Soundwise

Unlike most Singaporeans, I am not migrating because of some deep-seated dissatisfaction with the Government.
More on that on another day, if ever.
I really dislike politics.

I think, I think ...
I think if I'm being honest, I don't know why I'm leaving.
I think if I'm being honest, I know why I'm leaving.
Contradiction?

Perhaps. Maybe it could be best explained thus...
There is not one overriding factor that is forcing this move.
There are instead many little little reasons, nudging for the move.

A weird opening for a post but it all began though with me wondering what I would miss aurally. That's right. What would I miss hearing from Singapore? It is a weird question but I've come to realise that I process quite a fair bit through my aural senses.

The first sound I would miss? I have been missing it actually - for the last 20 years or more.
Back when I was growing up, we lived in HDB flats that had wooden windows.
These windows opened outwards and you had to use a latch to secure the windows to the walls.
Now apparently, some of us never bothered to latch the windows and when the winds blew strongly, windows would swing violently along their hinges resulting in a estate-wide 'Bang' that was an immediate indicator that the weather was about to turn. Technology before its' time - a rain predictor.

A brass latch and no, we didn't have the sparrow on all our windows.

The second sound? It comes about in the dead of night. I stay up late most nights and some nights I stand gazing out from the kitchen windows. Singapore is asleep but not asleep. It is a silence that has an underlying hum ... maybe a car returning from some late night jaunt ... a bus rumbling along on its way to the interchange ... a hum that slowly, slowly gathers in strength as the dawn approaches.

The third sound is made up of myriad sources - a Chinese funeral, a Malay wedding, the traditional lion dance troupes, the auctions that occur during the 7th Month Ghost Festival (seems to be dying out though, this one). A cultural mix-tape if you will.

All these of course not taking into account the voices of my loved ones that I would be leaving behind. Those are irreplaceable but thankfully with the aid of telephony services, they shall not be too far away.







So soundwise, what would I NOT miss from Singapore?
Now that I've thought about it, there isn't a lot.

The sounds of construction. The rat-ta-tat-tat of the drill. The jerky sounds emanating from the construction vehicles.

The overall hum of urbanization during the day. This one is weird considering I love the hum after midnight.

Loud-voiced foreigners.

And that's about it.

A rambling thought leading to a rambling post ... heh