Final Post

Folks, don't let the title fool you. I haven't decided to stop blogging. On the contrary I have resolved to blog even more often. But this will be my final post... on Blogger.

I started blogging as a means to publish my views in cyberspace for the the benefit (and critique) of the world. It started with small diary like entries. Later, and for a LONG whole, my posts were all about movie reviews. Gradually I began expanding my topics for blogging and eventually found a groove that I am now comfortable with.

The very first blogging platform I used was Yahoo's 360 Blog. It exists only as a faded memory in the archive of cyberspace since Yahoo pulled it off the Internet. Versatile as it was, 360 wasn't truly a blogging platform. So i decided to explore serious blogging platforms. Since I had begun using a lot of Google products, Blogger seemed like an obvious choice to leverage for my blogging needs.

It's been a great 7+ years journey on this platform and I have gained a significant amount of followers and views on my posts through this medium. However I feel it is time for me to move on. Don't get me wrong, Blogger is still a pretty decent blogging platform, just that I have begun to see some shortcomings that caused me to consider a switch. The switch to Wordpress.

For a while now I have been eyeing Wordpress as an alternative to Blogger. I did my research and read through a number of blogs and opinions. Although the jury is still out on which of the two is the best platform,  at this point I feel Wordpress suits my needs better than Blogger.

I'm not gonna bore you with a lengthy comparison or a list as to why Wordpress is better than Blogger for me. After all it's subjective and personal.

Thankfully I was able to import all my previous posts from Blogger into Wordpress. This was a big sigh of relief since I wasn't able to do so when I moved from Yahoo's 360 to Blogger. So it's not like my Wordpress blog is gonna be starting from scratch. Although in the one week that I have had my blog active, I have churned out two posts (see I told you I was gonna blog more often!).

Before I say my final goodbye to Blogger, I will love to have you, my audience, continue to retain access to my blog posts. So here is the link to my Wordpress Blog - http://mystochasticmusings.wordpress.com

So Long. And Thanks For All The Fish

Conversations with a Singapore Taxi Driver: Part 1

Having stayed in Singapore for over 4 years, I've had the pleasure (and sometimes privilege) of sharing my cab rides around the island with some truly unique Cab drivers. The list of said interesting folks grew to the point that I felt compelled to put pen to paper and write about these fellow humans in a blog post. SO here goes my very first post in what will hopefully be a lenghty and colorful series of posts -
The Couple Detester
My earliest recollection of an interesting cabbie is probably from my first year here of a taxi driver who spoke about a lover's spat that took place in the back seat of his vehicle. The couple in question apparently were already quarreling when they got into his cab.
Things only escalated once they were en route to their destination with tempers flaring further and the woman getting a tad louder than her male companion.
Things took a strange turn when the beleaguered male decided to end the spat prematurely by opening his side of passenger door and rolling out of the (pretty fast) moving cab. At this point the woman shrieked and our narrator, the cabbie, brought the vehicle to a sudden halt. Fortunately injuries to the man weren't severe.
However the poor cabbie had to cease all work for most of the day as he was required to be available for statements to both the hospital authorities as well as the police. His lament was obviously over the lost fares as well as the added trouble of having to be part of this rather outrageous situation which didn't concern him to begin with!
Till today, our friend is overly cautious when picking up passengers who are a couple!

The Bridge.

Alan had seen this view before. He'd loved this view every time he did. The view from the Helix bridge summed up his entire love life.

To the right near the Esplanade theatres is where he had first met his wife. They both enjoyed the concert performance that evening with their friends. Alan and she stayed back for a few drinks. Their conversations revealed that both were orphans who had worked hard to succeed in life. There was a mutual admiration which turned into affection.

The Promontory to the far left was where they had enjoyed the fireworks in the Bay Area on one of their earlier dates. He remembered that the place was packed with people and that gave all the more reason for her to stay really close to him. They walked back home that night and were walking around through the next morning. That was when he realised how much he loved her.

Towards the left behind him was the giant carrousel, the Singapore Flyer, where he had popped the question to her. The setup was planned by him with close friends present while he went down on one knee and asked her to spend her entire life with him. Her answer had been a resounding Yes! Her tears had been those of absolute joy that evening.

To the right behind the theatres he saw the plush Mandarin Oriental where they had their wedding reception. With only their friends in attendance they had a small intimate affair. He remembered the crazy photos they had taken that evening. Even when she was making funny faces, his wife looked gorgeous.

Their favourite Italian restaurant was at the centre of this view. The last time they were there was to celebrate their wedding anniversary. He remembered they had shared a sinful dessert at the end of their meal, compliments of the restaurant. She looked radiant that evening!

Yes, his life with his wife was almost summed up entirely with the view that lay before his eyes as he stood on the Helix bridge.

But that life was now only a memory. His wife had passed away last week. He lost her in a car accident. Alan had been devastated since then. But now he was calm as he stood their admiring the view. He had walked down from his office to the bridge after a day's work and was still in his business suit.

Alan stood their motionless as he saw his life with her flash before his eyes. After what seemed an eternity to casual observers, Alan moved to take support of the railing of the bridge as he lifted himself up.

It is then that people around Alan noticed a handcuff around his left hand chaining him to the briefcase he was carrying. They realised what he was about to do. But before anyone could react, Alan had already taken the plunge into the Singapore river below and was propelled all the way to the floor due to the weight of the stuffed briefcase. An hour later when his body was recovered, his life was long gone.

Earlier that day Alan had decided to end his life. But wanted to have one last glimpse of all the places where he had enjoyed a happy life with his now late wife. He left a simple note on his work desk which read -

"Headed to The Bridge, one last time."