Back to the game, everyone was deeply engrossed…

and in the midst of it all, someone approached us.

It’s Santarina! Here to lead our dear Lennie away…

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During the half time break, the audience had some more entertainment from the cheerleaders, who are trying to bring it on to the crowd.

Then again, knowing Singaporeans… =P

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Yes, courtesy of Nic, I got invited to the game yesterday at the indoor stadium. I would have done live blogging if I could, but I think that’s remotely impossible… because I am too busy being engrossed in the game! You know what? I think I am going to play basketball on a regular basis. That will be for another post =P

For once, I was early. In fact, very early, because I didn’t want to sit behind and was kiasu and decided that I don’t want to miss out all the fun - not like the last 2 times when I was late for almost 15-30 minutes of the game. Actually, another reason was that I was coming down from the north and didn’t know how long it would take me to reach the stadium. I definitely don’t want to be 3/4 into the game before it ends =(

So, when I was there, everyone was practicing and some were doing slam dunk. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to capture that on my camera, else it’d have been the photo of the year! Well, at least the photo of my year! Haha…

Here’s the Slingers doing their warm up… everyone gets to exhibit his skills here!

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I didn’t know what it was all about. After all, it didn’t seem to make much grammatical sense. Then… I got it. It meant to say, get back your sexy - where "sexy" is like a noun - like… get your money back.

So what this is all about, is actually a campaign put up by NTU students to discourage binge drink - the continual downing of alcohol until you are down and out. Can’t picture it? Think of someone broken-hearted drinking his heart out - I think you get the idea. =)

So what happened was that they (someone) actually got people to go down to Zouk to come together to promote responsible drinking. What’s really funny is that, everybody went "here’s to get your sexy back" and downed their drinks, followed by another "here’s one more to get your sexy back" and continued downing their drinks until they are piss-drunk or they ran out of alcohol.

Hmm… quite hilarious if you ask me.

THE image of passing out in a puddle of one’s own vomit while drunk is ‘uncool’ and ‘unsexy’ to most young people and a new anti-binge-drinking website taps into such fears to spread its message.

Getyoursexyback.sg aims to persuade partygoers aged 18 to 25 to drink in moderation. It is the brainchild of four mass communication students from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and is supported by Asia Pacific Breweries.

NTU student and campaign organiser Danny Tan acknowledged that young people will want to look cool and sexy, so their message had to hit that spot.

‘The four of us agreed that binge drinking is not sexy and that the opposite must be true, that moderation is the new sexy. I mean, how sexy can you be when you’re sprawled on the ground drunk?’ he said.

Binge drinking usually refers to downing more than five drinks in one sitting for men and more than four for women.

The campaign has also recruited 40 youth ambassadors aged 18 to 26.

Since earlier this month, the ambassadors have been hitting the streets to sell their message. They are also using social networking website Facebook and instant messaging programme MSN to create awareness among young netizens.

Nightclubs such as Zouk, St James Power Station, Ministry of Sound and Timbre are also doing their part by putting up posters and distributing anti-binge coasters.

The campaign follows the Traffic Police’s recent efforts to stop drink driving among the young through a similar website, sadd.sg, launched two weeks ago.

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 20th December 2007

As above. Yes, it’s been quite quiet recently - except for the taxi fare hike brouhaha which will probably die down soon because Singaporeans will just learn to live with it. After all, we have no say, isn’t it? Even if the hike doesn’t prove to help in the congestion, it will "help the drives cope with the rising cost of driving a taxi" and will probably remain as it is.

Actually, Singaporeans will just make some noise initially - pretty much like the noises that we get in mass spectrometry, or the noises that we hear in recordings… or noises that we see in pictures taken at night with high ISO… you get what I mean; and at the end of the day… all these noises are ignored because we have to look at the bigger picture (quote MM Lee with all due respect).

Short of Dr Chee and other left-winged think tanks, most Singaporeans will never hold demonstrations or do other attention seeking actions because they either (i) feel that their opinions will not be heard, or that (ii) they fear risk of stigmatism or (iii) they believe that the government has the best interest for them and it’s either (iii.a) pointless to try to do anything or that (iii.b) it can be solved admirably. Quite a mouthful if you ask me, but I think the majority may agree that it’s just plain apathy. After all, most people feel that no one bothers if they live or die and that a death in a million is just a statistic - so what more a socio-political voice?

Anyway, with respect to rising cab fares and ERP rates, Singaporeans should be glad that, compared to Indonesia, we are much better off. At least it doesn’t take us 3 hours to complete a journey that usually take 30 minutes. In fact, speaking of these road woes, I just had a conversation with someone else regarding the mistakes of some political figure in Singapore and how he/she carried this mistake with him/her in which ever ministry/statutory board he/she went to. It was hilarious, at best, recounting all the misfortunate that happened with him/her around.

Apparently, he/she was the most hated publicly-disliked political figure. then again, this blog is not the right place to talk about such things; at least not by me. =)

The Straits Times reported that the higher rates are keeping commuters off taxis for this festive season. Strangely enough, I was not able to get any cabs today - at 1145am in the late morning - and most Comfort cabs that I see are all hired.

Perhaps I was trying to get a cab in a housing estate - but that’s Ang Mo Kio and near an MRT station. Where are all the cabs? Don’t tell me they are all waiting for the peak hours now???

Ok, jokes aside. I think most Singaporeans are still taking cab like nobody’s business - and that I don’t really see a sudden influx of taxis waiting for passengers. Hmm… or is it just me?

There maybe a group of them who have sworn off taxis for a while, but I am not sure if this is representative of the entire population. Then again, I don’t think Singaporeans are s**kers, are they?

HIGHER taxi fares are keeping some commuters away this festive season.

ComfortDelgro, largest taxi operator here with 15,000 taxis, saw a 10 per cent drop in all call bookings on Monday, the first day of the increased fares.

SMRT, the second largest operator with 3,000 taxis, also received 200 fewer calls during Monday’s morning peak hours from 7am to 9am.

A spokesman, however, said that bookings went back to normal for the rest of the day. SMRT’s fall in bookings comes despite them not raising fares till Friday.

One commuter who decided to stay off cabs on Tuesday was Ms Shianna Tan, 28, shipping officer. She normally takes a taxi from her home in Aljunied to her workplace in Changi Industrial Park to work by 8.30am.

‘I used to take cabs by myself, then I tried to find someone to share a cab with me to save cost, but now I’ve just decided to stop taking taxis. It’s just too expensive,’ she said.

ComfortDelgro is the first among the six taxi companies to raise cab fares.

Flagdowns have gone up from $2.50 to $2.80 and the metered fares are up 20 cents for every 385m, compared to 10 cents for every 210m.

The city surcharge has also tripled from $1 to $3 between 5pm and midnight.

And peak hour premiums, which affect those heading to work in the morning and those heading home after office hours, is now 35 per cent of the metered fare compared to $2 flat fee.

SMRT, Premier, Trans-cab and Smart taxis will be raising their fares within the next two weeks. Prime taxis, the newest player in the industry, will be increasing only its city surcharge.

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 18th December 2007

It’s been finalised and confirmed - that same-sex civil partnerships can be registered. Mind you, it’s not a marriage, but just a civil partnership. However, just like marriages, it can be registered and recognised by the law.

There are some differences for civil partnership-registered couples though, that they are not allowed to adopt children, unlike married couples. Despite this difference, they will have the same rights as married heterosexual couples in inheritance, taxation, and other financial matters. For a country that had banned same-sex marriage, this is certainly a step towards liberalization.

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There were apparently no shortage of cabs in the town area and at the fringe of the town area yesterday - the Straits Times reported. Perhaps the $3.00 is sufficient to entice drivers into waiting for passengers at the queue yesterday? Or perhaps they were warned encouraged not to all wander into the CBD because the grandfather company is paying for their ERP surcharge if they don’t get a passenger within 15 minutes? Was there some string attached to the condition on the ERP? I definitely won’t know.

With regards to the disappearing taxis before 5:00pm syndrome, I’m not sure if it was already an existing problem, but I remembered 1 year ago, it was never that difficult to look for a cab even at 4:45pm. Well, perhaps again, it’s a demand and supply issue, but what I witnessed yesterday was definitely disgusting. In order to earn that extra $3.00 and to count the flag down rate into the 35% surcharge (which works out a dollar more - 35% of $2.80 is about $0.98), the taxi driver actually had the cheek to "go for a break" and come back when it’s after 5:00pm. It’s downright unscrupulous!

With regards to the Straits Times report, what they are reporting or reviewing is just the tip of the iceberg. They should have done a comparison of queues before the hike and after - at the last 15 to 30 minutes before 5:00pm to see if it had worsen. That may have better portrayed if the problem is created by the taxi drivers or not. I mean, who really takes a cab at 4:45pm anyway? Assuming that most working people get off at 5:00pm (which is a luxury) or 5:30pm to 6:00pm, if not later?

Oh well, I guess the true effects of the fare hike will only come in much later. Perhaps Singaporeans will forget about the hike and just start taking cabs again and then, it’s time for another hike.

Huat ah!

THE new city area surcharge of $3 - up from $1 - had cab operators worried that cabbies would avoid taxi stands in the city fringes and head to where the money was.

But this was not the case yesterday. A check by The Straits Times found a steady flow of cabs at two of the 10 city fringe taxi stands, located within 500m of the central business district (CBD).

At Far East Plaza, for example, there was even a queue of about 12 taxis at about 6.15pm, with no passenger in sight, although the drivers could have earned an extra $3 by heading down the road to the taxi stand at Lucky Plaza, within the CBD.

Between 5.30pm and 7.30pm, the average waiting time for a cab was about five minutes at Pacific Plaza and 10 minutes at Far East Plaza, both in Scotts Road - just outside the city area.

But as it was just Day 1 of higher fares,the Land Transport Authority said that it would monitor the city fringe for some time and then work with taxi companies if there is a problem.

ComfortDelGro started its new city surcharges yesterday, along with increased metered fares, flag-down rates and peak-period premiums.

Passengers will have to pay about 10 per cent more on their fares during non-peak hours, but 18 to 49 per cent more during peak hours.

Four other cab companies - SMRT Taxis, Trans-Cab, Premier and Smart - are following suit within the next two weeks.

Prime Taxis will be increasing only its city surcharge.

mariaa@sph.com.sg

wycin@sph.com.sg

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 18th December 2007

As promised earlier… here’s what Alice and myself saw while on our way to town…

People, people everywhere! Where are the taxis? Ain’t the surcharges suppose to mean that there will be cabs now? Darn.

Some taxis come and go… but the queue still seems to grow. Rain, rain go away, come again another day, many people want to pay play.

Aiks! Isn’t that a taxi? No! Make it two! Oh wait, the first taxi is on call using a manual sign (because it doesn’t have one of those electronic ones that light up on the top). Hmm… but the driver is waiting for his passenger in the rain?! Duh… How about the other one behind? That’s on call too?! Gee… I didn’t know it’s common practice and sense to wait for your passengers in the rain. Guess they will just have to get themselves drenched and wet - doesn’t matter that they will be dirtying your cab. After all, you can save a few cents of petrol waiting just there. Oh, you mean you are letting your engine run idly? Bad taxi driver, badddddd taxi driver!

Finally, the taxi driver decides to move. Hmm… isn’t he supposed to be waiting for his passenger in the tain? Oh, it’s 5:00pm already! Great… now everyone can get their cabs. Oh shucks! You mean’s CBD surcharge of $3.00 and 35% surcharge on metered fare?!?!

Damn these drivers. Black sheep of the lot!

Well, the AVA had gone down to their factory to do a last inspection before business can resume at all the outlets in Singapore. Forced to close due to multiple incidences of food poisoning which was later found to be caused by Salmonella - a bacteria which can be easily transmitted by contact in food.

I had probably only gotten cakes from Prima Deli no more than 5 times, but I think I’d be off Prima Deli for a long, long time. This is partly because of the other available variety that I can get from my neighbourhood - Angie the Choice, Bengawan Solo and Secret Recipe, just to name a few. Moreover, since there’s already an incident, I’d somehow lose some confidence over their products - not in fear of another infection, but rather, in fear of being poisoned by industrial-grade detergent.

Am I exaggerating? Hey, I wished I was, but I nearly got poisoned from my own washing! Haha… thank goodness I am not working at Prima Deli… =P

THE Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) re-inspected PrimaDeli’s factory on Monday morning following the cleaning and disinfection of its Keppel Road manufacturing centre recently.

AVA inspected the cake, pastry and bun sections and took microbiological swabs from food-contact surfaces such as table tops, utensils, racks and trays to assess the sanitary condition of the factory.

Swab samples from the surface handles of the toilet doors and doors of the preparation rooms were also taken as part of the surveillance.

The entire process took two hours.

‘The swabs will be tested for microbiological hygiene indicators and absence of salmonella to ensure that the factory has been effectively cleaned and sanitised,’ Assistant Director Corporate Communications Goh Shih Yong said.

The AVA had earlier said a total of about 75 swab samples will be taken. The swab samples will be sent to the AVA’s Veterinary Public Health Centre for microbiological tests.

The factory and its 39 retail outlets has been closed hit since it was hit by a food poisoning scandal early in December. It will remain closed until it gets the green light from the authorities to begin baking again.

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 17 December 2007