Storms rock. There's the sunshine afterward to look forward to.
Friday, December 5, 2008
A Surreal Day
All you Singaporeans out there have good reason to be proud of yourselves. Seriously. I mean, I have never seen any other nation where the citizens are so alert in the hunt for terrorists. Ever since that 'Do your part to prevent terrorist attacks' video (which, by the way, had a supreme lack of acting talent), you Singaporeans have been faithfully following the recommendations of the video, all to save your fellow countrymen (and yourselves, no doubt) from an early death to terrorist attacks.
Then again, you might be classified as a slightly jumpy people. Here's how my morning went down.
I was going to the hospital in the early morning to do what I usually do there around every one and a half months. I had a gear check for Outward Bound later on in the afternoon, so I thought I'd bring my gear along to the hospital so I could go straightaway to school after I had finished. Big mistake. I should have known that the people on the bus would react to the bag.
The moment I stepped on board, there was a tangible tensing in the atmosphere, as if......... well, as if I had a bomb inside my bag. The people near me decided to follow the instructions given in the anti-terrorist-attack video, which was to:
1) Watch discreetly
2) Pay attention to the dude's clothing and appearance
3) Note if he seems agitated for some unknown reason
4) Be quick to stop him if he leaves that heavy bag behind
And boy, did they follow the instructions to the letter. This is the basic breakdown of how it went.
1) At least 8 people were staring unabashed directly at me without blinking. There were at least 4 others who were stealing glances at me now and then very obviously but still apparently priding themselves on being very discreet. Maybe they were, but I'm especially observant, so they weren't to me.
2) Oh yeah, they paid attention all right. In addition to the stares, I had people trying their utmost to memorise my clothing. Imagine the fiasco. I overheard somebody muttering to herself, "Red shirt, gray pants, running shoes...... Red shirt, gray pants, running shoes..." while another couple noticed that my shirt was a TJC shirt and one asked the other, "Eh, do you know TJC's office number? I think we need to be ready."
3) Ok, this one was entirely my fault. There is a direct bus from my hostel to the hospital I go to but I hardly ever take it. Thus, I'm not very familiar with the route. So, as you can imagine, I kept on looking outside in the worry that I might have accidentally overshot my stop. Hence the increased tension.
4) I sure as hell didn't leave my bag behind, but with every little movement I made (fidgeting) away from my bag, everyone on the bus would start, only to relax when I fidgeted back to the bag. It was subtle, but I picked it up. One old woman in particular was incredibly dramatic about it. She called someone on her handphone (her relative?) and started to apologize for all the bad things she had done to them and how much she loved them, just in case.
I, at one point, took out my DS, which also acts as my MP3 player, to listen to music. I must have had a concentrated look on my face, because I could lip-read one passenger telling his friend, "His intructions, maybe?" By this time, I could already imagine what I must look like in their mind's eye. Some gangster dude with no life and no future, probably, all ready for the juvenile detention center.
It didn't help that I received a call from one of my friends that, in hindsight, must have sounded pretty scary, especially since they only heard what I was saying and not my friend's words. Here's the conversation, roughly, with my friend's words in italics.
"Hey, Matt!"
"Yoyo. You need something?"
"Just calling to check something."
"What?"
"You know the Red Alert 3 CD I lent you to install? Did you manage to install it?"
"No, 'cause I couldn't understand the instructions."
"Ok, I'll sms you later."
"Why not just tell me now?"
"Cause it's better if you see it in words so later you can go back and refer. You're outside, right?"
"Yeah, in 196, on the way to the hospital. It's full like anything. I can hardly move."
"Haha... nevermind lah, imagine the relief when you get out."
"Yeah, that'll be good."
"I hope you manage to install the game properly. Then you and I can race to see who finishes the game first."
"Yeah, you know I love blowing things up with rocket launchers and bombs. Hey, but you had a headstart!"
"Too bad! Haha... I'll send you the sms later?"
"Ok."
"Yup. So bye then."
"Bye."
The moment I took my phone off my ear, I saw the startled faces which were trying very hard to look natural. I ran through the conversation in my head and smacked myself mentally when I realised what had just happened. I saved them the heart attack by getting off WITH MY BAG very noticeably, so they could relax. Wonder what they would tell their friends and family over the next few days?
Singaporeans seem to be a very jumpy people. And I think I know what I can blame this on. They're all hyped-up on absurdly copious amounts of sugar and caffeine in Coke. I reached Bedok Interchange, where I had my lunch before I would proceed to school for the gear check. I saw this family buy a large Coke and surreptitiously pour its contents into their baby's milk bottle, before taking the leftovers for themselves. A BABY! DRINKING COKE! What's the world coming to? Hasn't anybody ever heard of milk and water???
