Today marks a decision point -- for today, I meet the requirements to renew my Canada PR (i.e. reside in Canada 2 years out of every 5 consecutive years). From the looks of it, I am staying.
Within the timeframe of 2 years, I have "Canadianized" in some ways. E.g. I check the weather before going out. E.g. I learned how to queue at the bus-stops. E.g. From defining travel time beyond 30mins as far, to accepting travel time of under 1 hour as reasonable. E.g. From finding the "
harm reduction" philosophy of public health spending a waste of money to accepting that the
empirical outcomes prove otherwise. E.g. From not knowing what to make of acquaintances'/friends' offer to try their "
pot", to understanding it as their gesture of trust and goodwill. E.g. From finding it weird to meet people with mental health issues in public, to considering it their right to co-exist so long as they are not a threat to themselves or others. E.g. From finding the relatively empty sidewalks of Richmond strange (i.e. no one walking in-front-of or behind me) to finding the busy sidewalks of Seattle* strange. [*Note: I visited Seattle last weekend and I was suddenly reminded of Singapore. It struck me that I do not miss the hustle and bustle of a big city.]
I have changed, but IMHO Singapore's socioeconomic and political scene has remained pretty much the same during these past 2 years. A case of 换汤不换药 ["changing the soup, but not the drugs in the decoction", i.e. "making at superficial changes only".] When I read online of Singapore's recent political "dances" and wayang, e.g. the National CONversation, I can only shake my head and tell myself that I am lucky -- I have a choice to remain here in Canada.
Going forward, I will probably not write much about the things happening back in Singapore. Many other online sources and bloggers have written eloquently on such matters. For example:
2 years. A lot can change within 2 years if the person involved chooses to open his/her eyes. E.g. Watch Tin Pei Ling at 0:55 and 2:30 in the video clip below dated Apr-2011.
Back then she was also quoted as saying,
“Many people are complaining and blaming the government for this problem. But is this really the responsibility of the government? I don’t think so.”
Check out
Tin Pei Ling's Facebook. It seems that she realizes now that there are many people struggling to make ends meet, and the government is responsible after all. She even wrote in June-2012,
One cannot help but wonder what did TPL see, hear and experience to induce her change of heart? Perhaps the same transformational experience can be repeated for her colleagues, especially
her boss.
A matter of will --
highway cutting through mountain from BC to Alberta
To quote Lucky Tan, "
All ideas are there - it is a question of political will!"
Oh! As for the title of this post, I saw it from an acquaintance's Facebook posting. "Exhaustipated" means "too tired to give a shit!"
For me, the train has already left the station.
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[Addendum on 07-Oct-2012]
