Fulton Avenue
I still remember when we were at Fulton Avenue a few months back. It was my late grandma's (father side) aniversary and we were paying out visits. The chinese temple was alarmingly huge, and it overlooked the set of private estates there.. it was a beautiful place; the serenity, the peace and the silence was filled with magnificence of its own.
The day was rather mild, few cars jutted out from the single roadlane that connected the nucleated set of terrace houses. Then my fourth uncle came across the aisle, softly scraping his feet on the old tiles as I greeted him.
My forth uncle is a very simple man. He was a elevator repairman, hardly aware of the complexity of life in modern Singapore. He has a beautiful daughter, a great wife (My Aunt is a very understanding lady) and he owns a simple flat in Bishan, but - what separates him from all his other brothers (including my Dad), is his concern.
I'm not trying to say the my other uncles and my dad aren't concerned about other people, but they just don't show it as well as he do. He's that sort of guy that everyone can just relate their problems to and he gives very practical and useful advice. Every year, he gives a piece of information (to me) that makes up the concept of life.
Last year, it was the idea of competition, about the difference of striving for the best and actually doing your best. And apparently this year, I appeared with with my usual tired face and he asked me one simple question.
"Are you bored with life?"
Now I revert the question back to you (the person(s) who actually bother to read this.. that is); are you bored with life? When I first heard the question I didn't even understand its meaning.. usually we associate boredom as a temporary pause in life, but some people can experience it for ages. We tend to just take breaks everywhere in life, it becomes a habit for us to slacken down and give up the pace... eventually falling back in the end. Boredom becomes an excuse to let go of things we never would have.. your dreams.. your goals.. your friends.
He told me that being bored with life at such a young age is no good, and encouraged me to go out more with friends or arrange some gatherings. I know it might seem so possible to any adult but in teen world, everyone's too proud for anyone else. I don't really have good mates that understand the simplicity of life like my Uncle, his words never fail me, even if I do fail myself.
Dnt's up the corner and I've haven't officially done part of it. I guess it's really time to say I've been bored with life. Don't give in to the boredom, find something to do.. anything, it's the interests in us that cultivate us and it's that that makes us all different.