remember when -
snails were just creatures who seemed to appear en masse after a heavy rain, creatures who made a nice crunchy sound when you (very cruelly) stepped on them just to hear aforementioned sound, or a car ran over them as you were passing by. and sometimes you had the good fortune of stepping on a pregnant snail and got to feel particularly disgusted and grossed out at the sight of the yellow eggs and slime. feelings we all rather like to feel actually, if only we admit it to ourselves. there's something rather satisfying about being in control, something to be said for natural sado-masochistic tendencies.
on the way to check out the calling cards at the mama shop just now i chanced upon two snails; a big one and a smaller one. probably mother and daughter. they were moving very slowly, the smaller snail in front. i resisted the urge to step on them, something i'd have done without thinking when i was about eight. i wished them well, and i hope they made it to their destination in one piece.
***
today i crashed a singapore studies lecture (spent most of it reading dworkin) with quentin and toshi and deborah (who is the sister of one of our dear friends, CHRISTOPHER YEO. who's that who's that?? - alright for the uninitiated she's caleb's sister but we don't like these references to people who are studying overseas and not here. plus we've forgotten who he is, this christopher character) and they've got a project coming up. quentin said he was going to do his on construction workers and how they're such a big part of the changing landscape of singapore, yet we give them so little credit and look down on them.
well, the mama shop couldn't offer me a better deal than the singtel hello! card (amazing!) so i took off to the 7-eleven near forture, which is fairly near my house, to purchase a starhub pre-paid card. which they didn't sell. and because i was on the wrong side of the road and crossing to take a bus would have been too much of a bother i walked all the way to the 7-11 at sixth avenue.
whilst i was waiting for the cashier to register my pre-paid card, three or four maids came in in quick succession to buy top-up cards for various pre-paid cards, pulling money folded many times over from their pockets, probably able to come out because their employers were having dinner.
and what quentin said today hit home: these are people too. i don't think we ever quite realise that. they've got families waiting for them, they went through adolesence and had turbulent emotions whilst growing up just like us.
i missed jon very much today, and for a while i felt rather spineless for being part of the instantly gratified generation. what of those people who went to war, world wars one and two? they could only write letters which could take up to months to arrive at their intended destinations. or the construction workers and maids who have no msn, no skype - and calling home (especially to india, now i know) takes up a fair amount of their pay. and here i was feeling gloomy because jon (in typical guy fashion) didn't charge his phone and went off travelling without a charger, thus making him uncontactable.
his mum suddenly called me though, which was truly an answered prayer - whoever it was who prayed that i would find some comfort today, thank you :) and i smsed abi "abi boo i need yoo" and she called and we had a time of prayer too. what a privilege to be able to carry everything to God in prayer, and to be able to share one's burdens this way.
one of my biggest gripes now is that debussy's petite suite is for piano, FOUR HANDS. obviously i don't have four hands, only two, and jon's away. en bateau will have to wait.
snails were just creatures who seemed to appear en masse after a heavy rain, creatures who made a nice crunchy sound when you (very cruelly) stepped on them just to hear aforementioned sound, or a car ran over them as you were passing by. and sometimes you had the good fortune of stepping on a pregnant snail and got to feel particularly disgusted and grossed out at the sight of the yellow eggs and slime. feelings we all rather like to feel actually, if only we admit it to ourselves. there's something rather satisfying about being in control, something to be said for natural sado-masochistic tendencies.
on the way to check out the calling cards at the mama shop just now i chanced upon two snails; a big one and a smaller one. probably mother and daughter. they were moving very slowly, the smaller snail in front. i resisted the urge to step on them, something i'd have done without thinking when i was about eight. i wished them well, and i hope they made it to their destination in one piece.
***
today i crashed a singapore studies lecture (spent most of it reading dworkin) with quentin and toshi and deborah (who is the sister of one of our dear friends, CHRISTOPHER YEO. who's that who's that?? - alright for the uninitiated she's caleb's sister but we don't like these references to people who are studying overseas and not here. plus we've forgotten who he is, this christopher character) and they've got a project coming up. quentin said he was going to do his on construction workers and how they're such a big part of the changing landscape of singapore, yet we give them so little credit and look down on them.
well, the mama shop couldn't offer me a better deal than the singtel hello! card (amazing!) so i took off to the 7-eleven near forture, which is fairly near my house, to purchase a starhub pre-paid card. which they didn't sell. and because i was on the wrong side of the road and crossing to take a bus would have been too much of a bother i walked all the way to the 7-11 at sixth avenue.
whilst i was waiting for the cashier to register my pre-paid card, three or four maids came in in quick succession to buy top-up cards for various pre-paid cards, pulling money folded many times over from their pockets, probably able to come out because their employers were having dinner.
and what quentin said today hit home: these are people too. i don't think we ever quite realise that. they've got families waiting for them, they went through adolesence and had turbulent emotions whilst growing up just like us.
i missed jon very much today, and for a while i felt rather spineless for being part of the instantly gratified generation. what of those people who went to war, world wars one and two? they could only write letters which could take up to months to arrive at their intended destinations. or the construction workers and maids who have no msn, no skype - and calling home (especially to india, now i know) takes up a fair amount of their pay. and here i was feeling gloomy because jon (in typical guy fashion) didn't charge his phone and went off travelling without a charger, thus making him uncontactable.
his mum suddenly called me though, which was truly an answered prayer - whoever it was who prayed that i would find some comfort today, thank you :) and i smsed abi "abi boo i need yoo" and she called and we had a time of prayer too. what a privilege to be able to carry everything to God in prayer, and to be able to share one's burdens this way.
one of my biggest gripes now is that debussy's petite suite is for piano, FOUR HANDS. obviously i don't have four hands, only two, and jon's away. en bateau will have to wait.
No comments:
Post a Comment