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Name: thesillypurpledog
Home: Singapore
About Me: There are so many things that I can write about myself but how true are they? Why not read my blog and judge for yourself =)
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| Friday, November 11, 2005 |
| The Lian and Beng in Us |
Told the gals (& guy) yesterday that I do not wanna talk abt my guangzhou trip, Debbie's and Janice's bday and whatever that I'd done for the last couple of weeks as its pretty tiring trying to recap everyting I've done, but instead I wanna talk abt ah lians and bengs. Got inspired by Sheena and Janice (must give credit). All 3 of us are from neighbourhood sch and realised that its one of the best, most interesting period of our life and this has alot to do with lian and bengnism, a.k.a LBism
After thinking through, I came out with 6 different levels of LBism (at least applicable to neighbourhood schools), or should I say 6 different catagories of people divided by the seriousness of LBnism infected in them.
level 1: Total nerds, these are the people that are the misfits of the class, the ones that always lag behind during an outing, the ones that stand out. Just think carefully, there is always 1 or 2 in every class. LBnism totally nonexistence.
Level 2: Nice, sweet gals- always smiling, always complete their homework in time, quieter in nature. Better than level 1 as they are more 'normal' just not least noisy or vain. The guys that falls in this catagory are usually those with 'curtain' hairstyles, hair that seems rather thick, wavy n forcely 'sticked' into place. who tries very hard to be 'cool' in order to fit in better with the rest, "ai beng bei beng" . Weirdly, although many bengs have the curtain hair too, but their seems to flow nicely such that when the wind blows, they looks stylish, just like out of some drama. Ohh yah.. these are basically the nice students, do not give the teacher any problems, but often fades into the shadow. In short, nice to everyone, problem-free students! Must declare that some of those that belongs to this group do not like LBnism, they 'look down' at the LB. Wonder if its sour grapes... wahahaha
Level 3: Those who fall into this catagory usually are those who cannot decide what they wanna be. Often shows a mixture of personality. Mild symptons of LBnism, for example, ELLE bags yet still do not spot to have the slick, 'cockroach feelers', center-parting hairstyles. Guys are usually spoting 'armani' hairstyle but sans the orang-utan way of walking. More extrovert in nature as compared to Level 2.
Level 4: Slightly more serious than level 3. Gals and guys here are spotted with more of the brands favored by the Lians. You name it, they tend to have it.. Guess, Ralph Lauren shirts, JPG etc etc.. Most will spot the 'feelers' or centre parting. Guys often tucks out their shirts when not in class. Some gals will have the transparent umbrella, Giodarno windbreaker and Elle tee with the big word ELLE embossed across the chest. Some will see that their hair undergo some form of transformation, a change in color, bye bye to the plain boring black.
Side note: level3 and 4 forms the bulk to the students. Often gets along pretty well with everyone as they are more neutral. Noticed that most are getting interested in a more sporty and mamboish phrase when they are in sec 3 and 4.
Level 5: The LBnism syndrome is nearly completed. They have the JPG wallets, Sonia Rykel bag, Chantel Thomas, most importantly the Ferragamo hairbands and pins where the 2 'feelers' will still appears even if wearing a hairband. The guys are also buddy with the gangs and talks louder than others. Ohh. some have feelers too and favourie brands are like JPG, D&G and Armani exchange belts. Often will get into trouble with 'gangs' at least once. Most have 'god-brothers' etc to 'zhao' them. But unlike level 6, they are not in any gangs, just friends of people in gang. Like level 4, gals often have their shirts tucked very tightly and constantly pulling the socks. Most gals at this level in addition to spotting colored hair, will apply a layer or foundation before going to school. Often they look very pale as its just foundation, no lipstick, no gloss, no blusher... just foundation and the thin, carefully drawn eyebrow.
For level 3,4,5 :
Some have semblance of LBnism in them till today, some discarded them along the way in order to fit in with other groups of people when they move on to other schools.
Level 6: LBnism in the truest form! No denying. Busy getting out of trouble with the school discipliners. Constitutes everything mentioned in the above levels. In addition, likes to have lots of xiao di and mei meis to 'zhao'. Vulgarities are part of the sentence constructions, at times taking the form of nouns, otherwise as verbs. Some likes to be slapper and other sadly, slapper at times (slapped on the face). Always risk going some homes. Most started smoking by the time they leave school. Hokkien are often their 2nd language and said with much precision and depthness. Some even have that plastic pointed-end comb sticking out out of their pockets (I do not need to explain why they have this rite?)
Well before I go on, there is a disclaimer. All that was mentioned and will be mentioned are from my own observations, from my sec sch era and is highly subjective. If u beg to differ, just leave me a note. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions right?
One more thing, its not only people belonging to level 6 sprouts profanity, just that the frequency and intensity are rather relative to the levels.
Well, Sheena, Janice and myself through tons of female talks re-discovered some of the LBnism part. I dare say that Sheena is a level 5! She should be proud of herself, and achievement! Janice and me are either level 3 or 4. Come on, most gals will own at least something from ELLE then, still remember the baby pink one that my dad got me. Still remember my hush puppies socks and of cos, my Valentino maroon colored jeans. Janice had her feelers, Guess bag, ELLE embossed tee, and Sheena had everything a lian needed. Are we ashamed to admit that we all showed some LBnism before? Nah... it was sooo fun!!!! Dont I miss my secondary school days....
Unless u have Lians and Bengs friends, or a LB yourself, its hard for one to imagine what it is like.
Oh how much i miss those my old secondary mates cum friends, people who squatted outside 7-11 eating their instant noodles while talking at the same time, their interesting mixture of English, Chinese and Hokkien. The way they scrimped and saved just to buy the latest Rocobaroco jeans or Chantel Thomas bag. The times where there's staring matches and sticking of the middle fingers. The times where Laser Quest was the biggest thing and the best place to pick up gals. The times where Marina Bay is the prefect occasion hang-out place- has food, arcade, bowling alley. Otherwise, it will surely be Orchard. Oh yah, not forgetting Violet 1, 2 and 3 at Serangoon chomp chomp area. I'll never forgot the times where my LB friends lamenting in their ya-ya way about being prohibitated from going to some places because it belongs to some rival gangs (hey its a rather proudful thing abt being banned from some place, this shows that u r not some small unknown fly) or hear about my friends going to Boys town/ counselling/be expelled. Neither can I forget simple honesty and loyalty of the LBs show to their friends. Although there were some backstabbing, most are true-blue friends. There is soo many things that I can say abt LBnisms... in short, its LBnism that made my sec sch life colorful and interesting. Have I ever regret going to a neighbourhood school? NAH!!!!
If given another chance, I will still go to YCKSS, even though its ranked among the worse of neighbourhood schools. It's the place where I've spent one the best time in my life, a place where I met many interesting people thats so different from me, a place where it made me a better, strongly and more independent person. Basically, it opened my eyes, exposed me to other facets of society that I'll never know if I didnt go to a neighbourhood school.
Although there are people out there who scrowled at and condemmed LBs, I do not see anything wrong with LBnism. For your infomation, I always believe that its very difficult to be a successful LB. Just like about it, not only do u have to dress well (need lots of $), carry the latest gadgets (more $), one have to tactful and resourceful (when dealing with people who Cui your dai ji, which territories you cannot go, who you cannot offend), one still have to learn conversational Hokkien in order to survive, gain respect and most importantly, to keep yourself updated with the latest news (who is whose newest bf, who just had an abortion, who just kanna caught for smoking, fighting, truancy etc)
I am so tempted to slot the people I know into the 6 different levels but nah.. that will be so evil. Imagine being slot into Level 1 or 2! Saddening and a big blow to any semblance of self assurance, they've gained over time.
While some of my xiao bengs friends grew up to be nice young gentlemen, I still still some form bengness popping out at times, and during these few occasions, it will always bring a smile to my face.
Well, while I was never truely a Lian (too much work to be one), I really enjoyed their company.
For now, the 3 of us here will carry on talking abt our old days and because it has brought us lots of laughter.
Mmm..think someday I should write about my secondary school days, so many stories to share but for now.. the 3 mei nus! wahahahaha
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posted by thesillypurpledog @ 3:32 AM  |
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| 3 Comments: |
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hmmm... interesting topic.
i think i might fit into lvl 5 accroding to you.
and there's one thing u've forgotten to mention! they speak in broken english. lol...
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Wa si ah beng oei!!
Haha, good ole' YCKSS days eh? Wonder if i'll fit into any of the stages you so describe. I don't recall having any 'cockroach' like hair, neither have i owned anything that is of armani/JPG/Versace, etc etc, but i'm not part of stage 1 or 2 either, since i don't recall myself being a nerd, or having any feeble attempts of act beng syndrome.. Hmmm... All is but a mystery.
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hmmm... interesting topic.
i think i might fit into lvl 5 accroding to you.
and there's one thing u've forgotten to mention! they speak in broken english. lol...