Category: Reaction Shots

Nex is not for beginners

Nex at Serangoon is a mall not for beginners or that you got to know all your exits ready when the escalators keep being out of order.

I took this picture weeeeeks ago but guess what, on Friday, the 14th, the EARLY morning, mind you. I was there and the escalators were off for the ‘main’ side since the one next to it was all being fixed upon.

SO I HAD TO WALK ALL THE WAY UP to NTUC aaaaaaaaaall the way. That’s on the third floor and escalator steps are higher than regular staircase steps.

If you have never gone to Nex before, you will find yourself going up and up and have no idea how to get down.

BECAUSE OF THE ESCALATORSSSSS.

If ALL the escalators are working, you should be buying your lottery because wow.

Wow, for once you don’t have to figure out the alternate ways of going around the mall.

Especially when Isetan has closed, it means another set of escalators are blocked off from the public.

And should you not be able to use the ‘main’ escalator to go down, you have to walk all the other way to the end to use them BUT this is just me.

I will try to avoid that one shop that usually will ask people to try out things and unfortunately I HAVE to go past it because if you see the red arrow, if you go via there, you turning a WHOLE round, around the mall because there’s NO floor to head to the escalator going down.

If you’re a Nex-ian, you know what I mean. AND THE ANGST of going an extra round, around the mall like some marathon is le stupide when I just have to avoid that one shop and head to the only working escalator going down at times.

Maybe Health Promotion Board should sponsor Nex somehow or have special bonus stickers.

BECAUSE YOU EITHER have to go a whole round, around the whole mall to get down. And sometimes if the basement escalators don’t work, you have to walk up. And then find another location from OUTSIDE to go in up again.

Oh mein Gott, just.

Start your step tracker when you’re in Nex cause you’ll find out you’re walking a lot more than you expect to.

Ps. No, I’ll leave the lifts to those who need it and it usually gets crowded anyway.

Pps. Every time I go to Nex to get my groceries or stuff or food, I will prepare myself, can I do it. Can I escape Nex?

Ppps. WHAT IS WRONGGGG with Nex escalators?? Is it the number of people going up and down? Is it the fengshui? Is it an old model or something?

Comment if you too feel the angst of Nex. Maybe I should make merch of “I managed to escape Nex!”.

Selamat Hari Raya!

I’m not bothering with a randomly generated graphic or a stock photo or whatever. This year’s Ramadan, is actually quite a wild ride.

Internationally, the world is… Well, you can read the news. Or maybe in the future you can’t if the internet is down. No worries, I usually have a hard copy journal too.

Have you watched Scarlet (animated by Studio Chizu)?

I have a bias with pink haired characters, having natural pink hair myself.

It’s a message of hope in these trying times. It says it’s inspired by Hamlet but… It looks like it was inspired by something much more.

I mean, why can’t you choose to be kind to others? Why do you have to be a douche or think only about yourself? Or even worse, step down on others to be on top?

It’s such a specific message of hope.

The animated movie is kind of fitting for hari raya having premiered in selected cinemas in Singapore on 12 March. I saw the trailer and just went off when I could to watch it and went “Oh.”

The imagery and the music.

It’s not as literal as you see, you need to understand it as a whole and our current climate and also think. What is possible?

If you did watch it, tell me what you thought of it.

The osnaplab camera

I got the Osnaplab camera which is Singapore’s first screenless and filmless camera, according to their bio at https://www.instagram.com/osnaplab/ . It looked interesting cause the design is not like Camp Snap or a Papershoot camera.

And it was so much cheaper than them and in Singapore dollars.

This is what you get out of the box, mailed to you. I chose the pink one. Of course, they might have their own deals or packages depending on the holiday season (?) so just look out for it, mine is the basic super default items.

Continue reading The osnaplab camera

The World of Studio Ghibli

The World of Studio Ghibli is at The ArtScience Museum from 4 October 2024 to 2 February 2025. Firstly, remember to buy your ticket from ArtScience Museum itself or where the ticketing page might lead you to Klook if you don’t have an MBS membership.

There will be timeslots available so do pick one and don’t be late for your session since it’s a pretty popular exhibition.

Continue reading The World of Studio Ghibli

I want what she has

When your husband retires before you, and doesn't want to 'unretire' by Sumiko Tan

There’s a new Sumiko Tan section called Sumiko At 60 which is a new ‘series’ that I just noticed since Lunch with Sumiko ended. Or has lunch with Sumiko finally got its lunch break? Haha.

Mind you, I hadn’t flipped through the Straits Times for a long while until I want to see specifically ‘local’ news, the opinions or forum page that tend to bring rather eye catching at times dumb responses where people duel with each other hoping their replies catch the eye of the editor in charge to just post it.

Anyway, a brief check showed me that this was her third article in that column. And it is amazing.

Who is Sumiko though? In her exact article When your husband retires before you, and doesn’t want to ‘unretire’ she has this one bit that made me gasp.

I started working in The Straits Times on May 15, 1985. I was 21 years and five months old. I’ve been in the same job and in the same organisation since, and the longest breaks I’ve taken from work were three-week vacations.

And yes, she is the Executive Editor at The Straits Times now. If you checked the Singapore archives somewhere (don’t quote me on it), her first few articles were about Singapore, a typical reporter.

In fact, when I was a student and we had to read the newspapers in school for who knows what reason that I can’t remember for, her articles came full page with an original illustration to go with it to supplement it and her byline. No longer just news reporting, she wrote articles of anything and everything.

I might say Sumiko Tan was the blogger before blogging was in. She had the mainstream media printing her afflictions and struggles or non-struggles.

She is the best clickbaity reactionary writer for the press.

It wasn’t factually stupid things like some writers make a mistake of when they give opinions, no. She backed things up with real facts but enough fluff and opinions to make you go “What the heck am I reading?”.

And I want what she has.

While the Sumiko at 60 article states she’s afraid of retirement, and her husband is a teacher who has finally gotten his chance to chill…

She just wrote what most of us nowadays can’t achieve.

A job that sustains you for more than 3 decades, with 3 week vacations available?! AND she gets a more than a half page to write the heck she wants? Assumedly whatever the heck she wants, I don’t know what goes on the minds of the higher ups.

Maybe they go “Ms Sumiko Tan, do your thing, we believe in you to bring up the readership of ST by rage baiting them with your factual yet inconsequential happenings. Omakase, oneigaishimasu!” BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

The latest article read in her typical style but with survey facts and a PSA about how the age of retirement will be increased and the reemployment age. Because Hallelujah, she doesn’t have to retire so soon.

It was a heaped with a dash of ‘postponing’ CPF payout “tricks” such as “monthly payouts will increase by up to 7 per cent for each year of deferral” as she was advised by a “Ms Daphne Lye, a financial planning solutions lead at MoneyOwl, a financial advisory firm under Temasek Trust“.

Can you imagine.

Ms Sumiko Tan calling up Ms Daphne Lye and saying “Help, help, my husband is wearing his tatty t-shirts and shorts around the house after he has RETIRED WHILE WATCHING NETFLIX AT 9am. WHAT CAN I DO????”

And Ms Daphne Lye reassuring her that his “approach to retirement could also offer valuable lessons“.

No, no you cannot imagine so.

Which is why I find this article simply amazing since I wonder if it is an advertorial.

Really.

If it was posted anywhere except The Straits Times, it probably would have a “This post is sponsored by” at the end of it.

By now you might be wondering, why do I want what she has? How can I even write articles like these in a the main newspaper and get PAID for it? You can’t even find listings on The Straits Times job openings page for such a trajectory. Everything seems to be social media based videos or nothing to do with the actual papers.

At most even with the google ad monies I get on this blog, I can only afford a pizza after a year or so with the readership. I doubt I can retire on that. So yeah, I want what she has. To get paid to write such things and have the ability to retire with an already retired husband who watches Netlix at 9am??

Anyway, whatever rage bating article she has in the papers, it is somehow a reassuring thing that as the world goes on, and as Straits Times still gets printed, we will always have a Sumiko Tan article.

I hope she will have a new series in 9 years time too, after this Sumiko at 60 series.

I’m very sure it would be nice.

The dual destinies of Ships Ahoy and Best Bros

Ships Ahoy (Najwan Noor)

Hello friends, if you haven’t been updated by now, I’ve been doing some pro-wrestling at Grapplemax. And what’s better than getting 1 prestigious golden belt?

Tag team belts made by Paul Martin Belts (Photo by Najwan Noor)

You got that right, it’s getting 2.

So I entered the Dual Destinies Tag Team Tournament with my tag team partner, Xtian! Our team name is Ships Ahoy. And since you’re reading this now, you’re automatically a Friend Shipmate.

If you’re also wondering who helped make our outfits, it’s Joey.

By the way, photos are either by Najwan Noor or Jayden Quek, do check them out!

Best Bros photo (Najwan Noor)

Hailing from Chocopro (Japan), we have Mei Suruga and Baliyan Akki. They’re called the Best Bros and if we got to defeat them, then it’s us for the semi-finals. OHOhOhOHoh.

Continue reading The dual destinies of Ships Ahoy and Best Bros

Hirzi’s Raya-naissance

The last time I attended Hirzi’s show which wasn’t a “regular” comedy type show was the Munah & Hirzi Curtain Call in 2018. So when I saw this was going to be a:

A Hari Raya Open House

An Eid It All – Raya Buffet

A Renaissance Concert Parody

A Concept Comedy Show

A Cultural Extravaganza

A Love Letter from Hirzi

I figured I should try get ticket especially when there’s going to be a buffet too (lol). Just know this isn’t a post of a review of the show but mostly for memories cause this Raya-naissance happened during our raya in the year 2024.

This event was held Lagun Sari. Which is pretty hyped. For those who don’t know Lagun Sari, it’s a wedding venue mostly for Malay weddings and their food is good but besides that, I was more intrigued cause that means the decor would really be fancy too.

It’s not often you can be a food reviewer at a comedy show but I got my friend to come with me cause I wanted her to try out Malay food and know the culture too cause I was more than sure Hirzi would be able to draw it out easily in his content.

The pengat pisang was delicious and I had to introduce that to her cause either it’s only home made or you had to get it at caterers like these. There was an instagram post saying that the menu for the last encore show would be “Nusantara” themed and then as I queued up…

I saw Ngoh Hiang and was ?????????????? It was next to gado-gado so ok, I guess (it was also punchline somehow in the show too).

As for the show itself. I won’t post segments, since you had to be there and it was truly a safe space for comedy and observations. The VIP guests were also pretty “woah” to me cause you had theatre practitioners (to say the least!), noteable journalists and other significant “serious” media types that knew how to appreciate a show like this.

The flow was so good, the drag queens were wonderful and the comedy segments did make everyone laugh. The lipsync dance segments was entertaining and you know, why I wanted to bring my friend to this show is that through the comedy segments I know there will be educational or moments of reality.

Of the (not so) subtext of our Malay culture in Singapore and the people.

The ‘final’ punchline though, if you would call it that. The whole theme about Raya really was hard hitting. It’s close to the heart and it’s one of those things where, you can’t really write about but if you do have a chance to go to a grand Hirzi show, you’ll feel it.

This was apparently Dew Francis’ second time doing stand up comedy and I have to hand it to him cause he’s pretty funny. There’s some stand up comedians that make me wonder if my sense of humour is broken but no, he’s good at timing and the payoff too.

For the record, to Dew and Hirzi. You guys are so right on the hijabsters having totally interesting hairstyles.

While the Munah & Hirzi Curtain Call show had a wedding and kompang performance, 6 years later we finally had the reception at Lagun Sari with dikir barat.

And with that…

Sustainable Exercise

It was a cool night

Firstly, this isn’t an advertorial post because I gotta pay for it but if you wanna try Gympod like I did. Might as well get 10% OFF your first paid booking.

Download The Gym Pod App and use my code SARAHGYM when signing up OR just download via my link: https://app.thegympod.com/refer/SARAHGYM

Ok, that’s done with. It’s that little button under ‘profile’ that you too can refer a friend for it.

This is a review of it. I had been looking pretty much at many gyms but I wanted something ‘private’ or something worth it, you know?

I went with gympod cause apparently if you book the session, the whole pod is yours! It’s true. Except for the bigger ones like “The Dungeon” which is made for sharing with others.

Continue reading Sustainable Exercise

Are good Singaporeans good?

WARNING: THIS IS AN OPINION PIECE. OPINIONNNNNN. It is not gonna be an intellectual ‘factual’ oho I am so smerrt piece. It’s gonna be what I think of what just happened.

Microphone for a podium

Firstly omedetouu, omedetou (congrats!) for the first live stream of parliament in session for Singapore! The first live stream on 4 January 2021.

Technical wise, the camera angles were ok and at the beginning of it they did state they do not have a sign language interpreter however closed captioning would be available on the stream.

I was on the youtube version and somehow it didn’t appear to me, but no matter. Teething issues indeed since it’s the FIRST TIME EVAHH. Also there were very few seconds of black in the middle after 2 hours or so that I wonder if someone jostled a button or something but it was a mere 2 seconds of black and not a scary technical emergency.

I did notice the volume was peaking though but that will be so, so difficult on the technical crew side especially when every speaker speaks into the mic at a different distance and projects their voice at different volumes, not to forget the acrylic shield bounces the audio…

Which you know what, yeah. I was listening when the minister suddenly called upon the issue where Trace Together could be used for police investigations.

Hold it!

Hey, wait. Apakah? What was that? Cause firstly, I remembered the time when people had conspiracy theories about the Trace Together app and everything and it was reassured that we should use it because of this privacy statement.

Continue reading Are good Singaporeans good?