No Smart Phone? No Worry! ;)

Yesterday, I accompanied my boyfriend to school only to have to take public transport back home from NTU.  (I stay at Kovan.) Trust me, it's not fun.  I was feeling pretty lousy to begin with, kinda down in the dumps.  To top things off, during the whole journey, I had no source of entertainment.  I don't use my iPod, I didn't bring my iPad, and this is the phone I'm using…

I'm a true blue "hipster".  Anyways, you're probably laughing at me now, thinking "Who in the world still uses a Blackberry??"  It's okay, I'd think the same thing too if I were you.

So there I was, sitting in the MRT.  I looked around only to find that everyone else around me was using some sort of technological device.  We always read articles telling us how technology has taken over our lives, and yesterday, I really felt the gravity of it.  I thought "Man, if only I owned a phone that could download apps or games."  So I sulked to myself a little, and after a few minutes or so, I decided that was not the way to go.  So I started coming up with a list of things that one could do if he or she were on public transport and as technologically "unsavvy" as I was.  Here's my "wonderful creation":

List of things to do when on public transport without technology.

1. Sleep

Haha!  I think people do this the most.  It makes the most sense anyways.  If you've got nothing to do, why not catch up on some rest?  It'll energise you and you'll end up feeling all rested!  This probably won't work well for people who are standing or are afraid of looking unglamorous in public though.  :)

2. Read

It's actually a pretty good idea to read books if you're not too reliant on technological devices.  You can increase your knowledge, strengthen your vocabulary, or use it as a form of escapism from reality.  If you hate reading though, then this may not be the best of ideas.  

3. Observe the people around you

I know it sounds creepy, but if you've got no games to play, no people to talk to, no books to read, and you don't feel like sleeping, this may actually be kinda fun!  I honestly spent most of my time on the MRT doing this.  I observed aaaall types of people.  For example… 

The man on my left was middle-aged.  He constantly used Facebook; he kept scrolling and scrolling, looking at all sorts of people's pictures.  The guy on my right was really tall and looked mixed.  He owned a HTC phone and played games and checked Facebook throughout.  There was a young couple diagonally right of me.  The lady was Chinese while the guy was Indian.  They were dressed nicely and held hands throughout the journey.  There was a man wearing a beanie who sat directly across from me.  He was using his phone, listening to music.  He was wearing sports shoes and had really hairy legs.  Haha!  There was yet another man who was diagonally left of me.  He used an iPad and constantly rubbed his mouth with his fingers.  He would then smell his fingers and pick his nose.  HAHA.  I'm not kidding.

So you see?  Observing people is a skill too!  I felt like Sherlock Holmes!

4. Think about life

You could invest all the time spent traveling into thinking about life - what you want to do/achieve/improve on.  You could think about any situations or issues you're going through, and what you're going to do about them.  You could think about your family, friends and work, and come up with resolves regarding them.  This can help keep you focused when managing situations and thoughtful towards people.  Don't end up worrying or suffering from paranoia though!  Overthinking is not part of the deal.  :)

5. Others…

This includes:  talking to yourself, singing to yourself, talking to strangers, counting the number of arm hairs you have, studying your notes, etc…  (It's absurd, I know.)  Evidently, there is much to do if you are without technology on public transport!

I'm sure no one would ever need this list.  This being said, I bet you still can't last one journey without using your technological devices!  And truth be told, why would you want to anyways?  Technology has presented us with great opportunities to gain knowledge or be entertained when we simply have nothing to do.  Too much of it though may negatively affect the way we interact with others.  I personally, can't wait till June to get a better phone!  I shall join the crowd and feed my dragons and crush my candies.  I shall stalk people on Facebook and Instagram constantly and Whatsapp like there's no tomorrow!  I will forever have music to listen to and videos to watch!    Ah, the life…  ;)