Blind tennis

Today, was sitting in the bus on the way home, minding own business by spacing out, when was struck on the side of the face with the end of a tennis racket. The racket had been poking out at a rakish angle from a JC student's bag and his girlfriend?sister? managed to rescue my face from further damage by stuffing the racket back into to the bag. The reason for this debacle, which I didn't even have time to react to (since I had been stoning) was that the student seemed to have sustained some form of eye injury and had tissue stuffed behind his spectacles, hence resulting in a lack of any kind of vision. Speaking of lack of foresight, it seemed they had randomly hopped onto the bus while not being sure how to get to their destination.

This makes the second time in a week that I have encountered an injured student, but these two did not seem to be heading to a clinic. They were instead discussing how to get somewhere by bus. But, judging from the way the girl was literally dragging around the guy, I seriously think they'll be injuring themselves further by, 1) falling off the steps of the bus, 2) trip, or worse still, 3) poke someone's eye out. I suspect however, that they'll continue to wherever they need to be via bus because, not oddly, they seemed to be amsued by the situation they were in. An odd couple they did make. I on the other hand, felt like a reluctant audience to some soap opera, because the guy was clinging on in this desperate way to the girl's hand, but the strangely touching scene (I am mostly thinking girlfriend now) was quickly reduced to a farce when we all alighted at the bus terminal and the girl ended up half-dragging the fellow around in an ungainly manner. They hadn't seemed to have decided where to go either and were walking about in various directions. The racket and the towel hanging out of the bag however, should help things. If you can remain injured and still have your towel with you, you're bound to be able to cross galaxies, let alone across one tiny island. The blind leading the blind indeed.

Bus stuff

It has lately been observed that public bus fares have been exhibiting strange behaviours. Peruse for instance, the following four observations made by my colleague, Suz:

Trip #1: BUS 151 Kent Ridge Terminal to Jln Toa Payoh (aka longkang bus stop) = 133 cents

Trip #2: BUS 59 Tampines Ave Two to Bishan Interchange (via Toa Payoh) = 143 cents

Trip #3: BUS 105 Serangoon Ave Three to Jln Toa Payoh = 93 cents

Trip #4: BUS 135 Ang Mo Kio Interchange to Serangoon Ave Two = 31 cents (71 cents minus rebate)

Consider exhibit 4 again. Where did the rebate come from? I have no idea. But 31 cents was exactly how much I paid today. And as to why it costs 93 cents to go from my home to Toa Payoh and only forty cents more to get to NUS from there is to my mind, ridiculous. Consider that on very good days when and if I have the time, I can walk to Toa Payoh. No one walks from Toa Payoh to Kent Ridge. The difference in distance isn't a marginal 400 metres. It's kilometres of difference. And I just know that the 105 bus has something against me. As if it hasn't done enough making me either run for it, miss it, or is unfashionably late, arrives in an entourage and plies a route riddled with jams, crowds, and short roads with many turnings to increase my bus fare.

Alternately, I am baffled that I have a rebate on my way home. 31 cents from Ang Mo Kio to Serangoon? That's even cheaper than when I paid the 45 cent student fare.