how transcient

1. visit back to PL

my sis and i decided to visit PL on saturday evening. actually i found out we were going to PL only in the car but i wasnt going to miss a chance to take a look at the new and improved school. the plan was to drive past the school and peer in from the car but the gate was open so my dad drove in. esther and i then begged to be allowed to get down and walk around the school. my parents conceded after a little while and we very nearly jumped out of the car.

we walked in, through the opening that contained the well, now there with a stark whitewashed background instead of the beautiful mural of a garden path in the past. we then peeked into the uniquely PL toilets that had more self painted murals in them. those murals have been sliced into half by the errection of a new wall. what a pity that all those painstakingly painted walls were so easily defaced.

we followed the corridor, to the red brick area which remained largely unchanged though the bricks have lost some of the redness. the space also had a newly included pond and garden. we trooped on to ebeneezer [correct spelling?] block which contained both our last-used classrooms, realised that the tiny room that the bookshop operated in was gone and so was the staircase. too many things have changed, i was in a place familiar yet it wasnt.

we climbed up a newly constructed flight of steps and continue exploring, following the path of the corridors. we walked on, past the HOD room, the staff lounge, the staff room. rooms once so easily located were shifted and rebuilt accquiring a foreign feel. we moved on to the school hall now renamed as the multi purposed hall. even the direction of the stage changed. it smelled really unused with a nice woody scent.

we went up another flight of steps into a large open air space. we found the roof-top basketball court and the gate which connected both plmgs[es] together. we went down to a very unfamiliar canteen. the final stop was a place where both of us had our fair share of memories - the rifle range which was converted into a hall during our sec school years. it was changed again into 2 new rooms. bethel block which housed our D and T workshops was demolished. a building that was built with the money of so many PL-lites, removed so easily.

we finally finished. it was good walking through, recognising the things that remained unchanged. yet there was the sense that i didnt really belong here anyone, or rather the place didnt belong to me anymore. the place was changed too much. it wasnt simply a fresh coat of paint, it was remodelling, removing, rebuilding. my memories of PL were etched in the old school. i think they did a good job with the rebuilding but i cant love the new building yet. im attached to the old school i admit. even esther admitted that contrary to what she was always saying, she was too.

but the physical building isnt all there is to a sense of place. im still looking forward to a proper visit back to see the people - ex-teachers, former collegues and perhaps even old students. im glad the people havent changed as much.

2. clearing the laptop of last sem's things

minor event of
opening the folders and deleting everything
renaming the folders to this sem's modules
opening the recycle bin and clearing it

an activity done in 5 mins
erased the contents amassed over 4 months

how transcient