E.g. When a person screams for help in the middle of the night in a highly populated residential area, few or none of “the group” will call the police for help – their reasoning being, “Someone else will do it”. However, if an individual knows that he/she is the only person in the area that is able to provide assistance, chances are he/she will do something to help.

I was pretty skeptical of that article. I mean, it’s more to do with upbringing and culture, right? If I was brought up to help folks in need, or brought up in a culture which emphasizes community spirit, I surely would help no matter what.

As fate would have it, I had the chance to test this theory …

Venue: Elevator, Ely’s office, Hong Kong

Time: Lunch time rush hour

Record of events:

- I have to make a stop at the company mailroom, 6 floors down from my office. The lift lobby is crowded as it’s lunch hour.

- Lift arrives at my floor. Several other people enter the lift with me.

- I press the button for my floor and move towards the back of the lift. I notice that no one else looks at the lift panel or presses the button for the ground floor.

- The lift stops at almost every floor on the way down. Others enter the lift. Still, no one looks at the lift panel. No one notices that “ground floor” hasn’t been activated.

- I reach my floor and exit. The lift doesn’t move. Everyone stares blankly forward and waits for the lift to continue its descent. (Of course that doesn’t happen, you didn’t activate the ground floor button. DUHHH!)

- The lift stops and starts going up instead. A lift-load full of apathetic people now have to make the journey up, then down again. Their inaction has wasted them at least 5-10 minutes of their lunch time.

Perhaps the theory is true — in this country, at least

On a side note, I finally got a new phone:

Samsung Soul U908

PRETTY!!!

Strangely, each time I returned from the shampoo, I found my belongings mysteriously moved to another seat and arranged in exactly the same way I had left it. After the 2nd or 3rd time, I was seriously spooked out.

Imagine you return home one day to find your belongings moved into another room.

Or return to your hotel and find yourself ushered to a different room, on a different floor … but with all your stuff there and arranged in the exact same order you left it in the morning.

Ugh … imagination running wild now.

Fengshen. Quite an eye opener! The Hong Kong authorities raised the typhoon warning just before midnight on Tuesday. I peeked out to see how bad it was but there was no wind, no rain … nothing.  Pfft, what a non-event, I thought. A Singaporean friend suggested taking a walk to experience the typhoon. Inside, we were chortling – all this fuss about nothing.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of strong winds. Peeked out of the window and found that the umbrella, shoes and socks I had left in the balcony were … flying around. * HORROR *

Typhoon 1, Complacent Singaporean 0

On the bright side, I did get half a day off due to the Typhoon, and the warning was lifted in the late morning so I managed to catch my flight to Singapore. Win-win situation

Have a jam-packed schedule for the next few days, shall be heaps of fun … shall accumulate enough memories to last till my next trip to Singapore, I hope!

Jeckyll (one wonders what his brother is called)

Okus (I can’t imagine how this came about)

and the killer ..

Virginial (hahaha …)

I stay in a low-lying residential area (Wanchai). Last Saturday, I woke up to knee-high water on the streets, the color of milk tea. A few hours later, the waters receded but 2 inches of mud were left on the streets. Apparently, all the disgusting mud was washed down from the hillslopes into our area. YUCK.

When I recounted this to a friend of mine, his immediate reaction was “Ooh, water the color of milk tea. Got pearls anot?” o.O

Men …

Didn’t manage to get photos of the flood disaster last week, but it’s raining again now so perhaps I’ll get “lucky” tomorrow. *rubs hands in anticipation of a good photo op*

Was great having you here, babe! Here’s my favourite pic of you (kudos to the photographer, of course – otherwise known as ME!)

I miss you lots, even though …

1) You look like a lobster when you drink …

2) Occassionally need some sense “scorched” into you …

3) You like to kachiau me when I am taking serious pictures!

<Tongue in cheek>

I know we’ll have a great life together, babe. Just you and me. Cheers to that

DLR (light railway)/Tube ride from apartment to training center: GBP2 (S$5.50) for a 10 minute ride

Monthly pass for the DLR/Tube: approx GBP 90 (S$250)

Takeaway lunch: GBP 4-5 (S$11 – S$14) for rice with 1 meat

Can of Coke: GBP 1 (S$2.8)

Starbucks coffee: GBP 3 (S$9.50)

4 plums: GBP 2 (S$5.50)

2 pieces of Pak Choy: GBP 1.50 (S$4)

I could go on and on about the cost …! Anyway, you get the idea.

In an attempt to combat costs, us group of trainees staying at Canary Wharf have taken to cooking nightly and hosting “dinner parties” – great fun, though we do create quite a mess and cleaning up after is a huge pain!

I hosted my maiden dinner party tonight! It was a great success, if I do say so myself. The menu:

Roast lamb shoulder with rosemary and garlic

Roasted vegetables (carrots, parsnips, new potatoes, mushrooms and onions)

Spaghetti Aglio Olio

Profiteroles and chocolate fudge cake (ready made from the supermarket, of course! )

Am looking forward to showing off my new “leet skillz” to the S.O. when he comes visit

On the bright side, the apartment where I’m staying now is fantastic! Will post some pictures soon. The only complaint is the erratic wireless connection … sometimes, it goes down the entire night and other times, its incredibly slow.

I love London. I love how I can see the mist coming out of my/others’ nose and mouth when we breathe. I love the low rise and brownstown buildings. I love the “sprawling” layout and feel of the city (as opposed to “towering” like Hong Kong and Singapore). I love how the rich culture of the city manifests itself with every few steps I take – beautiful architecture, landscaping, the theatre, all things I hold dear to my heart.

 I already know I will have a hard time leaving this wonderous place, come April

Some pics of the place:

Living room (very small, apartments here are tiny)

TV console – couldn’t resist getting the Samsung TV, it’s sooo pretty! Love the table clock too, it’s from a place called Homeless, it stocks lovely home accessories and I have a hard time controlling myself each time I visit …!

Bedroom – where Ms. Lazybones gets her sleep

Bedroom – the computer corner

Bedroom 2 – cum wardrobe cum storeroom. How in the world did I manage to amass so much stuff in just a few months? o.O

I don’t know whether it’s just my area, but the place gets dusty really quickly! I give the floors a wipe at least twice a week and give the place a good cleaning every weekend, and that’s barely enough to keep the place livable. Fine, black dust is now the bane of my life. I think I should just seal off the house and leave the air-con on 24/7. Arrggh!!

My precioussssss …. !