Wednesday, June 19, 2013

psi 290

it's been a while since i got to experience haze in sg...this summer it's especially bad. the psi reading just went up to 290, which is a really unhealthy level (anything more than 100 is bad, more than 200 is unhealthy!)

the shocking thing is hearing my mum vehemently cursing the people who are causing the haze, and actually wanting them all to go and die. like that would solve the problem..the haze is already here to stay, and it's not just any one person's fault. let's just hope for some wind and rain, so the psi reading goes down...

and that the governments actually do something about this negative externality! like trying to tackle the root cause of the fires (slash and burn to clear land for agriculture and commercial purposes), and fine the companies in charge or something. make them improve their technology for land-clearing so they stop harming the people there and all around too!

i totally forgot about this haze thing (since it was nv that serious), and i really never thought much about it until this year. interestingly, people were like telling me are you glad to be back in sg, i would probably be happier in the us without this haze and all that. i was really shocked to hear that, it never crossed my mind though it's probably true in terms of the timing i'm back. but i really don't feel that upset, after all i'm back for my family, not so much about the air quality.

of course, it's bad that there's this haze, and i sincerely hope everyone's going to be fine and not suffer any lung problems or coughs bcos of this...i recall a reading from the archeology class i'm doing on coursera right now. there was this body (the ice man i think?) they were analyzing from hundreds/thousands of years back or something, and they found that his lungs were blackened from smoke, so probably back in those days they cooked food around fires all the time.

i was just wondering if the haze would do the same to us all, blackening our lungs bit by bit? or maybe i'm just exaggerating haha, but i'm just reminded of that reading.

ohh and i got so pissed off when the guy walking in front of me today was smoking a cigarette! like the haze wasn't bad enough, he had to smoke in front of me and argh. i just sped up and overtook him so i don't have to be taking in his second hand smoke...but because of that i think i breathed harder and took in more dust particles lol. i guess i should learnt to be more patient somehow...
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Saturday, June 01, 2013

odd flight from sf to tokyo

not sure i want to take united again...i meet the oddest people on such flights!

on the 11hour+ flight from san francisco to tokyo on the way home, i encountered this mixed-race couple in their 50s, one black guy and white woman. i found them really interesting, they speak with some kindof southern accent, the lady sounded a little irritating with the drawl, just like in the movies.

the moment they discovered alcohol was free on the flight, they ordered at least 6 rounds of alcohol: two rounds of champagne, one round each of red wine, white wine, and several rounds of beer...i was surprised the flight attendants were so patient and kept bringing them bottle after bottle of wine and beer, just because they ask for it. isn't there some kind of limit so they won't get too drunk and get into trouble?

i was seated in the aisle, but they kept getting out of their seats and back in for restroom break (that's for drinking so much alcohol), for stretching, for walking around. the worst part is, they don't go together, they just take turns getting out and then getting back in!!

i was trying to sleep during the flight too, and i notice that i wake every hour on the dot because they need to get out, so in the end i was getting irritated. argh for sitting in the aisle.

not only that, they also get out to take stuff from the overhead compartment, and then need to spend ages packing their things WHILE in their seats, and elbow me constantly while i was sitting there erhem. i realised that i was squished to like 2/3 of my seat alrd, bcos the guy was like putting his arm all the way at my seat armrest, then i have to sleep slanted towards the aisle. sigh la. squished and not happy.

moreoever, they brought some dvd player and various dvds to watch, but they both wanted to watch (and they brought headphones, so only one person could listen at a time), so they plugged it out and watched the movie OUT LOUD, totally disturbing everyone la! fortunately there was no charger and their thing ran out of batt so they stopped. then the wife was so fidgety all the time, and so whiney at her age! she was whining about how the flight is 24 hours and it's taking forever and they have nothing to do, while the husband is saying they should just sleep and keep it down. of course the flight was only 11 hours but dunno why they thought it was 24 hours. anyway.

then they started arguing and kept getting louder and louder. the wife then kept chanting "sleep. sleep. sleep. sleep." while staring at him, then he got pissed and started scolding her for making a fuss and yelled at her to keep it down. oh what an irony, he was the one making the most noise by yelling actually. i gave up trying to sleep and started reading my book every time they started talking. it always ends up in an argument which ends with some alcohol and kisses and "honey". argh what an interesting yet irritating couple dynamics!!

of course they had no idea how to operate the lights and volume buttons and service buttons so i taught them. then they discovered that they could listen to music on the flight so they started to listen and humming, and singing, and just club dancing in their seats. like wth??? first time i saw people dancing to their music while seated! omg it made my seat shake all the time so i just ignored it and pretended like it was turbulence, but apparently they were kicking or moving the seats in front so the people in front, who were trying to sleep too, turned around and told them off a few times.

the wife also liked to open the windows whenever she liked/whenever she was bored, and start applauding. i have no idea why she was clapping, maybe it's bcos she saw nice clouds or something? or maybe it's the alcohol anw, but it just blinds everyone who was sleeping. argh i guess i'm just feeling irritated that my sleep kept getting interrupted by the two of them, esp since it's alrd quite hard for me to fall asleep when it's daytime in the us.

i thought sitting in the aisle should be a good experience since most ppl get out like twice in the whole flight, but this couple got out at least 10 times argh. they're like a completely clueless couple and definitely did not seem like a couple in their 50s. they felt like they had the right to make noise and disturb others without worry about other people...this was the most eventful but irritating flight i've ever had, and i sincerely hope i don't have such an experience again.