Where has the Giam Siapness Gone?

I did it...the giam siap king has splurged. And splurged big he did.
When I was in primary school, book stores would hold the ocassional "book fairs". What this basically means is
a few people will come down and shift some of the regular tables and benches from the canteen and arrange them
in a boxed up formation. They will then spread their colourful covers of Enid Blytons, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drews etc etc
onto the biege table tops. A couple of days before this they would distribute little pamphlets with the book titles that
are going to be on sale.

Having scoured and rummaged through the school library, this little boy would spot some gems that are not within the school's
collection, and start saving up for them. Less drinks, less snacks, and coupled with the usual 30 cents main course, I could
combine meagre piles of coins into bigger ones. Then a grinning little kid will be looking up and down the table tops looking for
the desired tomes of exciting mysteries and trivia. But most often than not, he ends up not buying much. Hahaha..

6 years and 6 inches (taller deh! what are you thinking??) after, the scene cuts to a young boy going through Asterix
and Tin Tin comics in the school library, and then witnessing the swashbuckling swordsplay between Ling Hu Chong and Dong Fang Bu Bai.
Skipping lunch today, he calculated that he has now has enough to buy all the 7 diskettes needed for the latest Ultima CRPG, with spare
for the newest Wing Commander 2 expansion pack.

Thumbing through the glossy manuals, he happily leaves the coffee bean dealer's store with his gang of friends. They would be eager
to share their latest exploits in Britannia or the provinces conquered after the downfall of the Han dynasty.

Fast forward..to a not-so-slim purple dinosaur. This dinosaur has always been hesitant to take the taxi, and often insists on taking whatever
public transport is available. He could also remember the time the last train leaves from Pasir Ris towards Boon Lay, for taking the cab
home after midnight means a prohibitive amount sufficient for a week's lunch and more.

More recently, with the advent of midnight public buses,
this frugal fellow has found salvation! From town, with about 20minute's wait, he can get back home in 45 min! From the Green Hulk's place, all it takes is just 2 Night Rider bus rides, one to town, the other from town to home, at the price of one Night Rider
bus ride! Albeit at the cost of more than 2 hours in all, but that much time is spent sleeping on the bus anyway (and missing the bus stop because I overslept..hehe)..

Oh well, those days are going to be over in a bit. No longer can I really enjoy the free exercise from running after buses and trains. Neither can I get a good tan walking in the scorching afternoon sun.
Nor the free sauna on certain buses *sweat sweat*..

Introducing the little Red Chilli!


Yes, the giam siap king has splurged big. And splurged big he did..