Last night, I was bobbing my head to the music being played on through the Zune player that my brother left behind from his backpacking trip to UK, walking to the lift lobby. Upon reaching the lift lobby, there was a group of neigbours waiting for the lift to arrive. It was pretty much unusual on a Sunday night.
Apparently, one of the two lifts was spoilt. So we waited for the remaining lift to arrive, hoping that it would not be spoilt as well. The lift came and went, and I gave it a miss. It was overloaded with me around. It is kind of routine, especially since the lift is getting old. I suspect that the technicians are actively adjusting the weight limits down as the lift suffers from wear and tear.
While waiting for the next lift, 3 groups of neighbours came back: 1 pair of siblings near my age, a family of 3, and an uncle. The lift came. And the door opened halfway. Everyone was surprised, thinking “Oh crap, the only lift is going to spoil.”
But the doors for this lift has been wonky for the entire day. Earlier in the day, the lift door refused to close unless the close button was pressed for more than 50% of the door closing time. So I went ahead and just pull the door open and entered the lift.
The siblings and the uncle went ahead with me once they saw the door opened fully. The son in the family wanted to, before the mother stopped him:
“Wait. Let’s take the next lift.”
Everyone in the lift was surprised once more. We were much in shock over this and commented to each other in the lift what a poor neighbour this lady is.
I guess this is the effect on us living in HDB flats, not close to each other, having a shut door policy. From young, I am more familiar with the neighbours living closer to my unit (that is one floor down and on the floor itself). It was one of the rare times I spoke to the siblings and the uncle and when I do, it was usually in the lift and the conversation starters were usually of the older generation.
I guess it is about time for the younger neighbours to start talking to each other.