A Singapore Taxi Driver's Diary said:

Looking for something to say, I asked, “You are not working today?”

She gave me an “are you making fun of me?” kind of look and said, “You find me a job and I will work.”

I felt stupid. I was quiet for a moment, trying to imagine what other good-natured taxi uncles would do in this case. I then told her that if she was looking for a job she could look in the newspapers, talk to friends, or ask her MPs for help.

We were reaching her stop, which was in a carpark next to an HDB block. She took out her wallet, held it in her hand, and said slowly, “Yeah. But I have this arthritis for many years. I have never been in a working condition.”

That was what caused her heavy steps, I realized.

I tried to cheer her up. “That’s okay. You don’t have to work then. At least you have your husband to support you.”

“My husband passed away,” she said under her breath. Her hands stopped opening her wallet.

I stuttered, “I…I’m sorry.”

She looked at me, her eyes two ice cubes melting under the sun. “You know a month and half ago, in the news, a husband and a son jumped off a building...”

As if struck by lightning, I felt a current bolt from my scalp to my feet. “My god. That’s your…” I froze in shock.

Recommended by at82: "Touching stories by Dr Cai"

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Moby Sky rants about selfish drivers that do not give way to emergency vehicles.

one of the things in singapore i have always been surprised by is the driver's unwillingness to give way to an emergency vehicle (i.e. - ambulance / police car).

moral of the story: get the hell out of the way when you hear a siren and see flashing blue lights behind you. don't be selfish.

full story here

Spreading the message on behalf of a fellow blogger... a call for sincere help.

I have, over the years, received countless emails appealing for this and that. From blood donation of a certain blood type to adopt a puppy. So of these emails can be real heart-tuggers but given that there are so many hoaxes and pranks out there, one cannot but feel skeptical or worse, cynical about the whole deal.

Even if the email was genuine, I am more or less pretty much unmoved as I don't feel anything towards the subject, be it a person or a thing as it is far too remote for me.
That was until that morning when the following email reached my mailbox.

This one really hit home.

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BMA said

I don't know why I keep running into these nasty cab drivers, but I ran into this guy sticking his head out the window with nail clippers at a red light, cutting his nails so that they could fall onto the pavement. Yuck!!

BMA is a Californian based in Singapore and also happens to be a food lover. He goes all over Singapore and takes photos of his eats with his cameraphone.

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Mark runs a blog that describes encounters with taxi drivers:

Just the other night I was trying to flag a taxi down. This damn chi ko pek taxi driver drove past me not once, but thrice! Perhaps I wasn't a nice 'chio' girly but a smelly ang moh so he didn't want to pick me up :(. In the end he drove off and I ended up taking some other taxi.

check out his really humourous experiences with taxi drivers in singapore...

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Tales From Chambana said:

The recent hoo-hah about foreign maids not getting any leave from work has led to a proposal to grant 4 days off per month for maids. While they're at it, why don't they look at the plight of taxi drivers?

Vandice ponders the hardships faced by cabbies in Singapore.

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The Tiger Reflects

Taxi drivers in Singapore are at least in their 30s (by industry regulations). They all come from diverse backgrounds. Some did not go through a lot of education and chose driving taxi as their lifelong job. Some were forced to drive a taxi - usually retrenched workers (even managers) who couldn't find a job in 3-6 months and decided to drive while waiting for the job. The job may not have come. Some were businessmen who closed their failed businesses, and who still owe the banks and their relatives & friends money...

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