Taxi conversations

I've always liked talking to taxi drivers, especially those who have more interesting points of view and not just complaining about the government in general (and saying Indonesia is creating trouble..). 3 days ago I had to take a taxi from school because I missed the last bus after MLA barbecue... and what followed was one of the most bizarrely interesting conversations I've had in a taxi..

Some excerpts....

Taxi uncle (TU) : "Eh girl, you study NUS ah? wad do you study ah?"

me: "Oh I study architecture uncle..."

TU: "Eh, that means my guess is correct lah! I knew you study architecture, you go the architect face!"

me: *feeling super happy but a bit confused* "Hah? Got such thing like architect face ah? Really ah uncle?"

TU: "Ya lah! I know the architect type one.. I work in building industry 28 years already ok, always work with architects one..."

me: "Oooo..." *hoping that at the uncle has good memories working with architects and not think we are a bunch of concrete-obsessed megalomaniacs..*

. . . . . . 

TU: "Eh girl, I tell you something ok.. Today you will learn a lot from uncle...You know what is 'HR'?

me: "Human Resources?"

TU: "No....It's actually 'Human Robot'!"

me: "Ha?"

TU: "ya lah! You must work work work very hard, if you don't work you get fired. Of course human robot right!"

me: "Hooo ok..."

TU: "And you know what is 'HB'?"

me: "HB? human bondage?"

TU: "You think lah..if you can guess before we reach Toa Payoh, means you are very smart.. ok I give you clue.. human robot right, don't care about other people one... but people must be caring, correct or not?"

me: "Ah...HB is human being?"

TU: "EH?? how you know? wah! smart girl! Come, come i shake your hand!" *and this is the bizarre part..he actually extended his hand to the back seat and insisted on shaking my hand... thank goodness we didn't have accident huhuhu.."

. . . . . . 

TU: "You know ah girl, actually I work on a lot of buildings in Singapore.."

me: "Oh ya? Which ones uncle?"

TU: "Like Chinatown point,you know or not?"

me: "Oh my church is there! "

TU: "Oh ya? You know those big pillars in the building, got 8 pillars.."

me: "Ya ya can see it from the emergency stairs behind my church.. all the way from roof to foundation right?"

TU: "Ya...and each pillar is 2m diameter... new technology at that time you know, I went to Kobe specially to get the concrete and steel.... eh, and girl, I tell you a secret ah..."

*to uncle if you read this..sorry but this is really too interesting I can't keep it a secret...*

me: "Wah, what secret uncle?"

TU: "You know ah...under those pillars..got 10 kg of gold..."

me: "Serious??!! But why put gold there??"

TU: "Don't know lah, last time for feng shui lah..."

me: "Eh but serious ah uncle? Gold under the pillars?"

TU: "Ya they put at the foundation under each pillar... you go there lah with a gold detector I'm sure you can detect.."

me: "Hoo ok..." *formulating a plan, just in case next time I would be in desperate need of money*

. . . . . . 

*I forgot why and how... but somehow we ended up talking about couples in Singapore.. and dating...and the conversation got to SDU, the official government agency to matchmake singles huhuhuhu..."

TU: "Eh girl, you know what SDU is?"

me: "Social development unit?"

TU: "No....I tell you what it really is: "Single, Desperate, Unwanted"

me: "Waaa..hahahaha... nice one uncle.."

TU: "Ya you learn a lot from uncle right, girl.."

___

Yea, I did =)