Kai @teo_kai_xiang Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Kai

@teo_kai_xiang

4,216

Followers

804

Following

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773

Statuses

Reporter. 🏳️‍🌈 Queer & sometimes here. I tweet nonsense, mostly about Singapore. 🌐 ✉️ kaixiang.01 on Signal

Singapore

https://t.co/XAW2FbXv9l

Joined November 2019

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

28 days

My biggest story yet for The Straits Times has been published just in time for national day! Depictions of 🇸🇬 on global screens often miss the mark with authenticity, creating Singapores without Singaporeans & using the country as a visual shorthand for futuristic modernity

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Last Seen Profiles

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

3 months

I don't think the straights will ever understand how a core part of being queer is enduring the possibility that everyday, *anybody* you know could say something so despicable about an immutable part of your existence, all you can do is smile while losing all respect for them.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

Oh wow, so Uniqlo IS aware of the chokehold it has on how Singapore men dress

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

Only Uniqlo understands how our conformity loving country doesn't want something new, we just want more shades of our nationally enforced uniform

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

This is what progress looks like in Singapore. After nearly 20 years in this neighbourhood, I see that they've finally made this jaywalking path into an actual crossing. Other parts of the world could never.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

3 months

I don't think it's immediately obvious to many Singaporeans that requiring a note from your doctor to verify that you're actually unwell isn't the norm in many parts of the world. It's a ridiculous level of paternalism IMO, as if my work vanishes just because I take a sick day.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 years

!!! My thesis on data injustice in Singapore has been graded, and it looks like I'll not only be graduating from my master's degree with distinction, I've also received a prize for having the highest overall mark for the degree this year! What a way to end my time in Cambridge.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

4 months

What on earth... the new season of Totally Spies is going to be set in Singapore??

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

The Singapore dream is a romance so infused with corporate life that your employer posts your wedding photo shoot on their LinkedIn. "After all, the bank played an integral role in our lives."

@MothershipSG

Mothership

1 year

Couple, who met in secondary school 15 years ago, holds wedding shoot in DBS Marina Bay office

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 month

I feel like I've levelled up!

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

Nooooo, not this person on Grindr thinking "polyamorous" means that I'm still in polytechnic. I cannot even. I mean, I'm flattered and I will take that, but still 😂

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 years

Oh my god, Singapore, can we please end the tyranny of "cum". I cannot even. Nobody wants to buy horticulturist cum.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

I graduated with my master's degree in sociology from Cambridge this weekend! (Actually finished 2 years ago but haven't had a chance to attend the ceremony until this week... Which means finally closing this chapter of my life. Thanks cam for the scholarship and the memories)

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

My oldest suit fits! It's the first one I ever bought, around 6 years ago now. Had to ditch it for a new one after some pandemic weight gain, but now it's back and fits better than ever~ (Ignore the mess, I'm packing for a holiday)

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

6 months

Love this restaurant reservation system that allows you to inform the restaurant that it's a special occasion — with one of them being DIVORCE

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

5 months

What convinced me to never get LASIK was seeing a clinic specialising in it staffed entirely by doctors in glasses. They clearly don't trust the product they're selling.

@ChrisAlvino

Chris Alvino

5 months

These stories are so deceiving. LASIK IS NOT a miracle of science, it's a monster of science and a bastardization of public health protections. I had 20/20 vision immediately after my LASIK too, just a few years later, I was BLIND from LASIK.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

5 months

Say what you will about the topic, but this spreadsheet really is a thing of art. I too love extremely pointless spreadsheets. I keep one of every horror movie I've ever watched (with a rating), and highly recommend keeping your own pointless excel files

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

11 months

I too have met Singapore's most hated gay man My beef with him is that he never returned ~$50 after I foot the bill because he "forgot" his wallet. After ignoring my messages about the money, he asked me to bring food/booze to his birthday Glad I didn't lose an apple watch lol

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

10 days

Can I just say, the subgenre of news content that is "what lessons Singapore can draw from (insert tragedy here)" needs to die in a pit. This subgenre already reached rock bottom when the Singaporean who voted for Brexit explained what Singapore could learn from it. Please stop.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

Bridge troll vibes

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

4 months

I wish I had the confidence of this faceless Grindr man — who believes in his soul that I must somehow remember him out of the dozens of others I must've passed on the train today.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

5 months

Singapore really does feel like one of these places where there's no such thing as news that's too unimportant to report about

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

Oh wow, so Uniqlo IS aware of the chokehold it has on how Singapore men dress

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

9 months

My ex and I used to play Minecraft together and we shared a world/server. In it, we had a journal for us to leave messages for each other because we often weren't playing at the same time. Today, he sent me screenshots of the 37 pages of notes we left each other and now I'm 😭

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

5 months

Tbh, the best part of working from home is not having to get into my work clothes (⬇️), pack myself into a train like a sardine, arrive at work all drenched in sweat, just to use a laptop instead of my full rig Instead, I get to stroll over for my morning coffee before work

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

3 months

The root of the problem is that bosses feel so entitled to controlling their employees' lives (oft at the expense of their welfare), that sick leave is gatekept behind an intentionally frustrating process. And, there are plenty of doctors out there willing to make $$$ from it.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

I've turned 28! I'd like to think I've become a more competent human, but I think I've just levelled up to a different set of neuroses 😵

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

Today in SG politics really does embody that quote "there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen."

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

4 months

I feel like people are so hungry now for any kind of dating experience that isn't an app At this point, who's down to start a startup with me where we just toss everyone's names into a black box and randomly distribute dating partners using our innovative black box algorithm

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

6 months

Feeling especially dapper tonight

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

7 months

First day at the new reporting gig! This picture's giving first day at school vibes though.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

9 months

Anytime I feel inadequate about myself and where I am in my career, a stray post from /r/SGExams pops up in my Reddit feed and reminds me that this mindset of constant comparison is so pointless and self-destructive:

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[Mature Content] From the SGExams community on Reddit: I regret my education

Posted by cbfkyou - 637 votes and 160 comments

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

3 months

Honestly, dating as a polyamorous person in Singapore is so rough. Despite signposting this everywhere in my dating app profiles, folks still react with surprise when they add me on Insta and go: "Oh, you have a boyfriend?" YES. I don't hide it, I loudly declare it! The illiter-

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

Hello folks, just landed in Scotland to kick off a month-long holiday. HMU if you're around Glasgow/Edinburgh, Cambridge, London, or Amsterdam and wanna get a drink!

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

3 months

Love how we're supposed to be against "cancel culture" this and "culture war" that, when conservatives regularly do both all the time here...

@mrknowiteyal

sarcastic

3 months

The Science Centre organised a session with a panel discussion to discuss the difference between sex and gender. It was to be held at the Projector Cineleisure, was for 18+ and participants would have to sign up. Unfortunately, conservative loons got to it! FB comments below 1/4

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

5 months

Okay Woodlands people, what is up with the enormous and winding >100 person queue for acai bowls on a SATURDAY NIGHT at 9pm!! This is insane! The queue literally snaked around the building.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

3 months

"It is a luxury that many young adults who live with their families in Singapore find lacking in their lives, she says, pointing out that for many young people, even the ability to have a locked door between themselves and their family can be a prized amenity."

@ST_LifeTweets

Straits Times Life

3 months

The rise of private rental spaces targeting young adults in Singapore

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

15 days

Where are my non-discreet Singapore gays at. I just want queer folk to have super basic fun in the sun with, like hiking or hitting the pool — but everyone on the apps is all "no, sorry I don't share my insta, I'm discreet"

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

4 months

First time cycling in ages! Work has been so all-consuming lately that I feel like I've forgotten to make time for doing me things 🥹

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

I still love this map so so much. We're here, we're queer, and we're gonna fill this map with our trauma, our reads, and a ridiculous amount of yearning. If you haven't heard of it yet: @queeringthemap_

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

3 months

I'm working on a story for The Straits Times about why folks in Singapore (and esp younger generations) are increasingly turning away from dating apps! Are you annoyed with the state of dating apps? Have you found an unusual alternative to it? Wanna be interviewed? Let me know!

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

3 months

One of my first jobs was working for a company (not in SG) that didn't make me feel guilty for being ill and didn't require proof that I wasn't malingering. Being able to take mental health days was so important, because it meant coming back to work at 100% and with enthusiasm.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

3 months

I'm glad that some doctors are willing to speak out about the unnecessary strain it puts our healthcare system through, as in this CNA article. But let's be real, how much $$$ would vanish overnight for GPs if we no longer needed MCs to take sick days?

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Outdated or necessary? Observers weigh in on the practice of employers requiring MCs as proof of...

The culture of going to doctors purely for medical certificates (MCs) takes up precious resources in an already stretched healthcare system, one doctor says.

www.channelnewsasia.com

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

4 months

Writing this story had a special significance for me, because I too was a secondary school dropout at a really tumultuous time in my life. In my 2 years outside formal schooling, I lost 10kg, struggled with depression, and studied my way into polytechnic as a private candidate.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

Why is being mean and gay is a personality for some. This guy just ripped a bandage off my leg and asked if it was for syphilis wtf. I've never hated a single person more.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

It's concerning how when talking about the the high rates of myopia, like in this Reddit thread, people often share advice like reducing screentime or looking at faraway things. It's a sign of how health messaging lingers even when the science behind it becomes disputed.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

The Punggol Waterway is gorg and I'll never get over it.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

Are there any other polyamorous / non-monogamous folk looking at the drama that's unfolding and thinking: "Wow. Toxic monogamy is really gonna be the thing to bring down a bunch of peoples' political careers in Singapore this week."

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

5 months

I can't believe that you can't turn off Meta AI on any of the Meta apps I use (WhatsApp, Instagram). 😡😤 The cherry on top is that asking Meta AI how to disable it spawns a response pointing to a nonexistent setting:

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 years

! So happy because my short story has been published by @epigrambooks ! This marks the first time I've ever published or shared my fiction anywhere, and this whole being published thing is still sinking in!

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

4 months

Guess who joined me on my heartland bar crawl in Sengkang/Punggol last night

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

4 months

Honestly, it says something about the state of sexual healthcare in Singapore that PrEP seems so infrequently used here. Stay safe out there.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

Lol, I was speaking to someone who made a really big deal of being "not like the other Singaporeans" and how they hate how basic other S'poreans are — and then they do the most S'pore thing possible: complain about the long walking distance from the MRT. You're not special, babe

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

I'm really not joking. This is genuinely what progress in Singapore looks like:

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Barrier to stop jaywalking on Marina Way road removed after TikTok videos complain it takes 2 mins...

It is gone. For now.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

6 months

My first feature for the Straits Times delves into the origins of Singapore's largest online community of students! Read how /r/SGExams began by being effectively banished from Singapore's largest subreddit, and how its moderators keep it alive today:

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

Sad. Exactly what Singapore needs: more luxury apartments...

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

4 months

After reading all the quote tweets of this, I'm now convinced that we love remote work because it means less opportunities to have a boss/colleague say something to you that will irreversibly inspire a lifetime of hatred and disgust.

@RevampedCP

Revamped | Career & Workplace Development

4 months

What experience in the workplace radicalized you?

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

Today, we commemorate a nation's collective inability to produce another nationalist hit song that slaps since 1998. Truly, has anything advanced the 🇸🇬 homonationalist agenda more than this one song.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

11 months

I'll say it. I think it's really reductive to say that being an authentic Singaporean means speaking with a Singaporean "twang." It's giving appeals to the mythical "true blue Singaporean." Let people speak how they want to speak!

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The Uncomfortable Truth Behind Why We Hate Atas Accents

Even as we hate fake accents, we have to acknowledge that many of us do carry some level of shame about our natural Singaporean twang.

www.ricemedia.co

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

Today's Google Doodle in 🇸🇬 is the country's most chaotic, violent, Koi-murdering, and adorable animal celebs:

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Today's Google Doodle in Singapore is a family of otters — and good thing, because these guys are...

Otters were voted national icons on Singapore's 51st birthday, beating out the Singaporean passport, "Singlish," and the thumb drive for the title.

www.businessinsider.com

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

11 months

Am I the only one who thinks Today's line of questioning towards NAC was out of line? It reads like he's asking if LGBTQ themes and queer people should really be visible in "mainstream" and "institutional" places? It's almost a dog whistle?

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

Singapore's surging housing prices are causing a societal disaster. I have a solution: wolves. Oh damn, it works.

@HughRBrechin

Hugh Brechin

1 year

going to apply 'I have a solution: wolves' to as many contexts as possible

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

I came across this ad on TikTok about making new friends as an adult. And I immediately thought oooh, a cure for modern loneliness. And then the sign-up form said this and oof. Straight people are so gross 🤮🤢

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

4 months

Hello friends in SG: I'm a journalist working on a story about school dropouts (who aren't ashamed/regretful about the experience) — looking for folks to interview! If you match this profile, do reach out! An interviewee I was speaking to withdrew, so I'm looking for more!

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

For anyone interested, I'd really recommend reading this Wired article (about how Taiwan has tackled the rising rate of short-sightedness), which paints a fascinating picture of how science's understanding of myopia has changed over the decades.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

I don't understand the state of uni admissions in Singapore. Is applying through an agency normal? Redditors keep reaching out to me to ask which agency they should use to apply to universities in the Netherlands, and I'm like, none? Why would you need one?

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

28 days

With this story, I especially wanted to highlight that world-building matters, and it shows when you take the time with it. Chinatown Detective Agency struck me as being the rare video game where one could hear Singaporean voices, from across the race/class spectrum.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

If anyone needs a good weekend dinner recommendation in northeast Singapore, I highly recommend the Punggol east container park (at the end of a long bike ride through the waterway) 🤤

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

5 months

My article about Singapore's history and heritage TikTokers is the cover story for today's ST Life paper! Go have a read of it here:

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

3 months

I miss Taiwan 🥺

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

One of the most bizarre PR pitches I've received as a reporter is one where — to present a startup founder as relatable — the pitch talks about the founder using their 6-figure savings to fund their idea. I have literally never ever had 6 figures in my bank account.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

11 months

What do Lee Kuan Yew, Catherine Lim, and Balli Kaur Jaswal have in common? Pirated versions of their books have been used to train AI. Here's a list of Singapore authors whose books were recently revealed to have been used to train AI without consent:

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The Singapore Authors Whose Pirated Books Were Used to Train AI

The list includes Singapore figures like Lee Kuan Yew, Catherine Lim, Balli Kaur Jaswal, and many others.

www.singapore-samizdat.com

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

3 months

@sighyam A medical certificate is a requirement to take *any* sick day at all. It's only become more of a thing recently for certain employers to not ask for one and it's definitely less of a thing at multinational firms.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 months

My takeaway from writing this story is that if you're looking for love, don't bother with the apps, just have your friends matchmake you. On that note, if anyone here is aware of any ultra-dashing polyamorous dudes who love cats and horror films they'd like to introduce me to...

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

Last week, I discovered the bestselling Mr Midnight series author also wrote the SPG books, with lines like “she is supposed to have a flat head, so a white man can rest his beer on it.” From the archives, here's a blast from the not-so-distant past:

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From Sarong Party Girls to Mr Midnight

The Mr Midnight author's earlier book reads, “she is supposed to have a flat head, so a white man can rest his beer on it.”

www.singapore-samizdat.com

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

Oh my god, someone just asked me why I didn't add Singapore's propensity to use the word "cum" at the most inappropriate times to this list and now my day is ruined.

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9 things only people who grew up in Singapore will understand

Fashion trends and brands are global, and Singapore's tropical climate doesn't stop us from busting out weather-inappropriate apparel.

www.businessinsider.com

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

29 days

The thing that's made me realise I exist in an entirely different economic reality from some of my friends is one of them telling me they spend $1100 on their STI testing, and their insurance COVERS IT.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

28 days

“We made the decision early on that if the character is Singaporean, the voice actor has to be Singaporean,” says the game’s creative director. And, this cyberpunk game uses Singapore's ultra-modern streets and our everyday dystopias (robot dogs anyone?) as a wellspring of ideas

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

1 year

Started a new gig as junior business reporter at @thisisInsider / @BusinessInsider . Looking forward to sharing stories about tech and business, especially as they relate to data, surveillance, queerness, sustainability and gaming (my core interests in a nutshell). Stay tuned!

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

28 days

“Given that one out of every five people you meet (here) is an immigrant, then any depiction of Singapore is not really complete without also including them in the picture,” says A Land Imagined's director Yeo Siew Hua.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

28 days

From Crazy Rich Asians to Overwatch to Westworld, my latest piece breaks down why and how such works wind up being described as "cringeworthy" by Singaporeans. And why that likely won't stop creators from making my films, video games and TV like it.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 years

Never trust a person who says "the gays"

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

11 months

Learned a new insult today: "Have a day that you deserve." I look forward to deploying it.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

3 months

@tomaxwell It's generally a requirement for using any of your sick days here. Recent moves to crack down on telemedicine providers dispensing them is sparking a debate over why they're even necessary to begin with.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

4 months

Omg hahaha this is the first time that someone has ever framed up one of my stories! 🤩

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

4 months

Love how they can't say gay or queer. I too identify as Diverse. Glad they're raising money for a worthy cause, but I can't help but laugh when we use the word diversity as a stand-in for everything we can't say.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

2 years

I'm off to Taipei! Will be in Taiwan from December to early January. Super excited about getting to see Taiwan for the first time ever, especially during Christmas and New Year's. If you're around or will be, hit me up and let's grab a drink or coffee!

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

4 months

For real, as a former fat kid who's struggled with disordered eating, getting praise about looking skinnier gives me such mixed feelings.

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@teo_kai_xiang

Kai

5 months

I've been working on a story about people who dropped out of their studies in Singapore - whether that's junior college, compsci, law, etc. But gosh, I wish I could find someone else who's like me and dropped out of secondary school. Are you out there, other-me?

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