In Continuum.

Something In Everything

I mentioned something about entertainment on the phone last night with Neptina, something about bringing something along to her school to entertain myself before her school ends. In my mind, I was thinking about bringing my Macbook along, thinking that I'd be able to surf around the internet for a while before her classes end. My Macbook, along with the charger, were the exact things that I placed in my bag before I left my home about half an hour ago, thinking that I'd have about an hour before she finishes her class. Half an hour later, which is now, I am typing this blog entry in TextEdit and not on Blogger because, apparently, the school does not have an active internet connection in this corner - what's up with that? I must admit that I was pretty peeved about not being able to find a signal, and I don't suppose it has got anything to do with the fact that Temasek Polytechnic runs on its own very selfish and very exclusive wifi network that nobody else can tap into. I suppose I have taken the SIM public wifi system for granted, and that I have been too used to logging on to the net when I open my laptop. Anyway, so here I am at a random bench in the corner of a school, trying to entertain myself for the time being.

What shall I write about, what shall I write about. I do not consider myself an internet junkie, and it's not like I cannot survive a couple of hours without it. In fact, I do secretly wish to go to a country with no internet or cellphone signals, and to allow myself to be completely disconnected from the rest of the world. Some would understand what I am talking about, the liberation of being disconnected from the world. I can survive on that, but it is not when the disconnection occurs when I need the connection, you know. I do have games on my iPod that I can play with, but they can really only go so far. Besides, there is a group of students next to me on the opposite bench that I'd like to zone out for a while. That is also why, at this very moment, I have my earphones plugged in and I, Partisan by the Broadway Project blasting in my ears. They are not just loud though - they are also extreme obnoxious. I suppose the open concept of the corridors seem to give them the idea that they can be as loud as they want. Well, at least I can only sense their presence from the corner of my eyes now, which is a very good thing.

I remember a monologue with myself last night, and if you find that a strange thing for a person to do, apparently you do not know me enough. I frequently have conversations with myself, and I do think that it helps with my writing every once in a while, whether or not the conversation happens in my head or otherwise. Anyway, I was thinking about how there is a little something to write about everything around us all the time. It really only takes a bit of observation and patience to dwell in the details of things, you know. Like, even if you really feel like you have written everything there is to write about your environment, how about writing about not being able to write anything at all? I like that concept, and it is a technique that I fall back on frequently when the dry-spell strikes. Anyway, since I haven't the internet to entertain me for the time being, I shall put my statement up there to the test and see if I can really write a little bit about everything. I suppose it'd be fun until I officially run out of ideas, or Neptina's class ends - whichever that comes sooner.

I shall begin with the table that I am placing my Macbook on right now, and it kinda sucks. First of all, I am sitting on one of those benches slash tables made of wood, and the top of the table is basically a few pieces of wood secured together by screws. The gaps between the wood are way too wide, and I wonder how anybody is able to keep a pen on the surface and not have it roll off into the fissures. The edges are incredible uneven, with the side closest to me being much longer than the plank of wood furtherest away. It is as if whoever that pieced this table together randomly went into the forest and picked up wood to be put together. It is good that I am typing this blog entry of mine instead of writing it down on a piece of paper, because the gap is probably going to pose as grave problems for my paper. I'd probably be poking holes in the paper most of the time, and the entire entry is going to become indecipherable after some time. Oh, a point to note, there is a power supply above my head, and by that I mean all the way at the top of the wall near the ceiling - what's up with that? I am not sure what purpose these power sources serve, and if anybody actually uses them for anything at all. Maybe the people in charge of wiring in the first place ran out of wires, and they were forced to cut everything short by two meters. It's good that our chargers run at decent lengths, or else we'd have to learn how to work on our projects and assignments on the walls.

Now, let's focus our attention on the group of students next to my bench. There are four of them, one girl and three boys, all malay. I am not sure if this is me being stereotypical or anything, but they look like they are from a band, and that the girl is the lead singer or something. At least the boys give me the vibe that they are able to jam with power chords for two hours straight to songs about heartbreaks and suicide. Anyway, I mentioned that the group is particularly loud, though that'd be somewhat inaccurate. Only the girl is loud, while the three boys are just obnoxious. For some reason, they keep burping from the snacks that they are eating, and it is not helped by the fact that their card game right now seems to have reached an exciting point. The girl is laughing hysterically like a hyena right now, and she is collapsing onto the boy next to her. She is up again, still laughing like a mad woman, and down she goes onto the boy next to her again. I cannot really hear what they are talking about, but her laughter managed to pierce through my in-ear headphones and the song that I am listening to. The boy with the hat on has some really low-cut jeans, and his deep and dark butt crack is staring at me, threatening to pull me into the darkness. I am feeling somewhat uncomfortable, not just by that fact but also the way the girl laughs. She has one of those gaping mouths when she laughs, and it just seems so menacing. By the way, aren't poker cards banned in schools?

There is a low humming in the air, and I could feel the vibration in my chest. I have no idea where the humming is coming from, and I keep picturing an airbase nearby, with a fighter jet being prepared to take off or something. But it has been around, and I seriously don't think there is an airbase nearby. Maybe it is some giant air-conditioning unit located at the top of this building, or maybe it is coming from the canteen nearby. I can recognize from the color of the sign that they are probably selling Muslim food over there, and there aren't a lot of people in the canteen at all. I wonder why it is not possible for the group of students next to me to move to the canteen at all, because there is a lecture going on in the lecture theater behind me. Then again, it's not like anything is going to penetrate these solid walls anytime soon. The girl just went off the pick up a phone call, and I can hear her even though I cannot see her - isn't that amazing? Anyway, I am still thinking about the low humming in the air, and maybe it is something secretly buried underneath the surface of the ground, some ultimate war machine being strategically placed there by the government. OK, too much science fiction for me, and I really should focus on zoning the group next to me out. They are getting louder and louder, and this song by Florence and the Machine isn't nearly loud enough to block them out. I should find other comfortable spots with an internet connection and a decent crowd next time, if there is a crowd at all. I like the library somehow, but there sofas are rather hard and always taken up by other students.

It is amazing how easy it is for me to infiltrate this place, and I remember posting a Tweet about it. It is so easy for me to just walk into this school and pretend to be a student. I understand that it is a huge school, and that there are a hell lot of students here. But the ease at which I can just walk in like that, I wonder why nobody has ever considered the possibility of some kinda terrorist attack. I mean, if you are a terrorist, you'd want to hit a country where it'd hurt most, right. A crowded place, or a place with a lot of children, those are the places you'd like to go for. Schools are usually an ideal place for those bomb slinging maniacs, so I wonder why there isn't a better security system to monitor this place. The only security cameras, I bet, are the ones in libraries and study rooms to monitor whether or not students are making out or not. I really could have been anybody, and there could have been anything in the bag that I am carrying. It could have been a stack of random papers, magazines, a sack of potatoes, or a bomb for that matter. But all I did was to walk into the school and picked a spot to sit down without anybody suspecting anything. So much for all the PSAs about being alert in MRT stations, and all the supposedly horrific images of trains exploding in tunnels. Terrorists attack more than just public transport systems, so what happens to everywhere else?

Today has some great weather may I add, it is one of those gloomy days that never seem to go away. It rained about an hour or two ago, and the skies are still somewhat cloudy despite the fact that it has stopped raining. I think I should take off my hoodie now, because it is getting a little warm around here. Between the first word of the sentence and the last word of the last, I have taken off my hoodie, and it is feeling really good all of a sudden. I think I want to buy myself a drink soon, or maybe something to munch on for dinner. Oh, dinner, I have no idea what I should be getting. Fast food would be fast, but it is also something I only just had yesterday. I have no idea how some people can tolerate having fast food on a daily basis, because even convenience can wear thin after some time. Anyway, there aren't a lot of things I want to blog about at this point, and I really want to maintain a certain length of my entry. I have no way of gauging how long I have typed, since I am not used to typing my blog entries in this application, Either way, Neptina just texted me and told me that she is heading to the shower right now, in which case I should also be ready to leave this place and, thank goodness, the hyena girl and the butt crack showing boy. They are wrestling with each other right now, and they are getting a lot longer. Neptina, please do the showering bit fast, I am losing my mind here.

P.S. A white truck with the words "Be Green" just pulled in next to the canteen. The irony of seeing those words on the side of a truck that pours out poisonous exhaust amuses me to no end.

P.P.S. The group is now joined by two other friends, one of them is sitting on the table that I am at. He is shaking his leg and it is making the entire table vibrate. I know you can't read or hear this Neptina, but come meet me soon?

P.P.P.S She just screamed and started hitting the boy on the other side of the table. She just screamed again. I think I am going to do this postscript thing until Neptina comes.

P.P.P.P.S A stray cat! It is too far for me to toy with it though. It is going up a slope, still going up a slope. And... it's gone.

P.P.P.P.P.S OK, one of them is indian. I did not know that.

P.P.P.P.P.P.S Just bought myself a can of iced coffee. Accidentally took my earphones off - big mistake.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S In retrospect, maybe I should have done the entire entry on postscript. This is turning my blog into Twitter.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S I am starting to believe that this girl has no ability to speak at a normal tone of voice. Like, her default volume at birth was set at "ear-piercing". Also, the default thing for her to do when something funny happens is to either collapse on her boyfriend, or to hit someone. Sometimes, the boyfriend is collapsed on and slapped at the same time. Maybe he likes it like that, you never know.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S All subsequent Ps after the first P in this sentence look like cheeky one-eyed monsters. The last monster is upset though, the one with the S.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S I like that this school has emergency sprinklers placed on top of trees. In case of fire, even the trees need saving too, right?

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S No, not Neptina. False alarm.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S I got tired typing all the Ps, so I have started copying and pasting.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S I turned off my music to see what she is screaming about. I went back to my music after about ten seconds - a feat.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S Temasek Polytechnic has very strange objects around the school. There are hooks on the walls that don't seem to serve any purpose, and exit signs that point to big fields as if people don't know that that is the place to go in case of fire. And, when you press chrysanthemum tea on the vending machine, iced lemon tea comes out.