Profile

I am the boy-next-door who goes almost everywhere in a tee-shirt, jeans, and flip flops; the young and promising (just not in conventional ways) gentleman whom others stereotype as a bummer, a slacker, a buay-tak-che (cannot study); and someone who portrays the image of a beng without the dyed hair and the earholes.

I am still the joker who occasionally pushes when the sign says pull; the sceptical miscief who touches anything that is labelled "wet paint", only to exclaim "the paint is wet, la!"; and the animal lover who picks up snails along pavements and puts them on the grass so that they will not be stepped on by people who are really bat-jiu-ta-stamp.

I am the ex-full-time national serviceman in the republic of singapore air force, the ex-foh manager, ex-barista, ex-enroller; the present undergraduate and teacher; and the aspiring senior prisons officer.

I am the guy you walked past once, but was just another face in the crowd.




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skin by: Jane
Tuesday, April 07, 2009 @ 23:11
The lady, her toddler and a road divider

06 Apr 2009 (Mon), 1720H, Tampines Street 11, Singapore

I was driving along Tampines Street 11 when a middle-aged lady and her toddler crossed the road suddenly from the divider. They were less than 40m away. I jammed the brakes, stopped my car and gave a (very friendly and long) honk. Instead of completing their cross, they stood in the middle of the road for two seconds, looked at me, then walked backwards towards the divider. I gave an amused and exasperated wave for them to complete their cross, to which they then walked forward again.

The lady's reaction got me thinking about human nature and comfort zones. When faced with unexpected situations which temporarily throw off our original goals, is it human instinct to return to where we began rather than persevering and completing what we set out to do? In the incident as stated above, why did she return to the divider rather than complete her cross?

In my work and service-learning experiences, I have had colleagues and volunteers who excelled under normal and planned conditions. However, when faced with unexpected situations, many were at a loss; and of these, most chose to give up and return to where they began i.e. their comfort zones. Is this human nature?