*coughcough* woof... woooh (cobwebs and dust flies). This place IS dusty. Haven't been around for a LONG time. Not because nothing's going on in my life. That's wrong. I have a HAPPENING life. (I DO NOT live in a hole).

It's amazing what Raffles place is like. It swings from being PACKED to being EMPTY. The moment it hits 8 am.12pm.530pm. Beware. It's a stampede. And after those peak periods. It's a ghostly place. Even the famous Lau Pa Sat, is desolated. Shops closed, people scarsely scattered. Oh of course the rain didn't help.

But it is the lucrative area. Soaring towers with profitable companies. Brilliant, intelligent people just calculating to determine the best way to make money. Whether it is to store money, lend out money, count money, check money, exchange money, make money. It all revolves around money.

There isn't much to see around here. People are all dressed the same boring way. The colour of their lives is.... tahdah. BLACK. The men, in their black pants, black socks, black shoes, black jacket. The only thing that shows they have changed from Monday till Friday, is the tie. You would think that ladies, being the ones who adore fashion and dress-sense, would do better. But no.... the colour of their lives is BLACK TOO. It's as if, black is a must, to compete against the men for professionalism or rather monotony. And the list is almost identical. black pants or skirt, black shoes, black jacket.

The repetitive, cyclical life has gotten into me as well! Absorbing into this, RICH culture, of eating lunch at the same place everday (because the queue is short, and the food is cheap). Reserving seats by placing packets of tissue paper on the chairs. Creating my own schedule between working, having lunch and toilet breaks (this can actually turn out regular). Dressing in that professional and dark manner (because it depicts maturity, confidence and of course professionalism).

The solution to the humdrum life Raffles Place has to offer, is the covetousness. Eager frenzy to thirst for better pay (for a better weekend I guess). For a better position (to get told off less). And the greatest achievement towards this triumphant victory is to see the numerals increasing behind the $ sign on the pay check.

With that, maybe the mundane life could be interjected with extravagant, pompus dinners. Luxurious holidays (that are probably restricted to a certain number of days due to the scarse number of official leave). Huge, lavish mansions to enjoy unconsciously (cause most of the time spent in the house is for sleeping). And flashy cars that spend only half an hour on the road (cause the rest of the time it is parked away in the underground car park).

I am perplexed and fascinated at how this is the driving force of life. This motivity leads to a never ending upward chase but yet lures so many. What an interesting place.

You could take a little trip around Singapore town
In a Singapore city bus
To see Coller Quay and Raffles Place
The Esplanade and
All of us

Because it's Singapore, Singapore,
The hearts are big and wide you find,
Because it's Singapore, Singapore,
You'll find happiness, for everyone.

No matter what drives each person here at Raffles Place, and what it is like, I respect the people who work around here. Their determination. Their hardihood. Their hard work. Without Raffles Place - everyone and everything that makes it what it is, I bet Singapore won't be who she is today. But right now, for me, all these serves to remind me that school is a haven.