more embarrassing driving stories.
written: 10:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008

Infocoms classes have prompted the Return of Scrabulous. And you know, I genuinely do think that it's in my best interests not to play Scrabulous during class and that I should listen because I already don't read the handouts as it is, and whether I like it or not there's an assignment/take-home exam to do at the end of the course - which is really, really soon.

But I can't help it. Today was especially hard to exercise self-control. Or rather, self-discipline. I just have absolutely ZERO affinity with statutes and I HATE reading statutes and I don't like listening to statutes being explained. It's sad, I know, even potentially suicidal, but that's just the way it is. Statutes are written in the driest English to ever walk the face of the earth. And in a bid to provide for as many contingencies and permutations of events and whatever, drafters cramp all sorts of things into one sentence, separated only by commas. So you end up with sentences like this: "...'telecommunications' means a transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electro-magnetic systems whether or not such signs, signals, writing, images, sounds or intelligence have been subjected to rearrangement, computation or other processes by any means in the course of their transmission, emission or reception..."

After the word 'emission', I just don't want to read anymore. IT'S SO ANNOYING. I mean, I certainly see why it's done this way, but it doesn't mean that I enjoy reading it any more than I do if I were a layman. This is precisely why I can't do corporate work too; all these 'cramp as many contingencies as possible into one provision' exercises will completely kill me.

Anyway, Infocoms is still quite interesting though, despite my inability to pay full attention in class today. It's basically about competition and convergence (meaning the merging of broadcasting services and telecommunications) and how to regulate the industry, which is a lot more interesting than it sounds. The only thing that I'm damn scared of? The technical details. Today DS was talking about the wavelengths of visible light and some other whatever ray and I was like, "WHAT?????" Can you imagine what would happen to my brain if I didn't take Physics in secondary school? I took Physics in secondary school and already my brain positively bristled at the word 'wavelength'. It's terrible!

I'm eating a strawberry cake now and it's 10.50 p.m. and my swimming pool is being cleaned or whatever and it's off-limits for a while. I can't believe I'm eating a strawberry cake. Please kill me. Now.

Anyway, I had lunch with Jolie and Ruishan today at China Square Central and I drove there in order to make it in time for my 3 p.m. Chinese class. And driving there was a TOTAL bitch. I found my way to CSC's general vicinity fine, but I couldn't locate its exact location. I was on the left side of the road, driving damn slowly as I tried to figure out where it was, then I spotted it on the right, but I didn't dare to change lanes 'cause there were like ten million cars behind me. So somehow I ended up making a huge round, via the Chevron Whatever and Bank of China area, until I saw 'Synagogue Street' and turned in. And somehow I found myself at CSC. I thought, Anyhow find a car park and park lah! So I anyhow found a car park, the ramp SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME, and after discovering that there were no lots on the first floor and that I'd need to go up some more, I decided to leave.

I drove around some more and somehow located the CSC car park. And you know what? Parking cost me $5-something. And I was there from, like, 12.50 to 2.10? OMG I almost died.

But that's not the worst part. I couldn't find my way to school. I wrote down directions the night before, but when I got out of the CSC car park, I found that I couldn't turn right to some street whose name I can't remember - because, once again, I was on the left side of the road and I had to cut across like two lanes really really really super quickly to make that right turn, and there were ten million cars heading in my direction. So I decided to just drive straight and find some way to turn back.

I randomly took a right turn somewhere, hoping I'd end up at the place I was supposed to go to, but I found myself in CHINATOWN. Wah lau! And for some reason I just kept driving straight, straight, and straight, until I realised that if I drove straight some more, I'd end up somewhere in Kallang, which was really, really, really nowhere near school. So I randomly took some random left turn, drove on, and thankfully found myself at the National Museum. Thankfully I was not stupid enough to go to Somerset/Orchard, and managed to get to Cavanagh or whatever which leads very quickly to school.

So all was good, right? Not so much. In the process of getting lost and making those turns, I passed through TWO BLOODY ERP GANTRIES. Oh my god $4 utterly wasted!!!! I felt damn bad about using my parents' cash card so I replaced it with my own at the second gantry.

Argh I hate ERP. They're really sprouting up like pimples all over the bloody place! I don't understand how there could be an ERP gantry along Upper Bukit Timah road! It's a good thing I have another route to Bukit Timah or I'd be paying $2 every day! Can you believe it? It's utterly insane. And Kenneth posited, "What if they set up an ERP gantry at Bukit Timah?"

If they do that, I don't know what I'd do. Effectively it means that I'd have to pay $2 every day to go to school which is RIDICULOUS! Of course, Kenneth (unhelpfully) suggested taking the bus to save money but...taking the bus? I think I'd rather pay the $2. Hahahaha.

In the end though, I made it to school at 2.50! And there I was, convinced that I'd be damn late for class. Haha! My hopeless sense of direction is really quite embarrassing, is it not?

I'm in shock that I ate that strawberry cake. My tummy feels damn weird now. Shit.

I can't wait for my intensives to end! The three-day week/four-day weekend thing sounds very, very, very promising, if you want my honest opinion.

before sunrise // before sunset

Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010