The Window

[UPDATE]
Wow this is my 911st post. Anyway I'm bored. Spent my time surfing the web and Facebooking and I dunno what else to do. Boo. =(
[/UPDATE]

Sometimes all it takes is a little something for you to slow down and take notice of the things around you.

So I'm bored at home, I don't know what to do. I see that it's raining on the horizon so I snap a picture. Its an odd rain; it's falling straight down with a clear border where it stops. Like someone just boxed off an area and clicked the rain button. Then I realised how nice the stormy sky looked. And truly appreciated the privileged view from my window. The world is laid bare before me, and I can see to the ends of the island.

Besides the huge area of sky, I am also afford a 170 degree (Thanks to condos on the right) almost-panoramic view of Singapore. To my left, I can see IKEA. Only the A is visible now, compared to the full word in the past, thanks to a factory. Ruined it. I can see the spire of Changi Airport's control tower in the convenient gap between two HDB blocks, and I can safely say it will stay that way for a while.

I can see winding roads and highway with all their neat markings and lights, and I can see endless acres of greenery, forests, and trees stretching to the horizon. I can see Paya Lebar Air Base and the jets that take off from there. I can see a winding river, the Sungei Serangoon, home of the occasional waterskiier; now spanned by the new bridge and highway over it. I miss the wide expanse of shimmering water beneath.

I can see the glimmering lights of the Singapore Flyer, but where have the blue lights gone? I can see the city area, see the skyscrapers of all the businesses reaching up for the clouds. And then, I see endless fields of HDB estates, various coloured concrete blocks covering the landscape to the horizon, a miasma of reds and whites and pastel in a jagged seemly chaotic mix of shapes, tall, short, long, big, small, a various mix of sizes splashed across the land.

The white and green spire of a church rises into the sky amidst the trees, adding a touch of peace to this chaotic and seemingly random mix of urban and jungle, land and sky, earth and water. Next to it is Punggol park, a little enclave, tree surrounding water that is the little lake(?) in the middle. Even as I write this, the skies are grey but the water from the river is strangely reflective, shining with light.

To top it all off, the vast expanse of sky, home to the many birds in the area, the occasional kite or miniature airplane and helicopter. The haven of the various jets that twist and maneuvre above. Also the canvas of heavens from which we view its various moods.

A clear blue sky, flecked with fat puffy amazingly beautiful clouds earlier transforms into a solid grey mass with looming thunderheads and rain pouring. I can see lightning spear various locations on the horizon, jagged white streaks of power reaching down to touch earth, followed by distant rumble of thunder. Impressive.

Such is the view from my window. But of course, it will be lost when they build that condo on the field opposite my house. For now, I just have to appreciate it while it lasts. The land is still for sale by the government, against all my hopes, and while it's still a field, it's only a matter of time. Only a matter of time before they build away my view.

[Click to enlarge]