Written by Making people laugh is easy. Making people laugh at themselves is a whole other craft that can take years to master. Enter @milotruckdreams, a fledgling Instagram account doling out casual, everyday observations of the Singaporean psyche.
No one from brunchers at P.S. Cafe to OLs (office ladies) who carry Givenchy is left unscathed from the witty – but always true – criticisms from the anonymous comedian. As long as you don’t take her jokes seriously, there won’t be the need to comment “I feel so attacked ???” on her posts, and you’ll be okay to laugh another day.
1. What are some of your hobbies?
Talking shit. I suppose milotruckdreams is my hobby, which is also under the talk shit umbrella. I like too many things. Okay, so apparently a “hobby” is “an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure.” I do nothing with regularity except talk shit so I guess that’s all I have to say for now.
2. What is your favourite food spot in Singapore, and what do you like about it?
The Tofu Fries with Sour Plum Seasoning from I Love Taimei and the baked goods & kombucha from Kausmo (they do take away, you’re welcome).
Kombuchas from Krusty by Kausmo.
Image credit: @krustysg
3. What is your favourite beverage, and why is it milo? If you can’t drink milo, what would be your next favourite drink?
Why do you assume my favourite beverage is milo? Such a leading question. It’s milo. I like (homemade) kombucha, iced teas, milk, matcha/ hojicha lattes, T2 sticky honey chai with soy milk (winter only), anything with yuzu, and Mio sparkling sake. I’m really answering all the questions very thoroughly.
4. What is your favourite movie/TV show and why do you like it?
I hate this question. I feel like any answer I give I won’t be satisfied with. I’ll try and break it down:
Favourite franchise: MCU
Favourite non-MCU franchise: Fast & Furious (excluding Hobbs & Shaw)
Favourite franchise without Vin Diesel: Ocean’s
Favourite Disney animated movie: Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Favourite movie as a kid: Meet the Robinsons (2007)
Favourite movie as a teen: Juno (2017)
Favourite movie starring Robert de Niro: Goodfellas (1990)
Favourite documentary: Citizenfour (2014)
Favourite horror movie: It (2017)
Favourite dance movie: Step Up (2006)
Favourite French movie: Intouchables (2011)
Favourite Japanese movie: Kuroko no Basuke: Last Game (2017)
Favourite TV show I’ve watched recently: Ted Lasso
Favourite British TV show: Green Wing
Favourite anime: Ouran High School Host Club
Favourite mockumentary about vampires: What We Do in the Shadows
Favourite docuseries: Hip Hop Evolution
Favourite documentary about art on Netflix: Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art
Favourite reality TV competition: Project Runway, Season 4
Favourite TV show I’ve rewatched the most: Happy Endings
Phew!
5. Three words that people use to describe you:
I’m going to blatantly ignore the instructions here. I asked a diverse group of people who know me to answer this question and here’s a selection of answers:
Confident, proactive, honest – My sibling
Loud, jiejie, extra – An ex
Cute, theatrical, cool – A good friend of 18 years
Smart, YOLO, loving, pretty – A good friend of 1 year who apparently also can’t follow instructions
Whimsical, confident, spontaneous – A good friend of 1 month
Funny, courageous, jumpy (because I got scared by a car horn) – Someone who has met me once
Image credit: Milo Truck Dreams
6. Three words that you’d use to describe yourself:
Hedonist, impatient, silly
7. Who are some content creators that inspire you?
David Sedaris. James Acaster. Tumblr shitposters.
8. What was the most memorable moment of your career?
That was probably when I got fired from my job.
9. Which posts have been the most fun for you to create?
Fashion-related ones. Graphic design is my passion.
10. Which post are you the proudest of?
The one with the least likes.
Milotruckdreams’ guide to creating a basic cafe-themed Instagram story series.
Image credit: @milotruckdreams
11. Why did you decide to start @milotruckdreams?
I wanted to get back into comedy and I’ve never had a chance to showcase my Singaporean jokes. I suppose the truth is that I think I’m funny and that other people would think so too. The real truth is that I did it out of spite because I was looking at other local comedy accounts with a lot of followers and I was like: “Really?”
12. Will you be staying anonymous forever a la Gossip Girl? And why do you choose to stay anonymous?
You got watch Gossip Girl or not, in the end they “admin reveal”. I’ll consider an admin reveal at 100k followers LOL.
Image credit: Milo Truck Dreams
I’m anonymous because I think at this point people knowing what I look like is a net negative to my writing. Also, quite fun what. I like being ~mysterious~ because I’m far from mysterious IRL. I’m always like ok don’t tell this stranger you are MTD then after 10 minutes I’m like, “YOU WANNA SEE MY COMEDY ACCOUNT?”
13. Do you respond to every DM, and why?
So far, yes. Because it’s fun. I’ll always respond to my OG fans that I speak to pretty frequently! It’s getting a bit sian to respond to messages where they take the stuff I say too seriously but I’m just grateful they even DM me at all. Actually, I DM my followers a lot LOL.
14. What are some of the nicest things people have said about your content?
THIS IS THE KIND OF QUESTION I LIKE. Free rein to brag. Let me just sift through my fan mail and pull up some quotes:
“I appreciate you single handed [sic] lifting SG’s meme scene out of the weeds”
“You are so talented at creating these memes *skull emoji* such a mind of a mastermind”
“It’s Morbin’ Time”
“You are turning unfunny”
“u reply quite fast u no need work? [sic]”
“Hello ur account gave me life”
“I’m sure you are also a chiobu”
“I’m entertained with your content. It’s a good distraction from work.”
“I ask every new cool chick I meet, are u milo truck dreams [sic]. Every girl gonna claim to be milo truck [sic] soon. Synonymous for being funny”
“You know there are gonna be people who take it seriously right”
“Your black-on-black font very hard to read”
Image credit: @milotruckdreams
15. Do you have haters, and how do you deal with them? And what are some of the nasty things they have said?
Yes, very happy to announce I have 2 haters that I know of. One essentially said I shouldn’t be celebrating my follower growth because I promoted some of my early posts.
Image credit: @milotruckdreams
Another called my “Got money x no taste” word cloud “random and pointless classism”. I react with the heart emoji and pretend I’m not a bit affected then screenshot to my friends then they are all like “lame” then I’m like “ya, lame” then I’m okay.
16. What do you think is the average Singaporean’s perception of basic?
Not sure. Can’t speak for the “average Singaporean”. Also bold of you to assume I think about the “average Singaporean”.
17. What is one fun fact your followers don’t know about you?
I’m cute.
18. Will you ever do standup comedy in Singapore?
Image credit: Milo Truck Dreams
Yeah! Eventually. Probably not as milotruckdreams, I’ll just be myself. Kinda worried someone would realize it’s me because it’ll essentially be one of my rants.
19. You were previously living in London. Was there any culture shock coming back to Singapore?
Yeah, very hot. I miss cycling. I miss living alone. I miss the art exhibitions and cinemas. I miss all my friends.
20. Where do you see @milotruckdreams in 5 years?
I’ll probably have gotten bored of milotruckdreams in its current form. I’ll probably experiment with other mediums: essays, video, rap, who knows. Or maybe I’ll be disgustingly rich and I’ll just chill at home with my cat(s).
Follow @milotruckdreams on Instagram.
This post is part of our larger feature on content creators. If you’d like to be featured, or have a nominee in mind, please drop us a note at group@thesmartlocal.com.
Cover image adapted from: @milotruckdreams.
