While I was making my way home from the doctor's, I chanced upon this sign... I'm sure most of you have seen this sign before, no? It's a notice of obstruction from the Town Council, requesting residents to refrain from parking bicyles at the common corridor and staircase.

Here's what the notice says :

24 April 2008

Dear Residents

Notice

Bicycles obstruction at corridor

We noticed that the corridor is obstructed with bicycles. This has caused problems in our routine cleaning works and is also a potential safety hazard.

Town Council is appealing to all residents to refrain from parking their bicycles at the common corridor and staircase.

Please note that under the Town Council (Common Property & Open Spaces) By-Laws 1997, it is deemed an offence to obstruct the common property.

Should you need to dispose of any unwanted items placed outside your unit, please feel free to contact Town Council to help you to dispose of them free of charge.

We look forward to your kind co-operation in this matter.

Thank you.

Sembawang Town Council

Sounds like just another notice yeah? Nothing unusual, just your normal notice with a subtle threat of fining you if you don't follow the rules...

But I laughed out loud when I saw this notice, even though I was still in pain from gout. Why? Look at where this was pasted.

A designated bicycle parking area at the ground floor of the block. Like, wtf?

What the photograph above doesn't show is the fact that the corridor this was taken at is relatively narrow. So, why designate it as a bicycle parking area in the first place, right? An oversight? A bloody expensive and stupid oversight, if so. But then why would you place a notice at the spot designated for the very thing you're trying to prevent, that is parking of bicycles at common corridors?

Then, of course it could be just a mistake of some lackey pasting this notice up where it's not supposed to be. Or most probably, some smart-ass took this notice from one of the housing area's common corridors and pasted it at the bicycle's designated parking area, as a show of a "clever" irony.

While the latter is the most probable answer, I still think it'd be funny as shit if the Town Council is stating the designated bicycle parking area to be an obstruction. Heh.