Singapore is Our Playground

This is the interior of Cuppage Plaza, just off the beaten track of Singapore's busiest shopping district.

There to check out the exact location of a karaoke joint I'm heading to with some friends on Saturday, I was both surprised and enchanted by its old world charm. There was a time when most shopping centres in Singapore looked like this, but no longer.

I found its emptiness, due to its tenants closing shop for the Chinese New Year's eve celebrations, rather exhilirating. I often dream of a nocturnal life with a free-spirited female companion. We'd run away into every crevice of the city, colonising old buildings like this with our drunken laughter, discovering and amplifying the nuances of lives so close yet so different from our own.

We'd slump in any stairwell, squat on any kerb and chat the night away, sharing hopes and fears, visions and ambitions. We'd name-drop Kafka, Brecht, Mao, and Jesus. We'd share a mangy sandwich from 7-eleven at 3am, huddling from the cold night air. We'd climb on top of things, kiss and make vows to be broken in the morning. We would sing. And we would do all these because we know there is no time for them like today.

Alas, the hand of pragmatism that rests heavily on my shoulder holds me back from such a life. There are always things to wake up early for, people to answer to, and a future to work for.

Oh well.