i used to cycle to work, but i stopped when the daylight hours got shorter, and when the weather became cooler. It was a combination of reasons which made me switch to taking cab/getting a lift to work.
1) Safety
i find it dangerous and scary to be cycling along the roads, with huge lorries (i mean like 18-wheelers) and fast cars. there is no dedicated cycling lane along my route, so i keep my wheels on the double yellow lines, as near to the kerb as possible. this part of the road is very uneven, with potholes or piles of loose stones and hardened cement. after doing this for more than 3 mths, and going for the italy trip, i came to the conclusion that there is a whole lot more to life, and i don't want to lose it on a foreign road. hence i feel that paying SGD25 for a one way taxi ride is worth it.
2)Comfort
it is tiring to cycle and i don't particularly cherish reaching work sweaty and panting. the freezing weather isn't helping, and i find it very distracting. this is likely to impact upon my concentration on the roads and hence my safety.
that is my personal point of view. also, i don't want my parents to worry abt me. they are so helpless already, being all the way in sg. the least i can do is give them assurance abt my well-being and safety isnt it? Like my grandma says in teochew, the most important thing is to return safe and sound; money is not important(it is a simple sentence, but there is so much love in it, it's choking.)
the rest dont feel the same way and are unwilling to share the cab fare, hence they continue cycling. good for them. i'm willing to pay my SGD$25 and i have NEVER complained that it is expensive.
Yet they (especially one) keep calling me "rich girl" who has loads of money to splurge on taxi rides everyday. that hardly is true. i began my working life with almost zero in my bank account, and with a $22000 debt. it's my blessing that i don't have to immediately contribute to the family.
I made the decision to take cab after much consideration, and it would have been great if some of them do decide to share. but i'm not complaining, coz it's my choice.
i wasnt very satisfied with cabbing everyday because it has increased my expenses by 150%, so i asked around for a lift. eventually i found one and he is fetching me everyday.
this "rich girl" thing has died down since the beginning, thankfully. but today somebody else casually asked me how i get to work each day. i was very sick of talking abt this already, but this person doesnt know the history behind it, so i said i took cab for a while, then found someone staying in my area and who is willing to give me a lift to work. this person then commented that "girls are like that, just smile then can get a lift already".
well, that's not very pleasing to my ears, but i gave him some allowance and just played along, saying "well, if u ask around, u are likely to get the same result."
then my housemate (the one who KEPT CALLING ME A RICH GIRL) said, "Yah lor, girls just smile can already. But hor, not all girls like that. only certain type of girls will do it."
I wanted to stare at him and ask, "WHAT TYPES?" but i didnt. i'm so unconfrontational that i just ignored them plainly and continued my work. what the hell did he mean by that? hello????? what type of girl???
so does he think i sell my body and soul just so i can get a lift in the morning?
i find it extremely insulting. the fact that this housemate knows the entire history of my transportation problems makes it even more deplorable that he should have made that statement. he is such a freaking JERK!
i'm so tired of this affair that i can't be bothered to explain my morning lifts to anyone, unless they are really new friends and are nice abt it.
