Asking for genuine advice here. We are a young couple (26M/ 25F) who have graduated not long ago and started working. Initially, we had planned to get married in the next couple of years and to have at least 2 if not 3 kids as we loved kids.

However, the bto delays and sharp rise in housing prices especially for HDB flats have badly affected our plans and left us feeling helpless. We are not high earners, me earning 3.5k and my gf 3k. We have some savings for housing but definitely not sufficient to get an overpriced HDB or private housing without overstretching. Living with our parents is not an option as both our places are old and overcrowded- I live in a 3 room flat with 4 other members while she came from a 2 room flat. We have thought of 4 options:

1) Try for a bto. Not easy to get one and even if we successfully ballot for one quickly, it would take 5-6 years for the construction, renovations etc to complete. As we only wanted kids when we have our own place, we may have less kids due to our age.

2) Bite the bullet and buy a high price resale flat in a good location. We can’t afford to lose our jobs in that case and have to scrimp and save for the loan payment. Cutting back expenses means we probably can only afford to have one kid or have to push back having kids till we have better finances.

3) Get a cheaper resale in a far location. We will face a long travel time to our workplaces as we both don’t fully wfh. Means we sleep less and may be bad for our mental health idk. Or we have to spend more on grab/taxi or get a car or bike. 4) Rent somewhere (room/ shared apartment) and wait for the market to cool down. We don’t know if or how long this will take so it’s taking a gamble. It’s also hard to have kids if we are renting a small place.

What will you guys do if you were me?

My boyfriend and I broke up over the weekend a couple of months ago. We were together for 2.5 years and had lived together for about 2 of those years. He moved out on Nov. 2, but not all of his belongings were able to fit in his car. He was planning on gathering the rest of his things a few days later. But before then, I had decided to cut off contact with him, and before I did so, I had called him to tell him that he needed to get the rest of his things that weekend while I was away. He agreed to do so. Whenever I came back home, I was annoyed and not surprised to see his things were still at my house. So, I waited a couple of weeks to see if he would make an effort to try and get the rest of his belongings, but I heard nothing. I figured he must not have wanted everything else and decided to donate them to the charity.

Today (nearly 4 months post-breakup) I received a text from my ex’s mom asking if I would be home this weekend so he could come and get his things and for me to call him. His mother reached out to me because I have my ex’s number and all social media accounts blocked. I haven’t responded just yet as I am at a loss on what to say. He had his chance to get the rest of his things and he dropped the ball. Am I a bad person for donating everything else after he said he would and never did?

Here are what netizens think:

• You gave him one phone call and one opportunity before blocking him on all forms of social. How, exactly, did you expect him to get the stuff? Did you expect him to just show up at your apartment unannounced? You needed to warn him before you donated all his things instead of just doing it because you didn’t hear from him

• Wait but she cut contact and blocked him so if there was a reason he couldn’t she didn’t give him any avenues to inform her? AND changed the locks?? Like I can understand if she put the things in a box in a semi secure location and asked him to grab it. That way she could have her space and not see him but get his stuff back to him.

• I wouldn’t keep my locks the same for 4 freaking months if an ex still had the keys.

• She doesn’t owe him anything other than thirty days. It’s been four months. If his mother could contact her now he could’ve contacted her earlier as well. Locks need to be changed since he no longer lived there and she gave him the opportunity to get his things.

Why cant I defer ICT due to pain from a spinal injury? What should I do?

I dont understand it. I cannot walk for more than 10-15 mins without experiencing pain and obviously i have to walk/stand for more than that in order to travel to the camp. I tried explaining this to the MO, and they just told me they cannot excuse me from ICT because that is up to my unit.

I filed a deferment application with all my medical documents (including a memo recommending that I be excused from travelling), explained my situation to Training Cadre and that i cannot travel to the camp without experiencing pain.

They said they would inform the DY CO and give him my contact number. He rejected my application by just saying they would make accomodations for me in the camp, but didnt address the problem of how im supposed to travel to the camp. Didn’t call me to discuss it further with me either.

I dont understand why the SAF doesn’t seem to be taking my injury seriously. If someone sprain their ankle or something like that and has trouble walking, they obviously do not need to go ICT. So why is my injury not considered serious enough? I am the one who has to live with the pain.

Netizens’ comments

1. Why didnt you get an MRI and official diagnosis?
   Get your specialist to issue a long mc covering the ICT. Done deal. They’ll ask u to come down to endorse but honestly no MO in their right mind will dare override a long mc like this for a spinal injury.
   • (OP) I did. The MO accepted the documents and said he would forward my case to the medical board. But again, he insisted he could not excuse me from training and that was up to my unit.
     The problem is i do not have the time to see the specialist before the ICT starts. I was told to do the medical review first and then try to defer, and the medical review just happened to be shortly before the ICT (they said it was the earliest date they could give me). My specialist is also currently on leave and it would take me at least 3 months to get an appointment anyway (hooray public healthcare waiting times).
     The impression that i had up till now was that i would do medical review, get some temp status or something like that to cover my ICT and then i can defer. Since i had a specialist memo recommending that i be excused from travelling, i did not think my unit would just reject my deferment like this.
     • Ouch. If you really wanna skip ICT for the sake of ur health and dont mind the cost, you can go see a private specialist, bring along ur MRI so u dunnid scan again at private rate, and ask the doc for a mc. Private specialist v fast, no queue lol. And ur specialist should’ve been more specific in his memo i guess.
       Or risk it, go into ICT and ask the ICT-tagged MO for mc after showing ur docs. The MO u spoke to is right as he is not tagged to ur ICT.
       • (OP) There is only one working day before the ICT starts, i dont think i can see any specialist at this point.
         Could you explain the ICT-tagged MO thing to me? Is it not just the regular MO? I dunno why, but everyone in the SAF seems to think the injury is no big deal.
   • Every ICT batch will have at least 1 reservice MO officer tagged to em as far as I know. So during ICT, u dun see the NSF MO. You can only see ur ICT MO. And he’ll tag along during high key stuff like field camps etc. But this is for large ICT batches like Infantry units. If u r those ad hoc security trooper type of ICT then idk liao.
     So basically any stuff related to that ICT u need excuse or mc for, that MO handles it.
2. You don’t need to see specialist to get MC la. Just go to any clinic and show them the diagnosis or Xray. Ask them issue you a 30 days MC. Pay for your consultation. That’s all.
   • (OP) I tried before at a private clinic. They only gave me 2 or 3 day MC even after i show them the MRI report and said i am experiencing pain.
     Also tried asking polyclinic GP for long term MC as well because i am experiencing pain. They said they are not allowed to for this condition, am only allowed to give 1 or 2 day MC and seemed very reluctant to discuss it further.

A netizen recently took to social media to ask what would happen if a zombie apocalypse broke out in Singapore.

Here is what he said

What would happen in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse in Singapore?

Recently I watched “World War Z” and “Kingdom” and was wondering what would happen to Singapore since

1. We’re a pretty densely populated country
2. Numerous inbound/outbound flights
3. Shipping hub
4. Military is spread across the island rather than being concentrated (first people to activate are the regulars and NSFs)

We’ve seen how covid has played out, what if the Zombie virus was similar to covid where it spreads through the respiratory droplets of infected people, we would have instantly had numerous people getting infected from the very first day.

Netizens’ comments

1. Oh yes, I have been waiting for this all my life. All the years of playing Left 4 Dead, Days Gone, Last of Us, Resident Evil will finally come in handy.
   • Yeap, this guy will be the first to die.
2. Step 1) Raid Sheng Shiong / Prime / Fairprice nearby to get as much maggie mee packs as possible
   Step 2) Close door, stay inside HDB, eat maggie mee
   Step 3) Sleep
   Step 4) Pray that Zombie Circuit breaker to be extended so that you still don’t need to go back to work and continue your vacation
   Step 5) Die of starvation after all maggie mee are gone
3. I would still continue to work because my boss expects me to.
4. Parents: He became a zombie, you are also a zombie. Why is he stronger than you?
5. MMZTF will be set up: Multi Ministry Zombie Task Force
6. I for one would buy a lot of rice and canned food since it’s easy to keep dry and cool for very long periods of time, charcoal or solid fuel in case electricity or gas runs out and numerous gallons of water (can just connect my tap water with a hose and put them into pails (sorry mozzie wipeout)
7. Worst case scenario, it could be very bad for us.
   1) no warning from other countries
   2) infected go active in the middle of the da
   3) no survivors near ground zero to warn government
   we could suffer huge casualties if it reach CBD area before our military/STAR can scramble and government can warn people to stay off the streets.
8. It probably plays out like most movies at first. Since nobody believes zombies exist, the first batch of zombies will be considered to be drugged/drunk people. So you will have police trying to taser zombies to no effect before being bitten (because they are not allowed to use guns on what appears to be unarmed civilians) and then all the victims will eventually turn into zombies because the hospitals have no idea what is going on, then hospitals will get mass infected.
   The difference is that unlike those movies set in NA/Europe, the population is so densely concentrated that it will spread like wildfire. HDBs will turn into death traps with zombies roaming the corridors and void deck. Virtually nobody will have access to land where they can grow their own food, and the supermarkets will be overrun with zombies so starvation will set in quick. Nobody will have guns or any real self defence weaponry either.
   The government obviously wont do a mobilisation till its clear the police cant handle it, which will probably be too late since they dont realise its zombies. At which point, its going to be kind of hard to get to your assigned camp (especially since we dont practice the Prussian mobilisation style where you are assigned to the nearest camp). Some camps might hold out but running out of ammo and supplies is inevitable since nobody would be coming to help us. Most of the country will be dead for sure, save the rich people and lucky few who can get a seat on a plane or ship.

But what if it really happens?

Disclaimer: These are purely theoretical conjectures based on fictitious storylines from movies, games and tv shows, please do not take these seriously.

In the realm of apocalyptic scenarios, a zombie outbreak is often the stuff of nightmares. While such a scenario remains purely fictional, the concept of a zombie apocalypse has captured the imagination of countless individuals, thanks to its portrayal in movies, television shows, and literature.

While the likelihood of such an event occurring is probably almost none (unless the fungus in Cordyceps mutates, which could theoretically result in a zombie-like virus), the thought experiment of Singapore facing a zombie outbreak provides a unique opportunity to examine how a highly urbanized and disciplined city-state might cope.

Challenges

The Urban Landscape:

Singapore’s tightly packed urban environment poses both advantages and challenges. The organized city layout and efficient transportation system could facilitate swift movement of resources and personnel. However, the concentration of people within confined spaces could quickly exacerbate the spread of the outbreak. Survivors must quickly adapt to this environment by identifying safe zones, securing buildings, and developing communication networks, before the population of the undead zombies multiply beyond salvation.

Resource Management:

In a zombie-infested world, resources such as food, water, and medical supplies would become scarce. Singapore’s limited landmass and reliance on imports heighten the vulnerability to disruptions in supply chains. Survivors must ration and prioritize essential supplies, explore alternative sources (urban farming, rainwater harvesting), and develop a barter system to ensure the equitable distribution of resources.

Crowd Control and Defense:

The undead horde would pose a significant threat, particularly in crowded areas like Orchard Road and Marina Bay. Effective crowd control, barricading techniques, and strategic use of existing infrastructure (bridges, tunnels) would be crucial for minimizing exposure to zombies and create fortified safe zones.

Survival Strategies in a Zombie Apocalypse

Swift Identification and Quarantine Protocols

In the event of an outbreak, Singapore’s healthcare infrastructure would play a pivotal role in identifying infected individuals and isolating them promptly. Screening measures at entry points, coupled with rapid testing and contact tracing, would help contain the spread. Isolation and quarantine protocols would be rigorously enforced to prevent the virus from infiltrating the broader population.

Collaborative Response from Government Agencies

Singapore’s well-coordinated government agencies would work in unison to address the crisis. The military, police, and civil defense forces would collaborate to secure infected areas, enforce quarantine, and provide essential services. This unified approach would ensure efficient allocation of resources and minimize panic.

Rationing Resources and Ensuring Sustenance

To sustain the population during the zombie outbreak, with external food imports likely to be halted, Singapore would probably implement rationing and resource management strategies. Essential supplies, including food, water, and medical provisions, would be carefully distributed to prevent shortages. Localized agriculture initiatives and alternative food sources would be explored to reduce dependency on external imports, which would probably be diminished to almost zero (how to import food and supplies when the workers already turn into flesh-eating zombies).

Communication and Coordination Among Safe Zones

Communication networks would be established to facilitate real-time coordination between safe zones. Digital platforms, emergency broadcasts, and community networks would enable survivors to share information, resources, and updates. Until the communication and electrical grid gets overrun, then we will have to revert back to battery-operated walkie-talkies and mourn the death of phones and the internet. And aircon (lol).

Evacuation and Containment Measures

Strategic evacuation plans would be devised to relocate citizens from high-risk areas to designated safe zones. These zones, fortified with barriers and security systems/personnel, would prevent the entry of infected individuals about to turn into flesh-hungry zombies. Evacuation routes and checkpoints would be manned to ensure safe passage and contain the virus’s spread.

Key Shelter Areas in Singapore

Fort Canning Hill: An Elevated Stronghold

Fort Canning Hill, with its elevated position (see Anakin Skywalker vs Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, ie: “it’s over Anakin, I have the high ground!), could serve as a formidable defense point. Its panoramic views of the city would provide an advantage in spotting approaching threats. However, zombies don’t really get tired from climbing uphill, so it would likely be a challenge if hordes of zombies come staggering up Fort Canning Hill.

Changi Airport: A Fortified Bastion

Changi Airport, known for its secure facilities and advanced infrastructure, could become a central hub for survivor communities. Its vast terminals and runways offer ample space for housing, resource storage, and even agricultural initiatives. Although its many open access points could prove to be disadvantageous in the face of a zombie horde approaching. Not sure? Just take a look at the Dead Air map in the Left 4 Dead PC game.

Sentosa Island: Isolation and Security

Isolated from the mainland, Sentosa Island could be transformed into a fortified sanctuary. Its resorts, beaches, and existing amenities could be repurposed for survivor housing and resource cultivation. And the island can be turned into a fortified and defensible fortress as long as the entry bridge is manned and guarded heavily.

Pulau Ubin: The Rural Haven

Pulau Ubin’s rustic environment and limited access make it an ideal candidate for an agricultural and self-sustaining community. Its rural landscape could accommodate farming efforts, while its seclusion provides a degree of protection from the zombie threat.

Jurong Island: Industrial Resilience

While primarily an industrial area, Jurong Island’s existing infrastructure could be adapted for survivor needs. Factories and facilities could be repurposed for resource collection, manufacturing, and research to support survival efforts.

Changi Prison

Just watch The Walking Dead season 2.

Conclusion

A zombie apocalypse will, in all likelihood, never happen. Go back to work.

Got fired for “no reason given”. This has to stop.

I was an operations manager at a hotel. I was Ops for almost 2 years. I got promoted after 8 months of front desk only and loved my job.

It was demanding and I had to cover shifts constantly. I sacrificed all my free time to make sure I was available. My front desk supervisor, who has issues, took MC over 50 times in almost 2 years. I covered every single shift.

I would routinely work night audit (11pm-7am) and then run breakfast 6:30am-9:30am. I would run housekeeping during our 4 separate times of not having a head housekeeper. All while making sure we had enough laundry.

We failed our first inspection last year and I worked tirelessly to make the hotel perfect for this years. Which was 2 weeks ago.

I worked 10 hours to count all the linens in the hotel then came back to work night audit the very same night then had to stay til 1 pm the next day to see the inspection through. Which we passed. I got all sorts of praises for my hard work.

This past Sunday 6 out of 7 housekeepers took leave/MC (getting people to work weekends was a chore in itself). So me and another staff cleaned 25 rooms to make sure we had enough for arrivals and a few extra to sell.

I came in the next morning and was called into the new gm’s office. Our old gm quit because it was too much.

The gm told me the company was going in a new direction and that meant that I was to be let go effective immediately.

I was flabbergasted. The reason they gave me was “there is no reason, we won’t fight you on unemployment.” They gave me my final check and I collected my things and left.

I have never been so disrespected in my entire life. I missed so many important family events and life events. I worked 16 hours on public holidays to make sure my front desk agents could be with their kids.

This fire-for-nothing culture needs to stop. My mental health is ruined right now. How can I ever trust another employer to not just fire me for nothing?

I had taken MC just once at that job. And I had the flu… I slipped and fell and dislocated my knee cap and still stayed for the day after going to the hospital.

This doesn’t make any sense? How are we still considered a first world country?

Anyways. I have a lot of skills from this position and want to see what other jobs I could do. Any suggestions?

My (18M) girlfriend (18F) is disgusted that she was my first.

So on the first day I met a girl in one of my orientation classes. We started talking and we had a few things in common and eventually after a week I asked her out, she said yes and we have been going out since.

Now about a week ago we officially became a couple and since then she has been hinting at wanting to get physical.

Obviously I had no problem with this and we slept together and have done it three times now.

But yesterday after we were done and were just cuddling on the bed and talking when she said that I was that best she had ever been with to which I replied with jokingly that she was the only one I had been with.

Now I don’t know what happened but apparently that was not the right thing to say because as soon as I said it her face became a mixture of astonishment and disgust.

She immediately sat up and asked what I meant by that and I basically clarified that she was the first person I had been in a relationship with and the first person I slept with.

After that she said it was disgusting that I didn’t tell her that I was a virgin and she was mortified that she took my virginity which I don’t know why she said it and didn’t really bother clarifying at the moment.

I asked her why she thought I wasn’t a virgin and her reply was that I was confident and knew what I was doing which even though she knew that I had never been in a relationship with anyone

she thought I had experience through hook-ups and one night stands. She left shortly after saying that and blocked my number.

So now I don’t know what to do to fix this situation or what exactly I did wrong? Should I have just not said anything about it? I have literally no experience with women other than this relationship.

I am a 29M and my girlfriend is a 26F. I am trying to understand myself and views on body count.

I (29M) recently found out my girlfriend (26F) has a body count of 40+ while I have a count of 3. Granted, she has been in 1 long term relationship of 1.5 years and I as well for 6.5 years.

I think I am more experienced in f-ing from our own respective personal encounters. Body count is so complicated.

She was not the attractive girl growing so when she started to get attention later in life she started to put out and reveal more of her body to validate her insecurities about looks.

She claims she regrets more than half of her body count and often dissociates during f-ing and had little to no enjoyment.

At first I cared about body count but after hearing her complicated, complicated story, I care less and realize it’s so depending on circumstance.

I am writing this looking for feedback. I am trying to grow, understand and mature as a person.

Netizens’ comments

It sounds like you’re learning that a high body count doesn’t necessarily bother you, and that it may not mean what you thought it meant. So if you’re looking for feedback, I’d say congrats and good for you! The reasons behind the number and what it means are what matter, not the actual number.

I had a relationship with a similarly large discrepancy. I was secure in her desire for me, even though she’d been with a lot of people, and she really appreciated me as a partner. But I felt small compared to her at times, and felt lesser than the other men who were better seducers than me.

Those feelings did contribute to the end of our relationship, along with some other issues. Maybe dating a girl with a similar life experience to me would have helped. But so would other strategies, like doing the work to overcome those feelings of being lesser or having more experiences of my own.

Hope that helps.

Co-worker asked me to do a threesome with her boyfriend

Basically what the title says, but here is what happened. I (25F) work in a lab for a company, and I have gotten a bit familiar with another girl that works there.

She isn’t in the same department as me, so we usually only talk or hang-out at lunch or any other time I’m not in the lab.

We had talked a bit about sleeping with partners the past few weeks, and although I kinda held back on giving her too much insight into my bedroom activities because I don’t want to freak her out haha, she always likes to talk about her own nasty activities with her boyfriend.

Which is fine, I am very open person myself, so I don’t get uncomfortable.

Anyways, apparently she got the sense that I am a bit a of experimental person and not shy in the bedroom. Because she told me yesterday at lunch that she and her boyfriend had talked about a doing a 3 some and asked me if I wanted to do it with them.

I kinda thought she was kidding, but after we laughed a bit she told me that I should think about it, and that it’s fine if I don’t want to.

So my thing is, as wild as I am in the bedroom, I have never had a threesome and I just feel like it might be awkward.

I wanna do it, because it honestly turns me on, but I have never slept with a girl either. How do I avoid having an awkward situation happening? I have to see her at work also, imagine if it’s a disaster..

I know people always say not to s-t where you eat and workplace relationships can end badly, but I really want to do this. Any advice?