When I was in Jakarta, my littlest sister one day threw tantrums to her boyfriend because he had not replied her text messages for several hours. Or not @-replying her on Twitter. Whichever it was.

I was like, “Seriously, sis? Maybe he’s just busy doing something else?”. And my sister shot me a blank look, depicting something like “Even if he’s busy he should be able to reply me”.

Isn’t that the bane of today’s world? It’s unbearably instant (borrowing phrase from my friend Putu). Decades ago, lovers will send each other love letters and wait weeks, even months, for a reply. To even receive a reply is a lovely surprise.

Right now we have text messages, IMs, Twitter, and many other applications that claim to bring people closer together, but create attention-deficit impatient people instead. We don’t even send long e-mails anymore (except perhaps when your groupmate is acting really obnoxious. SMU joke – if you don’t get it never mind). When was the last time you sent an e-mail like a real mail? Something like how are you, how is it like at your place, what has been going on, and yadda yadda yadda. Never? I am not surprised. Too often the longest emails I received are from my aunt who just caught the e-mail forwarding virus (yes, in 2010!).

Do we not have enough time to stop and wait? Or are we expected NOT to have time? Because everything is unbearably instant…

Here’s a suggestion. You don’t even need to send a real hand-written letter via post (do people even know that postal service still exists?). Try sending long e-mails. Write to a friend. Tell him/her how you are doing, what have you been up to. Ask him/her about what he/she has been planning to do, or even about his/her quirky hobbies.

Send the e-mail.

And then wait for the reply.

Savour the time.

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I mean, true, I sometimes complain too. Why does it take so long for the bus to come? Why does the bus driver drive so uncomfortably? But really, my complains haven’t got that far that I don’t agree why Singapore really deserves to win the award.

I think the people in Singapore (who are constantly nagging and complaining.. See this website for more info and proof) are just too used to the comfort and the good facilities that they have grown used to it, and consider them as an ordinary feature.

What are these ordinary features?
First, knowing where to go, on a particular bus.
Every bus has a route. The route is pasted somewhere in the bus stop and even when they don’t have it, you can always buy the book that lists all the bus routes. I have one. And it’s been extremely useful.

Now you’re thinking how the hell buses or trains don’t have an exact route. Well, it happens. In Jakarta (I know it’s not fair to compare it just to Jakarta but I’m sure it’s one of the worst transport system in the world), there are many buses. Like, many. Apart from the government’s buses, there are plenty of private buses and angkots (angkutan kota-city transport), plus many private cars that are “rented” by the owners to be an angkot to get some extra money.

And well… They don’t have the route information. Well some do have but no exact stops. So yeah, you don’t know where it stops. Oh well. They stop everywhere anyway. Yes that’s true. Everyone stops everywhere. Even when there’s no bus stop. Simply shout to the driver that you want to stop and it will stop. Simply flag everywhere to get a bus and the bus will stop to pick you up. Nice? Well, messy at the same time.

I have a true story if you want proof that it is indeed messy. My cousin, whose university is at Banten (another province, just slightly at the west of Jakarta), took a bus intending to go home (her house is at West Jakarta). Lo and behold.. She ended up in Blok M, which is at South Jakarta. And Jakarta is big, you know. Bigger than Singapore. Eventually we gotta send a driver to pick my poor cousin up.

The second thing. The comfort inside buses/trains.

Admit it, it IS comfortable. Well except when you have to stand. I know. But at least you have a place to stand. You won’t be like those ones..

Sitting on the ROOF of the train. Yeah there have been cases of dead people.

And..
There are no distractions in the buses/trains. (except that stupid tv mobile with equally stupid tv series. seriously???)
Some of the things you can encounter in buses/trains in Jakarta (or Indonesia)…

This is pengamen. Or street singer? More like bus/train singer.
Well, sometimes they sing nicely though. I once encounter a couple of pengamens that sang “Paint My Love” by Michael Learns to Rock.

Some others..

This is pedagang asongan. They are basically people that sell little and petty things like cigarettes, candies, and stuff. Yes you will encounter them in buses, asking you whether you want to buy. Tell me how you’ll feel if you have such people in Singapore’s buses and trains.

The point is.. Those good things have been used a lot that you (yes you naggers and complainers) think that it’s considered to be an ordinary feature.

Singapore does have a good transport system. Stop complaining.

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Just watch! The web is growing. How bout you?

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• Channel News Asia
• The Guardian
• Tempo Interactive

Okay. I assume that by now everybody already knows about the poor flight that disappeared on the way from Surabaya (East Java) to Manado (North Sulawesi/Celebes).

On my older post Condolences (hey why did it suspiciously disappear? Oh gosh. Oh. I set it into private. How come? I didn’t. Here’s the link.), I already talked about the poor flight. Just to give quick summary, I want to write the chronology.

• The plane disappeared from radar
• The whole Indonesia got panic. Especially the relatives of the passengers.
• Whispers said that Singapore, coincidentally the country I’m residing in now, has received emergency signal from the plane.
• The plane has been found, it said that 90 had been died while 12 survived. Knew this from Yahoo news that appeared when I open my Yahoo mailbox. The source was from AP. Hmm.
• Headline on Kompas on the following day said the plane hasn’t been found.
• What I just read from Channel News Asia, Indonesia is still trying to find the plane. And many airports reported to get the emergency signal, from different places.

See the strange thing? First they say it has been found. Complete with the statistics. Complete with the coordinate. Complete with the place. ( I read it fell on a some mountainous region kind of thing) The very next day (or the two days after, sorry I’m a bit bad in memorizing time) when I checked that day’s newspaper it was printed so big : “Pesawat Adam Air Belum Ditemukan”. (translation : Adam Air plane has not been found)

Tsk. Weird.

What I read from Kompas about the Singapore-got-the-signal thing was that Singapore got the signal from the plane’s ELBA (Emergency Locator Beacon Aircraft). The next line said that the ELBA will send signal if the plane touched the ground. Then you can get the conclusion that it fell on solid ground, right? They even published the coordinate. (Sorry can’t get you the accurate news though, I was just skimming through the newspaper) But I remember that they said the coordinate is somewhere near Polewali (South Sulawesi/Celebes).

Now it’s been said that Sam Ratulangi Airport also got the signal. Oh Sam Ratulangi Airport is in Manado, the plane’s should-be final destination. The signal was detected on Monday but only reported on Thursday, near Manado (North Sulawesi/Celebes).

In case you guys are curious, here’s the map of Sulawesi/Celebes.

The pink dot marks Polewali while the red dot marks Manado.

Hmmm… Strange? Yeah. Totally. Don’t you feel it too?

The wikipedia page about this flight that I read stated some speculations. Maybe you’re interested to read it. Just click the link. Much better if you open it in a new tab so you won’t leave this unfinished reading. If you don’t have a browser that has tabs (it’s so much better to browse with tabs, tell you),Get Firefox 2!

For those who are too lazy, just a quick summary. There is a speculation that speculates that the plane have exploded mid-air resulting in different ELBA readings.

Well, it’s wikipedia though. You know how it is.

Rumour has it that there had been found children shoes and some clothes on a beach at Majene, West Sulawesi/Celebes. (I still don’t know the correct English term. Sulawesi or Celebes?)

So.
I can conclude that some immoral people have lied and given false hopes to the relatives of the missing ones.
How immoral.
Tsk.
I hope the plane will be found soon… The people need to know about their beloved ones.

Oh come on.

Update

Even weirder.

There is another emergency signal detected near Kendari, South East Sulawesi. To compare, take a look at the following map of Sulawesi again. Purple dot marks Kendari.

Update

Reuters reported that the part of the plane had been found and also that they found a woman’s body. Please see the news. 

tag: Indonesia, adam air, flight, airplane, accident, flight accident, adam air flight 574

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Oh there is, according to Singapore’s government.

What is “Good English”? English with perfect grammar, pronounciation, punctuation, ah whatever it is and all that? Well, wouldn’t it fit better to be called PROPER English?
Take it simply, like this. If I’m speaking in perfect and proper English, with perfect grammar and all stuffs I mentioned before but the person I’m speaking to doesn’t understand what I’m saying, am I speaking a good English?

Good English, I believe, is the English that can be understood by others. Not a one-side English. I speak English and you understand that, then I’m speaking Good English.

I got this concept from my own language, Indonesian. If you’re an Indonesian, you would know something called “Bahasa Indonesia yang Baik dan Benar”. Yes I was having the same thoughts with you. It’s the Indonesian with perfect grammar-spelling-punctuation-and all that which we know we never use. Never ever used except for things like research paper, final paper, thesis, etc.

But I was wrong. And you are wrong to think like that.

“Bahasa Indonesia yang Baik dan Benar” (gosh I hate typing it. Sooo long) is the Indonesian that can be understood well between 2 or more people speaking Indonesian. What’s the point bothering yourself to use complicated, or as they say, sophisticated words if you’re not understood? It’s like you’re saying things like equilibrium, ROI, TCO to a farmer. You might be intending to teach him something good but, man, he won’t get a single clue of what the hell you’re talking about.

And I believe the same concept applies to English.

And I wonder so much why Singapore gives so much damn to Singlish. I mean, face it, Singapore, you don’t have anything to identify yourself as a country except Singlish. If you pick one person randomly from Singapore, assuming he/she’s not a foreigner and he/she doesn’t bring any identity card, how, do you think, can he/she prove to you that he/she is truly Singaporean?

If I am to be picked randomly from Indonesia, despite my Chinese-looking face (the reason why they speak to me in Mandarin here. Please, uncles and aunties, I don’t speak freaking Mandarin), I will tell them that I can speak Indonesian. Fluently. That would identify me as an Indonesian.
Can the Singaporeans do the same?

Why don’t they just make Singlish a language? An official language? All they need is just competent linguists who are willing to write down the rules for grammars, pronounciation, and all that and then you will get your official language! (That’s what happened to Indonesian)

What? Singlish is just a dialect? See my mother tongue, kiddos. Indonesian. It remains similar to Malay while proudly standing as a language.

Oh and the funny thing in Singapore is beside that Speak Good English Movement mentioned earlier, they also have this thing called Speak Mandarin Campaign. Ridiculous, don’t you think so. They say this campaign is to make the ethnically Chinese people in Singapore (I hate using the word “the Chinese”. Oh please, they weren’t born in China) who speak different dialects (Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkien, etc) speak easily with others using Mandarin.

See? Like, duh.

How about that ethnically Indian people who have, er, about 22 languages? (more info) Why didn’t Singapore make Speak Hindi Campaign, Speak Tamil Campaign, or whatever?

*this part is deleted*

I’m signing out.

edited : related reading.

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For I am seeing these on Singapore’s very own Orchard Road.

Taken inside Takashimaya

Strolled down and find more….

Then before entering the MRT station….

I’m afraid that the whole assignments and projects have made me hallucinating.

Please tell me if you believe I do so. I will book an appointment for a psychiatrist immediately.

Thank you.

not-so-Cheers,

Sylv

p.s. is the WYSIWYG editor in wordpress sucks or is it just me?

tag: Singapore, holiday, christmas, weird things, christmas tree, orchard road, hallucination

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