Of buses and independence...
Growing up, I wasn't allowed to take public transport - not because my parents were snobbish, but because my grandparents were afraid of me getting kidnapped. I kid you not. I remember when I was say 8 years old and staying at Yimei Gardens, I snuck out of the house with cousin Sam (of course I told him I had permission) and took a short bus-ride to then "Kimisawa," now known as "Heartland Mall," where we got new engines for our Tamiya cars.. (I think it was some black and red turbo-charged one. I remember this so clearly because I had never, in my 9 years of life, felt so liberated. Sure, the old-school Merc E200 was comfortable - but the bus-ride represented pseudo-independence and a taste of the "forbidden fruit." Of course, when grandma found out I was missing, she panicked.. and that led to one hell of a beating for me. HAHAHA. But it was way worth it. My first real bus-ride. Woot!
I remember when I was in Primary 6, I had to beg mum to let me take the bus home to Chiltern and/or Junction 8 at Bishan - the former being 3 stops away from Maris, and the latter, 6 or 7. Well, she kinda relented - but Aunty Precy had to tag along. As the Hokkiens say, "Bo Hu Hei Ar Ho" (literal translation: no fish, prawn also can). I took the deal. In secondary school, we had Uncle Sayurti - our nose hair picking chaffeur who liked rubbing his thumb on the steering wheel. From home to school, school to home, home to tennis training or tuition, and wherever else, Sayurti would be my man. In JC, Dad pretty much ferried me around seeing that his office was near VJC, while mum fetched me to golf training in Jurong (Thanks Mum and Dad).
Before I knew it, I'd passed driving and gotten control of a car. Unless one has been dreaming, it's obvious that I barely took any public transport my whole life. Sadly. It's not something I'm proud of. But then again, it's nothing I'm ashamed of.
I guess my parents always believed in my abilities, but had doubts about whether I could cut it on my own. Could I survive on my own? Maldives was a first step for me. I mean, I'd been on holidays with friends, but the holidays were typical resort holidays. Maldives was different, we stayed on Prince Shakeeb's Island and had a ball of a time in non-resort settings (which I totally enjoyed, apart from the sunburn). So my parents thought... ah.. Daniel can tahan the "kampung" life... Not bad.. But it was only a week. Then came Myanmar - where we stayed in a hotel, but worked in slums. So my parents thought... pui kia making some progress here...
Then came Merrill HK, where I stayed in what my colleague termed a "ghetto" and had to survive on my own. I refused to let Mum and Dad follow me to HK, and just roughed it out myself. After HK, my parents thought... "wah... not bad..." Then came Europe where I probably took more public transportation in 2 months than I had my entire life. To digress a little, I remember having a conversation with Yongrui(who's probably less publically travelled than me) that went like this...
Me: Eh.. is Singapore MRT or Spanish Metro noisier?
YR: Singapore lah.. wah lao.. all the ah soh damn noisy!
Me: Oh... is it? I guess...
YR: Yah...
Me: Wait... how you know! Even I don't know!
Me/YR: *laughs*
So anyway, I survived HK and Europe. And then came Cornell. Up till now, I've never spent so much time away from home - and I had always wondered how I'd cope. Since April 21st 2008, I've only spent a cumulative 2 weeks in Singapore. My family joked about how I'd die without a maid and a car. But I guess I've proven them wrong. Haha...
The last few months in Cornell has led me to mature by a whole bunch. On top of that, my journey of self-discovery has revealed that I'm more independent and adaptable than I thought I'd be. I miss home and family, but I can get on with life. I don't have a car, but I can run and walk. I don't have an airticket, but I can drive to Boston. To many, it might seem like little, insignificant things. But to me, it's a big leap in the right direction. Hopefully I don't regress when I'm back in Singapore
Apart from public transport, I've learnt to prepare, cook and clean, help with laundry, ironing and packing. Things that I have, over the years, taken for granted. Sure, I'd like to have a maid help me out! But most importantly, my perspective on life has changed. And I think it's gonna stay changed for some time to come.
I remember when I was in Primary 6, I had to beg mum to let me take the bus home to Chiltern and/or Junction 8 at Bishan - the former being 3 stops away from Maris, and the latter, 6 or 7. Well, she kinda relented - but Aunty Precy had to tag along. As the Hokkiens say, "Bo Hu Hei Ar Ho" (literal translation: no fish, prawn also can). I took the deal. In secondary school, we had Uncle Sayurti - our nose hair picking chaffeur who liked rubbing his thumb on the steering wheel. From home to school, school to home, home to tennis training or tuition, and wherever else, Sayurti would be my man. In JC, Dad pretty much ferried me around seeing that his office was near VJC, while mum fetched me to golf training in Jurong (Thanks Mum and Dad).
Before I knew it, I'd passed driving and gotten control of a car. Unless one has been dreaming, it's obvious that I barely took any public transport my whole life. Sadly. It's not something I'm proud of. But then again, it's nothing I'm ashamed of.
I guess my parents always believed in my abilities, but had doubts about whether I could cut it on my own. Could I survive on my own? Maldives was a first step for me. I mean, I'd been on holidays with friends, but the holidays were typical resort holidays. Maldives was different, we stayed on Prince Shakeeb's Island and had a ball of a time in non-resort settings (which I totally enjoyed, apart from the sunburn). So my parents thought... ah.. Daniel can tahan the "kampung" life... Not bad.. But it was only a week. Then came Myanmar - where we stayed in a hotel, but worked in slums. So my parents thought... pui kia making some progress here...
Then came Merrill HK, where I stayed in what my colleague termed a "ghetto" and had to survive on my own. I refused to let Mum and Dad follow me to HK, and just roughed it out myself. After HK, my parents thought... "wah... not bad..." Then came Europe where I probably took more public transportation in 2 months than I had my entire life. To digress a little, I remember having a conversation with Yongrui(who's probably less publically travelled than me) that went like this...
Me: Eh.. is Singapore MRT or Spanish Metro noisier?
YR: Singapore lah.. wah lao.. all the ah soh damn noisy!
Me: Oh... is it? I guess...
YR: Yah...
Me: Wait... how you know! Even I don't know!
Me/YR: *laughs*
So anyway, I survived HK and Europe. And then came Cornell. Up till now, I've never spent so much time away from home - and I had always wondered how I'd cope. Since April 21st 2008, I've only spent a cumulative 2 weeks in Singapore. My family joked about how I'd die without a maid and a car. But I guess I've proven them wrong. Haha...
The last few months in Cornell has led me to mature by a whole bunch. On top of that, my journey of self-discovery has revealed that I'm more independent and adaptable than I thought I'd be. I miss home and family, but I can get on with life. I don't have a car, but I can run and walk. I don't have an airticket, but I can drive to Boston. To many, it might seem like little, insignificant things. But to me, it's a big leap in the right direction. Hopefully I don't regress when I'm back in Singapore
Apart from public transport, I've learnt to prepare, cook and clean, help with laundry, ironing and packing. Things that I have, over the years, taken for granted. Sure, I'd like to have a maid help me out! But most importantly, my perspective on life has changed. And I think it's gonna stay changed for some time to come.
Here's to SMRT and TIBS. Cheers.
posted by Daniel @ 11/23/2008 05:17:00 AM
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