Week 52 in Melbourne

Wowzer, we’ve been here for a year! Time flies… Anyway, highlights of last week:

14 Feb, Tuesday

Q turned 20! So big liao, my little sister… For some reason, Skype connection was bad on that night, but hehe, at least she’s happy with all the love that she received 🙂

Note: Dad was sitting near the laptop, and was out of frame. But he’s there!

16 Feb, Friday

Finally, it actually shined on the day T and I planned to cycle!

We first had brunch at Long Story Short. Food looked pretty, but the taste was not so fantastic. Heh. Then we made our way down to Port Melbourne Beach to rent the blue Melbourne bicycles. But lo and behold, there weren’t any helmets. So we walked another 15 minutes to the next Melbourne Bike Share station and fortunately, there were some! We got ourselves a couple and rode all the way to Saint Kilda 😀

Later on, we sat at Matcha Mylkbar and got majorly disappointed with the bland taste of the drinks we ordered (matcha latte and chai latte), and after waiting for almost half hour, we got disappointed again with the “best” sweet potato fries. Heh.

After freshening up in the evening, we made our way to East Imperial for dinner. We had a banquet set of $30 per pax, and the spread was amazingly delicious and so filling! It totally made up for the mediocre food we had for brunch and tea. And of course, it was a beautiful way to mark our one year stay in Melbourne 🙂

17 Feb, Saturday

Had these friends over for a night of games… Wi came earlier too, but she left before the games started as she had dinner plans. We caught a movie, ‘The Raid: Redemption’, over dinner and the girls squealed every now and then, as gore scenes flashed. I’ve watched this movie 3 times already, and still get all squirmy! And then, we played the different games till 2AM, just because 😛

18 Feb, Sunday

Sunday was so super buruk nak mampus for T and me. We pulled our mattress out to the living room and watched ‘Homeland’ the entire day. And when the season was done, we watched ‘The Founder’. Watching the characters eat McD burgers made us wanna eat McD’s double cheese, so we ordered the value meals for supper. The burgers were divine and the fries were yums! The order came at 10.45pm, and heh, a couple of hours later, we were in bed (in front of the TV). Heh. Heh.

(Week 45) New Year in Melbourne

2016 was a year full of privileges and blessings – from something small, like T making me a cup of Milo, to the bigger stuffs, like someone really close not losing to cancer – and I’m ever so grateful for each of them! And hehe, I’ve been fortunate enough to end 2016 and start 2017 happily with those who really matter 🙂

30 Dec – 3AM to 3.30AM

I usually sleep by 12.30am, but because it was my youngest sister’s 14th, I stayed up to wish her happy birthday at Singapore’s midnight. The gift I shipped in for her arrived on time (phew!) and I’m so glad she loves it 😀 She initially cringed when I sang her the birthday song (tsk!), but her eyes lit up when she opened up the present from me and T. That elated cute hamster face of hers made my lack of sleep worth it 🙂

30 Dec – 4PM to 11.30PM

Ga was house-sitting* this enormous and glamorous house, and she invited us over for a pool-pizza party! The owners actually encouraged her to have a big party, but she didn’t dare. Neither would I ’cause most of the items in the house were too pretty to touch and you wouldn’t want anything bad to happen under your care. In any case, the house was inspiring, in terms of design and the technology it has, and the five of us know that we’re in the wrong profession, hah.

It was a fun hang out session, especially the pizza making part! If you have my instagram, you’d be able to see in a video that I had a little dance when adding pizza toppings, hehe 😛 T was impressed on how relatively easy it is to make pizza from scratch, and we may try out on our own soon!

*You know, it’s like baby-sitting, but instead of a baby, it’s a house. Haha, yes, apparently it’s a common act in Melbourne when house owners go for holidays. Sometimes they pay you to come for a couple of hours to make sure the place is clean and safe, other times they let you stay.

30 Dec – 12.00AM to 1.30AM

Hee, didn’t think I’d get to meet my babes again in 2016, but heehee, we did! One last kopek before starting the new year! The arrangement to Skype with them was pure selenger yet gleefully endearing. Tengoklah, dorang duduk kat Starbucks same-same tapi each holding their own phone and have earsets on and duduk jauh-jauh to avoid audio feedback. Merepek but cute lah. Haha, I miss hanging out with them! To the new Wild Wild Wet when I come back to Singapore!

31 Dec – 6.30PM to 7.30PM

I decided to Skype with my family just because it was the last day of the year (and my parents’ anniversary). The one hour was filled with “hahaha” and “pffth” and “ugh” and “ok… ok…” and “happy new year” moments. Only they can bring the best and worst out of me in an hour, hah! ❤

31 Dec to 1 Jan – 10.30PM to 3.30AM

My countdown was spent with my favourite person in the world and all I know is that I’m damn lucky to be his wife. If I have to choose a song to describe him, the perfect one is Adele’s “Daydreamer” ❤ To more adventures together in 2017!

01 Jan – 12.30PM to 4.00PM

T had to work on holiday weekend, so I made plans with this bunch for lunch. It was supposed to be brunch, but y’know, janji Melayu. Haha, the highlight of the meet-up was the decision to find a guy with green eyes, nose so sharp that it can slice a cake, and dark coloured hair. Anybody know anybody like this??

02 Jan – 2.30PM to 11.00PM

Last week, the weather forecast predicted sunshine, but the complete opposite happened on the day itself. We planned to have a pool party at our place, but the rain just wouldn’t stop. Disappointing, tsk.

The makciks came first and we ate and cooked and ate and chatted and ate. The boys were working and only reached in time for dinner, and haha, we ate again. And then, we played Monopoly Deal maliciously! I swear this game brings the monster out of people! We changed some rules and raised the stake by having a forfeit – The loser had to update his/her Facebook status with, “I like to korek hidung and I cannot lie.” Telling your online family and friends that you pick your nose is pretty much a social embarrassment, haha!

Gosh, I’m so glad that I didn’t lose, haha! We were laughing hysterically at the loser when she did her forfeit and we added on funny comments on her post. There were a lot of other wtf-ape-kau-merepek-lol moments on this day, but the Monopoly Deal trumped everything else!

***

To an even brighter year ahead ❤

(Week 44) Xmas in Melbourne

Quick update for the week:

Sunday

Was supposed to go cycling but ended up yumchachacha-ing with Wi and Az! Getting all them fats, but hey, the hearty food led to heartfelt conversations ❤

Monday

Kak Ra and Sy were in town and Ya drove us around Yarra Valley 🙂 It was really good to hear about the things that are happening back home…

Wednesday & Thursday

Days of sweet treats! Made honey cornflakes and went shopping for Di’s gift.

T’s secret santa gave him a really cool gift! Finally he’d have a break from his usual CK Be. And De gave us East Indian biscuits which reminds me very much of kecipot.

No, we don’t celebrate Christmas because we believe in it. We join the festivity simply in the name of fun!

Friday

The text message I sent PF came to mind as I waited at the cafe. T was with Au at that time. I didn’t ponder much on the thought. But hah, whatever was happening would definitely not be approved by 18 years-old-me, and a conversation on my relation with QH the next night confirmed that.

The things I do for love.

Saturday

I asked T to dye my hair a darker shade. “Come, be my bitch. Dye my hair.” “Pffth.” “Please……”

While he dyed my hair, he didn’t allow me to touch my phone (after taking some snaps) ’cause I needed to just sit and look at him do my hair in exchange for his time. “But you’re my hairdresser, and I surf the net when hairdressers do their thing…” Cutesy pleading didn’t work. So I annoyed the shit out of him by talking shit throughout the 15 minutes, hehe!

The things he does for love.

Sunday – Xmas Day

We ate food, we talked about food, and we exchanged food as gifts. It was a wonderful Christmas lunch 😀

And guess what? I gave myself a Christmas gift too: A damn scar from the iron. ‘Cause stupid. First time burning myself in years. “Dah Bby, I can’t be a stewardess already. Got long scar on my forearm.” T scoffed in return.

At night, our dinner plans got cancelled and so we played 11 rounds of Monopoly Deal. We made a bet: Who wins 5 rounds first can make the other a slave-bitch for the night, i.e. he/she can order the other to do anything and everything. I swear, the forfeit was purely T’s idea. It was tough competition, but hehehehe, yours truly won and it was an epic ending, largely ’cause I was sneaky!

But I was really nice afterwards. The only thing I made him do was make me drinks while we watched Narcos. I initially didn’t even want to ask, but he provoked me, and I just had to! Otherwise, I would have been even nicer, hah.

Week 42 in Melbourne

​Two days of last week had been extremely hard. Back then, I didn’t understand why I was feeling super down. I knew I miss ZMA fucking badly but haha, I didn’t get why I suddenly broke down in the afternoon, like sudden burst of tears kinda breaking down. I miss hanging out with them, I miss telling them the wtf shits I’ve done, I miss them judging me yet still love me. Now, after some reflection, I think I was homesick, home-best-girlfriends-sick. Ugh, one of the worst feelings, really. Thankfully, with ZMA’s virtual xoxos and T’s tlc, I snapped out of it and I’m okay 🙂

Apart from those days, the week had been almost perfect. Almost, because I was disappointed that two of my volunteering sessions got cancelled and I had the bad ending for The Witcher 3. Hurr. But anyway, I get to hang out with some close friends and that’s perfect!

Ad flew to Melbourne for his friend’s wedding and so we got to hang out twice. Once, he came over our apartment and we talked of the past, present, future. And a couple nights later, we had dinner with him and his friend in the city. Ad’s been one of the most important friends I’ve met in university. He was a damn awesome travel buddy to Phuket in 2011 and Koh Phangan in 2012, and his family life story shapes what kind of parent I’d like to be. It was good catching up with him! 😀 

Fa also flew to Melbourne for a wedding, his sister’s. I think the last time we met was 3 years ago, but we’ve been chatting online randomly since then. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that we used to chat online almost everyday when we were 15, 16. (Woo MSN!) He is actually someone who knows the first few guys I dated and later, the first guy who was an asshole to me. And haha, we actually argued a lot because of that asshole. And heh, we eventually became less close. Anyway, spending a couple of hours with him showed that neither of us have changed much since we were teenagers, still the same lepak kinda people. Hahaha, he kept repeating that he couldn’t believe I’m married ’cause our friendship pretty much feels the same 🙂 

De and Ga were free for dinner one night and I made them eat Korean food ’cause I was craving for it! There were quite a bit of update since we last met, and I think it’s been a longgg while since I’ve heard such drama. Haha, it was intriguing and I am looking forward to know how things unfold. Hopefully not many will get hurt over the long holiday…

136

Playing The Witcher 3 on the living room TV, with T simultaneously watching and playing Football Manager his iPad, when this scene came up:

So my character is Geralt and I’ve had asked my girlfriend, Yen, about the corpse she just tortured before asking about her feelings, and of course she had to answer, “Nice of you to be concerned about the corpse. Much more than you were for me.” and “I’m splendid. I’d feel even better if I hadn’t had to remind you to ask that question.” T scoffed and I just couldn’t stop laughing at how real this merajuk scene is. I really think my character didn’t do anything wrong yet I understand perfectly why Yen was upset. LOL. 

Week 33, 34 in Melbourne

Quick update on the past two weeks! Okay, maybe not that quick since lotsa things have happened and there are loads of photos. Ignoring that one hiccup which happened last week, everything else had been a blast 😀

1. Visiting Moonlit Sanctuary

This was my favourite part of the weeks! I’m not a crazy animal lover but I love going to the zoo or sanctuary or friend’s house with cats ’cause you get to play and selfie with the animals with no responsibility of taking care of them, heh heh. Anyway, I’ve finally heard the kookaburra’s laugh! Mighty scary, I swear.

And we fed wallabies! Initially, we thought they were kangaroos, but after a little bit of research, we learned that we’re wrong. They’re cute nonetheless 😀 I wanna keep one in my pocket and bring it around…..

Oh, owls, especially the barn owls, are another set of birds which are scary. They have a haunting look, and looking at them eat the white mice gave us the shudders…

Can’t wait for the next trip to another wild park with my nieces in November!

2. Hanging out with friends

I’ve been thinking of renting the Melbourne bike for a while and finally got to cycle on it on a random Saturday afternoon with this group of friends 😀 Weather was superb and company was super lepak. Best way to exercise! And oh, bike rental cost only $3 a day. That’s way cheaper than renting a bike for two hours at East Coast Park 😛

T and I celebrated three October babies’ birthday with another group of friends by playing lawn bowling! God knows who came up with the sport but it sure was harder to play than it looks. We were sembarang all the way hahaha, and I think my team won..? I don’t know. But it was fun and we had a delicious black forest birthday cake after the game 🙂

We also headed to Tarneit for a gathering with T’s friends. Again and again, when I meet new people, they never fail to inspire me on why they move here to build a different life for their families. And they’ve also recommended new places for me and T to visit in Melbourne… The best thing, apart from chatting with the people, was devouring the mee siam! I’ve been craving for authentic homemade mee siam since two weeks before, and the two bowls I had was shiok to the max, hehe!

3. Being artsy fartsy

My girlfriends in Singapore gifted me a voucher to go for an arts class and I went for experimental dyeing of fabric. The class was conducted by Roz at Work-Shop. It was a happy and therapeutic experience! Super love my girls for getting me such an interesting birthday present 😀

I’ve also attempted to sew tops. One was a fail (left) while the other was pretty successful (right) 😀 Sewing has taught me a hell lot about patience. I’ve set some goals for myself with various projects in mind, and I had gotten annoyed when things didn’t go my way, i.e. when I stupidly sew wrongly, but I’ve taught myself how to breathe and chill and unstitch and continue sewing.

4. Eating non-stop

Of course we’ve ate a lot more in two weeks, but these are my favourites ❤ Really grateful to share these meals with T ❤

5. Watching Inferno at a drive-in

I think we’ve done lotsa random things these two weeks. I must have repeated the word ‘random’ too many times in this post. But hey, watching a movie at Lunar Drive-In was a totally random decision too.

And haha, the main reason for all the randomness was because of our spontaneous act of renting a car, hah!

Lol, one of the random places we drove to was Chadstone Shopping Centre. My goodness, H&M was mega huge! Didn’t get to look at everything that they sell but managed to grab some tops which were on sale 🙂

6. Volunteering

One of the things I’ve signed up for is to set up and take down exhibitions to raise awareness on the support the organisation provides for the disabled. This meant that I’d have to travel to the country with Al, a 80+ year old man, who volunteered to do the same thing. Our trips range between an hour or two to the location, and another hour or two back to the city. Al has taught me a great deal on the history of Melbourne and life to fill up the travelling time, and the golden lesson/reminder from him thus far is to be humble.

These are some of the boys I’m teaching basic coding to. I think on the day that this photo was taken, my cool level has dropped, because I dabbed in a very uncool way. I should never attempt to dab. Never. Heh heh.

7. Feeling content

Of turning twenty-six / Week 30 in Melbourne

Just a week ago, I turned 26.

If I were to ask my 20-year-old self if I could picture myself being married, living abroad and being a housewife at 26, I doubt she’ll be able to do so. Sure, she knows that she has accepted her boyfriend’s marriage proposal a year before. And sure, she knows that he has dreams of working overseas. But yeah, she probably still would not believe that the things would happen so soon, that she’d have her own apartment in Melbourne, that she’d have gone for barista and pole-dancing classes, and that she’d be drinking (really good) coffee almost everyday…

But that is life, isn’t it? Things took unexpected turns and I don’t lead the typical mid 20s Singaporean life that I thought I would. And it’s okay.

Honestly, I was worried in the beginning. Am I married too young? Are my choices to live unpredictably (due to his job requirements) the right decisions? Will I be happy? Some family, friends and strangers were not helpful – they asked the same questions, but with an air of annoying skepticism. The worst set of questions I had was, “You’re putting a stop in your career for him? Really? Will it be worth it?” I’d be lying if I say I wasn’t affected.

But with time, a new set of friends who lead unconventional lifestyles, and a new way of thinking, I find myself getting less concern. I am still worried about my future career and family life, but I fret less about my past decisions and it’s really great to just enjoy the present moments…

… And the presents I received on my birthday!

Monday night: Hehe, I only asked for a chocolate cake and a pair of Raybans, but the gifts from the family was a lot more 😀 😀 😀 Giraffe overload!!! Woot woot!

Tuesday: The plan for my birthday itself was to check out the Tesselaar Tulip Festival but weather was crazy bad, so T and I ended up playing mini golf and eating lotsa random food ❤  I received a number of birthday wishes via whatsapp and Facebook and they warmed my heart 🙂 And haha, I got a virtual gift of nothing from a girlfriend ’cause she thinks I’ve got everything! Pondering on this, I realise that I really do have everything that I need/want now…

Wednesday: Ya brought me out to a suburb and treated me to lunch and tea! I didn’t expect to have birthday outings with anybody apart from T, so it was really sweet that she scheduled a fun hang-out session with me 🙂

Friday: We finally checked out the tulips when T had off! Thankfully, the weather was good… The flowers were absolutely stunning! And the snacks we bought were yummy! I finally got my potato twist! And the kibbeling brought back sweet memories from Amsterdam 🙂

Saturday morning: I slept in and woke up to a lovely email from my girlfriends! They’re so funny and so cute and so full of love… The voice message that they sent at 12 midnight on Tuesday was already super hilarious and I didn’t think that they had more gifts, so this made me grinned and gah, I miss them………

Saturday afternoon: I thought I was going shopping with T for a costume party happening at the end of the month, but instead I attended a surprise picnic party organised by these ladies! They prepared a wide spread of food, with a special homemade Milo birthday cake! It was a lil embarrassing for them to head to our messy place (haha, I didn’t know we were going to have guests!) but I think T’s coffee for them made up for it. We had many laughs and a lot more silly photos 😀

25-going-on-26 has been the best year yet. To a better year ahead!

Week 26 in Melbourne

T and I just past our 6th month mark of living in the world’s best city (!!!) and considering that we may relocate in a few months, we are cherishing every moment… These are my treasured ones for the past week:

1. Walking under azure sky

It’s rare to get skies like this in Singapore! The cooling weather now permits me to sit anywhere outdoor to admire nature 🙂 Plus, the skyscrapers look even more outstanding against the bluest of blue.

2. Indulging in coffee & hot chocolate

You’d have no idea how much you miss your coffee machine until you’ve left it unused for 3 weeks! Okay, actually I had an idea – I kept telling T I longed to make and drink my coffee when we were away. So yeah, it felt really good to be able to have the magic in a cup daily again! 😀

San Churros’ hot chocolate was also another thing I yearned for. Hehe, I didn’t care that I had to be at my class in less than an hour; I walked to QV from TAA’s office, ordered the Spanish special, let myself appreciate the thickness and rich flavour, then rush to class. It was a fine decision 😛

3. Meeting the kids at class

I thought the kids didn’t care that I’ve missed two weeks of class, but hehehe, as soon as they saw me, they asked why I’ve not been around, where did I go and so on! They made me feel a little special, haha!

4. Cooking dinner

From dinners which I cooked from scratch to instant ones, I love being in my own kitchen and getting to be mindful of the ingredients I use to serve food for T and myself. That said, I did screw up one of our meals. Disclaimer: because it was a new recipe! Haha, T ate the over-infused cumin fried rice nonetheless ’cause he’s sweet. But okay lah, apart from that, the other meals were alright, with beef kicap being T’s favourite 😀

5. Reading Freud

Freud, tuna sandwich, and Melbourne’s temperature of 19 degrees were a perfect combination for a chill afternoon by the pier…

I didn’t expect Freud to be an easy read but he was. And while I knew he’s fucked-up, I didn’t expect him to be that fucked-up*. Thus far, I’ve only read his ‘Fragments of an Analysis of Hysteria (Dora)’ and boy, was Jeri Johnson (the one who wrote the introduction of this book) right in saying, “What does one know when one knows Freud? That knowing has everything to do with sex.”

*Maybe ‘fucked-up’ isn’t the best of terms to label him, but due to my lack of vocabulary, I’m saying he’s that for now. I don’t associate being ‘fucked-up’ as someone who is derogative or vulgar here. It’s more of someone who invokes the questions like “Dude, are you fucking serious?!” and “You want to see things that way, and thus you are seeing it in that way only! Are you aware of that?!” Anyway, I should read critiques on Freud and maybe I can come up with a more succinct judgement on what I think of him and his work.

6. Going on dates with T

T had to head back to office on one of his off days, but we managed to head into the city together that night as well as on the weekends! There is a Malay joke circulating on Facebook recently (click here to see it) and haha, fortunately he’s not that type of husband! (Memang die suka menyakat, tapi tak sampai gitu!) 

One of the recurring topics we have these days was about our past and particularly, about the other people we’ve dated. It’s pretty amazing and amusing, learning new things about your partner who seems to have been there forever. And it’s also pretty weird yet satisfying, reading back on things from your past. Weird, ’cause you cringe at certain things you’ve done before. Satisfying, ’cause you’re still proud that those things make who you are today…

7. Playing Heavy Rain

As what I’ve posted on Instagram, I finished playing Heavy Rain with a heavy heart ’cause I sucked big time. I didn’t have as much control over the game as I wanted to since my motor skills are pretty crappy for someone who isn’t disabled. But once I watched the other alternative endings to the game, I felt better about my tragic ending…

In case you’re wondering, mine ended with Ethan and Shelby dead. What made it really heartbreaking was just before Ethan was shot rampantly by Lieutenant Blake’s team, he promised his son that he’d never leave him again. Okay, only those who’d played the game would understand my pain. To the rest, these words mean nothing. Hurr hurr.

8. Having lunch at Ga and Di’s

Hehe, I am so glad I texted the girls in the morning or I’d have missed the wonderful lunch hosted at Ga and Di’s! Ga and De didn’t know T and I were back in Melbourne so the invitation came only a few hours before. T and I rescheduled our day, and everything went perfect 😀

Ga and Di are from South Africa so they served us a range of delectable food from their homeland – droëwors for snacks, chakalaka with pap for appetizer, and lamb roast for main! And De made lovely panna cotta for desserts! Over lunch, I learned more things about South Africa’s culture and about my friends… Watching the wild animals get drunk because of the indigenous African marula trees was the funniest!

9. Buying a loaf of bread

I usually hesitate buying a loaf of bread from the bakery despite being curious. It’s largely because there’s only two of us at home, and I’m super sure that we won’t finish the beautiful bread in time. But last weekend, I adopted the #okgo attitude and purchased a sourdough light rye bread. Holding it in my hand made me finally understand why the penjodoh bilangan for bread is sebantal. Betul-betul macam bantal! Gosh, fresh bread tastes so much better than the ones I usually buy from the supermarket… Will definitely try the other kinds of bread soon!

Warmth {away from / at} home

[Note: This post has a lot of photos!]

I didn’t expect it, but being in Singapore and Bali for the past three weeks has provided me a profound perspective on life: It’s okay to be lost, be patient, things will be figured out.

For the past few months, I burdened myself with questions of existence and death, and identity. I have thought about these a lot since adolescent, but having more time on my hand now allowed me to have more conversations in the head. The recent changes in my lifestyle begged me to understand my purpose in life, but what I managed to fluff up wasn’t sufficient and I ended up frustrated.

Fortunately, there are family, friends and food! These are the vital factors which helped me come to terms with myself…

Immediate Family

The change has been apparent and I’m glad my parents and sisters have taken the positive path. It’s possibly the foundation which assures me that things (which seemed damn impossible then) are possible.

My favourite thing to do when spending quality time with them is definitely devouring Mum’s yummy yummy food! It was something I looked forward to before flying to Singapore and I was absolutely satisfied! Hopefully I’d be able to gain as much skill as her to cook these dishes which look as delicious as they taste…

In-Laws Family

The dynamics of my husband’s family never fail to amaze me – they are possibly the most chill and happiest people I’ve known. Living back at my parents-in-law’s place meant that I got to learn more of the family’s histories and haha, some of their stories were hilarious! It made me certain that I want to build similar, if not better, relationship with T to tell our future kid(s)…

My mother-in-law also cooked awesome food during our stay! I guess food always taste a lot better when it’s made with love 😀

Extended Family

We don’t meet up very often, but it’s always a joy meeting my aunts and uncles and cousins 🙂 Some interactions were light and cheerful, others heavy yet stimulating. Either spectrum was enjoyable! Plus, I’m looking forward to December/January for the new addition 😛

My Girls

The notion of commitment was strong in most of the conversations with my closest friends: Marriage. Heartbreaks. Food. Joseph Schooling. Work. Babies. Food. Pokemon Go. Hen parties. Food.

I hope they’ll still be my girlfriends in the many years to come. #staycommitted

My Nak Makan Ape Boys

The news came when we dug deep and while we guessed it right, we were still shocked. It’s the sort of thing that shakes your world upside down, inside out ’cause you think you know, but you don’t. My spirits were dampened.

But on the brighter side, Il and Ya have an awesome crib and they prepared awesome-licious dinner! I really love their Korean fried chicken wings! And Fa introduced Monopoly Deal and they saw the worst side of T… Haha! T was thrash-talking all the way, it didn’t help that he was winning throughout too.  Hurr hurr.

T’s Boys & Secondary School Friends

Hanging out with these people – especially the ones I’ve not met in years – was refreshing. Most of them are older than me and they’ve all taken different life routes, and it was interesting to learn what they’ve done for themselves and their families. Like, one of them is now taking care of parrots. Haha, I don’t think I’d ever do that, but it was pretty cool to hear the beautiful creature greet back, right before my eyes!

And hehe, here are a couple of adorable snaps of T with his boys’ kids:

My Secondary School Babe

Some things don’t change, like us being bloody competitive when playing games. This time round, they taught me how to play Monopoly. Yes, I’ve not played this classic game before, heh heh. Anyway, the boys were being bullies as usual, but it was fun nonetheless! Too bad RH had to work early the next day, or we would have played one more round…

T’s Ace 

I lepaked with the both of them briefly on one of the nights but even from that short hour, I could tell why T sees so much in him… You know how your partner would tell you about his friends and you hear better stories about some? Well, they are the special gems who’d shape your partner to be a better person 🙂 I didn’t drop by to meet Ni and Bo, but they are two other friends whom I’ve heard great stories about too…

R

What I got out from our Bedok Corner dinner is that nobody is normal. Sure, the level of deviance varies, but most, if not all, do wtf acts. Undeniably, the discussions we had stirred an element of fear in me, learning about how the law works in Singapore, how some crime-breakers get away with probation and not serving any time nor getting criminal records. It is frightening, really. But reflecting again, I guess everyone deserves a second chance. Right?

Forever Eating Friends

These four friends have exciting things happening in their lives – two of them have recently started new jobs while the other two are on their way to become parents – and I’m super stoked for them! We updated them of the possible locations which we may head to and if we were to be sent there, I want what Ma stated to be true, i.e. It takes 4 days to get used to the new environment.

YM Friends

Hearing updates on the things that are happening in my old office were intriguing, especially on the three new “colleagues”. When I was working there, I hear so many stories about them and I actually wanted to see what they can do, but never had a chance. I joked that maybe I’m the worst, hence my missed opportunity, but I think my joke isn’t really a joke. Sigh. But hey, my real ex-collegues have became friends and that’s all that matters! 😀

FR

Every time I meet a friend who plans to get married, I get all enthusiastic! My view on marriage took a really positive turn once I started experience it, so naturally, I am very supportive of friends who intend to tie the knot with someone they’re absolutely sure they want to spend their life with. So, learning about his engagement, wedding, and getting a flat plans were heartwarming! They helped me get over the fact that we did not get to go to our usual makan spot ’cause of the distance (which didn’t matter in the end, heh), haha!

JC Classmates

I’ve no idea when I met this bunch last, but I had a good time catching up over dinner. I was lucky to be in town when Sa organised the gathering. It’s funny, thinking back about all the silly things we did when we were 17/18, like copying homework, late-coming, truancy, playing pranks, and more. We’re all so grown up now, discussing about work and future and Pokemon Go.

PF

Surprisingly, I did not take any photos during our meet-ups. But I guess that’s how things are because of the way it is. We chatted about a range of things over dinner and breakfast, trying to figure the situation out. And y’know, it seemed like what we uncovered eventually was necessary at this point of our lives. It definitely made me appreciate living more…

Favourite Family

Of course, T was the one who knocked the most sense in me. Spending most of the 21 days straight with him let me articulate my disarrayed thoughts to him better, and he reminded me to calm down and be content. Not worried, not grateful, not confused, just content. Only after a week of further reflection (and maybe over-thinking), I think I finally understood what my husband meant.

That said, it was terrific that T and I had the chance to make the trip back to Singapore and squeeze a short getaway to Bali! (Perhaps a post on the 5-days beach holiday will be up soon.) We went on many dates to eat at our favourite hawkers/cafes and drink the best bubble teas from Koi 😀 And haha, we actually flew on first, business and budget flights within a month! It’s been a blast, and I couldn’t ask for a better way to celebrate our 7th anniversary…  ❤

 

94

Having wtf conversation before T leaves for work.

T: You know, with you, I usually ask myself, “Why did I marry you?” Never a question of “Should I have not married you?”

Me: You say the sweetest things in the most fucked up way.

T: It’s cause you’re fucked up.

Me: Heh. Have a productive day, Bby.

T: *pecks me on my cheek* Bye, see you later…