No, it's not an alcohol hangover I'm referring to. It's just a description of how tired I was today. Tired from what, you say? Well, as much as I love to drive, when you drive a manual car for over 100km in a day, it takes its toll on you. I guess I'm not meant to be a taxi driver. Ha. Anyway, the driving was well worth it since yesterday was a great day.
I was all set to spend the day doing some work after a leisurely breakfast of roti prata. Then I get an SMS from Serene asking if I'm free for lunch (we had arranged to have lunch this week; supposed to be Thursday but she has to reschedule). Even though the roti has barely settled in my stomach, I send an affirmative reply. She asked me to choose the lunch venue, and I suggested the duck rice down South Buona Vista Road. I told her I'd pick her up from her office so she wouldn't need to drive. So it was that I found myself driving up the hill to where she works. As I drew closer to the guardhouse where I was supposed to pick her up, I saw her walking out towards me.
She got in and we said hello. Then it was back down the hill and down the winding road to the duck rice place. She asked me what CD I was listening to (it was my WOW Worship AQUA CD) and I told her what it was, explaining briefly why I bought it. Along the way, she saw a sign showing the distance and direction to Science Park 2. She mentioned that she still didn't know what Science Park 2 looked like. Soon, we reached the duck rice place. As it turned out (hee!), a parking space right in front of the duck rice place just became available, and traffic disappeared long enough for me to perform an unconventional reverse entry into the space. Parking is usually quite a hassle at this place, so I was really thankful.
We went in, sat down at a table, and ordered duck rice. The food came, I said grace and we began to eat, talking as we did so; catching up on what we were doing and talking about BSF. We both lamented the fact that the leaders' group doesn't quite have a sense of community. I said that a contact list would have been nice. Perhaps I will ask around and draw one up, unless the admin team would like to lend me a hand. :)
I was also reminded of the fact that she'll be away most of next year on an overseas posting. Oh well.
We finished our duck rice and decided to leave, as the place was filling up and people were anxiously looking for tables to become unoccupied. Getting back in the car, we began to drive up South Buona Vista Road, talking as we went. As we were drawing closer to the road leading to her workplace, I asked her if she was in a hurry to get back. She said no, so I asked if she would like to see Science Park 2. She said yes so I turned into Prince Georges Park towards Science Park 2. I took the shortcut which brought us right inside Science Park 2. As I drove, I pointed out to her the various buildings and eating places. We went all the way in, to Science Park 3, which is where I used to work. Seeing the building named Galen, she mentioned that 'galen' means 'crazy' in Swedish. Haha!
Anyway, after showing her Science Park 2 and 3, I drove out to Pasir Panjang Road and proceeded in the direction of South Buona Vista Road. I stopped along the way at Esso for petrol. She asked me about my surname so I told her the full story with more than a few details of my family history. Soon, I had completed the long and winding circuit of South Buona Vista Road in the uphill direction for the second time that day and we were back at the guardhouse where I had picked her up. She thanked me for the ride and for having lunch, then we said our goodbyes (we'll be meeting again at BSF of course).
As I drove down the hill, the view seemed so much more beautiful. :)
Then it was on to the next part of my day. I had arranged to meet Hannah for tea in the late afternoon as I had not been able to attend the dinner organised the previous evening (Hannah is spending some time in Cambodia working with an NGO). As it turned out (double hee!), I found myself agreeing to pick Hannah up from Bukit Panjang and drive her to Yishun where she had an errand to run. So it was that I drove up Upper Bukit Timah Road to Bukit Panjang Plaza where I was to pick Hannah up from the bus stop just outside the shopping centre. As I approached the bus stop, I slowed down so I could scan the faces of the people sitting at the bus stop and look for Hannah. I saw her and brought the car to a stop just as she saw me.
Getting in, she said she nearly couldn't remember what my car looked like. At that, I said it was lucky that I hadn't forgotten what she looked like. We laughed. I apologised for not being at the dinner, then we set off for Yishun. Along the way, we talked about how we'd been and what we've been doing. After a longish drive on the BKE and Mandai Avenue, we got to Yishun. She had to pick up something from the things that she had placed in a friend's flat. At the flat, we began to look for the items that she needed. The thing is, she couldn't remember which box she was looking for. We thus had to open the boxes one by one. Funnily enough, we found the things she was looking for in the last box after opening and resealing all the other boxes. Haha.
Job done, we set off to tea. I had no real idea where to go, nevertheless I drove back to the BKE. As I drove, I was thinking of where to go. Finally, I decided to go to Sixth Avenue. However, at that point, I was in the right hand lane with 400 metres left to the PIE (Changi Airport) exit. I managed to filter all the way to the left and make the exit. She asked me where we were going and I told her. She said that was cool, that it was just where she was thinking of going as she had to post a letter.
We got to Sixth Avenue and I parked the car. She posted her letter and we crossed the road to Guthrie House, where we decided to go to Venezia. We ordered drinks and ice cream and sat down at a table. We talked some more and she told me what her typical day in Cambodia was like.
As she was going to Orchard to watch a movie with Jasmine, I asked if I could give her a lift to the Orchard area so that Jasmine could drive straight to Cathay. She said that would be a good idea so we returned to my car, and we drove up Sixth Avenue. Along the way, we passed the spot where the fatal accident involving two teenagers had taken place. In passing, she mentioned that I seemed to be a better, more patient driver than before. I thanked her for the compliment.
Finally, I dropped her off at Orchard MRT and made my way home. I was already beginning to feel tired. :)
I'm not worried o'er the future, for I know what Jesus said,
And today, I'll walk beside him, for He knows what is ahead!
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