2011 - A milestone

Year 2011 has been a year of trepidation, apprehension and stress but ultimately triumph. This year has been so long it seems like 2. Well but I managed to visit Japan twice and Korea once, sweet rewards for hard work. Can't believe it was only 6 months ago that I packed to leave Beijing for good, shipping boxes home and selling my furniture, and barely 5 months ago that I threw my mortarboard in the air, sweated in the gown, and screamed with relief that 我们终于毕业了！

This year is an important milestone in life because I finally got my 2 degrees after toiling for 5 long years and my TCM physician's license after fighting for 5 yrs 2 mths! In tiong-speak it would really be worthy of the words "折腾". And I landed my first job, got my first pay....

Now all I'm looking forward to is for my work to progress smoothly, such that I can get things done without having to OT too much, and for the Europe trip to work out next yr :) Then before I know it 1 year will be up and I can review my options. Plus I hope a good solution can be worked out for me to proceed with the matching program. It somehow just seems more and more apparent that TCM is not going anywhere in Singapore. The realities and complexities I've come to discover show that it's going to take a real long time. There's hope though, and I'll try my best in the time I'm still in Ministry :)

又瘦一圈...how not to lose weight in Singapore??

I miss my 白大挂 :(

I wish I had scenery like that to stop for on the way to work too.

the food chain

I feel like plankton after scrutinizing the hierachy of the entire setting, but somehow feel I'm of vague importance, and I'm meant to fit into some role which could make a difference, just like those little corner/side pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Maybe I just have to wait for the bosses to come back to tell me exactly what I'm supposed to do. Seems like there are big shoes to fill, but these are new shoes so with no predecessor, no tried-and-tested route, no paved ways, comes a whole new challenge. I've learned alot in the past 2 days, just by reading policy papers (reminiscent of the time I had piles of scientific journals to read) and attending briefings by different heads, and I never knew things could be so complicated. Anyhow, when my laptop comes, everything is set up and the bosses are back, that's probably when I'll start to feel the pressure(?).

Japan was good, but could have been better if the weather was on our side. Maybe we were just meant to have a reason to go back.

say it isn't so

I really shouldn't be emo-ing now, but it somehow feels like this is the last. It reminds me of the time I walked out of MBS on the last day of school, and we couldn't stop the tears from falling. It's kind of like graduation, finally, and for real. It's been a long time. 5 years. Or rather 5 years 2 months. Our paths are all going to diverge from this point on, and that's just life, it's a sooner-or-later thing.


Just a passing phase. I have much to look forward to but as always there's the post-exam blues where you feel lost and aimless.

And so the dust has settled. It all ends here. No more studying!!! Yips. Goodbye NTU! You have been kind to alumni like us, providing camping space and use of the SRC, although your food SUCKS! I'm gonna swear off Macs and Subway for the next 6 months.

And so my fate is sealed. It all begins on 31st Oct! Halloween! Haha. Don't know whether to be happy or sad. Much less time to slack than anticipated, but a much fatter wallet.


It seems like a year ago that I visited Japan but it was only this Jan! Yips. Be back there again soon :)) May all the planning go smoothly so we can have a short but sweet post-exam getaway :D

I'm looking forward but not looking forward. You know what I mean right? The end is actually the beginning. But this might be the greatest challenge thus far. I can't wait to revisit Japan though :)) So I can't actually decide if I want time to pass faster. Ha. Ironies.

人在江湖，身不由己。

*depressed :(

24 on 24th

Life is short and it's only once in this lifetime that I get to turn 24 on the 24th. And so I hecked tomorrow's mock exam and still had fun :D Yippee! Thanks to the study buddies who make studying less unbearable, and for the effort they put in to brighten my day today :) I started the morning feeling gloomy despite the 2 eggs mommy specially fried for me and the birthday messages that flooded my dumbphone's limited inbox. And my cough worsened towards lunchtime with an impending headache but the dark clouds cleared and I cheered up. Afterall it's the first birthday I'm spending back home in Singapore after 2 years abroad.

In short, I feel loved and remembered despite age catching up with me! :D



PS: I never used to have a favourite flower but the sunflower might very well win the top spot soon :D

I don't know whether to say that students nowadays are more kiasu or simply more hardworking. Maybe the increase in intake doesn't simply add to the lunch-hour-canteen-burst or the rush-hour-bus-burst; it means more competition for the better end of the bell curve and for future employment among fellow graduates! That might explain the strange phenomenon of people studying during O-week and unofficial week-1 for the seniors. Or maybe it's pure generation gap. Life was better in the past! These people have no business camping in the library and canteen till late like it's exam time! (unlike us)


I wish we still had the whole of NTU to ourselves. I wish all the undergrads were still on vacation. I bet they wish so too. Lol.



I just have to comment on how phenomenal the scene was at canteen A during lunch hour yesterday. Heard today was much better. Does everyone only have lessons on Mondays?

I'm probably way past the age for studying. Hitting the books faces rejection from my body from all frontiers. Wonder how I managed to mug for long hours tirelessly in the past. My attention span now is as if I have ADHD. Aish. I guess I've really had enough of studying from the last 6+4+2+5 = 17 years. My goodness. Looks like there's no way I'm gonna study for a Masters or phD. Haha. And there's no way I'm gonna retake the licensing exam if CHOI I fail. Depressing to be still studying and interning after convocation I tell you.


I need memory upgrading.

convocation

The BUCM gown which is surprisingly nice :)


And so we've finally come to the end of 5 years. Don't know whether to feel happy or sad. But am somehow feeling emo now. There's no big deal in graduation, cos it's just a formality, or rather the mark of another milestone in life, and it only serves to remind us that we're no longer students, but graduates (I somehow still prefer the term "undergrad") who have no choice but to step out into the working world and face tougher decisions about politics, rice bowls and the future rather than eat snakes behind the piles of books and make fun of teachers. Nevertheless, it marks the end of 5 tough, tear-filled, fun-filled, memorable and beautiful years of our youth. Most people probably only don the gown once in their lifetime so I guess it's still an event worth the expensive flowers and bears. Regret not taking enough photos, not having enough time and not being able to meet boss and the labmates. We were probably having our second convocation while all the fun was going on outside. Well I hope we have a great and memorable photoshoot outdoors whenever we finally find the time to have it. Had to face reality and go back to school for intership today, and continue worrying about the exams and the future. Sigh. I think we're all gonna have wrinkles and worry-lines and an overdose of cortisol (the stress hormone - I had to google it cos I forgot the name -.-) in the days to come. May we all get our license and secure jobs. And may the stupid imchim board not implement the skills-upgrading policy that involves the computation of points and the robbery of more money from our already-empty pockets.


I feel old yet again :(



I need a good photographer. Can't stand blur and badly-composed pics. SIANNN.

I hate freshies. They remind me of how old I actually am. 5 years older than the girls and 3 years older than the guys! *Kids~


Saw Mukesh yesterday! :D Actually I think he still owes me a treat for the crystals lol. I miss boss. Everytime I see a bald angmoh i double-take in case it's him. Ha.


Today was super suay but super fun. HAHA. And now it's almost time to sleep.

我们的故事

 在你左右　還有多久
 怎麼樣才能讓時間倒流　每一分每一秒都珍重
 握緊的手不願放鬆　十點半的飛機它在等候
 不要再讓自己的眼淚流　我必須要走

 要記得　我們的故事真正難忘　太多的回憶和希望
 不管它有多瘋狂　我願意一生收藏
 我們的故事不能忘　太多的情節要發展
 不要放棄　因為有一天緣份會繼續　一定會繼續

 我知道你寂寞　一個人確實好難過
 思念是一種痛　沒有你叫我怎麼活
 身邊充滿誘惑　不堅定就容易犯錯
 你是否能看見未來的收穫　你願意再耐心等候

 我們的故事真正難忘　太多的回憶和希望
 不管它有多瘋狂　我願意一生收藏
 我們的故事不能忘　太多的情節要發展
 不要放棄　因為有一天緣份會繼續　讓我們一起演完

Everytime I hear this song I just wanna stop everything I'm doing and reminisce
about the good old days. It's like our graduation song, thanks to the dear ones
who sang it so beautifully :)

back

Back. Still experiencing culture shock after 1 week. Haha. Amazed at how robotic ppl are trained to be. Lol.


Miss China. Regret not having the time to have another haircut, to say goodbye to some teachers and to my bike uncle and veggie auntie. Conclude that 南方人 are nicer than 北方人 though.



Now it's back to the daily grind. First week has 6 working days! Depressing. I've gotta chiong assignments now too.

I just sold my bike. Depressed. Only consolation is that it looks like it'll be in good hands. Oh wells. Looks like my biking days are over and the last long ride was last Friday to the Specs City. I'll miss biking so much. It's good that I'll be leaving Beijing tmr, so I won't have to feel sad everytime I habitually spot for my bike in the shelter whenever I leave or come home.



其实不想走，其实我想留。。。

sunshine

So I chopped off whatever tail I had and I'm back to spunky ole fierce-if-not-smiling me :D Less adventurous with hairdresser-hopping now since I've found no. 7 :) Sadly when I go back I can't take him with me lol.

I already feel browner from awhile in the Sun this afternoon, seeing our boxes sealed, indexed and packed into the container for shipping back to sunny Singapore.


First Bollywood song to enter my itunes!
Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance I wanna grow up once again


I watched "3 Idiots" twice in the past week. My fave Bollywood movie! Even better than "Slumdog Millionaire"! Haha.


Summer summer summer! My slippers saw the light of day for the first time this year heh. More peaches coming out too yay! But noooo it's getting too hot too soon. Lol. I want my even tan.

A good book: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

A good movie (though it ends rather abruptly): Before Sunset
Some quotes from Before Sunset:

"The true work of improving things is in the little achievements of the day."

"The people that are the most giving, hardworking and capable of making this world better usually don’t have the ego and ambition to be a leader. They don’t see any interest in superficial rewards, they don’t care if their name ever appears in the press. They actually enjoy the process of helping others. They’re in the moment."

I cannot tolerate bad grammar. Sad to say, many netizens are guilty of that. It makes comprehension so much harder although you get the gist. Only realized that our English is actually so poor when I started researching on the GE and reading people's blog/forum posts. Here in China we're admired for having learned at least 2 languages, and being able to speak English fluently. But it's like being a jack of all trades, yet a master of none. Highly regrettable to not be able to achieve a decent mastery or international standard of either language, given that we're brought up learning both English and Chinese from young. We can't compare with PRCs when it comes to the Chinese language and we can't express ourselves as well as the Americans when it comes to the English language. It's like we're neither here nor there. Guess only Singlish makes us special. The beauty is in being able to ID a Singaporean when you hear one, regardless of where in the world you are, and being able to speak among ourselves without being understood by non-locals. I can't even say that I have perfect sentence structure and extensive vocab, but at least I try hard to be grammatically correct and cohesive, with complete sentences, proper spelling and punctuation. There's a difference between spoken and written English and we should strive to improve at least the latter since our slang is already so deeply ingrained(?) in us.

Not looking forward. Not looking forward to going back. :( 40 days to the last Friday of intern. Oosh. I hate packing for good. Can't believe I used to be so excited over packing when we were going overseas, to the point that I'd start maybe 1 week in advance? Haha. Now I just can't help but procrastinate. Wish everything could just teleport or apparate or whatever.


It's a gloomy day with rain threatening. Which explains why I'm home so early. I need it to be sunny to be in the mood for gai-ing or just being out. I hate Air China cos they're mean to foreign students :( And I hate SQ and Cathay for not allowing guitars on board. Lol. Such a dilemma...



Let's make myself happy with some photos!


Never knew flowers could make me so happy :D It's troublesome to post with blogger so that was just a lil preview! Now I understand why my mummy puts fake tulips to decorate my balcony at home. Lol.

I feel old. Just 2 consecutive days of play and I know I have to sleep in on Sunday. Haha. Need to catch up on rest. It’s ironic how life actually seems more tiring after the exams. Lol. But we’re tired from playing, not studying, and that’s enough justification :D Can't believe I managed to chiong 2 wks Korea and Japan just a few months ago.

Bruised my shoulder trying to climb a tree at the Botanic Gardens the day before. But the flowers, so bright and cheery, made me really really happy :) Woke up at 5+am to go to the outskirts yesterday. There’s this really cool historic village which is 500 years old and is the place they shot the oath-taking in 投名状. Inspired me to watch the movie again haha. Pity there was on-and-off rain, which got us really dirty cos it kinda rained dirt, and it got really windy and cold at times but a trip away from the city, and away from FZ, was a nice change. It would have been really pretty in Winter, imagining the snow-covered roofs.


I can’t believe we’ve 6 weeks left to the end of our internship here. Man I’m not looking forward to going back. Yet I’m already kind of sick of Beijing haha. I think I need a change of environment yet again. It’s like you can’t wait yet the clock is ticking too fast.

Sunny days mean alot to me. Don't like the gloom and the wet, dirty ground that accompanies wet weather. Plus I don't bring a brolly around despite expecting rain so having to brave the rain, especially without a cap or a hoodie, annoys me. Haha.





I want this song at my wedding! :D

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTk2NjMxNTgw.html

Blue is back! And their latest MV cracked me up cos it’s just so old school, so boyband. Lol. Watch out for the chorus. It’s hilarious.

http://www.yinyuetai.com/video/player/143620/v_0.swf

No sense of urgency! Super nua these days, haven’t been studying much even though I’m at a slack department. Lol.

Dynamic. Taken a liking to this word because it just about describes everything. Time, the weather, people, mindsets, attitudes, places, things…everything is just about changing.

It actually looks like it's snowing outside. Fluffballs stirring in the wind...and me snoozing in my chair. Totally have no motivation to study haha. Can't wait for Tuesday.



I miss Japan.

It's a frigging 29 degrees now -.- Too hot too soon! I haven't enjoyed Spring yet so shoo, Summer! It's pollen attack everywhere now. Has even made its way indoors such that we felt the presence of weird cottonies floating around amidst our macs dinner last night.

I hope I never have to do a gastroscopy. It looks horrid, even worse than a colonoscopy.

Working on Photoshop for 10 consecutive hours is a test of patience, eyepower, concentration, artistic flair and RAM. Finally recognized why people say only those using professional photo- or video-editing software need powerful operating systems. I think mine is up to standard, though more RAM would certainly be more efficient :D

My brain is lacking oxygen now and my eyes have probably advanced in the world of myopia, but it was great fun working alongside crazy imchim people today and I'm proud to announce that I'm finally not a photoshop noob anymore! Yay! A new skill learnt, though many many more hours would have to be spent to discover its hidden prowess and uncover its full potential. I hope our mag turns out well so that all that time and effort won't be in vain.

Can't believe I have duty tmr boo.

It's my last week, or rather last few days in acupuncture and I know I'm already going to miss it. We've been here for so long it seems like home. Seems unlikely? But we're like 1 big family, popping in and out of each room and hearing one another's laughter down the corridor. I think we bring hope and joy wherever we go :) That's 1 way we're different from the China students. We laugh freely, loudly and openly. Noisy, rowdy, but definitely fun! Here's a tribute to my dear group mates, without whom life would be so colourless. Thanks guys, for all the fun times, indoor lunches, gossip/complaining sessions, annoying or cute patients, busy days, borrowing of equipment, funny teachers......on to the next 10 weeks then it's time for the real home!

China has trained me to the point that even when I almost hit someone, I worry it's a pickpocketing tactic. It's quite funny actually. I was stunned when he grabbed my arm, and I conclude it was a reflex to get me to stop and for him to catch his own balance. But for a second my eyes darted to my bag in my basket. Haha. And I did manage to mutter a "小心" as I always do when pedestrians don't watch where they're going.



I've been wondering what makes a good leader.

Went running in the park and played a little bit of frisbee yesterday :) Highlight of the day was Candice piggybacking me for like 200m? Good stuff! It's been eons since I was last piggybacked. A downside of being too tall and having few friends heavier than me. I'm usually the one who piggybacks people or provides a shoulder to lean on. Anyway! I'm tempted to buy a frisbee for Notty, but the plastic wouldn't survive his teeth. Hmm. Come to think of it, frisbees have to be made of plastic, else they wouldn't fly right?


Been feeling rather homely ever since the last trip. I guess I'm just getting lazier and sick of everything in Beijing.


I still can't really explain the difference between "contest" and "contend".




The flowers are starting to bloom :)

I dreamt I was vomiting dark brown liquid. I dreamt I was going to die and mommy gave me 2 special tea bags that would hopefully extend my life by a while. And I woke up feeling sick. Despite the 16 耳豆s and massage from Brandon, I didn't have a good sleep. Or rather that was the cause of me being so screwed now. Woke up at 4am to cold feet and sounds of Jo in the toilet. Continued sleeping and finally got up feeling like crap. Had a stomachache so ponned intern. Spent the day sleeping fitfully with cold hands and feet and having no appetite. Stomach still feels weird and bloated. Took a panadol to battle the fever. Thankfully I heard there weren't many patients today so I don't feel so bad :)

I wanna be up and running! Wanted to go to the gym tmr..argh but poor sleep + no appetite is the worst combination. Boo :( I'm not supposed to be sick!

43kmph wind raging outside now. Good stuff - I'm ok with wind as long as there's no rain or melting snow :) Kind of gotten used to biking in the wind too. Shiokness.

I ran 6km today! *proud of myself* Double my usual mileage. The gym instructors used to ask us why we joined the gym, and it seemed to me they were obsessed with collating numbers of those trying to lose weight. Exercising just to have a healthy lifestyle somehow didn't strike a chord with them. You seemed to either have to lose weight or want to build muscles. Whatever the case, with the 6km, I should be able to sleep tonight right? Worked out for 1.5 hours for the sake of my sleep and circulation, but I don't suppose many people would buy that. Haha. But if I keep this up I forsee myself getting back into shape! The way I was before I got lost in the world of food and idleness. Which probably dates back to JC days with regular PE lessons. Insomnia the past 2 Sunday nights is building into a phobia and psychological burden. Even though I'm still energetic in the day, at least having it in me to still go to the gym after work despite the wind and dip in temperature, it still annoys me to be deprived of a good night's sleep. I hate tossing and turning in shallow sleep and just waiting for the time to wake up. I get up grudgingly, feeling really cheated and unfulfilled.

Here's to better sleep! If I still don't sleep well tonight I swear I'm going to stick 耳豆 tmr.


PS: Another reason I'm so high now is cos I had sea salt coffee and I poked a patient's 膻中 successfully without piercing her lungs. Lol. I feel a wee bit more qualified now :D

The only thing I look forward to nowadays seems to be going to the gym. I made it twice last week and I felt fitter :D Still need to work towards cutting off 2 mins my 2.4 timing though. It eats me up that I'm no longer as fit as I used to be. But if it's harder to drive needles into me compared to other people, it means I have more muscles right? LOL. Or maybe it's just a case of high 肌张力.


Oh no I'm getting bored of beijing. Can't wait to travel. Then again I'd miss this place when I leave for good.


Can you imagine that a year ago, around this date, it was still snowing?

I just had a great workout :D Hopefully that will give me better sleep tonight.

I want to live in a beach house :) I always look out my window and imagine I'm looking at the sea. A view of the Sun, sand and sea, plus a cool breeze, would be just perfect.

This is weird. I just checked with the elections dept and found out that I'm under Mountbatten GRC now?!?! Wth! Totally went "HUH". Haha I hope there'll be contesting then :) Pity can't attend any rallies. No more Marine Parade walkovers with Mr Goh :D Or is Mountbatten secure too? Haven't been keeping up.

For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Better than I'd expected. Everyone should read it. It's one of his best.

snoitcelfer

I grew up learning that it’s always better to give more than you take. And to give without expecting anything in return. I listened, and it made sense, and my parents are living examples but I never really fully appreciated it until I myself experienced the joys of such graciousness. I suppose you can inculcate and teach such values but the spirit of giving comes from the heart. You derive simple yet pure happiness without emotional baggage if you learn to not sweat the small stuff. The good thing about growing older is that you learn and experience more and this can mould you into a better person, at least by your own standards even if nobody has noticed or nobody cares.

Hachiko statue outside Shibuya station, Tokyo

I didn't know such a meaningful story lies behind this statue of Hachiko the dog. This dog accompanied his master to the train station every day and returned in the afternoon to greet him after work. One day his master passed away and never returned from the station so Hachiko faithfully returned to the same spot the very next day, and every day for the next nine years to wait for his master.

It was raining that day and sadly I didn't get a crisp clear shot.

And we can build this dream together, standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us now

My heart sank when my bananas were rejected at the cashier because I forgot to weigh them. :( They were fresh from the box and I actually split the bunch to get just the right number I wanted. Was so happy to finally have fruits though I couldn't find any strawberries. Boohoohoo. This must be at least the second time it's happened - I keep forgetting to weigh my fruits :(


But the thing that made my day is seeing bike uncle! Yay he's finally back :) And he fixed my bike for free again :D Good stuff!


My left pinkie has been hurting since last night. Damn. I'm too young for arthritis and gout right? But I'm fearing for my toes too. Chilblains maybe? Can't wait for Spring.

Snow is bad - it makes me daydream. Good thing it has stopped.

OMG OYG guess what? I just checked my forecasts and both predict snow tonight and tmr! Woohoo! :O This is big news. Haha. Before this I already took it for granted that there's not going to be any snow in Beijing this winter. Cool shits. And today I was still lamenting I would never be able to see a snow-covered 故宫, then now there might be snow, but it's not as if I'll be free to go visit 故宫. Lol. Life's an irony. Haha. Shoulda still go out tmr? Yeah I should right, since I already experienced snow in Korea and rain in Japan this year, I should give Beijing a chance too right? :D No white christmas but a...white CNY day 8?

I'm in a good mood despite feeling cold because instead of just listening to sounds of explosives going off outside, I can actually see fireworks from my room window for the first time this year! Haha. My window faces a hotel building by the highway you see, so my view is either blocked or I'm facing the wrong direction from all the action. Haha. But today is different! Somebody is setting off fireworks from atop the hotel building! Good stuff :) So I've opened my curtains and subjected myself to the fish tank phenomenon, a term used by my dad. Lol. I'm never going to watch NDPs for fireworks again. It's as if they're free here.


I biked out specially to get nuggets to satisfy my craving today. The security guard was surprised I haven't been going out to play. Lol. There was an Angmoh ordering in chinese at macs and it amused me as usual.


Ok I'm watching the reflection of fireworks in the hotel windows now. Better than nothing la huh. As you can see, I'm bored again. Haha. Maybe I'll go to the gym tmr. Been itching for a run.


So many people are getting married this year. Haha. Seems so surreal to me. I often wonder what makes them so sure they want to spend the rest of their lives together. I can't imagine that happening to me in the near future. Marriage? Such a far cry from my reality now. The less commitments the better :))

Remember the scene in Jurassic Park 1 where evil fatty in a yellow raincoat tries to escape the park in a jeep with dino eggs he's stolen, so that he can sell them for a huge profit outside? But he was ambushed by these creepy dinos with webbed stuff around their heads which could be extended out like umbrellas to increase their surface area and scare the enemy? They killed him with the poisonous venom they spat. This scene sprang into my mind in Nara Park. You can see what an impact Jurassic Park made on me. Or rather how randomly my mind works. Dusk was approaching and it was getting chilly. So there I was, standing at what I thought a safe distance from any deer within my field of vision (I checked 360deg!), and I swung my backpack to the front to pull my scarf out. The moment I let down the cover of my pack after getting my scarf out, I saw a deer's face in mine. Ok not exactly in mine as I'm taller than the deers, but kind of face-to-face as I was looking down. Too close for comfort. And it really gave me a shock, creeping up to me like that. Scream. Haha. Seriously scared the hell out of me. So sudden and unexpected. It must have thought I was digging for food to feed them. Yeah that reminded me of the umbrella dinos cos that's what they did to fatty in the car. They popped up unexpectedly from all sides and spat venom at his face. Funny right, to scream at a deer when I managed to survive haunted houses and scare attempts by my friends all these years. Lol. Ok I admit there was paranoia involved because we were threatened by deers twice before that incident. But still. Good stuff.


As you can see, I'm really bored. I keep thinking of random stuff. Like how much I miss the orange juice in Jeju. I'll fly a crate of oranges home the next time I go there, just like everyone else. Haha.

Seoul 2011Jan16-20

CNY is here when...

There's a mad rush at supermarkets and you have to queue for half an hour at the cashier.

You start hearing crackers and fireworks.

Red-tented makeshift stalls selling firecrackers and fireworks start popping up everywhere.

You start seeing red remnants left on the ground.

Familiar faces in the neighbourhood comment in surprise that I'm not going home for the New Year.

There is something weighing on my conscience. Today I saw a woman being pickpocketed and I didn’t do anything. I was biking behind this woman opposite the hospital, and traffic was heavy so we were going slow. I was waiting for a break in the traffic to cross the road and go to the market. All of a sudden a guy ran past me, with little clearance between him and my bike so it caught me by surprise. And he turned to look at me, then continued running in front of my bike, slowing me down. Then he ran ahead and caught up with the bike in front of me and ran behind it, at the same time reaching his hand into the woman’s slingbag dangling slightly behind her. So he ran with her bike and dug into her bag and all the while I was waiting for her to notice and turn round but it didn’t happen. I looked to my side and there were like 3 tuktuks, and they should have seen what was going on but nobody did or said anything. Same for the passers-by. Then the pickpocket ran to the pavement and bent over slightly, looking like he was panting and I was nearing and he was looking so I quickly crossed the road and went into the market. The sun was so blinding and I had to heed the traffic too so I wasn’t sure whether he succeeded in picking her purse. It occurred to me that I could very well have been his victim because I didn’t hear him approaching from behind until he ran past me. I was traumatized because despite my classmates and juniors having been targets before and me bearing witness to an attempt on my friends walking ahead of me before, this is the first time I’ve seen someone run after a bike. Sock told me she’d seen pickpockets running after bikes near her place before and she was so scared she backtracked but this is the first time I’ve seen such audacity myself. When I reached the market I told my veggie auntie that recently there’re many pickpockets around and she seemed surprised. While biking out of the market I had to check both the traffic and my shadow. My shadow’s now my best friend because I can see myself and my backpack while cycling. But that’s only if I’m cycling with the Sun in the right direction. I suspect the pickpocket chose the opposite direction because the shadows were all behind. Scary stuff. I miss the days when FZ was safe and secure. I miss Japan for its safe streets. And I felt so sorry for not helping that woman though I’ve seen syndicates around and many of my friends would have done the same for fear of becoming the next target or being caught by his accomplices. Anyway after that I went to the police station to renew my cert of temp residence and I alerted the policewoman of the recent pickpocketings in the estate and told her of today’s bike chase. She too seemed surprised. Is the whole FZ asleep? So many of us students have been targets or seen it happening, and I’ve heard stories from some nurses at our hospital of their own encounters too. I hope the police take action and step up patrol or something, then at least I wouldn’t feel so guilty for not helping that woman today.