Wednesday, September 06, 2006
sociology is slowly ebbing its way into me.
today, i was at the Kent Ridge terminal, waiting for the bus to bring me home at a ridiculously early time - 12pm. Anyway, a bus turned into the interchange and then it started to jerk in spasms. I was wondering what the hell, hence i looked (with my LASIK-ed eyes. HEE.) at the bus-driver. and he had the blackest of black faces, while he stepped repeatedly on the brakes to make the bus jerk in sudden short stops.
I was still thinking what the hell, when he started shouting "HEY!". And it must have been really loud, because I could hear it loud and clear despite the bus doors being all closed, and it was airconditioned, meaning no windows too. I craned my neck to see who he was shouting at, but my view was obscured. The SuperBlackFace hollered a few more times, but must have been to no avail because he got up and walked to the back of the bus, and then struck with his bare arms hard on the chairs. By then, it seemed pretty apparent he was trying to wake someone up, very rudely. Subsequently he gave a few more shouts and then thumped really hard, on the person's back i should think. That was really shocking. Disgust and sympathy washed over me, as i waited to see who that unfortunate person was. The bus-driver satisfied himself by giving the person a dressing-down still, must have included a few expletives too. I really wasn't surprised when the person walked down the bus, all groggy.
It was a thai foreign worker, dorning greyish shirt and shorts that looked to have been unwashed for days. His unkempt hair was shoulder-length and greasy-looking.
Did his identity justify the horrible way he was treated by the bus-driver? Sociologically, we would say the bus-driver must have possessed a deep sense of ethnocentrism, the innate sense of superiority over other cultures. And the thai guy's eyes just spelled acceptance of his supposedly lower rank in society.
He was a paying customer, but that didn't warrant the same service, did it?
One people, One Singapore.
Not really.
Oh, i went for my One-star canoeing course that day. And guess what, we did everything but CANOE. Im still rather puzzled till now. We were kayaking the whole time, hmm.
Anyway, kayaking is a rather frustrating thing. And actually, i prefer to being in a single kayak. I guess, im not rather receptive to people ordering me (even when I was at the front and was supposed to lead) to turn which way, and showing me that irritated look, when I wasn't in the wrong. Anyway our instructor had no looks, no personality. Hah. I could forgive him if he wasn't the typical cute canoeing guy, but then he was totally irritating and uncaring. Which is the last thing he should be, being our only guide in the deep waters at Kallang Basin. I think I wasn't the only one there silently escastic when he capsized while demonstrating some shit he couldn't perform. Damn throw-face for him.
today, i was at the Kent Ridge terminal, waiting for the bus to bring me home at a ridiculously early time - 12pm. Anyway, a bus turned into the interchange and then it started to jerk in spasms. I was wondering what the hell, hence i looked (with my LASIK-ed eyes. HEE.) at the bus-driver. and he had the blackest of black faces, while he stepped repeatedly on the brakes to make the bus jerk in sudden short stops.
I was still thinking what the hell, when he started shouting "HEY!". And it must have been really loud, because I could hear it loud and clear despite the bus doors being all closed, and it was airconditioned, meaning no windows too. I craned my neck to see who he was shouting at, but my view was obscured. The SuperBlackFace hollered a few more times, but must have been to no avail because he got up and walked to the back of the bus, and then struck with his bare arms hard on the chairs. By then, it seemed pretty apparent he was trying to wake someone up, very rudely. Subsequently he gave a few more shouts and then thumped really hard, on the person's back i should think. That was really shocking. Disgust and sympathy washed over me, as i waited to see who that unfortunate person was. The bus-driver satisfied himself by giving the person a dressing-down still, must have included a few expletives too. I really wasn't surprised when the person walked down the bus, all groggy.
It was a thai foreign worker, dorning greyish shirt and shorts that looked to have been unwashed for days. His unkempt hair was shoulder-length and greasy-looking.
Did his identity justify the horrible way he was treated by the bus-driver? Sociologically, we would say the bus-driver must have possessed a deep sense of ethnocentrism, the innate sense of superiority over other cultures. And the thai guy's eyes just spelled acceptance of his supposedly lower rank in society.
He was a paying customer, but that didn't warrant the same service, did it?
One people, One Singapore.
Not really.
Oh, i went for my One-star canoeing course that day. And guess what, we did everything but CANOE. Im still rather puzzled till now. We were kayaking the whole time, hmm.
Anyway, kayaking is a rather frustrating thing. And actually, i prefer to being in a single kayak. I guess, im not rather receptive to people ordering me (even when I was at the front and was supposed to lead) to turn which way, and showing me that irritated look, when I wasn't in the wrong. Anyway our instructor had no looks, no personality. Hah. I could forgive him if he wasn't the typical cute canoeing guy, but then he was totally irritating and uncaring. Which is the last thing he should be, being our only guide in the deep waters at Kallang Basin. I think I wasn't the only one there silently escastic when he capsized while demonstrating some shit he couldn't perform. Damn throw-face for him.
Steve Irwin's death. - "dahn-ja, dahn-ja, dahn-ja!" will be sorely missed.
Death, knocks so many times
but fails not to shock
every time.
can you hear the soft swoosh of the butterflies' wings. 6:46 PM.
