2SC6 Class Gathering 30 June 2007

Just wanna say I really thank God for such faithful classmates who turn up for class outings almost every time, as long as they can make it. Of course, there are some who miss them because they don't feel like coming, but there are always the rest who make up for their absence. Haha. Thanks for organising this good one, Anna! I think it was one of the best class gatherings ever =)

Dear old me always thinks that an outing with an opportunity for EVERYONE to talk together is good. Therefore our spending an hour at the open area of Vivocity that night meant a lot to me. I didn't talk much as usual, but it was really nice listening to those guys reminiscing about NS and saying how much they hated the experience even though, deep down in their hearts, I know they must love the opportunity this "much-hated" experience gives them to bond with the rest of the guys. Mind you, some of them were from different cliques. Yet they could still talk as if they were the oldest friends on earth. It really warmed my heart. =)


After everything, I sheepishly asked Yong Hua if Yong Chia, who had driven there, could send me home. Yong Hua's reply was that this brother (FYI: All the guys call each other "brother", including me) is very nice and would most certainly agree. And he did! Haha. He was going to send Aaron and Yong Hua home, and decided to send me home too since I...live nearby. Sort of. =P They live in Aljunied and Macpherson.


On the way home, because Yong Chia had taken the Nicoll Highway route instead of the expressway and the NDP Preview had just ended, there was an immense jam from...that place near...Kallang, I think (=P) to Geylang. When we passed by Geylang, there were a lot of foreign workers and soliciting prostitutes. Yong Hua first started talking about Bangladeshis who dash across the road and cause trouble to drivers, and drifted to a traumatising experience of seeing a prostitute soliciting, and then talked about another traumatising experience of a pimp who tried to sell him his girl.


The three guys talked as if I was one of them/not there. Haha. Which is good! We are all brothers. Heehee (FYI: Most of the guys in my class call me "brother"). Either that, or they did censor their conversation because I was around and of course I won't know that. Anyway, I saw for myself for the first time that the red-light district didn't get its name for nothing. Houses that have "that" business going on in them do display red fluorescent lights outside them indeed. (I don't live in this area and of course do not frequent these places, so please pardon me...=P) I thought that was a thing of the past (Mum told me about this before), but the practice apparently still exists.


I got to people-watch at the Geylang area, which was why I could see clearly all these things that were happening around me. It's not my first time passing through this area (in a vehicle), but I usually read when on the bus, so this was really an eye-opener for me. As I watched all these foreign workers walking around (apparently a lot of them live there) and actually got to watch prostitutes soliciting (as Yong Hua pointed out to me), it struck me that this was really a side of Singapore I have never gotten to know. I know I don't ever want to live in this sort of place, and it's quite sad that such things still happen here, right in the country where I live. I believe most of these prostitutes do not want to be who they are, but they have no choice as society would definitely refuse to accept them. Yong Hua said he has seen some of these foreign workers gazing longingly at the prostitutes who charge an expensive (to them) fee of $40+ because they can only see but not have them. It sounds disgusting, but I'm sure there are some of them who do miss home and are working very hard to support their families.


So if we only look at the foreign workers and prostitutes, on one hand, we have people who lead a life of hope (for those who really do hope) and people who probably see no light at the end of the tunnel. Can you see a conflicting mix of people in Geylang?

A feeling of melancholy washed over me as I continued to watch them. Even though my brothers continued to have their light-hearted chat, joking about all their experiences and saying that this area was dangerous and all, it still didn't stop me from thinking...what can we do about prostitution? Is prostitution still necessary for us to reduce rape cases? ( I guess it would be, still...)

Furthermore, can one seemingly insignificant person like me do something about the greatly unequal distribution of wealth over the world that is causing agony to people who have to leave their families just to earn a living? Don't forget that we have domestic servants in Singapore who hail from other less developed countries too. Some of them are married and have to be absent from their children's childhood. :( There are so many people all over the world who have to leave their families for extended periods of time just to earn that vehicle that would gain us access to a lot of other primary needs.

Alright; on a lighter note, here are some of us who turned up for that wonderful class outing:







Anna, me and Lester at Vivocity while waiting for stupid late Mr Peh to arrive =P










Us at Sentosa! Aaron turned up late, so he didn't get to cycle, but we sort of tried to make his money and time spent worthwhile by letting him take photos and chatting with us in Sentosa itself. Haha. If it helps =P

I'm sure you know Anna and I, so I shall just introduce the guys. From left: Lester, Aaron, Ting Ping (who finally turned up!!! :D), Yong Chia, PHY, Zhen Wei.

We took this at the Beach Station. Lester was happily snapping away so much yesterday to "make his money worthwhile" that Hong Yong said he was going to melt if any of us take any another photo of him. That only tempted me to take more photos of him...and he didn't melt! =P






All of us who turned up! This was taken at HarbourFront Centre. From left, back row: Me, Anna, Yong Chia, Lester, Hong Yong, Aaron. From left, front row: Ting Ping, Zhen Wei, Yong Hua (who turned up after his cell group meeting! =) )

See what I mean about people who are really sincere about turning up? PHY had exams and he gave up one day of revision. Yong Hua turned up despite only getting to spend a short time with us. Haha.


Anyway, Aaron knew the way to my house better than I did! *hangs head in shame* =P And my brothers found out why Dee doesn't allow me to drive alone =P You should get it by now =P


Last but not least, I think my brothers have all become more gentlemanly as compared to last time, which is wonderful =)



Okay, Sunshine is nagging at me to go and sleep now as I have to rise early tomorrow...the time now is 0030. Psychology Camp tomorrow!!