Monday, August 29, 2011
So, I'm finally in Singapore. For the first time this year. It's been way too long. You can blame TOA and work for that. I visit Singapore/JB about 3-4 times a year, normally spending 10 days down. Every holiday I'd get in Singapore, I'd make the effort, to catch up with friends here, as well as visit my dad. This year was total hell though, and I had no chance to visit at all. After November, my next planned visit was to be in April, but that was the time of my graduation exhibition. Fine, after that my mom told me she was tight and couldn't give me any money to spend in Singapore. What's the point of visiting with no money? So after a month's break, I finally got a job, and since jobs don't offer holidays like school, I haven't had the chance to visit till now. Thanks to convenience of timing, Hari Raya and National Day are on the same week/day. Combined with my leave and the weekends, I could finally get an entire week off. Woots! Smart usage yes, but it reminds me how you need really convenient timings to get longer stretches of days off.
The last time I came down was in November, for Chee Kiong and Gwyn's wedding. And I sort of made that into a Singapore trip as well. Time well spent. The previous visit before that was in freaking April. I met up with Ashleigh, for the first time since she visited KL that time. Had a simple meal with her and her cellgroup member Georgina, and had a hell of a great time with jokes and all. As we neared our stops, I told her the story of Zhi Xuan and I, and it was hilarious. I also met up with Sebastian and Ryan, who I now call Yusiang and Zhi Wen, since they don't use their English names anymore since leaving church, haha. They're still as funny as ever, and despite not seeing them for years, it feels like nothing much had changed between us. It was still so easy to chat, and we just hung out and stuff like in previous years. I also met up with Xin Mei, after not seeing her for like 3 years. It was really random, because I saw her online (she's online maybe once every year) and chatted her up, leading to a date. Lol, I use that word very lightly here, as she's got her boyfriend, who apparently still remembers me as the guy who only wears black. I went out with her to Orchard Ion, and later Plaza Singapura, just catching up and sharing A LOT of stories. I shared mainly about my dramatic love life, and she told me about her and Bao Long, and all the hell she went through, as well as some details on some people who've made me lose even more respect than they've previously lost. I still find it hard to believe we could chat and talk for nearly 5 hours during meals, drinks and just walking around. Was a great time spent.
This time round, I'm determined to meet more people than spending quality time with them. I've always tried to have a balance when it comes to meeting friends everytime I visit. If I meet more friends, naturally I'll spend less time with them, meeting maybe 2 or 3 groups or individuals in a day, a meal each or so, just to catch up. Other times I've met up with much less people, but instead spent hours and days with them, enjoying quality time, at the cost of not meeting more people. The last visit in November was supreme quality time, and due to not visiting Singapore the entire year until now, I still owe quite a lot of people a time to catch up. I've not met a lot of people I had promised before the meet up with. My time in Singapore is always very impromptu, just the way I like it, 'cause it allows more flexibility in my activities, but at the same time due to the lack of planning I end up not meeting certain people.
So this time round I spread the news a week early to the people I planned to meet up with: The Magic Gang, Joycelyn, Jonathan Lim, Xin Mei, Chia Sheng and Ms Koeh (lol), so yeah. I picked some out because I really had not seen them in way too long. And now I feel the time is due. As for the Magic Gang and church members, they are always a given, so its just regular. And I'll be meeting up with Juswin, Eleanore and Jeffrey too. Quite a packed schedule, but one I think I'll enjoy. I just hope I can fit everyone in nicely, and have enough money to spare. I may be working, but its the end of the month, and due to the extremely long holidays, I'm worried my cheque won't be processed in time while I'm still here. I need the money here a lot more than when I'm just doing my daily job at work.
Time to enjoy my first "holiday" of working life!
Fallen
3:20 PM
in the grip of darkness
