I am writing this piece sitting at my desk in my room in NUS (National University of Singapore). For those who don't know I am here on exchange for the final term of my MBA (from AIM, Manila).
I reside in an undergraduate residence on campus, which allows for a lot of interaction with the gentry of NUS, especially the movers and shakers in the field of sports, drama and music (notice how I didn't say academics) coz undergrads aren't meant to study and these guys are no exception. Staying in this 'hall' as they call it, gives me another chance to interact closely with the 19 year olds of this world (apparently 24 is not considered young anymore), listen to their views, observe their behaviours and sometimes catch a rare glimpse into their real attitudes.
Today, for instance, I observed something which made me write this very entry. I went to the pantry to fetch myself some drinking water and there stood a guy, who can best be described as a 'punk'. Aping the Japanese hairstyles that most Singaporean youth do these days, he stood there with his taft of blonde hair sticking up, thanks to the excessive usage of 'Gatsby Hair Clay'.
The thing that was worth observing (clearly not the hair) was the sinister smile he had on his face, while he was looking down at a cockroach, which had been flipped over and was unable to move. My guess was (as would be everyone else's) that he was going to stomp on that roach and squish him to death, which to me isn't particularly gruesome but something I wouldn't do willingly. It was what happened next that really shocked me - I hadn't observed that he was holding a pan with some water in it and in the next few seconds proceeded to slowly pour the boiling water on that cockroach, which obviously killed it but causing it much more pain. Both would have yielded the same results anyway.
After having successfully killed the cockroach, he walked out, still smiling and this time his lips let out, in a low tone, "May God Bless You". Somewhere in my heart, I said the same for the 'punk'...
I reside in an undergraduate residence on campus, which allows for a lot of interaction with the gentry of NUS, especially the movers and shakers in the field of sports, drama and music (notice how I didn't say academics) coz undergrads aren't meant to study and these guys are no exception. Staying in this 'hall' as they call it, gives me another chance to interact closely with the 19 year olds of this world (apparently 24 is not considered young anymore), listen to their views, observe their behaviours and sometimes catch a rare glimpse into their real attitudes.
Today, for instance, I observed something which made me write this very entry. I went to the pantry to fetch myself some drinking water and there stood a guy, who can best be described as a 'punk'. Aping the Japanese hairstyles that most Singaporean youth do these days, he stood there with his taft of blonde hair sticking up, thanks to the excessive usage of 'Gatsby Hair Clay'.
The thing that was worth observing (clearly not the hair) was the sinister smile he had on his face, while he was looking down at a cockroach, which had been flipped over and was unable to move. My guess was (as would be everyone else's) that he was going to stomp on that roach and squish him to death, which to me isn't particularly gruesome but something I wouldn't do willingly. It was what happened next that really shocked me - I hadn't observed that he was holding a pan with some water in it and in the next few seconds proceeded to slowly pour the boiling water on that cockroach, which obviously killed it but causing it much more pain. Both would have yielded the same results anyway.
After having successfully killed the cockroach, he walked out, still smiling and this time his lips let out, in a low tone, "May God Bless You". Somewhere in my heart, I said the same for the 'punk'...
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