A Mask For The Masses.

You see it when you're headed to the office. If you commute, you see it when you're inside a bus, or on the MRT. You see it when you're walking on the street. You probably don't even realize it's there, but it's been there for ages.

The no-nonsense, "in the city" look on people's faces. You know that look, it's the face that you put on when you leave the house. The mask that we wear to a dance routine that we practice and perform every day, not counting hermits who never leave the house.

There must be some form of unspoken rule about this, as we all put in these identical expressions, regardless of age, class, gender, etc. Perhaps its hard coded into us, somehow.

This is even more evident when we see someone in a crowded area, (lets' say, the MRT) who smiles, or laughs at something or nothing in particular. Said person would illicit thoughts from nearby folk at the mental instability of said person, or perhaps just warrant a nonchalant glance at what the fuss is about.

When I put this face on, it's usually a hit or miss affair. I stumble with it. I fidget at public places. If I see something interesting I look at it intently, forgetting that doing so will make me look like a tourist, something most people uniformly dread. I fail miserably at avoiding eye contact. I blink far too often than is necessary.

Looks like I got my work cut out for me. Lets see if I can do better, at tomorrow's commute.

I'm naive, I'll understand.

There’s this song that I keep listening to: Regret from New Order. It was released around ‘93 or ‘94. That’s more than 10 years ago. I wonder why I still haven’t gotten sick of the song. Maybe it’s the bass lines.I’m sure the band’s still playing this song in their concerts. If they’re still playing, that is. They must be in their ’50s by now. What was I doing in ‘93? ‘94? I was still in high school at that time. Could I say that everything was simpler back then? Then again, I guess everything is simpler when you’re younger.

Perhaps at some point, every person would want to rewind to some significant event in their life. Me, I look at photographs taken 40 or 80 years ago, and I wonder what it was like to have lived at that time. There’s this picture, which might have been shot before the 2nd World War, of a group of employees(probably a company picture taking) from Meralco. You could tell that it was the real thing, from the creases on the photograph. And, you could also say that the folks in the picture resembles your grandfathers. Except for their clothes and haircuts, I suppose they’d fit right in our time. Or maybe not. I wonder, what were on their minds when the picture was taken? Do you think they’re still alive today? Any, if at all? What was it like to live in a time different that the one we’re used to?

Verse Chorus Verse

That's what life feels like at times. You wake up, you work, you go to sleep, and back again.
You might try to change your routine, but then, you get used to the new routine, so it eventually feels mundane. Sleep. Wake up. Work. Sleep. Verse. chorus. verse.

Everything just seems like an endless cycle. An infinite loop that goes around with no sign of stopping. Live your life before you turn 50, so when you do turn 50, you won't think about what you did or didn't do. But why bother? We all expire whether we do anything or not. Although it would be useful if you'd be able to know when your expiration date will be.

I think, i understand now how Kurt Cobain might have felt when he wrote about this way back when he was still breathing and strumming his creative juices into his songs.