennis and cycling and meeting relatives and watching movies and banluck and more drinking and drinking. and more to look forward to next weekend! haha. its been a great start to the year, now to carry the momentum forward! =)