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Most of us like to think that we have good manners. We regularly say, 'thanks' and 'thank you', let others exit lifts and trains before entering them, and say 'sorry' when asking people to move out of our way. Sounds good, right? The Cambridge English dictionary defines manners as "ways of behaving toward people, especially ways that are socially correct and show respect to their comfort and feelings". By and large, we are treating others the way we wish to be treated, so aren't acting rude, right? I certainly don't think we are. However, an experience at work made me realise that we can and should always try to be better. Photo: Tim Mossholder, Unsplash Last week, as I exited the office on my way to the loo, two visitors approached me and asked whether a particular colleague was around. I'm ashamed to admit this, but in the past, I'd have replied something along the lines of, "Does she know you're here?" or "Have you called her?" and they said yes, I'd be on my way. We're so geared towards doing what needs to be done that we tend to either ignore things that don't concern us, or we just do the bare minimum so we can quickly be on our way. Anyway, I asked them to wait in the pantry while I called my colleague over. On my way out, I mentioned to them that my colleague "will be right out". Minutes later, I was surprised to discover that the visitors were still standing in the pantry, while my colleague was nowhere to be seen. Moments later, she appeared with her laptop, but went straight into a meeting room. I asked her if I should usher her guests in, but she said she'd take care of it. Not exactly rude, but... Now, I don't know if she had greeted the visitors and told them she'd need a few minutes before their meeting could begin. All I saw were two guests who looked like they were unattended to. Not that I have a background in hotel management, but visitors to the office shouldn't be left alone, especially if they're waiting for someone. We should not risk letting them feel ignored or worse, unimportant. This feeling of wanting to have better manners came about after visiting Taipei last month. During my holiday, there were several instances when I kept hurrying to pay as I ordered in a restaurant. However, there are many places - even small establishments - that don't collect payment till you're done eating. So, there were numerous instances when I was told "吃完饭再付钱" (finish your meal first before paying) as I was counting notes from my wallet. I don't think I was impolite, but somehow, this rush to whip out cash seemed unrefined. Photo: Brooke Cagle, Unsplash I also realised that because we always rush to do things and go places, we often fail to acknowledge people in our presence. Think about the last time you thanked the staff in a shop as you left after browsing. Typically, as we leave a store, we are only accompanied by the sound of our footsteps. Surprisingly, in many shops in East Asia, the staff will thank you as you leave even if you leave empty-handed. Perhaps they are better trained. Or maybe, it doesn't matter whether you bought something or didn't - your presence was still appreciated. It's these niceties that make shopping overseas pleasant. I don't expect the same type of service in local shops because I think this sort of thing isn't in our culture. And frankly, perhaps most of us also don't expect such treatment, since kind/nice words won't convince us to buy things that hold zero appeal. Be better "How can I be polite?" is now a recurring question in my mind. But it doesn't mean I'll dash across the road to approach people who look like they're lost. I'm not about to introduce myself to every new face in the office either. What I will do is pay more attention my personal interactions with people, and to try and ensure that I don't hurry through every interaction so that I can just go back to whatever I was doing. And while I'm at it, I should probably give a nod or polite smile to colleagues I see in the pantry, even if we're not actually acquainted. - Jeremy

Just a friday thought.. I wonder how I wonder why....people can just drop me a singular "Hi" in WhatsApp, Slack or Carousell msg.. and that's it. just state your intention/question/message clearly la aiyoooooo

hi there!

Have anyone visited Hello Kitty Land Town Malaysia ? Any feedback?

Hello Kitty cafe in Singapore to shut down in February 2019 https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/hello-kitty-cafe-in-singapore-to-shut-down-in-february-2019. SINGAPORE - Singapore's first Hello Kitty-themed cafe, which opened amid much fanfare more than two years ago at Changi Airport's Terminal 3 arrival hall, will be closing early next year. "They say all good things come to an end, and Hello Kitty Orchid Garden will be shutting its doors for good come February 2019," said the cafe in a Facebook post on Friday (Oct 12). It added in a statement that its last day of operations will be on Feb 8 next year. Responding to queries from The Straits Times, Ms Fiona Chin, assistant manager for marketing at Europa Specialty Restaurant, which owns and operates the cafe, said the decision to close the cafe comes with the end of the company's licence and partnership with Sanrio, the Japanese company which owns the Hello Kitty Brand. She added that there are no plans to relocate the cafe, which will be closed permanently. As for whether there will be any Hello Kitty cafes in Singapore in future, she declined to comment. "We would like to express gratitude and appreciation to all the fans and supporters of the cafe. We are humbled by the support and look forward to bringing our customers more exciting F&B themes and concepts,” said Ms Chin. The eatery, the world's first 24-hour Hello Kitty cafe, drew hundreds of fans at its opening in May 2016, with some queueing up hours before it opened. Its Hello Kitty-inspired dishes include waffles in the shape of the iconic feline character, as well as smoked salmon sandwiches, spicy dried shrimp sambal pasta and frozen yogurt. In July this year, the cafe also announced the launch of ice-cream mooncakes featuring the character.. To mark its departure, the cafe will be throwing four tea parties in December. Tickets to the party, sold at $138 for a pair, include canapes, gelato as well as limited-edition Hello Kitty merchandise. The sessions, which will be held at the cafe, will also feature games, quizzes and lucky draws. The Straits Times has contacted the cafe for more details on why it is closing and whether it is relocating elsewhere.

haha

For all your children who love Hello Kitty and maybe yourself? Another reason to visit Changi Airport to soak in the Christmas fest. Hello Kitty and her Sanrio friends landed at Changi Airport on Friday (Nov 17) to bring festive cheer to travellers and airport visitors. The cute-fest lasts till Jan 5 next year. Here’s what visitors can expect: SINGAPORE'S LARGEST INDOOR DRONE SHOW Forty drones will light up the airport’s Terminal 3 Departure Hall, forming various shapes such as a snowflake and a Christmas tree, every night at 7.30pm and 9pm. Popular Sanrio characters will also dance to Christmas tunes. ACTIVITIES AND PRIZES TO BE WON Next to check-in row 11 at T3’s Departure Hall, a series of games have been planned for visitors, with attractive prizes to be won. SANRIO-THEMED PLAYGROUND According to Changi, the playground is a “first in any airport in Asia”. For the full news, please visit https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/in-pictures-hello-kitty-and-friends-at-changi-airport-9417098?cid=FBcna

Hello everyone

So will we be expecting the craze again??? It starts today!!!

Hi all Helping my wife/daughter look for them. Anyone have one or a set of 4 to sell, just PM me please with your price :) Thanks!

OH no..... i feel cheated http://laist.com/2014/08/27/sanrios_shocking_reveal_hello_kitty.php http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/08/28/sanrio-says-hello-kitty-is-not-a-cat-whaaa/

UK police increasingly asking victims to solve their own cases. Since, we don’t want this to happen to SG, thought it deserved a separate thread. http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/04/police-telling-victims-solve-crimes-themselves Crime victims are increasingly being told by some police forces to carry out their own investigations by speaking to neighbours, checking for CCTV images and seeing if their stolen property has been put up for sale on secondhand websites, the official police watchdog has warned. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary says that for some high-volume types of offences, such as car crime, criminal damage and non-residential burglaries, this "DIY" approach to tackling crime is an "emerging trend" among some forces. They warn that in areas where the police have given up investigating these offences, they are "on the verge of being decriminalised". The HMIC's report on the use of police time says that in too many cases once the victim had been asked to carry out their own investigation by police call handlers, the crime report was filed away without any further contact with the victim. "Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary finds this expectation by these forces that the victims should investigate his own crime both surprising and a matter of material concern. "The police have been given powers and resources to investigate crime by the public, and there should be no expectation on the part of the police that an inversion of that responsibility is acceptable," says the report published on Thursday. Inspector of Constabulary, Roger Baker, who led the inspection, said: "It's more a mindset that we no longer deal with these things. Effectively what's happened is, a number of crimes are on the verge of being decriminalised. So it's not the fault of the individual staff – it's a mindset thing that's crept in to policing to say, 'We've almost given up.'" He added: "When a crime has been committed, it's the job of the police service to go and find out who's done it and bring them to justice. They're the cops and we expect the cops to catch people, and my proposition to you is that unless you've got the powers of Mystic Meg or something like that, you not turning up and using your skills … it's going to be mightily difficult to bring people to justice." The report concludes that police desk-based investigations of crime are failing to serve the public and mean "little or nothing more than recording a crime without taking further action. The HMIC investigation found that it is still policy to send an officer to attend all reports of crime in only six of the 43 police forces in England and Wales. In the other 37 forces a call-handler uses set criteria to assess whether somebody should be sent. The watchdog says it is unacceptable that its investigation found nearly half the police forces were unable to provide any details of the reported crimes their officers had attended and that a third were failing to identify repeat and vulnerable victims when they rang to report an incident. Baker said that it was only by fully understanding how they use their staff that police forces could ensure that they were efficient and responsive: "We found that this vital element of evaluation and analysis is still lacking in the majority of forces, with fewer than a quarter of forces investigating demand in order to prioritise and organise their workforce. In this age of austerity it's more important than ever that forces understand how to prioritise their resources." Irene Curtis, president of the Police Superintendents' Association responding to the report said forces had made significant efforts to protect the frontline in the face of cuts but it appeared "some of the basic functions of policing appear to be slipping through the cracks in some areas." She said: "The public and victims of crime in particular deserve the highest standard of service from the police, wherever they live, so it's important that these issues are addressed and forces must learn from the many examples of good practice highlighted in the report."

http://poachedmag.com/2013/07/01/hello-fellatio/ click on link, as per subject.

Super duper long queues for n95 masks at unity I heard. Think Hello Kitty lose liao

Saw this in CNA on Saturday. CNA was reporting about new tax law in India and interviewing some business people about the new tax. Look at his name!

I do not normally start It related thread, but Chrome have given me so much problems that I decide to dump it once & for all & go back to Internet Explorer, & never been happier. Chrome issues: -Constant crushes - Simple functions not working, e.g like the normal 'reply' in MCF (I can only use the fast reply), worst when you have to fill up some forms for credit cards or something. You just never know when it will fail. - Facebook act weird, & sometime even typing a simple comment is a challenge, as many times, part of the comment box are hidden. Sometimes, top bar (where you can select log out or view messages) are hidden as well. - Flash keep crushing ( I looked into this soultion, but the problem keep coming back) - Slow down, & taking too much resources Now back to Internet Explorer(ie), after manually paste my bookmarks, Internet work so much better. Anyone have the same experience? By the way, I am using IE 9 on Windows 7 home edition.

What a year 2011 has been, as we come to the close of the year, how about some honourary awards? 1) Most influential forummer for 2011: 2) Most haolian forummer for 2011: 3) Funniest forummer for 2011: 4) Most intelligent forummer for 2011: 5) Most Guai Lan forummer for 2011: 6) Richest forummer for 2011: 7) Stupidiest forummer for 2011: No trolling and flaming and fighting please.

Hi guys! Just to let you all know that I'm no longer with Alpine Motors (Chevrolet). If you guys need to get a Chevrolet, I can help as well as I'm still in touch with my ex-colleagues Have been doing property with DTZ for a year already ... so do approach me if you want to buy/sell property I'm also with Republic Motors now (Subsidary of Cycle & Carriage) .... let me know if you're looking for a used car (especially Mercedes). Will also give out referral fees for both property and cars ... Hope to hear from you guys

http://2dayblog.com/2008/01/24/hello-kitty...-assault-rifle/

How's everyone?

Hi, Just returned from my Europe tour de duty and now back in SG. I know internet access is supposed to work everywhere but I just didnt have the time for online forums then. I'm back just to say hi to everyone and yes I saved an entire slew of stories for ya all.. All the best LK

Hi SGU34**J Vios, I can

after the birth of my twins, i have to let go of my convertible days till either my kids want a convertible when they get their license i be saying hello to my first lexus, no soul but get the job done. so anyone keen to buy my 17 inch rims . getting my car end of the month.

YES! Just as most of us here had predicted, MH got the sack before the end of 2009. This is indeed a very eventful weekend with shock defeats for Pool and unexpectedly for Man U as well. Manchester misery as United crash, City axe Hughes LONDON (AFP) -