Lunch at the 22nd Floor

There’s no cook house at my camp, so during night duties, we send a kind chap out to get some takeaways. After he comes back, I love to take mine to the 22nd floor of the office building behind the guard house. Sometimes I bring my lunch there too. Hundreds of people work there daily. They travel up the escalator at 8am, to their floor, then down again at around 6pm. Few of them go to the top floor, even fewer to the biggest room there. The biggest room in that floor is then aptly named innovation.

The room is shaped like a quadrant and the arc portion of the walls was completely made of glass. When I stand at the edge and I look down, I’m looking at Singapore from a tall building on a hill. I get a beautiful view. The architect who designed the building is an optimistic fella. Maybe he thought that lots of people will visit that room to be reminded of their purpose in the government. Maybe he thought that people will be innovative there.

Sadly (or perhaps fortunately. I like alone time.), whenever I bring my meals there, no one else is in the innovation room. Few of them go to the top floor. That is quite a sad thing. When I look out of that window, I am reminded of the things I’m protecting. I am reminded that in exchange for my two years, I get to see homes when I look out. I am reminded that when I come back to Singapore, I will be creating jobs for these families.

I was having lunch there one day when a Lieutenant Colonel walked in. We had a chat. I asked him what he thought of his job. He replied “Aiya. Very busy. Got lots of stuff to do. Boss chasing me. Still got meeting after this.” Before he left, I told him, “lots of suicides happening around the office here huh.” He told me he didn’t understand me.

Of course you don’t. You already jumped.

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