And so today

i went for the CMPB medical checkup. was kinda fun initially, but all the waiting bored me soon after. anyway, the doctor somewhat suspected that i had "heart murmurs" and sent me for further checks. PES D -indeterminate yet. heh.

a couple of really interesting things i came across today. i saw this little boy, at most 5 years of age, maybe 6, carrying a Nokia 7250 phone and seem to be in some really serious chat wif someone else on the other side of the line. (his mum was wif him all along)
"hey..tomorrow want to go sam's house play Pokemon?"
"-someting being said-"
"erm...ok lor. how much u want to sell? $10 can?"
"...."
"u wait okay?"

-turns to mum, asks for $12, mum nods, turns away from mum-

"okay, $12. u bring tml okay? dun 4get."
"...."
"bye bye"
(ends phone call and puts his phone into his mini pokemon bag. full of content, like a deal closed, like a childish glee when presented wif strawberry cheesecake. -he closes his eyes and sleeps on the MRT)

i went to the supermarket to shop after that. window shop -alone. i missed the times when carol would take me to PS carrefour and she'd show me so much that i've never seen before. my innocent and clearly shopping-deprived childhood. in fact i miss carol. really do. in the supermarket... (i saw)

wife: "eh liberty cheaper by 10c, lets walk over to liberty and buy."
man: "its jus 10 cents!!~ walk here walk there waste more energy! (he meant opportunity cost) not worth it la"
wife: "when u buy alot it makes alot of difference, ten 10cents makes a dollar.. Come, now we buy those stuff cheaper here (NTUC) first, den later go liberty buy those that liberty sells for less. i made a list of what is cheaper where already, jus have to follow the list, and we can save $2.50"
(the man shakes his head and cant believe what the wife is doing. wife still determined to join the queue before it gets longer. afterall she has to queue twice -at NTUC and Liberty.)

den again on bus 174 home. an old lady got up the bus, wearing brown wif brown designs -or maybe it was dirt. her "shopping bag" was a big red plastic bag, filled with empty cans. i realised it wasnt exactly a shopping trip for her. as she struggled up the bus, there was an even greater struggle to dig her little purse for a few coins, and dropped it into the slot. "chik kak" -she said in hokkien, meaning 70cents". And she held on to the ticket like her guarantee of a trip home. i reckon she would not be able to pay again if she lose her ticket. from her face, i could see how much that 70cents meant to her, as she dragged her empty cans on the floor of the busand quickly got a seat. (why cant they jus make it free for senior citizens to take public transport? society wouldnt crumble with a little compassion) As the bus moved on, she unzipped the purse in her wrinkled hand, and took a long peer into it -counting what little she had i believe? she zipped it back up. 30 seconds later, she took out a hankie -more like a rag to me, also brown in color and much too filthy to even be used as a table cloth at home- and she buried her face in it. i realised she was sobbing. right in the middle of the bus. (because i was sitting facing the back i could see everything) everyone still oblivious -or couldnt care as much- of her sobbing. students joked on; aunties gossiped on; i looked on. my heart almost melted when i saw her wiping her face dry one last time as she tried to control her emotions -in futility. Her eyes still wet, red, puffy. she pressed the bell, got down the bus, and walked away. back into society -this tilted community. The bus ride had been a short hiatus of reality, but then again, she PAID for it.

this world is kinda sick. fuck the world.