Undergrad By Day

Monday, June 20, 2005

Old times

I have been living all in the present, running the rat race thoughtlessly. I have neglected my blog. I have neglected much the last few days, not least myself. I stop now to take stock of my surroundings and my bearings.

The last few days have been awashed with nostalgia. My JC Sailing teacher got married in a small church near Queenstown and it was wonderful to meet up with the old Sailing team again. We went through a lot together and I forgot how fun it was just to hang out with them. I truly felt the companionship we have for each other, part of me wishing that there was something else that could make us band together again as a team to fight towards. Wouldn't it rock if one of us got a keel boat and we all took part in an International Regatta? Maybe someday.

I met my old GP teacher in that church. She exclaimed that I was exactly the same. *grin* We talked and I'm surprised to realize that I've made such an impact on her. She remembers me. She also told me how my previous Form Teacher, Mrs Tan, used to light up whenever she talked about my class. Her proudest class, she said. I loved Mrs Tan. She really cared. My mischievous and deviant nature had never won me fans among my teachers, in fact most condemned me to the hell of mediocrity and labeled me an irritant. Not Mrs Tan. She knew my potential and she really cared. That touched me and till now my class and I are still devoted to her. I hope to meet up with the class and her soon.

I keep my memorabilia in an old white box. I looked for it last week and after hours of searching, thought it was lost. I was genuinely depressed. It kept all my letters, gifts, pictures, among other things. Amidst the resulting turmoil of emotions, I strangely felt the need to apologize to the sender of these old letters. It was as if something special has been tainted and disturbed, even if it was past and gone. Today, I got home and found the box on my table. My amazing sister had found it. :) Really meant a lot to me. I poured over its contents. I guess that there will always be times where one would feel the need to reconnect to a previous part of one's lifetime. Security? Nostalgia? Companionship? JC was truly the best time of my life and I know I owe so much to so many people from that period of my life. I took quite a bit for granted and for what its worth, I thank you and am truly truly grateful for having the privilege and honour to have gotten to know all of you. You guys made me what I am today.

Sign of overwork?

I reached the void deck of my house and decided to whip the laptop out to see if I could download emails using some random wireless network. Success! Some generous neighbour has allowed me to download some 50 odd emails. Got upstairs and realized that most of these emails weren't downloaded completely. So told my dad that I was going to be downstairs for a bit and went down to get some work done.

10 minutes later at 115am and there was no reception at the exact spot where I was fifteen minutes ago. I walked all over with an open laptop searching for a signal. What a sight. 15 minutes later, I found my spot. The foot a pillar 5 metres from a staircase in the next block. Geez. There I was, answering 50 odd emails (all work from school) replying to urgent MSN msgs when suddenly two guys came up and said

"Eh, police. What you doing?"

Damn. Think.

Me: "Erh, doing work.. heh."

Policemen: "Huh? Doing what work? 2 am at the void deck?"

Me: "Doing work lah.. Got lots of work to do ah.. " *sympathetic grimace*

Policemen: "Where you live?"

Me: "Ahh.. just upstairs"

Policeman with a "sure-or-not" face: "Gimme your IC"

Other policeman: "Got record or not? What school?"

Indignant Me: "Erh.. No. SMU."

Policeman: "You do work.. why never go home and do?"

Me: "Erm.. Need quiet ah and don't want to disturb the family"

Policeman with the "sure-or-not" face: "Then why never sit at the stone table there?"

Me: "Dirty ah"

Policeman: "Hah? Then you sit on the floor!"

Me: "There got people spill drinks.. here just dust."

Policeman with sibei "sure-or-not" face: "You see ah.. you sit here. So suspicious, a lady walk around here, thinks you're up to no good.. you get in trouble. Then some more now holidays, teenagers come and grab your laptop.. can make 1 thousand 2 thousand dollars.. how?"

Me: *teenagers?* "Erh yah okay"

Policeman: *gives back IC* "Better go home ah you"

Me: "Erh yah okay"

Policeman: "Don't stay around here"

Me: "Erh yah okay" *walks off*

I know the policemen were just doing their job. I'm just wondering how'd they know I was there.