How is the weather out there?

I was visiting a friend, Brian who manages a retail store on Saturday which I often do. Of the group of our mutual friends, I probably see him the most, coz he has a shop at Plaza Singapura, which is along the North East line, near my class and is basically where I hang out often.

I think it’s quite a drag to be working 11am – 10pm daily, with no proper lunches, no proper dinners, and no toilet breaks, not to mention a normal social life. Out of friendship and a tinge of sympathy for his lifestyle, I pop by whenever I can, and perhaps bring some tea or goodies to cheer him up a little.

This Saturday we were as usual updating each other about happenings in our lives at this moment, gossip a little and stuff. I was a little taken aback when he asked me “How is the weather out there?” This is a question one would ask to perhaps break the ice during an awkward silence, or small talk just for the sake of talking. But here is my childhood friend, with a friendship that can withstand any awkward silence and silly chatter!

And so the simple fact that we all take for granted - “how is the weather out there” have come out in a matter of fact way from Brian The fact is, being cooped up in the retail store the whole day and leaving it only when the sun comes down can be a tat depressing.

Then I recall studies that show that more people kill themselves in Winter because they don’t see the sun much and I shudder. I also recall my days in the hotel with long hours and barely seeing 15 min of the sun everyday, that is when I step out of my house, get in my dad’s car and step out into the carpark and to the orange corridor of gloom and the office of even greater heaviness and gloom. It WAS utterly depressing.

I once also fancied the thought of how would a day in the life of Brian be like? Picture this, if I were to make a film about a week in the life of Brian, I will see him interacting with many friends that he would otherwise have failed to meet. Many of his friends, like myself will pop by his shop for a quick chat whenever possible just to catch up. So among our group of friends, he is the one person who has seen the most of us most often.

I remember that when parents bring their kids out to the mall, the advice if they were to get lost is always to stay where they are and not wander around. With two person wandering at the same time, it will probably be harder for them to meet. If the child stays put and waits to be found, there is a higher possibility to be found by the parent. And so, Brian, being stationary DOES see most of us while we are all busy shuttling from point A to point B day by day.

And so he gets the most gossip, the most updates, the most face to face interaction (vs sms ) and probably the most in touch with REAL people. It is strange, almost like making a documentary of snapshots of your friends’ lives, or a little like having an ariel view of things, watching the hustle and bustle from above.

So sometimes I guess Brian does have it better, though possibly in a different way, although news of the weather is still a luxury to him sometimes…