'India's 9/11': One week since senseless attack in Mumbai

This was a very interesting letter somebody wrote to the Straits Times on the 6th December, 2008. The letter is reproduced as-is, with comments from me in bold letters:

IT HAS been more than a week since the terrorists launched a senseless and audacious attack in Mumbai, the financial capital of India, last Wednesday.

Err... OK.

The targets of attack included two luxury hotels and other sites. Such an unexpected attack stunned the whole world and has been described as 'India's 9/11'.The terrorists killed almost 200 people and injured about 300 in the shooting spree. It was a horrifying scene.

I think we all read this in the news already. Thanks for letting us know nonetheless.

Among the hostages who were killed was a Singaporean, a 28-year-old lawyer named Lo Hwei Yen. She had been on a short business trip to Mumbai where she checked into one of the two hotels, the Oberoi Trident. She was expected to return home on Thursday, but unfortunately, she was taken hostage when the terrorists seized control of the hotel. She was shot dead by the gunmen who killed without no mercy at all.

We ALREADY know this, thanks.

Ms Lo, a lawyer with a promising future, was killed in her prime. No appropriate words can describe the sadness of her family and friends when they heard of her sudden and tragic death. So far, she is the first Singaporean to die in a terrorist attack while overseas. The planned and coordinated terrorist attack was carried out by 10 gunmen who wanted to kill more than 5,000 people. However, their attempt was foiled by Indian commandos who were called in to deal with them.The three days of rampage finally came to an end when nine gunmen were killed and one was captured alive.

You simply refuse to listen and go on and on about what we already know, don't you?

The blatant onslaught of terrorism that took place in Mumbai last week drives home a message which every Singaporean must bear in mind, wherever he is. It is that there is a need to be constantly vigilant because the terrorist attack that took place in Mumbai could also take place in Singapore.

OK. There is really no use in the people being vigilant if the people with the necessary power to uphold law and justice don't help out. Remember, Mas Selamat is "supposedly" still out there somewhere.

Since the increase in terrorism is now a fact of life, it is beyond the shadow of a doubt that there is no guarantee of safety anywhere in the world until the threat of terrorism is completely eradicated. Like other countries throughout the world, Singapore is vulnerable to any form of terrorist attack. As a matter of fact, every Singaporean must not let his guard down or the terrorists will be on a killing spree that will ruin Singapore. Hence, it is indeed wise to exercise caution. As the saying goes, 'discretion is a better part of valour'.

You're starting to sound like a priest at his sermon. We all know this already, like I mentioned above.

I was infuriated by the attack that claimed the life of Ms Lo, for which the terrorists are to be held responsible. How absurd and heretic to be under the delusion that mass murder enables a terrorist to enter paradise.

So what did you do? You penned up this letter... OK. And then? What did you do? You sounded so wise above, "discretion is a better part of valour...". I thought you should also know that "Actions speak louder than words". How ironic!

On the other hand, I must also express my sadness about the death of Ms Lo. As a Singaporean who loves peace and cherishes the harmonious relationship among people throughout the world, despite different nationalities, ethnic backgrounds and and religious faiths, I deplore indiscriminate ending of human lives. If everyone were to behave like the terrorists, the whole world would be a tinderbox. The consequences would be disastrous, with the whole world mired in endless bloodshed and violence that could eventually wipe out the entire human race.

You really don't need to hypothesize "if everyone were to behave like the terrorists", because that will NEVER come true. See below explanation:

1) Terrorists don't terrorize each other.
2) Terrorists only terrorize the innocent.
3) The innocent do not behave like terrorists.

Makes sense?

Bobby Yeo

Thank you for your letter Bobby, it was sincerely a good read. Then again, if we remove all the content that we all already know, what would be left of your letter would only be your name.

If you wrote only your name to the papers, and it was 5 years ago, I would bet my pants your letter with those two words would NEVER be published.

Today, it seems like regurgitating news written by reporters all over the world, deems you a placeholder in the column. You've won the day. Congratulations.

Problems and Ears

People don't want to hear about problems that you had which you are able to overcome and resolve.

People want to hear about problems that made you fuck up and screw you over in life.

To them, that can be a bit of humour in a sense.

Nobody wants to hear about your problems in life.

Random Picture of the Day... #3

Making a Mess... Or Sour Grapes at its Best

Again, let the pictures do the talking. This was taken from the papers from 15 October 2008 (don't let the date at the top bother you; the guy maintaining the website is sleeping as usual):



The next time I accidentally set my ez-link card alight and it burns to kingdom-come, I shall bring that small pile of ashes (or what's remaining of my ez-link card) out to the bus/MRT/LRT, tell the bus driver/station master to let me travel, since "they do not lose anything from it".

Talk about being a stupid fool, Mr. Kan. If you accidentally destroyed the vouchers, and all you bring to the cashier at the check-out counter is a heap of colored paper which looks like the remains of your 4 x $10 vouchers, and they still let you redeem the vouchers, then I can do the below:

I can go print out online specimens of the vouchers, wet it and crush it and mangle it up, and bring to the cashier and demand for it to be redeemed. There is no way to trace it, no way to track it, no way to monitor the abuse of voucher redemption process.

In fact, if they still let you redeem the vouchers, every motherfucker out there on the streets would do the same as me too!

Talk about being sour grapes.

**********UPDATE**********

No shit man. Then again, the exchange will only occur after the "extent of the damage has been assessed".

Looks good on paper, still doesn't mean a 100% guaranteed exchange. :)

Barbecues and Such...

When it comes to a barbecue, there are some interesting observations one can make:

1) Nobody likes/wants to be the one helping to start the fire. They think it's a shit and dirty job.
2) Nobody likes to eat fruits after a barbecue. It just isn't right.
3) Nobody likes to eat barbecued vegetables. It's just too weird to be eating that shit when you're supposed to be cooking and grilling meat.
4) People blame others when things go wrong, but rarely shower praises when things are done right.
5) You can safely go away into one corner and do nothing, and yet the barbecued food will still be miraculously served up to you.
6) Kind souls do exist in this world, but only after they have been guilt-ridden at seeing a sight which they sympathize with.
7) Not many fools are left in this world who are willing to go to hell in place of others who refuse to.
8) Under the influence of alcohol, people will laugh at you if you are not entertaining enough. The irony!
9) Being the one in charge of the barbecue pit fire is the only job that allows you to keep your silence and yet not be labeled as an introvert.
10) When the drinks/beer runs out, it means that it's time to go home.

What Girls Like (And Dislike)... #2

When you go for a BBQ with your friends, the girls who go for manicures want nothing to do with helping out at the fire pit.

The ones who do help out at the fire pit are the ones who don't go for manicures.

Free? Or Not Free?

I seriously have no idea WTF these people are thinking. Let the pictures tell the story:




'Nuff said about it. Piece of shit.

10 Things That Says You're a Singaporean

1) You complain that the weather is so damned !#$%^&* hot... and then you go home to take a hot water shower.

2) You go up to a snack shop to buy some food and drinks, and the lady behind the counter shouts at you "COME! HELLO!", which... doesn't... really... make... sense..., but you don't bother about why anyway.

3) Your destination is only one or two bus stops away, but you still take a bus anyway.

4) Guys: You've got a big bag of green shit sitting in a corner in your room... somewhere.

5) You complain about rising ERP charges, and then you get into your car to drive past more ERP gantries.

6) You feel so ecstatic and jubilant about the silver medal achieved in the recent Olympic Games 2008, but yet you don't realize that it is the biggest insult to Mr. Tan Howe Liang.

7) When there are a few ATMs in a particular location and the queue doesn't form on one of the machines, you know that there is something wrong with that machine.

8) You still go up to the machine to try it anyway.

9) When you are interviewed on TV, you go, "uh.. ah... don't know leh. No opinions. Like that lor, already done liao, what more can I say?"

10) Or you give a quick wave of your hand when you spot the fella with the microphone approach and say, "Sorry not interested."

11) You suffer from a serious bout of recency bias.

Random Picture of the Day... #2

You Know Your Life Sucks When...

Nearly Half of the birthday greetings you received on your birthday are automated messages generated by the public online forums you subscribe to.

What a day to start your birthday.

*Edit*: 12:05PM, 7th Sept 2008

Beijing Olympics Fever 2008

With recent news being focused on the Beijing Olympics, I have learnt the following important thing from local television channels:

The Olympics is primarily made up of the 2 events:
1) Table Tennis, and
2) Swimming

Another Workday... #1

While waiting to cross a road to get to work, I saw an old man crossing the road.

He held a 4-legged cane in one hand, and strapped to his waist was a pee-bag that was half-full. I walked past him, but was in no position to help him.

----------------------------------------

While on the train, when the crowd cleared after a busy stop, I saw this woman in a wheelchair in the middle of the train at the doors.

She got off at the same stop as me, reversing herself out of the doors by her own pair of hands. I queued behind a human wall waiting for her to exit the doors, but was in no position to help her.

Some Really Messed Up Logic

It is not uncommon to see arguments in local forums, termed "flame wars".

Usually, when such arguments start. There is always at least one person who has the below logic running through his/her fucked up brains:

[START LOGIC]
x = 100 (or some number large enough for the fucked up brain)

IF MORE THAN x PEOPLE LIKE PRODUCT A
AND
ALONG COMES 1 PERSON WHO DISLIKES PRODUCT A

THEREFORE, CONCLUDE THAT THE 1 PERSON MUST BE A RIVAL COMPETITOR WHO MANUFACTURES PRODUCT B, OR IS AN EMPLOYEE OF THE RIVAL COMPETITOR
[END LOGIC]

Really some nasty shit that some Singaporeans have hiding in their brains.

And they probably didn't make the cut at all for their school's debate team, if they ever had an education at all in the first place.

Questions Only... Or The Bubble Tea Shop

So I was at this bubble tea shop, having ordered a drink and standing there waiting to be served (no pun intended).

Along comes two kids, and they squeezed in front of me, trying to get served as well. I stepped aside to get some breathing space for myself, slightly peeved at having my comfort zone intruded upon.

While still waiting, the two kids were chattering between themselves, and suddenly one of them opens his mouth and says "Sir...".

I didn't really think that was for me, but as the shopkeeper was a woman (and there wasn't a single soul around us except for the four of us) , I turned my head over casually and glared at the two kids, wondering what @#$%^&* games were they playing now. One of them was looking at me.

Kid (seeing the glare I gave) goes, "... uh, can I know the time please?"

I looked at my watch, it said 4.57pm. So I told the kid the time, and turned my wrist to let him take a look at it. (This is usually done so as to deal with those who don't believe me when they ask me the time).

Kid hears the time, and his jaw drops. He tells his friend, "I gotta go home!" And off he scoots, away with his schoolbag like a turtle with a shell.

I took a quick glance and noticed that they both weren't wearing watches.

His friend stayed on and ordered a bubble milk tea. With pearls.

Grandpa and His Grandchild

So every morning, at a certain bus stop, there is this Grandpa with a girl, presumably his grandchild. The girl seems to be around 12-14 years of age, donning the uniform of a familiar neighbourhood secondary school. They would be there every morning, waiting for the school bus to come pick the girl up.

School bus arrives, Grandpa runs up to the school bus (minibus) to open the door for his little girl. Girl climbs up the bus and Grandpa waves at her saying goodbye, every single day without fail.

Girl chooses an empty seat on the minibus so that her back is facing Grandpa, and sits down without saying a word, every single day without fail. Not even a wave or a smile back at her Grandpa.

School bus pulls out onto the road, Grandpa is left standing there looking at the school bus driving further and further away, rubbing his hands and looking like a child whose meaning of life had been driven away.

And yet he still opens the door for his little girl, every single day without fail.

A New Phase of Life

And so it began.

A new stage in my life from the start of this month.

From now on, there possibly will be less nitpicks, because I will not have much chance to take public transport. Nor will I have the chance to interact with self-centered people anymore. Neither will I be seeing people with weird behavior around me.

However, I will still do my best to bring all of you fans out there as many nitpicks as I can from my interaction with the outside world over my weekends. :)

And so it ends.

The PC Show 2008... or The Truth Uncovered #3

OK, so we see a report in TODAY newspaper dated 16th June reporting on the PC Show that was held at Suntec from 12-15 June 2008.

"...the cash registers had chalked up some $51.7 million in sales, nearly double..."
"...welcomed more than 1.1 million visitors this year..."

Is it all that impressive? Let us do the math:

Sales = $51.7 million
Number of visitors (we aren't even going to use the term "customers"; that is explained below): 1.1 million

Average amount spent by each visitor = $47

*** STOP ***
Question: What IT product can $47 buy? A laptop? A digital camera?

Neither. $47 can only perhaps buy you some small-item computer accessories like a cheap keyboard/mouse, a webcam or some DVD media.
*** END STOP ***

But wait! This report says that "laptops remain the perennial favourite of shoppers..."

*** STOP ***
Question: What does this mean?

This means that it took 43 customers each spending the average of $47 to make a... may I say, meagre sale of $2000 (43 x 47 = $2021).

If we assume (Note: assume) that each laptop sold was at the price of $2000, this means that for every 1 customer who buys the laptop, there are approximately 41~42 people (minus away the real spender) who visit the show, but does not spend any money at all.
*** END STOP ***

This is by far, quite a reasonable and conservative estimate, I would say. However, the numbers show us that most of the visitors to PC Show 2008 did not spend any money (or simply very little) at all.

To have 1 real customer for every 40+ visitors, is simply too absurd.

Promising sales? Or simply pathetic?

M1 Advertisements... or The Truth Uncovered #2

I know this comes a little late, but better late than never, like they always say...

So recently, we have seen a spate of tv commercials by a local mobile phone service provider, with 3 funky men bobbing their heads to music. Here are the commercials, which some may say are "funny" and "hilarious":

Video #1:


Video #2:


Video #3:


Video #4:


Video #5:


Funny? Hilarious? Really?

Here's the Real McCoy, posted in 2005:

So now you know where the idea came from. So much for originality and creativity.

PS: Don't bother trying to post a message on the YouTube videos. The user who uploaded it is scared stiff of negative comments, and all posted comments will go through his approval first before he will ever allow it up for the whole world to see. So, no chance of bashing the videos there.

*Edit*: It seems that the original SNL skit by Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, and Chris Kattan came out in 1975, and the movie "A Night at the Roxbury" that was based on the skit, was released in 1998.

Random Picture of the Day... #1

Twin Balloting Woes

Here's another typical Singaporean-attitude complaint letter. This can be found on TODAYOnline, 17th May 2008.

Let us do the maths:
Example of a typical situation,

Number of seats available: 100
Number of people balloting for a seat: 1000
Probability of each person getting a seat = 100/1000 or 0.1 or 10% chance

So here we are, this moron suggesting that he be given a chance to ballot for TWO SEATS in one go.

Assuming that all (1000) ballots are given an equal chance to win (as per a lottery), the outcome will be different for each ballot, according to this idiots mentality. Simple maths will tell you that his one ballot (10% chance) will be worth TWO SEATS.

Whereas under normal circumstances, if two separate ballots are cast for two separate seats, the odds of both ballots winning the seats should be:

0.1 * 0.1 = 0.01 or 1% chance

So to sum it all up, this idiot is complaining that he be given a x% chance to win TWO seats, whereas the same x% (x is the same in these two cases) for OTHERS should only win ONE seat.

Right...

Moral of the story? Richard Goh, if you want to have twins, don't be lazy. Please don't be an ass and demand for such stupid things. The whole purpose of balloting is for every one to have an equal chance at getting something. Demanding for your own outcome (the seats to ballot for) to be better than others, all while holding onto the same chance, just goes to show how narrow-minded and selfish you are.

You should've aborted right from the start if you think what you are going through can be considered a "woe".

Now imagine the below scenarios:

Scenario 1

The above case gets passed and moron above is allowed to use his one ballot to try for two seats.

A father comes along stating he's got quindecaplets (15 children at one go), and demands for his ballot to be worth 15 seats.

Scenario 2

Both twins get accepted for university education. Father of the twins demands that a single degree gets conferred to both twins, since they should be considered as a singularity.

Scenario 3

"I am having troubles finding a husband for my pair of female twins. Can the government allow my twins to marry the same single guy? This is because I am lazy to find another husband for the other twin... so I'd thought the government should just allow them to have the same man for their husbands."

China Hackers On The Loose

First off, let me just say that I have received emails from 2 friends who were using hotmail accounts.


Their hotmail accounts had been hacked into, and spam sent out to their contacts.


Here's what the email looks like:

If you go to the website as listed, you will not find a single physical address listed there. The phone numbers are listed as +86, which originates from China. Here are the details of the motherf**ker who registered the domain:

Registrant Contact:
wang tao (wangtao@hotmail.com)
+1.12017752711
Fax:
u.s.a
washington, WA 07322
US

A Chinese name! EXCELLENT! (But I wouldn't be surprised if that name were a fake name)

Next, take a look at this site: http://www.firetrust.com/en/blog/chris/the-bigger-list-of-chinese-scams It seems that "www dot okgshop dot com" has been around there ever since July 2007 or so. And til today, they have not been shut down yet.

Don't fall prey to whatever shit they're selling, they will take your money and not ship you the goods.

These Chinamen are the f**king scums of the earth, and a bloody disgrace to all Chinese in this world.

Humans and Hamsters

Sometimes there are common behavior exhibited by the two.

For example, when a person dies, it is not uncommon to see the one closest to the deceased crying out loud and still clinging to the dead body of the deceased, hoping for a miracle to happen.

The same goes for hamsters: You may see the other hamster(s) (if you have more than 1 kept together in the same cage), trying to nuzzle up to the dead hamster, and trying to nudge and lick the dead one in a futile attempt to wake it up.

While hamsters are unable to show any facial expressions, their behavior can be pretty obvious at times.

The Maid and The Boy

Passed by a maid walking back home with a boy, presumably the maid's employer's child.

The maid was carrying the boy's schoolbag.

The boy was larger in build than the maid.

Labels, Tags, Whatever You Call It

OK, as you can see, I've given this old blog a refreshing new look.

And to add to the joys of reading, I've begun to implement tagging of my old posts for your convenience.

So go ahead, spoil yourself.

3 4 Things That A Cat Never Eats (Reprise)

1.) Mooncake

2.) Watermelon

3.) Lotus Paste Bun

4.) Salted ham

Don't ask me why I know that they don't eat these stuff.

Update: Added item 4) on 15th Apr, 2008. Original date of post was 3rd Nov, 2006.

You Know Your Life Sucks When...

You're eating dinner on the way while walking back home from the bus stop.

To add insult to injury, the heavens then decide to literally "shower" you with love.

Turning Heads...

There are two ways to make heads turn on the road:

Method #1
Create an accident.

Drivers will slow down and turn their heads. Some may even roll down their windows to have a better look.

Method #2
This only works if you are a woman.

Grow some long hair and perm it with long curls.

Wear a red blouse, preferably made of silk or satin. Pair it off with a black skirt that hugs the ass so that the end result is a near-perfect hourglass figure.

Stand beside the road like you're waiting for a taxi or something.

Drivers will slow down and turn their heads.

I swear this works because I have witnessed it firsthand.

Wow!

First we have self-help motivational speakers telling you how to get-rich-quick.

Then we have self-help nutritionists telling you how to slim down fast.

Now, I present the ultimate self-help product that's one-of-a-kind (at least, for now)...

What Do You Do?

There are 5 scenarios presented below:

Scenario A
You treat your friend to a meal.

Your friend doesn't finish even half of the food ordered, saying that the food is disgusting.

Scenario B
You offer to pay for some stuff together with your stuff when you two go out buying some stuff. The money's not a lot - maybe less than $10 or so.

You think that (on good faith) your friend will return you the money soon, but somehow the issue of returning your money just seems to be the last priority for your friend, even a few weeks down the road.

Until it seems like you have to remind your friend constantly (like a loanshark) so that you can have your money back.

Scenario C
You go overseas for a short trip, and you think of buying some small items for your friend. You end up buying some local delicacy which should be pretty good enough as a gift for your friend.

So you bring it back and gives it to your friend. Your friend thanks you for the food.

Nothing else happens thereafter.

Scenario D
You meet your friend for drinks, and you offer to pay for the drinks for your friend. Your friend says the next meal/drink will be a treat to you in return.

The next meal/drink comes along. It never happens.

Scenario E
The above 4 scenarios refer to a single friend.

--------------------------------------------------

What do you do when you are faced with the above scenarios?

On The Bus #29... or The Auntie Bus Driver

Boarded a bus; the driver was a woman in her mid-40s.

Bus pulls into a bus stop a few stops down the road. Two women board the bus, asking for directions to go to Location X.

The bus driver gives the two women the directions to their destination. They were on the wrong side of the road (they should've boarded a bus from the bus stop opposite the road).

The two women gets off the bus, intending to cross the road to the bus stop opposite the road.

The bus driver holds them back, telling them that she will drive them to the next bus stop, from which the bus-stop opposite would be closer to walk to compared to the one opposite the current stop. The bus stop opposite the current stop was blocked by construction works, hence requiring a detour.

The two women stay on the bus beside the bus driver's seat.

Red light comes on at the next junction, and a conversation springs up between them, just like one from your local wet market.

The two women didn't pay for the one-stop ride, naturally. :)

Categories of... Bus Passengers

This was taken from some other place, so I decided to replicate this here in it's full content because the other site is no longer available:

1. The "Where shall I sit? Will it be here? Or maybe that seat over there? Or actually, wait... I think I better sit in that empty seat I just passed by..." Passenger

This category of passenger gets onto the bus, and shuffles their feet along the bus slowly, trying to find the most optimum seat for themselves as it they are making a marriage decision. The passengers behind are usually doing the coconut tree dance, trying to see why there is a delay in front.

Worst case is when these passengers make a U-turn to squeeze back past the crowd to get back at that empty seat they just walked past, causing the incoming flow of boarding passengers to be stopped temporarily.

2. The "I must wait until the bus stops completely and the bus captain opens the door before I can get up and start moving to the door" Passenger

This category of passenger causes massive delays at the bus stop they drop off at. The problem is made worse when there are more than one of these passengers alighting at the same bus stop. The passengers belonging to this category are almost always the ones who are seated.

While some may argue that "the bus is so full that I don't even have space to stand up" or "what if I fall down? the bus captain driving skills are so bad!", the truth is that they are just too darned lazy and comfortable in their seats to make the effort to move towards the exit beforehand.

If laziness is not the real reason, think about this: Why don't we see standing passengers moving towards the exit at the last minute? The fact that only seated passengers come under this category, already explains the reason why.

3. The "I must hide my ez-link card in some obscure position on me, then wait until last minute when I reach the exit, then I start patting my body and looking for my card in my bag" Passenger

This category of passenger also causes delays at bus-stops. The reason to why this is happening is also not known.

Sometimes these passengers also attempt to hide their cards in their big bags, and try to tap their cards in various positions at the card reader like a doctor using a stethoscope on a patient.

This type of passengers usually refuse to carry the cards in their hands, or put it in an easily-accessible pocket on their clothings or bags. They cause delays of at least 10 seconds guaranteed, regardless of any bus they take. This 10 seconds usually translates to a red light at the next junction, snowballing the waiting time for passengers at the next bus stop to a few minutes, which then snowballs again...

Combine with Category 2 passengers for maximum combo effect in delays to waiting time.

4. The "I must flag the bus at the last minute only when the bus is 20m away from the bus stop" or "I must press the bell at the last minute only when the bus is 20m away from the bus stop" Passenger

These passengers cause the bus captain to panic and swerve in and out of traffic dangerously.

Don't stop for the passenger? Get complained against by that single passenger for refusing to stop for passengers when the bus is not full yet.

Stop for the passenger? Get complained by the passengers on the bus for "dangerous driving".

The bus captain is at a losing end all the time.

The reasons why these passengers exist is really much unknown still, but it is obvious that they cause delays also.

5. The "I already flagged the bus from 50m away and the bus has already stopped for me, so I must catwalk slowly for the distance remaining to board the bus" Passenger

Again, this category of passenger causes delays also, sometimes as much as 30 seconds while everybody on the bus waits for that single person to walk slowly to board the bus.

These people assume that the bus captain stopping for them is a godsend; thus they must treasure the moment and feel like they are the king or queen for that 10 seconds of fame. Also, they feel that since the bus has already stopped for them, there is really no reason for them to jog or run up to the bus as quickly as possible.

And no, we are not talking about the elderly with weak legs or people using crutches.

6. The "My friend is sitting at the front of the bus so I must stand beside my friend and talk to my friend" Passenger

This category of passenger also causes massive delays, when other passengers board the bus, because the way to the big empty space at the rear of the bus is blocked by them.

This Category 6 passenger usually carries a big bag to make the problem worst. Other passengers have to slowly maneuver around the bag, adding to delays in waiting time due to the bottleneck created along the aisles of the bus.

--------------------------------------------------

Do YOU belong to any of the above cateogry of passenger? If yes, please leave me a comment. Oh, and also, please don't start to flame me by saying "stop being such a king - so full of yourself".

My answer is this: I have never had the luck to become any of the above 6 categories of bus passenger ever before. If you sit down, take a deep breath and count to 10 (because you're feeling insulted as I have described YOU perfectly), and think again - it doesn't take much effort to not be categorized under any of the above 6 categories.

Morning Run... #2

Another morning run. It was 7am or so, maybe before 8am.

Walking back home, there was an old man with a stack of cardboard boxes. On top of that was a trash bag full of empty aluminium cans. The cans fell over from the stack of cardboards, both of which added up to his height. I thought of going over to help him out, but he picked the trash bag up while holding onto the stack of cardboard all by himself.

Walked a bit further down, and there was this handicapped middle-aged man on the road. He wasn't in a car but was in a wheelchair. He only had one arm and one leg, and he was kicking himself forward, rolling forward in his wheelchair alongside the double yellow lines. I thought of going over to help him out, but he seemed to be managing well.

Walking yet a bit further down, I saw this old man on a old 70's bicycle. He was cycling along a jogging path, and the path was slightly upslope, maybe 5' or so. He was clenching his teeth gums, and trying very hard to cycle up the gentle slope. I thought of going over to help him out, but he seemed to be managing well.

I watched him reach the top of the slope, tired and breathless, as he started to use his legs to push himself on his bicycle forward.

All of this happened within a span of 30 minutes.

On The Bus #28... or The Sleeping Ah Beng

So there was this non-Chinese guy who looked to be in his late 20s who boarded the bus. He held a plastic bag in one hand, and both his arms were tattooed all the way up to the sleeves of his shirt.

So he sat two seats away from me on the bus.

He took out two sandwiches from his plastic bag (now empty), and began munching away at one on the bus. He held the other one in his other hand with the plastic bag. Halfway into chewing on his sandwich, his eyelids drooped and he fell asleep.

I watched him fall into a slumber, nodding away with the rhythm of the bumpy bus ride. His half-eaten sandwich was still in his hands.

Then he dropped his half-eaten sandwich onto the bus floor.

He jumped wide awake, and picked up the sandwich to put in his plastic bag. He resumed chewing the remainder of the first sandwich, and took another bite off the second sandwich.

While chewing halfway, his eyelids closed on him and he fell asleep again, holding the second half-eaten sandwich.

A bump somewhere along the road made him drop his second and last sandwich onto the bus floor.

He jumped wide awake again, and picked the sandwich off the floor and put it in his plastic bag.

He chewed up the rest of his sandwich and went to sleep again.