Really Fierce

This blog, strangely, was inspired – no, more like stirred up – by a rather unpleasant woman I almost had the displeasure of banging into.

This happened just last week, in Toa Payoh Central, just outside of the HDB Hub. It was a quiet weekday evening, with hardly anyone along the – I would say, wide – walkway. I was on my own, having done my chore and was walking briskly back to the hub. I had something that I wanted to throw as I was nearing the entrance of the hub. "Is that a dustbin?" I thought. "Eh no. Ah, it's over there."; momentarily, I couldn't decide which direction I was going as I looked right, half went left, then turned right.

Hey, it was a weekday evening and there was hardly anyone on the wide walkway, not much wrong with that, right? Wrong, it seems.

"uhhh, uhh, uh, Oy, oy, oy oy", I heard someone mumbled as I finally, somewhat abruptly, decided to turn right. Suddenly, as I realized the source of that mumbling, I found myself inches from this woman's face – wearing that what-the-hell-are-you-doing look. I shall not describe further what I think of her look.

I swerved, of course, and avoided banging into her. Not thinking too much of it, instinctively, I was mumbling a quick "Oops, sorry." But, almost at the same time, I heard a stern "Don't know how to see ah!"

"Wah lao eh!", was my exact thought – and also happened to be my exact words. She, nonchalantly, went her way, like it was nothing more than a sneeze what came out of her mouth a moment earlier.

Wah lao eh! Why did she have to walk so closely behind me in a wide walkway when there was hardly anyone around? And, without eyes at the back of my head, how to see behind? Of course cannot see lah! There is absolutely no need to be so fierce right? My goodness! It was infuriating, and that was all because, for that split second, I couldn't decide which was a dustbin. Wha ...

For no reason at all, out of the blue, I was left boiling. Of course, for a while, many versions of stupid this stupid that kept swirling in my head.

As I calmed down, I was left with this burning question: why, instead of letting go of something that is really nothing to begin with, some people would rather utter stupid things and perhaps escalating it into a possibly, ugly confrontation? Pointless bravado, or plain stupidity?

Fiercer than thy neighbor – is that part of Singapore's culture? Hope not.