The Big Heist Party.

The Big Heist Party.
music: john legend - save room

I've never been the partying sort, but I really enjoyed myself last night at the faculty dinner & dance at MOS. The gang getting together and having fun, drinks at Cafe Iguana and late night fries. I'll let the pictures do the talking.


Catching a pre-party bite at Chippy's.

Cheryl and I attempting to recreate our Redang shot.


With Kelvin, Zi Liang and Phoebe.


Darren, Erwin, and Nanny Lays.


Koonie, Chrystal and Sarah.


With Daph, bumped into Bobby, Kairu and Kester at Cafe Iguana.

Off to get flowers and pick up Indian sweets. I hope I make it on time for dinner with the babes tonight.

Sun salutations in the morning.

Sun salutations in the morning.
feeling: limber

I really tried to get up at 6:00 a.m. for the ashtanga yoga class at 7:00 a.m., but I just couldn't drag myself out of bed with less than five hours of sleep. Thankfully, I roused in time to make it for ghatasth yoga at 10.

I was the only student, so it was an hour of intense stretching, backbends and more stretching. Though a little unnerving to be supervised so closely, I think today was the best session I've had so far 'cos Sunil really pushed me. Both figuratively, and literally. Phew.

The recess break got off to a slow start on Saturday, but my days are really filling up.

Headed down to Little India pretty early with Erwin to grab some stuff for Friday. It was also kind of our trial run for the real thing next year, haha. Not many pictures for I didn't quite have the luxury of time, but check out these shots by Erwin of me getting my eyebrows threaded.


The before and during.


The during and after. See the difference?


See the man in red in the middle picture? "Are you taking my picture," he asked me. "No," I replied. Haha. Not intentionally at least.

Headed home to be with the family and for that evening's offering session, before heading out for a late bite with Shaun J.

My bus broke down along Chinatown, but I was nose-deep in my novel and blissfully oblivious until more than half the passengers had gotten off. I can't stand me too, sometimes. Stayed out late playing Freud's free association outside a sleeping mall, and it is bizarre how our conversations always involve homosexuality.

It's the CS dinner and dance at MOS tonight, which explains why I went for this morning's yoga session; picking up flowers, Indian sweets and mixers as well as dinner with the girls tomorrow; and the party on Friday. I need to find time to clean up my mess of a room. Maybe I should just cordon it off during the party. Haha.

The Indian of it all.

The Indian of it all.
feeling: restless



My sarong hung out to dry against the setting sun. Can you see it?

Heading down to Little India with early tomorrow to hunt for fabric to drape over tables and couches for Friday. And I may pick up a Bhangra cd if it's cheap, to add to the atmosphere.

It's getting exciting, but reality almost never supersedes the imagination.

Good night.



P.s. I do think I get to see the nicest sunsets from my windows.

Yoga at the gardens.

Yoga at the gardens.







That's my guru. He sure drew the crowds at Botanics.

Breathing space.

Breathing space.

The space to breathe and talk, without concurrently having a million other thoughts jumbled up in my mind, is a relief.

It's been a hectic week of meeting deadlines and preparing for midterms, coupled with the India exchange applications and handling "the situation". Worry, accountability, and responsibility is a potent mix. The intensity almost got to me a couple of times, but I'm proud I stuck it through.

Something Shannon said about "individualism" struck a chord. The balance between doing what you want to versus what you have to. Perhaps in my unique case, both elements were have-tos. It was a bit of a struggle reining in my thoughts.

Take today for example. Having overslept a little, I cabbed down to the Outram station to catch the train to Boon Lay, only to realize after two stops that I was headed in the wrong direction towards Pasir Ris instead. And so I hopped on the opposite train back to Outram, only to have to take a cab all the way down to NTU.

I was so frustrated with myself. There are times when my muddle-headedness amuses me, but this morning was definitely not one of those instances.

Let's hope my self-proclaimed weekend of living helps in restoring some balance.

Finally got around to placing the cake order, as well as to watching Breakfast at Tiffany's today. Audrey Hepburn played a bit of an oddball character in the film, and while I wasn't particular drawn into the script, I found myself tearing at a couple of scenes without really knowing why. Pray tell.

*I was pleasantly surprised by the number of tags following my post on TP. It's evident where many of our loyalties lie. :)

To bed. I've got a beach therapy session come morning. Ah bliss.

I left my heart in Temasek Polytechnic.

I left my heart in Temasek Polytechnic.
feeling: reminiscent

It was a gloomy day, one where the rain showed no intention of stopping, and you had to watch every step you took with your flipflops carefully lest you end up with rain-soaked bottoms. Bus 69 plowed through the familiar landscape and we scurried off the bus.

We had arrived. At the bus-stop where 518 took a million years to arrive, where the HTMIG held our midnight meetings when we were chased out of school compounds, where there was always the familiar joke of "You taking bus 23? Add both la," whenever bus 8 and 15 arrived concurrently.

We headed up the grey steps. Steps we've walked up and down at least a thousand times in our three years. In true TP tradition, we'd arranged to meet at our favourite "mushroom".



We mused about how our Hospitality & Tourism board looked way better when we were in charge of it, then rode up the cargo lift to the fifth floor. Down we walked through the familiar hallways. How many times have we sat around chatting while waiting for class to start? How many times have lecturers paused their lessons to come out to shush us? And into the staff office we went.

The familiar faces, some of which we used to view with trepidation (at least I did when my CPM group had to see Mr. Lee for a lit-review tutoring session, haha). Ms. Grace Chia, Mr. Nair, Mr. Aloysius Lee, Ms. Quah, Ms. Ivy Tan were there, amongst many new faces. The rest were at the Sentosa campus. And we chatted, and chatted, till our shoulders ached from the weight of our bags, and our stomachs growled from the lack of lunch.

So down we went, past the computer labs where we spent many a late night slogging through our projects, past the tennis courts where we polished our rusty skills... towards Mensa 2 for the damn shiok Western food.



What a familiar sight.



Beef goulash, chicken chop, and cherried crepes.



The familiar view overlooking the reservoir.



Now all we need is you to fill up that empty seat Jane!



I ate three shares. Hahaha.



Marc the gentleman cleared the dishes. I think I've figured out why I expect gentlemanly behavior - the Hospi guys set the standards!





I miss you.

Embers.

Embers.
feeling: weary

It hasn't been a good time, and it probably wouldn't be for a while.

Like I like to believe, it takes the bad times to appreciate the good. It pains me so to see the weary faces, but I do know that it's not a time to crumble. They need me, and as tiring and trying it may get at times, I will be their support, that solid rock in place of the weather-beaten one.

I kinda feel like a reflection of Erving Goffman's dramaturgical perspective. I'm still who you think I am in social settings, but it is right where I am now that I feel completely drained.

And I'm wishing for things I'm better off not wishing for.

I haven't really spoken to anyone about it, and I'm not intending to really, so just bear with me for this period.

20 going on 13.

20 going on 13.
feeling: giggly

It's a dreary rainy Monday afternoon. What started out as a harmless "pretty hot eh?" has turned into a massive aesthetic appreciation online session.

"What are we doing, checking out atheletic uncles?" Ceci asked.

I feel like I'm 13 all over again. Haha.

Hanging up those running shoes.

Hanging up those running shoes.
music: paolo conte - via con me





The Shape Run came and went by so quickly. I reached home at 11ish, and that was after the run, breakfast and snake-long queues to collect stuff. It felt good knowing I had accomplished so much, and half the day hadn't even passed me by! Maybe I should make it a point to wake up at 5:45 a.m. fortnightly. Or monthly.

I've been awfully busy of late. Assignments are piling, and I've been to the movies a little too often as well. Surprisingly, both the food-related No Reservations and Ratatouille didn't make me feel like hopping into the kitchen to (attempt to) whip up a storm.

In case you haven't heard from me, I've gotten India as my exchange placement. I was a little disappointed, but I believe that things happen for a reason. At least now I know my sixth sense ain't that wonky, haha!

The more I think about it, the more it feels right.