Letting Go (No, Not Frozen)

I spent a few days travelling down public transportation memory lane the week I had Caleb, my Myvi, fixed. He used to have a huge dent near his left headlight. Don't ask, that's a very long story. Anyway, going back to public transportation was strange and very nostalgic. I used to have the routine down pat during my first eleven months of work. But, after being behind the wheel for a year and eight months, I was left somewhat disoriented by the changes that threw my old public transpo route and routine off.

Wake up before 7:00AM. Walk 20-30 minutes to the LRT station. Catch the train before 7:30AM. Run so as not to miss the 7:40AM ERL. Hop on the U429 bus by 8:00AM. Hop on Shuttle 1 by 8:15AM. Arrive at the office by 8:30AM. Add an hour to everything if you get up between 7:30 and 8:00AM. Add 30 minutes for every missed bus, ERL, or train.

One year, eight months later, the Shuttle 1 has been phased out, replaced by the Nadi Putra J03 which, thankfully, goes directly from the Putrajaya Station to my workplace. Well, almost directly. It goes around the entire Cyberjaya first. It's a twenty-minute ride (which just goes round and round) but I used it to catch up on some reading anyway. But, yey, no more bus transfers and unpredictable waiting times in between!

A friend of mine said taking public transportation is a test of patience and discipline. Hear, hear. I say it's also a test of "letting go" or the relinquish of control if you have already been driving around for so long.

When you're driving, you have the ability to control how quickly or how slowly you'll get from point A to point B. Granted, there'll be traffic; granted there'll be "getting lost" moments, too. But more or less, it's your choice if you want to drive at a constant 60 or 120 (kph people, kph). Malaysian public transportation is too unpredictable when it comes to time and schedule (especially the buses and KTMs).

When you're driving, you have greater control over your safety. True, there will be irresponsible drivers and motorcyclists (and sometimes even pedestrians) popping in and out every now and then, but you have the choice to drive with greater care, more defensively. Public transpo? Say hello to crazy bus and taxi drivers, people.

When you're driving you have greater control and command over the place where you'll be heading, the route you'll be taking.

When you're driving, staying a couple of extra hours inside the office is no biggie since you won't have to worry about missing the last bus or train.

I think having taken control of the wheel for almost two years has made me feel like I have such great hold over my life. Taking the public transpo was somewhat... humbling. It reminded me that there are a lot more things that I can't take charge over and that, really, there are times - a lot of times - that I should just learn to let go, to not feel the need to be like I have it all together.

I'm deliberating on doing this maybe at least once a month or something. Just so, you know, I'd be reminded from time to time to just let go.

Plus I can do more reading and people-watching that way. Teehee.