Singapore Expats

Well I had to chuckle when I read in today's paper that moves are a-foot to stamp out the unsociable habit of reserving a table by leaving a packet of tissues on it!
Since when does a packet of tissues imply ownership?!
He he...the only time I ever found a packet of tissues on a table here in Sg, I had no idea if the 'implications'. So I just brushed it off the table and sat down. Nothing came of this and I ate my meal in peace. It was months later that I read about the 'tissue thing'. Why in God's name would anybody be deterred from sitting at a table because of a packet of kleenex?
So WHO decided on the kleenex? What if I wanted to use a pencil?
Could I use THAT ? I can see it now:
Ozchick strolls up to the table with her food-tray and casually says, "Sorry you can't sit there, that's my table cos my pencil's on it."
What about a used EZlink card or an old flight's Boarding Pass. Could I use that?
Maybe an unwanted ex-husband with these instructions:
"Sit there you mongrel and scare away the locals!" Oh yeah I'm on a roll now!!!
Mm...it's all wierd and wonderful stuff this 'my tissues- my table' concept.

I've never believed in taking second place to a packet of tissue. Just go ahead and sit at that table, and be thankful that someone provided tissues for you to use after your meal.

it's like this - animal instinct, where the animal will pee to mark it's territory.

Here's my issue with tissue:

If the court is too crowded and seats are rarity,
No matter how hungry, I'll give it a pass with all sincerity.

Walking around with my tray full of hawker fare,
looking for a clean table and unaccuppied chair;

Is my idea of personal, earth-bound Hades,
One I avoid, like a tai-tai-powered Mercedes.

The thought of wondering around like Diogenes with lunch (not a lamp)
Gives me the sweats and an abdominal cramp.

So I understand wanting to save the table. but tissues are lame,
C'mon all you guys! Go grab a dame!

Sit her first at the table when you take her to dine,
Then queue up for your noodles she hold the table just fine!

Two birds will be killed with a single stone, so nice!
You've got a friend to share your chicken rice.

The moral of the story is don't pass up the opportinity for post-hawker sex,
because you put too much stock into a pack of Kleenex.

EXCELLENT!l

Especially the last two lines!

road.not.taken wrote:Here's my issue with tissue:

If the court is too crowded and seats are rarity,
No matter how hungry, I'll give it a pass with all sincerity.

Walking around with my tray full of hawker fare,
looking for a clean table and unaccuppied chair;

Is my idea of personal, earth-bound Hades,
One I avoid, like a tai-tai-powered Mercedes.

The thought of wondering around like Diogenes with lunch (not a lamp)
Gives me the sweats and an abdominal cramp.

So I understand wanting to save the table. but tissues are lame,
C'mon all you guys! Go grab a dame!

Sit her first at the table when you take her to dine,
Then queue up for your noodles she hold the table just fine!

Two birds will be killed with a single stone, so nice!
You've got a friend to share your chicken rice.

The moral of the story is don't pass up the opportinity for post-hawker sex,
because you put too much stock into a pack of Kleenex.

Not bad RNT! Not bad at all!

Why would you consider leaving your tissues on the table as unsociable? The other option would be for 1 person to wait at the table until the others have come back from getting their food. That is far more unsociable.
It is weird, but I have only ever seen it in SG - very local custom

carteki wrote:The other option would be for 1 person to wait at the table until the others have come back from getting their food. That is far more unsociable.

it might be unsociable but it is more polite.

See, OzChick... you are looking at it negatively... that other people are 'chopping' tables that you want. But, don't you realize that you too, can 'chop'... find the table, drop the tissue... territory marked... not such a bad deal.

carteki wrote:The other option would be for 1 person to wait at the table until the others have come back from getting their food.

Gee, if only someone had mentioned that sooner

Holding tables is not a Singaporean phenomenon, I guess the US equivalent would be at a mall food court and you'd put down all your shopping bags to hold the stable while you were in line. The tissues is a Singapore thing. I was at DisneyLand in Tokyo recently and tables and seats were at such a premium that parents left their little ones to hold the table. Also not advisable.

in china, you can actually pay someone to "hold" a table for you in popular dim sum restaurants!!! the person will queue up and just sit at the table until you arrive.

Personally I think it is really cool that in Singapore people are so polite that you can actually reserve a table by leaving your tissues or something similar there. If you were to leave any of your stuff at a table in a major town in Holland, it would have been either ditched or stolen when you got back.

So I DO respect the rights of a packed of Kleenex, because I like living in a world where this is possible.

While the choping thingy gets my goat as well, it's not as bad as half of a fast food restuarant being filled up during lunchtime by rude and inconsiderate school kids and insurance agents with their laptops and 3 hour old warm cokes. If the kids weren't there the choping wouldn't be so bad as there would be more seat available.

Oh, when I see two people hogging a single 4 seat table and not making a point to offer them to others, I just park there whether they like it or not.

i have experienced this tissue choping phenomenon. let me ask you this.....have you ever heard of tissue choping by air? one of my friends was about to sit at a table at a food court when someone standing further away threw a packet of tissues which landed on the table top just before my friend sat down. the other person then insisted that the table belonged to them.

on one occassion i was at mcdonalds and sat at a table that had some junk mail on it. thinking it was rubbish i sat down at the table and moved the junk mail to one side and then i was told off by a very irate woman who had reserved the table.

i've also observed people placing chairs upside down on the table top to indicate the table is reserved.

i wonder if i could extend this tissue choping practice to other areas eg. if i place a packet of tissues on an expensive car then its mine

positano wrote:i have experienced this tissue choping phenomenon. let me ask you this.....have you ever heard of tissue choping by air? one of my friends was about to sit at a table at a food court when someone standing further away threw a packet of tissues which landed on the table top just before my friend sat down. the other person then insisted that the table belonged to them.

Well that's just hilarious!!!
In Oz at Christmas when Carparks are at a premium and we're all after the rare empty spot, some drivers send a passenger ahead on foot to STAND in the empty carpark until the driver is able to access it! This works well. Other drivers would have to run over the 'carpark holder' in order to beat the intended carpark occupant. The fines for deliberately running over a pedestrian tend to deter potential 'accidents', even by pathetic Aussie standards.