Things have been rather smooth and predictable for the past 4 months, at least to me. The semester has just wrapped itself up to make way for a relatively long summer vacation, one that draws waves of anticipation. This is especially true for fresh undergraduates like me, for it is unconventionally a long period of time to conceive of anything productive. Well, I guess I have to start working and postpone my initial plan of backpacking across the whole stretch of Vietnam, to year 3.

Lately, I managed to secure some time to conduct my long-expired life reflection session. Like many of us, my goals and dreams change with time. I knew that something was, and is amiss in my life. This something is “unconventional.”

I have a pearl of a decade in front of me-twenties. These are the prime years of my life and no way am I going to sign my life off to monotony! I shall throw convention to the wind and find a way to survive by doing what makes me feel alive. May the early years be more unconventional and experimental. Try things that we might never have the chance to do again. When else in life would I have such freedom, I wonder. What life experience would I live old enough to tell my grand children, I wonder. What fond memories in life would I reminisce of on my deathbed, I wonder. I realized that things have a tendency to fall in place once we take the first leap of faith.

As I lie lazily on bed like a tortoise, with a pen and a pad in hand, I drafted out the things that I want to do in my twenties:

1. Learn horse-riding in the vast Mongolian plains.
2. Work on a cruise-liner as a crew.
3. Teach English in either Japan or Taiwan.
4. Work in a beach resort in either Phuket or Hawaii
5. Cycle along the coast of Normandy, France
6. Cycle up the whole stretch of Vietnam along its coast.
7. Solo backpacking in Europe.
8. First hand experience of wildlife in Africa
9. Ride a camel and spend a night over on the desert of Africa

Of course there are more which I couldn’t conceive of at the point of publication! I would be glad If I could accomplish 2 or 3 of the above task..lol

My first lesson of the semester is just 10 hours away and I am neither looking forward nor eagerly waiting to embrace a new academic calendar. I get the kind of feeling that I am already a battle-harderned warrior ready to face all the setbacks, or opportunities that I shall address euphemistically, but in reality, I have survived only a semester. Almost everything has been smooth-sailing, at least for me, and I am particularly glad that I have gotten the elective of my most preferred choice:)

Now that a new year has just begun, I have compiled a list of new year resolutions. I shall not hope for these resolutions to happen, because as I always believe, hope is as dangerous as it sounds. I shall not hope for miracles to happen, unless I want them to remain as miracles always.

1) Find out more about GIP, INSTEP and any other overseas exchange programmes available and add them to my shopping list before IA.

2) GPA = 4.69. I have set my target grades for every module and the least I aim for is 4.69.

3)Plan and go for an overseas holiday trip with friends during the next summer break.

4)Be happy:)


2009 shall be a great year ahead. Never mind that 2008 has a been a bleak year for most of us, with economical downturn and financial turmoil being most negatively impactful. It is uncommon not to face setbacks, but if we could view them from a different perspective, we could rejoice because thorns have roses instead of complaining because roses have thorns.

In the new year, I shall embrace all wealthy, healthy and successful thoughts and no let any negative, destructuive, fearful or unhappy thoughts cross paths with me.

Yes, I have gotten back my first examination results in my varsity education. I couldn't wait any longer for the release date. I couldn't wait to witness judgement day. I couldn't wait to see the fruits of my labour, within them bear the months of mental stimulation. It all boils down to the 29th, it is the deciding factor. Although results aka GPA aren't everything in life, they still play a microscopic part in your purpose of life, so it is bullshit when people tell you that results aren't important. You know very much that they are just finding a convenient approach to comfort you.

Let's face this practical world, in every organisation, every sane person will want to be the top 20% of the pyramid, hoping that there are always the remaining 80% to support them at the bottom. This mentality is entrenched in each of us and can be applied in the GPA system too. How you wish you are in the dean's list. But for my case, I am very sure I am still some distance away from that goal. It is always painstaking to see B grades on my result slip, but I gotta admit those technical modules aren't my forte and I deserve the 2 B+ grades. What I couldn't get over with are my 2 most confident modules, HE191 and CH1031, an A- for both of them won't settle me down. But looking from another perspective, I have to swallow my sky-high ego and admit that there are always more academically-inclined people in my course. Nevertheless, I am not and never will be disheartened, for I will strive for an even higher GPA=4.67(yes, i have calculated!!)

Besides the results, things are looking bright in the hall with our excellent performance in both sports and recreational IHG. I am playing hockey and boggle, both of which are totally new to me before I stayed in hall. I always feel it is enriching to pick up a new sports.

My first competitive hockey match( after just 4 training sessions) bounced off to an impressive start against hall 8. Technically speaking, we were on par, but we held the physical edge over them with our undying stamina and speed. Playing as a right back, I had very rare contacts with the ball, and precisely, the only 2 contacts were crucial interceptions that I made.

The 2nd match were against mighty hall 13, for they fielded a couple of national players. We faced an uphill task of neutralising their swift attacks and experienced game play. At the end of the day, the better team won, and i had no rants to make, only valuable experience gained for the next and final group match against hall 8 again.

This crucial match is a deciding factor for our advancement into the quarters and sadly, I couldnt promise my turn out that day, for I have boggle IHG on the same day. Yes, boggle! I am gonna own them all!!

My body has been aching all over since last week, ever since I lifted up my activity tempo with a series of consecutive hockey training, swim session and street-soccer challenge. It is always a good sign to have when pain invades my biological system, which in most cases, is accompanied by a slight sense of "euphoria" due to release of endorphins.



Yesterday's street soccer match was indeed an rejuvenation and soul-releasing session for me. The feeling of getting back to my kicking habit, striking the ball with the greatest possible impact, scoring multiple unstoppable goals, and adopting the grace and guile of the beautiful game, was simply beyond words could depict. It is simply amazing to learn of how football can actually bind communities together, hold primary importance over political and war issues, or in some cases, create intense rivalries. Football, in my perception, is a common language understood by all, played by all, watched by all. It is a game beyond imagination, a drama in its making. No amount of hollywood scripts can possibly craft out the most dramatic scenes of football, as we can see in last night's football match between Myanmar and Singapore. Who would have expected the burmese goalie to launch an assault on the referee, who was alleged by the Burmese to have made an unfair decision against them. This is yet another disgraceful scene in football, but being social creatures, we don't mind paying to watch 10 minutes of human conflict in its own making without a movie director. This is what I call real-life entertainment!

I suddenly thought of the date today..8 December. Well..no big deal on this date, but it is worth recording it down as my ORD anniversary. I don't even need to record it down! When can I ever forget this date when it is always running through my mind like a locomotive for 2 years?? The very bleak scene of a Friday, on 9 December, 2005 still hangs firmly on my memory wall with pins secured to it. 2 years on, one would have expected the extreme opposite scene of a Friday again, on 7 December, 2007, but it was rather a heavy-hearted one after all that had been gone through.

What a breath-taking ride I had that drove me through this 1st splendid semester of my uni life! It may seem hectic, but the joy of overcoming all the hard-fought modules and being able to juggle school and social commitments concurrently, is indeed overwhelming. I couldn't expect any more of the workload to be piled on me in the coming semester, but sometimes, I feel like I am the culprit for imposing such stuffs on myself. No prize for doing this, but isnt it better for me to fill up my grey matter while I am still youthful?

Being in CBE is definitely challenging, considering that I am even able to enrol into this course. With funny lecturers, brain juice-sapping modules and wonderful course mates around, I am enjoying every bit of my uni life. One of my favourite modules is surprisingly, outside my core subjects. I have no prior knowledge of economics, but I could understand its relevant importance to our society. A favourite subject doesnt yield a definite A grade, as I have learnt from past experience.

For now, I have got a dozen tasks on my to-do list(13 to be exact) and I believe this vacation would undoubtedly, pass by with a wink. So much so for all the events planning and game particapation, I need to find serenity in personal indulgence. A focused mind is the key to success. Maybe i should migrate to hilltop and meditate? LOL

Recently, I flipped through an old book and found some retrievable insights and motivation from a quote by Vince Lombardi: "Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing." I allow this quote to run through my mind a few times and I could draw parallel to sports. The traditional football powerhouses are always awarded top seedings in tournaments and they continue to dominate top standings. That makes winning a habit.

But, occasionally, we cant prevent previously unrecognised teams from claiming top honours. This partly contradicts the quote. The transition from losing to winning is never a habit in a second time. Once you have won something, the winnng formula stays with you and is packed into your DNA, and whether u win again or not lies in your belief.

Sometimes, I feel that I should stop blaming on my circumstances. Being in a good circumstance gives you a comparative advantage over the rest. But often or not, a bad circumstance somehow turns us into a whinning bull. The people who get on in this world are those who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.

夜深人静，我的心也随着静了下来。头望出窗外，细雨连绵，而在雨水的淋声中，一阵听似古怪的音乐钻进我房内。我想这是从隔间房间发出的，那就不去理它了。当我拿起建盘想要写布络格时，脑海中浮起中文字熟悉的笔画，它那亲切的语调，但可惜的是，观音的流去加远了我与它的距离。所以，这次的付出也算是破天荒的个人突破。

好了，夜晚并不漫长，在这死气沉沉的时刻，我的灵魂也该休息了。。。

Hey all I finally managed to filter out some highly indispensable time of mine to update this blog! At this period in the wee hours of the morning, I have just completed one of my maths tutorials and tomorrow is my most anticipated day of the week again!

A multitude of thoughts are running through my grey matter and I just couldnt pen down all of them over here, although I would very much want to. The past one month has been electrifying for me as it marked yet another life transition to campus living. Hall life has been great so far, and I still think I made the right choice of going for the hall camp, for it brings together people living under the same roof, so life won't be as tough as looking for the few old companionship for dinner!

Apart from all the fun and enjoyment of hall activities, studies must still be prioritised, and here comes another challenge for me to juggle the both. Do I still retain the discipline that I was onced deeply engraved with? haha..only results will tell. So far, my temptation factor to engage in activities other than studying hasnt really gotten over me, for it never had and never will! Balance on both sides is still the key to an enriching university life.

Through this month long of school life that had just begun, I start to appreciate the events that had widened my area of sight, the people who crossed path with me and left an recognisable impact on me, and the fun-filled activities that kept my adrenaline flowing and left me with more to yearn for.

Right now, I have got a few serious contemplation to deal with...so till the time when I blog again, I will be enlightened.

Dark knight's a great production so much so that it even beat the opening sales for spiderman 3! Heath Ledger's role as the Joker was simply awesome acting. I won't deem it to the extent of acting anymore especially when he's able to bring out the joker's crude humor and pyschopatic nature to near perfection. The batman was rather a shadow of his past, and a lost guardian being tested to his limits of conduct.





Well..just before catching the movie, I was rushing on my way to the cinema. As usual, my wandering line of sight caught the eyes of yet another salesperson, and just as I thought I could weave pass him, I was approached. I was rather baffled by his request to sell me a small candy without disclosing his selling price. The market rate was claimed to be around $2, which seemed overly-priced to me even in the current midst of inflation. What triggered my attention the most was that he wasn't from any organisation when I asked for who he represented. He claimed that his objective was to compete with his group of friends in a game to see who can sell the most sweets in the shortest possible time.

I couldnt imagine myself going around and gathering public funds to satisfy my entertainment needs with a group of teenagers on a Saturday night which could be better spent in town. Who is going to be so naive as to buy the sweets from them when their rationale is purely a personal indulgence with no official accountability? I had no time to question this young boy any further, all the more I won't want to miss the dark knight.

Nueve FOC 2008!!(Recalled with the best of my memory)



Day 1:



Fighting strength: 22/22

The 21 of us, consisting of 17 freshies and 4 GLs, met up at Jurong point Mac and proceeded to hall 8, where we checked in. We regrouped with Numemon in the hall and that made up our full strength! Once we had settled down, the usual ice-breaker games kicked in and as usual, some of us, including me, had reasonable difficulties in matching names with faces! I was amused by the wide variety of games and riddles that were made conceivable to us, yet annoyed by my inability to solve some of them haha!

I won't go into the core of the games, fearing that the cows would have driven home and the snails would have scaled the tree if I had otherwise.

Next, we shifted our belongings into our allocated double rooms. Things didnt seem right for me with 4 guys having to spread ourselves comfortably on 2 beds! Area cleanliness standard was a C grade! I couldnt bother much with that either since my purpose was just to sleep through the 4 nights!

The boring part came next, with a series of lectures lined up and held in the comfort of a lecture theatre, a perfect and proven bed for rejuvenation. I had it enough of the insurance talks and magazine subscription when I was in army. I would have gladly called up their insurance agent if I need a policy, but not when I had a few already. The last part of the lecture really woke me up into darkness with the focus on the screen. Snippets of the SP night were previewed, very much to our anticipation!

I hope I got my sequence of activities right haha

Then, we had station games that brought us through the whole afternoon! The most memorable part had to be the most tiring one, in which we had to run with a watermelon up the steps of the School Of ADM

That night was a long one, and beautiful as well:) I recalled walking a long distance to some area near the forested area where each of the OG took a group photo. I guessed there was an activity planned for us, but had to be cancelled due to the ongoing drizzling.

Initiaiton night was next and it just marked the beginning of a long night! We were blindfolded in hall 6 and were led to certain places to get real dirty and wet...the most disgusting thing happened in the toilet, where I had to suck up a coin from a pail of milo tucked into the toilet bowl..lol It was really a long night, bushes were tickling me from all corners...milo powders and flour were poured on me randomly. Number of hours blindfolded: 4

KO: around 3am


Day 2:

Fighting Strength: 22/22

Pool games were the highlights of the morning at the Sports and Recreation Centre(SRC). The captain's ball game was interesting though energy-sapping. I didnt get to throw the ball at all! All I did was to push the float with the girl on top while trying to stay afloat! The first sign of tiredness unrolled before me and before I could realise anything, it was time for lunch.
After lunch, I think we continued to play some dry games at the SRC. Since it has already been 2 weeks after the camp, all I could recall was playing captain's ball, chucking dried biscuits and a flour-flavoured mentos into my mouth and also piggybacking a girl while blindfolded!

That night really wore me out to the bones. I got really excited to know who my SP was through our first skin-to-skin interaction. The session lasted rather long and I actually spoke to 3 supposedly freshies, 2 girls and 1 guy. Wth brought me to the guy?? lOL..

Just as I thought the 2nd day would have ended with the "lab safety talk", I was wronged. That's the bridge to our exhilarating Fright Night! Never in my life had I experienced such awesome real-life thrills that could only be seen on horror shows. We went through about 8 stations where we had to gather clues and information to help solve a murder case, or a few of them. Actually, I felt the main objective was not in solving the mystery, but rather concentrated on scaring us! My task was a daunting one, having to protect 2 girls at the same time!!! Overall rating is unparalleled and i felt the programmers put in a great deal of effort in making this fright night a successful one.

KO: around 3am again

Day 3:

Fighting strength: 22/22

Started the day with a long bus journey to Sentosa and the thought of doing some body maintenance was quickly overwhelmed with games and riddles. The sun was bright and the mood was right for a day of beach games, but unfortunately these only lasted until lunch time when it rained. Nevertheless, lots of taupoks and watermelons and throwing raw chickens!

Next, we proceeded to Aloha Changi where the SP night was to be staged. It turned out to be a really lovely dining place under the night sky overseeing the sunset along the coastline. SDU must have been really busy yet thoughtful in planning out these events during this season of matchmaking in FOC camps. Food sucks though haha

The last event of the night ended with ice-skating at Jurong Entertainment Centre. We booked the whole skating ring just for our usage! I shall move on since skating on ice or even ground isn't my forte to begin with.

We rested early for next day's amazing race that we so dearly wanted to win, which we did eventually.

KO: 2am

Day 4:

Fighting strength: 22/22

We started the race with full of confidence and spirits which brought us far-ahead even before the 2nd team to finish the last station at SRC. The running part from SRC to innovation centre and from orchard MRT to Dhoby Ghaut MRT was madness haha..but it was worth the effort anyway. I didnt like the station where we had to search through the maddening crowd Bugis Village for someone whom we didnt even know!

After the race which we completed at around 9pm, we got back to wash up and went for supper at the nearby food centre. 1 x prata+chicken porridge+iced-milo would be good for a night's sleep.

Relevation night came to us as a surprise when the fake freshie was revealed to us!!! Was a girl so we couldn't taupok!

KO: 3am to 4am

Day 5:

Some games and a cheer competition followed by the grand finale, in which rules were no longer regarded when we started dumping water bombs at the opponents.

I had dinner with my OG after the end of FOC...reached home at 1130pm...KOed!

Really enjoyed this camp and the friends made..

Now i will just look forward to my hall FOC!

I have been wanting to blog since last week but just couldn’t find the time to do so! Anyway, I am back to my dark and overly tanned complexion, thanks to nueve camp and the sun! I looked into the mirror when I reached home last Friday and that’s it, my skin-whitening efforts have been washed down the drains. You could be wondering why should I be lamenting about my crisp brown skin with a radiating tan when others are having difficulties trying to look tan and some end up getting sunburned.

In fact, I don’t yearn for a white complexion, but just a lower tone of brown. Unfortunately, my skin is highly sensitive to the sun such that black pigmentation could raid my skin easily even with sun block applied! Just this evening, I was greeted by a PRC cashier at fairprice in English…when I was expecting her to do so in Mandarin as she did to her customers queuing up in front of me. I am used to it anyway since young and I could hardly recall any instances in which I was not mistaken as Malay.

Back to the highlights for the past 2 weeks! My trip to Macau and her mainland border was an eye-opener, so much so that I could see the importance of the casino industry and understood why our government is ever so eager to start the dice rolling despite the social woes it can potentially stir up.

If I could go back to the scene I was in, it was a lavish setting with hundreds of game tables fitted with the latest technology and tracking system. I saw middle-level Chinese citizens stomping the casino in hordes, rich and elegant looking tai tai pumping in chips like water flowing down the stream, casino crew serving free flow of juices and drinks, and scantily clad European( I guess) girls in their slyest look performing pole moves in the free-to-see cabaret shows. One thing I didn’t enjoy had to be the choking feeling I experienced in the smoke-filled, air-conditioned casinos. No choice, the casino managers couldn’t stop them, if not how could they rake in billions of annual profits?

Another testimony of my youth and boyish nature was shown when I was stopped by the casino security guards at the entrance, not once, but a few times! Age limit is 18, but I am almost 21…I don’t whether I should feel sad or happy about this.

Besides, I noticed Chinese prostitutes soliciting in the Venetian. Omg..was that allowed? They did not gather in clusters, but they stationed themselves around different corners of the casino. One even came up to me and asked me whether I would want a massage or not! Physically, they beat our geylang liu2 ying1 hands down…lol but I am only interested in winning money!

I wouldn’t say that I am lucky to win a considerable sum of money when all odds are against you no matter which game you play in the casino. I developed my own system of gambling right on the spot and it was just for the game “big and small”. I didn’t touch other popular games like baccarat and blackjack because I wasn’t very sure of the way it was played. Nevertheless, luck is still needed in all games and it is important to time your entry in accordance to your onset of winning streaks and know when to pull out when it is time to do so. I shall not go further into the technical and psychological aspects of gambling, which can take up more of my precious time doing other things.

Next stop was in Zhuhai city, China. Shopping was awesome in terms of price, uniqueness and service! I bet not many people actually thought of shopping in this unknown place of China. If you guys happened to run out of ideas where to fill up your shopping list or are just tired of visiting chatuchak market or mongkok district again, check out Zhuhai!

That’s all for now, tune in to nueve camp in my next post soon!

With so many things to look forward to and to embrace, I couldn’t hope more for this month of June to be prolonged. I have never so far in my life experienced the harsh reality of time, its ability to drain your youth as it sweeps by, leaving you in a state of pre-transition. The first 6months of the year simply whizzed past before me like never before, and for the same period of time in my schooling and military years, the former pales into insignificance in terms of time wasted.

I have completed my 5 month stint at my workplace and just like in any organization where I had spent for a significant period of time, the strong and mixed reactions start to surface when it was time to move on. I am delighted because of the bright and unpredictable future that lies ahead of me. On the contrary, some kind of emotional control is required of me to suppress the emotional attachment to the place, the people and the routine of work, which will continue to linger around me for some time. No longer a stranger to this kind of physical and emotional transition, I was admittedly, once a lost sheep after I completed my A levels and 2 years later, my national service. I am sure the next transition will take place after I graduate 4 years later…

During the past 2 weeks, I found myself getting back to football, both visually and physically. The summer of every 2 years is always a cause for relaxation and celebration. This summer is not excluded, and has the making of yet another great European Championships. My only disdain is the exclusion of England, my all-time favorite team that I have supported since the age of 9, from this year’s tournament. Nevertheless, the countless European Nights so far still managed to left me intoxicated with the beautiful game, a play widely considered as unparallel and that no Hollywood script can ever produce the kind of drama football presents.

I m looking forward to my macau and china trip on Monday!

Singapore, our unique homeland, with its ever-growing and robust economy and ambitious plans mapped out, is becoming a livelier and interesting place to dwell in. In this increasingly competitive era, Singapore has shown to keep up with powerhouses around the world despite our small physical dominance.

At times, we may be too engrossed with our work and studies that we overlook what is happening around us. Economically, we may be unparalleled by most nations, but are we enriched emotionally and socially to embrace the new wave of developments? How far are we exactly from reaching our “First-World City” status? A mature, developed country isn’t defined only by wealth and education; it is also about humanity and concern for others.

The greatest gift god has ever bestowed on our island is a blessed geographic location untouched from the destructive forces of nature. But we certainly do have unappreciative sinkies who are self-centred and indifferent to other people’s plights. In a TV interview, a tourist who just returned unhurt complained angrily about his encounter with airport delay and telephone breakdown at a time when the Chinese were frantically rescuing people. Is he willing to trade his personal inconvenience for 3 days under the debris?

After more than 30 years of social and kindness campaigns, tales still abound of people rushing for train seats or refusing to give one up to the elderly, ill treatment of maids, littering or inconsiderate driving. There was never an instance in my life that I have seen commuters waiting patiently for others to alight from the train or commuters keeping to the left of the escalators.

This unique mentality and behaviour is perpetuated in all corners of society, and is seemingly unique to the Singapore context. Generally speaking, we are an uncaring and selfish lot. I do not have any strong moral or socio-political backing to support my claim, but most people can sympathise with my general public observation. We even need the government to subtlety remind us to work towards a gracious society, and the most direct opinion from LKY was that we are nowhere near a gracious population in the future.

There has been an ongoing debate regarding elitism in Singapore. Could her social and moral progression be undermined by this cold, uncaring elitism? I personally doubt so. It actually boils down to the lack of empathy, compounded by the aimless pursuit of material wealth. Elitism is not just portraying the holier-than-thou attitude, it is a state of feeling superior in many aspects; morally, physically, intellectually, financially and spiritually. It doesn’t only manifest itself in top schools and higher social strata of the working hierarchy. There is a sense of elitism in all of us, just like the ego boost we all experience. Elitism can co-exist with the lack of empathy, but the former does not always progress on to the latter.

There is nothing wrong with aiming for the best in whatever we do in life, whether it is accumulating all the wealth in the world or topping the toughest exams in top colleges. There is nothing wrong to be rich or educated, or even born rich and talented. There are plenty of people out there who have risen to the top, but who have managed not to become gits. There are those who are on the lower rungs of society who are utter gits. Being an elite does not automatically turn you into an uncivilised boor. Lack of empathy does.

Our long-standing system of meritocracy has been largely responsible for nurturing top brains, our only and indispensable resource, which contributes to our nation’s astronomical development. Elitism is inevitable so long as meritocracy is around. We can only have 1 president and 1 Prime minister in parliament, 1 CEO in each company. If we don’t feel superior to our peers, if we don’t want to outwit them, if we just want to lie deep comfortably in the mud hole, who will want to stand out and lead the rest?

The elites in society often carry with them a high moral and social obligation, an expectation I deem a little high. Raves and rants propagate across the nation and create an unnecessary sensationalisation when the labeled “elites” fall below expectations. We recently heard of yet another blogging saga when a local undergraduate was arrested for his racist remarks. Not long ago, a bus driver was hammered by a student from a top junior college over a small misunderstanding and sentiments were stirred following a “get out of my uncaring elitist face” comment by a MP’s daughter. It is a shame to learn how simplistic this world has become. Our lives are dictated by labels imposed upon us.

Let’s work towards a more gracious society! The only way is to learn to control our emotions. It is said that if you can control your emotions, you can control anything you desire! No amount of corrective work order or kindness campaign endorsed by our smiling lion can do any significant improvement if we don’t work on ourselves first.

Train rides have never been more eventful with unexpected sightings and experiences. They never fail to portray the cosmo political nature of our state with a mix of a dozen different tongues and practices interacting under a common roof. Even when I was catching the last train home late at night, the queer settings of been part of a globalised population has made us unique.

A train ride depicts the tale of a life journey applicable in most of us. The origin station is left trailing miles behind after our train departs, whenever we initiate to something from our current situation. The destination station is already pre-determined since we know where we are going to alight. Along life’s journey, we are faced with a myriad of challenges and experiences, which are parallel to the pleasant and disgustingly forgettable moments in that packed carriage.

The sight of a lady with a protruding belly beats any anesthetics administrated by doctors to put patients to sleep with unprecedented, immediate shut-down effects. The tranquil journey to work is sometimes interrupted by high-decibel, phone chatters that transcend carriages, a feat which few are capable of. Nobody likes to be caught in a sardine-packed carriage during peak hours, but my frustration is compounded by the selfish acts of some commuters who can’t seem to stop leaning their back against the holding poles, thus depriving others of a supporting handle. I am not stereotyping any particular group because I have seen Bangladeshi, PRCs, Sickaporeans and Sillyporeans doing it. These 2 terms aren’t coined by me, but are gaining popularity stakes as net lingoes.