Looking back twenty years ago

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I can't believe 2004 was 20 years ago. Now that I think about it, I'm really feeling my age. Back then I was working for pharma company. I'd take the train everyday from Monday to Saturday. It would be hot and humid so I'm grateful the train already had airconditioners.

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Travel will be around thirty minutes so I'd bring out my old Nokia 3310 to play Snake. At that time, I was dreaming of buying the new and sleek Motorola Razr. Flip phones were the rage back then.

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During Fridays, after work we would go acoustic bars where live bands are playing. Occasionally, some talented audience will join in and sing with the band.

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During weekends, I'd be busy playing Diablo II on my reliable Pentium IV PC or rent movies in Video City. I can also visit my favorite bookstores or checkout music CDs in Odyssey.

Fast forward to 2024.

The road is congested with traffic so it's better to take the bus which has it's own lane or the train. I would have to start early if I'd want to drive to work.

It has also been unbearably hot recently that you need to bring an umbrella to shield yourself from the sun when walking outside.

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At work, we take advantage of technology. We no longer save files in the hard drive but in servers. Soon, we will be moving to a cloud based platform. This set up allows us to work from home which saves 3 hours of travel time. Modern gadgets and internet has also taken over. There are less bookstores and we no longer have record shops and video rentals. We can now read books and listen to music online. Movies on the other hand are available through streaming sites such as Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime and Disney.

Do I miss the time twenty years ago?

While it's true that it's more traffic and hotter these days. Our society adjusts so that we can meet these challenges and make our lives comfortable. Modern technology also helps as we see advances in several fields such as medicine, computers and engineering. Now we are in the midst of another technological breakthrough as AI develops by leaps and bounds.

I am excited for what the future holds. Music, books, arts produced by AI will compete with humans or maybe a hybrid of both intelligences. Self driving cars and maybe even robots are not far behind. Things that were sci-fi years ago are now becoming a reality. A lot of our world's mysteries are waiting to be discovered.

I wonder how it will be in 2044. It's a wonderful time to be alive.

#mayinleo

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