Archive Page 92
I amaze myself. My right bicep and shoulder are aching from playing too much Nintendo Wii Sports. Was applying Yoko Yoko to my sore shoulder when I saw in the mirror – a blue black on my back, near my shoulder blade! Gosh! I have no idea how this bruise appeared in such a weird place… and how no earth did I incur this injury by playing Wii tennis (or bowling)! I definitely don’t remember hitting anything! I would’ve taken a picture just to remember this amazing bruise if only I could aim the camera properly… it’s kind of hard when you can’t lift your right arm much. Heh.
Click here to see the full list of scheduled table-tennis matches at the Beijing Olympics. Be sure to support Team Singapore! (Live results available on the website).
Our women’s table-tennis team just gave Singapore its first Olympic (silver) medal in 48 years. 48 years – that’s a wait that started even before Singapore gained independence. Kind of put things into perspective doesn’t it? Our girls fought hard. They clawed tooth and nail for every point in the semi-final against Korea to earn their place in the final. And though China proved the stronger team, I’m still extremely proud that our girls never gave up. They pushed China to show their mettle in every rally and that was good enough for me.
There have been some naysaying Singaporeans though. Saying that it’s no big deal because our 3 players were born in China and were brought to Singapore to play table-tennis for us under our Foreign Talent programme. Supporters of the Foreign Talent programme have defended it by saying it doesn’t matter where the players are from since almost every nation in the world has a China born table-tennis player. (What, you thought all the Nigerian and Korean table-tennis players were born and bred in those countries?) Their stand is, if others can do it, why can’t we?
Personally, I look at it differently. To every Singaporean who thinks we need a Singapore born citizen to represent us in sports, I have this question – Where did your grandparents and/or great-grandparents come from? Was it not China, Malaya or India? At 43 years old, Singapore is a very very young nation and the vast majority of our citizens descended from migrants who came to Singapore in search of a better life. We, of all countries, should be less xenophobic!
So I say, "åŠ æ²¹!". I’m proud of Li Jia Wei, Feng Tian Wei and Wang Yue Gu. Thank you for letting Singapore’s flag be raised for the first time in the Olympics. I hope you girls get more medals in the singles matches in the next couple of days. Go Team Singapore! May you get double happiness at the tables.
P.S. Did you know Tan Howe Liang, our first silver medalist at the Olympics in 1960 also migrated here from China?
SINGAPORE BEAT SOUTH KOREA IN THE BEIJING OLYMPICS TABLE-TENNIS WOMEN’S SEMI-FINALS TO ADVANCE INTO FINALS ON SUNDAY! WOOHOO!
Would it be too much to ask for a gold now? 😛
Saw someone wearing this Swatch watch on the MRT today and I thought it was absolutely pretty! I want to buy this watch!
It’s called the Leaf Spectacle.
Reference: SUBM109G
Swatch shop… here I come!!
Sigh. My eyeballs are in overdrive today. In this world there are the collectivists, the individualists and the pure delusional.
Came across this other article on the Internet about table-tennis. The last paragraph took the cake.
"Still, we’ll never appreciate table tennis like the Chinese do. We’ll never chant and ooh and ahh when the rubber hits the tiny plastic ball and our parlor game becomes real sport, serious sports, a deep-seeded national pastime, a thread in this nation’s cultural fabric."
Hmm. So a sport in which the USA isn’t good at is degraded to a "parlour game" and a sport which is popular in the US is a serious sport?
Gee. Then as a Singaporean, I guess I can say this:
"Still, I’ll never appreciate baseball like the Americans do. I’ll never chant and ooh and ahh when the bat hits the ball and my Nintendo Wii game becomes real sport, serious sports, a deep-seeded national pastime, a thread in this nation’s cultural fabric".
*Rolls eyes*.
There’s been a furore over China’s handling of the Olympics opening. By now, everyone knows that a little girl lip-synched, and 28 out of 29 footprints seen on TV were digital images because the hazy skies prevented the real footprint fireworks from being captured.
Beijing’s critics have jumped at these examples to criticise China. They laugh and delight in this opportunity to diss China. What they have failed to realise is that, for the Chinese, it is always country before self. In order to make their country proud, thousands of Chinese have learnt to speak English so they can be good hosts to the foreign guests. Thousands more have put themselves through hours and hours of grueling rehearsals in order to put on the grandest Olympic opening the world has ever seen. It was not for personal glory. It was one for all.
I came across this article about how the USA lost the gold medal in gymnastics to China by 2.375 points. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when I read it. USA’s gymnastics veteran, Alicia Sacramone fell twice. Once when she was on the beam, and again when she was doing her floor exercise. And what did USA’s national team coordinator Martha Karolyi have to say to that? She said Sacramone lost her focus because of a longer than expected hold before being allowed to mount the beam.
"The judges had no reasons to hold her up, but they were not allowed to start," Karolyi said. "They got a signal from somewhere that it was not time to start. It was totally unusual, that is all I can say."
As for Sacramone? This was what she said. "I was nervous and wanted to get the show on the road, and I let my nerves get the best of me. There was no sign (with her name on the scoreboard, signaling she could start her routine), just a blank screen. It felt like it took forever for mine (name) to come up."
An athlete falls and the team coordinator jumps to her defence. All for one.
I’m in this group on Facebook called "I Secretly Want To Punch Slow Walking People In The Back Of The Head". My goodness… you should see the comments left on the group’s Wall. Everyone hates people who walk slowly and wishes to slap them or punch them. And you know what? I totally agree with them! Hahahahahaha.
Recently however, I’m thinking of starting a new group. Why be (to borrow Azure’s term) passive aggressive? We should start taking action against slow coaches!! So I’m thinking of calling my new group "I Openly Step On the Heels of Slow Walking People". Now how does that sound?
Hmm… not only slow walking people… I think we can include people who stand on the wrong side of the escalator (BTW, the right side is the "wrong" side if you’re in Singapore) into this group as well!
So step on it people!
IRAS is efficient! I just got a call from them saying they’re looking into it. So far, they confirmed that Comfort Taxis includes it in the receipt. So either Premier Taxis is slow, or the cabbie is recalcitrant. Either way, the diesel surcharge forms part of taxable income hence they’ll probe more.
See! This is why you don’t play punk with the way you conduct your business in Singapore!
Time and again I have encountered dishonest taxi drivers who display the "on call" sign even though they have not been booked in advance by passengers. But the driver I met tonight takes the cake. Not only did he dishonestly show the "on call" sign (he was waiting at the taxi stand with the sign BEFORE I called for the cab and he was assigned to my booking), he even tried to cheat on his taxable income. See my email to the taxi company and the tax authorities for details…
<Start>
Email to Taxi Company with Complaint to IRAS within:
Please note that I have 2 complaints against taxi no. SHD1227X.
FIRST: Earlier tonight, I was waiting for taxis at UOB Plaza 1. As no cab was in sight, I dialled this number (64815151) recommended by a friend to get a taxi through an operator assisted call. Within 1 minute, I was told that "the taxi is already at UOB Plaza 1".
No surprise. The taxi was indeed waiting at the lobby area with an "on-call" sign displayed. Obviously, the driver dishonestly displayed the "on-call" sign while waiting for someone to call for a cab.
SECOND: My total cab fare came up to $19.70 and this is the fare my receipt shows. However, your driver collected $20 from me and insisted that the $0.30 diesel surcharge is not reflected on the receipt.
Please explain the reason for this practice because I believe the diesel surcharge forms part of your taxable income, hence, it should be reflected on the receipt. I strongly believe this is a case of tax evasion and I have reported this to IRAS. Please see a copy & paste of my email to IRAS.
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To Whom-it-may-concern,
With the recent introduction of the diesel surcharge by taxi companies, I would like to find out if this diesel surcharge forms taxable income by the companies. The reason I am asking is this.
Earlier tonight, I took a taxi home from work and the bill on my receipt showed $19.70. However, the taxi driver insisted that I had to pay $20 as there was a $0.30 diesel surcharge on all fares. Given that the receipt only showed $19.70, does this mean that the $0.30 diesel surcharge earned by the taxi driver/company is not taxable? Or is this a loophole for tax evasion? Please advise.
FYI, the details of the taxi I took are as follows:
Company Name: Premier Taxis Pte Ltd
Reg. No.: 20-0304975-H
Taxi No. SHD1277X
Receipt No.: 8275
Start: 12/08/2008 21:44
End: 12/08/2008 22:06
Meter Fare: $13.20
CBD: $3.00
Current Booking: $3.50
Total Fare: $19.70
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You should be hearing from IRAS soon.
<End>
Frankly, many taxi drivers dishonestly display the "on call" sign to force passengers to call for a cab so that they can earn the $3.50 booking fee. But to cheat on the diesel surcharge also (Iceman believes the taxi driver did not include the diesel surcharge on the receipt on purpose so that he could earn the $0.30 instead of giving it to the taxi company) is just TOO MUCH.
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