location frustration

I must have rambled on here before about how staying right smack in town isn't all that it's made out to be. Inevitably, when someone finds out where i stay, it's usually followed by comments along the line of "wah, so lucky!" or "so you must be very rich!". Of course, i then would have to make it clear that either comment made is not true, at least not the way i see it.

It's usually easier to convince people that the latter is not true, after a quick explanation of the circumstances that have led the family to stay where we do stay. The former, however, is somewhat harder to brush aside. Unlike many others, i don't really see the value in living within such close proximity to the town center. So what if i can make my way to Ion by foot within twenty minutes? The hoards of people that i would encounter both along the way to and from there and in the place itself are way more than i am really comfortable with, and in any case, the chances of me making a purchase there are probably next to nothing (Certainly not from Louis Vuitton, or "elvee" as many a S'porean auntie would call it due to the fear of pronouncing it wrongly - and in their defence, well they usually do, kinda along the same lines as Hermès ends up rhyming with "perms").

And at least until the current agreement runs out (and i'd dare you to call me unpatriotic when i tell you that i'm hoping, not so secretly anymore, that it is not renewed - for me F1 as a whole is an unnecessary mass emission of carbon dioxide), every September the latest reason for me to lament staying where i do roars its way back into town. I of course i am referring to the darn S'pore Grand Prix. Staying where i stay and working where i work, it's become practically impossible for me to avoid being grossly inconvenienced by the road closures that i have involuntarily been made to accept in the name of the boost to the local economy and what not.

It's not too bad in the morning, since i leave for work at such an unearthly hour that there never is a jam along the diverted bus route, though it does add a good five more minutes to my bus travelling time, and disables the rather handy "time till the next bus arrives" digital info screen at my bus stop (i dunno what's its proper name, so it is hereby christened as such). When i've been taking the bus home this past week though, that's another story, as most of the possible buses that i can take use Nicoll Highway, which means there has been more than my fair share of being stuck in traffic (and btw, you have to appreciate the SBS Transit staff who have been stationed at key points along the temporary bus routes - i recognise one of the frequent bus inspector aunties among them; and the police too - both of these groups who probably would otherwise never come within an F1 car's exhaust's whiff of the race). On top of that, the high-pitched buzz from the cars is very audible from my place. I may stay on a hill, but i nevertheless get all the noise without a smidgeon of a view of the darn noisemakers themselves. The worst of both worlds, if you may...

So next time, don't offer your raves about where i stay. I'd prefer your condolences :p