This author is currently on hiatus for the ignoble cause of mugging. The public is advised to remain calm, as this routine protocol has been shown to have no effect on one's violent tendencies in 96% of cases.
| Wednesday, March 11, 2009 |
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Just a little incident I thought I'd share. :D This morning, I was taking 852 as usual, except the bus was a little late so it was more crowded than usual. And so the bus trundled along, it got more and more packed, and a few stops down the road, our protagonist (or should I say antagonist?) boards the bus. She's a relatively short middle-aged Indian lady (and I'm short enough myself, so you can imagine her height) with an unassuming black dress, blending in just like any other commuter. Only problem being, there's not quite enough space so she's standing on the step right in front of the front entrance. And she had the sense to grab on to the door pivot (you know that black bar which the doors swing inwards around?) Needless to say, any sensible would have seen what was coming at the next stop. The doors open, but one side hits her hand, effectively trapping it, and gets stuck. She cries to the bus driver to close the doors so she can free her hand, and he does so obligingly. Thankfully the doors aren't damaged, and neither is her hand; but this is where the drama starts. "Those kids arh, refuse to move back!" She begins ranting at no one in general (although I think it was directly at the bus driver, who honestly doesn't give a damn about her and ignores her throughout the trip.) "Glubblablablabloe (Editor's note: I think she was trying to imitate the sound of an intellectually disabled rambling, oh the irony), bodok dunno how to move behind is it!" Of course, everyone simply disregards her remarks and rolls their eyes, squeezing a little towards the rear so she has a little more standing room now. But that doesn't stop her rant: "Next time, if the students don't move again, I'll call the police! Then arh, they'll have no more bus to take!" No wonder the Singapore police say 7 out of 10 calls they receive are non-emergency calls. It's the people who think the police are their guardian angels, are there for their every whim and fancy, and are there to protect them in any situation when their self-interest might potentially be harmed in the slightest. And the thing this, this is not the first time that Indian lady has decided to vent her anger on the bus for nothing. Half the time I see/hear her on board, she'll be b*tching about how people are not moving to the rear and yelling at everyone to move it, and I'll go "Here we go again..." I mean, it might be the passengers' fault for not filling up spaces in the middle of the bus, but there's a much more polite way to go about telling them to make more room for those squeezed in front rather than rudely announcing your presence. Whatever happened to the courtesy campaign anyway? So finally, the bus reaches her stop at Coronation Plaza, and she snaps impatiently at the bus driver, "Open the doors lah!" (Which he does, even though the bus is still metres away from the bus stop.) Guess that's what having to wake up early does to people, huh. I know that lady was probably just making a silly empty threat about the police, but it's funny how some people think the very mention of the police is an argument-stopper, giving them the upper hand by simply yelling, "I'm calling 9-9-9!" And as if the other party would then shirk away in fear, crying "Nooo, not the Powerpuff Girls! I'll give you anything, I promise, just please don't press the red button!" But it is too late! Using their ultra super powers, Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup have dedicated their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil! And they save the day, again! (Sorry, I got a little carried away and couldn't resist that. But you get my point, I hope. =P) On the bright side, on that very same bus I saw a student giving up a seat to an old lady, who actually graciousness rejected it, saying she was getting off a couple of stops later. Too bad such heart-warming gestures are overshadowed by the black sheep. :( |
'Twas teh winnar at 7:15 pm.
