Category: Diary

Friday night, after a long day at work, I headed down to the supermarket opposite my condo to buy some beers. I wanted to cook something simple too. Like instant noodle and sardine.

Since the sardine collection was limited, I scrapped the idea of cooking and only bought a 6-pack.

As I joined the queue, a white man was in front with a basket full of grocery. He offered to let me go first, which I was grateful. I would have done the same.

But I was in no hurry. I thanked him and said just that. While waiting for the cashier to scan the items, I could have waited patiently, played with my phone perhaps. Instead, I asked him, “Are you from the neighbourhood?”

OK. Cliche as it sounds, I have done a personality check. MBTI to be precise. It seems like people these days are so into it. From dating scene to … Korean reality show.

I manage a team at work. Some are in Singapore. Most in India. One of my teammate in India has left for sabbatical leave. Good for her. Holiday in US. She is above 50. Her replacements are two decades younger.

Today I had a call with one of my teammates in Singapore. He commended the younger folks on doing a much better job. I asked what made you think that these younger folks are doing better than someone who is in her 50’s.

He said, “Not to be bias, I think it is all about age and energy.”

People tend to jump to conclusions. When they heard that I navigated to Woodland checkpoint by mistake, it was Apple Maps’ fault. Because I suppose the vast majority are using Google Maps.

But it was totally my fault.

I needed to pick someone up at Woodlands Train station. I picked the checkpoint instead. What I should have done was to pick the taxi stand as my destination.

To U-turn at Woodlands checkpoint by car took around 20 mins. The actual U-turn would have taken a minute. But this was not an ordinary situation.

Over dinner, GZDJ asked about my 2023 highlights. The first thing that came to my mind was snorkeling at Tioman Island. It was something that before this year, I would have never wanted to do. It was too adventurous for my liking. But in the spirit of YOLO, I joined a diving trip with my friends. I didn’t dive, not that adventurous yet. The experience was exhilarating. Floating in the open sea, with eyes on the ocean bed, seeing sea creatures living their lives entirely different from mine. The cold and warm current, the buoyancy. I could float the whole day and not get tired of what I saw. Plenty of small colorful fishes. Then came a few large bumphead fish. Corals, live and dead. Urchins and plenty of other sea creatures that I was not able to name. That trip was the highlight of my 2023.

What bothers me most is not one day I am fine, another day I end up with a scar on my brow. What bothers me most is that I do not recall how it happened.

I was on a bicycle in the early Saturday morning. I must have been cycling pretty fast because when I collected my bicycle from the security guards who cared for me before the ambulance arrived, it was in the lowest gear (or was I really cycling fast at the moment of the accident?). The bicycle looks okay. In fact, while my face took the most hit, my body besides a few minor scratches with a bit of soreness was okay too.

But how?

If I were to fall off at a high speed, I would have ended up with some nasty scratches on my exposed arms and legs. According to eyewitnesses, I hit a pillar. But how? Wouldn’t the bicycle take the first hit? Wouldn’t I have hit my back while falling down? I was wearing a helmet. How would my eye get hit so badly?

I said I was being assaulted. But no one believes me.