over one’s ears and don’t need any in an Australian beach house is I learned to use it, and, in the pro-
ribbon tying. less appealing when I can’t leave cess, found my intelligence awak-
Medically, we are left to our- my room for a swim. Every ening. Cell phones are the primary
selves after admission. I take my effort is made to keep us com- mode of communication between
temperature three times a day fortable, within certain bounds, front desk and inmates such as
with the digital jumbo LCD ther- but it is hard not to think of it me, but it also makes me accessi-
mometer, lifetime guarantee (its as a prison cell, if only because ble to the world beyond my resort.
or mine, I wonder), given to me of the confinement. The similar- In no time, friends, relatives, and
by the MOH. I take one 75 mg ity grows when I think of how I colleagues from all around the
capsule of Tamiflu each day, and I would behave if imprisoned in a world—especially Singapore—
watch myself closely for flu symp- low-security prison: just as I am were calling me to chat, commis-
toms. One concern is that sitting now. To be fair, much of my life is erate, or ask for advice. That was
all day in a hot room might bring spent as it is now, with the excep- one unexpected and delightful
something on, while sitting all tion of compulsory confinement aspect of my confinement.
day in a cold room might also— and reduced food choice, so I Later, I was handed a small
though perhaps something dif- have little to complain about. Let white object, labelled Starhub.
ferent. I turn the air condition- me elaborate. This was my white monolith,
ing on and off many times each and after a certain amount of
day in the hope that nothing will
Prisoner to Work
time experimenting with it, I
come on. On my arrival at Aloha Loyang, I discovered a moving part that
One day, I read in the Straits was handed a small black object, permitted it to be plugged in to
Times that singapore is home to which turned out to be my cell a USB port, which I did. Things
the 30 highest-paid government phone. I approached it in much appeared on my laptop screen,
officials in the world. I think the same way as the apes in “2001: and after some downloading and
I can safely say these 30 don’t A Space Odyssey” approached the installing, I found myself con-
holiday in my resort. The spartan mysterious black monolith that nected to the “outernet.” (I call
simplicity I would put up with appeared before them. Like them, it this, as “internet” seems more
appropriate to the workings of
one’s mind.) So, here I am in a
spartan room with a phone and
net connection; sitting in a not-
very-comfortable chair for hours
on end; listening to music or the
radio (ABC Classical FM); and
breaking only for meals, cups of
tea, or reading a newspaper. Voilà,
life as usual. Almost.
Complaints
I miss two things: freedom and
good food. I usually keep myself
sane, perhaps even slightly more
fit than I would otherwise be, by
jogging in the morning. When
I don’t jog, I do a form of cal-
isthenics—twisting, bending,
pushing, etc.—that takes a little
effort and occasionally makes me
break a sweat. Of course, jogging
isn’t open to me now, but the
other form of exercise is, and I’m
doing a lot of it. Interestingly, I’ve
10 AmstAt News AUGUST 2009
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76