Friendships re-kindled

I recently re-connected with a good friend of mine (let's call her S), who I have not spoken with since I was 16. S and I were close as sisters when we were in Secondary School, we studied in the same class, were in the same ECA, and I often hung out at her place after school. However, after being posted to different junior colleges after graduation, we drifted apart and subsequently lost contact altogether.

Thanks to the wonderful Facebook, we found each other after 14 years of not talking. When S realised that I had been keeping in touch with a few of our close friends all these years, she told me that she feels embarrassed that she did not make the effort to keep in touch with us. I told her that whilst effort and maintenance do keep friendships active, friendships do die hard, and I believe that our friends are all still out there somewhere, waiting to re-connect with us!

This evening, I re-connected with another of my long-lost friend, Jasmine. Jasmine and I have also not met since Secondary School, and we found each other through Facebook too. Jasmine also happens to be colleagues with my JC buddy Shuying. The 2 ladies met me after work (yes, these poor things had to go back to the office on Saturday!) for dinner at Kim Gary Hong Kong Cafe at VivoCity. Here's a look at what we had :

I had a refreshing Longan Aloe Vera drink.

Jasmine and I had the spicy typhoon shelter style noodles with pork chop. Being the chilli queens that we are, we each added more chilli padi to the soup, only to end up with "swollen" lips at the end of the meal!Shuying had the baked rice in cream sauce, which was served in one of those bamboo containers used for steamed dim sum. Cute!

We shared a yummy french toast - my cha chan teng staple! I love having this for supper when I am in Hong Kong.

Jasmine and I

Shuying and I

After dinner, we adjourned for drinks at Bakerzin, where I had a sinful but yummy Valrhona Chocolate with Marshmallow.

Here, we continued chatting, gossiping, and bitching like we had never ever been apart. It sure felt good that all these years of not talking had not made us strangers. We promised to meet up again and I secretly also made a resolution to do this with more friends with whom I have lost contact!

Treading with care into the Lunar Rat Year

Happy Lunar New Year everyone!

Just as there are 12 days of Christmas, there are 15 days to celebrate for the Lunar New Year, which translates to 15 days of non-stop eating for most, and for some, it can be 15 days of misery, having to answer endless questions from "well-meaning" relatives, who, after a year of not seeing you, are exploding with interest about your social life, your work, and your family planning.

The rat year started on a not-so-high note for us. Colin, his folks, and I drove to Sungei Rambai (a town near Muar in Malaysia) to visit Colin's grandparents on the 1st day of CNY. On our drive in, our car collided into a car in front of ours, and we ended up paying RM320 to the other car's driver. 2 days later, on our drive out, while queuing patiently at the causeway, an impatient car which was trying to squeeze its way through bumped into our car from behind! So that makes 2 accidents in the span of the 1st 3 days of the Rat year! Hah! We can only take heart in the fact that none of the 4 of us were hurt. What else to do except share a laugh about it and tread (or drive) carefully henceforth?Ok, so I know this is a real random photo that has nothing to do with CNY, but hey, you need cute shoes to tread carefully into the Rat Year right? And aren't these mary janes just the cutest? Love them to bits!

So, coming back to the Kampong trip. Apart from the 2 minor accidents, the visit to Sungei Rambai turned out quite fun (Apart from the lack of a good shower and good bed). We had tonnes to eat, much to drink, and lots to play! What's CNY without some gambling? We played blackjack and texas hold'em poker, and some relatives also had a few rounds of mahjong. When it comes to CNY gambling, the outcome is always secondary to the fun and interaction with family, but having said that, it sure feels great when you win a round of RM50!

Anyway, today was the 1st day of work for me, as it is for most other folks. This morning, I had to literally drag my body out of bed and my feet to work. It was really totally difficult to kick start my engine after the 4-day hiatus. And I'm guessing all that buttery cookies and tarts that somehow worked their way into my tummy probably didn't help? It was simply tough to snap out of CNY mood when half the office is on leave and the other half as lethargic looking as me!

Can't wait for CNY to be all over. I so want to start counting down to my vacation in America. 31 days to go till 14 March 2008. 31 days. 744 hours. 44,640 minutes. 2,678,400 seconds. Tick, clock, tick.