supamun's Diaryland Diary

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Apathetic drivers

Today, on the journey to work, we got stuck in a bottleneck, much to my annoyance. From far I spied a few cars pulled up at the side of the road, and cursed silently, directing all ire at them. "4 months i've taken this road and no accident, why something now?!?" I asked myself incredulously, very determined to justify my ill feelings. But as my dad drove closer the situation seemed very different from what I thought initially.
The cars pulled up were not actually obstructing traffic, as they were within the white line usually reserved for ambulances. Interesting. And there didn't seem to be any accident, just a policeman questioning a woman, with the other drivers/passengers standing idly and observing them cautiously. So what had caused the slowdown? The answer didn't take long to dawn on me, as it was a situation my driving instructor had explained to me once before.
People were actually slowing down to see what happened. In Singapore, a policeman questioning someone is always bound to raise curiosity, and these people (perhaps many gossip mongers among them) were trying to take in as much as they could while their vehicles sped past, certain that any juicy detail would be an instant hit at work later on and spice up their boring work lives. I lost the plot, raised my voice and gestured, lamenting the ugly nature of man and the lack of altruism amongst Singaporean drivers, who clearly didn't spare a thought for people like me, who were rushing about their business. For a moment, I let my bitterness get the better of me, thinking of all the times I was doublecrossed, kick about and flung by the wayside, before calming down.
It's very ironic. I flared up because I had intentioned going to work early to do my quiet time, and things didn't turn out the wa I wanted them.

7:03 p.m. - 2007-06-21

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