I love this time of the year, it’s full of rain and wind in Singapore, and birdsong; birds love the rain.

Why, the other day on a Zoom call with a colleague in Kuala Lumpur, there was a constant squeaking noise in the background, and I asked him if his door hinge needed oiling? And he said, “It’s a bird, always singing at this time of the morning.”

Over the Christmas and New Year holiday season, we hear birdsong more clearly in urban cities like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur because there is less traffic noise to compete with. Everyone is away for the holidays.

Except me. It’s intentional. A believer in the saying, “When everyone’s doing one thing, do the other”, I choose to stay home and be a voyeur at this time, and watch everyone travel.

So, over the past weeks, I’ve been watching neighbours come and go with their suitcases and friends travelling here, there and everywhere.

And I don’t feel a shred of envy or jealousy.

In fact, according to this article in The Washington Post, I am actually enjoying the rush of JOMO – the Joy of Missing Out.

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