Flashback: School

I went for my old school's open day cum new primary school building officiation ceremony last Saturday, graced by the one and only Pehin Siri Taib Mahmud himself. In an uncanny coincidence, the last time the school had such a do was when the CM came to officiate the new building in 1995, when I was in Primary 5 (when I would have done anything to shake hands with the guy and present my "works of art" to him). This time round, my sister's in Primary 5, and she got to meet the illustrious CM as well. I, on the other hand, was quite eager to stay away from the entourage while he visited the exhibits.

The new primary school didn't exude the feel of Lodge to me, but in retrospect it did sort of feel like the old building after a while. The un-Lodgelike feeling was also due to the fact that the classrooms were smaller, probably because it was made for smaller people (kindergarten and primary). The most striking thing was the colour scheme, which wasn't the Lodgian blue-and-white, but an uncommon orange-peach-cream combination. Sad.

I managed to meet and talk with some of my former teachers, those who still were teaching in the school. Many haven't changed, some just mellowed a bit. I'm now the old dinosaur, being 5 years out of the school, and it takes them just a bit longer to remember who I am. It's okay, because I don't remember some of their names as well. However, I definitely remember those teachers who defined my schooldays - the KH teacher Ms Leong, nowadays bursting less eye capillaries; the diminutive but stalwart Add. Maths teacher Cikgu Ngu, so strong spiritually; the brash, forward and highly entertaining (when you're on her good side) Alam dan Manusia teacher (back when the subject was still in syllabus) Cikgu Goh, still as exuberant as ever, etc. Unfortunately, the more senior teachers, like the fierce but ultra-effective chemistry teacher Cikgu Hon, have retired, so no catching up with them.

With time to spare while waiting for my mom to come pick us up, I took a stroll down memory lane by walking around the old block, where my classes used to be. Things have definitely changed, but echoes of memories remain. The halls and walkways I used to patrol and line up on are similar, just perhaps dirtier, and the bars more worn, now more metallic gray than the blue-green that used to coat them. My Form 4 (or was it 5?) classroom doesn't have that shade of blue under the white wall anymore - they must have painted over the signs of a vandalism attempt in that room. And the classrooms are dirtier (the students' fault) and the walls have more shoe marks on them, quite overdue for another paint job. Nevertheless, that time of reminiscing was quite enjoyable, remembering the bliss that was the ignorance of primary and secondary school.

Yet, it was a reminder that things move on, and in the tides of time nothing can remain as it is. School, which used to be a constant thing, a 2nd home, has now changed into something else, something without me in its scheme of things. My place is somewhere else, and that somewhere else will be London in the near future. And after that, who knows? Only time will tell. And I will have the memories to show where I've been.