That our work/social environment influences how we think and act is something that ppl might not be actively aware of... Feel like only when something un-routine happens, then I realise, hey whatever my passive brain believes is the norm might really be the exception... But cos you face the exception on a daily basis, your mind sometimes fools you into thinking that it's the norm... I say this because after a Berkeley gathering last night and after attending some scenario-planning exercise at MND this morning, I suddenly realised that the average working crowd might not be that 'aged' after all :P (What a duh! "discovery" eh) Not that my colleagues are old, but I guess I cannot deny that they have by and large arrived at the setting-up-a-family stage of life. Furthermore, I really seldom experience say, going up to my workstation in a lift full of people about my age! My fellow lift passgengers are on average abt say, 35-40 yrs old.... (Qualifier: Not that similar age = can click, but I'm using age as a kind of proxy for gauging issues/things that matter most to ppl) And brainstorming/interacting with abt-same-age peers this morning also made me somewhat miss hanging out with ppl my age, whose conversation topics are at least of more immediate interest to me. Not that anecdotes from kid-loving colleagues are boring; but you know, I hardly ever meet ppl in HDB who would be passionate abt the same things as me. Which, come to think of it, can be somewhat disappointing, though I've never really felt that way. And it made me understand why in a college town one can feel much more inspired abt life, abt wanting to change the world VS a workplace where the majority's priority is to remain status quo as long as they get to earn their keep and get by pretty comfortably.