It was an interesting trip that I made to Ca$h Converter today, to get rid of my father's old Cosina Super-CT1 SLR that's been my good friend of the past 6 months.

Quite frankly, I was feeling reluctant to let it go; it felt like I was selling my soul, selling my father out on his old camera, being too materialistic. But, the camera really is in a crapped up condition, with both lenses having been opened by me, the aperture ring of one of them conked out, and fungus all over the lenses, with the only metering indication in the camera being a useless red/green light system.

But, nevermind that. Back to the point.

It was quite an experience, sitting inside the store for just about an hour or so as I waited my turn.

Many of those selling were disposing of old, disused household items: crockpots, rice-cookers, old telephones, hifi-systems, electric irons, etc. Most of the people selling were, well, heartlanders, dressed in simple houseclothes, with many whole families hanging around the store. Snobbish as it may sound, there seemed to be a fairly large number of lower-income people disposing of a thing or two here and there to get some cash to get by.

Is this popularity of the Ca$h Converter store concept, a sign of troubling times?Where soaring unemployment rates (yes, 4.4% IS a very high rate of unemployment for Singapore; given that only about 36 to 40% of the population is of employable age, a 4.4% rate of unemployment amounts to almost one-fifths of those wanting to work being unable to find work; but, don't sue me, and don't blast me if my figures are wrong--point is, the unemployment situation REALLY is bad) are driving many Singaporeans, many families, to the brink, and they are having to resort to these things to scrape enough cash to get by.

It's worrying-- this "jobless recovery" that Singapore is experiencing, as quoted from the National Day edition of the Today newspaper-- what if it lasts? Must we accept this unemployment as being permanent? Are Singaporeans going to have to take turns at being employed (and unemployed) in this new contract-job society/workplace?

Without stability, what will happen to Singapore's social fabric?

These are worrying questions-- but first, let me start work on doing research for my paper on unemployment in Singapore. Grr. Give me discipline and motivation...haha.

But, these ARE worrying times to live in.

And, hello to you too, Alanna! If you ever do reach this page in the first place, that is. :) Perhaps I shall say hi to you if I ever do bump into you again IRL.

Sometimes, don't you just feel guilty for having everything go so well for you as the rest of the world out there, as the rest of the people around you, with as much a right to a good life as you do, are trying to survive crises and rough, choppy waters?