Today is one of those glorious days where you have two important errands and you know that you have time to accomplish both. For me, it is two financial errands involving three different banks and a walk from one neighborhood to the next under the threat of rain which never comes. If I were a farmer, perhaps I would say the promise of rain, but alas I am an anxious city-dweller who tends to small amounts of money rather than small plots of land.
One friend messaged me today to say that Singapore feels like a muted version of Hong Kong, so I take special note of all the cardboard collectors pushing stacks of fruit boxes on metal carts in the streets. Mobile sculptors. You don’t get them in Singapore.
The lines at each bank are mercifully short. And I risked everything doing these errands on an empty stomach. To celebrate, I order a plate of twice-cooked pork at a diner near the third bank. I try reading an article about the Rise of Rationality but I cannot because deep down I know that a rational person does not conduct their financial affairs across three banks. A lost cause, some might say. My father might say. Would definitely say. He is much better at this sort of thing. I have inherited my mother’s ability to talk which only gets you so far when it comes to financial affairs.
While thinking about my Dad, I realize that I have locked eyes with a young man in a suit sitting at a table opposite mine. We both look away after a beat too long. Twice-cooked pork is spicier than I remember.