Every Singaporeans' favourite place to shop is at NTUC: The widely-acclaimed National Toilet Urination Center, otherwise known as your local supermarket, defended by the militia of Karens, prepared to coup the store in the event that the prices of Hanoi cabbages be jacked up to $2.99 again, from the current $2.37. (The prices went down after the Treaty of Counter
Two, which was the resulting compromise to put a ceasefire to the 53421st NTUC-Karen battle, fought from the
eve of Chinese New Year to just after
midnight the
day after.)
As you attempt to navigate the assimilated colony of the NTUC supermarket, get ready to hold up your palm, rejecting the advances of the aunty who attempts to approach you with samples of new flavours for some Swiss milk no one has heard of. Remember throughout your journey, that for every $30 spent, you get one coupon. Accumulating enough coupons allow you to redeem a fake, knockoff, low-quality frying
pan, which can efficiently
fry your financial savings.
At the end of your shopping nightmare, get ready to overcome the God-forsaken dilemma of choosing between the self-checkout counter-where you are more than likely to have your counter shut down in the middle of packaging your items, only to be saved by the almighty card in the hands of an NTUC staff-or the cashier counter, where you
will be asked if you have a Senior Citizens card (for the elderly, 65 years of
age and above) even if you are obviously a
teenager (Insult much?)
It is not all fun and games yet, as you
will have to treacherously navigate yourself around the
old uncle standing in front of the supermarket with the latest issue of Lianhe Zaobao (a local
Chinese newspaper).
As you find yourself relieved at the end of such a frightful
day, you find yourself having instinctively, yet very precariously tip-toed to avoid all the dirt on the floor. Thank God it is over. You look back at the sign that says, 'NTUC Fairprice,' and you hear yourself muttering, 'Well
played. Well
played.'
