I could quote a great no. of incidents in the MRT or buses that has caused a total round about in my mood for the rest of the day... or week.. Most of the times, its negative... then like some kind of "just for laughter for TVs up there" related kinda chain reaction i have this "a series of unfortunate events" thingy going on for the rest of the day!! Sounds funny.. but in real it annoys the nerves out of me... my poor husby is the one who ends up hearing my rants and grumbles...
Our fellow daily travellers of of Public transport share a mutual code of conduct - most applicable during peak hours.
1) Upon entry, one should sandwich yourself as much as possible. - regardless of where you plan to alight
2) There is always a space for one or two even though your face was smashed against the door before it opened. - An inch for me will do really!
3) empty space anywhere near you is illegal - If only I can sue you!
4) If you are near the door, one must step out, give way to those alighting then come back. - If you can't come in again , that's just TOO BAD!
5) You want to alight near the escalator at your destination (esp. in interchanges and city side stations), then be prepared to be sandwiched beyond imagination - You aren't the only one to discover that you no?
6) you don't dilly dally during peak hours- my boss may not be as kind as yours!
7) Don't step unto others' feet - and it doesnt matter if you're going to trip. JUST DONT STEP ON MY SHOES!
8) as for the ladies, you'll never no the difference between a man trying to be funny or is simply fidgeting - OUCH!
9) no swishing your head left and right if you're wearing a pony tail. - this is no shampoo advert you no?
10) want to move around, in or out of the compartment? Do it w/o even so much so as to brush past anyone. - EEK! dont touch me!!
for those of you(sotongs/soya fry/ olive oil) wondering... the text coloured like this is the possible thoughts of the "Others"
This post is most inspired by my trips everyday to and fro work & sch in the MRTs. Let me share with you an experience i had. As always, i boarded a train in serangoon station (NEL - some people don't even know there was such a station. So let alone which line it's from.). Yes, the train was packed but nobody was beside me on my right. In fact, there was an empty baby pram. And, beside that was the mother and the child seated at the corner two seater. Watching mothers with infants and pregnant women... well.. i'll blog about that soon.. :) Ya! So the train stopped at Boon Keng. This rather tall gentleman tried to squeeze his way through to get into an empty space way much further in the middle of the train. Well, i was packed on my right thanks to the pram and so i couldn't move to give way for him. So, i continued to read my David Eddings - The Elder gods. A minuter or two later i flipped to the next page when i asked myself, "did i just hear somthing like "so selfish!!!"?" Just to make sure, i turned to look at the gentle man only to be snapped at again. "Still can stare somemore!". Ok so he was refering to me... oops! ok maybe i did have space to move. So, i looked around again. Damn the pram was blocking me. There was no way i could have moved. Personally i don't tolerate being blamed for something i can't help or am not responsible for. I usually fight it out. In this case, the words were at the tip of my tongue but the better of me stopped me. I had a long day ahead, so i didn't think it was wise to pursue this. However, this disturbed me so much that i was lamenting about it to my poor husby like 12 midnight that day.. maybe my better half was wrong. oh well!
Most of my bad times come on the days when i have sch. How weird a pattern. Doesn't make any sense does it? Well, here's the thing. When i go to sch., I'm the type who gingerly brings ALL the materials for class (i.e. all my notes, tuts , tuts answers, the text book, all my stationary and calculator). Naturally, i carry an extra large bag on those days. Now you see the actual story? Ya! its the bag... and poor me.. gets nudged, pushed, stared at, snapped at, cursed at etc. for being hardworking? People with big bags are known to take up too much space. Since it's usually the youngsters who carry such huge bags, they tend to have their ears shut by music leading to turning deaf to "excuse me"s. Due to their hefty burden they move slowly and barely have space to shift and make space for more travellers. Huge bag carriers are by nature a wee bit more clumsier due to the extra weight. So, when they move in and out of the compartments , they tend to ram and brush pass many.
For reasons such as those mentioned above, almost all of the 10 code of conducts are broken. Although all deeds were unintentional, bulky/huge bag carriers are most loathed in trains and buses. People being who they are, become naturally defensive by turning offensive when meeting any such people.
1) Not budging to make way for us
2) Pushing and ramming around us
3) Cursing under their breathe even after we apologize for bumping onto them
4) Glaring at us like as though we are walking disasters once we enter the vehicle
And the list could go on... but if I were to list them.. i could get very emotional. I might even end up having a phobia for travelling with bulky things in MRTs or buses. This morning i was carrying the violin in the MRT during the rush hour and I was so wary of how those travelling with me might react. Trust me... they weren't the sweetest of beings...
See... It is from here that i discovered, people with huge/bulky bags are the underdogs of our daily commuters.
Labels: the world out there