Illusion - June 1996 ; Reality - June 2010 : ngee ann citizen

(note from the present: does anyone of u remember the garfield shop opposite popular bookstore at orchard mrt station? it used to be my fave place to meet ppl in orchard...station control area was always way too crowded...for all the times i spent hanging around outside it, browsing ard in it, i never ever bought 1 single thing from the place...they got rid of it quite a few yrs ago...just got reminded of it since im talkin about orchard rd...and speakin of orchard road, t'was quite the flood there while i was in HK it seems, just checked out the stomp vids n pics earlier...wish i was there man...)
many of my frens prefer to be "fast east kids"...far east is fine...cool shops, plenty of pretty ah lians to look at (of course together with their chao ah beng with their bright coloured top, alien workshop jeans, and ah beng comb stickin outta their pocket) and food dats cheap yet delicious, and like the only place in singapore i noe that u can find a turkish ice-cream man to make an idiot outta u...its also just across the road from tower records [1], which i adore to death...i dont do cassettes anymore by the way....CDs rule...

but i am not a "fast east kid"

on days that i dont spend playing footie till 7pm in sch before climbing over the conveniently low catholic high wall n heading home, u will find me in taka...dat's short for takashimaya...whh is the anchor tenant but usually used to describe the entire ngee ann city...

taka's like the newest, coolest shopping centre in town man and it has quickly turned into my hangout of choice...its huge, fantastic variety of shops, loads of food...and the best part of it?

taka sq of course...

yes, the square, the place beside times square restaurant[2] - lovely fries - and the huge television screen and they usually have some event or fair or sales

im pretty sure it wasnt meant to serve this purpose but over the last couple of years, us students have really colonized the place, havent we? the shows and sales change every week, sometimes there are none at all but all around the square. every single day, u will always see the students, seated in their own little cliques, occupying random spots along the perimeter of the square....sometimes differentiated clearly by our uniforms....rgs, cat high, scgs, ri, sji, marists, ac, cedar, ny...sometimes encompassing a variety of uniforms...

the guards sometimes give us trouble if we're too noisy or if the group's so big it obstructs the walkway but by n large they leave us alone...passively accepting that this is our place....teens are no longer restricted to far east plaza for a sense of place

so im here like every week...chomping down on unhealthy food, indulging in idle chatter, checkin out pretty girls, instead of doin my homework or being a model son...

say "heyo" if u're a taka kid too!

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[1] Tower Records -1st major music store in Singapore, opening its flagship store in pacific plaza in 1993...this was many years before the likes of hmv and borders entered the market and also when the internet was just finding its way into singapore and thus a long time before online digital music was a viable option. highly popular among music lovers of all ages with its selection of cds and magazines. the rise of these competitors though has led to its demise in 2006...

[2] Times Square Restaurant - western food joint dat initially occupied the area where crystal jade now sits beside taka sq...