Disgruntlement

First up, let me say that IA has since ended and what better way to end it then to take part in the Saucony 100Plus Passion Run on that very Sunday. After some miscommunication that happened during the registration period, I ended up doing the 10km run rather than the 15km that my other friends had signed up for. Bummer.. So that meant that the run was gonna be lonely.. nevermind that..

So off I went and at the finish line, I saw to my horror that my timing was approx 1 hour.. now I’m not saying that I’m very fit or anything, but based from previous experiences, I ought to be doing better than that.. you see, that very Tuesday, I ran 2 rounds around campus.. that works out to be approx 11.2km? something like that.. so anyways, that took me an hour.. and I was please with the timing.. well, it always could be better.. but I’m out of the green suit so AT LEAST I’m running.. let’s take things one thing at a time I thought. So back to the Passion Run, eventually the results were posted and as you can see..

It says 1 hour and 47 seconds.. sucky I thought. I recall crossing the finishing line feeling rather spent, so when the official results tell me (and based on the chip they tie to your leg, it should be accurate) that my time was such, it got quite disheartening.. I thought if I tried harder and perhaps push to run at the same pace I did on that Tuesday, I might have done better than 100th position.. well, not that I’m really complaining la..

So what’s the point of all these? Those who follow the papers today (and if you don’t, go read this article), would have read that “…During the June 8 Saucony 100PLUS Passion Run, for example, participants who signed up for the 10km race literally went the extra mile. According to competitors' foot pods - devices that calculate distance - they covered 11.5km…” what nonsense right?

To think that they’d actually put in a little effort to get the distance right.. like the article says.. we’re not talking about a few hundreds of metres.. this is 1.5km more! Goodness me.. so I’m a little lost at how to feel. On one hand, I’m glad that I did run further, cos that means that I probably did run at the same speed.. timing’s quite the same.. so that made me feel better about my run.. it is my FIRST running event after all.. but on the other hand.. I can’t help but feel a ‘what-the-heck’ feeling.. how the organizers managed to make such a biggie I’ve got no idea. But yet, they’ve done it.. well done. Oh and yes, I’ve not even mentioned that my Passion Card that I’m supposed to received eons ago from the registration isn’t here yet.. sigh. Somebody really needs a wake up call..

my first running event ‘medal’.. aww..

On another note, for the fellow bus-citizens of our dear island.. you probably know that LTA and SBS-Transit/SMRT have recently put up those Arrival Time indicators at selected bus stops.. apparently they’re supposed to tell you which bus will arrive in how many minute’s time..

APPARENTLY.

Alighted at AMK today after a swim in school and made my way to the bus stop to catch my bus back.. and that’s when I saw that I just missed my bus, the one that’ll take me right outside my place.. nevermind I thought. It was the evening peak period, so I figured I didn’t have to wait that long to catch another bus in.. a quick glance at the Arrival Time Board tells me “10 27”.. fine. It’s a 10 minute wait for the next bus.. I could wait.. I was in no hurry.. plus if I were to try taking other buses and then walk in from the bus stop further outside, it’ll prob be a 10 minutes walk in anyway.. so there wasn’t any harm to wait.. so I thought..

Eventually the board said “Arr 17”. Yay.. it’s about time.. but still no bus. Nevermind.. wait..

“Arr 10”. Ok, now it’s starting to get quite frustrating, cos I just waited 17 minutes for the stupid bus.. and even though it has been saying that it will arrive, it never did.. or maybe it was some stupid phantom bus that SBS-Transit decides use.. still no bus.. nevermind.. wait..

“Arr 3”. Ok, now I’m really getting irritated.. you know.. it’s one of those feelings where you feel that if you could just meet the head/CEO/big boss of SBS-Transit, you’ll give him a good knuckle on the head and ask him to ‘wake up his bloody idea’ kinda feeling.. ya.. I was pretty much there right now.. complete incompetence I thought. Nevermind.. swallow hard, and wait..

So on it went.. until “Arr 37”.. still no bus.. wait..

“Arr 30” still no bus.. at this point in time I completely lost all feelings.. it’s probably a numb, i-wanna-go-home feeling.. lost count of how many minutes I’ve been waiting for.. and then after what felt like perpetuity, the bus finally decides to show up.. ¾ full.. *faint* you must realize that I’m waiting at the very first bus stop from the interchange and this bus is never ½ full when it’s here.. so push turned to shove as I was determined to get on board this bus..

yup.. that’s SBS Transit at it’s very best.. and it’s not the first time this has taken place.. that is exactly what will happen when you allow monopoly to happen in the transport system of the nation. Or rather duopoly in this case. First you tell the citizens that you want to build a new North East Line.. sure, they’re happy. A more extensive transport system means that more places are accessible and that always go well with the general public. Everyone’s happy.

And so after gathering this census that everybody’s happy, u go ahead and build yourself a NEL. And then you start removing the different bus services and start altering half of the bus services to send people to these train stations instead.. to FORCE people to these train stations rather.. oh and add to that the fact that you refuse to open some stations even though construction is completed.. and when people made noise, you tell them that that was what they agreed to initially.. bullshit. And then you start having all these transport fare hikes and people generally don’t get to do anything about it.. I mean, you run the transport system.. it’s either pay the new fee or buy a car/take a cab/walk.. obviously they have to give in..

All these were similar to the mobile phone situation waaaay back before M1 and StarHub broke into the scene.. Singtel or Singapore Telecoms as it was known back then, ran the entire show and they could charge you preposterously high prices and yet you’ll still have to oblige. Either that or bring a phonecard.. and now that the monopoly of Singtel is finally broken, look at how much the people are benefiting from it.. perhaps it’s about time to start considering applying the same thing to the transport system.. countries elsewhere have done it.. and they’re citizens are benefiting.. what about us and our ‘World Class Transport System’?

.. wait.. I meant to say our ‘World Class Transport System.. rounded-off to the nearest Fat Hope’.