today was just like any other day. it started with me hauling myself out of bed after much self-persuasion. i brushed my teeth, shaved, changed into shirt and pants, then left home and walked to the train station. Just like any other day - alright, maybe i walked a little faster. but other than that, it was the same.
i passed through the turnstile, took the escalator up and walked to the same spot that i stand at and wait for the train every other day. and when the train came, i packed myself into the centre - exactly the mid-point - of the carriage, plonked my bag onto the ground, then stared at the passing scenery as the train moved along. first it was the lake, then the identical blocks of flats. soon enough the pre-recorded announcement played, almost as natural and routine as my journey to the train station, that i sometimes don't even realise it.
standing in the train, my mind, as usual, was still getting accustomed to the reality that it is function time. it usually takes a few stations to pass before it jolts into operation mode, whereupon i would rummage my bag either for a) my never-finishing novel; b) the Economist; or c) my MP3 player. A and B are exclusive for obvious reasons. C doesn't take place when A or B happens, because i don't belong to the multi-tasking generation. i like to say that i prefer to enjoy my music wholeheartedly.
when my mind slowly shifts into slightly more advanced operation mode, i start to scan my surroundings. depending on when this takes place, sometimes my surrounding (view) could be just two strangers flanking me and the row of people blissfully seated in front. many a times i would spot a familiar face: the young working couple with their two daughters in tow; or the young father invariably in singlet and three-quarter pants carrying his barely 2-year old daughter; or the auntie who looks resigned to the fact that nothing short of a miracle would an empty seat be waiting for her when she gets onto the train. there's always a familar face, and it goes to show that i am a normal chap who, like most if not all people, wait and enter the train at the same door all the time, no matter if we wake up to a bad hair day or not. we do the same things over again, though perhaps not often realising its sameness - that's how our frenetic lives maintain a semblance of order, i suppose.
and after a long tiring journey standing and my mind becoming operationally ready by the minute, i finally reached raffles place station where i crossed over to the north-bound train. this is always the welcome interlude - there's always a nice empty seat, and i usually get to choose where i want to seat. all in a day's journey to work, just like any other day.
then on the way to office, i would get my tea or coffee to fully shift my mind to turbo operational mode. the soul may be unwilling, but the mind had better be ready to fight fires still simmering from yesterday, not to mention fresh fires that will no doubt rage with urgency as the day goes by.
there are variations to the actual proceedings for the rest of the day. but the essence, the theme, the structure remains unchanged like the day before, all the days before: replying, scheduling, planning, refining, calling, discussing, submitting. life can't be any more predictable than this.
But - a BIG But - the usual day did not end the usual way. i still made the same journey home, now in reverse order somewhat, except that the time was not turned back. i still returned to the same home, paid the same train fare, bore with the slightly less packed crowd in the train.
But it was different. Amidst the jarring din and weariness and slowly self-shutting mind (whose operational readiness started declining since a few hours ago), i was engaging in the most quintessential activity of today's wired world - text messaging on my samsung phone. it made all the difference for an otherwise ordinary, just-any-other-day day, because i was connecting with a few friends, smiling faintly as i thumbed messages, oblivious to the engulfing noise that i usually consciously resist. and did i mention that the train journey seemed twice as short as its usual time?
i promised Val that when the stars are aligned i will make our meeting happen (later at night when she informed me of her travel plans, i told her i would intervene using my cosmic powers if need be, to make sure the all stars align themselves). i told tamk that night out for drinks should be on the cards. i also buzzed jon who just came back from cambodia, who replied that 'it was quite good but pampered (him) was glad to return to good ol singapore after 6 days.' this was, i believe, when my face creased into a grin and i replied him immediately. i also messaged Lisa and XY, telling them to check out yesterday's Life! on the article on Laos. most of them replied me, and i am not embarrassed - as should be obvious by now - to say that 'hearing' from them has made my day.
Val's last message to my cosmic power sms was this: Haha! Indeed i believe u are powerful.. Hee. Kay u take care. Hopefully see ya real soon! :)
And to Ms tamk, thank you very much, for acknowledging what i always knew - that i'm (firmly) in the core, not the periphery. Hahaha!
Just like any other day, but even better. Today.
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