The Train

Not sure how many of you travel to work by train (MRT)? And how many actually travel either from one end of Singapore to the other end or from the top to the bottom? I am one of those. Most of the time, I enjoy my train ride, listening to my mp3 player with either some beautiful music or the ever familiar voice of my pastor, while I stand attentively on a lookout for a seat.

Based on my rough estimate, for every 4 trains that pass by the station I am boarding, there will be one which is totally empty, and I normally would wait a little longer and take one of those unless I am already running late. However, this does not occurs everyday, because I tend to be a bit late most of the days, and even when I am early, by the time I got unto one of those empty trains, I would still be late for work.

Yet, after several years of practice (working in town for the past 4 to 5 years), I have sort of master the skill of identifying polytechnic students who would alight 2 stations away from where I board. When I suspect that there is one of those in the same cabin, I would then try to subtly walk close to him and stand there, yet pretending as if I just happened to be there. Sad to say, my guess and strategy is only half the time correct.

Then what about the half? I would then see other passengers standing next to me, who board the train later than me, and yet able to get a seat much earlier than me! (Sob… What injustice!) There are even several occasions that I have to stand all the way to work. So some weird ideas came to me, I wish perhaps someone who is in charge of the MRT would read this, can we take queue number for train too? Then anyone who board a train which is fully occupied with no available empty seat, would be assigned the first available empty seat based on his queue number. Or else, I have another idea. Can we request each of those who has a seat, to indicate on a Lcd screen placed above each of the seats, the station that they are alighting, so that we can position ourselves and to be strategically stationed?

Anyway, these are some crazy ideas I had when I am on the train (but don’t you think they are quite creative?), occasionally dreaming away with my pastor’s voice in the background. Yet when at times I got a seat, you know what? The selfish nature of me would just want to pretend to sleep, just in case I see any pregnant woman standing, and I felt “obliged” to stand. This is me, your friend, my true nature, don’t be shocked, now you see more of my imperfection. Yet aren’t you glad that you have a friend who dares to show forth her weakness?

The fact is getting a seat and having half an hour nap on the train is very precious and valuable! And I did a quick calculation, minus all the walking to the station, the time we spend on the train or traveling is about an hour a day, and that is more than 4% of our daily life, and more than 6% of our awake time. Isn’t this time very precious? Then perhaps, we should do something really constructive during this time, take a nap, take a good rest, in preparation for a busy day ahead. Isn’t there a Chinese saying, a good rest is to allow us to travel even longer?