A Singaporean In Australia

Spring weather conditions in Perth is the closest to Singapore's cooler days from the end of the year till the earlier months of the next. It offers high humidity, regular bouts of breeze and warmer days around the mid 30s. Perhaps it is more of a coincidence why a few Singaporeans I know chose Spring to make their big move.

If I could remember correctly, the neurotic couple [link] would be in Australia soil this week. Most likely for good. Hopefully, life is Australia will serve them well and cure them of the neurosis Singapore inflicted on them. Perhaps soon, we'll read erotic writings from the talented couple instead. Singapore's loss, really, to bid goodbye to a good man who defended Singapore as a career and a dedicated teacher.

Patrick came in Spring 2 years ago. So did I. Ling the Ninja Nurse came 2 weeks ago. Perhaps it was the subconscious in us to choose the conditions closest to home for the big move for a kinder transition. For the same reasons, Spring is the time to miss home. I find myself thinking about home regularly throughout this season, particularly when Spring delivers her kisses on my face and send the hologramic flashbacks in my mind. The smell in the Spring breeze took me back to the days of joys seeing my friends again in school after the long break. I can remember conversations, our young faces, our incredulous deeds that sent relief teachers to tears. I can recall watching mum making Chinese New Year delicacies and the different manner she chose to deliver her messages to a young boy, teenager and a grown adult stealing a bite. I think of the rare relaxed streets during the afternoons of the Chinese New Year, where we would sneak out for a cuppa in a Halal kopitiam and chat the days away during my last few years in Singapore.

Life was good in Singapore. There is no real logic for any Singaporeans to leave Singapore. After all, push and pull factors are merely superficial quantitatives and doesn't account for the philosophy behind bizarre motivation to want away from the indistinguishable veil of paradise. Is it about seeking a better life, an act of escape or a higher form of materialism? One thing I'm sure of, though we have security and stability that very few in the world can boast of, no threats to any of our lives even for those beneath the indefinable poverty line, our souls are being devoured slowly and surreptitiously in our lackadaisical hypnosis. Maybe one day the horizon will be clearer for me to see.