Against the social norm...

I am totally impressed with an SMRT-189 Bus Captain who greets every boarding passenger loud and clear, and with a smile. He really takes pride in his work.

This is really something extraordinary. It is rather common that bus captains smile at boarding passengers, but to smile at the passengers and greet them one by one, "Good Afternoon, Sir!", "Da Jie, xia wu hao!" etc is at least something I have never come across.

I am sure, there will be people who would think and say that he is hypocritical or what he does is "lame" or "extra". But, say what you like, this is the problem with the society now! When someone does something that is out of the norm, he will be perceived as being funny or hypocritical as I mentioned earlier. The same applies to the speaking of English. When one speaks good English with correct pronunciation, he would be critically perceived as "showing-off".

There is much we have to learn to stand up tall when we are doing the right thing, and not being pushed down by the social norm and social pressure.

Jiu Kan Thang Buey Boh! with the original MTV, sung by Su Rui

This is a very popular Chinese oldie.

The song was written about a single, mute and deaf man who made a living by collecting beer bottles and selling them. One day, he found an abandoned one-week-old baby and brought her home and raised her single-handedly with his meagre earnings. The man aged and the girl later became a very accomplished singer, but was not allowed by her manager, to go back to her father.

An amateur song composer, who grew up with her, was inspired to write this song for her and at the same time told her about her old and ailing father who was lying in the hospital. The singer learnt the song and sang it at the end of a concert and was so touched by it that immediately after the concert, she rushed to the hospital to visit his ailing father and was calling out "papa.... " at her dad's hospital bed.

A very meaningful and touching song sung by Su Rui. Hope you enjoy the song. If you can read Chinese, you may read the story in Fei Fei's blog.

The Soda Cracker tradition that is disappearing...

Soda crackers used to be the snacks of the poor people those days. They were also one of the gift items alongside with condensed milk, our parents or grandparents would usually buy and give to someone who was unwell when they visited him or her. If budget did permit, there would be one extra can of Milo.

The Chinese tradition or custom is, never visit someone empty-handed, especially the elderly. It seems this tradition has largely disappeared in the modern days. It has taken on other forms of expression.