KTM Chronicles

I've gotten accustomed to my Monday-Friday routine. Sure, nothing i-see-a-flying-pig incidents ever happen ALL days but the most mundane part of my day has to be my ktm and bus rides. If I'm lucky they'll pass in a flash, with my bobbing head filled with sleepiness. Put me in a car, in a train, in a bus,if I've been lucky enough to win a seat, chances are i wouldn't be awake much longer. I TRY to keep reading my book but at some point of my one hour (good days!) journey , i place the bookmark and give in. The worst part is when you're jolted awake now and then, and getting back to sleep is not very easy. I'm not known to be a "gracious" sleep-er, couldn't care less where my legs or hands end up in the morning or that my bed sheet is always on the floor in the mornings and at least one pillow, i had a good night's sleep and that's that! public places though have a way of making you a little more conscious(damn you!) so I've realised that a few things work to suppress the not-so-gracious me and bring out a more "cuppa-tea?" person and maybe just maybe some of the people out there might be able to relate to this:

1) Telling yourself repeatedly to always ALWAYS keep your mouth closed. Drooling has got the be the biggest embarrassment ever, and worse still drooling onto someones shoulder? Not good! Drool on your own time baby!!(i know i do!!) Works the same if I tell myself repeatedly to wake up at 6am, I'm up on the dot! Realised that when i don't, i don't hear my phone alarm and am only awake when my dad starts calling me, my mom turning on my room light and my sister being forced to turn off my phone alarm (lying an inch away from my face), yeah they're a force alright!

2) Fight for the seat that's right at the back or right beside the glass barrier, so your head's not just bobbing all around and onto peoples' shoulders.

3) If the seats are taken, always positioning yourself between two equally sleepy people, so your sleepiness or head bobbing does not become notice-able.

4) If no two sleepy people are seen, always rest your head on your hand or completely facing your lap. (if hair is loosely left to partially cover the face or the sides, that would not be so bad too!)

Then if all of the above fails, try your VERY best to stay awake! These work for me :

1) Start taking sips of water as soon as that wave of drowsiness hits you like a tennis ball on your head. (works wonders in class**)

2) Look around to see if you can make out anything interesting from the people around you. The slightest thing will do, like a tear in a seat. Or , these are the better ones, a PDA obsessed couple , a feuding couple, or just feuding people, loud telephone conversations, etc etc.

I've almost seen and heard all of it, but recently on a VERY VERY sleepy day, I walked into the train and through my "Purple Rain" , i hear sobs? Now everyone who knows me probably knows that i like a good story (Read: DRAMA) whenever i can get some. But when routine comes along there's not much of THAT going on. Recently i was talking to a friend i haven't spoken to in ages and the only exciting thing i could say about my life was that i got a haircut...wait.....1 month ago!!So when a nice little juicy story comes along , I'm all ears!

So i turned to look obviously as any natural person would do, and there they were, my 30 minute entertainment of the day. A feuding couple.

My seat was right in front of them, and it was the most bizarre thing because never have i seen anything like that on the TRAIN! Of course it was none of my concern but who would not look when a pretty little thing like her was wiping her eyes and nose with tissues and a macho handsome guy like him sat right next to her and was sms-ing of all things. My mak-kepo instincts suddenly reached a new high and i NEEDED to know something, anything!

For a very long time they just sat there, doing exactly what they were doing when i first walked into the train, everyone on THIS side of the train definitely glanced a couple of times just to make sure he was not secretly holding a knife to her back or something. Then after seputeh i started to give up hope, to give in to my sleepiness, like every other day. Then just as I was about to chant my "closed mouth, drool-free mouth" mantra,... something.

The girl began speaking, she's lucky she doesn't have a throat like mine ,her voice could hardly be heard so a little privacy was maintained. It didn't really matter though, just the idea that these two people were there discussing its-the-end-of-the-world issues in the train in front of me, was good enough. Everyone must have been trying to listen to, what else is there to do? The guy next to them really didn't mind even if they noticed him starting at the both of them.

She says, " How do you know? I never did that. She just told you that....(drowned by the sound of the train)....." Then he looks at her finally and says , "Ok fine, but you tell me now (voiced a little raised now) that you didn't tell him u were there? Promise on your parents and tell me now.." She very badly avoided the question, clearly showing she did indeed told whoever it was wherever she was. He just gave this cold smirk and went back to his phone. She stopped talking a little while and her sobbing got a little louder. Then, after a while of silence, she suddenly burst out saying "u tell me lah who you don't like, you don't like ravin, you don't like him, everyone also you don't like" ..then again silence because i THINK i THINK he might have said "i don't like you?" to be mean, or something because she stopped talking and started sobbing again then started meddling with her phone till my stop came and i got off the train.

So some of my thoughts were (this is my favourite part) :

1) She was at a bar or club (there was brief mention of that) and she told this guy that the bf doesn't like (thus wants her not to like or have any sort of connection with ) and the guys pretty upset about it.

2) Stop that sobbing sister! He's angry at you, have some pride and get angry back!!You're crying for actually telling a person your whereabouts because your bf doesn't like him?

3) Guy, making her cry on the train, seriously? Any other place in the world to discuss it would have been better. Guys you don't like are not necessarily serial murderers she has to stay away from.

4) If they made up, they would have beautiful children.

5)If all fails, they would have no problem getting back on the horse.

Useless, but it did the job i didn't fall asleep and had a story to last me at least a month or two. Unless my friends read this and it spoils a good late-night mamak session.