Before Easter

Before Easter Sunday, it was wholesome Saturday. A run in the morning, trees gazing, reading a magazine, brunch at a bakery with Adrian, Kel & Ruth, hatching plans for a short getaway, bike shopping, enjoying 饺子 (dumplings) in the late afternoon, and watching a good foreign film at night.

Happy Easter!

Good Friday

Good Friday: Tea with the soon-to-wed Jon and SM.

SM is pondering her next career move, to which I told her to quit and be a Tai-Tai.

Ever the sharp-tongued woman that she is, she flashed her infamous smirk and shot back almost instantly while pointing at the blameless Jon: 'DO YOU THINK MY HUSBAND IS EARNING ENOUGH?'

It's always nice to meet both of them. In between serious discussions of political news and gossips about other common friends and acquaintances, there is no lack of sharp-witted bantering and friendly exchange of sarcastic observations.

I didn't offer this, but would have liked to say this in response to her rhetorical question: 'Yes, he may not be earning huge sum, but I have no doubt you can still be a Tai-Tai and be supported if you so decide to be one.'

And add a smirk to that statement, too.

handsome sleepyhead

27 days later, he's grown a little chubbier, but still a sleepyhead, albeit a handsome one :)

Hello Baby

Little E arrived in this world yesterday. Today, YL and I resumed our paparazzi roles which we proudly took upon 17 months ago when E's sister arrived. We couldn't get enough of Little E, who looks serenely snug in his bundle, so snug that he is more sleepy than he is hungry for milk.

Welcome to this world, baby.

Saturday Chill

De rigueur for  a chill-out Saturday cafe: polite crowd, preferably not too a big one; friendly staff and pleasant service; serves plain water; rotating fan to lend a rhythmic constant; chalkboards for an old-school feel; words about lustrous food and drinks; and well-chosen pictures displayed.

Of course, and good food. That's a no-brainer.

Sake Fridae

Perhaps it's the Sake. I realised I signed the hefty bill without even verifying the items that were ordered. But it was a good meal still, even if we weren't enjoying this in Japan like how it was a year ago.

A Korean couple first sat next to us. I was eyeing their food and trying to match a fantastically yummy-looking plate of pancake to the menu but I couldn't pin down what exactly it is.

After the Korean couple left, two Japanese men took over their seats. I realised the Koreans before them proved they were unJapanese-like through their choice of food: a bowl of soupy stuff, tempura, something resembling pancake, and beer. They had only a few sticks of Yakitori - at a Yakitori specialty restaurant.

The Japanese were different. They spoke Japanese (obviously), had beer, and ordered plenty of yakitori, including those you and I might abstain from, like horse heart or liver, whatever. Our tables were barely an arm's length away from each other, so we could easily see what the other was eating. At one point, the Japanese beside me turned to us and asked what was the bowl of rather appetising-looking food on our table. 'Garlic Rice,' J responded with her most kawaii smile. Then they talked briefly about the food. As usual, I was the silent one, smiling at appropriate moments while J went on talking like a natural pro, as she always did when we happened to make small talk with the locals during our time in Japan.

A hefty meal it was, but it capped a mad week of late nights and intense concentration on excel sheets and numbers. I wasn't tipsy or anything, but I could feel the sake taking effect, even if it was mild. Till the next sake!

Glorious Feasting - That CNY Thing

Chinese New Year 2012 - It's all about Feasting.

the aged truth

Can anyone be more brutally frank when they haven't met you for a while (say more than a year) and upon meeting up, tell you without the slightest hesitation: 'You've aged!' If you didn't think someone look the same or become even more youthful after a long absence, you wouldn't go the other way and say he's aged right? I'm amused, maybe a little sad, but not at all offended. After all, the mirror that I see myself in everyday doesn't lie; work has made me a haggard man, sadly. But this incident stood out because these were the first words that came out of JL and it was even before I sat down after I arrived!

Yani was kinder. She said I look the same but funkier (because of my glasses). I think most people are so used to seeing me in stiff, boring work clothes so much so that they exclaim or get surprised at how I look when I'm in casual wear. Seriously, when you have to be dressed in proper shirt and pants for 5 days a week, you don't really have that many options to look different each day. You would still be wrapped in business shirt and pants no matter the details of the shirt or the accessories you use.

The other day, my (female) colleagues saw me for the first time in smart casual wear on Friday, and they joked that I have become an Ah-Boy. But I look no different that day compared to the past 30 days - except that I was in short sleeved shirt and jeans. But still, that's the kind of reaction I got. All I can say is that being called Ah Boy is better than to have aged.

Yours truly,
Ah Boy

once in a purple moon Friday chill-out lunch

The weather was not so kind. Plans for a late morning swim were duly aborted when it became clear that this was no ordinary rain; I just didn't expect it to be an extraordinary downpour. [A day later, I read in the papers that there were flash floods at various locations because of the sudden deluge of rainfall.]

With a good one hour to spare before lunch, I decided to brave the heavy downpour and head to a nearby cafe and read my book. I folded my berms and risked being spotted in indecently short shorts to avoid the splashing of dirty water from the ground. With a small foldable umbrella and a breath of resignation drawn, I started into the crazy rain and adjusted my umbrella with the futile aim of averting the invasive rainfall. I huddled my bag and shuffled slowly across the street and corridors, mindful of the risk of slipping and falling. Having to find my way around this unfamiliar area, I thought to myself: It could not have been a worse time to be out navigating my way through this housing estate.

When my lunch mates finally arrived an hour later (I had settled in the restaurant instead of going to another cafe), I was almost done with my cappuccino. We talked about the restaurant and the merits of a shabby-chic design for restaurants. Therein was born the quote of the day, courtesy of my discerning and comfort-embracing friend: 'Toilets cannot be shabby-chic; they have to be swanky.'

Shabu Birthday

Josh says our mental faculties start to deteriorate after 28. Now, if only I knew that earlier, I would have a perfectly legitimate reason to justify my lapses at work in the past year.

We both gave a mocking smile and agreed that everything about our physical self goes downhill after the BIG three-zero. For the record, we didn't note this out of fear of aging. After all, our predecessors have all emerged unscathed upon crossing that milestone. This one's just slightly different from the Twenty-One mark which hit NOT LONG AGO. Everyone (assuming you live long enough) goes through this, so I guess it's the universal principle of 'strength in numbers' at work. People we all grow up with grow old together, and we can all laugh and cry or unite in celebration or mourning together. When an experience is shared, it is no longer as scary as it seems when faced alone.

Josh was born exactly 3 weeks after I arrived in this world. By some computational calculation that will never be known to us (some call it fate), we only met each other 18 years later when we both went through the shittiest part of our conscripted enslavement together. His was assigned the number and bed after mine; by default that made us buddies.

Josh married in January this year. He's now enjoying couplehood, though, as I've learned, family plans are not far away. Whenever we are on this topic, he would give a mock resigned expression. It's as though he's yet to leave boyhood and now fatherhood is on the cusp.

We had dinner (my treat for his birthday) this evening. Never mind that he has to sleep at 10 (+) every night and can't stay out late whenever we meet (or I will be talking to someone with open-eye semi-consciousness). Like the meet-ups we've always had, the dinner was never once quiet. Between the first ravenous mouthful of shabu shabu thin sliced beef and the last stomach-exploding morsel of meat, we updated each other of our present life, mentioned about LKY, talked about women and their factory talk, bitched about the annual torturous ritual called IPPT, and ruminated about the inevitability of life stages.

I hope he had a good dinner and not feel apologetic about my picking the tab. Happy Shabu Birthday Josh!

Adr's Garden Project

My good friend Adr is showing signs of becoming domesticated. Armed with a huge yellow canvas Ikea bag, he was shopping for equipment to build his latest project: a garden. While I know the outdoors and nature run in his (green) blood, I didn't know he's taken a liking to gardening.

I think Shyuan asked if snails could be grown inside the bottle garden. He said no, because they will eat the leaves. We ventured further and suggested other insects. Somehow the conversation ended with a lion being grown (or should it be reared?) inside the garden of mystique. Shyuan also managed to get herself a free garden, courtesy of her newly domesticated man. In the meantime, Shyuan and I amused ourselves by trying our best to capture a shot of Adr in domesticity. We both succeeded. A photo was uploaded promptly by Shyuan. And being very wise people, we know about his reputation and was prepared for a tsunami of responses.

Last I checked, the photo has garnered 16 comments/likes. My friend can become a popular garderner soon.

Not quite Cupid

Saturday dinner was Chinese food with JpW and SM. Only two weeks ago, I received a sms from JpW after midnight informing his good friends that he's proposed, and SM has accepted his proposal. Over dinner, I managed to find out more about their uneventful proposal - nothing fanciful, just a simple affair between themselves.

I am happy for both of them. In one of the mysterious ways that life works, I have a somewhat small hand to play in bringing them together more than a year ago. No, I didn't introduce them to each other; neither did I play cupid by trying to bring them together. In fact, it was JpW who, out of the blue, noticed SM and became kind of romantically interested.

My small role was this: as a neutral and, if I may say, credible friend to each of them, I joined them for dinner at their first meeting. Thereafter, they went out on dates. SM then did not know JpW well and was suspicious when he suddenly asked her out for dinner. Knowing that I hang out with JpW, she put a condition to meeting him - that I join both of them. While I was reluctant to go along, I relented at the persuasion of JpW.

The dinner went well in the end (we dined at a restaurant in Duxton), we had a pleasant evening, and I could tell both of them were equals to each other. One funny moment that could have come out of a scene in a movie was when either of them went to the restroom during our after-dinner drinks. While one was away, I would be giving my 'sound advice' and responding to the other's queries, especially SM's. She was in doubt that JpW was genuinely interested in her, though I certainly think that she must have secretly relished the idea that she's being pursued.

Both of them are intelligent and highly eloquent, and it wasn't before long when SM reciprocated JpW's love. Along the way, I did my fair share of brother duty by allaying the fears of SM and singing not a few praises - all honest and candid - of JpW. I could see them getting along with each other really well: one who is romantically blinded, the other waiting to be romantically bound.

The rest, as they say, is history. I began to see less of JpW as his social life soon became SM, and he her social life. The three of us would meet up for dinner and tea now and then, though admittedly I am usually the one who's unavailable and could not meet.

Their engagement and marriage was a foregone conclusion long ago, seeing as it is how they enjoyed each other's company. JpW was moreover a most devoted and loving boyfriend to SM, there's little doubt that SM's happiness is in safe hands.

Come twenty twelve, I would witness their happy matrimony, and I know they will enjoy each other's companionship as they make the remaining journey in life together. Congratulations again, JpW and SM!

Before Sunset

Beautiful sunlight. Splendid company. Truffle fries and sticky date pudding. Chilled drinks. A tiny baby that pouts and ekks.

That was my Sunday last week. Before sunset.

Midweek

Gratitude: Company of Buddy in mid-week. The last I met him was at his wedding in January. Pity he had diahorrea midway through our meal and I ended up eating most of the pizza myself.
     Last Photo: Courtesy of John. Ice-cream yesterday!

life lived in gratitude

Gratitude: Spending a Friday evening with good pals over a simple meal.Sometimes, I can feel my heart aglow with happiness when my mind fills with thoughts about how beautiful Life is. Life is many things and means different things to different people. But being able to look back your life and savour the journey is something that everyone can relate to. Blessed are the ones who could, with their friends, look back their lives and laugh together at pockets of memories that have stood out despite the passage of time. The poignancy lies in not just the memories and experiences that have accumulated and made us who we are today; it is also the fact that these recollections accompany our journey of growing old till we arrive at the end. Sometimes, it's important to take a step back and appreciate the past and the present, the little journeys that we make as we grow old. It allows you to appreciate the magic that weaves life's little moments and journeys together. Such contemplations can give us a sense of contentment and teach us about gratitude in life.

I was reminded of this when I met Jon and YB yesterday for dinner. Our running plans were laid to rest earlier in the day because Jon had been nursing a cold. Though we ended up having dinner only, it was fun in the way that is possible because we've been through a good part of our life together and therefore have a lot to chat about (and laugh). As with most other friends of our age, we've reached a stage where we are all quite comfortable in our own skin, living a life away from the limelight, preferring the less exciting but cozier cafe to the head-spinning pubs. It's a telltale sign of getting older, which often becomes fodder for self-deprecating jokes that spawn much laughter.

As usual, I was armed with my camera and we took some pictures. I joked that we should take more pictures while we are still reasonably youthful. After all, nobody wants to look at pictures of old men, and I am quite sure we would not be so enthusiastic about taking photos when we have undeniably crossed into the realm of uncles and ah-peks. The restaurant has a kodak printing machine; in a spontaneous moment, we printed out three photos that were taken in a continuous shot.

At the end of the night, I felt genuinely happy and thankful for spending an uneventful Friday evening with my good friends, one of them a die-hard cheesecake fan of the cafe who has such an irrepressible grin (when he thinks about and eats the cheesecake) it makes me smile just thinking about it. :)