The New Normal Threatens The Very Concept Of Having Fun

The new normal threatens the very concept of having fun, but the personal remains a safe haven

- Ashok Soman

With leisure travel – and even business travel – a distant dream, what does one do to reward oneself? This thought occurred to me as I was looking at new watches from Jaeger-LeCoultre shortly after Singapore entered Phase 2 of the reopening of the economy. The boutique at MBS was a hive of activity, which I surmised was because loyal customers had been invited to see the watches as well. Of course, we were all spaced out, and in different areas of the store so we mostly could not even see each other. Something similar happened in a couple of other stores, where I was also examining 2020 novelties, including Cartier where I had the chance to feel the lovely Maillon de Cartier watch. While I have no reason to think that any sales went down, I think the brand staff must have been overjoyed at these occasions. It was good to feel some excitement in the store, and it reminded me of full-scale novelty presentations in Switzerland. Of course, it was not the same but the feeling was strangely similar – not a facsimile of a sensation but the sensation itself.