miss the good o' days

that lady

Bumped into that begging lady just now at the same traffic junction. She went even convincing - she was holding onto this girl's arm, put on that same poor thing grimace, and was KNEELING down! After that she saw me looking at her, approached me but I warned her away.

random pic

Briefcase I bought in Wuxi, China. When bargaining, the shopkeeper even claimed it was real cow leather! HA! Looking at the deteriorated exterior, u know it isn't.

Thank you briefcase for accompanying me through many interviews and networking sessions. Thanks for the help, appreciate it! =)

Stealer

Today after work I met my friend and dropped by Coffee 'n' Toast (or whatever it is?) shop at City Link mall. We found a seat, put down our bags and went to buy drinks.

Our table was in the inside of the shop, and the counter was like only 10 steps away, and I kept glancing back to ensure our bags were untouched. They were safe; at least for the first few glances.

Suddenly I caught this Malay/well dressed Bangla guy stooping, reaching for my fren's laptop bag. Before he grabbed hold of it, he turned around to take a quick look but unfortunately for him, my eyes were fixed on his every action.

Despite just half a second from being caught red handed, he appeared to be very calm. This man simply turned around, put up his hand to signal an apology and walked away looking like he did nothing wrong.

Outraged at his sinister intent to steal, I continued to fix my stare at him, furious. He walked towards the escalator and escaped, in the meanwhile turned back 3 times to give me a 'please don't looking at me' look.

I was furious. The tables around our bags were occupied, and this man had the AUDICITY to grab and go right under the noses of so many people?! IT WAS DISGUSTING. OUTRIGHT INFURIATING. He was damn lucky he didn't get caught by me with the bag in his hand. I would have pushed him onto the ground, pinned him down and shouted. Call the police. Apprehend him. Judging from his seemingly cool attitude, he probably has accumulated much experience from stealing. This kind of people deserves no second chance.

Hoping I can increase the "me time" and "sleep" both at the same time? haha.

my good o' kelly!

My Kelly's back! Looking better and performing faster! =)

I'm sooooooo super glad I bought that 1+2 extended warranty!

That woman

If I remember correctly, it was 2004 that I was cycling to the MRT, when suddenly a woman 10 metres ahead of me suddenly waved at me to stop. She had a very troubled face.

I immediately e-braked just in time to avoid hitting her. In very pitiful and slow Mandarin, the mid 40 year old explained her mother is in hospital and her family has no money for food, and followed to ask for some money. Seeing that her expression was grimaced in real agony, I pitied her and passed her $5.


A few months later, along the same path, I chanced upon the same auntie, but this time she was convincing another kind soul for money.

I started to think, maybe she was only putting up a show.

-

Over these years, I had seen the same auntie a couple of times, around the same area, but she wasn't engaging in any pitiful begging.

__

Today, I was running errands at Tampines Mall and bumped into her at the TM junction. She looked quite the same, except that she had put on slight red lipstick. She stopped me. Upon recognising her, I waved her away. However, a few steps later, I turned back to take a look, to see her chanting away to a teenager girl. The girl looked like she was very taken aback and didn't know how to react.

I back-tracked.

I asked the auntie what was going on. The auntie turned her attention to me, and the girl slowly backed away. The auntie started to explain her story to me - this time her family hadn't eaten for days. She had the same pitifully grimaced face, and edged very uncomfortably into my personal physical space.

I totally ignored her and told her, "Auntie, 5 years ago you told me a similar story over there," I pointed to the cycling path 100 metres away.

-


The auntie went silent and stared at me blankly, seemingly trying to recall. After a few seconds, she rebutted, "Don't have, don't have."

I stressed, "Yes, you did. After so many years, you still haven't found a job?"

The auntie responded 'no' very quickly, then further edged very closely in front of me, asking if I could recommend her any job.

I said, "Sorry, I cannot help you." And walked away quickly.

-

Thinking back, I am wondering if the auntie had been in such a pitiful state for so long. Maybe I should have helped her. But I didn't, instead doubted her honesty and the mask she donned.

How would you have reacted?