125: 27.1 Stepping in it

Clumsiness and day dreaming have been embedded traits of mine since I was young. The former characteristic got me out of lots of dance recitals because the choreographers would have quickly come to the realisation that I had little hand-eye-feet coordination. It has also been the reason that I have many bruises on my body, particularly my knees, elbows and hands. I once fell almost head first whilst running because I tripped on my own foot. Till this day, I have no explanation on how that happened.

The latter trait, day dreaming, has been a great source of escape for me especially in times of loneliness. But it has also landed me into trouble, especially when it coincided with my tendency to be clumsy. For instance, when I was in primary school, I was walking in the canteen on my own. My mind was probably occupied with thoughts of food and what I should watch on TV when I got home. So much so that as I slowly strutting away, I accidentally stepped on to a plate of rice. It was nasi lemak, and it was all over the floor. In a panic, I hurried my pace to escape. As I guiltily looked back, I saw my friend standing where the plate of rice was. Her hands on her hips, shaking her head disappointedly. She knew it was me who did it. So we avoided each other for a while after.

But why was a good plate of rice on the floor you might ask? Kids back then would sit in a circle on the floor as they ate their food bought from the canteen. We were too young to care about this act's dubious lack of hygiene. And this was the norm back then. What was not normal was leaving one's food on the floor unattended. That was just an invitation for trouble.

Unfortunately, nothing really changed when I got older. A few years ago, a similar thing happened. I was on my way to Notting Hill to visit my aunt. I decided to go on foot from Bayswater rather than taking the bus or tube. It was a nice sunny day outside. The clouds were beautiful, the sun rays felt hot on my skin and birds were chirping above the sound of busses hurrying past. I was taking the quiet route to my destination through a residential area. I was walking on the pavement, chin up whilst admiring the clouds in the sky when I suddenly stepped into something. Something squishy and far from pleasant.

I looked down and nearly was sick when I found out what it was. It was a soiled diaper. A bloody soiled diaper, on the pavement, in the middle of London. What the heck was it doing there?! My nice shoe was covered in this unknown baby's loose faeces. I ran to the edge of the pavement to scrape it off. But despite my best efforts, the smell of it lingered. It was lucky that I wore covered shoes that day, what if it had gotten on my own foot?! Honestly. I had to throw away a pair of perfectly good shoes that day because someone thought a concrete ground was an appropriate place to dispose of a used diaper.

These events really show that day dreaming whilst walking is actually a dangerous business. One cannot predict what one's foot can get stuck into. Always keep your eyes on the ground, if not you might be covered in poo. And if you are parents of infants or babies, please familiarise yourselves with the use of trash cans.