Back from Limbo

Dearest Gentlemen and Women,

To be brutally honest, at times these 2 months flew by in a flash while other times it was painfully slow. Let’s begin with the latter.

The world class transport system has made the straightforward trip from my house to the central seem longer than from here to Brisbane. The auntie breathing down my neck certainly did not make the trip more comfortable nor justify my 80 cents fare. On hindsight, maybe it would have been more expensive without her, thus I must count my blessings. Just when I thought I could breathe easier, I walked to take the train and realised if there was ever a canned human sardine tin, this must be it. Then I looked at the time. 1120 am. If that was “non-peak” hour, then peak hour must resemble “War of the Worlds”.

Time flies when I’m playing soccer at St Wilfrid, or bowling, or watching the World Cup, or at the ktv, or certain la liang sessions where many of you have to work the next day. Time flies when you are having fun, and speeds up faster when ppl are rushing home for work the next day. Hahaha..

I would personally like to thank all of you guys. I probably learnt more in these 2 months than I ever did in the previous 10 plus years I’ve spent with you guys. Inadvertently or otherwise, you have taught me the type of life I wanna live and strive for upon graduation. If I had any doubts, these 2 months have overwhelmingly cleared them.

Here is a list of ppl I wanna thank in alphabetical order (not in order of importance or significance):

Amanda: Thanks for taking the effort to meet me for ktv and fish and co. I enjoyed myself immensely that day and much appreciate the fact that you stayed till 2am despite having to work the next day. But come to think of it, dunno is it because of the ktv or me hor? Hahaha. No matter what, that was the first time we sang together and I had an awesome time. Thanks for the well wishes! Continue to rock in your noble job, you have my admiration and respect!

Ang Heng: Changi Village was a real eye-opener. Bowling was an eye-gorger. Thanks a million for the effort to meet up for supper despite your heavy schedule. I loved your stories that day (which I can’t type here). Hahaha. Send my regards to Huiwen and lang lang. Hope the next time I’m back I get a chance to address you as ‘Doc’. “C” with blood. Out. Wonder why you never bowled that day..Hmm…

Ah Du: Bladder!~ thanks for your haircut at St Wilfrid Toilet!~ although a bit gay, it is the most unforgettable haircut experience of my life! When u become famous, I can tell ppl you cut my hair with your $500 scissors in a public toilet! Hahah..All the best in your new saloon and I’m sure you will go far in this job!~ God bless!~

Benny Tan: Prince of Persia and Despicable Me. Thanks for the Balestier supper and taking the special effort to borrow the car. I know you went out of ur way coz of me. Thank u bro ben, thus, I forgive you for the Sunday church aeroplanes. But you need to ask someone higher up for forgiveness. Really lookin forward to the day when I open my msn and receive a msg “I went to church today” from “Bro ben”.

Bing Han: Thanks a trillion for organising the gathering with Joanne and Co! I loved the $10 fish and chips leh!~Like I said, I had an awesome time at ktv!~ when sing andy lau together again? Brings back sec sch memories leh..Haha.. I like your Show Luo and Ku Ju Ji spamming. Tapai tisiao la. Smoke less la, the next time I’m back instead of chest pains I hope u complain of muscle aches coz of gym training. Haha. Take care and have fun with ur Viet kip!!~

Edward: Edward kor kor!! Thanks for making the effort down just now to eat at Romas. With your steadip hairstyle, I’m sure you’ll find a suitable job soon la, dun worry! The very most come Aus work Subway with mandy lo. He planned liao. I enjoyed watching the match at ur house downstairs leh, mai tisiao, 2014 go again. Miss the Mj times and dan kiu. Come find me soon, I’ll bring u to Pok Sah!~SEM LONG PEK QUAM JI!~

Teh: When Arnold’s chicken and Zhu Jiang again?!~ mai sian about your all boys sch. After 5 wks back to kip haven liao. Have fun in Cambodia!~Really hope that you will return to church soon and regain your faith. I’m sure you know that Backsliding is spiritually dangerous. I’ll keep u in prayer.! Hope you find a steadip gf soon!~ Take care and stay HWEAT!~

Maw: eh bo la!~

Joanne: Dunno if you even know of this blog’s existence haha.. But just wanna thank you for making the effort to meet up after work. Even more touching is you staying from KTV till the wee hours even though I could tell you were super tired. I think BH kept u awake right? Haha.. thanks a million I really appreciate it!~ U missed my andy lau leh. How? All the best in your secret job hunting and see u at Yui’s concert in Japan someday. Haha..

Long-Ge’s fren: Wo gen ni jiang ah!~ thanks for lessening the pain of my WC losses. I treated it as though I was paying for your match analysis. See you in 2014. I will be back by hook or by crook just to listen to u.

Psycho: Thanks for your Maggi Goreng treat!~ haha.. all the best with Thigh. Study hard in SIM and get on the dean’s list hor!~ you can do it!~ Cut the wo eh bo eh distractions and put in your best effort, after all this is your last academic pursue. Why not go all out?we all know you are more than capable of excelling if you put ur mind to it. graduate liao, Masters in Aus lor! On Scholarship then can stay with me tisiao together. Haha.. Take care and smoke less and train fit fit again!~I miss ur bowling niam niam already.

OL: (refer to 300 video). Boh la kong qiu. I noe u are stressing at the crossroads (insert boyband song), but watever decision u make I’m sure you will be fine. Hope u organise another end of the year Aus trip with your bonus. This time I’ll be there (unless my sis decides to give birth again). Zong ji mi ma. Loser lappy dance while driving. Thanks for your 2x beef skillet which I haven’t gotten yet. Stay cool, stay funny, stay tall, stay black.

Talen: Really appreciate you making the special effort to organise soccer. Despite knowing all the kangtaos and pitfalls, you still went ahead, grit your teeth and organised it specially for me. Really much appreciated. Million Thanks and Kudos for also trying your best to meet up with me constantly for supper etc in spite of your hectic schedule and fatigue from Queensway. Pleasantly surprised about FM too!~ so wu xim. If I kip I sure jio u. eh boh la!~ hope u meet the guys more often even after I leave. Next time when I return I hope to see that special someone!~ haha..take care and Blackburn to win EPL!~really sorry for ur latest kt coz of me but I really appreciate you coming down despite all that. Everything will work out don’t worry!

LULU: Ouyang Mian Mian!~ finally wont get to hear your hen lei hen lei anymore. Now no one will give u kt ask you out for supper late late after I leave. Happy, can reach home by 7 and sleep all u want liao. LULU!~ thanks for all your treats and trips in your car whenever I feel too lazy to drive. No more braddell mac already, how?? Keep your hp on in case mandy wanna borrow lui lui coz EPL starting soon.haha..take care and enjoy Scotland!~ send my regards to mx in a Scottish accent. I wanna drink PEHSI!~ win me bowling hor lihai!~I miss ur finger pointing bowling celebration.

Kaizhen: Bro, did u enjoy my chocolates? Touched boh come visit you on ur bday dinner! Sorry bout ur phone. When marry must invite me hor and when u get ur bonus come with ed to visit me liao lor!~ mai tu!~ btw I haven got the Liverpool jersey and the new epl season is starting. How? Bo la kong qiu la!~And last but not least pls continue changing numbers without informing me and then messaging me assuming a miracle has taken place and I somehow know it is you. This is the 2nd time. Song. Win me bowling hor lihai. After I tease u that “everyone close fight except u.”haha..

Puiboon: Puiboon, when ‘the one’? actually I go study is because I wanna get a degree before applying for the French stall managerial position. Such is the love for the restaurant and Robert. Btw I saw auntie Lam with mandy at hougang lo. Lucky she never see me if not ask me 1000 questions until I miss my flight. Song. Anyway glad to see you settled in a stable job, gone are the days of job-hoppin. Try to tally ur wedding with tong-ge in accordance with kz and ed’s ok? So I dun need to make 2 trips. Haha.. ok take care and send my regards to catween!~see ya and mai sian!~Thanks for making the trip down for bowling and being our photographer!

Luis “My Wife” Mendieta: I’m sorry I have to use English to convey my innermost feelings and gratitude because I know no language in the universe can adequately express the myriad of emotions we have went through in the past month or so. You have been a part of my life in a way I never could have imagined. If married life was as such, I would get married now. You have been the mirror of my wife. There for me 24/7.

Grocery shopping, bowling, turkey, toy story 3, hotpot, buffets, shopping, flooding, deliveries, Koi, Toast Box, Bossini, Guotie, Wanton, Soccer, World Cup, Cheese Fries, Sizzling Drumlets, Flaming Drumlets, Sushi, Arnold’s, Deep Fried Mushrooms, Nuggets, apple pie, Hangten, Aglio Olio, Barca Potato chips, $6 parking fee, 4-2 kt, Yogurt, $7 jeans, spit on me, talk halfway, flip here flip there, 8 match winning streak, 300, eboue, dancing with bible, Dutch Lady, step on head celebration, Maserati, macdonald free glasses, bird on goal post, HRM Project, Pedro kt, Dragon Gate kt, comics, number generator, 5-5 bowling, Sprite, coupons, onion, Cameroon kt, SUNFLOWER, and the never ending list goes on and on...The van has become my second home, when I start work I will work hard to buy it from ur boss and convert it to a caravan. 5-5 bowling score how to settle?

On a serious note, thank u xianjie for driving me all over sg in the day. Something I will never do especially with the traffic, but you showed me your skill and I am in awe. You have the hardest handbrake in the world. I’ve seen a major improvement in the past year I was away and an even humongous one when I compare the Genting Mandy of the past. Although I miss parts of the old mandy, the new mandy has brought along with him a higher level of tisiao coz of “Jy..” eh bo la!~

HE DA XIA~! Xie le!~ I enjoyed myself immensely. I will anticipate your good news on Sunday. If you bring kip visit me dun say dun have, I will learn more dishes and cook for you. Soft Shell Crab and Wasabi prawns also can.

Back to addressing everyone. Before I left I predicted how the following year was gonna unfold and evaluated my absence. Having been back, I can honestly say I was 70%accurate. Absolutely nothing would have played out differently had I not left, thus I’m elated to conclude that it was a great personal decision to leave.

Looking back, my absence would also not have any bearing at all on any of your lives and truth be told, the way things are going at the moment, I can already predict what’s gonna happen in the next 10 yrs and I hope I’ll not be there to see it unfold. I also noticed a disturbing trend of meet ups simply because I was back. Whatever happened to the good old days of the past? Some of you may be reading this and I humbly urge you guys to not slip back to abyss after I leave. Pls don't allow Sunday soccer to become defunct.

On the other hand, I cannot express my gratitude enough in terms of the effort put in to meet up with me. Especially to the working personnel who specially take time off your hectic schedule and special effort to catch up despite your fatigue. (eg psycho take cab down after meeting kip, bingtai’s ktv till 3 am though working the next day and talen driving down just to meet me) I could tell from your faces that sometimes you guys were really tired after a long day at work, yet fought through fatigue to meetup. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I really appreciate it. Your gestures mean a lot to me and made me feel like a special friend. I promise to do the same the next time when I enter the workforce (which is pretty soon and if I’m physically there).

In conclusion, I think I played my part simply by returning to break the monotony in many of your lives and also served as a reminder to some to maybe ponder why it takes a friend’s return to meet up with other friends who are merely a phone call away! I’ve done my bit and its time for me to leave. I honestly dunno when I’ll be back. It’s all up to the person up there and his plans. By giving and taking away lives, he gave me a sign to come back this time. Who knows when the next sign will be? Next week, next year or never.

Like inception, I need to wake up from this 2 month long dream and return to reality, and you guys provided the kick. My totem was mandy’s turkey because in reality it would be impossible for him to have 3 strikes in a row. In fact, I’m quite sure I’m still fast asleep somewhere in St Lucia.

To each and everyone one of you: Take care and God bless. My extra empty bed will always remain exclusively empty for gmh should anyone decide to come.

I leave you guys with this song and a quote from one of only a handful of ppl in this world whom I truly respect.

“We work to live, not live to work”. Go figure.



(ps: I just realised my alphabet has failed miserably even though I tried to keep up by humming the ABC song)

alvin