FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. STUDY - DAY
Relaxing on a sofa, PETER is reading a question on his phone screen.
PETER (V.O.): How did I make my home more comfortable during the pandemic?
Looking at his big sofa-bed and cushions, and the large-screen monitor in front of him, Peter smiles.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I used to fly monthly. Since the pandemic, I've rearranged the furniture to make me feel as if I'm flying inside a 1st class cabin.
Peter then looks at the guitars and amplifiers surrounding him.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's not so much I do, but, in essence, how much emotion I put into the doing the matters.
FLASHBACK
INT. SITTING ROOM - DAY
Chinese New Year. Gathering of RELATIVES. Enter Peter and FAMILY. Seeing some matchboxes on a table, Peter uses his phone to take some photos of them.
RELATIVE#1: When you're a kid, you loved to move and push matchboxes and sandals.
RELATIVE#2: Yes, you could do that for hours.
Peter smiles and nods.
FLASHBACK UPON FLASHBACK
INT. HOME, CENTRAL - DAY (1959)
PETER (5) is pushing sandals on the floor.
PETER: (V.O.): I treat them as ferries, leaving one pier, crossing the harbour and then mooring in another pier. Mooring seems slow, but it requires good skills. I've observed that for real.
Later, Peter is moving matchboxes in turns from one angle of a table to another.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I treat them as buses, going to destinations. Apart from driving skills, their schedules aren't as certain as ferries. I've observed that for real too. That inspires my imagination as to how I can regulate route traffics flexibly.
END FLASHBACK UPON FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Later, I continued to move and push toy buses until I became a teenager.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Did my childish game-playing impact on my life quest?
Act 2
INT. STUDY - DAY
PETER (V.O.): In my teens (1967-1973), life was hard. I had to work part-time, while my peers were enjoying school life and extra-curricular activities.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I seemed to have been wasting my time in the routines to make a living. And what I was studying provided no pointers as to how I could solve my life problems.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I wasn't content with mere existence. It seemed life to me had no meaning at all. My suffering inspired my quest for answers.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I began to study philosophy. Midway in my undergraduate study, a work colleague suggested that I should drop the useless subject and switch to law. I knew my priority then.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): After graduating, I did take up law, and mastering law became my routine.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And during my tenure as as a government lawyer, I followed legal precedents and toed official lines.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Did I enjoy the well-ordered routines? Did they inhibit on my quality and potential?
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was fortunate that I wasn't only selling my labour. I exercised my skill and judgment too.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although I hate governmental bureaucracy, I am grateful for the institutional and on-the-job training in law and in leadership.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Having done the ordinary routines for decades, it was only after retirement could I resume my philosophical life quest.
Act 3
INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): One good habit I had after retirement was going places at least once a month. I joined package tours, expecting things to happen to me.
Counting his fingers.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Since 2016, I've tried to make things happen by travelling most of the time by myself. My travels have become free and adventurous.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I haven't travelled for 5 months now. Even so, I see the dawning of each day as a new adventure, at least on the intellectual front.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My daily intellectual quest excites and delights me, making me a better human being.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've also begun to see the beauty in ordinary objects that I wouldn't bother previously eg I'd take photos of those matchboxes.
Pondering.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I try to capture not just the objects' superficial forms, but their essences too, creating my own messages before sharing them to others.
Having mined an image of matchboxes from his phone, Peter inserts it to a draft blog post in his laptop.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): By choosing to take the photo, I attempt to transform the image and the story behind it into a work of art eg a screenplay or a short movie which may arouse others' appraisal of the human condition and the way they should live, aside from existence.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's how I live diligently, and more importantly, authentically - giving my own meaning to life.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): It's basically my mindset reflecting my values that keeps me moving, like moving and pushing this and that.
THE END
FADE OUT.
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