File 5 @ IMRE: "Travelling Weirdness"

This would be my final installation of my experience at IMRE, or at least for my internship. (Because I’m going back there for my FYP.) I’ll be talking about going to work and coming back home. Weird topic to end off.

Travelling to IMRE, I’d have to take a train to Habourfront then take buses to IMRE. Most of these buses were double decked. I didn’t know about other people, but I do have a special feeling about those seats right in front of the second deck. Some people like them, some people not really. For me, it was neither, I only seat them when I feel like it, mostly only when I was feeling exceptionally happy or exceptionally unhappy. It doesn’t matter whether you see grey, dull construction, or lush, vibrant greenery. It was probably the 270-degree vantage view you can have that made you feel calm. Or it could be the highest and the foremost seat that made one slightly the king of the world, the captain of the seas, etc. This greatness feel is something one could never reject.

I didn’t know when it started. But I start to see advertisements on the front of those buses on the second deck. Those adverts were plastered all over the front and side windows, blocking off external light and added gloom to the interior. I was just… sian. One of those little things that made my life slightly more interesting has been cut off from me. The vantage view that made me superior, the openness that is so absent from this concrete jungle, has been brutally extracted. (Nope, I still support commercialization.)

It is a weird thing to comment on but this has somewhat been a small thorn stuck inside my throat.

The time to knock off has given me some pressures throughout my internship. My boss does not care what time I go off, as he only demands results. Hence, I have this freedom to abuse. My counterparts, however, did not have this privilege. The eagerness to knock off never change, but the guilt to leave early does increase over time. I laugh it off most of the time, but would show some team camaraderie occasionally.

It is weird that when the bulk of people that joined as interns as me left (NTU people have 22 weeks, we have 24.), this “guilt” vaporizes instantly. It seemed weird that I who thought I wasn’t bothered about what other people think would be this affected by such trivialities.

Talking about weirdness, my boss left me high and dry at the last 4 weeks of my internship. He told me he was leaving for France for a conference then go for a 3 week long holiday around Europe on my last weeks. That means I had to rush my reports and do all my admin stuff just before he leaves. If not, I’ll be stuck in mid air. Thanks, boss!

－异客拍客 Last Day @ IMRE －

Some Interesting Pictures

I am not too sure if anyone is still reading this blog but anyway, here are some pictures I have taken for the last few months. Quite interesting. :)

Can you figure out what is that?


A puddle of water? May be... but it is not exactly colourless. A closer picture:



A closer examination shows that it is a yellowish-like liquid.

I know what it was. It was urine actually. I took this picture at NEL's Outram Park station. Well actually, before this picture was taken, I saw a man hiding behind one of the pillars of the platform door with his front facing the glass. I was not sure what he was up to. Then I noticed a puddle of water start to flow out from that pillar where the man was still standing there. I decided to maintain a safe distance first to observe what happened.

Seconds later, the man seemed to realise he was being watched. I acted as if I was busy looking at other things. He walked away immediately and when he was out of sight, I stepped forward and to my horror, I could quite confirm it was urine because there were droplets of 'water' on the pillar, as if someone has sprayed liquid on it.

OMG OMG OMG...

It was obvious from his dressing and appearance, he is not local. Don't intend to reveal too much about his nationality though. :)


Saw this small note at a florist shop at Junction 8:



If the picture is not clear enough, it says "Please do not disturb the balloon".

Hahahaha...

Spot the mistake from this Kopitiam receipt:



I guess it is quite obvious. Since when Kopitiam is known as "Copitiam" ? I wonder how such a mistake can be made... especially Kopitiam is quite a reputable food and beverage company. Somemore, this is from the Plaza Singapura branch.


Apple chips are healthier... no healthy food




I bought this (healthier/healthy) apple chips from cold storage. I was fascinated that they actually used a golden marker to cancel out all the 'healthier' words in the package. I noticed the first one I took was like this. I took out a few more bags and different flavour bags and all of them had the word 'healthier' struck off!

This must be some tedious work! My guess is that this brand of apple chips did not pass some sort of food test in Singapore to be labeled as a 'healthier' choice, hence so much work has to be done to strike off the word.

Hahaha...

That's all I have

-dakepaike-