My series of overdue entries continued.
Stars in the night sky beyond
On the night after that night (Saturday night), I was lying in bed, just stoning, thinking, as I slowly unwound and relaxed before I would fall asleep, when MT called me to go up to the balcony. I went up and stepped outside with her, holding my medium bolster and dirtying the feet I just washed before sleeping. I looked up at the sky she pointed at behind the house. There were so many stars (for a Singaporean sky) (Singapore is just too bright with so many buildings to see stars with the naked eye.). It was beautiful. MT called mum up too and she saw for a brief moment before going back in to bed. MT was also enthusiastically sms-ing her friends to look up at the sky(which they couldn�t because their area is brighter than ours). I pointed out Orion�s belt and that was as much as I could point out. I forgot to look for the Northern Cross and the big/little dipper. Most of the time, I just stood there, silently, admiring the wonderful creation of God and how nice it was for Him and her to share it with me. What a beautiful way to end off the 2 feel-good days.
CYY Farewell Dinner
On 3rd November, my JC class had dinner together at the Quality Hotel�s buffet with our form teacher for her farewell; she was going to migrate to Canada. Before that, YS came to my house first because she surprisingly ended her lessons early today, and if she went there on her own, she might get lost for she doesn�t know how to go there. We were supposed to do homework together, but in the end she ended up playing piano, and I didn�t get much work done either, listening to my younger sister�s PW OP (yes that thing... it�s their turn now), and playing computer. I had a very late lunch because somehow my lunch at home was delayed cooking, and in the morning I had lab. (side note, at this moment, all my labs are over(! yay!), including the dreadful practical exam for computing. How can we write a program in 45 minutes, when we usually take 2 hours on average to solve a question for the regular labs? On top of that, we spent 5 minutes trying to understand the question. How can?? If someone is able to finish it completely, they are doing the near-impossible. All of us mortals wrote either an incompilable program or a program that is compilable but doesn�t do all the operations required. And I am quite happy no more lab reports for physics and electrical engineering are required, for now. And no more hungry Mondays.)
We left home late and took a bus down to the place, where people had already arrived. To our surprise, SY and MF got onto the same bus as the two of us. :D Sorry I was late, when I was the organiser... Shean and HK managed to make it when their schedules threatened to keep them away. We were quite happy when we found out that the Taiwanese porridge buffet wasn�t only porridge; there was rice, soup, veggie and meat dishes, and dessert.
We chatted and caught up with each other. [The pictures have been uploaded onto facebook, unedited.] It was good seeing them again. :) The smiles at the end of the day couldn�t sum it up better, and there was the joy in my heart as I walked back home from the bus-stop (took the same bus as HK), and I know I was appreciated. I am reminded that though sometimes I feel unaccepted and unrecognised, I have these people who do appreciate me. I feel belonged.
Mum's Departure (& British Club's)
4 of us children woke up one early Sunday morning, early defined as 5.30am-6am here. Mum was going to fly off to Beijing that morning. We all had a cup of milo(well, the four of us children anyway. I think Mum and Dad had their usual tea) and left home late for T3. There was a long queue at row 3 for several flights were sharing the same check-in row. Not all rows were open. We thought of having crystal jade breakfast at terminal2 with dim sum an porridge, but because of the time, we couldn�t. Ya Kun kaya and the food court downstairs was packed with people. MP and Daddy found the Crystal Jade Shanghai upstairs and waited for us there. Once Mum had checked-in her luggage, MT, Mum and I went up. KM had ran away and eaten McD�s without our permission. Up there at Crystal Jade Shanghai, we had Beijing style noodles with dumplings. It was a very nice wantan mee soup. The noodles were soft. Mum had something similar except hers was pork and veggie in the wantan. There was quite a bit of ajinomoto inside the soup so we felt thirsty and salty in the mouth after that. We waved goodbye to mum and took some photos with her before she walked off to the departure gate lest she be late.
Later that day, Daddy took KM, MT, Ye Ye and I to watch the only movie Ye Ye watches in cinema, (besides that one-off Jackie Chan movie with the baby because Mum wasn�t in town then so might as well take Ye Ye along or else he�d be quite lonely at home again, or some reason) JAMES BOND. It was the first time Ye Ye went to Vivo, and we told him about the biggest cinema screen in Singapore. Quantum of Solace was one of the best James Bond movies ever, along with Casino Royale, because the women were not dumb, and James Bond wasn�t sleeping around all the time (why hasn�t he caught STDs yet?) And in this movie in particular, there was very little "horizontal action" (to quote the newspaper) so I was very happy with that.
And KM had to ruin that day again by buying Xbox spending points and subscription using MUM�s money which he TOOK FROM HER drawer WITHOUT her permission (which amounts to stealing). Again.
Yesterday, 15th November 2008, Saturday, Dad, KM and I went to Carrefour to look for some luggage, and were in and out quite fast, except for that KM who delayed us by running away and eating Carl�s Junior fries, which are by the way cooked in BEEF fat. I�m appalled at that. I�m also, err.. what-is-the-word-to-use, Daddy still hasn�t learnt, that if KM says he�ll be going to Harvey Norman, which is very nearby, (or any place that is out of our sight for that matter), it means he�ll go there first, then go look for food and use his ever-dwindling savings or stolen money to buy and eat it quick before he is caught. -____- "".
After that, Dad and I went to British Club for supper. Mum had just sold the membership and it would be transferred on Wednesday. She still had $94 quota to spend on food to use or else it would�ve been forfeited. So, Daddy and I went to spend it all. We ate some food there and packed a lot of food back for the rest for that day�s supper and the next day�s lunch. Hahaha! The fish and chips and the seafood hor fun are the best. It�s sad we won�t be ever going back there again, considering we�ve been members there for years, and I remember going there many times since I was so young I only ordered chicken nuggets, and a bit older when I had such a small stomach and couldn�t finish the delicious hor fun, to the time when hor fun was removed from the menu when the chef moved, and when it came back onto the menu, to the times spent swimming there, and the shower facilities have improved to include hot showers and a dry private changing area attached for some showers, to that one off special dinner at the Mountbatten room that was �high-class� and the only time I had French onion soup which I shared with my cousin, and the old Winsor pub, with the England rugby jerseys hung on the wall, the knight�s armour at the door, and the other place in the club you could have the fish and chips too. And the stairs with big steps that go round and round up and down the lift shaft, that I could run on it. Those days are gone now. It�s time to lose that connection to British culture and be more Singaporean. I think the long-time staff there will miss mum, who is one of the most friendly and polite customers that they recognise her.
Happy 166th Birthday St. Margaret's. Polka dots (and one piece dress uniform with fake tie) forever!
