A few days ago, I was at Raffles Place undergoing a course on self-awareness. That place was a concrete jungle, but I wasn't quite prepared for the crowds that thronged the various eateries, including the 1000-people restaurants (otherwise known as the Hawker Centres) during lunch time.
There was hardly any sitting room in most eateries. And "vultures" were everywhere. You know, "vultures" are people who stood by the table, looking longingly (at the table) and staring, sometimes menacingly (at the patrons), waiting for the opportunity to swoop down the tables as soon as the patrons vacate their seats. We thought we were lucky when we found one empty table; but on close scrutiny, was disappointed to realise that it has been "choopped" by some people with packets of tissue and newspapers on the table.
Nobody dared remove them, hungry as we were. It's like an unspoken law that says: "That's my tissue paper. And that's MY seat!” I'm quite amused by the unique behaviour of we Singaporeans in this aspect. To our credit, it also goes to show that we Singaporeans are a disciplined lot, for the fact that we are considerate enough not to remove the tissues and newspaper and then proceed to occupy the table.
That two days have made me appreciate my office, located somewhere many would consider ulu. I used to complain about the distance and the journey, but thankfully, I do not have to jostle or rub shoulders with the lunch-time crowds the way I did in the heart of town, not to mention the price of the food one has to fork out ($4 for a bowl of porridge?!) and the parking charges. Yes, the occasional "tissue-choppers" do re-surface, but hey, we can always play "vultures", can't we? Hee.
Category: Musings
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2 comments:
LOL, I never saw the "tissue paper" practice as Singaporeans being disciplined, but rather being Kiasu. Maybe it's because I personally find it irritating, but well next time I will look at it differently. :)
Chris, you know why people use packets of tissue paper to reserve their seats? Because they are cheap and dispensible. (Lest you misunderstand again, I am refering to the tissue paper, NOT the people.)
I know of this girl who reserved her seat (or rather, table space) with a hot bowl of uneaten noodles while she went to queue up for a drink. When she returned, the bowl of noodles have been cleared away by the cleaning lady who thought that it was left unfinished by a customer.
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