On the cusp

I'm at the point where my life is going to be markedly changed from the way it has been for the past 2 years and 8 months. Lessons officially start tomorrow, I've got readings to do, only a matter of time before homework starts to pour in - it's just about time for me to finally take the plunge and walk the walk. All the motivational talks I've given - to myself and others - isn't going to mean shit if I fail to take up the challenge when push actually comes to shove. Which it has...almost.

I am going to miss certain aspects of post-ORD pre-Uni life - waking up whenever the hell I want (which translates into going to sleep at crazy hours in the morning), having all the time in the world (which I, regretfully, have failed to make the fullest use of) to read, not having to worry about anything - homework, examinations, RSM parades, Life Activity - and more or less having carte blanche.

But it's time for me to go.

Anyway, this week was fairly eventful, albeit not entirely enjoyable. The blame for this lies with the orientation beach bash at Sentosa on Wednesday, which was anything but. It was completely devoid of fun. I shall not waste my time describing it, other than to say that it was...dust. It was dusty. My OG, in a rare show of unity and decisiveness, actually got up and left together after dinner, as we didn't want to stay for the beach hunk and beach babe contest, which was subsequently canceled.

Thursday was National Day and I inadvertently found myself in the Botanic Gardens with Jinesh and the Matin Mattar gang, surrounded by a gaggle of homosexuals dressed in pink, many of whom were familiar faces, some uncomfortably so. I mean, it was in a way uplifting to see so many people from the community band together in defiance of unreasonable prohibitions and unfounded concerns. The problem is that these "community people" are, well, the same old group of weirdos and freaks that you see everytime you attend one of these events. It's basically a gathering of misfits - which begs the question, what was I doing there? Well OF COURSE there were perfectly sane and normal people present too, but we were in a minority.

Friday was spent at Sam's house with the RGS girls, who are always entertaining and never boring - well those who actually open their mouths, that is. We had so much fun playing with Nemo, her CUTE pedigree Maltese, who looks like he would make a perfect rug...better alive than dead of course.

Dinner was great - an assortment of food from Chomp Chomp, dining al fresco on the wooden platform at the back of the house, with the wind occasionally blowing and the retro music playing in the background, it was perhaps a preview of the dinners we'd be having in the future, where we'll take turns hosting and inviting our friends over.

Rachel, Meng and I headed down to Play where we met her friends Teck Heng, JunSheng, and Rich, and this is where I'll shut up and let the photos do some of the talking.

The music was good - U + Ur Hand, Look On The Floor, Promiscuous, Hips Don't Lie, Ain't No Other Meng, Jump - handbag music to keep the fairies dancing.

Meeting guys who are a good 2 years younger than me was a sobering reminder that us '86 boys are hardly the freshest meat on the market, as we once were. The community is notoriously obsessed with youth - to possess it is to have an advantage over others, a trump card that can always be relied on. While we're not exactly even remotely middle age yet (and praise the lord for that), it's just a reminder that aging is inevitable. We're getting closer to the "settling down" period and it's not going to be easy if you've had no prior experience.

Which is why I baffle myself sometimes. Was talking to Jinesh yesterday after watching Law Fac's rag performance (which was pretty good all things considered) and realised that I, too, have been engaging in very subtle self-sabotage over the years. In order to circumvent having bridges burnt, I choose to blow them up first...or maybe a better analogy would be, not to build them at all. That way you don't get hurt. Back to the perpetual problem of being unable to take rejection, and hence largely unable to make the first move, and having the constant fear that people will misinterpret my actions.

I don't know if I'll ever really sort it out.

Moving on, parted ways with Jin (who thinks that noted ah peh brand Arnold Palmer is going to stage a Lacoste, Penguin-esque comeback - time will tell) and went to gym.

Which I have nothing to write about really. The gym is the gym. It is so completely a part of my life now as to render it unremarkable.

Minli's birthday party at Rogue was good fun - although the place was very empty for a Saturday night. I drank just enough to get high (any more would probably have been a repeat of the infamous night at Play/Tabs) while listening to the live band deliver renditions of My Immortal, Chasing Cars, Irreplaceable and so forth - not exactly dance worthy music but good enough for a little bit of booty shaking.

Minli and her boys!

DON'T YOU EVER FOR A SECOND GET TO THINKING YOU'RE IRREPLACEABLE!

Had lunch with Meng and Mike today at Cherry Garden, which primarily serves Tim Sum although we also had soup, carrot cake, duck etc. The food there was excellent and I guess $45 is pretty reasonable when you factor in how many items we ordered. Definitely a place I would recommend to anyone with a bit of excess moolah to blow.

I actually do have a lot more to write about...it certainly isn't my intention to merely summarize my weekend in cursory detail. But alas in the name of the need for time management it would be prudent for me to end here and get on with other things.