What A Week!

My first week of 2007 got off to a slow start. I was a little troubled by the news of the New Year's Eve Bangkok bombs and the political uncertainty in Thailand. On top of that, the day after I had gone for a good hard run, I woke up with a bug that I'm only just managing to recover from.

On Friday I went to church to have a look around and see where I could shift the mission trip excess donations of clothes and toys to. For some reason, I decided to shift the boxes myself once I had found suitable locations for them. By the time I was done, I had climbed the stairs to the fourth floor over and over lugging boxes weighing around 15kg. I was bushed when I had finished, but I didn't really mind.

Met Angie and Katrina for dinner after I had gone home to get washed and changed. Katrina, along with Angie, and a guy named Kelvin, were Political Science majors in our NUS days, and we more often than not took the same modules together. We'd go out together as well, and since those days of yore we have been meeting once or twice a year to catch up, referring to ourselves as AK2 when we SMS to set up meetings. This time, Kelvin couldn't make it at the last minute so the rest of us went ahead.

Dinner was at a Japanese restaurant in Wheelock Place. We were supposed to meet at 7:15pm so I got there 5 minutes early. As I was walking towards the entrance, I saw Katrina walking towards the same entrance but from another direction. She hadn't seen me so I thought I'd sneak up on her. I have this silly ability of walking up to people without making a sound. Anyway, I walked right behind her as she entered Wheelock Place. She was making for the floor directory so I followed behind her. Reaching the directory, she scanned it looking for the location of the Sun and Moon Japanese restaurant where we'd be eating. I stood right beside her but for some reason she didn't see me in the corner of her eye. So I was startled when she turned away and proceeded to walk towards the escalator. I then decided to walk up beside her and say hello. She was a little surprised to see me appear out of the blue, but not that shocked. Then again, Katrina is usually very calm and collected.

Angie was late and we hadn't made a reservation so we had our names added to the waiting list. Katrina and I then went to walk around Borders and we talked about how we had been since our last meeting. It was nice to walk and talk especially since it took my mind off of how hungry I was. Nevertheless, I was happy when the restaurant called earlier than expected, telling us a table was available.

At the restaurant, Katrina and I were ushered inside. Now, at this restaurant, most of the seats are in very open areas, just like in most restaurants. So, I was really surprised when we were led to an alcove in a corner of the restaurant, next to the bar. It fits three people nicely and if you desire more privacy, you can even release the rolled up screen that hangs over the entrance to the alcove. It felt just like the kind of setting for a gangster movie, where the boss is sitting in a private corner of a restaurant. Anyway, it was quite nice, mixing in traditional Japanese elements with the modern feel of the restaurant.

When Angie arrived, she couldn't find us in the restaurant so she called Katrina who went to look for her. When she was brought to our table, she was taken aback by our location but she didn't seem to mind. So we got down to ordering our dinner. I had beef tenderloin teppanyaki with a rice set, with dorayaki (strawberries and redbean on pancakes) after that. The food was quite good, and I certainly didn't feel like I was suffering from a bug and that I had done some strenuous things earlier in the day.

After dinner, Angie showed Katrina and me the pictures from her visit to Thailand, then we went on our way.

I spent most of Saturday resting, only going out of the house to check the mail, then later on, for dinner with mum and sis at Jurong Point. We had a good time walking around the shops before we came home. That night, I went to bed feeling strange. My mind was tired, but my body wasn't. So even though I wanted to sleep, I couldn't stay asleep. So at 4am, I gave up trying to sleep and watched some television. I hoped that my lack of sleep wouldn't spoil my Sunday.

Got washed and dressed for church, leaving early since I was on PA duty and it was a combined service again. At church, I got everything set up, though I was a little uncomfortable from the increased perspiration that I was experiencing due to the bug I'd been suffering. Anyway, things went alright, the sermon was fine, and the service too. After the service, I chatted with some of the mission trippers before heading to the Thai office to do the December accounts. Accounts done, I went to join some of the mission trippers who were having breakfast at the market. When I got there, they'd finished eating but they asked me to get something to eat anyway. Not wanting to take up too much time, I bought two min jian kueh and ate them.

Stacey asked me if I would be attending lunch at Vill'age at the Heeren to celebrate Christina's birthday. I hadn't planned on doing so, since I didn't know about it beforehand. I was actually thinking of playing some lunchtime pool, then heading home for a rest before playing soccer and returning to church for English School. But I decided that it would be good if I attended the lunch, so I shelved the first part of my Sunday plan and went along with everyone to lunch.

Lunch was good, I had ribeye steak with potato wedges and ginger beer. I was feeling a little buggy though, and didn't manage to talk with two many people. In the course of a conversation with Stacey, we were talking about keeping in contact with friends when I mentioned that the only friends outside of church that I keep in contact with are some people from my NUS days and two groups of people from my JC days, namely my classmates and the 18th Student Council members. I told Stacey that I hadn't really been in contact with the latter group for a while.

After lunch, some of the group were going to sing karaoke, but some others were going home to rest or do some other things. I thought I would go home to get my soccer things and carry on with my Sunday plan. Walking out of the Heeren onto the Orchard Road sidewalk with Vivien, Junwei, Doreen, Ziping, Stacey, and Benedict, I saw two familiar people walking towards me from the opposite direction. They saw me too and our surprise was mutual. It was Theresa and Shireen, two of my friends from the 18th Student Council! They attend Orchard Road Presbyterian Church so I've seen them more often than the rest of the Council, but even so we hadn't met in a while. Theresa told me that she works in the US right now, and that she was back in Singapore for a break. That made our chance meeting all the more improbable. Anyway she asked me if I could make it for dinner later on with her and some of the other Councillors. I said I'd make it if I could so she gave me her number so I could give her a call to find out where they were.

Surprisingly, the group I was with had waited for me while I was having my encounter with my friends from the past. I asked why they'd done that and Ziping said that it was not nice to go home alone. I knew what he meant since I've gone home alone many times in my life since I don't live particularly near to most of my church friends. But I wondered why he said that since I wasn't taking the same bus as anyone, at least not to my knowledge. However, Ziping thought that I was going back to church, so I could take 77 with Stacey. I thought that was fine with me, since my own bus, 7, had just gone past. I could always change bus at Holland Village.

77 came and Stacey and me got on. I told her about what had just happened to me and we had a good time talking about it as the bus rumbled on its way. Along the way, I decided not go go home, that I would instead go to church to collect my bag and cue which I had left in the Thai office, then go home for my soccer things. My thinking was that it would be easier if I didn't have to bring both my soccer things and my bag and cue home later at night. I might even be able to squeeze some pool in too.

Anyway, the bus reached church and I said goodbye to Stacey. In church, I found Luke and Jared waiting for Nat so they could play Puerto Rico. I wondered if I should join them for a game while they waited for Nat, who wouldn't be there so soon. Giving it some thought, I decided that it would be better if I didn't play soccer since my calves were still sore from all the stair climbing, and I wasn't completely healthy. Also, if I intended to join my Student Council friends for dinner, it would be a lot easier if I opted not to play soccer. So I joined them for a game of Puerto Rico. Even though I lost, I had a reasonably good time.

After one game, Nat arrived. I wanted to play some pool, so I went to Mambo. It was full house so I had to wait a while before a table opened. I played alright, though I didn't always play with my usual sharpness. Oh well, some days you play well, some days you don't.

I then realised that since I hadn't gone home, I didn't have the songsheet which Angie had asked me to print. So I went back to the Thai office to see if I could get it printed again. At the Thai office, I was fumbling with an uncooperative mouse when Jasmine came in. She had come to sit in a class as she would be returning to teach English in the new term. I asked her if she could help me with the songsheet while I held the teachers' meeting, and she agreed.

English School went alright. I had to find a keyboard for the service as the Thai service is now held on the 4th floor. I was sweating again as I looked for a suitable keyboard. In the end, I found a good keyboard but I was told that it refused to work even though it had worked when I tested it. Anyway, now my shirt didn't feel too good so I had to find another shirt if I was going to attend the dinner. In the Youth Sunday School cupboard, I found a Sunday School shirt, so I put it on. It felt quite good, considering that I had cast doubts on it when it was first produced.

Went down to the Thai dinner area to say goodbye to Jaey, Jinju and Junyong. Tai Wah and his wife were there, to my surprise. They've been serving as tentmakers in Thailand and are back in Singapore for Chinese New Year. It was good to see them again and I was quite sad that I couldn't stay.

Gave Theresa a call to tell her I was on my way, then I went looking for a cab. I was hoping to flag a Comfort cab so I could pay by NETS. The first taxi that stopped for me was a SMRT cab, so I asked the driver what the fare to Millenia Walk was. To my pleasant surprise, he bothered to tell me that it would be around $10. I had just over $10 in my wallet so I got in. At Millenia Walk, I paid the fare of $10.20 then went in looking for Bakerzin. When I got there, I saw 5 people sitting at a table. I couldn't recognise them at first but when one of them waved to me, I realised they were my Council friends. Besides Theresa, Chwee Peng, Ben Leow, Li Li, and Benjamin Ong were there. I hadn't seen Benjamin Ong since 1996 when he left SAJC to go to Temasek Poly. We had both been Faculty Leaders, I was the Science Faculty Leader, and he had been the Commerce Faculty Leader. It was certainly good to see him again.

We all had a good time talking and joking about our past and present. Later on, Liz Thng came down as well. Although everyone else there was from the Commerce faculty, I still had a good time catching up with all of them. After dinner, I walked with Benjamin Ong to City Hall MRT where he would be talking the MRT eastwards and I would be heading upstairs to take number 7 home. Along the way, he asked me about my mission trips and I was more than happy to share with him more of what we do in the Thai Ministry and on our mission trips to Thailand. At City Hall, we said our goodbyes and got each other's number.

I was really tired when I got home. Even so, I drank a little wine to make sure I would sleep like a log. And guess what! I did sleep like a log! Woohoo!