not that i am eavesdropping, but it was simply impossible not to catch some of the conversations of the two contractors painting my house. spoken in singaporean hokkien (which is basically hokkien with a splatter of malay terms), they generally revolved around money issues. the following is a snippet of it:
painter a (half shouting): sin kah poh boh lui mana eh sai! (singapore no money how to survive!)
painter b: hhhaaiyah... part kok boh lui eh sai! sin kah poh boh lui, si mi ma si beh sai! (in other countries, no money can still survive, in singapore, with no money, everything also cannot!)
painter a: aiyahhhhh... sin kah poh boh lui ai chua bor ma si kang kor! (in singapore, without cash it is difficult even to get a wife!)
and they went on and on and on about money, or rather, the lack of it and the cost of living in singapore, about bringing up their children, about their lives... at times, it got so heated up, they sounded like they were fighting! but of course, i know they were not. it's almost like two brother talking and bitching on and on and on.
one thing struck me as i listened to their conversation - the topics and the content of their conversation revolved around very mundane issues. very bread and butter. and it also struck me how they have been caught in a very tight system yet able to accept and make the best out of it. rather naturally, i was able to make quick comparisons between their lives and mine and it made me realize how luxurious (comparitively) i have been living my life for the past years! guessed perhaps i've been caught in life's materials that i often fail to see and appreciate the fact that there are many people who could barely/ just makes ends meet or are living simpler lives. and often, i would bitch about how little i have, worrying about unnecessary issues - while many people out there could not even experience the kind of life i currently have.
painter a (half shouting): sin kah poh boh lui mana eh sai! (singapore no money how to survive!)
painter b: hhhaaiyah... part kok boh lui eh sai! sin kah poh boh lui, si mi ma si beh sai! (in other countries, no money can still survive, in singapore, with no money, everything also cannot!)
painter a: aiyahhhhh... sin kah poh boh lui ai chua bor ma si kang kor! (in singapore, without cash it is difficult even to get a wife!)
and they went on and on and on about money, or rather, the lack of it and the cost of living in singapore, about bringing up their children, about their lives... at times, it got so heated up, they sounded like they were fighting! but of course, i know they were not. it's almost like two brother talking and bitching on and on and on.
one thing struck me as i listened to their conversation - the topics and the content of their conversation revolved around very mundane issues. very bread and butter. and it also struck me how they have been caught in a very tight system yet able to accept and make the best out of it. rather naturally, i was able to make quick comparisons between their lives and mine and it made me realize how luxurious (comparitively) i have been living my life for the past years! guessed perhaps i've been caught in life's materials that i often fail to see and appreciate the fact that there are many people who could barely/ just makes ends meet or are living simpler lives. and often, i would bitch about how little i have, worrying about unnecessary issues - while many people out there could not even experience the kind of life i currently have.
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