If a Blog is not for Ranting...

Then what is it for?

1) Kitchen guard

Because I stay in a hostel that has a communal kitchen, I'm expected to treat my kitchen guard duty with responsibility. Kitchen what? Well, the kitchen guard will ensure the general usability of the kitchen for a week. That means for a week, the guards will have to store the plates on the drying racks back onto the shelves, throw out the rubbish, clear the recycling, wipe the kitchen counters and mop the floor. It isn't too much work, and I don't mind doing it because I use the kitchen a bit too.

I was rostered to do kitchen guard with "rum310". That's how things are: you don't do kitchen guard alone. But alone I did it. I arranged the plates alone. I was the only one throwing the rubbish. Even when I came back late from my CNY party, I cleared the plates and the rubbish. (Doing kitchen guard makes it so much more obvious what lousy hygeine habits university students in a hostel have.) I could have knocked on the door of rum310. But somehow I knew I wouldn't get an answer.

Well, I guess I wouldn't have gotten an answer. I met rum310 on Sunday when I was mopping the corridor. She said that she's been out of her room often cos she spends more time at her friends' places. Therefore she hasn't helped out for kitchen duty. Brilliant. When other countries attack Singapore, they won't attack me personally, so I won't serve National Service. When the house next door is burning down, I won't call the fire service cos it's not my house. Perhaps only when it spreads to my place will I call. Hmm...

I hated her soooo much for saying that. And it just so happens that she's this cute China girl who speaks English very well.

2) Exchange finances

During the 2nd Malmo trip, everyone was happily shopping at H&M while I sat there eating my haw flakes. They asked me why I wasn't shopping. So here I'll list the full set of reasons why I don't.

1) I don't find it fun. I see no point in looking around at clothes, randomly selecting a few pieces, deciding if I like them and then trying them on "just to see".

2) I don't need the clothes. Right now, I feel that the clothes I brought in my luggage are sufficient. If I feel that I need a new pair of jeans, I'll look around the jeans section if I happen to be in the area. It's never a forced exercise that I have to buy jeans by that shopping outing, or by 3 shopping outings, or whatever. If I happen to see something I like, I'll buy it. After that, no more shopping until I feel I need new T-shirts.

3) The clothes aren't exactly cheap. Barring the super discounted (50% over the original discount of 50%) items, things generally cost more than Giordano. Sure, they're H&M quality. But they're both made in China, and I don't need a label to define a style quotient. (Yes, I have no style, but I can live with that.)

4) The money that is spent shopping can be better spent on travelling. That's what I came all the way to Europe for.

So Tis was making a general comment that his parents told him to "just go ahead and buy if you really like it" and he was rationalizing it in the context of "the clothes are reasonably cheap" and "they're quite nice, what". And then I realised that every one of them there was on exchange on scholarships. So they didn't pay for the plane tickets. Nor the accommodation. And to a certain extent, textbooks and living expenses too.

Me, every week that I spend here is taking away a hundred dollars from my parents' accounts. I know my parents want me to experience living on my own, to learn more about a foreign land and its cultures and basically enjoy myself travelling around Europe. They willingly took out the money and set it aside for my exchange budget. If that budget is not enough, I'll be paying from my pocket. (That should be around the time I start doing my crazy "Around Eastern Europe" tour.)

So every cent I save from not shopping will go to me enjoying my travels, thank you very much.

Well, rants aside, I'm enjoying my time here a fair bit. I had to minus some points cos I'm starting to miss home and home-cooked food. I probably won't miss these things when I'm travelling around Europe! -Jimmy