No. I've seen you before.

Date: 28 May 2008
Time: 0936 hrs
Place: Bayview Hotel

I had just crossed the street when this white-haired lady, in singlet and shorts, approaches me from behind and shouts at me, saying "Hello! Can give me one dollar!" I said no, I've seen you before, and she just walked away.

Shuttle bus vamoose

Date: 18 May 2008
Time: 1900 hrs
Place: Grand Copthorne

I was asked by an Indian lady in a blue sari. I was walking quite far from her, about 5 meters away, and she called me over, and she had a piece of paper with the hotel shuttle time table which she couldn't quite read (perhaps she was long-sighted?) I told her the next shuttle would be twenty minutes later at 1915.

I'm still not Rachel!

Date: 15 May 2008
Time: 1528 hrs
Place: The Factory

(sorf) And another skinny Chinese dude in glasses asking for directions to Kam Hoe's desk in Chinese. Argh

I'm not Rachel!

Date: 15 May 2008
Time: 1111 hrs
Place: The Factory

(sorf) And again some bearded guy leaned on the counter to interrupt me typing madly and said "I'm looking for Rachel." I'm so tempted to say "I'm not Rachel and what the heck do I care?!"

Human signboard

Date: 12 May 2008
Time: 1210 hrs
Place: The Factory

(sorf) Ok i'm typing, looking madly busy, and some middle aged woman comes up to me and asks, "hi can you help me I'm looking for Sumiko". !

Delivery in progress...

Date: 6 May 2008
Time: 1712 hrs
Place: The Factory

(sorf) Some middle aged delivery man with gap tooth just swanned up and went "'scuse where's Asiah?" I said over there waving a hand and he never even say thank you!

Walking into a trap

Date: 04 May 2008
Time: 1243 hrs
Place: Bugis Junction junction

(both) We're standing at the traffic light, debating the architectural merits of the old Nafa building / church, waiting for the light to change, when from behind (it's always from behind!) this Caucasian woman, from a pack of 7 or 8 fat middle-aged tourists, all looking very sunburnt, asking "Excuse me where's Bugis Street?" So we pointed her in the direction and we then asked them why they wanted to go there. She said she wanted to get lunch. We then counter-suggested eating at the Bugis Junction basement where it's cooler and there are more choices for food. We might have helped them avert a tourist trap. Unfortunately, as we left, we saw them walking in the direction towards the Bugis Street traffic light.

Time to get a watch!

Date: 03 May 2008
Time: 1450 hrs
Place: Cathay

I was walking outside Cathay from Carrefour carrying rice and a bottle of Ribena, obviously plugged in to my iPod. She was walking on my right, probably a tourist. wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, grey sweater around her waist, and camouflage slippers, carrying some books in an "IXIZ" shopping bag and a big black handbag, probably Indonesian, thirty something. She asked me what time it was. I told her it's 2.50 and she said thank you and we went on to walk in the same direction for a while.

Resultant confusion

Date: 01 May 2008
Time: 1420 hrs
Place: The Factory

I was on my way out of the building at the lobby when this forty-something year old auntie asked me where the Straits Times was and started going on about how she had a meeting about the PSLE results. I told her to head for the lift but also confessed that I did not work there and so she walked off to bother some other person.