Thoughts Unlimited

I was walking past the Toys R Us at United Square just now, when a strangely familiar tune came wafting past my ears. It sounded really familiar. But I couldn't place my finger on it.

Later, it came to my realisation that that tune was the Pokemon theme song. You know, the one that goes,

Pokemon
Oh you're my best friend
In this world we must defend

Or something similar.

Well I always thought that song didn't make sense anyway. What does Pokemon being your best friend have to do with defending the world?

Anyway, before I continue, I need to stress that I did not watch Pokemon. I do not and never did like Pokemon. I only know a lot about it because my primary school bus uncle had a TV in the bus and he always played Pokemon VCDs during the bus journeys.

So that song brought back memories of primary school, which seems to be a really long time ago, although it's 5 years. I remember that in lower primary, I was calculating my school's age, (my school was founded in 1906), and I discovered that I would be JC1 when my school turned 100.

Now, that was a harmless thought at that time.. except that now, I'm really in JC1, and my school really is going to turn 100, and that means I'm really getting on in years (comparatively, because with my life so far, 5 years is a rather high percentage).

Then I wondered whether I'd go back to my primary school and look randomly around at that place which really isn't my primary school anymore. The school I came from had a big gigantic field, and when the teacher made us run around it during PE, it took forever to run one round.

The canteen had a red tiled floor, which was grimy (duh, all canteen floors are grimy), and the lousy school made us squat on the canteen floor after recess (well, actually you could sit, but it was so disgusting), while they lectured us about taking too long, making too much noise.. etc. This made us exceptionally good squatters, and I think the effects of that prolonged squatting can still be seen today.

There was a shed behind the school, and I never actually found out what it was used for, but the walkway leading there must have been built specifically for playing What's the Time, Mr Wolf? It was perfect.

Then sometime in P2 I think, they built another pond. That pond had tadpoles in it. And it also had many children falling in. It wasn't deep though. After recess, some students would go back to the classrooms with shirts turned a muddy brown colour, and you knew that they had fallen in.

Of course there was the food in the canteen. We'll use Wanton Noodles for price comparison purposes here.

Pri 2 (1998): 50 cents
Pri 5 (2000): 70 cents
Sec 1 (2002): $1.20
Sec 3: (2004): $1.50
JC1: (2006): $1.80

So the prices can speak for themselves.

The entire purpose of this entry is for me to ruminate about 'when I was young', and then realise that I'm getting older, and that the world has changed a whole lot too.

I don't quite get why certain completely insignificant incidents are so vivid in my memory. Like the time I was eating ice cream with my classmate just outside the canteen. And I remember that the ice cream dripped to the floor. I can still see it dripping. And the time I remember putting on my blue jacket in class and then going to sit on the floor to listen to some PETS reader story thing.

The one common thread running through it all would be that I was totally and blissfully unaware of what was going on in the world. My world consisted of the classroom, the field, the canteen, the bookshop, the bus with the Pokemon, and I think that was it. No computers. No internet. No game boy. Actually, some think of it, there was so little. But I'm sure I was happy.

Unfortunately, you're only ever young once. Maybe the world should have worked in reverse.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 09, 2006 at 9:44 pm. You can skip to the end and leave a response.