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Showing posts from 2016

Decoding Singlish | #SingaporeSignatures

Singapore. It’s not Manhattan. It’s not Tokyo and it is not Hong Kong. Singapore is a wonderful city to live in. It is modern, clean, environmentally friendly, extremely efficient, and is home to very friendly and hard-working people. But the minute you talk to your taxi driver outside the airport, you know that you are going to have trouble for the weeks to come. There seems to be a pulse here.  If you know Mandarin or Tamil you can fit in easily, but even otherwise, the city is enveloping and welcoming with its own version of English. Singlish. There's L.A., there's the immortal "la la la" song lyric, there's the rock band from Liverpool -- but there's no "lah" like the one in Singapore. The word "lah" can be, and often is, added to the end of any sentence in Singapore. English is widely spoken in Singapore. However, you will find Singaporeans’ speech peppered with Singlish. Singlish is a portmanteau word made from th

The “Fine” City | #SingaporeSignatures

Singapore. It’s not Manhattan. It’s not Tokyo and it is not Hong Kong. As long as you are fine with its fines. The Lion City. The Garden City. The Asian Tiger. All venerable nicknames, but the long-time favorite to tourists is ‘The “Fine” City’. Singapore is a wonderful city to live in. It is modern, clean, environmentally friendly, extremely efficient, and is home to very friendly and hard-working people.  Singapore is a small nation with few of its own natural resources. Yet in the past 50 years it has transformed itself into one of the world's economic powerhouses. This is the foremost reason why its praise internationally and its excellent town planning model is studied. I last visited Singapore in 2010 and it has been the ever-lasting impression it left on everyone in my family. I’m back in Singapore in 2016 and it has now been 4 months since I have stayed in the city and the experience surely differs. For bringing up a family, or for a short-term tourist visi

My Christmas in Singapore | #SingaporeSignatures

You might not get real snow or reindeers, but Christmas in Singapore is as big as any other celebration during the year. I have been screaming on my daily social media everywhere how Singapore preps with Christmas decorations 4 months before December. The famous shopping belt on Orchard Road- a region I work- is spectacularly lit up every December to ramp up the festive mood. (On a side note: With Christmas now here and indicating that the lights will soon dim out I’m wondering if my motivation to go to work will still be as high.) Orchard Street All Orchard Street calls for is to whip out your cameras and smartphones, and get ready to snap some seriously stunning shots as you experience Christmas on  A Great Street.     Majestic arches and millions of glittering lights line the streets for 2.88 kilometres, from Tanglin Mall all the way to Plaza Singapura. Visitors both young and old get to play games at specially designed booths, with wonderful prizes t

13 Ways to Say Bye to Homesickness | #SingaporeSignatures

“It's a kindness that the mind can go where it wishes.”  ― Ovid, The Poems of Exile: Tristia and the Black Sea Letters *   *   * Hello, Gorgeous People! I know that it's been a while since you last heard from me and a lot of people have been wondering if I actually managed to get myself so engaged that I would let go of one of my   favorite   activities: blogging. Well, to be entirely honest, perhaps taking care of myself has simply been one wooing excuse on my behalf to   apologize   about my absences in various aspects of my life. What has been really   up   is   a lack of time spent with my Self, with me sitting down and recording my thought   processes. Anyway, let's bridge the gap between words and actions and get going with what this post was meant to be all about. *   *   * I just thought it had   be   great writing a post on this. Trust me, this won't include an option where you have to Skype with the folks   everyday. Having

The positive and negative effects of cell phones

When Abraham Graham Bell invented the telephone with the mere intention of creating a device that would allow his deaf mother and wife hear, he was without any doubt highly ignorant of the dimensions his simple invention would take decades from then. From cell phones as big as soap bars to lightweight smartphones, the simple means of communication has undergone a remarkable metamorphosis. Today, cell phones thrive ubiquitously in the daily life of the common men despite their negative effects. But does their general acceptance in society mean that the positive effects of cell phones outweigh their cons? To start with , cell phones have   indisputably bridged the   communication gaps   between people. This not only on an auditory level but also on a visual level as most cell phones are now equipped with cameras.   As reported by Pew Internet's 2012 survey, over 65% of American adults believe that their cell phone facilitates their interaction with people.   From yet anot

December | #SingaporeSignatures

# December . December is meant to exceptional. December is meant to be fun. December is all about joviality, celebrations, holidays and family. At least that's how it's been for the past 19 years of my existence. December 1st, 2016. Who would have thought would be spending it in Singapore. Worst, spending it as a student who is trying to juggle between the unapologetic disgust of going to a place of work where they are everything but unappreciative, the acute self-disappointmen t of not standing up self-made talents, the shambled class timings and extracurricular activities, the anxiety of whether the assignments submitted are good enough and the palpable approaching strides of the final exams. No, I won't go to mention the other "important" things such as the weekly budget management, the monthly rent payment, the daily diet surveillance, the daily hygiene, and health-care. I'm not complaining. I'm loving every single bit of it all. I'm l