I took the bus to work today.
Something I have not done for a good 6 years. The car broke down late last night and there was no time to get it towed to the service centre this morning because of work.
Well I could have taken a cab and saved myself the hassle of having to walk to the bus-stop, fish for coins and jostle with the crowds for a good seat. But I thought, wat the heck, lets relive some 'memories'.
Unlike most young 20-somethings (even 18 year-olds nowadays) who zoom around in their REX-es and Integras, I bought my first car at a relatively 'old' age of 27. Soon after the wifey got her license, she too got herself a new set of wheels. Unfortunately the both of us did not get a 'vehicle-bursary' from mudder and fudder to jumpstart our entry into car ownership. But being DINKS, we were comfortable lah.
Buses may have been the 'peasant' way to travel back then, but it gave me and K the opportunity to talk and enjoy each other's company on the way to skool or to town. And because I could read on the bus without getting a splitting headache, unlike her, I could finish 2-3 chapters of exam revision along the journey from home to University. The world too, looks so different from the top of a Double-decker, swaying gently and chugging along with someone else at the wheel. As a driver now, I am usually too busy cursing at my fellow motorists to care for the greenery or sights and sounds along the way from Pt A to Pt B.
Yes we may have got our independence from having 2 cars at our disposal, anytime of day, anywhere we wanna go, 24/7. But sometimes, the feeling of a 'shared journey' is lost, in more ways than one.
Nice and pleasant bus ride today nonetheless. But later, the Alfa's gonna come get me from work and save me from this temporary sojourn in the 'peasant way' =))