Epitome of the Singaporean culture...... THE MRT.

It sums up pretty much every or almost, every aspect and characteristics of a Singaporean living in.... well, Singapore.

You have to love the way, the MRT always rushes us to where we need to go. So much so , that we too always rush to .... pretty much everywhere. The MRT door opens , and we rush in to get seated. The Cinema door opens and we rush in also ( despite having allocated seats this time). We rush to the food stalls during our lunch breaks, rush through our meals and then rush back to our work. We also rush when the shopping centres open during a sale. We also rush to buy "Hello Kitties". We rush for the primary one registration and we rush for the free copy of TODAY to read in the MRT. We rush for the mundane to the monumental. Just like how the MRT does not stop mid way to catch a breather, so do we. We have forgotten that the journey also matters as equally as the destination that we are rushing to reach.

Is it the system? like how the train rushes to reach its designated stations within the stipulated time, we only rush to attain the preset goals within the stipulated milestoned age ? find a job by 25 , find a spouse by 30, buy a house by 33.25, have a kid by 35...etc. How one views my point is subjective so i shall not elaborate further.

The MRT has often served as a reflection point in my life. Questions were often asked and answered whilst standing inside the over crowded and claustrophobic cabin.. Where have i been? where am i going? Countless rhetorical questions just churning in my mind.

At times when its not my life in reflection, i see the rebarbative nature of my fellow Singaporeans in the mirror. We almost seem incapable of caring for none other than ourselves. Despite so much visual cues ( which i find embarrassing) to be polite and considerate, there are people who are adamant not to give up their seat for the eldery/disabled/pregnant. Some pretend to be asleep, some pretend to be stressed and angry and there are the classic ones who will clutch their knee or their thighs and occasionally let out a grunt as if they were in pain. Thanks to these dimwits, those who are geniunely injured or asleep get the brunt of the cranky and pissed off eldery/pregnant and disabled.

Just as i thought that all hopes are lost with my fellow Singaporeans, i came across a ray of hope in the form of a pregnant lady whom i met enroute to Dhoby Gaut on the NEL. She was the anti-thesis of my usual fellow Singaporeans. I was seated and fast asleep ( really). When i reached clarke quay, i just happened to open my eyes, i saw this pregnant lady( in her most irritated expression) with her friend. i was still groggy you see and the moment i saw her tummy, i just got up i tugged at her hand and told her to have my seat at the same time i also apologized for not offering her earlier. I proceeded to the edge of the door and leaned on it. Just then the pregnant lady came up to me and apologized..I was abit puzzled.. She said that she thought i was just pretending to be asleep and she was cursing the shits out of me to her friend... i didn't know how to react and i simply smiled and said its ok.

What she did really took me by surprise. She had no need to do what she did.. but she did.. Guess there are still some people with calibre and character around.