time of the sem again, when wordcounts are high on the consciousness radar. then there is the denial phase - when suddenly making a cup of lipton teh-ping becomes a critical precedent to the reading of the next page of notes and everything on tv seems interesting, from the training of military police dogs to awesomely vulgar, buxomous women wrestlers ululating and thwacking bulging breasts (their own and others') in a rink. it was seriously terrible yet engrossing, much like an accident.
which reminds me of the crane accident at the alumni complex last week. (i think i'm starting to sound like the sunday lifestyle columnist with his annoyingly desultory rambling.)
happened to be at the deck when it happened. the thunderous crash, followed by screams, brought dozens of students running to the railings in true singaporean fashion. ro kenn and i, in mid-discussion, resolutely refused to join the crowd (even though we were itching to, haha). image and dignity, you see.
"the trees! did you see?"
"wa today must go and buy 4D!"
who says we have no sense of humour? a terrorist could blow trains up or an earthquake could bisect orchard rd and the queues for 4D would only elongate - it ought to be named the sixth front of total defence, as a source of psychological assurance for the people and an avenue for funds during emergencies.
the next day, it made front page news: 3 workers had been killed, but no students were hurt - unfortunately. this thus relegated the incident to "Unfortunate Incident for High-Risk Workers", and work would probably resume in a few weeks, in much the same manner as before. no big hoo-ha or high profile inquiries or public outcry or raging debates over the number of straps on their safety helmets.
who gets to decide which lives are more important than others, which deaths are more honourable? the worker on the crane who made the crucial decision to change the direction of its fall, away from biz school, will he get a special mention? will the MPs attend his funeral? their families, after probably a one-time pay-out from the company, what next? young children, old mothers and overworked wives will just join the struggling mass of the working class beneath the radar of most singaporeans. is this the inescapable reality of a capitalist, market-driven society?
