Hazy

Am I tired?
Slept at around midnight last night,
woke up at 7.30am.

Maybe.

But the haze is back.
I feel once again,
unable to form coherent sentences and arguments.

I read a few news articles,
and immediately disagreed with them.
The counter-arguments seemed so very obvious,
yet hidden somehow.

It took someone else to articulate my thoughts.
This needs to change.

Perhaps more sleep will help.

Maybe I'm too stressed out.
Can't even think of a simple goddamn design for Threadless.

Maybe, I don't know.
So much to do today.
And here I am, trying to form coherent thoughts and sentences.

Well enough of that

Hazy

It's Monday,
and I'm back at my parents' place,
in the same place I used to sit as a kid for years and years,
with the windows to my right opening up
to a view of the endless forest outside,
a vast ocean of lush green.

My mind's in a haze.
It's hard to articulate my thoughts,
to find the words.
Hell, it's even hard to visualize simple designs
for Threadless, which I sometimes do when I've got a bit of time to think.

Things are looking up.
Jenia and I have moved back in with my parents,
and we'll be staying here for a while, I reckon.
It'll give us the opportunity to save up for a place of our own.

No more worries about landlords entering without permission,
having to catch them by setting up cameras.
No more worrying about thieves.

There is one more thing to do, however,
On the day we moved out (although our lease lasts until the end of Nov),
I left my HTC Mozart there as a camera,
to capture what would surely be another intrusion by that fat old fuck.

And this time, he would know that I know what he'd been up to.

And now, he is avoiding me,
not replying to my message to meet up.

I'm not particularly worried about him per se,
but he might have his dumbass sons at the ready,
when I come by to pick up my phone and confront him.

Might get a police escort just to make sure
I won't have to beat the shit out of them.

I'm tired.
Very tired.

Well enough of that

Dark Clouds

I am genuinely worried.
Even freaking out a little bit.

What's that?
About what, you ask?

The state of the economy?
Increasing levels of bigotry against Muslims in particular?
Global warming?

Nope.

My command of English.
That's right.

Oh shut the fuck up.

Anyway where was I?
Oh yea. My English.

Holy shit reading Singaporean-written
articles and interacting with them on an almost daily basis
is like walking through a goddamn minefield,
that's so packed with mines,
that it's impossible NOT to get hit once in a while.

Like walking past a shooting range,
where automatic machine guns are being used.

Sure, you could wear heavy armour,
and even if you could avoid getting seriously injured,
you would not escape unscathed.

One of the worse parts about reading such articles?
Not being able to immediately pinpoint a grammatical error,
because you've encountered it one too many times,
making it seem correct.

Those sneaky sons of bitches.

I'm guessing this is how
so many Singaporeans' English is breathtakingly horrible;
they and their friends make these errors so often,
they assume nothing's wrong.

And then,
these same motherfucking dumbasses turn around,
and accuse others (i.e. non-whites without 'Western accents') of speaking bad English.

Oh yes.
So long as you're White, or speak with a 'Western accent',
such as Australian or British,
then THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL YOU COULD EVER SPEAK BAD ENGLISH.

Not according to their puny little minds,
and warped thought processes.

You could be making a shit-ton of grammatical errors
and it'd still be viewed as 'excellent' in their eyes.
Fucking morons.

But if you speak with a non-Singaporean Asian accent?
These fuckers immediately jump all over you for your 'bad English'.
Without realizing they wouldn't know what proper grammar usage was
even if it was drilled into their thick-as-granite skulls.

Yeah. Thick as granite.
Can't think of anything else right now.

Don't like it?
It's OK. I respect your opinion.

So please continue to anally fist yourself.


Anyway, I need to write more.
Read more books.

This is fucking worrisome.
Goddamn dumbass Singaporeans.


Well enough of that

About Headscarves and Freedom

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Anonymous

Not sure if it's true.
I certainly hope it is.

I don't particularly care about who they are,
or what their real motivations are at this point.
Not yet.

I'm just enjoying it.
They've managed to elicit a strong response
from the government, and hell,
even shut down 19 government sites at the same time over the weekend.
That shit's awesome.

And what did I mean by a 'strong response'?
Well, we've got the cocksuckers over at the SPH hoping to get a good pat on the head
by equating Anonymous' actions to 'terrorism',
by claiming that it was an attack on Singaporean citizens.
Hell, they even went as far as saying that the hackers might even deserve the death penalty!

Now, I did not verify that last sentence.
Nonetheless, I wouldn't be surprised if they did say that.
It would fit the pattern.

So being the sadist that I am,
I went ahead and visited that faux news site
that allows mentally-challenged users to post badly-written articles.
The Real Singapore.

Just before I reached the half-way point of one such article,
I had to stop.

Whoever wrote that piece of shit
needs to be kicked in the rectum with a boot with a chainsaw attached to it.

In this stupid motherfucker's eyes,
any kind of protest that disrupts anyone's work or has the potential to have
any kind of negative impact on someone's livelihood,
any kind of protest that is deemed 'illegal' and 'unethical'
is wrong and the perpetrators need to be punished.

Right.
Emotional, straw-man arguments.
Trying so hard to appeal to your 'logical' side.

What a stupid little cunt.

First of all,
the freedom to protest against perceived
unjust laws should be sacred.

It is a democracy,
and the laws impact you.
YOU deserve to have your voice heard.

Even if I agree with those laws,
you should be allowed to express your opinions.


'But.... but... in Singapore,
can complain whaaaat!!!'
These fucking stupid sheep would bleat in indignation.

No, you are not able to do that.
What are you going to do,
go through the official channels that lead to nowhere?

Fill in an online web form.
Ask the minister a question.
Write a letter to the government-controlled newspaper.
Get a permit from the tightly-controlled Police to
organize a protest at a designated protest area,
a tiny slip of land called 'Hong Lim'.

See where that takes you.

Try expressing a negative opinion about
a law,
and once it gains traction,
see how long it is before you get hauled up before a judge.

'Defamation suits in Singapore'.
A Google search will tell you
just how quickly the propaganda machine gets going once the government pays attention.
Just as quickly as the criminal investigation begins,
alongside 'defamation' proceedings.

As for the impacts on livelihoods,
yeah,
I guess some groups matter more than others, huh?
And who gets to decide that,
you little cocksucker? You?

In case you missed the memo,
LAWS IMPACT LIVELIHOODS.

But I guess so long as you're not inconvenienced,
it's OK, right?
Fuck the others.

And back to the issue of legality.
Yea... those in power have NEVER abused that power. Ever.
The Soviets, the Communist Party in China, dictatorships around the world...

Nope.
If the government says it's illegal,
what right do YOU have to claim otherwise?
Who the hell are you to say anything about it?

Yep. Because citizens are nothing.
Pawns.
Usable and malleable.
Ultimately disposable.


GOD I hate stupid Singaporean cunts.

Well enough of that.

What Happened?

I can't focus. In fact, just before writing here,
I clicked on a link to a video of some asshole cyclist
doing something I couldn't possibly give a shit about.
But I clicked anyway.

What in the holy hell just happened?

Left home feeling motivated.
Man, I was going to kick some ass!

And here I am,
jumping from article to article
like some kind of virtual grasshopper on crack.
That's the best analogy I can think of.
Man, that's fucking depressing.

Oh and after reading an article by a Singaporean,
I'm really worried.
What's that?
About the cost of living?
About how the job market is doing?
NOPE.
About my command of English.

Jackasses like him
keep within the outlines just often enough
for you to second-guess yourself whenever you see a grammatical error.

And now I'm second-guessing my command of English.
THANKS, ASSHOLE.

Well enough of that

I'm Not A Bigot, I Just Hate Everybody Who Does Not Share My Skin Colour And/Or Beliefs!

Godfuckingdammit.
I've got so many things to worry about right now.
Securing a huge loan to get an overpriced shitty apartment.
Going almost a whole damn year without closing a deal.
Having to set up an appointment with the Heart Clinic,
after experiencing chest pain for the 2nd time for about 2 hours last night.

And what FINALLY got me back here?
A poorly-written article by a dumbass cocksucking bigot
on that substandard 'Singapore News Blog' (or site, or cesspool, whatever the hell they call themselves).
Yep.
It seems I'm a sadist.

So which article did it?
http://therealsingapore.com/content/how-much-should-companies-cater-religious-needs-employees

Basically a Muslim-bashing article.
Oh trust me, the author tries very, very hard to sound oh-so-reasonable.

'We like Muslims! We do! But...'
Pretty much the equivalent of 'I like Blacks! Really! But...'
That's right. Fucking generalise. Because that's smart.

So what was the author griping about?
Well apparently they used to have many Muslim employees.
Not they have fewer Muslims in their ranks "due to various reasons".
Hmm... I wonder what those could be?
I'm sure we're gonna find out!

Oh and before I continue,
this fucking bigot cocksucker tried to put in a disclaimer
near the beginning of the article,
just before the actual bashing begins.

No, no... they are not racist at all.
They like Muslims!

It reeks of arrogance,
as if he (or she, I don't fucking know) and
those within his group were the kings of  a land,
looking down upon their subjects.
As if they were teachers in a kindergarten,
looking after children.

'The kids are fine... as long as they behave.'


The disclaimer ends with his saying that the company's sole objective is to make a profit.
This sets the frame.
Profitability is at stake here! The very existence of the company! OMG!

As I am writing this, my boss just walked by my desk
and grilled me on all the opportunities that I am presently working on.
Yeah, I'll need another gig really fast.

Anyway, back to that cocksucking article.

The number of Muslim staff began to grow.
During breaks, they would congregate and "chit-chat".
Now just bear in mind that in Singapore, 'Muslim' typically translates into 'Malay'.
In Singapore (and anywhere else for that matter), it is not unusual for those who
speak a common language (such as Malay or Mandarin) to gravitate towards each other.
The language provides a common bond.

And nowhere in the article does it mention that
these workers would only speak to and mix with their own race.
Although be rest assured,
it is strongly implied.

Nope. Apparently, hanging out with your colleagues
during breaks is a HUGE red flag.

Also, it seems that every single non-Muslim
worker would NOT hang around their colleagues
or friends during breaks.
What, did they all spread out into separate corners alone,
while sipping juice from a box and taking the occasional drag on a cigarette?

Give me a fucking break (see what I did there?).

Then the author goes into how these workers began
asking for a prayer room.
HOLY SHIT!
THE END OF THE COMPANY STARTS HERE.

Apparently requesting something is also a HUGE red-flag.
Not demanding, mind you.
Just asking.

Because workers asking for special rights and privileges are UNHEARD of.
How do you think unions came about, dumbass?
It's a fine balancing act.
Companies need the workers, and vice versa.

And each side has the RIGHT to negotiate.
Pay, privileges, etc.
So if I have to pray 5 times a day,
and you want me to work for you,
then it is within my rights to ask for a designated prayer room.

This idiot makes it look like some kind of abuse.
As if they were treating the company like a charity,
and draining its coffers for their own, selfish purposes.

Never does he explain
why there were so many Muslim workers in the company to begin with,
what were the factors involved.
If you had a factory in a Buddhist-majority area,
it would be one hell of a surprise if most of the workers were Muslim or Christians, for example.

Demographics is just one example.
There could be other factors too,
like if a particular ethnic group were consistently discriminated against,
and did not have access to higher-paying jobs.
This would result in the majority of low-paying workers comprising of this ethnic group.

Common sense.
But no, not for this bigot.

Oh no, the Muslims are abusing the company's goodwill! OMG!

The author also states that they acceded to this request
DESPITE their limited resources!
WOW!
Purely out of the kindness of their hearts!

Right.

Not because if they fired some or all of them en masse,
the company would cease to be able to function.
Or the cost of replacing them would be too high.
Nope.

Purely because they were being nice.

Accommodating your workers is a strict no-no.
How DARE you make REQUESTS!
Who the hell do you think you are?
I sign your paychecks, so you should bow down and kiss my feet!

Except of course,
without the workers, you wouldn't have a goddamn paycheck to sign in the first place.

Man, I'd hate to be a breastfeeding mom,
or a smoker.

Speaking of which,
it seems the non-muslims do not take short breaks,
not even smoking breaks.

In his article, another implication is that the others are model workers,
dedicating their full attention to furthering the companies' goals.
Like robots.

Also, apparently the room is a big expense!
It could've been used to "further the company",
whatever the hell that means.

Hey man, I hate to break it to you,
but if the fate of your company hangs on the usage of one room,
then you've got bigger problems.
What, is it some kind of magic room? Is that it?
The company could've reaped gigantic profits from it?
Got itself listed?
Become a global player?

This person's stupidity actually hurts my feelings,
you know what I mean?

"They claimed they needed to pray several times daily". Claimed? Really?
 A basic Google search would've
told you that Muslims pray 5 times a day, and let's say during a basic 8-hour day,
they would only need to use that prayer room once during working hours (usually lunch).

This fucktard seemed to imply that the Muslims were lying about it,
and deliberately heading over to the magical room and avoiding work.

And how does he know this anyway?
It's a little creepy how he's always lurking around the prayer room,
just... looking.
Don't you have actual work to do?

Anyway I could go on, but it's lunch time and I'm hungry.

Well enough of that