a morning encounter

The alarm bell rang at 6.55am sharp as it has been doing faithfully since the beginning of the year. I woke up the moment it sounded and jumped out of bed, mind fully alert, a reflex action I have developed since my army days. It usually makes this dissonant sound comprising of two notes two intervals apart, but it sounded more melodic than usual today. Time for a change in alarm ringtone, I suppose. I switched on my Macbook, a lovely creation considering how fast it starts up, played my favorite songs and returned to bed to stretch limbs made lazy during my good night's sleep before clearing myself up for the day.

I walked to the dining room and greeted my auntie - the only other person left in the household at this time of day always. I seem to get this sneaky feeling of comfort all the time, knowing that there is always someone there waiting - in this case, my dearest housekeeper for many many years in the running - to see me off and welcome me back home. I gulped down my oats, yanked my bag over my shoulder, grabbed my shoe bag and headed off for yet another monday day of work.

I always dread taking the morning train, having to jostle and compete for precious leg space in the train with other boarding commuters. Being able to board the first train upon arrival at the platform would either be due to extreme luck, excellent gestural positioning to wedge pass the crowd or pure brute force as one bashes his way through; boarding the second train would be considered fortunate; getting on the third train would be the normal expectation and blame it on your tough luck for anything more than that. My luck was pretty normal today. At least I had space to read the papers by Bishan station.

Halfway through, the crowd thinned enough for me to get leaning space along the train wall. As I was forcing my dulled mind to focus on digesting this certain article about an old guy's view on the Budget, I felt my left fingers being gripped tightly and tugged all of a sudden. For a moment, it felt as though I was being assaulted in a crowded train - like really, it seemed really violent at that instant. I lifted my head up in a panic to see what was happening and... what??

It was my friend-cum-colleague from the health screening centre downstairs! She was standing at my 10 o'clock grinning away, her petite but somewhat plump figure being partially obscured by another commuter standing in between. A cheeky lady, I can still remember those few times she played pranks on me and teased me real hard. We began chuckling away at my over-the-top reaction to the whole affair. We had a lovely conversation throughout the remaining journey afterwards, talking about work, my upcoming studies overseas and other random stuff. I also learnt that she would be leaving the company really soon to pursue other matters, including a trip back home of course. I have to say I will definitely miss her presence, for she is a really fun person to be with.

Human relationships is a really interesting thing. It is just like cooking. Like how the flavours of some cooking ingredients complement each other really well while some clash, some people click instinctively while others detest each other no matter what happens. Some dishes require a long cooking time and simmering for its flavours and textures to be brought out while others will taste superb with a simple stir-fry; likewise, some relationships take a long time to nurture while others form spontaneously. Also, it is very easy to get tired of some foodstuffs while others are able to remain popular for a long time; similarly, some relationships just fizzle out while others remain strong for a long time.

We were talking about our usual reporting times at work when we reached our destination. My friend decided to grab breakfast at her favorite haunt and so I decided to tag along for the thrill of seeking out new places. I did not want to get anything to eat so we queued up for drinks. I had been feeling under the weather these 2 weeks and so I thought a good hot tea might do good for my weak body. My friend decided to treat me despite my insistence to pay on my own. I was really touched when she insisted, saying that I was still young and dependent and that I will need to save up for the future (to clarify, she's already 30+, married and has kids already hence her explanation). Her thoughtfulness and conviction struck across me really strongly. Oh and of course, I helped her buy the drinks since its easier to converse in Chinese with the lady boss. After that, she grabbed the newspapers and shoe bag in my hand and volunteered to hold it for me so that I can carry the drinks despite my items being bulkier and heavier. I really really really admired her for her warm-heartedness and big heart.

The queue was long and we were late for work by 10 minutes. But we did not even give a heck anymore - in fact we were laughing about how we had talked about needing to report for work earlier moments ago. I knew I would be facing black faces from my boss and seniors upstairs way but then, it did not matter now. My morning was already the best it can be - the sum of those little moments that mattered. Nothing else will be able to tarnish that.

life is full of surprises

I have to remind myself time after time that I will need to start writing, I mean ranting, more coherently. My current standard of English is bad enough and I do not need to worsen it any further before it really becomes verbal diarrhoea. I think it has though. Nonetheless, I just want to say that life can be really interesting if you just follow your instinct sometimes. So much for coherence of ideas in a paragraph.

Just last Friday, I decided to take another good walk around town before Mr Policeman's birthday dinner and I had such a good time just wandering around finding new places or studying places I've seen in fleeting glimpses from pictures or during car rides in the area. It was a much needed change of pace and environment from the workplace and the me-time was really invigorating. And the dinner itself. I loved the chat about school times and our silliness then; plus it was so entertaining playing around with the mirrors in the restaurant's private dining room we cam-whored quite a fair bit. For the birthday boy of course:D

As we wandered around Central after that, our dear birthday boy decided to go and check out the mall's Valentine's Day promotion despite our relative lack of interest. But spontaneity ruled the day - I ended up meeting my fellow medics from Keat Hong along the way! It was such a surprise my brain went into overload okay! It was like this in my mind:

*Sees Weizheng at the corner of my eye*
"That is Weizheng. What is he doing here?"
*Stretches hand to tap him, sees Pengshi behind him and I halt in my footsteps*
"This is not right, what is Pengshi doing here as well??" 
*Looks right and sees the other new medic*
"OH MY GOSH this can't be happening!" 
*Looks forward to see Jim and the rest of the group walking towards me exclaiming what I'm doing here*
"WHAT THE WHAT THE WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?!?!" 
*Brain hangs for a few seconds*
Shouts "OH MY GAWD JIM WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE!!!!!!!!"


I ended up having some drinks with them and our MO afterwards after I departed from Mr Police's birthday entourage (albeit feeling a great pity because I have to straddle between 2 groups of people:\) Nevertheless, it was time wonderfully spent despite those bouts of silence at times. It has been quite a while too anyway. How much crazier can things get!:D

Another time, I decided to oversleep because I slept late. But still, I decided to be lazy despite knowing I'll be running the risk of being late. So after the typical jump-out-of-bed-rush-through-everything-and-dash-out-of-the-door moment, I still managed to squeeze into the first train (by brute force of course, you'll never board a Singapore train at 7.50am if you are too gentle) and bump into a fellow signaler in camp the second time round in the same setting - the same MRT carriage on the way to work. What are the odds I would ask! Tak boleh tahan - just whack and chat non-stop about anything, any thing that we know about everyone else but ourselves. I remembered myself feeling quite thirsty after that><

After work too. I decided to take my time and chat with my colleagues from the Health Screening floor for a while whom I met downstairs before going home. For that, I bumped into my Sec 1/2 classmate working in ORQ at the train station! He had chatted with me briefly a few days to find out if I was indeed working nearby him and now we met! Made small talk before leaving because we take different trains. Gladys decided to bruise me with her comments of my friends all dressing better than my chinaman outfit. There's a reason why I always change out if I'm going out with friends yea?:P

Another time I gave my doctor such a great scare just standing beside her on the escalator exclaiming "WHAT YOU ARE HERE!" yesterday WAHAHAHA:DDD I just keep getting better at this! She nearly smacked me with the newspapers in her hand though hehheh:s

And just this evening, my friend from 40HQ bumped into me as I was knocking off from work. Yup, it was the other way round because he stopped me in my tracks. I felt so apologetic because he was one of those bank promoters outside the building and I had developed a reflex action of avoiding any eye contact, hastening my footsteps and avoiding any brushing and gimmicky antics made by them. He brushed me with his clipboard and I actually still ignored him until he called me by my name. By then I finally raised my head up to my absolute surprise. We chatted for a good 5 to 10 minutes I suppose!

I know and I am so sorry that I have been gushing about people I've met these past few posts but it just feels so good being able to meet people you've known in the past by chance, get those feel-good chemicals in your brain flowing as you meet and greet each other and still be able to make small talk with them despite the huge time gap.

about planning and spontaneity

Life is made up extremes. Hot and cold, wet and dry, urban and rural, rich and poor, simply superb and simply shitty. Today, I actually feel like approaching this topic from a more "dainty and floaty" angle, okay I actually mean a less measurable factor called 'premeditation/planning' and 'spontaneity'. Planning and order reins pretty high in the order of everyone's lives, from the top echelons of government to the lives of the ordinary man walking down a street but I still feel that people can make do with more spontaneity in their lives - it'll definitely make life much more fun as I'll explain later.

Making plans can be such a pain. Take my planning of family holidays for example. It never fails to amaze me why I still have the interest and passion for doing free and easy travel despite all the trauma I've suffered just to plan and execute a holiday. The first time was New Zealand - god knows how long ago that was. While it was fine spending all those hours doing research, it didn't help when your dad refused to believe your directions 90% of the time when you were the one poring over the maps for months; better still, he got so picky over the accommodation and rejected all my recommendations everyone nearly had nowhere to sleep in Auckland. Taiwan was better. I asked my family what they would want to do there so that I can fit in things to everyone's fancy. No one did - all just said nothing, asked me to plan whatever I had in mind and said that they would follow. Of course, that didn't happen - my ideas got continually shot down and it just kept getting hijacked day after day I literally gave up on them. The rain didn't help too. And that was out of the plan too.

Phew! That non-stop ranting felt so good. I had to let it off my chest. In retrospect, I thought it could have been because of my dad who played the role of the spoiler or that it could have been my plain arse luck. Whatever. But still, maybe if I had been less rigid and more flexible, I could have then made space for more spontaneity which would make the trip more special and unique.

Nonetheless, planning is still good because it ensures that you get something that needs to be done done. After having realised that my weight had ballooned a good 3 kilogrammes, I thought that it was enough and that I needed an exercise regimen to help me maintain my weight and, at best, lose some weight and get fitter. IPPT was a push factor; seeing how fat my cousins had become was the deciding factor. No way I am going to join their group, no way. Currently, I am doing exercise near my place frequently after work. It has become much of a habit and I am enjoying the whole experience. It must be the endorphins doing its job well.

But still, I propose for spontaneity to rule the day anytime. It is definitely much better because:
1) You get to see things you would normally never expect to encounter and also get to take part in events you have never thought of participating in. Hence there is a novelty factor in it that makes the whole experience fun and enjoyable.
2) You have no expectations beforehand so you can be easily pleased and surprised with whatever comes along.
3) You get the thrill of experiencing the unknown by being open-minded and it makes you more adventurous, wanting to see more and explore more. It is pure fun.

I had eaten too much during the weekends so I wanted to do some exercise before my parents brought back dinner from outside. However time was short as I overslept during my afternoon nap and my parents were on their way home. As I was mourning this lost opportunity, my very good buddy from army dropped me a message saying he was finally arrived in "ulu Ang Mo Kio" from Jurong to meet friends for dinner (like seriously, that is blasphemy! One would take a longer time to travel to town and the airport from ulu Jurong compared to AMK!!!) He wanted to meet up considering how rare a chance we would have. My gosh, I said yes on the spot, dashed down to AMK hub after dinner and had such a wonderful chat with him over ice-cream (Yes, I decided to give a hoot about exercise - that one can come another day:D) He totally couldn't believe that I could make time at such a short moment's notice and he had asked me out just to try his luck. Oh well, our spontaneous decisions made for an interesting night!

And yes, I also decided to tell off my boss for being such a nervous wreck in office. She is very approachable and helpful because she is chatty. But that is precisely why all of us feel much more stressed when she is around in office even though we have few patients compared to when we have loads and patients and she is not around - she starts barking orders around, expecting all of us to complete multiple tasks all at the same time. I was once processing a patient's case when she told me off for making another wait just to register her; the next time round she said I don't know how to prioritize when I registered the patient first before processing the doctor's orders. Yesterday I decided enough was enough and told her to cool herself down when she started pestering me to get a doctor's signature for repeated medications while I was still processing an order. She didn't speak to me for the rest of the day. At least I bought myself a few hours of peace.

She went into crazy mode again today but I decided to keep it to myself. A leopard can't change its spots - old ladies just can't stop nagging. Its a fact. Nonetheless I still felt damn good about my telling her off. Just had to let it off my chest - again yes:) My colleagues and I were basically laughing our way from yesterday til today - she was particularly allergic to me today HAHA! My spontaneous decision to tick off my boss made for a good joke and great memory in office! Hopefully I do not become more mean in future:P

AND MY PHONE MIGRATED TO GLASGOW AGAIN. This time it chose to freeze itself at -1 degree Celsius when it stated that the maximum/minimum temperature is 3 and 0 degrees respectively. So much for owning a smartphone that pretty much just blew itself. I was irritated by this deplorably horrendous phone as always but still I thought it was pretty laughable that it just trolled itself:D

An amusing surprise nonetheless. I should share much more details of how my LG phone just blows itself in many ways another time.

Oh yes and about Glasgow, I have decided, despite all my assertions above, that I am not going to leave everything to chance by researching on my accommodation options there for the next few years. That one is definitely going into the 'planning' section of my life - because I better make sure I have somewhere to sleep in a cold and rainy foreign land.

of wishes and well-wishes

I can never get tired of professing how wonderful this year's Chinese New Year has been. I can possibly attribute it to pure coincidence to rationalise my chance encounters with so many people I've known from various stages of my life these past few days. About adding to the list of people I've met this holiday, I saw my company's regular platoon sergeant on the train 2 days back and met a group of schoolmates at a bar in Somerset yesterday. I can also suggest that the reason why I am experience these kind of feelings is due to a more positive open-minded outlook I have had since the realisation that my time here is limited. After all, one tends to treasure what one has only when he has or is close to losing it.

Sometimes when I think back, I might wish that I could turn back time a little to do some things I should have done then. But then, its okay. It still made for good memories and I will just have to learn to make full use of the opportunities I have in the future.
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We had a farewell dinner for some of our JC classmates flying off to Australia soon yesterday evening so I decided to meet up with one of my friend working nearby so that we can go over to People's Park from Raffles Place together after that. He would knock off later so I decided to walk around town, soak in the atmosphere and views, and capture some photographs for collection and memory's sake. It felt so good just walking about, hearing the sounds of the urban city and feeling the vibe of people knocking off from work - the well-dressed white collared workers zipping around town with their bags and suitcases or the well-off executives in their sedans or even posh continental cars (including the occasional Alfa Romeo or Ferrari). After we met up, I insisted on a walk from Cross Street to our destination which I did not regret. I decided to make a detour to the Telok Ayer area and stumbled upon a treasure trove of interesting shops ranging from the old hardware shops to new trendy cafes and boutiques. It just startles me that as much as people bemoan the "fact" that Singapore is dry and boring, there are still many interesting places and sights in Singapore waiting to be discovered.

I would definitely hope to check out the area even deeper, considering how we just skimmed the surface of the area by just brisk walking through the place. With some good friends, good food, coffee and a good chat perhaps? I would love to do more exploration of Singapore - there's honestly so much more things waiting to be discovered!
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And, the customary family gathering of relatives from my mother's side of the family was relatively quieter this time round considering that many people were unable to make it for one reason or another. But still, I thought that it was a rather pleasant affair - having fewer people makes the event less chaotic, and it would push everyone together closer in interaction distance and time too. It brought me much amusement surprising my uncles, aunties and cousins that I have actually finished NS 2 months ago and am currently working until school starts! And you know, the recurrent themes of how fast time flies, what everyone's today, asking me to take care in the UK and the unavoidable "get a girlfriend there and bring her back to show us" continues to occupy a significant portion of the conversation here ( --.--''')

I had such a good time spending time with my very first niece and nephew (they are fraternal twins). It was so sweet to see them actually play and talk to you and call you uncle my heart sort of melted and I got into this natural high. Not that I went crazy but it was that the feel-good chemicals just started building up. Sort of reminded me about that life is forever changing, always going forward. It sort of got me thinking about how I would want my life to be 10, 20, 30 years down the road especially now that I am close to reaching the 3rd decade of my life soon. That is so many wishes and aspirations I have in mind yet unfulfilled. And I know that will take so much more grit, determination and courage to achieve.
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I was really surprised when I found out that my favorite auntie gave my sister and I a really really really big red packet each to wish us all the best for our future studies, especially knowing that I am flying in a few months time. As I spoke to her over the phone to thank her, she comforted me with, you know, the usual things like "its okay, its just a little gesture of well wishes for your upcoming start of university", "don't worry I can afford it". But what struck me most was her words that I must make good use of it and not squander it.

I thought she could not have just been referring to her red packet. After all, that sum, though large, would just be a small fraction of the costs I would incur to study in the UK. It was a kind and sincere wish that I would do good with the well wishes of everyone and not let them down - the packet was just a means of expressing that thought to me. After much reflection, I was certainly much reminded about how fortunate I have been to be able to have this great opportunity and that I must make the most out of it.

After all, I cannot arrive at where I am today without all your love, care and support. It is only right that I show respect to myself and others by doing well and not laying everyone's efforts to waste. I will take care and do well, I assure you:)

1+1 = just 2. 1+1+1+(many times)+1 = A LOT

Okay, the title's just to make my point for today that everything is the sum of its parts, especially all the good and lovely things that can happen in your life. It does apply to unpleasant things too, which I certainly have a fair share of this week, mostly at work. But that will not be my focus because rubbish happens and it is only mentally beneficial that you put it behind you, especially the trolls who most certainly deserve to be swept away by the broom this holiday*.

This Chinese New Year (CNY) is certainly a really crazy one because so many little surprising things have happened, making it an especially memorable one worth savouring. As I mentioned earlier, it was those little things that made it really wonderful, and it was mainly about meeting up with people you would least expect to see by chance, and realize that you two can make lovely small talk and conversation after all this long period of absence and still leave with smiles on our faces.

Friday was simply wonderful. It was class gathering day and it was a good day. The weather was excellent and around 14 people including our civics tutor (CT) graced the gathering. Everyone was in action as usual like how we've organized our previous dinners: the kitchen group, all coincidentally wearing blue in unison, had bought the food and had been preparing the steamboat dishes since the late afternoon; the rest, who would usually be those who had work or studies, arrived afterwards and offered help to set up the table. We made so much talk about how everyone had been for the past few months and were so excited to chat with our CT. The dinner table atmosphere was light but lively and I thought it was so much more boisterous and lovely compared to the previous gatherings we've had. Maybe it was the good energy and vibe, maybe it was the good weather, or maybe it was just purely good timing, better expressed as 好时辰 in Chinese. Everyone was chatting so spontaneously and laughing away so naturally everyone was in a natural high. As I observed everyones' faces on the dining table, I could tell this time round everyone was having a blast of a time just cooking, eating and talking away.

Saturday was good too. I finally went to the art exhibition by the Paris Musee D'Orsay at the National Museum, fulfilling one of things I've wanted to see for a while. There were a few big name pieces like Van Gogh's Starry Night by The Rhone and Cezanne's Card Players, but the rest of the art pieces were equally outstanding in their own right, captivating me with their emotional richness, artistic refinement and Impressionist grandeur. The power of the drawing board just never fails to astound me.

Walked to 313 after that to meet up with my parents, only to bump into my cellist friend/Chinese language classmate whom I've known for 6 years wandering around to spend some time waiting for his parents to finish shopping at Orchard Central next door. I ended up abandoning my parents for a wee bit to walk around and chat with him. Hey its been ages man! I got a +1 to my list of surprises when I saw my old primary classmate who lives a few streets away from me only in 313 too!

Tuesday was another crazy day too. Woke up late as I slept too late as always, and ended up rushing like mad to make sure I can catch the bus so that I will not be late for work. Managed to catch the bus because the bus driver was kind to wait (my gosh I was so grateful) and for that I saw another primary school classmate I've not seen for like a good 8 years already. Recognised her from Facebook (yes, the photo section) before she even stepped up the bus and she was so shocked to see me that she sort of nearly tripod and fell over the steps leading to the back of the bus when she was waving hi to me:S yup the usual "OH MY GOSH ITS YOU ITS SO LONG ALREADY" plus the traditional catching-up-with-each-other kind of interview questions as to where they stay, what they have been up to, what will they be doing in future.

Evening was a crazy outdoor dinner outing with my usual food-drink-play gang. Was in the train to Outram Park using my phone as usual when someone called my name. I raised my head up to see another my String Orchestra viola friend of 4 years seated right in front of me after Tanjong Pagar station. He was our ambulance driver in the same camp for a while too. I was so stunned I started biting my own hand to soothe myself haha so 夸张 right! Yup, the usual catching up again! It was simply too amazing. How many people have I met this CNY!

The dinner was insane too. 4 young chaps shopping in Giant and then setting up newspapers to create dishes spontaneously at the rooftop of Vivocity - absolutely a thrilling experience. Even better was that it was simply delicious and no stomach pain after that!:P I totally fell in love with YH's century egg tofu recipe. Take a look at this - its absolutely YUMMYYY!!!:)))

And I totally have to say that today's encounter, so far, is the absolute winner: this morning, the first patient who stepped into my clinic just turned out to be my violin strings junior in Hwachong! I was like "Angela? You are Angela. Hello Angela!" She was just absolutely blown away too - her face totally said it all and she couldn't say a word at the start - like of all places to meet, she being the patient and I being the service provider HAHAHA SERIOUSLY!!! She could just mutter a "*gasp* What are you doing here?!?!" It was just SO CRAZY. Like the way we met - TOTALLY EPIC really! LIKE A BOSS WAHAHAHA!!!!!:DDD We sat at the counter and chatted for a while it was just totally awesome I wished we had more time to chat with each other really!

I am truly having a blast this Chinese New Year:)

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*okay this one's a really badly-made reference to the Chinese New Year superstition that one should never sweep one's household during the holidays, especially the first day because it means sweeping away one's luck and fortune away.