10 things i hate about you
Yes, I bite.
- the stroller is a necessary evil when we go out for long trips. It is a pain in the ass to carry up and down the bus, a horror to wheel out of Orchard MRT station and super irritating to navigate the never-ending construction.
- the able bodied people who insist on taking the lift and try their best to avoid my gaze as they refuse to lift a finger to keep the door open when I reach just as the doors shut. *say is that a dandruff I see on your hair?“
- more able bodied people whose eyes are glued to their handheld games and refuse to move their legs. Nevermind when said person is sitting. Even when said person is sitting in the ‘privileged’ seats. Just move your FEET. (Oh, nevermind, I’d just roll over your feet…)
- idiots who insist on rushing into the train as I try and alight with bulky stroller. “Now, I really do not want to go down another stop!!! Let me out!” or even for the ‘wheelchair’ access gates. Really why do you need such a big walkway? Scared your precious monogrammed bag gets caught on something?
- money grubbing kopitiam drink stall owners who insist on asking for 20cents for some water. So atas. But wait, Paragon has a lovely water dispenser for mummies on the go (although it is utilised by cleaners on a break… you can hear metal spoons clanging as they stir their kopi).
- every Tom, Dick or Harry that turns into the world’s expert paed when a child is sick “chicken pox! too hot lah! measles! rash!” (when Jayden was experiencing the roseola fever rash).
- having to navigate a shopping trolley filled with groceries, a folded stroller and a fussy kid who insists on being carried. Multiply irritation when kid has soiled diaper.
- diaper changing by myself. All hell breaks loose. Oh yes, why do some inconsiderate parents allow their kids to pee into the washbasin?!
- other inconsiderate people who insist on rushing past me to board the (empty) bus. Can help carry stroller? The bus driver will still have to wait for me to be done
- shopping malls with no mummy friendly washrooms (Compasspoint, for example, only has diaper change stop right on the top floor…!), lots of steps (WISMA!!!) and just plain unfriendly staff who eyeball you when you push the stroller around.
K, gripes aside, I have met some really lovely people who stop to help. Like the bus driver eons back (service 105) who actually got down to help me with the stroller. The kind man, a fellow commuter who helped on the shuttle service between Mt Alvernia and Novena MRT. The nice passengers who gave up seats for us so that we could feed the boy on the way home. The really friendly cab driver who dropped us at Plaza Singapura who got out of his cab to help me with the stroller and tried to entertain the boy enroute. There is hope yet…
but meantime, I bite.
My sentiments EXACTLY! I’ve so much to gripe about commuters on the train they can fill a whole book! Not to mention they are mean even when you have a boy and stroller with you?! Yes, roll over their feet, or hit them on the shin where it hurts most!
I know your frustrations! Although I’ve never brought a stroller up on a public bus before in Singapore. I’ve put Karu in a sling and slung him up a bus and I’ve heard unkind remarks about slinging.
W.O.W.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i don’t know how you can manage to tolerate so much! I think I would have murdered someone by now!! You see, that’s why i’m so afraid of bringing the stroller out when i need to take public transport! I had a nightmare of a time once even with a TAXI (yes, neither driver nor bystanders tried to help me as I struggled with the stroller with one hand, and balancing a 4 mth old with the other–eventually i had to shout for help. Shout, i say, but i was too breathless by then so it came out as a strangled mew) and i SWORE never to take the stroller out again on my own! I always either sarong-ed him or (on bad days when i forgot the sarong.. yes it happens.. i’m a bum) just carried him all over town. Tiring, yes. But less hassle than if i were to manage the stroller as well! My salutations for being able to handle the stroller up and down the buses and trains (you must have strong arms!), and my curses to those pp who didn’t even THINK of offering you a seat/assistance (especially YOUNG people — oh no, i sound like my mum again — who sit in seats meant for OLD, DISABLED or PREGNANT pp, and then pretending to FALL ASLEEP the moment i come on board!) haha
yuling :: let it out! i just had to after a while hence this post. the only one who gave up a seat for me when i was preggers was another mother of a 3 month old baby or thereabouts. she said she knew!!!
christina :: aww…. why are they so mean about slinging?! it is convenient and does its job, besides it is convenient for short trips about town.
psychotoo :: yes, once when i took all the different modes of public transport in a day, the most frustrating was the taxi! i mean, paid premium but the driver just SAT there, glued to his seat.
Hey babe, I totally agree with you. It’s really sad that people are so oblivious to needs around them. I suffered through many a similar trip (and horrible toilets) too.