8 mths away from Singapore, I couldnt help but wonder what has changed since i left. True enough, most of the things that were here are still here but many small, almost imperceptible changes took place. within those big malls, little shops have sprung up or vanished. stalls changed hands at the neighbourhood kopitiams and life still goes on, like the previous vendors were never there. so what is it that im looking for by revisiting those familiar places, only to be filled with sore disappointment? the past that can never be re-lived. and the 8 mths worth of stories in people's lives that simply cannot be retold over a meal or two.

and so i return, to find that every one has moved on with their lives, filling out their own niche, while im socially dislocated, escaping from the harshness that is philly. it's like im torn out of one movie and transplanted into another. as everyone forges ahead, i intrude, trying to find something that's buried deep.

and as i lay under the trees under the noon sun, i remembered the exact same feeling that last year. Sunlight parted the crowns of the 2 trees, their leaves twinkling in all shades of green as the wind weaved through the branches. i cupped my hands on my forehead and tried to enjoy that moment of tranquility when raindrops tumbled from the sky beyond the 2 patches of green. perhaps next year the trees would have given way to some spanking new blocks of condo that would provide shade for that part of the stadium eternally.