I'm stumped for words. I'm not sure how I should start off this post.

Today, while on my way to Ang Mo Kio library, I was on 136, (which took me exactly 20:56. I'm not sure why this figure has to be in the post but I feel it makes me sound intellectual because its the statistics that counts. HAHA!) and it stopped by Rosyth Primary.

A young boy got up into 136, stood by the railings that was on the side of the bus and leaned against it. The bus started moving, and the young boy waved goodbye at his school, with a smile on his face, showing his teeth as he bit his lower lip.

I'm not exactly sure why but my mind went, 'Wow,' because when I was his age, I would never ever say bye to my school like the young boy I met in 136. All I wanted at his age, was to get the hell out of school so I can watch my cartoons back at home.

The bus moved along and I figured he realised that I was staring at him, and I quickly looked away before he met my eye. Otherwise he'd think I'm some paedophile.


Somehow my thoughts travelled to my tutor, Stephen. He once asked me, 'If you see a girl with one side of her face smooth and flawless, while the other side of her face is as ugly as hell, with warts on her face, how'd you call her? Pretty or ugly?'

'I'd say, half pretty, half ugly,' I said.

'Wrong. People would call her ugly. In fact, a really ugly girl.'

And he went on to preach on what has that logic got to do with my results. If my memory does not fail me, I suppose I got a few really good results and one or two bad bad results. All in all, my results were 'bad, in fact, really bad results'.

So while I was pondering on that thought, it suddenly came to me that I was ugly. Recently, pimples are all popping out like it was pop-corn and coincidentally, one side is all fine whereas the other side has pimples dominating it.

Haha, I know la. This should be the last thing I should be worried about; whether I'm ugly or not. But you know, when you're bored in a bus, all kinds of weirdass thoughts come into your head to entertain you.

So yeah, I reached AMK, borrowed a few books on arts. I found a treasure today. This book, Pope John Paul II : His Remarkable Journey, is just incredible. Inside, it has pictures of his life taken in pictures and of course, the failed assassination of the Pope and seeing how many people were influenced by him, how he managed to reunite Poland by becoming the only Polish Pope.


Then came another scene in the MRT that made me think and think and think again.

While travelling to Republic, I saw this lady, probably in her early twenties', stood up and walked over to this old lady leaning against a glass pane, and wanted the old lady to take her seat. The old lady declined and in one way or another, looked rather nervous and self-conscious because she was gaining attention from strangers, people like me who were bowled over by this kind lady's actions.

I don't see much of Singaporeans doing that. Usually, if someone gives up their seat to an elderly or a pregnant lady, the person is right infront of the one that's sitting. Only then, will they get up and let them take their seats. But, I am doubtful that I know of any that will WALK to a person who needs their seat more than they do.


A while later, I took another train. I was appalled to see this kid, about 5 or 6 jumping around the train, attempting to get hold of the railings that has those triangular thing hanging down. While doing that, he was screaming 'Fuck! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!'

Yeah, I totally went, 'What on earth??!'

The worst thing is, he didn't know the meaning of the word because he was saying it in the most casual way, as though he was saying 'stupid' all over again and he had no trace of anger when he said fuck.

What in the world are parents teaching kids??! Another thing that made things so repulsive was that his relative (I'm not sure if it's his dad or uncle) isn't doing anything. He just held on to his marketing trolley and just looked at him.

However, there's also a likelihood that the relative was giving his nephew/son dirty looks, or warning looks.

For example, '*STARE SUPER DUPER HARD TO SAY, STOP IT YOU BRAT*' or maybe, '*STOP THAT MONKEY BUSINESS NOW OR I'LL SMACK THE FUCK OUT OF YOU*'

I suppose that's where that kid got that word from.

If it was locals witnessing that scenario, I wouldn't think it would be as bad as having tourists in the train.

Which unfortunately, were there. This ang-moh couple, in their 50s, had the full view of this kid's menacing ways. There they were, to experience Singapore's 'wonderful culture' (in my opinion, the only culture icon in Singapore is the Merlion, have no idea what they are doing in Woodlands) with their handy maps and their bonnets on their head, to see the worst of the worst of Singaporeans.

The only emotion I felt was probably pity. Pitied the young kid cus I wonder how and what he's going to grow up into. Pitied the ang-moh couple cus I suppose they're quite frightened off and they have no idea what limits are there to Singaporean's colourful language, be it Singlish or Hokkien vulgarities. I also pitied that relative, cus I'm not sure how he can ever be a good parent if he can't even discipline this kid.






The wonders of Singaporeans

"I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man." -Che Guevara