I *hearts* Singapore! - Rantings of a Disgruntled Commuter (and an ugly one at that! hoho!)

Thanks to dear Evon, the font on my blog is much easier to read now. (: I wanted to change the template 'cos admittedly, the current one's rather boring and doesn't show titles of the entries. Unfortunately, nothing caught my eye, so I'll just have to include the title in the main text body for now (I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier!).

As mentioned before, I live in Tampines, which is practically on the other side of the island from where NUS is. It's a commuter's nightmare comprising of 1 hour on the MRT followed by a 20 minute bus ride, waiting time not included. I usually get onto the train at between 7.15 to 8.30 a.m. because classes start at 9a.m. on Mondays and 10a.m. for the rest of the week, and it's always a tight squeeze as that's the time when many people are on their way to work. Hopes of getting a seat and putting down my heavy bag and laptop are dashed, at least until City Hall (if I'm lucky) or Tiong Bahru. I'm usually alright with standing as long as I'm not wearing my 3-inch elevation but sometimes, I long to sit down with my readings (hohoho!) or a good book and lose myself in the streams of text until I get off. Anyway, being the naturally curious (read: kaypoh) person that I am, observing others in the same carriage becomes my pastime while standing. Anyone who is familiar with the public transport system in Singapore will definitely have his or her own fair assortment of interesting/infuriating/bewildering/weird mini-experiences to speak of. Here are just a couple of mine. (:

Chivalry is officially dying (dead?)

I worked in Clementi for the months of January and February this year and needless to say, I had to take the MRT to and fro. I got onto the train heading home at around 6p.m. and got cramped sardine-style into the space between 2 adjoining carriages. A tall, well-built man in his twenties (henceforth known as Horrible Guy), a middle-aged lady and I were clustered around the seats-for-two region, where the black and orange figures are seated in my artistic representation below:

So anyway, orange lady reaches her stop and stands up. Obviously Middle Aged Lady needed the seat more than me and Horrible Guy, right? By default, 'cos she was older, hunched and carried what looked a bucket instead of a handbag. Apparently Horrible Guy didn't think so, because at the speed of light, his huge, hairy arm shot out and blocked, while he skilfully manoeuvered his massive form in front of MAL - who was actually moving towards the seat- and plonked down, causing a small earthquake in the process. He didn't even bat an eyelid when MAL and I stared daggers at him! In retrospect, I should have said something at that point of time...but I guess I was intimidated by his imposing physical stature. Hmph.

Another similar incident occurred on Matriculation Day, when I was on my way home. The train wasn't particularly packed when I got on, but all the seats were taken. An elderly couple got into the same carriage - they were really old, totally white-haired and wizened - and guess what? All the able-bodied, strong-looking men that were seated in the row in front of them promptly fell asleep. It was the most ridiculous display of SYNCHRONISED indifference I ever saw! Fortunately, the couple got off the train 2 stops later. Once again, I'm ashamed to say that I could only rage silently as I witnessed all of that. I admire people who have the courage to speak up for what they think is right, without any fear of being judged or criticised by those who disagree with them. Speaking up in class or standing up for a friend seems so different (to me), compared to such situations in terms of the amount of courage required. It doesn't exactly help that I tend to blurt out things in a fit of sheer recklessness - as a result of this, I need to mentally "screen" whatever I want to say first, in order to (a) avoid offending someone, (b) not sound stupid or (c) both.

Someone once told me that he saw a huge group of people clamouring to get into the lift at the MRT station. The only one who didn't manage to enter the lift eventually was a guy in a wheelchair. It's things like this that make you wonder what parents teach (or don't teach) their kids nowadays. Things like what I encountered during my relief teaching days as well...good grief. Call me a prude if you will, but I'm really proud of my Confucian-style upbringing. Anway, digression, DIGRESSION! More about this some other day.

Actually, the main reason for this post was a conversation I heard on the train yesterday, between a girl from China and a young woman from Belgium which basically debased and insulted Singaporeans. I told Juni (Jun Yi, fellow Teh-Gao freshie cum JS lecture mate and fellow singing enthusiast) all about it and after he got over his "ohmygoodness-Pearlyn-you're-such-a-voyeur" thing, he suggested that I title my blog post 'I *hearts* Singapore', saying that I should go and be a member of Parliament. Now, I don't consider myself patriotic but what I heard really pissed me off and nearly (see lah, "nearly"...oh, the cowardice.) sent me into a lengthy exposition about the virtues of our little island. Basically, from what I heard (hey, in my own defence, -albeit, quite feeble...-they didn't even bother to keep their voices down.) the women lived in the same condominium but only just met. The Chinese girl said that she preferred her friends in China, because they are more friendly and the lady from Belgium said that she had no real friends in Singapore despite having lived here for 7 years. Then, she went on to say, 'Singaporeans are so shallow, they're not geniunely interested in anything!' Chinese girl just nodded and smiled, while Belgium Woman continued, 'Don't you think that the people here are really ugly? The Chinese ones, especially. They're supposed to be Chinese, but not Chinese-looking. I've been to your country, and there are so many good-looking men!' I was reading through my copy of Sula, the latest to-be-discussed-in-lecture text for Lit, and as compelling as it was, her remarks were so audible and so virtriolic, that I couldn't help eavesdropping. Yes, yes, yes. Enough.

She continued dissing Singaporeans about their looks, saying how she and her boyfriend were so amused by this "Monster Island" - she actually gave a little bemused giggle at this one - that when they saw this man that 'looked like an alien', they wanted to take pictures. She also called us dwarves and laughed at our 'short little limbs'. My goodness, the irony at that moment was so thick, I'm actually surprised that she didn't choke on its fumes. Hello, womannn! You call us 'shallow', and ALL you can come up with in your verbal tirade against Singaporeans are some remarks about our less-than-perfect looks?? Now who's superficial, you tell me! She kept comparing Belgium with Singapore, citing how much better it is than our "Monster Island" - all this while seated in air-conditioned comfort, being transported to atas City Hall for work, all thanks to our very efficient (okay, most of the time.) and organised public transport system. Hurhur, imagine that.

Okay okay, I should leave for my NUSSU- Public Relations Unit General Meeting NOW. Goodness, such an abrupt end to the post. Catch you all soon. (:

Labels: Neurosis