I am sitting down after a really busy firework show of my neurons with the load of work popping into my portion of realm from everywhere.
Today makes exactly 3 months since I came to Singapore.
What's interesting is that you would have had a different emotion there if I had placed it as 'Today makes exactly 3 months since I left Mauritius.'
Going somewhere always has a more positive connotation than leaving a place. People are comfortable with arrivals, more than departures. Cultures tend to celebrate births, but not deaths- unless if those deaths are of the evil emblems.
No, don't associate my date-memorizing skills with my gender. It has nothing to do with that. It's just an easily memorizable date given the 29th is Heshna's birth date.
It's 00:47 right now and I just alighted from the bus from campus to where I stay. This, for instance, is something I wish to share. Buses stop their services typically at 6 pm on our island.
I have come to talk to my Mom on a daily basis lately- it is not a 'new-ty', but there used to be days back home where we would not talk at all- either because of our busy schedules or, fatigue and moodiness. What has changed now is that I'm having a constant beeping of my Whatsapp notifications, signed: "Mm'n". The messages are always laden with emojis my Mom seems to have grown really fond of lately. If you got hold of my smartphone and opened up my Mom's conversation box you can expect to have every word accompanied with its emoji. For instance, the word 'alarm clock' would be followed by that little bell and the word 'bank' with that little building with a dollar sign.
Anyhow, in one of those almost minute-to-minute conversations at times, my Mom has a concern about the time I take the bus. I can't blame her. It's not in all countries that life starts after dusk time.
Transport is a banality here. An extreme banality. And it can get annoying. Annoying because however much a disciplined, systematic and planned a transport network can be- this includes PERFECT Bus Arrival Time Apps, Journey Planning App, cashless Bus Tickets and extremely hygienic, safe and secure buses, it all requires you to be equally as perfect, as robotic, as disciplined as the system!
Forget trying to halt the bus in the middle of the four-lane roads when you are running late! It's not something you can consider.
And kindness may seem so bought out of fear. There are fines for not eating or drinking in the buses. Fines for not giving up your place when a pregnant woman or elderly moves in or for taking the place of the children assigned seats.