Today

wasn't too bad.

I guess I have nothing new to complain about for today.

In other news, Wee Nam Kee chicken rice in Novena is great stuff.

Run (Collective Soul)

Are these times contagious
I've never been this bored before
Is this the prize I've waited for
Now as the hours passing
There's nothing left here to insure
I long to find a messenger

Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run

Is there a cure among us
From this processed sanity
I weaken with each voice that sings
In this world of purchase
I'm going to buy back memories
To awaken some old qualities

Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run

Most of my friends are leaving soon, to get themselves a shiny new degree from really nice universities from far away.

I can predict my social life ending there. Who else can I watch movies with, hang out with, talk about the latest music and stuff and etc?

Sadly, I'm quite sure the answer would be, almost no-one. All the witty intelligent and successful guys are flying off to the places I dream of going.

I feel wretched. I should have seen this coming. Should have worked harder in secondary school, should have made myself something more than what I am.

And this concludes today's whine of the day.

Thought of the day: Does paranoia hurt more than terrorism? The British Police have shot an innocent man, anti-terror measures have hurt our lifestyles, security funding might have saved more people if put into health or food for the poor, we're selling our privacy to governments, and the paranoia is simply making everyone miserable.

Back

Been away for a while because I had to cram for an evil test at school.

So I guess it went alright, I mean, in the context of the test being particularly evil in the first place, as expected.

Now I guess I shall devote more of my time on more earthly activities, such as riding my bike to visit the monkeys in the forest again.

More to come up soon, depending on how much happens in my life.

Smoke

I hate it during the 7th lunar month when people burn incense paper and joss sticks, and hold noisy concerts in open spaces to entertain the spirits.

The smoke irritates my throat, makes me cough, makes my eyes water. The noise distracts me and irritates me.

I'm sure I'm not the only one.

There are practical reasons why I disagree with blind adherence to tradition.

What happens after the last bus?

Do people wait, not knowing if the last bus has passed them by then get frustrated after half an hour with no bus in sight?

How long would it take for them to realise that it's too late?

The last bus is never empty - people do go home only that late at night. People rushing to make it back home in time, people who know that it's their last chance for the night.

Most people make it on to a bus. But what about those who miss the last bus? Who will walk home with them?

Luck

I'm so down on my luck it's not even funny.

I'm tempted to think that the whole world hates me. The sad thing is, that's probably true.

Sleeping on Buses

Awake, asleep, drifting between these 2 states while cocooned up in a corner of the upper deck.

The air conditioner didn't seem to be working very well. There's a pimply gangly guy sitting next to me, engaging in an enthusiastic conversation with 2 guys opposite the aisle.

Me, I'm drifting. With my earphones on. Placebo's Without You I'm Nothing was playing on my MP3 player.

About 7 years ago when I was 14 I used to take this very same bus home after programming lessons in Singapore Polytechnic. Placebo's Without You I'm Nothing was one of the few albums I was hooked to then, whick I listened to on my way back. 8 years later and some thing's don't change. I still like that album. But I now listen to it on an MP3 player, not a shabby old CD player.

And that time, there were very few air-conditioned double decker buses. Only old rickety ones that swayed side-to-side whenever it hit a pothole. But the bus route never changed a single bit. Things change, things stay the same, in the end, what power do we have to control what goes and what stays?

And me? I guess I've changed too. For the good or the bad? I dunno. I guess the me of age 14 never expected me to reach where I am academically. But I'm sure he would have thought that I'd lost alot of my creative drive since.

He'd be quite mad about it.