of standard tickets and stored value cards

'and i need to tell you. Thank you. for being a stored value in my Ez Link card. cos you have allowed me to experience life in another way. ' Me to May. 03 08 05 ( 2240 h)

on the way to holland V. this afternoon, may urged me to write the story of how i view my life- and perhaps all our lives. it's more of a reflection of what's happened over the past couple of weeks, months. it's more personal than anything else in the last year. really.

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where do i start? let's see. my choice of expression of my life. right. that's where i should begin.

four weeks ago, i took a train up to Outram where the hospital is situated. i ran out of stored value in my Ez link card. i opened my wallet and found only five measly dollars stuck in there. so i had no choice but to buy the Standard ticket- the one ride ticket that would give you a one dollar refund when you return it at the general ticketing machined ( GTM).

i sat in the carriage, watching as the train moved from one station to another. contemplated how life could be so cruel to all of us. that though i feel that i'm already sinking, it throws me another curveball to get me down even farther.

i stared at the Standard ticket. That is life- in my hand. I paid for it. $ 1.40 to get me to my destination. $1 to keep the ticket. my life in a dollar. that's what i call it.

The Standard ticket buys you enough to get to your destination. it takes you there. it's One Way. you don't get any better. if you miss your stop, good luck to you with the Ticketing guy. If you alight earlier than the stop you've paid for, then buddy you've been short changed.

That is life. it's all one way. you don't get any better. it's all a linear path. and all i can do every night is pray that i'll get as far as possible, with my friends by my side.

However, we need to thank the authorities for the stored Value Ez- Link card. it buys you trips everywhere so long as you have pre-purchased a certain amount of value in your card. you can head down to Boon Lay and then back to Changi Airport for all you want... So long as you have value in it.

And i'm glad that I've got stored value around me. these are the experiences you get. it may not be the best. but at least you've been through it to know how it felt for another. like going to the worst hotel you could find. and then complaining that the food is disgusting, the service lacks quality, and the room...well is falling apart.

for someone who gets complained almost every single time for making too much noise by the neighbours at hotels, i guess i've learnt how to be somewhat more quiet WHEN THE WALLS ARE THAT THIN! =)

But you've been through it. and that's important.

And then,there are friends. They have singlehandedly became the stored Value- enough to each be one Ez link card on their own.through creating an experience in your life, allowing you to live life differently.

there's those in school who guide you through the entire schooling experience. ( Almost) Everyone says that 'school stinks!' but there's the Friends that just make it somewhat more bearable. that you look forward to heading down to school everyday. and honestly, i miss school when the holidays arrive, completely forgetting about my whinings about how Boring school is and how i'm Falling Asleep at every single class.

there's those whom you completely take for granted. forgetting their presence. remembering them by 'WHo?! oh yeah, yeah. i know him/ her.' but are always there to help you whenever you require assistance. i'm some Major ungrateful freak( According to a LOT of people. who?!) and at times completely forget some people. their faces, their likes and dislikes though i could have known them for ages.

but they've always Helped. extending a hand whenever i called out for security, never leaving me in vain. one of my best friends's leaving for usc next week. and i doubt i would know how to deal with the suddenly emptiness of not knowing that if i do try hard enough, i'd be able to run all the way to her place from my house.

Experiences is a very vague word in fact. but it generally encompasses all the things you go through in life. felt by your senses, impacting your life, creating a memory forever written- so deep you can hardly ever ( try as you might) forget.

and that is the store value ticket. taking you everywhere so that you can experience things everywhere, in every single possible situation.

Travel. that's a big word that involves a significant amount of money each time- even on the bus or the train.. unless you cycle or rollerblade or skate scooter or . ok enough.

But travel is the epitome of what life is. travel creates experiences. and in going to school, or to a party or even an interview, that is Travel. cos it creates that experience. doesn't have to be expensive.

cos even when you read a good book, standing at borders you have already Travelled. away from the people, the environment and into the rubic. and then you feel good that you've read it. possibly bought it. That is Experience at work.

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so that's life to me. The Standard ticket that would eventually take me to the end of my life. that linear road- from birth to death. and the Stored Value ez link card that is to take me through numerous travels, countless priceless experiences. and then that will be it.

and hopefully, the plan of my death would be something like me speeding down the autobahn at the top speed that car can carry me. and i die. speeding. leading what i view as the truest expression of 'The Fast Life.'

i know this may send fear through some people. or many people. but i'm just trying to express my view on life, and possibly death. but this is what's going to be what our lives is like.

and if anything that should irk you, it would possibly be whether you've created enough experiences in your life to know you've led it fully. to go happily, it tomorrow happens to be when God calls you back.