2006 in retrospect

Damn, is it that time of the year already? It's funny that while the past 365 days have gone by in a flash, so much has also changed. I still remember how I spent New Year's Eve a year ago, with Lena at the Singapore River, throwing stones in to see how far they would travel and the resulting ripples left in their wake. I wasn't just unhappy with how the night had turned out(unable to enter any decent club, eventually counting down in Coco Latte - which had nothing to do with my 2005 whatsoever - on a dancefloor that was apparently designed for Lilliputians, abandoned by Shaody, surrounded by strange faces making irritating noises with sundry party accessories), I wasn't pleased with how my year had turned out either. Rejected, desperate, alone.

So when I did write out my New Year resolutions for 2006, it was rather in the spirit of 'there's no way from here but up'. And I am pleased to report that 2006 didn't disappoint. There were moments when I felt like utter shit, but those were few and far between, outweighed by the happy memories and experiences. I shall now proceed to conjure the resolutions I made for 2006 from my journal, let's see how reality measured up to expectations.

*the following are copied word for word from my journal, idiosyncrasies and all, I will comment after each point*

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS FOR 2006
1. Get a boyfriend(one that lasts longer than 88 days please)

WHOA can you say Desperate? Mission accomplished, although it's going to be a lot of hard work and I am going to have to strip away my layers of superficiality if I'm going to make it work.

2. Attain great(if not flawless) skin

Typical Simon statement. Requisite qualification. And oh so superficial. Well, I think my skin has improved somewhat, bar the occasional nasty breakout. This one's a constant work in progess though.

3. Expand companion circle(ie more fags and fag hags, latter being the harder one really)

Desperate. I didn't exactly meet any new fag hags(actually lost one), but all I can say is 'Trinity' and 'Samazozis'. A semi-success then.

4. Learn foreign language(hey all resolutions have to have some unachievable aims right?)

See, I knew it was impossible the moment I wrote it. I can't pronounce my 'R's properly, how the hell am I supposed to learn French?

5. Driving(this one must really do by end year)

Singlish alert! And oops, I took lessons for nearly 2 months before stopping, mainly because of my sloth and the fact that I couldn't understand what the hell the instructor was trying to tell me in his garbled mix of Mandarin and dialect. FLOP resolution.

6. Eye bags/ dark rings removal(again, unattainable)

Cheebye.

7. Get some skill! Learn to cook or sth(I do want to try this)

Guess what bitch, you never did.

8. COMPLETE revamp of room PLS (another MUST)

Another monumental FLOP resoution.

9. Travel as often as possible(Phuket anyone?)

LOL how PROPHETIC! Well I didn't get Phuket(and that story is certainly one of the more dramatic ones this year), but I did get CALIFORNIA and YOSEMITE PARK and LAS VEGAS and the GRAND CANYON. So there.

10. Tan(healthy pls, sunblock yes yes)

More like SPASTIC yes yes. I did try but haven't been doing so recently. Blame the rain.

So...I think I did ok. Could be better but let's leave room for further improvement in 2007 shall we?

Anyway, the party at Nick's place on Friday night was good. The food was actually pretty crap but the drinks made up for it. He had this segment where he gave out awards for 2006. Categories such as Party Queen of the year, Bitch of the year, Newcomer of the year etc. I thought I'd give out some awards of my own.

Every group of friends has to have a bitch(or sometimes more than one), so let's have the Bitch of the year first! And the award goes to *drumroll*

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Meng!

I love him to bits but seriously, this award is well deserved. Just look at his tagboard, 'me and my huge watch? more like me and my huge arms'. Or his riposte to a certain ill-conceived blog entry. Or his telling Lena that if he were straight, he would dump her immediately and find a girlfriend. Or his not-so-subtle implication that I have no fashion sense. And all this just within the past few months. What I find so delicious about Meng's bitchiness is that it's sharp, usually witty, and more often than not hilarious. The rest of us are bitches too but we just can't compete with Queen Bee. Every now and then, we need someone to pull us back to earth and tell it to us like it is.

Party Queen of the year. This one's a no-brainer too.

The title goes to

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Chooksy!

From Paris to Berlin, from Cali to Taboo, he flutters effortlessly from one group to another, socialising with friends, acquaintances and the occasional stranger. What would we do without our choo b to guide us through the social minefield that is the gym, or the crowded parties at clubs and along the beach. Under the strobe of lights, dancing to snooty deep house or progressive trance, the Party Queen reigns over all he surveys!

Next up, fag hag of the year, and this year we have a walkover!

Miss Lena Chee, a hag shared by 3 fags, our village bicycle who will travel to town just to have dinner with us, watch crappy plays with us, accompany us as we embark on random shopping adventures. She's(usually) always there for us, providing shelter to those in need, literally. We've spent 31st Dec-1st Jan together for the past 3 years!

Anyway, I'm sure you 3 already know this by now, but I'll just say it again. For me, this year was defined by you people. The memories are priceless.Thanks. Big changes in 2007 but let's enjoy the time we have together!

And now it's time for the lifetime achievement award, just because I say so. The recipient of this award is

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Tong. For sticking by me the past 6 years, after all that's happened. For all the amusement, joy, pain, laughter - a multitude of feelings - that you've brought into my life. For being able to look past all my outward pretenses and see me for who I am.

I'd also like to give a special mention to Gerald Goh, who has been so generous with his car over the past few months, and so merciful when we play computer games.

2007 is going to herald big changes in our lives. We're all going on to university, some locally and some overseas. I wish everyone who's reading this - Meng, Wei Ren, Lena, Tong, Gerald, Elissa and any others - a great year ahead.

Salut!