Of the Pigeon Amidst the Vultures
Knowing people from all age groups and backgrounds is fun.Somehow,through the conversations you have with them,you truly realise how vast this world really is,and perhaps how small we really are in the scheme of things.Most of my local friends are around my age,and the experiences they have in life do not differ very much from my own.After all,we are all going through the same dreadful education system,which some of us assume to be the "Worst Part of Life".As naive as it may be,i guess its inevitable to say "Life Sucks" during the school days.The worse is yet to come,and you know what?Life is only gonna get worse.Much worse.

I have friends from overseas such as the US and the European area.Like i said,its fun to have friends of different nationality and background.I know most,in fact all of them from the ComingSoon Boards that i visit everyday.Its a routine really,and i guess in a way they've showed me how the world works.Catche is an "About to Be" mother with a baby already in her womb.Impulse is a cop in America,who has seen the worst side of humanity in our society.I remember once we were talking about some cases he encountered,and there was this once when he saw a man being chopped up in the morgue.Secant,whose friend was murdered shortly after her wedding shared her grief with everyone on the boards.Perhaps the more recent friend Ive made is Shandy,a relief teacher in Singapore.Her life resembles that of a wanderer sometimes.Watching movies alone,being enclosed in a space of her own,social circle big enough only to rival that of a ten cent coin and so on.And mind you,she's in her early twenties.

To think about it,if someone whines about how his/her life sucks right now,i wonder if they ever thought about how it is going to turn out in five years time.To me,i think with the individual pursue on life and the stress that accumulates with every working day is going to detach us from the life we were so used to before.Detachment from life is a scary thing,with what you used to know and what you already gotten used to left behind like that old cassette tape of Led Zeppelin now,inside your cupboard gathering dust and smelling like moth balls.

Life,seems bleak.Right now in our schooldays,we help each other when we have problems.After all,we are all in the same "Circle of Hell".Everybody's going to face the same test,and everybody's going to eventually face their fears.So why not help each other out?When we are out in the society,it is a totally different story.Its like every one of us is holding a bowl and lined up alongside the streets begging for money.That bowl of yours is the only way you are allowed to collect money,and if that bowl is broken,there goes your life.The source of your income.Food.Water.Entertainment etc.You die without that bowl.Everybody's minding their own businesses out there.Nobody cares if your bowl is broken or not.As long as they have their palms glued tied to theirs,they are safe and perhaps earn a little quick cash out of your misfortune.Thats the harshness of life right there.Some of you might go,"He's 18.What does he know?".Well,perhaps im just being passive about life itself.Not optimistic enough to say that "There's always a brighter path."After hearing and listening to so many misfortunes and mishaps that happened in the world,you tend to wonder if its safe to step out into the society.Like how a young pigeon is ready to fly out of its nest and into the skies.Seems beautiful doesnt it?White fluffy clouds backed by infinite blue skies.Perfect picture.Until a sparrow flies by the morning sky,and an eagle swoops down from nowhere and tears the sparrow into pieces.Now,it is the perfect picture stained with blood(And perhaps feathers).
Its like a pigeon in between a horde of vultures,starved for days and weeks.Eyes piercing yours with their wings outstretched and ready to tear you apart with those claws.You feel so innocent suddenly.So small.So insignificant.

I dont want detachment.I dont want to have my life taken from me for the sake of a job to fill my bowl.To end up like Bill Murray or Scarlett Johansson's characters in Lost in Translation.They seem to be the typicality of a working adult.Someone amidst the harsh society.The pigeons.The food in perspective of the vultures.Lost in Tokyo with nobody insight to help them.Everybody's away to do their own things and mind their own businesses.No one to help except for each other.

What a sad thought it is,to know that things are not going to get better.As Mr Ng revealed today,the retirement age in Singapore is 62.Which means,i am 44 years away from retiring.44 years.Thats more than half of a life expectancy of an average human being.Think about the routine job you are gonna do everyday,and the occasional swoop of the eagles.

I see trees of green,
Red roses too.
I see them bloom,
For me and for you.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue,
And clouds of white.
Bright blessed days,
Warm sacred nights.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

The colors of a rainbow,
So pretty in the sky.
Are also on the faces,
Of people going by.
I see friends shaking hands,
Sayin',"How do you do?"
They're really sayin'.
I love you.

I hear babies cry,
I watch them grow.
They'll learn much more,
Than I'll never know.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world...

Ironic,isnt it.Contradiction,its evident.