Remembering Griffiths: Canteen

Counting down to the end of this year, we are counting down the last few days of GPS as well. Other than the infrastructure, the culture, the building, the fun, we must not forget the FOOD!!!

Yes, today's episode is about our famous canteen!!! Sorry that I have no photo of the canteen... Probably will try to draw one if I can find time...

I have listed down the stall from left to right according to my best memory possible.
The prices listed down was exactly during the year 1995-2000. So please refrain from exclaiming things like "Huh?! Now things where got so cheap??!"

Stall 1: Snack Stall

Menu (Highlights)
1. Koko Biscuit $0.20
2. Color Bread $0.40/$0.50
3. Pandan Cake $0.40
4. Egg Burger $0.60
5. Fish Burger $0.60
6. Assorted Ice Cream $0.60 - $1.50
7. Assorted Biscuits
8. Assorted Bread
9. Chinese Soup Desserts $0.50 each bowl (Different dessert every day)

This snack shop is my second favorite stall especially when I have no time to eat noodles before my prefect duty during recess. A good egg burger is perfect to start a duty~

I still remember there was a period when many students are crazy about the pencil sorbet ice cream and the toy car shape ice cream. It was really nice for summer period.

Present Fact: The auntie is STILL selling snacks in GPS right now. I still see her walking past around my house void deck area once a while, including this year, 2014.

Stall 2: Malay Rice Stall (Purple Plates)

Menu
1. Nasi Lemak $0.50

Can only remember this....

When I was around Pri5, my appetite rose to an incredible rate, I would order this rice, with additional portion of rice, and add more egg slices, which would cost me $0.90. I would practically eat this portion whenever I need to stay back for ECA (Remember back CCA was referred as ECA?) or some other supplementary class. And I believe that was the time when I started to become less skinny...

Stall 3: Malay Noodles Stall (Pink Plates)

Menu
1. Mee Rebus $0.50
2. Mee Siam $0.50

3. Mee Soto $0.50

This stall made me fall in love with Mee Siam. And so practically whichever Malay noodle stall I patronise, I will only order Mee Siam and nothing else.

Stall 4: Chinese Rice Stall (Green Plates)

Menu
1. White Rice with Fried Egg and Soy Sauce $0.50
2. Chicken Rice $0.50
3. Fried Noodles $0.50
4. Fried Rice $0.50
3. Mixed Rice $0.50 - $1.50

This stall I seldom patronise. Mainly because when I was young, I was still picky with my food choices, especially the greens... So when I see the green plates used by that stall, I will turn away most of the times. If I do patronise, it would be the Rice with Egg since I was an Egg Lover since young. The half cooked yolk was really what attracted me~

Stall 5: Chinese Noodles Stall (Orange Bowl)

Menu
1. Yellow Thick Noodle (Dry/Soup)
2. Maggi Mee (Dry/Soup)
3. Lor Mee
4. Wanton Noodles (Only Available on Monday and Friday) $0.50 - $1

5. Laksa (Only available on Tuesday) $0.50 - $1
6. Mee Siam (Only Available on Wednesday) $0.50 - $1
7. Kway Chap ((Only Available on Thursday) $0.50 - $1
8. Hot Dog $0.10 / $0.30
9. Chicken Wing $0.40
10. Chicken Drumstick $0.70
11. Crabstick $0.20

Obviously, this is my favorite stall. You can probably guess it since this menu is the most detailed. This stall provided the best noodles during my childhood. The auntie practically can chat with me also... Oh, and one of the stall aunties was the mother of a student in our batch, Cai xiong's mother.

Anyway, during my peak appetite period, I also ordered a lot from this stall as well. After either an upsized Nasi Lemak or noodles, I will have my "dessert" with a drumstick and a hot dog or a crabstick with lots of chilli!!! Yum~

Stall 6: Drinks Stall

Menu
1. Coke $0.30
2. Root Beer $0.30
3. Can Drinks $0.70 - $0.80
4. Yakult $0.60 (Will FREE cute random toys with each purchase)

A drink stall is always famous among the sports type students since they always seek out for thirst quencher after a good training or game. So naturally the uncle and the auntie there found themselves mingling more with these students. And of course, they are the only ones who can earn the money from students on Saturdays~ It would have to depends on situation for other food stalls to open on Saturdays.

I was a frequent patron during the period when many people were hyped up about the can drinks with red tab. Hope I did tickled your mind a bit by mentioning the "Coca-Cola" card! The card when everybody collect the tabs like mad to exchange a card that was actually useless to a primary school kid. But for me, other than collecting for fun, the card can also be cut into strips and become a tab for me to do cheat code on my Digimon!

**********

Once again, I apologise for the bad grammar, writing, and no pictures. But hope the ex-Griffithsian still can remember some fun times about the school. I had prepared another post about the classes I had been through. My classes were 1/2, 2/2, 3/6, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6. Hope I can help my ex-classmates remember some of the interesting we had been through together! So, stay tuned!

Remembering Griffiths: The Background

Bringing a special attention to my Primary School.

Due to the decresing number of primary one students each year, MOE has decided to merge the school with Qiaonan Primary School and thus will be renamed as Angsana Primary School effectively next year 2015. As such, I decided to write posts about the school, my life in the school, and most importantly, to try to remember about the people I have met in this school.

Let's now turn back time to 1995-2000

(The only old picture I can find before the school was remodelled)

Principal
1995-1999: Ms Mary Fletcher
1999-2000: Miss Choy Poh Chun

History of GPS
I remembered the school started in the year when I was born, 1988. It was situated just right beside my house. It is practically and literally just a few steps away from the void deck of my flat. It was so convenient that if I forgot to bring my homework before the flag raising ceremony, I could just walk briskly back up my house to retrieve it, make my way back in just less than 5 minutes. Oops, digress too much.

Crest, Motto, School Song and Uniform
The most memorable line in the school: To seek, to strive, to find.
Not only it is the motto of the school, it was also written in the lyrics of our song.
And the color of the school uniform is Green, Top was Light Green, and Bottom is Dark Green. The PE Attire was the same as well. (Actually my school uniform was Green all the way. Pasir Ris Sec: Rusty Green, and Tampines JC: Light Green). 

The Crest with a burning torch which signifes quest for knowledge. While the color yellow stands for aspiring and caring, and green represents the refreshing innocence of children.

The school has two different sessions.
Morning (7.30AM - 12PM+): P2, P4, P6
Afternoon (12PM - 6PM+): P1, P3, P5

Morning Session Flow
If is a dry season, the students will assemble on the outdoors, and different Pri Level will have different assemble locations. Then teachers will bring each groups to the parade square for Flag Raising Ceremony and then followed by singing the school song on every Monday. If is wet outdoors, then the assemble point for everyone will be in the hall and the ceremony will take place in the hall as well.

Afternoon Session Flow

The assemble point will be in the hall for everyone and the class will shortly be guided to their respective class by their teachers. When the last class of the day ended, the students will all proceed to the parade square for the Flag Lowering Ceremony. For wet weather, it will be in the hall.

Parents in the Past

I remember every time when I stepped into the school via the sidegate, I will need to walk past a mini ecogarden, and then past the bookshop and into the canteen. And then you would see many students hopping around instead of assembling neatly and the aunties chatting with each other in the canteen. That was the past... It has been a while now that outsiders are not allowed in school premises anymore due to security reasons. 

It was so nice back then when parents are still allowed to enter school as freely... Like during heavy rain, all the students will come to the school with slippers and upon reaching, the parents will help their kids to dry their feet and put on their white shoes. Sometimes parents even wait for their kids during recess to deliver homemade snacks or forgot-to-bring homeworks...

Recess Activites

The most happening 30-40 minutes in school life. And you will see different groups of people at this time. 

The normal eating student. Like me, I will always go for my favorite noodles stall for my Lor Maggie Mee because you can only enjoy the food for 6 years. So better eat all you can. 

The hyperactive student. This group of people will skip their breaks and go to soccer field, the field, volleyball court or basketball court to play their games. There was one unique spot for similar squash game as well. It was a corner near basketball court where some kids like to playing kicking squash. It was a game which you kick a small ball to a wall and wait for the ball to bounce back and let the next player to kick the ball again. 

The less hyperactive student. This usually refers to girls, because their hanging out areas are usually under shelter like the space outside the bookshop. The girls will play with the stairs, hopscotch, zero point (the game to play with a big hoop made by rubber bands), etc. 

And of course the last group is the mix. The play after you eat student. 

Hope that will help us remember many good memories of the school.

Stay tuned for the next post about canteen!

20

Ever since the use of handphones and then smartphones began popularized and became a part of a necessities in developed countries, the lives of many people in many nations have significantly changed.

But is it for Better?
Or for Worse?

Indeed, the primary purpose of inventing such devices was for good intentions. However, the purpose has evolved into a much malice such that humans have now became slaves of technology.

With a phone at hand, even after working hours, they are expected to receive headaching calls from bosses and clients, and also replying work emails.
With a phone at hand, people are constantly looking down and enjoy the comfort in their own private bubble.
With a phone at hand,  the world has become more and more economic driven, more and more competitive, and make use of this convenience to create all sorts of "wonders" and seek to "improve" human lives better.

So if one day, a hand from the sky took away the phone from every human on earth...
Just Imagine.
Without a phone in hand.
The world would probably turn back 20 years ago.
When the world is less complicated...
At least that is what I think...

Ever since I have stepped into the working life, I have heard nothing but people constantly asking how this or that business generate revenue. How can you turn your business into a pool of profits. And when you have attained a stable business, they will start to ask, how would you do to raise the value and earn even more?

Times changed a lot rapidly these 20 years of my life. When I was still a Primary School kid, I hear most working adults are happy with their lives. Having a stable job and a happy family is just simply pleasant. However, after 20 years, I have finally become one of them, but the definition has changed a lot.

People changed. The younger generations have desire for more. People no longer comfortable with sticking to a thing and use it for as long as they one. Once they think it have no use for them anymore, they ditch it and go for a better one. People are no longer satisfied with a stable job. They want to go higher. So high. Until to an altitude that suffocate all the working adults now. Ironically.

People have been constantly saying to make the world better. But in fact. It isn't.

The definition of Capitalism and Economic have driven people crazy. All companies and even government are working their ways not to improve our lives anymore. They are all blinded by the concepts. The only way to survive is not just to feed and shelter and love yourself anymore. The new criterion is to have a strong economic holding. People are now aiming to have a higher foothold.

The word money has reached a whole new level.
Even government in Singapore is going all the way to suck people money...
Openly...
I know I'm ignorant. I know nothing about economics or whatever.
But why people just want to keep going higher? To a height that is no oxygen for them.

Money, the root of all evil.
The statement stands firm.

Let the world continue in the endless World War.
The war which determines which country has the strong currency...

Choosing a simple life is not a choice anymore...

Shocking Overwhelmed 3!!

I never thought I will get to write Episode 3 after all these years.

For those who are not familiar with this title, it is about my Birthday Surprises ever since my 21st Birthday.

It was 5 years since the first episode, and 4 years since the second episode. My dearest friends who came together and celebrated my birthday, I really thank them from the bottom of my heart. However, a lot has changed in just a period of 5 years. Time has drifted some of these friends further and further. Some of us were just forced to go separate ways when that phase of life that bind has ended, and there is no reason for us to get along together anymore. Nevertheless, it was really truly a happy moment for me. I always do look back those times when a year falls on 13 May. 

The surprise, The laughter, The company... 

Ever since, I always expect a get-together session where friends meet up together to have a simple meal and endless chat. 

But in 2014, another surprise was installed. 

It was just another normal working day, when I was expected to work till at least 7.30pm. I supposed to have a karaoke session with Jiunn Kai and June at 7.30pm. But due to my work culture, I usually can only end work earliest 7.30pm, so I told the others to go ahead and sing without me, thinking that I can always snatch the mic for the rest of the time I have. Fortunately, I was able to end work at 7.15pm and to make it at Orchard at 7.30pm. 

Before I left, I told the rest I was able to reach on time, but I only got their acknowledgement, but there was no reply from them to tell me where to meet. I could only stand helplessly in ION Orchard alone and wait for the reply... 

I was just randomly looking through Facebook on my phone, and as I looked up to the crowd randomly, I saw 4 familiar faces: Lydia, Luvena, Russell and Song Guan. This is a very weird "combo". The girls claimed to meet the guys coincidentally, and then subsequently me. But they seemed to have a hidden agenda. Because all of us just stood there after that, as if we were supposed to meet up. I wanted to believe that they are meeting someone else for a meal, so I was even more bewildered when Jiunn Kai arrived and we all walked together to buy dinner. 

June came in later with a cake, and then Jiunn Kai introduced my friends to her, and that was quite obvious what they were doing. But I still could not believe what had happened. It was obviously a surprise. Well, it was a mild surprise in fact. Haha. 

It was June who called Jiunn Kai to make this last minute arrangement, and it was said that Luvena had a more pleasant surprise plan for this. But due to the fact that I arrived on time, I kinda wrecked the whole plan. Hence, it was up to them their acting skills to hold off the surprise until everyone was gathered. 

Lesson Learnt: Never up to any meetups early. 

The karaoke turned out to be another Jiunn Kai's concert event. Haha. Not a very high one though. Lol.

The cake cutting session with Song Guan "was held" in Hilton Singapore. Well, outside the hotel. Haha.

Thanks for everyone who turned up for the event. Sorry for turning up on time! Next time I will be very late!!! 

In the end, the mystery left unsolved was the plan that Luvena originally came up with. She said have to wait till next year. I shall wait patiently then! Thanks in advance!!

For the past episodes, view via these links. 

Episode 1: http://digimonkaizer.blogspot.sg/2009/05/shockingly-overwhelmed.html

Episode 2: http://digimonkaizer.blogspot.sg/2010/05/shockingly-overwhelmed-2.html

Goodbye, Comics Publisher...

This is one of the saddening news in Singapore.

Chuang Yi's logo before Defunct

People who have grown up in the 2000s as teens and read comics, they will surely know the Singapore Comics Publisher, Chuang Yi 创意。They are the only company that translates Japanese Manga in Taiwanese Traditional Chinese Language (繁體) to Simplified Chinese (简体). Providing many Manga for Singaporeans for many years since 1990s. However, the Publisher gradually started to stop published for a few months in 2013, until they were announced defunct.

A Little Background
Taiwan has successfully helped many non-Chinese language media from Asia to be streamed into their Chinese speaking countries. Many one of the Animes that have made popular by Taiwan is Doraemon. I'm sure people are quite familiar of how the Chinese Dub Doraemon sounds. They also have made many Manga popular, even until now. Unfortunately, the country is using Traditional Chinese Writing (繁體), while Singapore is using Simplified Chinese Writing. Hence, importing Taiwanese version of comics might be a problem for Singaporeans since they might not be able to recognize Traditional Writing. And that's why Chuang Yi is a considered a dream come true for Singaporean Manga Reader.

2000 - Rise of Manga in Singapore
Ever since I got hooked by the first book of Detective Conan when I was in Pri 6, I began to collect the comics from Chuang Yi. When I was growing up during the 2000s, Manga began to rise its popularity. The famous Comic Chains in Singapore "Comic Connection" gradually opened up many branches around Singapore. I have many friends who also bought comics too. Comics Connection could be considered as one of my favorite hangouts when I'm alone. Like a typical Otaku.

2008 - Downfall of Chuang Yi
I believed the downfall begun ever since online free Manga portal started to emerge in the internet. People started to stop buying comics since they could just read online for free. And there are many factors that contributed to the fall of the publisher.

1. Online Manga Portal are translated in English
This would increase the readership as non-chinese speakers will have more accessibility to English Manga.

2. The Standard of Chinese in Singapore is getting too low
There seemed to be a trend of falling standard of students who are studying Chinese as their Mother Tongue. More and more people are heard communicating in Singlish rather than in Chinese. Due to the low passing standard for Chinese set by the Ministry of Education in Singapore, many do not really care about Chinese. Most would be just satisfied once they passed the 50% mark. And truthfully, not much emphasis is placed on Mother Tongue either. As Chuang Yi publishes Chinese Manga more, the readership will surely decrease over the years.

3. Chuang Yi did not published all famous Manga and was slow in translating the comics
To be honest, I am not just buying Manga by Chuang Yi, I also bought comics imported by Taiwan as well. Sometimes, I was so eager to read the next volume that I just could not wait. It could take one month for them to produce the comics after Taiwan has published them. Most probably they have to take time to acquire the license to print them. Chuang Yi also did not published some of the titles that I was looking for. It was pretty obvious Chuang Yi did not want to publish titles that are not so popular, unlike Naruto or One Piece which are just widely popular across the whole world.

4. Many Faithful Manga Readers in Singapore could actually read in Traditional Writing
This is also a personal opinion. When I mentioned I bought Taiwan imported comics, it would obviously mean that I could read in Traditional Writing myself. And also why Comic Connection imported them as well. HOWEVER, what kept Singaporeans actually buy Chuang Yi Comics would of course be the price, which is always cheaper than Taiwan Comics.

Because of these various reasons, frequent patrons of Comic Connection would realize the shops have also prepared to change their shops to sell something else too. And less than half of the shop now selling comics, while the rest of the shops are selling game consoles, accessories, and Korean Fan stuff...

Nevertheless, this news still struck me badly, and would definitely discourage some of the comic artists in Singapore. But I would like to say:

Thank You Chuang Yi for bringing me many wonderful Manga to my life.
From the bottom of my Heart.
Thanks.