I miss Melbourne
That little city tucked away
In that little corner of Earth
I miss Melbourne
How the laneways surprises you
rather than scares you
I miss Melbourne
My own ravine in my own little space
In that little cafe in that little corner
I miss Melbourne
And those who walk down Collins street wearing black at 8.50am
Those who beat drums to protest wars
Those who cuddle up in La Mama
Then go for coffee at Brunetties
I miss Melbourne
Not for her expensive streetside parking
Not for her 45% taxes
Not for those idiots who shout "Asian!" as I walk pass
But for the space she gives me
The scents of flowers in spring,
and good coffee
Maybe she has changed
Maybe she is the same
Maybe I'll go back
Maybe I'll not
Dear Melbourne.
2010/04/26
2010/04/22
无题 / Untitled
一上车，我就注意到他的名字有点特别，不像是印度人的名字，虽然他长得很像印度人。
“你是韩国人吗？”他看着望后镜问道。
“不是，我是新加坡人。你呢？”
“我是斯里兰卡来的。”
“哦，你来多久了？”
“一年。你是游客吗？还是在这里工作？“
”我先生在这里工作。你有太太在斯里兰卡吗？”
“有呀，她在家里。”
这位的士司机叫D。英文说得很好，来阿布打比之前在斯里兰卡的电信局工作。为了还房屋贷款，来到这里与的士公司签了三年的约。条约大概是这样：司机没有底薪，开车赚到的车费公司收70%而他只收30%。公司不提供饮食住宿，燃料费公司报销。D说他合约一到期他就要离开了。这工作不好，太太也常常催他回家。他估计两年可以支付房款，然后就可以轻松下来了。
D算了算给我听。他每天大概可以赚到300迪拉姆（阿联酋的钱币叫迪拉姆），既是入他口袋的是90迪拉姆。一个月就大概2500迪拉姆。每个月差不多会被罚款500迪拉姆，租金500迪拉姆。既每个月剩下1500迪拉姆。
1500迪拉姆等于3000人名币，等于600新币。一般来到这里工作的专业人士一个月可以赚到一万五到两万迪拉姆左右。当然，这要看行业、经验。还有（较悲哀的）肤色。这里的南亚籍劳工每个月也就一辆千迪拉姆。这里的消费很贵，赚两万迪拉姆的人都很难自己出来租房子，生活也只能算中等阶级。一个月赚一两千迪拉姆的人，日子怎么过呢？D把我载到Marina Mall，的士费比在深圳还便宜。我逛了2个钟头花了大概200迪拉姆。其中130迪拉姆是花在普通食物及用品上。
我提着两大袋子打的回家，路上仰望窗外这座世界上最富裕的城市。它拥有你想象不到的富贵，但也是世界的缩影。因为世界上的国籍、种族、经济界线显而易见。
的士缓缓开进我住的小街。司机很小心，在“Stop“牌前把车完全停下来望了望再开。
The moment I got into the car, I noticed that his name does not sound Indian, though he looks Indian.
"Are you from Korea?" He asked looking at me from the rear view mirror.
"No, I'm from Singapore. What about you?"
"I am from Sri Lanka."
"Oh, how long have you been here?"
"One year. You are tourist or working here?"
"My husband works here. You have wife in Sri Lanka?"
"Yes, she is at home."
D's a taxi driver who was a white collar worker back home in Sri Lanka. His English is quite good. He came here because he wanted to pay back his housing loan, so he signed on to a three year contract with a taxi company in Abu Dhabi.
From what I understood, the contractual terms basically are: No pay for drivers, company gets 70% of the driver's earnings meaning that the driver gets 30%. The company does not pay for food nor accomodation, but pays for fuel.
D says he will leave right after the contract ends because this is not a good job, and his wife wants him back home anyways. He hopes to be able to pay off his loan these 2 years, and then he can relax (and have kids!)
He did a little math for me whilst we were cruising down the 30th. He makes about 300 dirhams a day, meaning he pockets 90 dirhams. That's about 2500 dirhams a month. For some reason, he'll get fined 500 dirhams a month for traffic offenses, renting a room with 4 other guys costs him 500 dirhams a month, so he gets 1500 dirhams a month for himself.
1500 dirhams is about 3000 HKD, and about 600 SGD. A professional expat working here can expect something like 15-20K dirhams a month. Of course, this depends on the field, experience, and (unfortunately prevalent in some places) skin colour. Vast populations of south asian manual workers only get paid 1-2k a month. Things are very expensive in Abu Dhabi. An expat on 20K usually has trouble renting accommodation by themselves and often need to share. A 15-20K lifestyle is pretty average here. (Some friends say it's like Uni all over again) So, I really do not know how someone can survive on 1500 dirhams.
D dropped me off at Marina Mall. The taxi fare is cheaper than the taxi fare in Shenzhen for the same distance. After shopping for 2 hours, I had spent about 200 dirhams, 130 of which were spent on groceries and common household items. With two shopping bags in hand, I boarded a taxi to get home.
As I gazed out of the window looking at this richest city in the world, I came to realize that here is a microcosm of this world, where the realities of nations, races, and economies are laid as bare as can be. Perhaps it is so obvious here because the foreign population is so many, and local population so few. A global city in the truest sense of the word.
The taxi driver drove slowly into the quiet street where I live. He was very careful to make a complete stop at the stop sign, proceeding only after checking carefully that no one was around. The last time I drove like this was during my driving test.
“你是韩国人吗？”他看着望后镜问道。
“不是，我是新加坡人。你呢？”
“我是斯里兰卡来的。”
“哦，你来多久了？”
“一年。你是游客吗？还是在这里工作？“
”我先生在这里工作。你有太太在斯里兰卡吗？”
“有呀，她在家里。”
这位的士司机叫D。英文说得很好，来阿布打比之前在斯里兰卡的电信局工作。为了还房屋贷款，来到这里与的士公司签了三年的约。条约大概是这样：司机没有底薪，开车赚到的车费公司收70%而他只收30%。公司不提供饮食住宿，燃料费公司报销。D说他合约一到期他就要离开了。这工作不好，太太也常常催他回家。他估计两年可以支付房款，然后就可以轻松下来了。
D算了算给我听。他每天大概可以赚到300迪拉姆（阿联酋的钱币叫迪拉姆），既是入他口袋的是90迪拉姆。一个月就大概2500迪拉姆。每个月差不多会被罚款500迪拉姆，租金500迪拉姆。既每个月剩下1500迪拉姆。
1500迪拉姆等于3000人名币，等于600新币。一般来到这里工作的专业人士一个月可以赚到一万五到两万迪拉姆左右。当然，这要看行业、经验。还有（较悲哀的）肤色。这里的南亚籍劳工每个月也就一辆千迪拉姆。这里的消费很贵，赚两万迪拉姆的人都很难自己出来租房子，生活也只能算中等阶级。一个月赚一两千迪拉姆的人，日子怎么过呢？D把我载到Marina Mall，的士费比在深圳还便宜。我逛了2个钟头花了大概200迪拉姆。其中130迪拉姆是花在普通食物及用品上。
我提着两大袋子打的回家，路上仰望窗外这座世界上最富裕的城市。它拥有你想象不到的富贵，但也是世界的缩影。因为世界上的国籍、种族、经济界线显而易见。
的士缓缓开进我住的小街。司机很小心，在“Stop“牌前把车完全停下来望了望再开。
The moment I got into the car, I noticed that his name does not sound Indian, though he looks Indian.
"Are you from Korea?" He asked looking at me from the rear view mirror.
"No, I'm from Singapore. What about you?"
"I am from Sri Lanka."
"Oh, how long have you been here?"
"One year. You are tourist or working here?"
"My husband works here. You have wife in Sri Lanka?"
"Yes, she is at home."
D's a taxi driver who was a white collar worker back home in Sri Lanka. His English is quite good. He came here because he wanted to pay back his housing loan, so he signed on to a three year contract with a taxi company in Abu Dhabi.
From what I understood, the contractual terms basically are: No pay for drivers, company gets 70% of the driver's earnings meaning that the driver gets 30%. The company does not pay for food nor accomodation, but pays for fuel.
D says he will leave right after the contract ends because this is not a good job, and his wife wants him back home anyways. He hopes to be able to pay off his loan these 2 years, and then he can relax (and have kids!)
He did a little math for me whilst we were cruising down the 30th. He makes about 300 dirhams a day, meaning he pockets 90 dirhams. That's about 2500 dirhams a month. For some reason, he'll get fined 500 dirhams a month for traffic offenses, renting a room with 4 other guys costs him 500 dirhams a month, so he gets 1500 dirhams a month for himself.
1500 dirhams is about 3000 HKD, and about 600 SGD. A professional expat working here can expect something like 15-20K dirhams a month. Of course, this depends on the field, experience, and (unfortunately prevalent in some places) skin colour. Vast populations of south asian manual workers only get paid 1-2k a month. Things are very expensive in Abu Dhabi. An expat on 20K usually has trouble renting accommodation by themselves and often need to share. A 15-20K lifestyle is pretty average here. (Some friends say it's like Uni all over again) So, I really do not know how someone can survive on 1500 dirhams.
D dropped me off at Marina Mall. The taxi fare is cheaper than the taxi fare in Shenzhen for the same distance. After shopping for 2 hours, I had spent about 200 dirhams, 130 of which were spent on groceries and common household items. With two shopping bags in hand, I boarded a taxi to get home.
As I gazed out of the window looking at this richest city in the world, I came to realize that here is a microcosm of this world, where the realities of nations, races, and economies are laid as bare as can be. Perhaps it is so obvious here because the foreign population is so many, and local population so few. A global city in the truest sense of the word.
The taxi driver drove slowly into the quiet street where I live. He was very careful to make a complete stop at the stop sign, proceeding only after checking carefully that no one was around. The last time I drove like this was during my driving test.
2010/04/19
月亮说
四川人对新加坡人说：“我不喜欢河南人，河南人很*****。"
新加坡人想："不都是中国人？"
香港人对新加坡人说：“个鬼老点解娶咗个宾宾？”
新加坡人说：“香港人和菲律宾人在他们眼里，不都是亚洲人？”
新加坡人对月球人说：“我不喜欢中东人，傲慢无比难以理解。"
月球人说：“不都是地球人？“
新加坡人想："不都是中国人？"
香港人对新加坡人说：“个鬼老点解娶咗个宾宾？”
新加坡人说：“香港人和菲律宾人在他们眼里，不都是亚洲人？”
新加坡人对月球人说：“我不喜欢中东人，傲慢无比难以理解。"
月球人说：“不都是地球人？“
2010/04/15
此时无声胜有声
上周bbc新闻。有对英国籍男女在阿联酋被判入狱一个月。怎么闯的祸呢？这一对倒霉鬼在迪拜的一间餐厅里聊天。隔壁桌两岁大的当地小孩忽然跟妈妈说两人在亲嘴呢！妈妈很愤怒，这两无耻之徒怎么可以在大庭广众之下让孩子看到如此道德伦败之事呢？于是妈妈报案了。
是不是这年头的小孩都变聪明了？我想我两岁的时候，应该对亲嘴这事没概念吧？两被告上诉说自己没亲嘴，只是男的亲了亲女的的脸颊罢了。不知道当时的座位布局及其角度干系是否被判官考虑在内？还是这案子是杀鸡儆猴用的？男的是英国土生土长的阿拉伯人。有些人认为，这次的判决，和男士的基因有关。
个人认为多数国家的多数法律是应该被尊重的。敝人只是对断手以及死刑有意见，不过脑子里有看法是脑子里的事，人家国法不屑你脑子里同不同意。所以到了哪个地方都该遵守法律、尊重当地文化，因为不知者还是有罪的。
今天有感而发，是因为这案子让我回忆起一些事情。
知道我的第一个不雅手势是怎么学的吗?
那时大概小三或小四吧。我正兴高采烈地跟一位大姐姐形容一部武侠电影里的打斗情形 - 就是大侠如何用筷子筒接恶人扔向他的夺命筷子。我用手演绎此景，姐姐马上说别弄那手势，因为这是个不好的手势！老实说，若姐姐没那反应，我也不会意识到原来那手势是不雅的，而这件事我也根本不会记得。好了，姐姐的一番道德教诲反而教会了我我不应该知道的东西。其实那 F 字骂人的脏话我也是这么学的。那时候好像小二吧。我和妈妈在咖啡店里，我看见外头的墙上涂鸦了4个字母。我问妈妈是什么，妈妈很不高兴地说是很不好的东西。这下子，我学会了。
所以说嘛，那两岁的小孩会知道亲嘴是什么东西吗？两岁大的小孩说的亲嘴概念上和大人一样吗？ 她妈妈如果不搭理，小孩兴许把事情忘了，然后单纯地多过几年？现在事情闹大了，小孩也懂了。两岁呀，太早了点吧!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8602449.stm
On the BBC last week, a British couple were sentenced to a month's jail in the UAE for kissing in public. A 2 year old local girl who happened to be in the same restaurant with her mother, told her mother she saw the two kissing on the mouth. Her mother was very angry that a 2 year old be allowed to see such an immoral act in public, and promptly called the police. The extent of the kiss I am not sure, but couple was consequently charged with breaking decency laws in the country.
This is not a post about respecting laws in other countries. I think most laws in most countries should be respected. So far I have problems with chopping off hands and the death penalty (in service in my own country), but I have a right to my own views, and I'd go all the way out to avoid getting into trouble. No point whinging when you should have known better.
I'm writing because it brought back some memories.
Guess how I learnt my first rude hand gesture?
I was in primary three or four, and was excitedly trying to describe to a (much) older friend a scene from a martial arts film, where the good guy caught chopsticks hurled at him by the bad guy with a bamboo chopstick holder. I used hand gestures to illustrate, and my friend immediately stopped me and said I had just done a bad gesture. Now, if she had not said anything, I would never have known that the gesture is rude, and would have just forgotten about the whole thing. But because she reacted, I learnt something I should not have.
The F word was acquired the same way. One day when I was in primary two sitting in a coffeeshop with my mum, I noticed a four lettered graffiti on a wall outside. I asked mum what it meant, and mum said in a very annoyed tone that it's a very bad word. So there you go, it stuck. These unsavory things I would have picked up sooner or later, but the way I went about acquiring them is interesting - from the very people trying to protect me.
So I wonder had her mother's reaction been different, maybe the little girl would simply forget about the matter, and continue with her blissful innocent life (for a few more years anyway).The whole point is to protect children's innocence, is it not? But now she knows. Two years of age is a bit early to be aware of mouth kissing, don't you think?
是不是这年头的小孩都变聪明了？我想我两岁的时候，应该对亲嘴这事没概念吧？两被告上诉说自己没亲嘴，只是男的亲了亲女的的脸颊罢了。不知道当时的座位布局及其角度干系是否被判官考虑在内？还是这案子是杀鸡儆猴用的？男的是英国土生土长的阿拉伯人。有些人认为，这次的判决，和男士的基因有关。
个人认为多数国家的多数法律是应该被尊重的。敝人只是对断手以及死刑有意见，不过脑子里有看法是脑子里的事，人家国法不屑你脑子里同不同意。所以到了哪个地方都该遵守法律、尊重当地文化，因为不知者还是有罪的。
今天有感而发，是因为这案子让我回忆起一些事情。
知道我的第一个不雅手势是怎么学的吗?
那时大概小三或小四吧。我正兴高采烈地跟一位大姐姐形容一部武侠电影里的打斗情形 - 就是大侠如何用筷子筒接恶人扔向他的夺命筷子。我用手演绎此景，姐姐马上说别弄那手势，因为这是个不好的手势！老实说，若姐姐没那反应，我也不会意识到原来那手势是不雅的，而这件事我也根本不会记得。好了，姐姐的一番道德教诲反而教会了我我不应该知道的东西。其实那 F 字骂人的脏话我也是这么学的。那时候好像小二吧。我和妈妈在咖啡店里，我看见外头的墙上涂鸦了4个字母。我问妈妈是什么，妈妈很不高兴地说是很不好的东西。这下子，我学会了。
所以说嘛，那两岁的小孩会知道亲嘴是什么东西吗？两岁大的小孩说的亲嘴概念上和大人一样吗？ 她妈妈如果不搭理，小孩兴许把事情忘了，然后单纯地多过几年？现在事情闹大了，小孩也懂了。两岁呀，太早了点吧!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8602449.stm
On the BBC last week, a British couple were sentenced to a month's jail in the UAE for kissing in public. A 2 year old local girl who happened to be in the same restaurant with her mother, told her mother she saw the two kissing on the mouth. Her mother was very angry that a 2 year old be allowed to see such an immoral act in public, and promptly called the police. The extent of the kiss I am not sure, but couple was consequently charged with breaking decency laws in the country.
This is not a post about respecting laws in other countries. I think most laws in most countries should be respected. So far I have problems with chopping off hands and the death penalty (in service in my own country), but I have a right to my own views, and I'd go all the way out to avoid getting into trouble. No point whinging when you should have known better.
I'm writing because it brought back some memories.
Guess how I learnt my first rude hand gesture?
I was in primary three or four, and was excitedly trying to describe to a (much) older friend a scene from a martial arts film, where the good guy caught chopsticks hurled at him by the bad guy with a bamboo chopstick holder. I used hand gestures to illustrate, and my friend immediately stopped me and said I had just done a bad gesture. Now, if she had not said anything, I would never have known that the gesture is rude, and would have just forgotten about the whole thing. But because she reacted, I learnt something I should not have.
The F word was acquired the same way. One day when I was in primary two sitting in a coffeeshop with my mum, I noticed a four lettered graffiti on a wall outside. I asked mum what it meant, and mum said in a very annoyed tone that it's a very bad word. So there you go, it stuck. These unsavory things I would have picked up sooner or later, but the way I went about acquiring them is interesting - from the very people trying to protect me.
So I wonder had her mother's reaction been different, maybe the little girl would simply forget about the matter, and continue with her blissful innocent life (for a few more years anyway).The whole point is to protect children's innocence, is it not? But now she knows. Two years of age is a bit early to be aware of mouth kissing, don't you think?
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