Hey there! I just changed my blogskin :) It's a little user-unfriendly because you can't navigate my past posts by headings or hashtags. So i'm gonna update the codings, stay tuned! (The font's kinda hard to read too..other than these 3 peeves, i'm quite satisfied) Follow me on the links below! :) 29/4/2015.
Started this blog during the last few weeks of SEM1(AY2014/15) cos' i regained interest in blogging. I blog about anything - news, social issues, music - but mostly about my university life :) Hope my posts will help you to make better life (and module) choices! Currently a Sociology Major. Still fresh. xD  : Amelia Lim, 20 October.+ follow | Email | insta | twitter | fb magic sprinkles: recent updates :
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2015~ An unexpectedly good start!
written on Monday, 5 January 2015 @ 21:45 ✈
At first i felt that 2015 started really badly for me >< I was really busy and tired. // 1 Jan Met up with some of my colleagues! :D #NOM So glad to see Frankie and JW in the New Year! But i personally do not like NOM's wine battered fish & chips BUT frankie likes them HAHA. JW said their rainbow cheescake was so-so..guess we ordered the less-delicious food on their menu lols // 2 Jan First of all, my eczema flared up pretty badly, and i had to visit the doc for steroids ): Outing with pf was pushed back, but i'm really glad she came down to Aljunied to find me!! :)) <3 She's one of the best friends that i met last year! After we met for brunch, she left for work & i left for socisoc! We went to clear up the hons room, and it feels sucky cos it was so dusty and uncomfortable for my skin): and we had more meetings abt the upcoming fieldtrip. These few days were tiring, cos we were rushing for the programme details, doing up the info sheet, notes, drafting emails and planning routes in Geylang. (BUT i'm glad to say that our efforts paid off and it was really successful. I learnt ALOT. And its really nice to hang out with this bunch of peeps ;D ) // 3 Jan Was one of my guilty days HAHA It was one of my JC classmate's bdae, and we celebrated at a restaurant at marine barrage. The night view was AWESOME, the weather was perfect-windy & chill. WE SHOULD TOTALLY GO BACK THERE!! & fly kites!! With socisoc/ppl i love :)) JH can read the stars for us HAHA We found this friendly old man who was the owner of flying nemo, he let us fly his nemo-kite!! :D I really enjoyed meeting up with the class! So happy to see all of them ^^ 
BUT actually i'm supposed to be helping socisoc out with the complied notes for our fieldtrip..so i kinda felt bad having fun here while they're having a mad rush there..but i was just so tired of the fieldtrip i wanted this break with my friends. I did rush back to compile the notes and email blast the participants hahaha to regain some conscience LUL slept around 4am.
// 4 Jan
SECOND RECCE AT GEYLANG FOR OUT FIELDTRIP: exploring the even lorongs with a fellow TA who gladly volunteered to help us!
The sun was blazing & scorching HOT. But it was much more fruitful then the first recce. Some pics from 1st recce: (didn't take much pics..)  
This building is pretty interesting because it shows Christianity and Buddhism organisations sharing a common religious space. But i'd think they are pretty small organisations that are facing tight budget and therefore renting units from the same building for their religious practices.
Second Recce: We followed TA's route in the Even Lorong, i'll talk about it later too cos it is part of our official fieldtrip route.
Then we went to The Mind's Cafe at Prinsep Street for dinz! It was pretty fun haha! We stayed till 10pm. Had Angel-Mortal Revelation too! But i felt T-cafe was more fun though! #Jenga
// 5 Jan
Official Fieldtrip!!
A few mini hiccups at the front because we didn't cross the street at the junction lols (my bad, thought there would be traffic lights at the later Lorongs but turns out not) and Prof Ho joined our team on a pretty late notice haha. But i'm glad that she was on our group cos she gave sharp and insightful comments and stumped me many times.. i just dk how to answer her..
She wanted us to go there with an open mind, just to observe, without any pre-conceived perceptions or stereotypes. We told her that we were covering food, religion, vices and social control in this fieldtrip. She asked me what were vices. I answered sex workers and gambling, then she was like, "Are these really vices?"
Another groupmate commented, "Geylang doesn't feel like singapore at all!!"
Prof Ho: "This is the real Singapore."
For all (prospective) soci majors! A glance at our info sheet:
GEYLANG IN PERSPECTIVE MAP Mention Geylang and it is probably hard to imagine it as anything other than a destination to indulge in deadly sins. On the one hand, the label of red light district connotes the happening of vice, a place oozing with sleaze, a means to provide satisfaction to lust and greed. On the other hand, Geylang is where some of the best food in Singapore are found, the go-to destination to satisfy the gluttons in you. Through this field trip, we hope you will be able to make use of your sociological lenses to explore what lies beyond the façade we associate Geylang with and to see the interesting facets that play out in everyday activities. GUIDING QUESTIONS Here are some of the questions that popped up in the committee’s mind in the preparation process. We hope that you will find it useful in guiding you to making sense of Geylang. 1. Is vice all there is to Geylang? If so, how is social life structured around it? If not, what else is there in Geylang? 2. How are the social actors in Geylang organised? Is there a governing structure as to how the activities are played out? How does the urban space transform across time? 3. What are the ways in which religion plays a part in the everyday life of the people in Geylang? 4. What are the ways in which the police legitimise their presence in Geylang? What forms of social control are present in Geylang? 5. What is so unique about the cuisines in Geylang? Why are they so highly recommended such that despite being a red light district families are willing to visit Geylang just to eat?
Copyright nussocisoc 2015
We went to the odd lorongs first.
Prof Ho went into this buddhist organisation and we followed her in. They gave free desserts haha but we didn't take'em.
The design of this building is so pretty! It had really intriguing animals on it, one looked liked a mammoth. Its a clan assosciation if i didn't rmb wrongly.
    
Along the Odd Lorongs, you'd probably see numerous Buddhist, Christian and Clan Assosciations.
There was a whole street of Buddhist Gods and worship places.
Why do you think that these organisations are so concentrated in this area?
Who are they serving?
What can you infer from these observations?
This seemingly spacial solidarity is actually pretty diverse with many differentiated practices within each religion. The physical collective space does not mean that they are collectively similar.
We think that there are many different clans as our pioneers came to this foreign land to establish their families and businesses here. Singapore was a country which was attractive to China immigrants, and they came here to set up clans and buddhist organisations. The purpose of setting up and keeping the clans together was probably to gurrantee their survival in the old days to feed themselves. And to stay close to people you know in a foreign land.
Police are like clans too. Just a different formation.
No building in Singapore is ever abandoned. Probably gonna be redeveloped.
You'll probably see many Hotel 81s..heard there're 8.
An Islamic College.
Who does it cater to?
Chinese Muslims.
Who probably came from XinJiang, China
The clans are pretty rich. They don't stay here but they do drop by to visit sometimes. You can't really see, but there are 2 BMWs parked under this building.
Even Lorongs!!
The more interesting part of geylang haha. We met at the BIG tree at the junction at Lorong 22 and walked in.
Weirdly(?) Stationed vending machines..pickup points?
Illegal gambling tables along this lane
// Usually the police collate their stats at this part if the year thus Geylang is much quieter than usual. We were here around 4pm. Usually they start setting up at this timing. The police patrol once by car @ 5.30pm, second time at 9.30pm on foot.
Ahh.. this is especially interesting. This area (as shown in bottom pic as well, a pretty big space) is the heart of geylang, where illegal gambling and peddling takes place. The police and the gangsters here have an informal working relationship.
As we all know, driving to rid these vices may push them underground, and even harder to monitor, and perhaps have spillover effects to residential areas.
At 5pm or so, gambling tables would be set up here and the gangsters would use a canvas to block the cameras, signalling the policemen to "close one eye". Thus, the policemen would grant them the use of this public space to regulate them, and as long as they do not commit serious crimes.
The police maintain legitimacy by
1. Keeping deviance out of sight for civilians
2. Giving the sex workers and peddlers space, and they have arrangements with the police
 
A brothel. A cheap one. Here's an account of our TA's experience:
He had contacts with the pimp, and wanted to interview one of the sex workers. It was damn funny cos the pimp went like, "This guy no want f***, want talk, ok?"
After that, they got a room, and the first thing he saw was green thick mould on the bathroom floor, and dirty crumpled bedsheets. Dimly-lit, the room had a full length large mirror . Then i'll leave you with your imagination.
Notice anything about the names of the kopitiam? Vices seeping in?
Various coffeeshops have sleazy names if you observe closely..
Er Ye coffeeshop (Meaning that he has a woman outside)
Lao Mu Ji coffeeshop (The Mama-san)
Liu Po coffeeshop (used to describe a talkative and busybody woman)
Prof pointed that out, (we all failed to notice that.) Interesting discovery.
This is a coffeeshop where vietnamese sex workers often come in search of customers. They'd help you peel your eggs and feed you (and ya know) at some fee.
I didn't take photo of the most interesting sight though): But i'll try my best to describe it.
Gone were the red lanterns, a fully-lit one used to mean that the brothel was open for business.
Like terrace houses, the brothels are neatly categorised and numbered according to nationalities. Walking down the road, you can see these legalised brothels on both sides, some were grandly decorated with chinese murals. Many cars were tinted, perhaps for fear that they would be recognised. We reached a T-junction, where the Singapore sex workers & transgenders worked. They lady was very friendly, she did an exclusive for "behind closed doors" on CNA. But she was busy so we didn't get to talk to her. Turning left, we reach the street where thai transgenders normally roam, the following street was where the chinese sex workers would be, followed by South Asian. When the policemen came, the tension between the Singaporeans and foreigners heightened. Foreign Sex Workers are the ones who avoided the policemen like opposite poles of a magnet. Just by your accent, the police will demand to search you. Hence the singapore sex workers are kind of 'protected'.
To show that you're a legalised sex worker, one has to show their yellow medical card. The pimps have to ensure that the sex workers go for regular health checkups as well.
//
We also saw many money-lenders and R21 shops, and viagra/cigarette peddlers. What are their functions?
Its a place rich of demand and supply for entertainment and gambling. Does this give a social pressure to continue gambling?
//
FIELDTRIP IS FINALLY OVER!
BBQ @ ALOHA LOYANG
My new found fave: Barcardi with mixer is awesome.
And lots of HTHT :) It was a great night!
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