+ Neighbours | Act Six

View from living room, contemplating my move

Got into the house and cleaned-up, but my mind was restless.

I had to follow-up on this matter and that was an apportuned time to confront her.

I had to settle it once and for all since she was caught red-handed and witnessed by all 3 of us.

With the front door opened and I kept my post, waiting to actually see our culprit throwing her trash into the chute.

ACT SIX

10 minutes passed, and she still did not come out.

I was furious and had to confront her once and for all. Prayed silently in my heart that things will go diplomatically and that I could control my anger.

Went straight to her home, but before I could knock on the door, she opened it and was surprised that I was at her front door. I was startled too.

I told her that the rubbish was still there waiting for her to throw it into the chute, and told her that, that must not continue as it was unhygienic and wrong.

She replied confidently "Oh, I normally don't do like that. Maybe you got the wrong person."

I felt my temper raging inside, "normally...?"

I told her firmly that hers was the only household with a baby on the 4th floor, and the trash she placed earlier had Drypers diapers as with trash on other days too.

Before she could open her mouth, I told her also undisputedly her name on pieces of papers we found few days before with such trash too.

She paused to search for something to say and then replied "Oh, it isn't me. It must have been my sister-in-law who did that."

OH MY GOD! What kind of being is she? Which planet did she come from?

We witnessed her placing the rubbish exactly as we found the rest of the rubbish thrown likewise, untied and placed there without a thought for anyone else. We found her notes and her name on the pieces of paper inside the opened trash bags.

And she had the audacity to deny that, and place the blame on her sister-in-law too? WOW!

At worst, maybe both of them were guilty.

I told her to spare a thought for her fellow neighbours who had to endure, the filth of the oozing fluids out from the trash bag, the scattered pieces of trash in front of our door and around the lift landing when the wind blew, and the terrible smell it generated from the baby's soiled diapers, the rotten fish guts and decomposing vegetables.

We and our next-door neighbour, as well as the other neighbours too, when when had to wait for the lift.

I told her firmly but as politely as possible to throw the rubbish straight into the chute like all well-minded Singaporean would. All neighbours do not tolerate irresponsible dumping.

Unable to give any excuse, she finally admitted and apologized but "on behalf of her sister-in-law."

I walked back to my home and she trailed behind me to throw her second bag of rubbish.

I nodded with the "I believe that when I see it" gesture, and said my last words to her that the rest of the neighbours on the 4th floor would be glad that it would end when all play their part to keep our floor clean.

I went in and paused at the door when I locked the gate, indirectly telling her that I wish to see she actually doing her part to keep clean too.

She did when I heard the chute opened and the rubbish dropped in.

Must have been a revelation to her to finally for the first time, she actually stepped on the foot paddle to latch open the chute and threw her trash down the chute.

I have been keeping virgil since, to see if the matter repeated again. She may be right. Her sister-in-law may be another culprit. You never can tell. We will see.

Please do not let there be an ACT SEVEN.

+ Neighbours | Act Five

My Wife at her Chic Couture Kiosk with friend Dionne

Divine intervention was definitely at work yesterday.

Got a call from my mother-in-law on Friday night, 2nd day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri. She had arrived in Singapore from KL Malaysia with my eldest brother-in-law and two of my nephews.

They were staying in her home Singapore in Clementi West Street 2.

On my wife's last day of business at OUB Centre kiosk, my two nephews came to visit at the kiosk. They waited until the kiosk was finally closed for the year on Friday, 11th November 2005.

My side of the family had already arranged for a whole-day family house-to-house visit. We do this every year.

We would charter a coach and all 30 odd people - our Mom and Dad, my sisters' families, bothers' families, their children and their grandchildren (yes, I am already a grandfather) congregate and go visiting from one person's house to another.

All within the 10 hour "marathon." We would share the transport cost.

From home to home, each will cook-up some delicious food to eat. Each their own specialty. Everyone will bloat like a blowfish at the end of the day for sure. Yes, every year!

You fast for a month and so proud you loose a few kilos or pounds, but you get back the pounds or more in just two weeks. Sign... but the food were great indeed.

Anyway, getting back to what I wanted to say.

The visiting was long and the 3 of us were finally home 10 minutes to 1:00am in the morning. The worst and the best thing happened!

The two nephews were to shy to follow us along stayed home. We had all their lunch and dinner prepared and all the Hari Raya cakes and cookies available to them to munch in between.

We tried opening the front door, but was latched from inside. We had no choice but to wake them up to open the door from inside for us.

From outside of the front door, we could hear the TV turn on loudly, and the lights were all on.

Ringing the doorbell did wake them. Banging on the door did do any good either. Ringing our home phone was a waste of effort. Calling their cell phone was useless too.

They we dead asleep! That was the worst that could happen to these 3 tired, over-fed persons locked out of our own home!

ACT FIVE

Yes, this sucks, but then came the blessing.

Out came our neighbour, 1:30am in the wee hours of the morning, with her bag of trash.

She saw us and smiled. We reciprocated. Went to the rubbish chute and laid, yes laid her untied trash bag at the side of the chute as always.

FINALLY, CAUGHT RED-HANDED.

As she was walking back to her home, I called out to her and told her that it was unhygienic to leave her rubbish outside the chute.

Asked her nicely to throw her rubbish into the chute straight away, while controlling my disgust. Boy was I disgusted with her act.

She replied "Oh, wait first. I have some more rubbish to throw."

Duh!! She has more rubbish to bring out from her home to place it into the trash bag she just placed at the chute before throwing it into the chute? That was odd! That was a lame!

"Ok..." I said and nodded with a purposeful bewildered frown. We'll see, I said to myself.

Once she disappeared around the corner, we got back to our ordeal at hand.

We thought to ourselves that we were destined to sleep in the garden till morning, until my son had a brilliant idea. I love this kid.

He thought that if we could unscrew the peek hole off the door, we could call-out to them better. I thought that that could not be done as the peek-hole would have been built to not be able to be unscrewed from the outside.

He insisted and tried but was tough to turn it loose. He forced me to try and I did. Yes, he was right, it can be unscrewed from the outside. (Now with that, I have to think about security later, but first things first.)

With the peek hole unscrewed and the inner lens pushed out from the hole, I could see the two of them fast asleep, or rather, dead asleep on the couch. The TV was "watching" them instead.

Cupped my mouth with my hands around the hole and shouted out to them at the top of my lungs. Several times, but that did not stirred them.

One last desperate attempt altogether we thought spontaneously - my wife called and let the home telephone ring endlessly and banging on the door, while my son rang the door bell continuously. I shouted their names like crazy through the peek hole.

That morning, we set our won record for the most noise ever generated by this family, ever.

It did not stir them awake that fast, but it stirred the neighbours first. They probably thought that someone was having a family squabble or drunk or, something.

When they finally "came to" from the "sleeping dead," we were let in.

What a relief! Now where the hell is that dumper already!

+ Neighbours | Act Four

Greetings & Thank You for sparing a thought

Yes. I must do something....

I must tell them that what they are doing is not acceptable. This is basic hygiene. As clean as they would want their home to be, so does the common public area we all share on the fourth floor.

ACT FOUR.

Coming back from my folks' home early evening. We saw the trash still at the same spot as before.

While my wife was opening the front gate and door, I just could not help it but went over to the rubbish chute area to take another look. My son followed me.

As I was checking the trash, my son suggested that I pick up a few crumpled papers to look for clues. Their names, etc, just like an investigator, sifting through things, looking for clues. Smart boy!

Picked-up a few and only then discovered a hospital duty roster of "Ward 55A and B" with the wife's name on one side, some writings of names like "Sejora" and "Djend.." with phone numbers on the opposite side.

My wife suggested to write a note to them. I improvised it by writing the note on that piece of paper and taped it onto the wall of the rubbish chute. I wrote:

"My dear neighbour,
Please throw your rubbish into the waste/rubbish chute. Please do not leave your rubbish outside to keep hygiene proper. Thank you."

It is my hope that:

• They would notice and read my friendly reminder when they throw their trash.
• The would feel embarrassed of having their personal pieces of rubbish able to be picked-up and hung on the wall;
• They realise that they should throw their rubbish straight into the chute to avoid any unwanted info be read by anyone due to their own selfish act.
• They amend their ways and spare a thought for the neighbours and the cleaner too.
• No more scattered rubbish while upkeeping cleanliness and proper hygiene.

Last check, the cleaner had removed the scattered rubbish this evening, but left the hanging note on the wall intact.

Only one thing that bothers me.

Wonder if there is any other neighbour that may have done something to find out who the culprit was?

Will see tomorrow and the days ahead.

+ Neighbours | Act Three

Family Portrait Hari Raya Aidilfitri 03 Nov 2005

Yes, I really wish I knew who it was.

Today is Hari Raya Aidilfitri. The family photo above is out of place in this blog entry.

Nonetheless, it is a triumphant day of celebrations for all Muslims over the completion of fasting for the whole month.

Got the house all cleaned-up and nicely decorated for our relations to come over for visiting later during the week.

After coming back from Morning Hari Raya Prayers, we got dressed-up in our traditional Baju Kurung Melayu, had our family photo session and off we went to my folks' home for visiting.

While waiting for the lift. My son alerted me to the rubbish chute area.

ACT THREE.

God as my witness, the "elusive dumper" strikes again.

This time, fortunately, with some "incriminating evidence:"

• One, there were some soiled Drypers baby diapers;
• Two, there were two empty dates boxes; and
• Three, there were pieces of papers with names and phone numbers on it.

Bingo!

We found our culprits and end the years of figuring out "who done it" mystery. It was totally unexpected.

We thought it was the few guys from China who rent the flat, but it was the same couple who borrowed our ladder! Now with a baby of about five months or so.

Wow! Under which crack or cranny of Singapore did they come from? Oblivious to their surroundings and the basic social responsibilities.

The husband is a "teacher" and the wife, I presume a nurse, from the few pieces of paper showing last month's duty roster that I picked up from the blown-away pieces.

What values do they hold, when a teacher should be even more morally sensitive, imparting good values while he teaches, while the nurse, a highest standard of hygiene would be in character!

I am appalled! My wife... speechless.

It does not take much intelligence or high moral values to figure these acts as socially irresponsible.

Even my ten year old son spontaneously expressed his disgust when he saw the rubbish all over the chute area, not to mention the smell it generated.

I quickly snapped a photo with my cell phone. I had to do something.

+ Neighbours | Act Two

My Garden with common rubbish chute on the left

That was that? No, not that easy.

Next came the chronic irritables!

We then suddenly had bouts of trash placed in the common rubbish chute area. Everyday, there seem to be trash in plastic bags on the floor instead of into the rubbish chute.

I would think it is common knowledge to all normal Singaporean that you would tied-up your trash in a plastic bag before throwing it INTO THE RUBBISH CHUTE!

This "elusive dumper" is so selfish that they just leave the trash bag untied with the rubbish inside spewed and spreaded over the floor when the wind blew.

Not a thought was given to cleanliness to the common area, or the well-being of the rest of their neighbours, not even sparing a thought for the cleaner. Totally aghast with such "ignorance."

It eventually angered the Bangladeshi cleaner who cleans our floor everyday.

It became his extra daily work routine apart from sweeping the floor, he had to gather-up the blown away prices of rubbish and throw it for them.

I assume he did it for some time, until one day it bothered him so much that he gathered-up courage and approached my wife while she was waiting for the lift. He asked her while showing the mess, whether we were the ones who did that.

My wife told him that we were disgusted too. We have lived here for the past ten years and only those few months that the elusive dumping started. Timely enough when the four families came to live here. She asked him to ask them instead.

He thought for a while and agreed, because he worked here for a few years now, but the last few months were the first time he had seen this irresponsible act done daily.

ACT TWO.

Unsure if it was the same person, but there was this one time that the "elusive dumper" threw a plastic bag full of yesterday's leftover meals and fish guts.

It stank the whole lift landing as it was the closest to the rubbish chute. The filth and fish blood trailed out onto the floor. It stank like a dead rat for days.

The cleaner did not clear if away. I believe he intentionally did that to "teach" that somebody a lesson, but unfortunately at the expense of us and our next door neighbour.

Our next door neighbour expressed her disgust too when we met at the common corridor. Just like us, she could not open her front door as the wind will carry the stench into her home.

I could not stand it myself. We were the worst affected as our home is the closest to the chute.

Since I had to do my gardening, the stench was unbearable. I had to force myself to gather-up the filth, tied the plastic bag and threw it into the chute for our selfish neighbour.

I had to wash the dried blood off the rubbish chute floor several times to get rid of the pungent stench. The stench lasted for several more days before it subsided. Not sure if it subsided or our noses became immune to the smell.

Anyway, hope that was that.

What went through my mind was:

• Did the "elusive dumper" smell it too during this daily dumping routine?
• Did they smell it too while waiting for the lift?
• Would it triggered their conscience that what they did was wrong?

Well, it did not. Nope. It did not stop there.

We started to see the trash thrown at the same place over and over again daily. The thing is, I could never get to see who it was with my own eyes.

Every time I hear someone walking to the lift landing, I had to peek through the peek hole to see if anyone was throwing rubbish. I would then go out to see if the rubbish was placed there instead of thrown into the chute. I became a vigilante of trash of sort.

Strangely, the "elusive dumper" seems to throw it either late at night or very early in the morning when no one is around. Why is that? Is that guilt or just their trash throwing timings?

A day before Hari Raya, we get to witness another trash throwing session. Bulky items, like a broken down side table and planter stand with bags of rubbish all clogging the rubbish chute area.

Bulky items are suppose to be thrown at the designated area on the ground floor. Yes. That is common knowledge too.

Guess it was even a gigantic task to lug around such items all the way downstairs to throw them, when the daily ones are easily left on the floor for someone to clean-up after them.

Heard the Bangladeshi cleaner cleared the trash this afternoon, but not without the mumblings of frustration.

I hear you, man. I wish I knew who it was too. Sigh!

+ Neighbours | Act One

My apartment with ironic "Social Responsibility Carnival" banner

For the last ten years we have lived here in this Tampines block with no major problems with our apartment nor our neighbours. We love this place.

Since our cluster of blocks of flats were newly built and the families were first owners when we all moved in, we see many of our neighbours moved out after the five years eligibility to sell their flats after stipulated five years by HDB.

It was a standard routine for many Singaporeans to cash in on the sale. One neighbour right at the extreme end to the left of our home, sold his 5-room flat for S$365,000.00 from about S$150,000.00 initial purchase from HDB.

We could cash-in too, but we love our home and its amenities, but most importantly our next door neighbour, who is very good.

Several new neighbours came and went and now it all seems that the new neighbours are here to stay. Most are young couples, but with them, came one with a very bad habit!

Bad I mean, not as civil-minded or neighbourly enough, rather selfish, if I can put it nicely.

ACT ONE.

I remembered my wife called me to inform that a teenage boy came to our home to borrow our aluminum ladder. My wife gave him but was uncertain which new neighbour he was, as there were two who were renovating their houses simultaneously then.

Did not think much about it then, but it was a bit strange that they did not return the ladder after a week of painting.

It was irritating that they did not return it after two weeks.

Then it was outrageously insensitive of them that they did not return it after two months!

After the fourth month, I had to go to these two homes to force myself to ask for my ladder back since I had to change the ceiling lights in my kitchen. Both had moved and settled-in more than a two months.

Not knowing which of the two homes, I went to the nearest one first. Trying to keep my frustration and disgust aside, I introduced myself and ask for my ladder if they had borrowed it.

The man said it was not them, but suggested their next door neighbour instead, who was doing the house painting themselves. He on the other hand, had their contractor painted their home during the renovation.

It was an embarrassing moment for me to actually ask him such question when I should have given him customary hellos and introduction. I felt like accusing them of being irresponsible for not returning what they borrowed. I think they felt that too.

Funny how it felt. You let person borrow your stuff, and ended up feeling guilty asking for your stuff back, as if you are now the one borrowing!

I believe they took offence because they acted as if they do not know us when we were in the same lift together. I can understand that.

I told my wife that we should forget about it and just buy ourselves another ladder.

We would not want the risk of asking the next one and ended up being enemies like the first neighbour. We had no way of identifying the teenage boy since he did not live here, but came to help out his relative paint the house.

So, we had to stack a few books onto a chair to change the lights, with my wife holding my legs for stability.

That was that. Or so we thought!

Until one day, the second neighbour came to our home to return the ladder, after they moved-in more than six months later! The first neighbour must have told him or something to that effect.

They were newly weds in their late twenties or early thirties. They introduced themselves to us and thanked us for the ladder. Could not remember if they apologized for keeping the ladder all that time without feeling guilty.

Finally, that was that! Or so I thought.

Then came the chronic irritables. Sigh.