Something better to do

I dedicate this post to Roger, Deon, Derek and Jun Wei.

Roger: When we were in JC, we were not cool, we were not rich, we had no car, and we had nothing better to do. Now we are cool, we are rich, we have cars, but we still have nothing better to do.

That was funny. I agree, however, to the extent that this is the case only when I am with my best friends from Junior College, ie, them. I thoroughly enjoy our value conversations pertaining to life, career, family, as they keep my friends and I looking out for each other’s backs.

However, this expectation of doing something together, firmly locked into this particular group dynamics, is unhealthy. This is especially so when first of all, we have indeed nothing better to do, and secondly, we end up engaging in activities, if any, for the purpose of enjoying each other’s companies but with an unfortunate skew towards the mere occupying of time.

In Junior College, my friends and I used to play LAN, xbox and watch movies. The only values I can sieve from these activities are the friendship and the bonding. However, it is to be expected that a certain stagnation will occur, when we finally know each other inside out. In the end, we still end up looking for something better to do.

There was one other activity, however, that I thoroughly enjoyed and that was playing basketball together. Consciously or unconsciously, our purpose was to challenge each other to a good and fair game. Our purpose was also to hone our individual skills. Our purpose was further to engage in team work which inherently led to further bonding. Our purpose was not to occupy time.

In fact, I knew that I wanted to dance last night, and I can, and I would teach them if they were willing. It really does not matter whether they liked it or not but I do know it will be fun for all of us simply because we will be shifting our current expectations for each other to something with greater value.

Lastly, alcohol, girls and clubbing are not the solutions. Do not get lost in the system. We do have something better to do, provided you are willing. Till we meet again, my friends.