This Place

Been doing a bit of research over the last week regarding how planners elsewhere provision parks and community facilities for their populations. It's a type of benchmarking, and as a society, Singapore does a lot of that kind of stuff, to make sure that we're measuring up against our competitors. This is a way to continually adjust our standards to ensure that they remain relevant to the global situation. But, as many have pointed out before, this has given rise to some oddities, not the least of which is that Singapore's skyline starts to look like other places.

The new stretch of the CBD, the seed of the new and much-vaunted Marina Bay financial district, looks like Hong Kong, and I found that a photo I took on impulse of a familiar landmark right outside URA's offices reminded me strongly of Sydney.

Of course, it's not really fair to say that Singapore has plagiarised other cities' skylines. I guess there could even be a case arguing that actually, Hong Kong and Sydney reminds one of Singapore, or that people spontaneously making the connection between these cities is precisely the kind of name recognition that we've been trying to achieve with our nation-branding. It could also be a symptom of architects' whims, as they build new buildings in the vein of whatever style happens to be in vogue at the moment. The thing is that in Singapore, most buildings are new, and so these transborder architectural echoes sound much louder in our city. This will definitely pass with time: history brings a distinct character with it. But in the meantime, the softer schizophrenia of the Singaporean consciousness is expressed in its physical landscape as well.

So much of this place is under construction, until there is a real risk, I think, that we start to think that we can construct anything. In the offices, listening in on interminable meetings, discussions and presentations, I notice how easy it is for planners to slip into the imperative form. Plans are not guidelines; they are diktat. And while zoning and land-use rules may need to be declared and enforced from the top (here, bring in the usual land-scarcity argument - honestly, Singapore does have a bit of a complex over its lack of land), this language leaks into other areas as well, and we end up advocating the planning of some rather odd things, like how and where people can have fun. The notion that you can plan this is, needless to say, ludicrous. And I don't honestly think that URA consciously wants to programme the Singaporean software to an extent that smacks of social engineering. But the language they use does skew their motivations towards that. And no matter what we in the organisation might think, at the end of the day city-building is a people thing, and thus it's what the people think that counts.

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Watched this year's HCELDDFS production, How the Other Half Loves, on Friday, on the invitation of an old colleague from CHS. It was a very high-energy play; and I must say, JY's brother was really good as a slick, chauvinist pig (complete with the last word emblazoned in lipstick across his naked torso - ah, a missed Facebook photo, that). But I didn't really enjoy it much. Firstly, there was the rather confusing overlap of two storylines, and it took me a while to figure out that the one set on the stage was supposed to represent two different apartments, and that's why the two families just talk past the other without acknowledging the other's presence. That could have been a clever theatrical device - but unfortunately I didn't find it very meaningful. It was rather annoyingly confusing and quirky, but didn't really serve an artistic purpose.

The second thing was that I watched last year's play. And the previous one. And the one before that, in a series of faithful yearly attendances back to J1. And every year, HCELDDFS puts on a slapstick comedy. The most enjoyable one was the first time I watched a HCELDDFS production. I was really impressed by the energy and the sharpness of the dialogue. But then, year after year, you realise that in effect, HCELDDFS is basically performing the same play, just that each year it's written by a different person. It's like watching Channel 8 drama serials; the plots are predictable and remarkably parallelled each year, up to the point when I was keeping count of all the jokes I predicted on Friday evening.

Oh well...here's another thing to put behind me I guess. This will be the last HCELDDFS show I'll be watching in a while, for better or worse. Hopefully, Columbia's offerings will be more refreshing. I did, however, have a nostalgic moment, clambering over the steps onto the stage to look for JY's brother to express my appreciation for his performance. Stole a bit of the limelight, intruded onto their stage, and enjoyed the view of the drama centre from there. I know - it isn't my stage anymore, and it's a bit unfair for me to usurp even a little bit of their limelight. But what the heck, eh? It was my stage once, and I worked with it for four years, and I want something to remember it by.

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Also ran into Ms. Ong at the show. Something that she said that night struck me. She was talking about her recent return from HK, and remarked that in the world's great cities (London, NY, HK in particular), you always have something to do in your free time. And the range of things to do and places in which to do them is generous and maybe even overwhelming. But in Singapore, your range of leisure options is quite limited, even though you may choose to cycle or jog or have a reunion over dinner at many places. That variety and range of activities makes the city attractive and tantalising.

Which is true; I know what she's talking about. But would the lack of this variety be reason enough to leave a city? That I'm not so sure about. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't tempted to just stay in NY forever. Or, if I can't really say that because I haven't been there yet, I have been tempted to stay in HK or Taipei forever. But in the end, I am sure that this place, this island, where I live now, is my home. For better or worse. It's not that I don't mind the boredom and the predictability of life here. I do feel the stifled environment, the restrictions and the narrowed horizons. The difficulties of living here are clear to be seen to anyone, although one can effectively insulate oneself with wealth and the right connections. But, despite all its faults, or because of all its faults, I consciously choose, time and time again, to come back. It's not about what this place, this city, can offer me; but about how much of a difference I can make to this place. Beyond appreciating a place, I feel that I need to contribute to it. And from what I can see so far, the place where I can contribute most is, rather than the cosmopolitan and brave new worlds of the world's greatest cities, this place.