There's A Bowser Head in NUS Computing

Sometimes I stare outside, and sigh. It’s a long one, that speaks of suffering and tiredness. It sounds like I’m waiting for my husband to return from war, or the soldier who will come by to tell me he’s dead. But then, I remember that there’s a Bowser head in the basement of NUS School of Computing.

My view looks out onto E8, but I think about the Bowser head in the basement of SOC. Who put it there? Why did they do that? Does CDE have their own weird cryptid in their liminal hallways? Or is the Bowser head a mythic creature that manifested itself in the world? One day it wasn’t there, and the next day– 

There is a Bowser head in NUS SOC.

It’s one of the few things that immediately brings me joy to think about. It makes me feel better to think that with the confusing and difficult work the average SOC student does, there’s a remnant deep inside their faculty that speaks of joy and passion. That there may be a situation one day where a Business Analytics student, in the midst of a coding fog, sees the Bowser head and smiles, and for a moment, the work doesn’t feel so pressing.

I’m the absolute opposite of an SOC student, but I too have my frenzy-like hell days in FASS. So last semester, as I walked, I took pictures of the little things that made me smile. A little keychain shrine at the NUS Museum Bus Stop. A sopping wet panda at the Botanic Gardens MRT. The sky in paintbrush strokes of blue and orange in the sky. 

Do some of these mean things to me? Sure. I think it’s nice that we keep these keychains together, away from the rain. Then, they’ll never get sick. This panda reminds me of the many times I’ve waited for Bus 151 and how I always felt so tired and pathetic while I stand in the most packed bus. 

But many of them don’t mean anything. Heart shaped leaves. The sun streaming through the window. The chickens milling about in the Kuok carpark.

They don’t mean anything at all. But they made me smile, and that means a lot to me. Look at this moment that fills me with indescribable happiness. Thank you for happening, moment. 

So when I’m sad, and I sigh, I look out at the beautiful E8 view. Listen for the undoubtable buzz and excitement from the Block 5 Hardcourt. Feel the wind on my face. And yes, I think about the Bowser head in NUS Computing. 

And I remember that there are many small little miracles around. Mundane to the normal person, but wonderful to catch and devastating to lose. And then I thank the many coincidences that led me to be in this room, in this hall, and in the knowledge of the greatest landmark in NUS: the Bowser head in SOC. 

Look around and find the tiny little miracles around you too. May they bring you as much joy as they do to me.

(Author’s Note: I was recently informed that this was from a previous iteration of the SOC RAG, but still. Isn’t it nice that it still stays there to greet you hello, and that the high spirits of RAG live on in their basement? I still think it’s worth thinking about, and if it made you smile to know, it was well worth writing about.)