I’m unemployed again. With so much free time for the first time in almost three years, I decided to take a walk early in the morning around my neighbourhood.
I walked across the road to my previous HDB block. The mama shop is still there, but operated by a different owner. The amount of provisions on sale is also much lesser than what I remembered. I don’t know how long these neighbourhood shops on the void deck are going to survive any longer with rising inflation and food costs. Long ago, you would head to a mama shop to purchase your newspaper tabloids like The New Paper, and maybe grab a few snacks or drinks. Now in 2023, The New Paper has long ceased publication.
Walking even further down, past an old basketball court, I eventually reached the site of my old school: Zhonghua Secondary. Well, it’s now occupied by Pei Cai Secondary. I tried to peak into some of the classroom windows from afar, and I could see some students sitting and studying, no doubt preparing for their Final Year Examinations and O Levels.
I made a U-turn and walked back to my block. Just like that, thirty minutes had gone by during a morning stroll. Tomorrow I think I’ll take a longer walk to Upper Serangoon Road.