i see you got the cushion

ever since i don't know when when hanging out with my family we tend to talk about politics. not exactly the dull politics of various political group throwing shit at one another but other types of politics. family politics. political relationship between the the citizens and the 'upstairs people'.

family politics. these actually concern more on my cousins who are younger than me. young enough to see the there's is a gap and significant difference between their era and mine. correct me if i'm wrong, kids today get better gadgets easily. yeah no one can slow or stop the progress of technology and in turn the entertainment sources. especially with a slightly higher standard of living during the time when the younger ones are born to my time, things like ipad or iphone or laptop or PSP is easily available to kids. all they need to do is open their mouth and wait. somehow parents assist in helping them to ask someone to lend their young ones their gadgets. from a kid's perspective it will seem that whatever they want they can get it just ask their parents. this situation become rather a norm.

political relationship between the the citizens and the 'upstairs people'. admit it, no matter the age, we will tend to complain about anything and everything. from housing prices to sardine-packed transport to high costs of living to social integration. then that is when the 'upstairs people' will try by all means to step in and help. they improved one thing, we find something new to bring up. now probably COE to tax to scandals involving unexpected personnels. yeah the list goes on and on. so will this vicious cycle. we complain and show annoyance while the 'upstairs people' try to feed our needs.

before i carry on, let me be clear that as much as possible i'm trying not to take sides. i just typing out whatever i think is most impressionable. or in other words, listing down things that normal appear as initial impressions. anyhow, i mean not harm nor insult and what not.

moving on, you probably wonder why i bring up these two issues though apparently i talk more than these two big issues with my family. well both are common in something. let's form two groups. group one is the kids of the topic on family politics and the citizens from the topic on political relationship between the the citizens and the 'upstairs people'. group two is the kids' parents of the topic on family politics and the 'upstairs people' from the topic on political relationship between the the citizens and the 'upstairs people'.

if you are fast enough, group one seem to be the one with people always demanding for something to work their way and at times showing annoyance whenever things go otherwise while group two seem to be the one always there to console group two and trying to provide solutions. problem these solutions aren't always going to be there.

let me explain further. imagine one day the kids don't get any form of entertainment and their parents refuse to help them to get what they want. imagine one day the 'upstairs people' decide not to do anything for the citizens and continue working on the country's progress in general. gosh how the kids and citizens will fall and crumble so hard to the ground. just that now group two is serving as a cushion for group one. group one, whenever in times of need, will tend to lean on group 2, the cushion, for comfort.

so what's my main point after all these wordy explanation? well, in life we all got that cushion. it does not matter who you are or how old are you. you sure have that cushion. as sad and cruel as it may sound, this cushion is always a temporary solution. one fine day, it will not exist or probably change. that is the time when you all need to see and learn to straighten that backbone of yours.

no worries, i'm also guilty of having that cushion. cheers to life.

two black cadilacs

we are all pampered

finally managed to bring myself to actually update my blog yet again. been away so long since instead of always updating about what's going about my life, at times i rather pick up subjectives topics to talk. more fun that way. at least i can make my dead brain think a bit throughout the course of NS. so yeah here it is to start of my new goal.

we are all pampered. bold statement but yeah i admit. but first of all, the "we" here i am talking about refers to the young adults and teenagers of Singapore. before you jump tot he conclusion of me stereotyping the general targeted population, give me time to explain and time for yourself to read on and ponder.

point one. young adults and teenagers. why this group of people? well think about it... about the the year you are born in and what is going on around the world or in the country of birth at that point in time. i believe these group born generally from the late 1980s to 2000. now you are at least 16 years old to say 33 years old. we all born during the time when things around the world was stable despite few other minor disputes or wars around the world. nonetheless, in general terms... we all have shelter, we all have security, we all have basic needs met, we all have sufficient food on our table, we all have proper education. i point out all these so as for you to compare all these with the generation before. say your parents and grandparents. they weren't that lucky. they had to fight and struggle for certain basic necessities in life. so yeah, we are slightly luckier.

from our birth time to today, things have been made simpler to do. washing of clothes, traveling, shopping, applying for courses, registering for school. all these are few examples in which technology has made it simpler. it made us reduce the time and effort need to get equal amount of work done in the past. while we still complain abut public transport, admit it, it is still rather convenient and easy to navigate. signing up for schools and courses, you need not even leave the house.

point two. we are Singaporeans. personally i think Singapore is rather a safe place to live in with minimal crime rates and hardly any real natural disasters compared to other countries which hurricanes, typhoons, drought can be something they encounter yearly. furthermore, the education system equips us with needed and updated knowledge and skills. as normal for human beings, we at times might take these for granted.

don't believe? imagine any disaster were to strike one day, what are you going to do? what if one day you wake up to see thousands of people marching along the street protesting? what if one day our country is invaded? i believe most of you all will know that we will become lost. feel lost and not being able to react to the sudden situations. yes, we live in a time where all these are highly unlikely here. point is we are pampered to such good life. not necessarily a bad thing. i would say it is both good and bad.

in case you are the targeted population and you still feel insulted, i will be fair to you. to us, since i'm going 20 as well. every generation is different. different difficulties. different fruits to enjoy. as much as we enjoy the fruits of the previous generation, the future generations will enjoy our fruits as well. in the past, stress wasn't as high as now. in the future, who knows what will happen?

in conclusion, embrace the present and don't take all for granted.