Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Thou Shalt Not Chew

So I bought some chewing gum yesterday from the pharmacist (gasp!).

The experience was more interesting than I had previously been led to imagine. I bought gum previously from the Guardian Pharmacy at Paragon and the gum rack had been banished to the pharmacist's corner, but it was clearly visible so I just picked out the stash and paid for it.

Yesterday I bought the same thing from Guardian Pharmacy at Suntec, and frankly it's easier to buy pirated porn from the neighbourhood shop. There's no bloody display - you've got to wait for the pharmacist (whom I am sure has better things to do) to come over, then ask her for chewing gum (Did you say Gum? Yes, I did), then she opens a drawer and pulls out a box of 3 different flavours. Only 1 mint flavour, and that's peppermint. But before I can lay my grubby little paws on it, I hafta write down my name, NRIC Number and mobile number.

Then I picked 2 peppermint gum palettes out of the box, and the poor pharmacist has to make a special notation against my name. (Greedy! Took 2! is probably what it says).

I was a little surprised that I didn't have to leave a spit sample or a mouth swab, in case they find gum under a train seat and need to trace the perp.

This gum nonsense is seriously, seriously annoying. First of all, I'd rather chew gum to clear my breath and palate than a mint. A mint just leaves a little coat on your tongue. Gum actually cleans, and dental gum will add a little bit of tooth protection into the mix. There's also the added benefit of a little jaw exercise and fresh spit, but let's not get carried away here and I'm sure that came out all wrong as well.

Anyway, doing another overnighter and this is my 10 mins of venting frustration.

16 Comments:

At 4:02 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

dear jc, i am up at this time too. pls take care of ur health cos u only feel the effects of these things 10-20 yrs down the road

 
At 8:34 AM, Blogger Indiana said...

I wonder if you buy too much gum do they send you for re-education about its evils?

 
At 9:20 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe they ARE selling pirated gum along with the pirated VCD's! It might be a little more expensive but less hassle.

 
At 3:24 PM, Blogger HairyDonut said...

who's that? (she said, glancing around suspiciously. who knows me?!)

Indy, of course they don't send you for re-education. The government does no such thing! she said, scratching at the skin over her microchip.

Frankly I think gum and porn are an irresistable mix. "I'll have a pack of porn lites please"

 
At 9:06 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

what in the???

i was wondering why in world would one have to write down their NRIC, name etc etc just to buy gum...then I realise that this is singapore.

wow. over here we call this an invasion of privacy or just "too much governemnt".

 
At 9:58 AM, Blogger HairyDonut said...

Oh it gets better than that.

1. You can only buy chewing gum from a pharmacy

2. The gum available is only dental gum or nicotine gum.

3. I believe (not sure - haven't tried) that for nicotine gum, you need a doctor's prescription

4. The only gum formula legally approved for sale in Singapore is Wrigleys'.

I am waiting for the day when each pack of gum comes with photographs of dead people who died because of gum-related illnesses. Our cigarette packs already have this feature.

 
At 12:33 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, you didn't say earlier that you can only buy Wrigley's gum. That is so sad. All that work only to buy the crappiest of gums? That is just torture.

 
At 2:44 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

you don't need a prescription to get nicotine gum. You don't need to write you IC either. But it taste real bad.

 
At 10:35 AM, Blogger Angeline said...

At my local Toys R Us, a 3 year old can insert a quarter into a machine that spits out a great big ball of colourful, chewy, deliciously flavoured gum...bubble gum that is.

Maybe ur mother is reading your blog...sure sounds like it,jc ;-)

 
At 10:13 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

HD I need to scream! I hate that person.

 
At 9:06 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

heh. I hate you too.

 
At 11:14 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

HK.. Argh!

 
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