Snippets As and When

True Encounters of Singapore Ghost Stories Part 1 - Yio Chu Kang Road Incident

2009-08-13T22:41:00.004+08:00

I was posted to Seletar Air Base in July 1974 after completing my Basic Military Training in Changi. Now what am I trying to recall... Let me see. Yes. We (my old friend ET and I got to know each other in April 1974 at Maju Camp) were on our way back to camp after watching the 9.30pm movie "Devil Woman" (Famous movie at that time) and we watched it during the Hungry Ghost Festival to make it more scary and exciting. We were riding our motorbikes along Yio Chu Kang Road back to camp just before the old Woodbridge Hospital (In case any one of you don't know what Woodbridge Hospital houses, yes, the hospital houses Mental Patients. It has now shifted and is known as IMH).

I was riding my Honda CB175 (Reg: AJ5755)with my good friend on his Yamaha 100cc (Reg: AN1512) following behind. Anyone interested in 4D are free to place their bets. You are guaranteed to lose the bet anyway because I have never strike these numbers. But to be kind to me, please contribute 20% of your winnings to me for giving you these numbers. Very soon, I will copyright it, just like the movie "Where got Ghost?" About 1 km before reaching Woodbridge Hospital, some sand got into my left eye. At that time it was close to midnight and the road was supposedly quite deserted. We are suppose to reach camp by 23:59. That is a common term in the army. I rubbed my eye with my left hand (of course you use the left hand dummy. You can't rub it with your right hand, comfortably) unaware of what was about to happen. Suddenly, I felt a very cold hand clamped around my forearm near the wrist and guide it to my motorbike's handle that I have momentarily release to rub my eye. At that moment, I got the shock of my life as I opened my eye and came face to face with an oncoming car overtaking another car with total disregard that he is driving in my lane. My quick reaction by swerving to the left to avoid a frontal collision have saved an otherwise fatal accident. Thanks to the invisible hand, I am still alive today.

Shivering from that incident, we proceeded straight to the traffic junction of Yio Chu Kang Road and Jalan Kayu. We are based in Seletar Airbase. As we stopped at the traffic lights, ET stopped beside me and asked me what the hell am I doing dreaming away when there's an oncoming car driving straight into your path and I was apparently doing nothing to avoid a collision. At that moment, goose pimples appear and I told my friend I will relate the whole story to him when we reached our barracks. Not only did the goose pimples appear, they appear every time I tell this story. I showed the goose pimples to my younger daughter as I told her the story yesterday night. (hey, I have already told you the story in the 2nd paragraph but I will be kind and repeat it again and inject something new).

After parking our motorbikes, we went straight to our barracks. Ok, I will start with the part when I started rubbing my left eye when some sand got in. It was precisely at that very moment when the car in the opposite direction driving at quite a fast speed and was trying to overtake another car. The eerie part is the ice cold hand that grab my forearm near the wrist. Now where did that cold forearm come from that saved my life. It was then that I remember it was probably my father. You see, I kept a Black & White photo of him with me for many many years in my wallet as a remembrance. And I can only make an educated guess that it was my father who save his son's life by guiding my hand to the motorbike's handle.

When I went home the next day, I related this story to my mother. She agreed that probably my father saved me at that moment and I must offer my prayers to him burn incense and thank him for saving my life. Mother told me the praying has to be done at that place where the incident happened to which I responded by saying if he is around us, he would be around anywhere. So we did the next best thing, pray at home where we have an altar.

Well, more stories next time when I can find the time provided I am not lazy writing.

Walking In The Rain

2009-02-04T23:05:00.006+08:00

It's been a long while since I last blog on 11 August 2008 and I can't wait to follow up with the next one. So here goes.

24 August 2008. I remembered that date. It was a Sunday afternoon after having a lunch of Hakka Tea Rice at a nearby coffeeshop with my wife at about 1pm. I had planned to go for a brisk walk. My walks on a Sunday usually last at least 2 hours and above. The distance would generally be between 10 to 15km, sometimes more, exceeding 20km. But on this special day, that is the 24 August 2008, I am writing something that I have not done for something like 40+ years. Yeah, come to think of it, it's a long time coming.

As we finished the lunch, I accompanied my wife to our block, handed her my hp and bidded her "bye bye, I am going for my long walk". I had with me a few dollars worth of coins, an EZ-link card and a bottle of water. Why do you think I bring this Easilink card along? It will come in handy when the need arises. Why do I bring the coins you may ask? Er, I am not exactly sure but I am sure it will do me some good too or help in one way or another.

Okay, my intended route would be to start from behind Church of St. Mary along Bt. Batok East Avenue 6, towards Old Jurong Road, turn right at junction of Upper Bt. Timah Road, Upper Bt. Timah Road, straight pass the junction of Bt. Timah Road and Clementi Road, pass Ngee Ann Polytechnic towards Holland Road junction, turn right into the Ulu Pandan Park Connector which comprises of passing through, er, under Clementi Avenue 6, under Commonwealth Avenue West, straight down towards Faber Gardens, towards AYE, cross the now disused railway track over the Pandan River, towards IBP, cross the road of Boon Lay Way, cross the road of Toh Guan Road East, over PIE, towards Bt. Batok Industrial Park, then pass Keming Primary School and home. My guess of the distance would be about 13 to 14 km.

The weather was somewhat unpredictable. I have been fooled a number of times into giving up the walks by the weather thinking it would rain which eventually did not. This time I am determined to sit, er, see it through, regardless of the weather outcome. Well, it is a bit windy with slight overcast and it was a good day for a walk. At least it not too hot considering that it's about 1.15pm in the afternoon.

The walk was quite ejoyable though with less than moderate vehicular traffic along the roads. How do I measure the distance? Well, generally, my pace is about 50mins/5km. So technically speaking, I will cover 1km/10mins. That should be a good gauge for the distance covered.

As I walked down Old Jurong Road, heaven seems to be playing the mind game with me again. These words seem to be playing in my mind. "You should give up the walk. Go accompany your wife at home." No, this time round I am determined to go ahead with the walk and not be fooled again by the weather. Usually, I can see monkeys in Bt Batok Nature Park, just before the junction of Old Jurong Road and Upper Bt Timah Road. No, no monkeys around today. I press on until I reached the junction of Hindhede Road (Bt. Timah Hill) and saw some people coming out from the road. Some are from the church while the others have probably just completed their hike in Bt Timah Hill. They don't seem bothered by the overcast sky. Well, why should they in any case since they have different objectives from me? Well, neither do I. Hee! Hee!. The only thing I dislike about walking the roads are there are traffic lights that I had to stop, look left, look right, look left again before I cross. Sometimes, I jaywalked (not a good idea though). (I am trying to change that lazy mentality, no not really lazy but impatient. If I am lazy, I wouldn't be doing this walk, right? However, if there is an overhead bridge, I will use it to cross over the other side of the road.) Meaning, I cross the road even when the Red man is still watching me. I disregard the angry look of the Red man when I crossed the roads. It's as if he's telling me that I should show some respect for him. Hah! There are no vehicles and you expect me to behave like a goon. Well, I read somewhere in a magazine some time ago in USA that Jacky Chan (I am sure there are many other like him) will wait for the Red man to turn Green before he crosses a road. Yes, even when the street is deserted. But then again he is Jacky Chan, I am "me" and that's the difference.

Now where was I? Oh yes, I passed Hindhede Road. You know, deep inside Hindhede Road, there used to be a granite quarry. It brought back fond memories during my younger days. I spent quite a number of years visiting that place back in 1976 and became a regular when I owned my first Mini Cooper in January 1977 and continue to do until around 1985. There was an old mechanic friend of my late mother whom I had known since 1964 or 1965 where he was a vehicle mechanic working for his brother who so happen to own the Mobil petrol station (next to the road called Pasir Panjang Hill, I think) along Pasir Panjang Road before the famous Haw Par Villa. Can't really recall the year but should be around that time. Ok ok ok, I will not talk about my passion for cars in this blog. This will be revealed in my subsequent postings of how I came to own the #16 car (I mean my 16th car not 16 cars) in my current possession, that is when I can find the time to write again. I must really push myself real hard before the weather changes its mood. I should know myself.

As I make my way up the inclined road towards the exit of PIE, some of our very distant relatives from millions of years ago were monkeying around, foraging the litter bins at the linkway and bus stop. I didn't have my hp with me (I handed it to my wife as if expecting the rain to come) for this occasion and could not take any pictures. I managed though to take one on top of the linkway during my other Sunday walks.

Now as I was walking towards the pedestrian light along Dunearn Road outside the previous Yeo Hiap Seng Factory, the sky started to turn unfriendly. The mean-looking clouds casting their displeasure from above. By now I should be walking about 20% of the intended distance. I pressed the pedestrian light button while waiting impatiently for it to turn green. Haiz... Couldn't wait. Since there are no vehicles coming down from the slope on my right I hasten my pace (Hey, this road is extremely wide and the Green Man do not wait for you, you know) and ran to the other pedestrian lights and waited for the traffic lights to change before crossing towards MacDonald's. I sensed the Red Man anger when I dashed across the crossing.

Traffic at that moment is light. Anyway, it's the least of my concern. Weather was cool and slightly windy, and it helps so the walk isn't that tiring. Tiring? No! Not at all. Actually, I was beginning to enjoy it. The road ascended towards Ngee Ann Polytechnic and down again passing a nursery. That's when the sky turn really gloomy. I can see that heaven is showing his displeasure at me for, probably not paying due respect at the initial warning by whipping a few lightning lashes across the greying sky followed by thunderous boom. Yeah, it was scary but not enough to discourage me into turn back.

I pressed on and reached the nursery as it start to drizzle a bit. I was in two minds by now. Should I continue with the journey or should I swallow my somewhat injured pride, cross the road and take TIBS bus service 61 home? Then again, it's only a small drizzle. It will past pretty soon and the weather will be fine and sunny again. That is a real Sagittarian thinking. Always optimistic. Yes, I managed to convince myself to press on. And I am so proud of the fact that I managed to convince myself and nobody could have done a better job at that than myself. And soon I reached the bus stop no. 74 opposite Clementi's Sunset Way. By then, I was already more than 75% wet. Okay! Since I am already 75% wet, I might as well get 100% wet. No, it's more that 100%. It's 110% wet. Now, why would I say 110%. Because when your whole body is thoroughly wet it's 100%. But when you are drenching wet with excess water dripping like mad it's 110%. So there.

There must have been many strange looks and stares from the motorists. "What the heck is that silly guy doing walking in the rain?" Hey, I miss walking in the rain since childhood ok and this is one way to relive it. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. I stood waiting for the traffic light's green man to wave me at the junction of Clementi Road and Holland Road. The green man beckoned and I cross quickly, sheepishly looking down at the road as I walked briskly knowing the many eyes form the motorists staring at me.

So I reached the Ulu Pandan PCN (Park Connector). The track is practically deserted. Of course it is deserted. Who in the world would want to come out and exercise in freaking weather? There's only one person that I know would do it and it can be none other but me. I continued with my walk, but Heavens seemed to demonstrate His unhappiness, striking the sky with flashes of lightning and booming thunders. It soon dawned on me that this is going to be very very risky and somewhat foolish if I continued walking in this inclement weather. But I have to continue until I find shelter. I can't just stop walking without looking for a shelter. And the shelter is quite a distance. No actually, it's only about 400m away. I then saw an overhead pedestrian bridge linking Clementi Housing Estate to Sunset Estate.

At that moment, Mother Nature beckons. And when Mother Nature beckons, you had better respond, appropriately and without questions. I reached the overhead bridge but found no consolation. This is not the spot that I wanted to communicate with Mother Nature. There would be prying eyes from people using the overhead bridge linking Clementi Housings to Sunset Estate. Remember, this is suppose to be my private moment with Mother Nature and I am sure she would want me to keep it that way. I risked heaven's displeasure and continue until I reached another overhead bridge about 450m down but it's not an overhead bridge. It's a flyover bridging Clementi Avenue 6. Looking around to ensure there were no prying eyes, I start to communicate with Mother Nature. Short, fast and much to my relief. The communication process lasted the full 45 secs and it was simply very enjoyable. My body shivered and I ended the small talk with Her. All of us have responded to Mother Nature before though in a magnitude of ways. We men, I belief communicated with Her more often than women do in her playground. You guys know what I meant do you? Let's put it this way, it's more convenient for men to communicate with her than for women. Period.

Following the completed communication process (The Communication Process from what I learnt is when one party sends a signal to another party and that the receiver receives it and respond correctly) with Mother Nature, I look for an exit to escape Heaven's unhappiness. The next point of exit is another flyover linking Commonwealth Avenue West. That is another, perhaps 400m away. I plodded (Appropriately termed as my shoes were filled with so much water that I could probably keep some guppies in it.) on in the heavy rain while the lightning continue with it's flashes in the sky. By now, I am feeling more threatened for my safety than I had earlier felt at the start of the walk. About 4 minutes later I reached the spot for my escape plan from the rain.

Looking at the slope beneath the viaduct of Commonwealth Avenue West, I made my way up the slope. Not a soul in sight. I took the right side of the viaduct and soon reach the top and main road. Man, they said "When it pours it pours" and it was pouring like nobody's business. By now I have lost my enthusiasm in the walk and simply want to get out of the rain. It's too dangerous to enjoy the rain with the lightning flashing across the sky. I don't mind the thunder. It seem's like "Stick and Stones may hurt my bones but words will never hurt me". Yes, thunder is nothing and all the noise from the thunder it won't hurt either. Lightning is another thing altogether, you know what I mean?

I reached the bus stop just before the traffic light junction of Commonwealth Avenue West/Boon Lay Way and Toh Tuck Avenue. The next thing that I wanted to do was to remove my "T" shirt and dry myself up. Now why would I do that? Don't forget I was drenched to the skin. There are 2 bus services that I can take to go home. TIBS Service 963 and 106. First to come off were my shoes and socks then my T. No, I didn't remove my bermudas.

Gave the socks a hard twist and out came about 20ml of water. When I gave the T a hard twist, how much water do you think will drip off the clothes? If my estimate is correct, it should be about 0.8 litre. Mind you it's not sweat (If it's sweat I would be most happy) but rain water. You don't think it's a lot of water right, do you? As I twisted the T, I kept a lookout for any of the 2 approaching bus. I quickly put on my socks and T before wearing my wet running shoes. Man, it really isn't as comfortable as when the attires were thoroughly wet. Mainly because I my top half semi-naked body have been exposed to the wind and this makes wearing the damp T and socks uncomfortable. And I am beginning to feel the cold. But what to do?

Just then, bus service 106 approached from afar. It's a long twin cabin type. I hailed the bus with my outstretched arms and started thinking; "Will the bus driver stop for me?" By now you should know why I brought the EZ-link card along. Like many people used to say and continue to say into th future, "You have to be prepared for a rainy day". A very appropriate saying I think.

The bus isn't crowded. Only about 20 or so commuters in it. I can see I am the centre of attraction at that moment. Many eyes were on me. Hey, you have never seen a wet man in a bus before? I got caught in the rain ok. But sheepishly, I moved to the centre of the bus where the link and pivot was. I couldn't bring myself to sit on the seats and wet it. Not a nice thing to do. So there I stood. It's only a few bus stops away. Let me see, we have one at the Ulu Pandan Incinerator, one opposite the SMRT Sub-Depot, one just before the traffic junction of Bt. Batok East Avenue 3 and Bt Batok East St. 25, one opposite Yusof Ishak Secondary School, one just after the Caltex petrol station and the next one is the destination. So all in, I am only 6bus stops away. After just one bus stop from where I boarded the bus, the strange eyes returned to normalcy. Thank goodness for that.

My stop next. I press the bell at we reached the traffic junction of Bt Batok East Ave 3 and Ave 6 to indicate my desire to alight. Got off the bus and used the overhead bridge to cross to the other side.

There is a bakery and I intend to buy some bread home. The bread were good. Soft and tasty. Took 2 loaves. One a sugar sprinkled twisted loaf and another a plain pandan bread comprising 6 square pieces. As I was about to dig out the coins I had in my pocket to pay for the bread, I overheard one of the bakery aunty complaining about her wet shoes. Yes, I know the aunty as I am a regular customer. "Aiyo aunty, you only got your shoes wet and still complain, look at me, I am wet from the very top to the bottom, including my underwear." We all had a good laugh.

I quickly make my way home. You can imagine what my wife said when she saw me drenched to the skin. "Huh! Heavy rain and you still walk in the rain. You are really mad and had me worried with the lightning and thunder out there. A warm shower sort of made me feel sleepy and I did take the afternoon nap but not before I have my teabreak of the bread I just bought.

Actually, I thoroughly enjoyed it (the walk in the rain) very much. Have not played in the rain since childhood way back in the 1960's.

Note: The pictures that I posted were taken a few weeks after the "Walk In The Rain". I do not have my hp with me during that walk remember?

Cheers!

The Day Has Come - My Trusty CRV Won't Start

2008-08-11T16:42:00.008+08:00

Three or four weeks ago, I have been preparing for this day. To compound it, I did not drive it over the last weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

Yep, this morning I was on my way down to work from home with wife to the MSCP (Multi-Storey Car Park). I parked the car next to the RC column on the driver side. Carrying some foodstuffs intended for my Parents-in-laws from the Hungry Ghost Festival brought back by me and wife, I activated the remote control on the car key to open the door. I have to enter from the front passenger side as I parked it close to the RC column. Once I moved to the driver's seat, my wife followed and board the car. I inserted the key into the ignition and gave it a crank. My God! The engine turned ever so slowly and immediately told wife that the day of reckoning had arrived.

I tried again to turn the key to start the engine but it got worse until the engine refused to turn. Ok, that's it. I am starting to perspire. And got wife to ask if she have Orix Ashokan's hp. No, she didn't have it with her and have to call her office to find out. I finally got his number from wife's boss' wife. (Quite confusing do you find it) ;-)

I called Ashokan and asked if he still remember me.
"I am Puan."
"Yes sir, after hearing your voice, I remember you. How can I help you sir?"
"Alamak, same problem as the last time I called you back in November 2005." "Car can't start again. I think battery is flat already."
"Is it your Cefiro sir?"
"No lah! Cefiro is history."
"You changed car already sir?"
"Yes, changed to SUV. Now already 2 years plus."
"What car is it sir? RAV4?"
"No, Honda CRV."

He next asked for my location and hp number. I gave him the information and asked him how long will it take for his mechanic to arrive. You see, this workshop is just 1km from my home. The service provided by Orix is reasonably good. The only reason why I did not go back to them (Orix) for car servicing is purely because my car is still under the 3 years warranty and I do not want anything untoward to happen to it should I send it for servicing to an unauthorised workshop (Orix is not authorised by Kah Motor who is the agent for Honda Cars). By the way, Orix is a subsidiary of Tan Chong Motors of whom is the authorised agent for Nissan Cars.

"Sir, the mechanic just arrived. Can you wait for about 10 minutes? Which floor is your car parked?"
"No problem. It's parked at the upper level. Car park only have 2 levels."

True to his words, the van came in 10 minutes. I waved to the mechanic and pointed to him where my car was.

"I thought it's RAV4?"
"No, it's a CRV. I told Ashokan it's a CRV when he asked if it's a RAV4. Never mind then. Important thing is the battery you brought is suitable for my car."
"Ya, it's suitable."
"How much is the battery by the way?"
"I won't be charging you for before or after working hours (He got to be joking, I called him after 8.30am) and no transportation fees. Normally, there would be a surcharge for such service." (I must be eternally grateful to him for that and I am beginning to suspect that this is not an honest guy but what to do?)
"Ya, thanks for coming and also for not charging me the extras. I have known Ashokan for many years already so I can trust him on the recommendations. And what is the battery cost again?"
Doing a somewhat puzzling calculation, he put forth a figure I find a bit on the high side.
"Er, $149.80 GST absorbed (included he meant but absorbed seems like a discount. Anyway, if GST is absorbed, how come there is this odd $9.80. I gave him the benefit of the most doubts.)
"Eh, battery prices went up quite a lot already?"
"Ya, by about 20-30% but what to do we cannot anyhow charge higher price because of competition."
"Last time when I change my Cefiro's battery in 2005, it costs me about $105.00" (That battery is definitely much bigger than this puny one. And with 30% increase it should be about $136.50 for the big one not this smaller one but never mind. He did his best and was here right on time and within 10 minutes.)

The battery he brought along seems a bit smaller than the one in my car. So naturally I asked him if this battery is suitable for my car.

"No problem. It's the correct one, except that the connecting terminals are a bit smaller than normal."
"You need an adapter to make it thicker so that the terminals can be tightened, right?"
"Yes, wah! you know a bit about cars do you?"
"A little bit but not too much because I have seen these stuffs before in tyre shops. Can you also check if the battery is no longer charging or is it still ok?" (Don't have the heart to tell him I know more than a bit about cars as I have driving for more than 32 years now and if I had been riding, it would have been 34 years. Sometimes in life we have to act stupid so people are more willing to help you. It boosts their ego and pride when you compliment them and they in turn will offer a better service.)

He went about doing his stuffs. He placed the new battery on the floor nearest my car bonnet. Using the jump start cable, he asked me to start the car. I got into the car, cranked the engine and it immediately jump to life. Disconnecting the battery terminals, he told me that Live first followed by the Negative.

"Other mechanics would simply change the battery without going through the hassle I just did." (Had me wondering what hassle was he talking about? To me it's just a routine and he made it seems like a big deal.) "You see, other mechanics would not bother to jump start the car and would simply disconnect the faulty battery and replace the new one and all your electronics like radio and clock would have to be re-adjusted because after disconnecting the battery, there is no backup power to save the programmed radio channels and the clock."
"Orh, thank you for the trouble."
"This way, all your programmed radio channels and clock will still be as per originally installed."
"Could you check if the faulty is indeed faulty and how do you know if it is faulty?"

He whipped out a volt meter and connect the clip to the old battery and showed me how the meter works.

"You see the Green and Yellow bar on the meter. When I connect the clip to the faulty battery, it will stop at the Green bar but once I activate this button (which is to simulate the switching on of the electrical gadgets, the needle will drop to the Red bar indicating that it is not charging." (Hey, this battery wasn't even connected to the car, so how can it charge. But never mind, the battery is already more than 2 years old and is due for replacement.)
"You know, my previous record of using a battery was 4 years before it's replaced. That was in the mid to late 1970's to early 1980's. And I did not use battery water but rather rain water to top up." (Yes, I shocked him with that statement but it's nothing but the truth) "I only use rain water that did not come into contact with any metal and collected with plastic pail."

So the job is completed and I paid him the $150.00 in cash. He issued an official receipt with no revenue stamp and told me that this receipt will act as an official warranty for 6 months.

"If the battery is faulty after 6 months but within 1 year, the replacement cost would be 50% what I had paid. Please don't lose the receipt. Do you need an original receipt as in Invoice?"
"It's ok. I can live with this receipt."

He left in a jiffy. As for me, I got an errand to run. Send the Hungry Ghost prayer's stuff to my in-laws in Jurong East on my way to office.

Just as I moved off, I was winding up the electric window on the driver's side, I found that the window would not automatically wind up all the way. I have to hold on to the button to activate it. Ditto for winding down. I fiddled around with the A/C button and the automatic winding up and down button is working again. Phew! Next thing I knew was all the pre-programmed channels in the radio was lost and I have to start all over again. I managed to adjust the time but could not do the same for the radio channels. Now what was it that this mechanic said? That all the pre-programmed channels would remain intact. Maybe it was because I switch off the radio when I failed to get the car started and he didn't realise it and I forgot about it. Oh well.

Dreams - Escape from The Phillipines

2008-08-09T18:51:00.004+08:00

This dream appeared on 7 August 2008 close to 5.30am.

I was walking along a somewhat dark and narrow lane somewhere in The Phillipines at night (Have no idea what the time was) when I came across a woman (seems to be about age 30) standing by the roadside at the cross junction looking a bit lost. As I approached her, I found her to be distressed and asked her what the problem was and if she needed any help. She didn't say anything except used my shoulder to cry on. The next thing I knew I was accompanying her home just to be sure she is safe. Now why would I want to do that. I don't even know her, she is not even related to me in any way. Probably it's just my nature of trying to protect the weaker sex and trying to do my part to help her in any way that I can.

Upon reaching her village, I was confronted by a 40+ years old man and was accused of taking sexual advantage of the woman. What? I don't even know her, I met her at the roadside of the junction, saw her in distress, offered my help, sent her home, and now I am accused of taking sexual advantage of her. What was about to happen next was unimaginable. He threatened to kill me unless I have sex with that woman just to prove that I had taken sexual advantage of her. Hey, it didn't sound logical. I didn't touch her, have no sexual desire on her, and now I am asked to perform a sex on her. Oh, come on. This is obviously a crazy country. However, under the death threat, I have no option but to comply.

Just as the woman stripped herself naked and exposed her vagina and I was about to proceed with performing the sexual intercourse when the face of the woman started to switch between the man who accused me of taking sexual advantage and the woman. Now that's starting to appear like BLACK MAGIC. I was terrified and wanted out of this village. As they were somewhat in a trance, I quickly make my escape and ran like there's no tomorrow.

Panting to catch my breath, I reached the waterfront of an unknown place. There were many boulders, each spaced about 2 metres apart in the sea. Without second thoughts, I leaped and jumped from boulders to boulders and managed to reach a high wall. In a fantasy dream, things happen pretty quickly. The wall was about 30 metres high. The wind was strong along the seaside. Black soots can be seen swirling round whenever the wind blows. Where the soot came from I am not sure. Black magic perhaps. There were boulders of varying sizes that reaches up to the top of the wall. I made my way up cautiously, with each step I took I look downed and man, it was pretty dangerous. One slip and I am a dead man in the sea.

I finally reached the top of the wall gasping for breath. I look down from the wall and there were people, civilised people in uniformed. The jump down from the wall is about 3 metres. That's not a problem, I can do it. I jumped and landed on the deck. Yes, you did not read it wrongly, it was a deck, a metal deck.

The next thing I knew, I saw policemen walking around the deck. I approached one of the police officer and asked where we were. He told me I am now on board a Hoovercraft and they are from the Singapore Marine Police and in Singapore. How did this happen? I thought I was in The Phillipines. I mean, you mean, you won't belief it do you? Well, neither did I. Officer, you mean I jumped from boulders to boulders all the way from The Phillipines to the Singapore shoreline. WOW!

I related my story to the officer and how I escape from the village in The Phillipines. He assured that I am now safely on home soil and in safe hands. The hoovercraft started and move towards inland.

Phew! That was close, even though it was only a dream. Talk about silly fantasy dreams. Now what was this dream try to tell me.

According to my dream book:
1) To escape from some danger implies a speedy recovery from what will threaten to
be a serious illness.
2) To dream of police is good luck.
3) To stop and ask a police officer for directions portends a visit to wealthy
friends.

Come to think of it, it may hold some truth in the first interpretation. Three or four days ago, my left arm and head were numb and had that on/off tingling feeling. I am not sure why but after this dream, the symtoms mysteriously disappeared. I told my wife about the dream but not the numbness and tingling feeling I experienced 3 or 4 days ago. Touch wood.

I am also unsure about the good luck part but I sure hope it's true.

Dreams - It's My Mother Again

2008-08-04T21:18:00.007+08:00

It never cease to amaze me. Every year, without fail on nearing the month of the Hungry Ghost Festival, my mother would appear in my dreams. And I am the only one in the family who dream of my mother the most and can only make an educated guess that it's all because I spent the most time with her when she was around, from childhood (age 8 or 9 to 41) to the day she passed away. This year she appeared twice so far. I can't remember what was the first dream. Maybe because it's not that lucid but the dream on 31 July 2008 was a little lasting and I will try to recall to the best of my ability.

Now what was I doing lying in a 6'x3'x2' deep trench wrapped in blanket under the shelter of an attap hut. Shocking as it was, I do find comfort in the fact that as I woke up from my sleep (dream sleep not the real sleep), my mother was sitting right beside me (She passed away in 16 July 1996, I think) as if protecting me from the snake and making sure that it do not advance towards me. In a state of daze from waking up, the next thing I knew I came face to face with it, and a bright blue one at that. This snake just had its fill of a meal judging from the look of its bulging body. Maybe a small animal like a chicken or something that size. Surprisingly, I was not afraid and stared at the snake right in its face. Then I picked a small stick from the ground and broke it to about 5" length. I took the stick and usng my outstretched right leg to shield my face in case it decided to launch an attack at me. However, I do know for a fact that a well fed snake would be too lazy to even move a muscle to crawl away from its enemy or humans. I next thrust the stick up its upper jaws then the lower jaws (do snakes have jaws anyway, never mind). Now why would I want to do that. Nothing better to do, I guess. Just plain curious. Yes, you guessed it, I am trying to find out what was the meal it just ate. With its mouth now wide open (5"), I peer down its throat to catch a glimpse of its victim. Nope, can't see a thing and decided to let it go on its way.

I turned around and saw my 3rd sister walking towards us. Now just outside the hut was a somewhat dead tree that had 2' sunken earth around it. As 3rd sister was walking towards the tree, there were large bees flying around the tree. Well, bees were not that dangerous I guess. What I noticed were large hornets buzzing around at the base of the tree's sunken earth. I immediately signalled to 3rd sister and asked her to move away from the tree because of the potential danger from the hornets.

The next thing I knew, I woke up from my sleep to answer nature's call.

VERY CLOSE SHAVE

2008-05-21T21:15:00.003+08:00

For a few days, I have been feeling uneasy. Family problems.... as usual. I prefer to keep it to myself and I always belief there will be sunshine after the storm. The thing is this storm lasts longer than sunshine. Haiz.... :-( But never mind, life goes on. Trivial matters do not bother me for long. It's better to be forgiving and lead a happier life rather than dwell on the negatives. But I lived to tell the experience.

Anyway, back to last Thursday 15 May'08. I was running an errand for my company to collect a 6-figure cheque at Keppel Tower (KT). As KT is situated just inside the CBD, I decided to do my bit in saving some money for the company (I would most of the time do my bit in saving for companies that I work for) and park at the open carpark at the TG Pagar Railway Station. It's only a 5 minutes walk so no problem. I reached the lobby and register as a visitor. As the lift reached 27th storey, I walked out straight to the counter and informed the receptionist that I am here to collect a cheque. In less than 5 minutes, the errand was completed and I headed back to my car.

Honestly, my eyes weren't as good recently and things are a little blur despite the lasik being done on 24 Jan'08. I guess it could be due to stress. As I drove out from the carpark and make a loop at Cantonment Road back towards Keppel Road in the direction of Jurong, my mind was drifting and I wasn't really concentrating on the road (Too much things in my head). From a distance my subconscious mind saw a 20' lorry signalling to turn right, into the railway station. I was driving at about 75km/h at that time I guess and was on the other most lane (lane 1), where the lorry was intending to make the turn. My mind was thinking that the lorry had already made the turn.

As I approached the spot where the lorry turned, I felt this chill down my spine. To my horror, the lorry is still there with its butt protruding out to lane 1 about 4 feet. As I whizzed past the lorry corner tail barely more than 3 - 4 inches from my car's front right pillar and the exact height as where my head was, I was badly shaken and realised that I had just cheated death by a mere 3 - 4 inches. Can you imagine if I had really hit the lorry's tail at 75km/h? I shudder to think of the consequence.

After that incident, my journey back to office was one of counting the blessings as I drive and related the incident to my wife. As usual, she would ask me to go to the temple and pray for safety. Honestly, I only pray for peace and good health most of the time when I visited the temples. No, I bluff, once in a while I would ask the Gods how come I have not strike lottery for years already and ask HIM to bless me with some wealth but it never came. And that's because I have stopped buying 4-D for close to 2 years already. Ok, nowadays I buy only TOTO (on and off). Though the odds of winning is far greater, at least it's cheaper. The tip is to buy only towards the end of the day when you know the day is pleasant.

Well, this was one experience I would like to forget. Bless me.

My Dream Bike - If Looks Can Kill

2008-04-29T22:53:00.010+08:00

I have this posted in Vox some 9 months ago, and would like to post it here on this blog for more people to see this handsome machine.

My dream bike, it will remain a dream. The Yamaha Vmax.

If looks can kill, this is the one. By the time it hits the road, I would probably be near 55. It would be too heavy for me to handle. My guess is it probably weigh something like 400kgs. I drop hints to dear wife about getting one of these mean machines, albeit a used one. The straight faced answer is, NO! Haiz....

At the moment, there is no technical data on this handsome killer machine. If it stops at any traffic lights, I think many big bike would quiver and shake with fear of being eaten alive (not literally though). I have not done any reading from the internet on the older version but do belief that this monster can probably do the century sprint in less than 3.5 secs.

I saw one on the road some 3 to 4 months ago but the condition is quite dismal I must say and the colour is Black (I don't like Black Bikes because they don't stand out. Prefer Yellow though). Saw it being advertised for sale some 10 months ago but the machine has been about 15 years now. But let me tell you, this old thing looks just as mean. The one shown above is a prototype in a 2005 exhibition in Tokyo that has not gone into the final design and engineering stage. Yamaha is looking for more feedbacks from the public to further improve it's current looks and performance. Three years have passed. I am not sure if it has gone into production.

Wow! I have already fallen in love with the one above at first sight, and Yamaha is still not satisfied with the looks. Well, like I said, I will not be able to ride it and can only drool over it. Maybe in the foreseeable future, dear wife may change her mind, maybe...

DREAMS - Fantasy or Danger

2008-04-23T18:23:00.006+08:00

Do you belief in dreams, fantasy dreams? Well, this morning I had an unbelievable dream. I dreamt of not 1 but 2 people who were already dead. One is my mother and the other my old neighbourhood friend. Ok, before I go on about this dead people stuffs, let me try to recall as much as I can about this special dream.

Ever since childhood, I have been wishing and fantasying about being able to fly. That I did in the dream this morning. In the dream, I belief I am in my early 20's. I started with flying slowly around slowly in my old estate at Margaret Drive (I dreamt about this old place many times before, fond childhood memories) just outside Block 11, hovering at probably 4th or 5th storey. I was enjoying the light floating feeling. All I need to do was simply move my arms as if I am swimming and I will float along. No I can't do high speed flying or diving. Have not mastered the skill of an eagle or hawk chasing its prey yet. Then 2 boys saw me hovering outside their flat and asked if I was doing a magic performance, like David Copperfield. Ha! ha! ha! That was cool. Me David Copperfield.:-) Told them no, I am flying and floating for real. They were amazed (so am I) as I continued my way to my block at Block 10. I flew to the roof and walk around a bit and found a golfing glove. (I mean a glove not a pair because golfers use only 1 glove on the left hand for right handed golfers and right for left handed golfers). Strange right, well, wait until you pick up the game and you will find stranger things happening.

Anyway, back to my dream. I picked up the glove, it was quite new. How on earth did it ended up on the roof? Are there others like me who can fly? Probably a bird (crow maybe) stole it from a golfer but never mind that. I flew down to Block 11 and met a few old neighbourhood friends and chitchat with them. Told them I could fly and hover like a bird. They wouldn't belief and asked me to do a demo. Ok guys, stand back please and I proceeded to show-off a bit. I flap my arms and voila, I am hovering in a stationery gravity defying position. My friends watched with disbelief. How did I do it? Told them I am just as puzzled how I acquired this ability. Then I told one of them to pass the golfing to Hock Seng (he passed away some time in the late 80's or early 90's at age about 30+ I was told, exactly which year I am not sure and hey he don't golf so why am I asking one of my friends to pass it to him). Well, strange things always happen in dreams anyway. No explanations needed. After that I walk home to Block 10 #02-263.

As I reached the staircase at the letter box, the floor was wet as my 1st storey neighbour was washing it. It was full of soap bubbles and very slippery. To avoid getting my feet wet, I wave my arms and hover towards the letter box and open it to retrieve some letters. My neighbour watched in amazement but did not asked how I do it. I then hovered up to flat at 2nd storey. As I opened the door, my mother (she passed on in 1996, my father passed on in 1964 and I am now an orphan, sob! sob!) was standing inside doing some household chores with my eldest sister. Mother is still driving a lorry judging from the plank (for people to sit on in the lorry) placed outside the rear door. Hey, there are 2 doors leading to my flat, I didn't know that. One is the main entrance and the other from the back, I realised. I told my mother that I can now fly for no apparent reason and the reply was "don't be silly, how can you fly?" From that reply, I demostrated to her my hovering ability. And boy was she surprised.

And then, I awoke from my fantasy dream. This dream seems so real and vivid to the point of being dangerous. Why did I say dangerous you may ask? Can you imagine, I sat on the bed wondering if I can really fly. You know, crazy thoughts ran through my head and something inside me telling me to try leaping from my 14th storey flat and fly for real. Now I was seriously fighting this urge to jump and that it seems utterly ridiculous that people can fly just by flapping the arms, particularly me. It is disturbing, very disturbing and it took me quite a while to realise this fantasy dream can turn out to be a nightmare, knowing very well I managed to ward off the urge (or evil within you may say) to fly from my flat. Whew! Very close call, indeed!

The Victim - Road To Recovery

2007-12-13T22:41:00.000+08:00

Looking back, it's been close to 6 weeks since I was nearly assassinated. I am making recovery but real slow. What puzzles me was how come my wound took so long to heal. Worry! Worry! Worry!. Wife start to show concern and began nagging me to see doctor again. The photo will send a reminder to me that all is not well.

So, off to the doctor (Dr. Choo) I went on 12 December 2007. And my birthday at that. I reached the clinic at about 4.35pm as this hour has the least crowd. So, I am the only patient there. Registered and in less than 3 minutes my name was called. This doctor has been my good friend ever since I visited him around March 2004. He will without fail always asked about how my 2 daughters are doing. He even has this conversation recorded in my patient card, just so that he can remember where and what we last spoke. "So, what bring you here today?" "Two problems" "Tell me"

"How come my left leg's wound since I last visited you on 2 Nov'07 has not healed?" "What did you do to your leg?" "Huh! I am asking you how come and you asked me what did I do to my leg?" "Ok, what did you use to clean your wound?" "As you recommended, Dettol." "Did you mixed it with water before use?" "Of course" "What is the proportion?" "Erh, 1:3 or 1:4" "You siow ah, that is too strong. No wonder there's so much rashes on your skin. Minimum ratio should be 1:10" (I just checked the recommendation for nursing wound on Dettol, it says 1:20. So doctor is also wrong but I am more wrong lor.) "But how come my wound stopped closing up and it's very itchy around the edges, at the calf and oozing transparent fluid? Is it because I have diabetes?" "How did you clean your wound?" "I use cotton dipped in Dettol and somewhat scrub the edges and centre portion where the dead skin is. Meaning, I cleaned away the dead skin literally." "Wah! Who recommended you to clean that way?" "Erh, Dr. Puan." He paused for a while as if to search for the Dr. Puan and finally realise that I was joking with him and remarked, "So you are your own doctor. You are not supposed to remove the dead skin." It is there to protect the wound. If you cleaned it away, your wound will open up again. What is there to protect it? Aiyo, you ah! I will give you some cleaning lotion to clean the wound. Remember, no scrubbing, just dab. Dilute it to 1:9 ratio ok" "Orh"

"What's your next problem?" "Erh, how come my wrist for nothing can sprain? I didn't even carry anything heavy. Look at the size of it." "You still climbing scaffold and roofs in Sentosa?" Wah! good memory. Actually, this was also recorded in my patient's card. "Got lah! But nowadays, a bit grounded so stay in office most of the time. But it only happened yesterday 11 Dec'07". "And you sit in the office armchair most of the time." "Yah, but what has that got to do with it?" "Hellooo! You are no longer young you know. Already 52. So when we reached this age, many funny things can happen when you least expect it during the younger days. And sometimes when you get up from your chair, you place your palm on the armrest and lift your body up, that's where you sprain your wrist because it's at a difficult bent position. Be careful next time when getting up from your office chair." "Anything to apply on the swell?" "No need to apply anything lah! Just rest your wrist a few days and it should be back to normal. You need MC?" "No need. Still under probation. If I take the MC it would be considered No-Pay-Leave. Further, I also have to bear the medical fees myself hor." "Ok, I will still give you the MC. If need to use it then use it. I will prescribe you the cleaning lotion, cream for the wound and tablets for the itch. Take care ok. Don't like to see you visiting me even though I got business." "Ok, thanks Doctor." I went out of the room and waited to collect the medicine. The fee: $26. Very reasonable fee, I must say.

The Victim - Making Progress

2007-11-25T16:18:00.000+08:00

So, it's the 25th day of my injury after the attack from the Silent Assassin. Let's see how I am faring.

It's not as gory as the 1st day. I am going about things as normally as I can though I still can't bend my left knee at more than 80deg. Try to bend further and the wound would open up and the pain is quite unbearable. Unbearable in my standard is probably extremely unbearable to some people. You see, my threshold to pain is quite high. To reach 90% recovery will probably require another 4 weeks or so, according to the unlicenced Dr. Puan (me). However, I am grateful to HDB that I can still do my private business despite the apparent temporary handicap. Why, you asked? Now let's say if the current toilets are still based on the squat type in the old days and you get what I mean.

I can now wash my car on Sundays but have to wear long pants to prevent the car shampoo from getting into contact with the open wound. It's still difficult though to climb my car to wash the roof. Can't reach it without standing on top of the rear tyres. I have to be extra cautious and conscious when getting down to the floor and not forget that my left knee can't bend more than 80deg. So when getting down, I must always remember to lower my left leg first. Failing that would mean unimaginable disaster. Because if my right leg is lowered to the floor first it would be too late to withdraw it as the pain on the left knee would be so unbearable that I may possibly let go of the grip and fall to the floor and result in a more serious injury. Touch wood, touch wood, touch wood... pwee, pwee, pwee...

On the work front, I am able to go about things normally as my current work do not require me to do much physical movements like climbing scaffolds and roofs though last Thursday (15 Nov'07) morning was a challenge. I had an appointment with a contractor (he is now my good friend from the time I know him in 1999 when working for my previous company. I am talking about you, PK if you are reading my blog) to check on my company's factory roof leaks at Tuas Ave 2. I have to climb up with them to check the leak (not necessary to do so but out of a sense of responsibility) and that is a major problem. I let the 3 of them climb first and follow later. One step at a time. Meaning, right leg up first and left leg follow but stepping on where the right leg rests and repeat with right leg and the sequence follows the rest of the way up. It's real dangerous seeing the strain and pain on the left knee. Climbing down is the reverse sequence. Left leg down first then the right. I tried to be smart seeing how slow it was to do the way I did so I do it the way normal people does. Left right left and I broke into a cold sweat because of the excruciating pain. I quickly reverted to the safe way.

Meanwhile, me and my big mouth. I suggested to my old friend (Lau) and ex-boss (Goh) (both are my ex-bosses) to have a round of golf next Saturday (1 Dec'07) afternoon in JB during lunch on 22 Nov'07. Both have no problem. Now it's for me to arrange and look for another good friend (he's also my good friend by the way) of my ex-boss to make it foursome. I am now considering if I should go ahead with the game and should I disappoint my good friends. I hope ego don't have the better of me. Actually, I should forget about ego. There's really nothing to lose face because I am my best judge. Health or face? We shall see by Tuesday (27 Nov'07) for my ultimate decision.

Cheers.

The Silent Assasin

2007-11-05T23:01:00.000+08:00

I woke up at 5.30am for my regular jog. After stretching for about 5 minutes, I took the lift down and walk along the linkway from Blk 286 towards Bt Batok East Ave 6. It was probably about 5.45am as I reached the pavement. I was hesitant and wasn't sure if I should do the routine 5km run towards Bt Timah Rd. It was getting real windy and the sky was somewhat darkening.

I opted for a shorter route (about 3.5km I guess) to avoid getting caught in the rain and jog the other way round towards Bt Batok East Ave 3 towards the direction of the PIE and turn right into Bt Batok Street 23. It was an enjoyable morning jog. The weather was cool and windy. As I approached the workers dormitory opposite Vicom Inspection Centre, many Bangladeshi workers were already lining the road for the bus and trucks to pick them. A few were smoking away while waiting for the bus/truck. I thought, how can they afford to smoke? A packet of cigarettes costs about $10 to $11. Their daily wage probably about $22/day without OT. But never mind, MYOB I thought to myself.

As I reached Bt Batok Industrial Park, I looked up to the Heaven and it seemed somewhat uncompromising. Still I continue my jog and soon reached the main road of Bt Batok Ave 6. I turned left and continue down the pavement towards the direction of the swimming pool. I thought to myself, "Shall I jog further down to make it 5km instead of the targetted 3.5km. The sky seems to be clearing up." "Ok, I will jog further down toward the MRT viaduct, turn right towards Bt Batok Ave 1 and right again towards Bt Batok Central, straight down towards Bt Batok Ave 2 and stop at where I usually stop, outside Bt Batok Nature Reserve." That should do. Bt then I have reached the bus stop where I usually let my wife off for work.

THE SILENT ASSASSIN
As I passed the bus stop (at time it was about 5.55am), about 25 metres away, there was this lamp post on my right that stood quietly watching over me and the road with its light on. No sooner as I passed it I tripped over something. OMG, I lost complete balance as I fell forward, struggling with my now jellied legs to mainain my balance. I soon realised that I trip over the tree root that was hiding right smack under the shadow of the lamp post. Hopeless, I knew I can't balance myself safely and let fate took over. My mind flashed with fleeting thoughts over what would happen to me. How serious would the injury be? All this in a matter of micro seconds. Didn't know our mind can think faster than the action.

THE WEAPON
Then it happened. Plomped! So Humpty Dumpty had a Great Fall. A fall from grace as I landed on my left knee, quite heavily. Fortunately, I was holding the water bottle with my right hand when I landed. The wrapper on the bottle was torned and my palm was also bruised but was cushioned by the bottle. Yes, I was lucky. I couldn't move my leg as I sat on grass verge for something like 5 minutes. I scoured the pavement for that weapon and saw it (the root) protruding about 6cm from the ground.

THE VICTIM
I gazed at the injury as I struggle to my feet. I have a problem standing up because it's hurting on my left knee. I stood still for about 2 minutes before I made my way back home, painfully. There's nobody around to assist me. The street is quite deserted. I hobbled across the road and walked slowly home, about 1.2km away. Yes, it was starting to bleed a little. I could not hasten my pace as it was simply too stressful on my left leg. I passed Kemin Primary School and the gate was just opened by the guard.

I hobbled but I did not wobble. Phew! If I did, it would be disastrous. I bought the newspaper and breakfast (noodle with toufu as usual) on the way home. I tried to walk as normally as I could and looked around, it seems no one noticed my injury. Bt then, blood was slowly trickling down my shin. Whew! Would be embarassing if somebody noticed. I just don't feel comfortable with people started to show their concern and asking funny questions. How come, why, when. I can understand their concern and appreciate it. Now, all I need is a nice shower, rest and have my breakfast.

I reached home and quietly went to the bedroom to collect my clothings for the shower. Wife is still sleeping and am unaware of what happened. I turned on the heater as I don't want to get a shock because of the cold weather and the wound. As I stepped into the bathroom, I was prepared for the worst. Excruciating pain as the water flowed from my head to the wound. Yes it was real bad and painful. It was like being bitten by hundreds of red ants. Fortunately, the warm water somewhat seem to calm the nerves and relief the pain a bit.

As soon as I finished my shower, I sat on the small pink stool my elder daughter brought back from her hall and started reading the newspaper. Ten minutes later, my wife woked and make her way to the kitchen to have a glass of water. Soon after, I told her I want to show her something, and pointed to my injured knee. On second thought I shouldn't have shown her. She almost burst into tears. Aiyo, it's only a bruise and nothing to be so unduly worried, I told her. She fussed about it and mentioned I shouldn't have jog along that pavement. But nevertheless, what has happened has happened.

Clearly, I am not too concerned with the injury, just that it would be quite awkward as I just started work in this new company on 16 Oct'07 and have to take medical leave (No Pay OK, under probation). I bandaged the badly bruised leg and report to work. No, I did not tell anyone in office. Hush! Hush!

The next day, I went to see my regular doctor. Took one look at it and said it's not a problem. Should heal in 2 to 3 weeks and charged me only $15. No, I don't need the MC, no medicine or lotion. Great! Looks like I have to go back to swimming again after a long absence.

We shall see.

It's now into the 11th day of my accident. The wound is healing up nicely. Meanwhile, the photos of The Silent Assasin, The Weapon and The Victim is posted to remind of the pain and caution to be taken in future. Look out for The Silent Assasin.

Cheers.

Dilemma of Cab Driving - In the News

2007-10-28T00:34:00.004+08:00

As an ex-taxi driver who is now back in emloyment, I am truly saddened by the many complaints against taxi drivers in general. Branding all taxi drivers as cheats is unfair. Never mind the armchair critics or the general public's complaints. It is better to live with those who encourages rather than those who critise with offering a solution you will be a happier person. Though taxi drivers in the public's view are now among the lowest rank in society and Singapore's public enemy #1 (according to the number of complaints, negative feedbacks and hate campaigns posted over the internets, the important thing is you do not cheat or behave like those black sheep. Like someone who mentioned on 22 Oct'07 ST Forum that 4 out of 10 cab drivers are inconsiderate. We now have 18,400 inconsiderate taxi drivers on the road (OMG). Many road users forgot that cab drivers spend the most time on the roads, between 8 to 10 hours and sometimes more and it can be really tiring. It's not an excuse but I would like to challenge those who complained so much to drive his car for between 8 to 10 hours a day, everyday and judge for yourself how you will behave after 1 week of driving. Someone said that when the government is at fault, we complained about it in the coffeeshops, when taxi drivers are at fault, it apprears in newspapers, internet, radio (today's 93.8 feedback talk show), and even tv. Why? Because not many cab drivers are able to respond or defend these complaints and also because they are probably not as educated as those who complained about it to the press or post it on the internet. But nowadays, many taxi drivers are quite computer literate and internet savvy.If you have the opportunity, I would think that it's better for you to find employment. It's not glamorous profession and no appreciation from the general public. The income is not that great compared to those who can afford taking a cab. I drove taxi not by choice previously but out of necessity to support the family. So, as long as you enjoy cab driving, as long as you make an honest living, don't worry too much about the negative feedbacks, complaints and critisms. Armchairs critics enjoy watching the show after posting their negative response. Let them be if they enjoy every moment of it. Because pretty soon, the public will get to know who they are when they log on the internet. I am pretty much worried about the karma, for those black sheep.
Cheers and best wishes.

A Hell Ride from Changi Airport

2007-09-02T22:00:00.000+08:00

It really has been a long time (6 months) since I last posted on this blog and here goes the story. This time it's not from me as a taxi driver but rather as a passenger.

On 6 July 2007, I was back from a company business trip from Shanghai. My wife and I boarded a CityCab Taxi bearing registration no: SHB2117D at Changi Airport Terminal 2 at 22:37hrs. As I got into the taxi, I told the driver I wanted to go to Bukit Batok East Ave 3. He was driving along the extreme right lane #1 and about 1km before the exit to PIE I asked him; "Uncle, which road are you using to go to Bt Batok?" His reply; "Which road you want take?" "PIE, it's nearer." "Go straight by ECP also can" was his reply. He must be joking, I thought to myself. From ECP via AYE via Clementi Ave 6. Traffic at that time was moderate. Hey, I was a taxi driver with CityCab and Comfort too, just that I didn't tell him.

I thought taxi drivers are supposed to ask the passenger/s the preferred route. Never mind, I thought to myself, small matter. But no, this is just the beginning of our nightmare ride.

As we neared exit #1 to PIE about 100m away, he is still on ECP lane #1. Suddenly, he swerved sharply to PIE exit #1 and continued driving in a dangerous manner at speeds of up to 130km/h. He tailgated almost all the cars that were in front of him, weaving in and out and overtook on the left on many occasions disregarding the safety of the passengers and other road users.

Upon reaching Eunos exit #9, he was on the outer lane when he suddenly swerved to extreme inner lane of the PIE and continued his dangerous driving along the extreme inside lane, overtaking vehicles both from inside and outside and weaving in and out once until we reached Paya Lebar exit #11. He was on the extreme inner lane once again overtaking other vehicles. Now these lanes are meant for vehicle exiting to Paya Lebar only. He then made a sharp turn to the inner most lane of PIE and drove along the corrugated road markings to get back to the PIE.

At this moment, my wife held on to my hands tightly, shaking with fear for our safety throughout the journey. He continued his crazed driving, tailgating vehicles, driving in a dangerous manner without regards to the passengers in the taxi and other road users, and again weaving in and out, speeding excessively well above the legal speed limit.

When we passed Eng Neo Avenue exit #22, I told him to exit by the Clementi Road/Bukit Timah Road exit 26A, drive towards Upper Bukit Timah Road and turn left to Old Jurong Road opposite the Fire Station. I further told him to turn right at the traffic light after the Shell Petrol station and then left again at the traffic light leading to Bt. Batok Ave 4. Thereafter, I showed him the direction to my block at 287 Bukit Batok East Avenue 3. For every turns and traffic lights, we went through sudden twisting turns, braking and over-steers like a roller coaster. It was a horrific experience for my wife but I remained calm.

As we reached our destination at 23:02hrs, my wife got out of the taxi and stood there frozen. I asked her what happened. She told me she got cramps and was shaking with fear from the entire experience.

Now I am not sure what this taxi driver was unhappy with, but from the way he's driving, he is not only putting his passengers' life at risk but also that of other road users.

I personally have heard so much about black sheep drivers but this one takes the cake and score full points for tarnishing the image of other good taxi drivers in Singapore. While there are definitely black sheep in every industries, I never, for once imagined I would get to experience one real dangerous mad cap of a driver.

I have lodge a complaint with CityCab regarding this incident and was assure that firm action would be taken against this taxi driver. But I do know a fact that most of time taxi companies will only call the taxi driver personally and told them that a complaint have been lodged and would generally advise the driver to be more careful in future. Hey, taxi companies can't afford to offend the taxi drivers too much. They need revenue too from renting out the taxi. And is good profit. If not, why else would there be so many taxis on Singapore roads. In terms of taxis on our population, we are probably the highest in the world on per population ratio. We have something like 23,000 taxis serving a population of only 4 million.

I look forward to more posting if I see anything interesting to write.

Cheers.

Bout of Bad Lucks on 10 Feb'07

2007-02-28T18:35:00.000+08:00

It has been nearly one month since I wrote in my blog. A bout of bad lucks struck me 10 Feb'07 and will remain entrench in my memory.

Incident #1

I picked up an old lady from Tampines Street 45 around 5.20pm. She wanted to go to Punggol Field. As I turned into the driveway of her block, she asked me to stop the vehicle in front of the truck. I told her I couldn't as there is a road divider and would be obstructing other road users. I proceeded further ahead and turned left into the rubbish disposal bay. She raised her voice at me about not stopping the cab at the spot where she wanted. I told her once again that I can't stop my cab as it would be obstructing other road users, this time in a higher tone. I felt bad after that. She soon realised my good intention and also that I had stopped at a better and safer place for her to alight. She asked me how much the fare was and I looked at the fare meter and told her $8.60. She then complained that she takes cab regularly and that it normally costs her about $6+. I told her that this is the peak hour where there is a $2 surcharge. She would not listen and insist that the fare shown in my cab is high. I didn't want this to affect my mood and asked her to pay me what she thought would be appropriate. She paid $7. I accepted and thanked her.

Lesson: Next time whenever I pick a senior citizen, I will have to remind them about the $2 surcharge for peak hour.

Incident #2

I picked up 4 boys (age presumbly between 15 to 16 years at Bt Merah Central around 7.40pm. Their destination: Yishun St 21. Along the way, the boys were using vulgar words and laughing in the cab. One of the boys was worried as he had not been home the night before and had not informed his mother about his whereabout. They really smelt of cigarettes. I told the one sitting in the front passenger seat that generally, parents have their children at heart. Parents' naggings are for their good and not a past time or that they like it for that matter. Education is important and that they should put more concentration in their studies for a better future. He nodded in agreement. All these while they were playing with their mobile phone, smsing to each other and I did not suspect anything.

When we reached Yishun Avenue 2, one of the boys asked me to stop at Yishun MRT Station to alight. The rest of boys asked to proceed to Street 21. On reaching street 21 carpark at Block 305, as I was about to stop the fare meter, the 3 boys, in a synchronised manner, opened the 3 doors and dashed out in different directions. I was more surprised then shocked and didn't expect them to bolt without paying. I did not bother to chase them. It's just not worth the effort. The fare comes to about $18.30 and is now zero.

In cab driving, we have to be prepared for all sort of surprises, including robbery & cheats. What actually comes to my mind was, they are fortunate that I did not pursue the matter. I could have shouted, Robbery! Robbery! and they could have been apprehended by a group of about 15 people learning Tae Kwon Do just 50 metres away. And one of the boys was running in that direction. But, I will let others take care of them because somewhere in the future, they are bound to be caught. If they had told me they had no money to pay me along the way, I would still have obliged and send them to their destination. If they are caught, there would be a criminal record, regardless of how small the amount.

Lesson: Be more aware of the passengers, particularly teenagers. I will next time prepare myself to unfasten the seat belts before I stop the cab. This way, I will be able to react in time and apprehend the culprits.

Incident #3

I was on my way home to Bt Batok and driving along Jln Jurong Kechil at about 1.40am when 3 boys age about 15 to 16 years stopped my cab. "Oh no, not again", I thought. Anyway, I stopped and one of the boys said if he wants to go to Jelapang Rd at Bt Panjang, would $6.00 be enough. "Of course not enough lah!" With midnight charge, it could easily be $10.00 to $11.00. But since I have already ran into 2 unlucky incidents, I guess this time round I will do the good deed since the boys are honest with me. They paid me the $6.00 and board my cab. As I drove along Jln Jurong Kechil, one of the boys asked to stop about 2 bus-stops away from where they boarded and outside Signature Park to alight. After he alighted, I drove along Jln Jurong Kechil again and was intending to turn right at the junction to Old Jurong Road towards the direction of Bt Timah Road, one boy asked me to turn left and proceed to Bt Batok. Bt Panjang would be later. "What? I thought you said Jelapang Road". Why didn't you tell me earlier? Which part of Bt Batok are you staying?" "Er, near the swimming pool." "No, I will send you back last", I said. "Because I stay in Bt Batok and don't want to do a big detour."

So I proceeded with turning right towards Bt Timah Rd. As I reached Jelapang Rd, the other boy said, "Turn right, then left, then right again." The boy who lives in Bt Batok scolded him, "Oei, your $6.00 very big is it? Wah lau eh! Like that also cannot walk in and want to make uncle drive in." "Shut up lah." I drove in as directed. As he alighted, he thanked me with the Bt Batok boy still cursing him for causing him to lose face.

I then drove out towards Bt Batok Rd and turn into Bt Batok West Avenue 5 and towards West Mall. Upon reaching the boy's place, he alighted and thanked me for the generosity. I look at the meter and it shows $14.70. Oh well, at least these boys are unlike the Yishun boys.

Lesson: Nothing to learn here except to learn to be generous and charitable towards those honest enough to own up first.

Cheers.

Don't Judge a Book by It's Cover

2007-01-29T00:14:00.000+08:00

I received a current booking on 22 Jan'07 to pick up a lady passenger from Ngee Ann City Taxi Stand for Pasir Ris St. 71. I didn't talk much to the lady as she seem tired. As I am not very sure of exactly where St. 71 is, the lady agreed to guide me when we reach Pasir Ris. After she alighted at about 10.35pm, I turned out from carpark and turn right into St. 71 again with the intention to go to Changi Airport to pick passengers.

Immediately after I turned right, a big burly Malay man (about 1.78m tall) waved for my cab in the opposite direction. He have tattoos from his neck down to his arms and legs. (I can see the tattoos on his legs because he is wearing bermudas not skirts, ok). As I could not make a U-turn because of the road divider with a 750mm railing, I stopped my cab for this guy. I was actually hesitant to pick him for safety reason (you know what I mean?), but decided to take the chance. Despite his imposing size, he manage to jump over the railing and speedily get into the front seat of my cab. He seems to be in a hurry and told me to go to Yishun. "Eh, which part of Yishun are you going Sir?" It was intentional on my part to ask him and confirm my suspicion that he is not what I suspected (a robber) and also to make sure that he knows what he is talking. He went blank for a moment as I proceed to drive forward (Aha, I got him square on this question, I thought). After an agonising wait of about 10 to 15 seconds for an answer, he blurted out, "North Point, go by TPE". "Ok" was my reply as I continue driving towards TPE. Just as I was about to exit towards TPE, he asked, "Uncle, where are you going?" "I thought you said go by TPE?" "Yes, but this is going to Changi Airport." "Oops..." I apologise to him and made a U-turn. "I am not very familiar with this area, could you guide me to TPE exit towards Yishun?"

I reach the exit of TPE in less than 2 minutes. As I drove along TPE, crazy thoughts went through my head. What if he wanted to rob me? Can I take him on? Physically, I may not be able to (He weighs something like 90 to 95kgs). I comfort myself that all Comfort taxis are installed with a panic button for cases like this on the right side near the accelerator pedal. Will it be too late to depress the button as he can see what I am doing from the front passenger seat? Will this be the end of my taxi driving career? What will happen to my family? Throughout the journey, there was no conversation. He probably can sense that I am uneasy.Sheesh, and I really am.

It was a relief that we are nearing North Point. As I was about to turn right at the traffic lights, he told me to proceed ahead. He did not intend to go to North Point. God, now this is really getting to be more than a suspense as my earlier thoughts ran through my head again. "Turn right at the next junction, into Yishun Ring Rd and stop at the corner of the junction." "OK" was my reply. Phew, that was close. I am not suppose to stop my cab at the corner of the junction as it is against the traffic rule but at least he didn't asked me to stop at some secluded place. I stopped my cab at the corner of the junction as asked and stopped the meter. It shows $12.60 but I told him $12.00 as I had made a wrong turn at the start of the journey and gave a discount. "No lah Uncle, cannot lah! You also cari makan mah!" He paid me the full fare. I thanked him for the fare and generosity and drove off.

Wow! That was some experience. Again, come to think of it, if he had wanted to rob me, he would have taken the back seat. It is easier for him to hold me at ransom from the back. But then again, he would not be able to see what I am doing with my leg. Oh well, I have to move on. This is one experience that I will definitely remember. I have to be more cautious in future.

Cheers!

Vehicle Refused to Start

2007-01-24T13:26:00.000+08:00

After only having about 3 hours sleep on 20 Jan'07 in the wee morning after my Friday night drive, I woke up at 6am as usual on Saturday. (Usually, I would drive longer hours on Fridays, Saturdays and eves of Public holidays as there are more merry makers on these days) As I opened the door of my cab I found to my horror I couldn't start it. The battery is near flat. I could jump start the cab if I can push it to the edge of the slope where I parked my cab. I have this habit of taking precautions just in case something like this happen. Lucky for me, the cab is a manual transmission. I pushed and pushed and God, it was real heavy. I think it weigh something like 1.5 to 1.6tons. As I pushed the cab, 2 guys walked pass and stared at me. I was hoping that they would help me push to jump start the cab, but no, they gave me a pathetic look and go on their way. My fault. Because I didn't open my golden mouth. But hey, I am near breatheless. If I see anyone in the same situation that I am in, I will without fail offer my help without being asked. At that moment, I was literally struggling to push it with all my might as I tried to steer the cab towards the top edge of the slope. In my younger days, I would have no problem pushing it. I am now in my 50's and is slowly losing my physical strength as the years move on. The steering wheel is also real heavy without the power steering. I refused to give up despite the fact that I am losing my stamina and strength quickly and finally managed to get it to the top of the slope. With a final look at the downslope, I turned on the ignition key and give it a last full-bodied push and quickly jumped into the driver's seat as it gained speed down the slope. I depress the clutch, engaged into 2nd gear and let go of the clutch. The engine sprung to life. Oh, the sweet beautiful sound of the purring engine. As I pant and try to catch my breathe, I drove off slowly with the aircon switched off. This will allow the battery to charge faster. I manage to make 9 trips after that.

Later on, I sms my partner and told him of the problem and that I will be sending it to Sin Ming workshop for checking. On reaching there, the mechanic checked and told me, "Wah, Uncle, you never check the battery water one is it?" "Hah! I thought you guys will check it when you carry out the monthly servicing?" "No! You have to check it yourself." I now realised that Comfort is unlike private workshops where the mechanic will carry out multiple checks on the vehicles and top up whatever fluids if necessary. Life must be easy for the mechanics.

Kind of stupid of me though for not checking it in the first place. Later, as I refuelled for the impending handing over of shift to my partner, I bought 2 bottles of battery water. I opened the battery caps and found that the battery is indeed dry, (now this is dangerous as it may possibly explode if I continue driving it without battery water). I emptied the 2 bottles and found that it is still insufficient. I bought another 2 bottles and only then it is just enough to fill it to the maximum recommended level.

Now this is the first time in my 31 years of driving that I have actually top up a battery with 4 bottles of battery fluid. I suspect that the battery is of inferior quality. Today, I checked the battery level and found that the fluid level had gone down a bit and it is not normal as I had only topped it up on 20 Jan'07. The lubrication oil is also below the minimum level (something to be concerned of), despite the fact that this vehicle is only about 4 to 5 months old. Well, I have to be more careful in future about this issue.

Cheers.

Passenger's Unethical Behaviour

2007-01-18T23:12:00.000+08:00

16 Jan'07 after finishing my lunch at Tiong Bahru Food Centre at 1330hrs, I drove off from the Multi-storey carpark with the intention of taking an afternoon break before continuing with my shift work at 1630hrs. At the bus stop opposite Tiong Bahru Plaza at about 1338hrs, a young Indian lady flag my cab and says she is late and have to reach Choa Chu Kang Loop by 1400hrs. I told her the shortest way is via Clementi Rd but it's not the fastest way as there are many traffic lights. I recommended going by Farrer Rd, PIE, Dairy Farm, Upper Bt Timah Rd and Teck Whye Way straight to CCK Loop but it will be costlier due to the longer distance. Besides, I cannot guarantee I can reach the place in such a short time of 20 minutes. I told her that if she took the MRT, it would probably take about 40 minutes to reach the destination considering that she has to do a transfer at Jurong East Interchange and then when reached the place, it would be a mad rush to her block. All in, it may possibly take about 50 minutes.

With her consent, I drove towards the suggested route. When I reached Dairy Farm, I only have about 7 minutes left to 1400hrs and the fare is already $10.40. Then she asked if I can give her a discount. I told her that I have already mentioned earlier that it would be costlier. She kept pleading with me for the discount. I told her we will talk about it when we reach her destination. As the minutes ticked by, she became even more anxious and kept pestering me to hurry. I told her I am already doing my best after breaking so many traffic rules. Speeding is the most expensive offence with 12 demerit points if caught. Come to think of it, it is rather foolish of me to drive the way I did.

I reached her place about 1403hrs and the meter reads $13.60. She pleaded with me to accept $9.00. What? 33% discount? I told her even with the shortest route from Clementi Rd, it would have cost her more than the $9.00 she is willing to pay. Besides, I really was pushing all the way to help her so that she can be there by 1400hrs. Completely upset with her, I reluctantly accepted her offer, at the same time consoling myself that I could be worst off and possibly have returned home empty cab from Tiong Bahru.

Lesson: Never ever perform such stunts again. I may be lucky this time round but one day, just one day, I will be caught for the offence and it would not be worth the money the passenger paid me. Next time, if ever a passenger tells me the same reason that he/she is in a hurry, I will tell them matter of factly that I don't want to break any traffic rules as this is my rice bowl. This is not the first time I encountered problems with such passengers, but rather third time. The first two were the same reasons. Promising to pay me and asking for my bank account number so that they can transfer the money to me because they don't have money with them at the moment. Eventually, the first one (a guy owing $10.90) never did despite repeated promises for the 3 weeks and the second one tooks close to 3 weeks of pestering before she finally said she had transferred the money to my account and asked me to check immediately. I can't be bothered to check the $6.30 she owed me and simply told her I trusted her.

My response to such experience in future would be if they can't afford to pay, just tell me and I would treat it as a donation to charity and will not pursue the matter anymore. Besides, all the phone calls and smses I sent would have already been a big discount and it would not be financially worthwhile to continue pursuing. I should move on.

So much of the encounters, I promise myself to never ever be foolish again and fall into such trap. I must be careful with such people in future.
Cheers.

Bad Weather Again

2007-01-14T17:05:00.000+08:00

Thursday 11 Jan'07, I picked up 2 Caucasian gentlemen and an Indonesian lady at Terminal 1. Strange that these 3 passengers have no luggage with them. As usual, I greeted them and asked where they would like to go. One of the Caucasian jokingly said, "Where are we heading guys? Yati, where would you like to go? We have a few hours to spare. Shall we go to the Police Headquarters? I think that's where we will go. Ok, we go to Police HQ."

As I drove along ECP towards Marine Parade, they were talking about something related to some cases or something related to it. Then, the same guy asked again, jokingly, "Yati, would you prefer to do some shopping?" I told them the nearest and biggest shopping centre is Vivo City, which is near the Police HQ. Then I asked the same gentlemen again, "You are not joking with me about going to Police HQ are you, because I have not pick any passengers from the airport without luggage except those who sent their friends and relatives off? "Yeah, don't worry. We go to Police HQ, then we go to Vivo City, right Yati?"

When we reached Police HQ, I stopped behind a row of cars that was under the direction of the policeman on duty. The same gentleman said they would like to alight first. Ok, no problem. After they alighted, the policeman stopped my cab and said I am not allowed to let passengers alight at that spot where I had earlier and pointed to the camera above. I apologised for it and said I wasn't aware of it. He pointed to the double zig zag lines on the road and again said to next time stop further down where there is a double line. I said ok and apologise once again. I hope won't get a fine for it.

Friday on 12 Jan'07 is a day to remember. Not because it's interesting but for another reason.

I was driving along Bt Timah Rd (4m/s) near the newly opened NUS Campus on the extreme outer lane on my way home for a short break in the afternoon about 3pm. It has been raining since 11 Jan'07 afternoon when I saw that the water level had risen to about 600mm near the top of the monsoon drain, which in my view, is pretty dangerous if it overflow and spill over to the roads. If it had continued raining unabatedly without break, I belief that area would have flooded. This brought back memories of the 1969 - 1970 when the area stretching from Whitley Rd/Stevens Rd/Bt Timah Rd junction right up to Chinese High School is often flooded whenever there is a heavy rain. I was then studying at Dunearn Secondary Technical School (no longer around) and my mother and sisters would be really worried whenever it rains. Even heavy vehicles can't pass through the knee high water level back then and had fallen victim to the flood. If there is a flood and vehicles stalled, fear not. There would always be help around from the malay communities living around that area. The boys and men would be out half naked to help you push your vehicle to side of the road or dry land for a small fee. Good money back then.

I would like to take a break for now and will be back again.

Cheers.

The Christmas Countdown/Showdown

2007-01-10T23:27:00.000+08:00

So, the Christmas Countdown is here and gone but not the memories. But I was not on duty for that day. I was on duty from 22 Dec'06 noon to 24 Dec'06 noon but I was caught in it earlier that the eve of Christmas. Particularly on 22 & 23 Dec'06 as the days fell on Friday & Saturday respectively. The whole of Orchard Road is full of activities and people doing their last minute shoppings. On both nights between 10pm to 12midnight, the situation is quite chaotic as there was a lack of supply to meet demand. There were many attempts on cab-jacking, literally. Most of the trips I made are for on-call bookings, which comprises about 60% of my fares. One couple on 23 Dec'06 along Orchard Boulevard before the turn-in to Wisma Atria (the guy actually) was trying to pass of as the person I am suppose to pick at Wisma Atria but when I asked for his name, he just went er, yabba yabba. Aha, gotcha. Sorry, I am suppose to pick up a Ms. Agnes and your name is not even close to it. I think guys have thicker skins than the ladies.

I was practically all over the island from 5pm onwards on 23 Dec'06, starting from the Western to Eastern to Central to Northern and to Southern and back and criss cross all over. Yes, business was quite good but there is a limit as to the physical ability of the body, the mind and we need breaks to relief ourselves. But overall, it is a really interesting night. I hardly had chance to talk to the passengers as they are usually couples and I would not want to bother them in their small sweet talks. I left the passengers alone for the most part of this festive mood except to wish them "Merry Christmas" when I reach their destinations. And now I would like to say "Good Night". Wife is making some background noise now about me being on shift duty tomorrow.

"I'LL BE BACK"

I am back

2007-01-10T22:14:00.001+08:00

Wow! Can you imagine it? My computer was down since 23 Dec'06 and I was like handicapped until 5 Jan'07 evening when my daughter's friend, Wei Ming, so kindly came over to help me reset it. I was only doing my virus scan on that day and am not sure what went wrong after that. I just simply couldn't log in. Tried a few days calling Singnet for help but wasn't able to get through their technical hotline and was always put on hold for hours, and I mean really hours. I was using my home cordless phone and put it on hands-free speaker and just simply let it play until the battery went flat. I leave it to you people out there to guess how long was the wait. Exasperdated, I hung up, recharged the phone and call again. After more than 30 minutes of being on-hold, I finally manage to get though the line.

At last, there is life out there in Singnet after all, after days and many many attempts and frustration in trying to get through the line. Can you imagine what that guy told me? "Sir, don't worry, I am here to help you solve your problem." Yeah, nice comforting words. Anyway, I was just happy to be able to talk to a human after days of talking to the ASTD(+-*/) machine. I was just glad to have an expert over the phone to guide me in resetting.

I explained to that guy the problem I faced and the reply was because of the Taiwan earthquake. Yeah, I know. But hey, he wasn't paying attention to what I was trying to tell him. I wasn't able to log even before the quake happened. Wah, he mean to tell me my computer got sixth sense that the quake is about to happen and took the initiative to break down first. After he learnt that the router I was using D-Link ADSL router together with Linksys wireless router, his immediate response was that it was not compatible with Singnet's network. Huh! My impression of this guy changed immediately after that statement was made. I am not sure if this guy is really helpful or an expert after all. Hey, I have been using that equipment for the past months without problem and now he says it's not compatible with Singnet's setting. Okay, fine. Benefit of doubt given. He asked me to hold the line after confirming my telephone number and the phone line went silent. No background music to soothe me or indicate that I was on hold, while he, presumably went in search for assistance. Initially, I wasn't sure whether to hold the line or hang up. After much deliberation, I decided to hold the line and was waiting for something like 10 minutes (now that would be quite dumb under normal circumstances but thinking back on the days and many attempts in trying to get through the line, I waited) before I made the final decision after 15 minutes to hang up. I would expect that this guy would call back as he has my number but then as it turn out, there was no call. What kind of service is this? I intend to pursue this issue with Singnet in the foreseeable future. Fortunately, we have other ISPs available. But until now, Singnet still have a sizeable market share and that is probably the reason why they can afford to be lax on their service. Okay, today's topic wasn't suppose to be talking my computer problems but rather my taxi adventure, which I will publish in another posting.
Cheers

Fred On The Move

2006-12-21T09:38:00.001+08:00

What am I writing? On 18 Dec'06, I wrote "Nothing really interesting to write this time round but I do want to bring out an interesting incident on 12 Dec'06." If it's not interesting why did I post it on the blog. Actually, it should have been penned as, "Nothing really interesting to write this time round but I do want to bring out an incident on 12 Dec'06." Okay, now that I have corrected my statement I will move on to a new topic.

It's been raining cats & dogs over the past few days non-stop. Of particular concern is the road safety. The roads all over Singapore are wet and some areas were flooded. On 19 Dec'06 I was on my way to the airport at about 6.30am from Hillview Avenue. Along the way on the PIE near Bedok, the visibility was so bad at only up to 35 to 50m that I was reduced to driving at 50 to 60km/h. When I returned on 19 Dec'06 night to sleep for the next day's duty, my wife told me that news of taxi bookings and fare takings (according to a cab driver interviewed) had gone up by 20% and 10% respectively. I can agree with the first statement on the bookings but totally disagree with the second statement. Either the cab driver is lucky to have not been caught in the many slow traffic or he's just plain looking for attention (if that's the case, he deserved a fat lip). If I had been interviewed, it would be a different story. I was caught in many slow moving traffics and traffic jams that the actual fare takings were reduced. More bookings yes, more income, no.

Some cab drivers are really getting to the nerves of their fellow cabbies. On 18 Dec'06 I received an advance booking for a pick up to the airport at Swettenham Road. I arrived at the pick up point about 10 minutes early. The booking was for 2 taxis. One normal, one Maxicab. The Maxicab arrived 5 minutes after I did. From the sight of the bungalow and the many luxury cars in the garage in that District 9, this is a very rich family. However, my fellow cab driver wasn't that happy. Because it's raining non-stop? Because they have many luggages, 4 bigs ones and 4 small ones? Well, the instruction was to load all the big ones in the Maxicab and small ones to mine. He sure wasn't happy to pick up this family. They were on their way to Europe for a family hoilday. I envied them but not jealous. I wish I could afford it. One day, just one day I may be able to afford it. I will start saving now, it's not too late.

He kept on mumbling aloud that they are rich and uttered (+-*/ASTD)obsene words aloud which are quite audible (I am not sure if the maids and owner overheard it because it's within hearing dstance) and asked me to start the meter now since they are rich and won't mind the few cents. He had already started the meter when he arrived. Hey, that's not the way to earn extra few cents and I don't want to be pressured into something that's ethically not right. I also don't want to end up having coffee with LTA over the few cents. We are supposed to start the meter only when the passenger/s is on board and have told us the destination. So they may be rich, but that doen't mean that we can do what we want. Where is the integrity? Sheez, this behaviour can only further tarnish cab drivers' reputation which already in not in favour from the public. We may have some black sheep amongst us, but I do belief this one takes the cake.

Well, I am taking a rest for the time being and will be back soon to continue on my daily adventure.

Fred On The Move

2006-12-18T09:18:00.000+08:00

Wow, didn't realise I have not written anything since 5 Dec'06. That's a long time. Guess I am pretty busy with my other personal things or I am just plain tired because of the coming festive season.

Nothing really interesting to write this time round but I do want to bring out an interesting incident on 12 Dec'06. I received an advance booking on 11 Dec'06 to pick up a passenger at Raffles Town Club (RTC) on 12 Dec'06 at 7.15am. I set off early at about 6.30am from home hoping to pick up a fare before the appointed time. As I drove along Bt Batok Ave 6 towards Jln Jurong Kechil, Anak Bukit and Bt Timah Road, my hopes started to fade as I near my appointed place RTC. Okay, I am a bit early at 6:45am. I did the next best thing and that is to take a rest as I have only 4 1/2 hours sleep the night before. I tried but couldn't sleep in the cab. Oh well, might as well do some stretching exercises to loosen up the muscles.

When the appointed time is due, a lady is waiting somewhere near the door entrance for her, presumably husband to check out at the counter. Actually, I didn't realise that RTC has guest rooms until the doorman told me there are 40 rooms. So embarrassing. Cab driver and yet don't know.

What made me record this is that not more that 15 words were exchanged between me and the couple throughout the journey. As the man approach my cab, I greeted him as usual. The following are the excerpts.

Me: "Morning Sir"
Man: Nodded his head and said "ehmm"
I then help him to load his 2 luggage bags. At that moment, the lady also approach my cab and boarded from the left. The man didn't realise she had boarded on the left and also proceeded to board on the left but soon realised his wife is already inside. He then proceed to board on the right.
Me: "Which Terminal Sir"
Man: "Terminal 2"

As we moved off, throughout the entire 25 minutes journey, there was this deafening sound of silence. I dared not speak a word from the body language I observed of the couple. The couple were not even speakng to each other. Fortunately, I have my trusty radio to accompany me and equalise the environment, if not it would be a torture.

We reached Terminal 2 at about 7:45am. The man asked, "how much?" "$21.30", I said. "Receipt please", he said. "Sure", I said and I proceeded to print it.

Boy, such was the mood of some people. So serious early in the morning. Understandably, most people tend to be more serious in the early morning rush hour. The afternoons tend to be more relaxed as I have observed. Possibly because it's after work and the stress level has gone down.

Well, I got to log off for now as the time approaches for me to prepare for my next shift work coming up at 12noon. I still make a quick run to the barber at about this time.

I'LL BE BACK!!!
Cheers.

Fred On The Move

2006-12-05T00:05:00.000+08:00

Sunday night on 3 Dec'06 was a night to remember. I pick a passenger (guy) from Terminal 2 around 11pm and was asked to go to Brooke Road. I scratched my head and asked him foolishly if he could guide me there. He was very kind and told me to drive along Marine Parade Road and it's near Paramount Hotel. Ok. I know where Paramount is. Along the way we chatted about as usual how cab driving is and as usual I told him I only started cab driving a month ago and is unable to know where all these small roads are. We also touch on the impending Christmas which is just round the corner and that this year it seems the celebration had started earlier with the Orchard Road decorations up well in advance. Possibly about 1.5 months ahead. Told him many cab drivers will try to avoid Orchard Road because of the heavy traffic. Can't blame us. We are just doing what normal humans do. And that is to make a decent living. If we are caught in the jam, our earnings would drop drastically. I have been fortunate that so far, all the passengers I picked are kind and helpful. But this is not the part to remember. The story below is.

After dropping him at this place, I pick a quite good looking young lady waiting outside his condominium gate for a cab. For a while, I thought she was a Chinese national. She boarded my cab and wants to go to Choa Chu Kang Avenue 5. Okay, she's not a Chinese national from her accent. Then she dropped a bomb as I started to drive. "Uncle, are you married?" It was like, Huh!!!. I remained calm and told her, "Yes, I am married with 2 beautiful daughters (both in NUS) and have a wonderful wife." "How do you and your wife talk to each other and do you ever quarrel?" Wah, asked so personal questions. Then it dawn on me that she is probably facing some personal problems in her life. I told her in marriage, both spouses have to learn to give and take, be tolerant, patient and forgiving. In my case, I told her I am the one who always give way to my wife because she has a temper. However, after her cancer treatment, she has cooled down considerably. I briefly told her my marriage history and asked her to give in to her husband if possible because he could be facing some personal problems that he didn't want to confide to her.

She said has been married for only 10 months and cracks are beginning to appear because of her husband's jealousy. She work in a local bank, UOB and her husband in an engineering company and he is an ITE graduate. She complained about her husband's lack of understanding and jealousy, often queried her why she come back from work so late at between 7 to 8pm and suspects that she is having an affair outside (starts to sob). "Hello", she said, "I worked at Raffles Place and stayed in Choa Chu Kang and he expects me to be back by 6.30pm. I finish work at 6pm if I am lucky, if not sometimes would finish work at about 8pm. The train ride alone takes about an hour plus not forgetting she also has to take a feeder bus home from CCK MRT station." I agreed with her that the hourney home from Raffles Place to CCK will require at least 1.5 hours.

She complained about her husband's lack of support for her and always listens to his mother. Generally, she has no freedom of speech. At one time during a quarrel, she asked her husband why he married her if he so detest her now after only 10 months of marriage. At this point, I suggested that she and her husband seek a marriage counseller to see how best to salvage their marriage. She mentioned they have already done so but her husband give a smirk remark that the marriage counsellers always support the woman. She also mentioned her husband recently bought a car, this despite his insufficient capability to support the car, not to mention the family. He also owns a motorbike. I told her it's probably he needs the car for his work but she said no because he rides the motorbike to work and only drive the car during the weekends. Just last week, her husband wanted to change the car's tyre. She asked him why and he simply says the new tyres looked better. "God, such a waste of money despite the fact that he is incapable of supporting both the bike and car and I had to chip in", she said. It was then at this point that she mentioned her husband is a Malay. And she had already converted to become a Muslim. She can't fall back on her family for support as her family has all along disapprove of her marriage to a Malay. There was a time, as she mentioned her husband said something about her having no one to turn to as her family is not even on talking terms with her. So if he sometimes don't talk to her, who will?

She says her marriage is already at a point of no return as she discovered and was at one point in time comtemplating suicide. Told her that it is a foolish thought and that we have to face life head-on and not avoid it. Not that I am trying to encourge her to separate, short of divorce, I suggest she moved out and allow a cooling down period of say 3 to 6 months to decide whether to carry on with the marriage or part ways. As she is only 23 (her husband is 10 years older), I personally belief she has a much better future ahead than she think. She mentioned she is beyond that capability (financially because of the housing and others loans) and now regrets not carrying on the friendship with her former boyfriend (local Chinese)who loves her a lot. I told her ultimately, she has to make a decision for herself and should not be under any influence. She has to think things over carefully and try to have a calm and serious face to face talk with her husband. I wish I could help but I know I can't.

I am not qualified to be a marriage counseller but I belief what I suggested to her (the staying apart trial period) is generally correct and that she has to face her future head-on. She has to plan her path from now on and make her own decision wisely. She mentioned maybe she is not that good looking. When we reached her place, she paid me the fare and as I returned her the changes, I turned to look at her and told her, "You are not bad looking, so be confident about yourself, goodnight and don't think too much." She smiled and thanked me for listening to her problems and closed the door.

As I drove off, my thoughts of her problems still fill my mind and even until this moment as I penned her sad story. In life, sometimes it is a gamble in whatever things we do, but I think the biggest gamble is with marriage. I always thought it would be good to study the family background of your loved ones before committing to a marriage. Of course sometimes it is not necessarily true that your loved ones will behave like their family. But it is only a guide and I often told my daughters to open their eyes wide before committing to a relationship. Because during courtship, many couples tend to tolerate each other because they are in love. It is good, I think, to encourage your partner to be open with whatever problems or issues they are uncomfortable with and be frank about it rather than sweeping it under the carpet. We never know what lies in the future but we will know what lies under the carpet if we don't plan for it and discover to our horror all the sickening things under it. I think life can be better if partners are forthcoming about issues at hand. Being honest with each other would strengthen the marriage and bonding of each other.

Until then, my clock has just chimed and telling me it's time for bed. I will continue with some other stories if I find it newsworthy.

Goodnight!
fred

Fred On The Move

2006-12-01T20:32:00.000+08:00

Ok. I was resting yesterday for half a day from 1pm but I wasn't resting today as I have some personal errands to do from 11am to 3pm. Then I did some exercise on my Oto machine follow by shower. By the time I finish my personal hygene, it was already close to 5pm. I settled down in my trusty steamer chair and napped for something like an hour 20 minutes. That's enough to charge up my body for my next storytelling.

Last Tuesday (28 Nov'06) was quite interesting when I picked up 3 people (2 caucasians - a lady and a man and a local chinese lady. All of them in the 30's) from The Concourse at about 1.20pm. They mentioned this must be their lucky day. Usually they can't find a cab waiting at the taxi stand. Along the way they were all pretty excited about the coming Christmas, seeing that they bought lots of Christmas stuff and decorations. The caucasians were the more chatty of the 3. The poor local chinese lady couldn't join in the chat as she knows nothing about all the singers mentioned. They were all talking about singers in the 70's and 80's. Then they talked about the BeeGees and mentioned Barry & Robin Gibb and Andy Gibb (the youngest of the 4 brothers who died from drug overdose in the late 80's or early 90's) but they couldn't recall the name of the other brother. I knew it was Maurice Gibbs but just kept it to myself as I don't want to be viewed as a busybody. Most of the time, I would try to strike up a conversation with the passengers but this time round, I concentrated on my driving seeing the excitment and noise created by the caucasians. On reaching their destination and after the fare was paid, I simply told the caucasian lady that the missing person they are looking for in the BeeGees is Maurice. She was as usual, excited and quickly told her male counterpart that the taxi uncle says it's Maurice that they have forgotten and laughs. Hey, this taxi uncle knows a bit of oldies you know. LOL.

Some passengers are just being either naive or greedy. I picked up an elderly Malay mother and daughter from IMM to Teban Gardens at about 10pm. Along the way, I conversed with them in Malay and they were surprised that I am quite good at the language. Told them I studied Malay during my primary school days and passed but flopped my chinese. All of us just LOL. When we reach the destination. The elderly lady asked if she can keep one of the magazines at the back of the seat pocket. Feeling bad, I told her to go ahead. My partner and I provides magazines (not new ones of course) for passengers' reading pleasure. On another occasion, I have reason to belief one of the passengers either my partner or me picked up in the night took 2 of my magazines which is Oct'06 issue with Nicholas Tse and another with a beautiful lady (can't remember the magazine's name). Some people are just plain inconsiderate. They should at least ask if they can keep it though the answer may possibly be no as it is for other passengers' reading pleasure.

Then later in the night at about 10.20pm, I received a current booking to pick somebody from PSB Annexe Building Lobby. I went in through PSB's main entrance and waited foolishly at the lobby without looking at the building's name. Three minutes into the wait, I decided to step out to stretch my legs and arms and happen to glance up at the signage and realised that I am at the wrong place. I quickly drove out and proceeded to drive forward to the next building but found the road leading to it blocked. I drove out again to the main road and found the gentleman waiting at the lobby. Phew! Luckily I wasn't late and just made it in time. This gentleman wants to go to Keypoint at Jalan Sultan. On reaching there, he realised that he did not have enough money and asked me to wait for him while he go to the ATM to withdraw some money. At the same time, there's a lady waiting at the roadside for him to alight. I told the lady to wait if she can as this gentleman is just going to withdraw some money for the cab fare. She looks a bit tipsy and not feeling well. The gentleman returned to say the ATM is down and suggested I sent him to Crawford Road to withdraw the money. As the shortage is about $2.80 (he only have $10), which to cabby's standard is considered quite a lot of money, I decided to forgo the $2.80. He kept saying it's not right but I told him it's ok. I only realised that I should have asked him to pay by nets instead (Comfort cabs can accept nets and credit card, corporate cards and cab vouchers).

The only reason I chose to forgo the $2.80 is purely because I want to make sure of the safety of the tipsy lady that she may meet some people who may possibly take advantage of her in her present state of condition (she is quite good looking and young, maybe about 22 to 24 years and most vulnerable). Along the way to AMK Ave 5, she felt nauseous and asked for a plastic bag. I passed the bag to her and she vomitted not long after. I asked her if she is alright after vomitting and she say yes, much better. It's actually quite a relief to note that I have sent her home safe and sound. I also have two daughters and sure wouldn't want anything to happen to them, not in the state of condition this lady is experiencing.

Well, I have to call it a night for now as I have to prepare myself for tomorrow's call of duty.

Cheers.
fred

2006-11-27T01:45:00.001+08:00

Hey, I am back again. Just finished my shift duty today (26 Nov'06) at noon.
One thing about driving along Orchard Road towards the direction of Suntec City and also from ECP towards Suntec City at night. Avoid it at all cost. I lost nearly 2 hours of potential income in the heavy traffic. Now I understand why other cab drivers complained about traffic jam. Imagine being stuck in a jam for about 30 minutes for each trip. Although the fare meter still record a 10 cents jump for every 25 seconds, the extra cost is only $7.70 to the passenger, but to the cab driver it could be a potential income of $15 to $20 over that period of time. I really felt miserable about it but I guess this is part and parcel of cab driving.

Anyway, cab drivers shouldn't complain in the presence of the passengers and rightly so as the traffic conditions is not created by them but rather because Christmas is near. Funny that it seems nearer than it actually was this time round. We are still a month away from it and look at the crowd, God.

Yesterday night (25 Nov'06), the traffic was crawling along Scotts Road when I received a current booking to pick up a passenger at Far East Plaza. Though I was only about 2 minutes away, I declined to take the booking because I am not sure if I can reach the pick up point within 12 minutes due to the jam. I was issued a warning for not taking the booking. In our GP4 system, we can choose to respond to the booking to arrive in 5, 7, 10 & 12 minutes. It's ok for me as I don't want to receive a complaint from the passenger for showing up late and I am actually heading towards that direction. I simply wasn't confident of reaching the place in the above stipulated time frames due to the traffic condition.

I later sent a sms to my good friend, my hirer (I am not suppose to disclose his name without his permission. Some of you may know him but I will still keep his name anonymous), about the traffic condition and to avoid it at all cost, particularly, along Orchard Road and Rochor Road leading to Suntec City and especially on Friday and Saturday nights.

Oh yes, there is something I want to update before calling it a night. I was driving along Orchard Boulevard on Saturday night when I decided to stop along the roadside just behind Wheelock's Place to record the last fare in my little book when a Malay couple came and board my cab. Wow, the lady was wearing quite a low cut dress as I can see her before she board my cab. Once in my cab, I was told to go to 2 places, Tanglin Halt and Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 by the guy. It was only when the couple started talking that I realised that the lady was in fact a transvestite. And the guy was calling "her" kakak (elder sister in Malay). But they are nice people to talk with and not at all snobbish. In fact, they are quite well mannered when they talk to me about my works in general, like what time I start and finish work.

They were shock to hear I am on 48 hours shift rotation and ask how I can manage to stay awake for 48 hours. Of course, we don't literally drive 48 hours. Normally, I would finish my night driving at about 11.30pm on weekdays and about 1.30am on Friday and Saturday nights. Wake up time is about 6.00am and start driving at about 6.45am everyday unless I have advance booking the night before. I have learnt an important lesson, and that is not to take bookings early in the morning, like I did last Saturday night for a Sunday pick up at 2.45am near Choa Chu Kang for the airport. That night, I dared not go back home to sleep because of the comfort at home. So I did the next best thing many cab drivers do, sleep in the cab. After the trip, I picked another passenger from the airport but not after waiting for 2 hours at Terminal 2.

Another lesson I learnt from fellow cab drivers. Never queue at Terminal 2 between 1.30am to 5.15am. There are no flights coming in at this unearthly hours. Terminal 1 should be the place to go. Okay, lesson learnt.

Well, it's now 2am and I am not suppose to stay up this late at home. I should be resting and sleeping and that's what I am going to do.

Goodnight & cheers.
fred

Fred On The Move

2006-11-23T17:38:00.000+08:00

Phew! Finally I got started with the blog. I am no computer wizard. To put it simply and honestly, I am a bit phobic with computers though I have been at it for the past 15 years. I promise my dear daughter Yihui I will start a blog as soon as I can find the time to do it.

I have just change profession from a Project Manager to a, whadayaknow, cab driver and have been at it for the past 3 weeks. Yeah, it's taxing physically, especially on the knees (always in bent position), eyes (tendency to lose focus, especially at night as I have a bit of astimism but still managable), constantly looking to answer nature's call (particularly at night due to the cooler weather. For this reason I tend to drink less water. If not I would be sending myself to the washroom more often than sending my passenger to their destination), hunger (luckily wife always pack an apple and light snacks as standby).

So tired today as dear wife is sick. Lucky today is my off-day if not I don't know what will happen to her. Brought her to a neighbourhood doctor in the morning, Surprising medical fees is $34, well below my expectation of around $80 because there is an injection as well as 3 medicines. She has been sleeping since morning 11.30am. She needed the rest as she would wake up every time I come back from work to help me count the daily takings and record the account.

I need a rest now and will follow up with more postings, probably later in the night when I am refreshed.

Cheers