Tell me if you think using tissue paper packets to reserve seats at foodcourts/hawker centers is allowed/appropriate or acceptable.
At lunch hour today, I sat down at an empty table at a foodcourt which had 2 packets of tissue paper left on the table. There was no one at the table, not even bags, just 2 packet of tissue paper. I also asked the couple beside if they had anyone occupying the seats.
While my friend went to get food, an auntie came up by the side and said “WE have reserved the seats with tissue paper.” When I replied saying that there wasn’t anyone seated, she said they ALL went to get food. I then said to her that she can’t exactly use tissue papers to reserve seats. She replied with something along the lines that this is how they do it in Singapore, or that it is allowed in Singapore.
So here’s the thing, she wasn’t even alone. Must they all (her and 2 other partners in crime) get food at the same time? Would the char quay teow stall run out of oil?? Maybe they were in a hurry? I asked her if she thinks it’s a gracious thing to reserve seats with tissue. She didn’t answer, didn’t even look at me. She didn’t explain any possible circumstances, just looked away and started arranging the chairs, trying to force me out, awaiting the arrival of her badly needed reinforcements.
Mindfulness helped me to stand up and walk away. I have no control over how these “people” behave. We managed to find a nice couple to share the table with and still ended up leaving before them. They were busy doing their daily gossiping. Can I accurately say that rules out the possiblity of them being a hurry?
Yes, I am already aware of this “hidden code”, and I think a packet of tissue paper packet is just too generic to relate to someone being physically present first. Mind you, this isn’t about bags, books, files, folders. It’s just TISSUE PAPER for crying out loud. If anyone doesn’t know, we sometimes use it to clear our noses.
If you disapprove, please do not condone such behaviour.
Believe 