CDC brings out the GGs in me.
Let me elucidate.
The CDC vouchers expose the lady ga-ga in me.
Not the singer-songwriter-actress, duh, but the ga-ga aunty that comes into play every time I am confronted by, well anything really.
Banking, ticketing, making and changing appointments, CPF statements, online shopping.
(I don’t visit go.gov, I don’t log in with Singpass, I don’t redeem by SMS.)
I have always had to depend on the kindness of strangers, friends, neighbours, and in recent years, the folk at the kampong CC.
Right from the first tranche of the handouts, I have become an annual fixture at my community centre.
Three cheers for the staff who have obviously used their SkillsFuture credits to study and learn how to deal with uncles and aunties.
“If accidentally fold can iron to make straight or not?” is not a course taught in any university of repute.
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By the by, how many of you know what the letters CDC stand for?
Don’t look to me, I already thought SG60 meant SingaporeGives60 dollars towards our transport cards!
So you tell me CDC means ChargeDon’tCharge also I believe you.
So, have you collected yours?
The beyond kiasu tribe have not only claimed their vouchers but also redeemed the supermarkets’ spend-$80-get-$8-back scheme in record time. (Or $60-for-$6 this year.)
Hello, this one government give, don’t scared, tomorrow can still use one.
Along the same note, permit me a suggestion.
Why not reduce the spend limit to spend-$50-get-$5 back?
Because many an oldie may not be able to heft 80 bucks worth of goods, even in their trolleys. Besides having to do the math for 80 smackers of sundries.
Yes, yes, we are aware of the high cost of inflation, where $60 buys you maybe four items, but you get my point.
The crew in your heartland CC will tell you there’s no real rush and queue to collect, in fact, give it a fortnight and it’ll be a breeze.
Some residents take the occasion to chitchat with staff and ask unrelated questions.
Dial down the tsk-tsk in you, because in time you too will feel the need to make small talk with someone, anyone.
A long-in-the-tooth staffer said, “You go to that zi char, order their seafood, and you can use up all 150 already!”
She was right too.
And I’d clearly said, just one small crab.
What is this, gold pincer ah?
From the second tranche, many a decent Singaporean has mooted, hey, why don’t we donate our vouchers to the more needy?
From handing out to the migrant workers downstairs of the housing blocks to those in want, and charities.
Some have found inventive creative ways to use up the vouchers.
Like having a party in the hawker centre, use up the vouchers in the stalls and get to know your neighbours better by inviting them to eat.
Yes of course we know they have their own vouchers, tell them next week their turn, and watch them disappear.
And why not throw a feast in a food court, insist all the workers, servers, cleaners, join in the makan.
(My cousins and I used to, couple of years running, go to a food court and at Christmas give the workers little presents, and over Chinese New Year, small ang baos.)
Perhaps we’ll return to the practice with these vouchers in red packets.
Meanwhile, how do you feel about first dates who take you out on CDC vouchers?
Discuss.
