Wednesday, February 8
ok i should totally be practising my scores on the bus cos thr's practise ltr and this score is still completely foreign up till today. But sth so intriguing has happened that i have absolutely no mood to look at taugays.
So i was running for my beloved 180 cos i saw it arriving from afar. And of course i waited for the road to clear and jay-ran across the first half of the road. But to my horror, the othr half of the road had oncoming vehicles as well!!! So i was like, okay nvm, i'll make it up by running faster for the bus ltr.
And then! Just as i thought the cars had passed and i cld chiong to the bus, this freaking car stopped right in front of my and the driver wound down the window! He talked to me in chinese but in english it was "why did u not use the traffic light to cross the road? Dont you know that u're supposed to use the traffic light to cross the road (over here i was stunned for awhile cos he said so many chinese words that meant JAYWALK, but then i realised that thr was no chinese word that i cld think of to represent 'jaywalk' anw)" he asked me like why did i HAVE to jaywalk. And here comes the drama part:
looking behind the car at my 180 with desperate eyes, i realised i had a few options-
1. Ask him "what has that got to do with u anw?!!" and then run off from behind his car, or maybe in front of his car just to spite him (this was actually the first line that popped into my mind actually. But THEN! I rmbed that if he was like some police or like some hotshot military or gvt person then i'll probably be dead. No hopes of going anywhr promising. HE HAD BETTER BE SOMEONE IMPT I SWEAR!)
2. Skip the question and just run off
3. Explain to him that i'm running for my bus and kindly ask him to drive off (aka get lost ;)) but then i think he'd spend 10 minutes telling me to leave the house earlier nxt time or like, even if i'm running to catch a bus also cannot jaywalk. And that would mean hell for me!
these 3 options flashed across my mind as i looked at the queue at the 180 line shortening. Yknw at the interchange, esp at the 180 line, it 's good cos u have some buffer time aft the bus arrives. Like u have time to run thr while the passengers in line fill up the bus. But the line was shortening at god-like speed! So i decided to do what was the best option: number 4. Looking at him with the O_O face and kept looking up at the bus. Yknw hoping that he'd get the hint that i was in a rush, i just let him talk. I think my stunned/blank/neutral face paid off, cos he just went (in chinese of course) "dont let me catch you again next time or i'll write down your name" and so i just went to catch my bus. i refused to defend myself SO YOU'D BETTER BE SOME BIG GUY IN THE COUNTRY OKAY!
i emerged from this entire incident quite puzzled actually.
okay but in my defense, i really have to say something abt it.
okay firstly, with the most childish argument; that man actually stopped his car in the middle of the freaking road! and it wasnt even like by the curb or wdv. it's like, right next to the road divider! it's like 2 wrongs do not make 1 right man. so, "don't let me catch you again next time or i'll write down your license plate number" and i'll also take a picture to catch u in the act. just a suggestion actually, maybe next time if u catch me again, that is IF you do, park your car somewhr legal first, then get off and chide me all you want thanks :) okay but i know pointing out his mistake doesnt justify mine.
so about this jaywalking thing. i understand that it is wrong and how everyone has to follow the traffic rules, cars and pedestrians alike, in order for our traffic system to run smoothly. and i can even see the train of thought whereby a good traffic system is one of the important keys to a successful country like how our roads are now. but the society, not just the Singapore one, but my living environment in general (yes it sounds more like vague than general but let's take it as general) has taught me that sometimes there are things that u have to reach for. okay it may be a too dramatic point coming from crossing the road without the use of the traffic light just to catch a bus, but that's really what i was thinking when i ran for the bus.
it's like: okay Germaine, if you make an effort and make a run for this bus, you will be able to catch it and can have a relaxed journey to work.
and i just went for it. missed opportunities are not a good thing to miss.
all i'm saying is that when your chance is more than an arm's length away. sometimes u have to take off your safety belt for awhile and get it.
and yes, if u're just an ordinary citizen, yes. THANKS FOR YOUR CONCERN.
laughed at 7:45:00 AM