Jhender

and then and then and then what

for my reference

Today on the train
1. a pair of similar looking sisters sitting across from me, same
mannerisms, legs crossed to the right, long rebonded hair, duh
handbags, same shoe shoe shape in different designs, same skirt
length. are we so similar to others?

2. middle-aged half balding man sits down next to me with a
nondescript briefcase, packed with some documents for a presentation
or conference – obscure uses for the ubiquitous Microsoft Word in
little events all around the world. or hey. OpenOffice

3. the train conductor(but there isn’t any), the train voice barks
raspily over the speakers that the train doors are opening.

Caislean oir.

4. a lady in matching grey jacket and pants, prancing horse bag,
sullen pockmarked face unblemished by foundation.

5. puffy cheek man holding mail addressed to Leow Ah Heng. I’d rather
be called ji-an than that, thank you very much.

6. man in brown shirt brown shoes brown esprit belt brown buffel
wallet but a pale canvas slingbag doh.

7. isn’t it so characteristic of our capitalistic society that the
prerequisite for taking the taxi is affordability rather than need. a
rich tai tai takes taxis, a business person takes the taxi, an old
person who is not rich takes the trains or buses, the sick the
pregnant the wounded all take the trains. and then the activist (I
call them that coz they like to go up in arms over izzues) say that we
need to be gracious and give up my seat to them, repeatedly forever
and ever, in of course the unspoken agreement that when I’m old and
poor I will receive the same kindness. now look I’m not grudging this
per se but rather pointing out the fundamental irony of what we are
doing here. bizarro. ironies.

8. saw a very pretty woman, tall lean pants low heels dark green top
light jacket brown handbag coffee long wavy hair thick-rimmed grey-
black glasses a slight smile and  strong energetic walk. that’s the
difference: energy, purpose, and the aroma of coffee in the sun. all
the LV bags, makeup and pushup bras can’t bring you happiness.
damn that Z4 was hot. u know the difference between the manual and
auto cars… in manual u engage the gear, accelerate and turn. one
hand on gearshift one on steering wheel one foot on clutch one on
accelerator one non-parallel processing brain and one vision on
everything. engage, advance, direct, engage, advance, direct, ad
infinitum. the gear engagement is like a cheer or start to an event
which gives it more oomph and significance. like u know it’s stupid
when ppl cheer at the wrong time. yeah.

my idea of 3-3-3 boeing 777 seats:

123 aisle 456 aisle 789

1 – good window seat
2 – bad middle seat – no window no aisle and person 1 will want to get out
3 – bad aisle seat – no window, comes with computer box under the front foot rest
4 – bad aisle seat – same as 3
5 – good middle seat – person 4 and 6 can exit out their side and leave you in peace.
6 – good aisle seat – no computer box, at worst only person 5 will bother you
7 – bad aisle seat – same as 3
8 – bad middle seat – same as 2
9 – good window seat

front row seats – bad – comes with baby baskets = noise. and tiny tray tables.

the following was written one day when i had some free time in manila while waiting for something. although deranged, it somewhat captures my frame of mind at that time:

Manilaing is more comfortable than Calcuttaing, but predictably ennuying (=boring). Alright, be serious. I am starting to feel like I have a few homes – one in sg, one in oberoi@kolkata, one in manila office. why, coz its like always going back to the same few places, meeting the same few ppl. its really different from tourism travelling, peculiarly different. and here are the pecularities:
1. less travel planning. no need to bother about what to see, what to do.
2. no need to take leave! wow. = no need to count leave and no need to look for public holidays
3. no need to fit schedule to plane tickets. well unless the planes are really full, which can happen because its more last minute.
4. usu someone is on the other side to pick you up. how nice. because airports and taxis are very unfriendly to foreigners. i do not understand this, because a. the first impression of a foreigner is the airport b. you do not invite someone to your house and attempt to fleece them c. money takes place over pride of the country?
5. laptops are a necessity. along with notebooks and papers. and never enough stationery.
6. there’s no need to worry so much about outdoor wear.
7. food, drinks, transport are claimable. not that i actually have time to enjoy some of these sometimes. hey we had peking duck the other day. for 2 ppl only. quite decent.
8. been having alot of coffee bean here. nothing palatable in india. not coffee. and i dont know where to find good chai in kolkata, the irony!
9. i want to get out of here earlier
10. one recurring event is sitting around in the office waiting for bosses to be done, or waiting for transport and chatting with the local staff and comparing countries and hearing sometimes dubious tips about the locale.
11. i is liking being able to run around with a small suitcase and bag. i like fast efficient flights and airport procedures.
12. checkin, takeoffs, planes, flight meals no longer bother me. nor do they excite me. but still enjoyable. i tend to just engross myself in books or ipods. darn that they dont allow you to keep earphones on during landing.
13. xrays and metal detectors are like meh, and useless.
14. thank goodness there are credit cards and visa and mastercard.
15. changi airport money changer is actually not that bad considering i changed S$212 in the transit area and only lost $4 compared if i changed at sengkang and perhaps $10 if i changed elsewhere. and that’s inside transit area mind you.
16. i dont really see what’s the fuss about changi airport. it’s functional and clean, but not spectacular. is it really sooo difficult to design and operate an airport? most shopping malls and hotels have way better designs that airports, even ours. changi has obiang-looking signages, small claustrophobic entrances to the transit area, average washrooms, not much entertainment, and grossly insufficient information points. it is difficult to find flight information, airport information, travel information. in-bound experience to SG is much smoother and nicer than out-bound of SG, hm. hello world.
17. mocha latte is not bad. i like chocolate. do you realise that there are 3 main types of hot drinks in the world – coffee, tea and chocolate. that is like so insufficient.
18. SIA planes have repulsive advertisements on their in-flight entertainment system. i hate them. assuming that i just get on plane, sit down, read my book, and alight, i actually do not experience much of any special SIA service, really. but i suppose reliability, safety and services-when-in-need are important.
19. they should replace service staff in changi airport with robots. that way, they can achieve their target goals of reliability, consistency, politesse (i suppose its politeness, but my english fails me), and inscrutability. SG is very robotic and sterile compared to other countries, which are a total mess, peculiar, full of character (gd and bad), and interative (in gd and bad ways again).
20. nobody can love sg. its like you have a friend who is very nice, polite, pleasant-looking and trustworthy, but its not someone who you can love from the bottom of your heart because he is so dashing, effervescent, cute and hot. its like i love you because you are special and that i love you, not because you are the perfect girl.
21. u read love in the time of cholera? no, i dont think its one my faves. the title is lovely, but the blurb looks er/zzz.
22. the world is not round. those who tell you that its round are just less simplified than those ppl who tell you that its flat!, its ever so elliptical.
23. what?