Calling Home, Part 6: In Between

Calling Home is a series of articles dedicated to cherishing the memories made when away from home, and the people who make them. In Part 6/6, Terence Wang wonders about roads taken, and ones that lie ahead.

A slight scowl of annoyance must have crossed over my face as the ear-piercing screech emitted from my bicycle’s front disc brake, which cut my (admittedly dangerously high) acceleration enough to avoid the creaky red truck (which had no business being in this neighbourhood anyway) passing a few inches too close for comfort on my right. Damn that truck. Damn my brakes too.

But to be fair, I’d abandoned my bike so long, it was probably getting rusty anyway. Not coincidentally, so was I.

Wiping the little layer of sand sprayed across my face (I’m looking at you, you stupid truck), I straightened my bike, put a firm foot on the left pedal and continued forward. Down the wide road with the park on my right and semi-detached houses on the left, deeper into the scattered, and arguably more interesting, lanes of the continuously expanding housing estate that was Taman Impian. My home territory.

Except that, in a way, it wasn't. Not anymore.

Calling Home, Part 5: Fifteen Thousand

Calling Home is a series of articles dedicated to cherishing the memories made when away from home, and the people who make them. In Part 5/6, Siangling Tan takes a step back to reflect on tough choices.

15,000 km is one-point-five Trans-Siberian railways.

I like looking out of the bus window on my way home, as clichéd as it may sound. The autumn leaves of every shade of red and yellow litter the ground and form a breathtaking collage. Kids wave at us as the bus drives by, the setting sun illuminating their chubby cheeks, their blue eyes sparkling with joy and childhood innocence, their blond hair tousled by the wind. The calm and serenity provides a stark contrast to all that I have known for the former 14 years of my existence, and as much as I like the view, it is a constant reminder of everything I gave up and abandoned for this chance for a better future.

The bus rides home are often monotonous but they bestow upon me the quiet and peace to let my thoughts roam free. Often, I think about my big plans for my future, or plan out the coming days in my head, but lately, I have been reflecting a lot, thinking about the implications of all my actions, and the consequences that they bring.

Calling Home, Part 4: Snapshots

Calling Home is a series of articles dedicated to cherishing the memories made when away from home, and the people who make them. In Part 4/6, Grace Goh opens a window to life in a land far, far away.

<scene1>

“Jack Foster.”

“Here.”

“Ashleigh Fusillo.”

“Here.”

“Elena Giulini.”

–indistinct murmur–

“Elena Giulini?”

“Right here, sir.”

–pause–

“Err…help me out here, I don’t want to butcher this name so I won’t even attempt it. S-H-U-…”

“Shuang, sir. But please call me Grace. Easier for both of us.”

“Yup, gotcha Grace. Thanks.”

</scene1>

Calling Home, Part 3: The Ones Left Behind

Calling Home is a series of articles dedicated to cherishing the memories made when away from home, and the people who make them. In Part 3/6, Gregory Goh recounts a year spent with the absence of two very close people.

“You called for me, sir?”

“Ah, Mister Gregory. Yes, come in. Are you interested to join a public speaking competition?”

“Public speaking? Erm... I’m not too sure...”
“Good. I signed you up already.”

“What?!”

Calling Home, Part 2: In Big Cities, People Live Alone Together

Calling Home is a series of articles dedicated to cherishing the memories made when away from home, and the people who make them. In Part 2/6, Terence Wang muses about the way we interact with strangers.

“In big cities, people live alone together. Do you agree with that statement?”

It would not be an exaggeration to say that I froze, if only for a short moment. In front on me, on the still-warm-from-the-printer sheet of English, Paper 1, that title stared back at me nonchalantly, as if subtly daring me to pick it. Come on, it teased. You know this is the title you would choose.

I didn’t pick it.

It wasn’t for the lack of trying, though. I scratched my head, withered my brow, and made all the usual little movements that a scared, confused student in an exam hall. But I was neither scared, nor confused. I was stumped. It wasn’t a familiar feeling; never once had there been an essay topic, any essay topic, that I couldn’t simply pick and immediately get to work; here, however, I was stuck. And so I moved on, and wrote a little idiosyncratic story about trains and memories. It would go on to earn a sufficiently high score and secure my grade, but I wasn’t satisfied. That little title would stick in my sea of thoughts, like a stubborn little rock clinging on to the seabed, for the some time to come.

Calling Home, Part 1: Little Things

Calling Home is a series of articles dedicated to cherishing the memories made when away from home, and the people who make them. In Part 1/6, Priya Ramesh laments the blatant lack of appreciation for the world around us.

The waiter arrived, with my plate of Chiellini Del Piero and a glass of root beer. But even the saliva-inciting, delectable Italian meal with an unconventional yet wonderfully tantalizing drink could not shift my gaze from the couple at the table across.

Many of us in Singapore – locals, foreign students, scholars, permanent residents – have this habit of rushing. Everywhere. We keep running and running, trailing homework, tests, projects; perennially chasing deadlines, every single day. Sad to say, but this is the truth. We live a competitive life - always trying to beat the guy next to you, be it in your O Levels or the number of Instagram likes. In a world where we’re so caught up with ourselves – where I was so caught up with myself – the couple at the table across were a revelation; a standout. What made them stand out even more was another couple, at the table next to them.

You might think I’m a total creep, prying on two couples’ lives. Maybe I am, but what I saw that day changed my perspective on so many levels on so many things.

Hopes and Dreams

Approximately half of me, I believe, is attached to Suburban KID.

As James Bond rightly puts it, “everyone needs a hobby”. But Suburban KID is more than a hobby. It’s a passion, a pouring of my time and energy for no immediate gain.

Perhaps, if I look at it in a pessimistic passion, it’s because I’m not really good at anything else. No, I’m serious; deep inside, I know I’m not a talented person. What I can do relatively well is within the realms of writing and speaking. In everything else, I am, at best, mediocre.

I admit to having a bit of an inferiority complex. But it isn’t easy, seeing how everyone around you so chock-full with skills and talent, and you feeling unworthy being even near them. And before anyone says this is related to being in Singapore, it isn’t: everyday on Facebook I am reminded of the many, many high-flying people I leave behind, with them winning competition after competition, and generally going places. I feel bad for not being up to them. And I feel bad for feeling that way.

If there’s any good to come out of that, it means that my dedication to Suburban KID is stronger than ever. Over the past few months, the team here has worked hard to give this site the design and feel it deserves. And if I may say so myself, I’m quite pleased with the outcome.

I’ll be the first to admit that it isn’t perfect; while we have done some extensive testing, you may or may not experience a few bugs or flaws here and there. However, it packs quite a few extra features, and (subjectively) looks more keeping with the times.

Here’s the changelog:

-Revamped UI, focusing on a simple light theme
-Changed blog header
-High(er) social media integration, through the use of social media icons and Facebook/Google+ followings
-New content slider to showcase latest posts
-New ‘Recommended for You’ slider when viewing posts
-New ‘Featured Posts’ widget
-Removed Blogger ‘Following’ widget (please use either the Facebook/Google+ widgets instead, as Blogger is discontinuing support of the aforementioned widget)
-Removed ‘Subscribe to Blog/Blog Posts’ widget (it became redundant)
-Removed ‘Contact Us’ page
-Information from ‘The Team’ widget moved to its own page
-Rewritten FAQ
-Changed or tweaked font types and sizes

And that isn’t all. We have a whole series of articles coming up titled ‘Calling Home’, featuring some unique work from both myself and a number of guest writers. Stay tuned for that. If all goes to plan, I’ll also slip in some extra features before the start of the 2013 school period.

The playground is open. Time to go play.

Mädels

In what can only be described as the absolute natural order of things, guys try to be close to girls. Look, stop denying it - you know it, she knows it, we know it. It's the way things are.

While I have no evidence, scientific or otherwise, to support my following claim, I think I can safely bet a good amount of my allowance and have a substantial chance of not coming away a losing man: 9 times out of 10, these attempts to be close - let's call it 'friending' - is to, well, there are again several terms for this, such as 'make that catch', 'get that chick' or 'go out with her', among countless others. Yes, guys, you can stop denying that as well.

Of course, sometimes the motives of a guy in the process of 'friending' are even less noble. I'm going to try my best to avoid calling this one out, but it involves a word that begins with 's', ends with 'x', and has a letter in between those two that are of the first half of the alphabet.

And no, it isn't 'six'. But let's not dwell on that for now.

I, however, have a totally different reason.