My house had been surrounded by constant construction for the past few years. Initially it was renovations, then it became redevelopment. Because ours is an old area, many of the single storey houses are being transformed into brand new doubled storey houses Our neighbour even wanted to put in a hundred piles just a few feet away from us. Fortunately, the one across the road advised against it and all I have to put up with is the constant demolition, hacking, cement grinding, shovelling, drilling as well as the Indonesian colonies that spring up in the compound. Little make shift shacks for the builders of these grand mansions but once almost ready, a guard is employed, these people are quickly locked out of the place they help build, shipped off to another shack in another site.
Each house wants to be the grandest and the tallest. I truly welcome this, the former so that the burglars will not target us, the latter so that lightning also will not strike us. It is really interesting to watch the progress of the whole thing. Initially, all the lights, chandeliers, garden lights etc will be on every night. There'll be laughter, excitement and streams of visitors. Then the smell of satay and roast lamb, with cars blocking the tiny road as open houses takes place at the slightest excuse. Then the lights will slowly dim leaving only a few major ones or even none (like my next door Datuk's). There usually will be some yelling at the maid or maids for something or other for not doing things correctly or worse still for wrecking their brand-new expensive stuff.
There will be quite a bit of activity in the garden, owners, maids, gardeners etc doing gardening, planting, watering beautiful flowers or making new additions. There will also in the mornings or evenings be people exercising in the compound, children playing and laughing. Gradually however, the novelty will die down and soon, all that one sees are cars coming in or out of driveways and maids doing something or other. After a while, even the maids seldom appear, only when their garbage collectors friends or the postman comes. More junk pile up in the previously pristine compound: stacks of newspapers, shoes lying around, bicycles that had seen better days....
Of course not all houses suffer the same fate. But ours did!
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