the Scoot-Away

At about 2.15pm, I met up with Nicholas over lunch at The Basement. We caught up for a bit, before heading to Suntec City to do last minute shopping for CNY clothes. We went to River Island and Topman, and I realised that he was more value conscious than brand conscious. When it comes to shopping for clothes, he would not buy clothes just for its brand, instead he would check on the quality of the fabric or materials used, and determine if the price quoted justifies the product. 

We had coffee at Starbucks. Nicholas had recently come back from a trip to Gold Coast, so I asked him about his experiences there. He said he flew with Scoot for his recent trip, and I asked him about his experience with the airline. He says Scoot has the typical Singaporean-level of efficiency, but in being characteristically kiasu, he feels that the boarding time is brought forward way too early, resulting in a lot of unnecessary waiting and standing time. He also thinks the add-on meals and beverages are way too expensive. He is thus slightly sceptical when the airline tries to be too informal and cheeky, because it’s a bit of a disconnect (kiasuism against Scootitude).  But to the recent Anton Casey saga, with which Scoot used in its promotional efforts, he finds that it is a creative and acceptable thing to do. Those who beg to differ are simply far too critical, narrow-minded and uptight. All said, he still believes that Scoot is a decent carrier, and he likes that it is backed by SIA.

At about 7.00pm, we had dinner at the Zi Char place near Waterloo, where we had salted egg pork. Having some time to spare, we called up two other friends and decided to find a place to play LAN video games. Nicholas suggested the one at Selegie Road, near Rochor Tauhey, which he feels is the best because of the comfortable seats. Even though the per-hour charges are higher ($2, as compared to $1-$1.50), he thinks the additional comfort is worth it, since the purpose of playing LAN games with friends are for comfort. I noticed Nicholas is quite utilitarian when he decides on his consumption habits, always linking back to the purpose of an activity, before determining his consumption preference.

The four of us played until 9.30pm; after which we called it a night and parted our ways.