La Casa

Its been a month since I moved here to La Casa.. And I've noticed a few things.. First of all, is that of the wealth profile of people here. There's the indisputably rich as usual. But the crucial observation is that there is also a significant number of families with slightly above average income, like me, living here. Shows that housing and standard of living has come a long way since the days when HDB was first established with the goal of providing affordable housing for all. Invariably higher standard of living in a country means that consumers enjoy a greater variety of goods and services. With rising incomes, there is sure to be some kind of demand inflation,with things getting pricier.

People seems to be using the swimming pool a lot, from amateurs learning to swim, to pros, to people who just want to chill and relax. Maybe some of them are genuine people wanting to relax or exercise. Maybe some of them are just people wanting to get the feeling of being able to swim in a private swimming pool, or want to make the full use of their monthly maintenance fees. I've seen people who looked like they never played tennis, playing at the private tennis courts... You can tell that by how unfit they look from the outside. People who play tennis frequently certainly do not have large thighs. They have powerful arms from swinging the racket. And they are definitely more tanned. Well well, it seems we have quite aways to becoming a cultured state..

Being cultured is something that Singapore still have to work on.. Being a gentleman(or a lady) is an art by itself. Acquiring refined tastes and mature thinking is not on the immediate priority list for a person struggling to make ends meet, but should be on the agenda once the nation acquires a higher standard of living overall. Appreciation of art and design, which by itself serves no physical purpose in the genetic lives of organisms, is the mark of being cultured. Definitely one has to pay money for being able to appreciate art and design. Therefore, the appearance of services with luxurious settings, or goods with appealing designs, should therefore be more expensive than other alternatives that sports the bare minimum. This is the mark of the rich, but also the mark of a more cultured society, one that is more appreciative of art and less concerned about matters of money. In terms of mannerisms, S'poreans could do away with the kiasu, kiasi, and kiamsiap attitudes. Being less selfish would do some good too, while impossible to eliminate totally.

Being a nice guy isn't that hard, as long as you're consciously aware of the people around you.

I guess I'm kinda perfectionist, because I'm so unwilling to see decay and tarnish happen to things so perfect. Like the new condo I'm living in now. Walls of bright new whitewash. New pavements. Etc. Sometimes perfectionists like us try too hard, but the world can never be perfect. For me? I seek perfectness in the equations and models of science, in the work I do, in the projects that I engage in, in the music and art around, in the games I play. Of course sometimes, looking for perfectness takes too long, in the rush, I always make careless mistakes that I hate and regret.

Means or the ends? Maybe both for me.