singapore-flavoured
singaporeans

we went to chadstone to shop, apparently the most colossal shopping centre in the southern hemisphere...to me, it was merely a conglomeration of CKTang, Taka, Bugis Junction and Jurong Point all rolled into one, a pork-barrel of luxury goods and impossibly-priced merchandise housed in a buyer-sphere. Among us, there were 5 teachers (pri, sec, jc), 2 principals, an arts administrator and one undergrad- all singaporeans. Independent and shopperholic (erm, am more a travelholic and foodieholic), we trudged the miles with an ever-determined smile, complaining of the blistering summer to come and the endless assignments that are due... And then it happened,

it had to-

the traffic lights went red, the cars stopped and we hurried each other across the road, some raising their voice as if a truckload of tractors were about to roll before us, 2 ran like olympic athletes, another walked so leisurely and many strolled as if the road belonged to our great great grandfathers, ever-confident, timing our footwork to an exact minute just before the beeping redman vanished from our sight.

Once off the road, we stomped and marched and trudged proudly...toward that
lump of concrete maze filled with dazed shoppers wondering where and when to spend their next dollar. thank goodness i went for the company.

our first stop was the foodcourt. the salads and burgers and rice portions were as usual, fit for vegan-omnivorous dinosaurs, enough to sustain you for one last ice-age. i stinched on 2 sticks of $AUD 2 sushi rolls, about the cheapest in the store and later fell for a pack of irresistable chips that would hopefully warm me for the journey back...then we disappeared...and arranged to meet quarter past 3 at a designated spot. Independent deluxe tours.

Hours later, we returned...a few with their auntie-bags of goodies; files (why never get from Popular, cheaaaper wat!!!) , clips (huh, why so ex!) , a bart simpson bag (wah cute leh cute leh) pepsi bottle (wa lau eh, so boliao), griller (for my sweet wife mah) and a namecard of sorts ( i want to get a puppy next time, so cheap why pay like hell back home, here got cheap vaccination also)...

a quick dose of verbal warmth and temporal relief, the diction smelled like home, a grammar of thoughts spelling out many meanings of fun with the familiar hue of singlish slapped on our lips. ranks and files did not exist...professions all melted into one common humanity; teachers, principals, undergrad and arts manager all clothed in delight, thrilled like the mid-noon sun...

then we crossed a line of roads once more, the same traffic lights and law-abiding citizens playing with time and tapping the best of courteous aussie drivers (unlike some old hounds back home), all safe and sound, a loud chorus of guffaws and wide-eyed grins marked our faces, knowing intuitively that the same scene could have taken place across junctions at Orchard, Woodlands, Bedok and Lim Chu Kang roads- pesudo ah-soh, ah-boys, ah-lians and uncles decked in light thermal casual wear, exchanging local talk, shining singlish on the run, not quite missing home yet smelling so much of singapore...