Skip to main content

Conversations : Part II

Recently, I took part in a Technopreneurship programme organised within NUS. One of the guest lecturers, a man with quite a lot of credentials in this area, kept emphasising to the audience to go visit Silicon Valley and immerse ourselves in that culture. He said

"Go to any cafe, any Starbucks and you will keep overhearing people who are sharing new ideas, discussing new developments. The atmosphere there is perfect for every entrepreneur. The conversations between people there, unlike in Singapore, do not dwell on where to get the cheapest plate of chicken rice".

I am a local boy. Maybe not born here, but I have lived here long enough to be witness, victim and perpetrator of the most lengthy and pointless conversations. In short, if I am with people, most of the time is spent with me talking cock or with me spending time listening to people talk cock. In one of my earlier posts, I pointed out how this ability to perpetuate nonsense was quite important in making friends and building fond memories of the times in school.

No denying that. Just that if all conversations were predominantly filled with gossip, jokes and whatnot, one is not really adding any kind of value to one's life. Even if it is rare, I do have the serious conversation now and then, critiquing events, debating issues and sharing ideas. And the part I really love about these conversations is that they often open up new perspectives that I never considered before, the moments I ask myself "Now why did I not think of that?".

To me, these conversations are not just about the consequent enlightenment, but they are a redemption from the guilt of discussing where to get the cheapest plate of chicken rice the previous day.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Another Day at the Office

"I am sorry, but are you good at IT?", she inquired with the most apologetic of expression. I gave her an incredulous look. Seriously? This was the second time I was being asked that question in one month and I took offense. It was almost as if the world judged that the only reason my race would be allowed to venture overseas was to fix other people's computers. "No. I am a production engineer", I replied, half wondering if I should clarify it had nothing to do with human production, which my people are also well known for. "Oh. That is a pity. Our printer broke down and we were wondering how to fix it", she said pointing to a piece of contraption that lay on the table nearby. Men being men, I offered to help. On walking over and looking into the inside of the contraption, I saw what most millennials see if they were to ever see the inside of the multiple devices they are perpetually holding onto; abyss. I doubted she would give me a discount f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Life in the Time of Corona

I can't remember the last time I felt I had this much time. Not that I was never the beneficiary of a balanced life within socialist Europe, but I had squandered much of it away, jumping from the consumption of ever immersive electronic devices, forgetful routines and the maintenance of social relationships. A digital detox felt timely. Faced with a swath of unfilled time, here I was blogging again after ages (does creative pursuits such as writing does not fall within digital detox?  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ). Time had flown. 2020 is a year that will live in all our memories till the end of our lives, not so much because of what happened, but because of what did not happen. A year that started promisingly with two memorable marriages of family and friend came to a halt as a tiny microorganism proved how vulnerable we humans still were. I remember when colleagues in the office laughed as a Chinese friend hoarded masks so she could send them back home. A month later they were asking her where the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Undertones

"Don'e be like a girl. Come on. Jump!". "You are not a girl. Now put your head into the water". "See those girls. Even they are not afraid of swimming in the big pool". A person's true nature is often very evident in times of frustration. In my failing attempts to make my eight year old cousin swim, I resorted to shaming and comparison, What he needed was courage. Therefore who he had to be compared with was a group that was not associated with it. The sentences came to me almost naturally, Without thought. And then I caught myself swimming in that stereotype. It surprised me for it opposed the strong belief my rational self held on the idea of equality. Following the surprise came the shame, the shame in the knowledge that despite my open claim that women were by no means to be taken to be mentally or emotionally weaker to men, I subconsciously did harbour thoughts that they were in fact, weaker. Plus, it was made worse by the realisat...
Post a Comment
Read more