Subject 1

Man, who seems to be in his late 20’s to mid 30’s, wearing a grey t-shirt and faded blue jeans, with a bright blue lanyard around neck. Spotted at Spinelli at The Heeren, on Sun, 05 Nov, at approximately 6pm.

Wearing a grey t-shirt and jeans can mean that he has a very casual dressing style and is not particular in terms of dressing and grooming.

From the actions that I observed (please refer to below), coupled with the colours he is wearing, I am guessing that he is probably not feeling very happy. The lanyard around his neck might be a sign of being an official or sorts, or just for the convenience of carrying ez-link and other cards.

He gestures alot with his hands while talking, implying that he is a very kniestethic person, trying to let his companion see his point through his actions.

He also fiddles with a serviette provided by the cafe with both hands while talking. This may be a sign that he is restless and a tad nervous.

On top of that, he looks away frequently while talking to his companion, from which I infer that he may be lying or lacking confidence and conviction in what he is trying to say.

This subject is interesting. Although he is merely sitting at a cafe talking with a female companion, he has numerous gestures and actions that gives me an insight of what characteristics he may possess.

On several occassions, he leans back on his chair with one hand over its back. This may show that he is probably laidback and being defensive, and that he is retreating to his personal space.

He also taps his hand on the table at a high frequency at points of the observation. This observation, coupled with that of him shifting his posture numerous times, suggests that he is restless. He may also be waiting for a chance to refute what his companion is saying as he seems unconvinced.

He also leans forward quite often. Inferring from his differing facial expressions, he seems to be enthusiastic at times while agressive in his attempts to convince his companion at others.

He also looks unhappy and points to himself while talking. He is probably in a disagreement at these times and emphasising on the “I” factor, taking the disagreement very personally.

At times, he crosses his hands and lays them on the table. This can be seen as a sign of defensiveness and that he is not interested in the conversation.

The last observation I had of him before he left with his companion was that he was a smoker. He also blows the smoke away from his companion. I think this is a very strong point that shows his consideration and thoughtfulness. At the same time, it can be implied that his companion is a non-smoker.

Subject 2

Young male adolescent, seemingly in his late teens. Spotted at the Mc Donald’s at Jurong Entertainment Centre, with a male companion perceived to be his buddy. At time of observation, he was wearing a white polo tee and blue bermudas that bear a resemblance to beach shorts. He is also on the plump side and wears metallic rimmed spectacles.

This subject may seem like the average boring teenager who frequents a fast food restaurant at first look.  However, I find his mannerism and eating style pretty unique at times and thus, I chose him to be my second subject.

While eating and talking to his friend, there are a few times when he looks up and away. He may be bored of the conversation, or something else has caught his attention.

As he eats his Mc Wings Extra Value Meal, he tears the meat off the chicken drumstick and thigh piece by piece, before consuming them. Guys do not usually eat like that, especially since he always tears microscopic looking pieces instead of sizable looking shreads.
Perhaps he enjoys his Mc Wings alot and does not want to finish it so fast. This is clearly enhanced by two supporting observations. One of them is, as he eats, he keeps looking at what remains of his Mc Wings. The other is his repeated gestures of switching between eating his Mc Wings and french fries.

His fries are poured out of the packet and onto the tray. So is his friend’s. They share the “mountain” of fries and this illustrates that they should be pretty good friends as they are not particular about who eats a bigger share of the fries.

He also dips the fries, as well as meat torn from his Mc Wings, into the famous Mc Donald’s curry sauce. He even strives to savour every last bit of the sauce. Clearly he is smitten by the food Mc Donald’s has to offer. Otherwise, he is just plain hungry, or a glutton.

Lastly, he talks to his friend alot. They seem to have a bottomless pool of topics to talk about. Sometimes his facial expression is that of a serious young man. At other times, they share laughs among themselves, and he does not seem to notice that his loud laughter is clearly bothering some of the other patrons.

Before he leaves the fast food restaurant, he wipes his hands and mouth meticulously before washing them with soap. Only after washing his hands for a couple of times does he seem satisfied. This should be a sign of how much he values cleaniness. If not, he is just paranoid about his hands being not clean enough.