The Karung guni man

This morning ,I met a tall skinny man collecting discarded tins and paper cartons to sell as a means of living. I happened to be quite near to his piles of what people would consider "rubbish" .
He looked up at me and a warm friendly smile radiated across to me like the morning sun. Then he started telling me about his work, his family and his small surviving business . In a short while, he started telling me some rather personal details of his life.

" I have a sister who is mentally-ill. I own a four-room apartment and my very old mother is still living with me. I have to get on with life."

Subsequently, he started explaining to me how he organised his daily collection of the various items . Those fifteen minutes were a lecture on time management and a particular philosophy of life. I was drinking " Ice Mountain" while listening to this unsolicited presentation. Believe me, it was power-pointed! The whole lesson was conducted in Hokkien. Then an "uncle " passed by. This simple practical philosopher then waved to him and said ," Uncle, good moleng , come , eat coffee ."

What he meant was :
Uncle , good morning . Come and drink coffee.

I smiled . He had spliced two languages together. I was conjecturing at that moment : This man could have been a very good lecturer on the use of precious time in an institute of learning had his command of English been better !

Five Stars Refresh Rooms

This morning , my wife and I went for our usual morning walk . The sun was just rising in the East. It was bright and golden . It looked like a big round crimson brass plate just emerging from behind some deep dark interior , shining fiercely across the super structure of a highway that was now in place above Upper Seranggoon Road. We went up the gentle slope , passed a huge bust of Ganesan . Then we went past some low shrubs. I think they were the curry leaves plants. We strolled past the Caltex petrol station . And it is interesting to note that there was a new term for the toilets there - " five stars refresh rooms". They are toilets ! Refresh rooms, not refreshment rooms. See : The word" refresh" has acquired a new usage - an interesting one too . Imagine : If you are new to the English Language . And you associate "refresh" with "refreshment" . What a joke it will be if you are looking for drinks and find yourself in a toilet !

Kampong Days

Practically all the kampongs are now gone. Today ,we live in big blocks of apartments. Our surroundings are getting more beautiful with trees ,shrubs and creepers, planted all over the island. We work very hard , busy hurrying from one block to another in cars ,buses and trains. Some on bicycles as well. Life nowaday is very different from the past . Instead of pirate taxis , we have many companies competing for passengers. Once,we used to race around on bicycles on earthern tracks in our kampong . Now ,we have many who take chances with fast moving vehicles mimicking F-1 racers . The city roads are a danger to many users and often a frustration . I really miss the safety of the kampong tracks .