Surprise meeting

I had a pleasant surprise yesterday when I met Kelly at the UOB branch at AMK Hub. Almost did not recognise her as she was taller then the last time we met (thanks to VERY high heels). Apparently she was going to leave on Tuesday (she never inform me!), and was out doing some last minute shopping for the trip back. As there was still time before RC would reach for our planned study session, I decided to accompany her around.

The ever-forgetful girl was struggling to recall what she was planning to get. I was quite bewildered by her continued dependence on her unreliable memory instead of setting reminders on her phone. Even after my suggestion, there was no action on her part to remedy the problem. Perhaps the more pressing concern is her laziness?

Her first task (after we met) was to get new contact lens. The only difficulty in this 'activity' was that she could not recall which shop she used to patronise, and she insisted on going to that shop because they had 'this girl who performed a very accurate assessment of her degree of myopia'.

The two of us set out looking for an optical shop with "that girl". Along the way, I gave my reasoning of why it would be better to remember the relative location of the shop, if not the shop name, rather than a particular staff in the shop since she would not be able to locate the shop should the staff leave that shop. By a stroke of luck, we managed to locate that shop because she did remember the relative location of that shop. We did not see "that girl". Anyway, I was quite amused by her answer to the shop-owner's questions.

"What's your degree?"
"Don't know."
"Do you have records with us?"
"Don't know."

With her name and block number, the owner did managed to find her records and ascertained that she was a client. We then spent another 10 minutes or so at the shop as she deliberated whether to buy lenses that were 50 degrees higher than what she wore as the latter was sold out. It was around this time that I received an SMS from RC saying he had reached AMK Library.

I decided to let him wait.

After getting her lenses, with some more shopping, we separated about 25 minutes later as she went to meet a friend in town for more shopping while I met up with RC.

Any bad feelings I had about letting him wait was eliminated when he told me of his date with a lecture mate he just befriended, later in the evening. It was not the first time he threw such a bomb, informing me of his plans to meet others later the day only when we meet up. I had voiced my displeasure every time because I did not like having to have dinner alone while he goes on his prearranged date. If he had informed me earlier, I could make plans for dinner at home or with other friends. I was relieved when he told me later that he would have dinner with me before leaving.

The twist in the tale came when I received an SMS from Kelly just when we were planning to go for dinner. She had finished her dinner early, and was on her way back to AMK. She asked if I wanted to meet her. In the midst of our SMS exchanges as we discussed the best line of action, I even suggested that she could go home first and wait till I finished my dinner. What a stupid thought! Eventually, the little dilemma of having dinner with him or meeting her was resolved quite simply as I met her after my dinner, with her shopping around by herself while she waited.

There was more drama after we met up. We saw a mutual friend, SN, whom she had been avoiding in AMK Hub. She proceeded to usher me up the escalator in quick time to avoid an awkward meeting. She remained paranoid about meeting him the rest of the time we were in AMK Hub. Haha! We ended the day chatting for around two hours in MacDonald's after that, as she satisfied her Coke craving.

She was glad to meet me before she left, unplanned and unexpected as it may be. I thought so too.


I found out some interesting things about Australia(or at least the state she's studying in - Queensland):

1. A box of Strepsils cost around A$13 whereas a movie ticket cost A$5!

2. Chinese restaurants there pay A$9-10 per hour, which is considered low. In contrast, MacDonald's pay $19 per hour!! Wow...

3. The bus service employs an ancient ticketing system, whereby commuters tell the driver their destination on boarding, then the driver keys in the information and collects payment before printing out the ticket! Much time is lost in the whole process, not least while searching for the correct change. Kelly said she once stepped off a bus because she only had a A$20 note with her. She did not think of exchanging her note for smaller change with the passengers. Lol!

4. As a student, she gets 50% concession on public transport. There's a further 50% concession if she takes it during the off-peak hours, which happens to be after 5pm on weekdays, and the entire weekend! Their peak / off-peak hours are congruent with their entertainment and retail industry, and is the direct opposite of what we have in Singapore. Imagine getting movie tickets for the 'off-peak' price of $7 on a Sunday...

Chinese New Year

Four days of Chinese New Year celebrations.

I use to love having more days to celebrate the occasion; now, four days feels like a lot. Apart from the first day, the remaining three days are just repetitive visiting of relatives we have already exchanged greetings with on the first day at my grandparents' houses. The activities are the same too: play cards or watch TV programmes. I probably would have enjoyed myself more if mahjong was available.

I had thought of going out with friends or meeting up for mahjong sessions, but with all the visiting that I felt compelled to follow, my plans did not materialise. I thought of making better use of all that free time, but somehow, it just does not feel right to study during Chinese New Year. I ended up wasting my time on games and TV...

Damn! Why am I feeling frustrated at unimportant matters when the more pressing issue of exam is just round the corner? Urghh!!!

Stressed... -_-'"

Work has been very much on my mind recently. Actually, I've been thinking a lot about my where I'm heading since October, but something RC said recently has brought more urgency to the issue. It has caused me much confusion and anxiety and I feel so lost now. Coupled with my other commitments, i am now feeling very stressful and finding it hard to focus on my priority at hand.

It's a good thing CNY is approaching. Although I doubt that there will be a simple resolution to my issues at the end of this festive period, I can at least get a brief respite (hopefully) from those frustrating thoughts.

If only life can be more straightforward.

Perhaps I should have been more stubborn.

I could have enjoyed the comforts.

I was never really keen about it in the first place.

Dilemma.

Shopping for CNY!

This has got to be the first time I spend over $250 on shopping for CNY apparels, capped off by a pair of FCUK jeans that set me back by $149! I would never have bought it if I were not shopping with RC. Heck! I would not even have seen it since I've never shopped in FCUK boutiques before. I really loved it, but I could have saved around $60 getting another pair of jeans we saw at Topshop, which, admittedly, was a shade inferior in quality and design. My mum could not believe her ears when I told her the price. Afterall, I was never known to spend above $100 on a single piece of clothing, and I had always avoided branded goods. Well... I suppose I have to spend a LITTLE bit more if I want to look better...

That pair of jeans was really damaging to my wallet and heavily reduced my budget for other items. Of course, that did not mean that I satisfy myself with Giordano plain polo tees and Bata school shoes. RC would have given me a tight slap if I even entertained that thought - not that I would consider that option. I do not wish to end up looking like a dork with a $149 jeans and a T-shirt, shoes and belt adding up to $50. Besides, I had already revised my budget upwards after seeing the price tags on those nice clothes. Still, there were times when I felt like strangling RC for his continual introduction of clothes above my budget and preaching to me the merits of buying better clothes. As I've told him numerous times, there's no way I will pay in excess of $100 for a belt that has a similar design in many other shops, available at $50-$60. I did succumbed to a pair of white Lacoste canvas shoe that cost at least double of lesser brands even with the discount. RC convinced me the crocodiles were worth the extra cash. And the quality too.

I still have a belt and a nice Espirit polo tee to purchase to complete my shopping for this CNY...

Wow... I'm so excited about this CNY. Can't wait to get hong pows to cover my 'losses'.

(P.S. Oh dear... I feel so 'auntie'...)

Thanks for the compliments!

I usually go to school in T-shirt or polo tee with jeans. Today, I decided to wear something different for a change and went in long sleeve shirt with jeans instead. I was pleasantly surprised by all the positive comments.

SG, "Eh, I didn't recognise you...cause you're not wearing red today...and your hair is styled differently right?"

Marc, "Wow! Where are you going later? Dressed so sharply today!"

Hmm... Was my dressing really bad previously or do I just look much better today? Or perhaps they were just surprised by the change in style? Anyway, it was not my first time dressed in this way (first time in school though), and it definitely would not be the last.

To all those who think I have poor fashion sense: I do know how to appreciate good fashion OK! What I lack is the financial means for a complete wardrobe overhaul to clear my old, ill-fitting clothes. Until I am financially stable, I will have to continue wearing them while I gradually improve my collection.

In line for improvement!

Another quarrel today.

First he claimed he reply when he did not. Then when I point it out to him, he says he did not see the need to reply because what I asked did not make sense. Wow. If asking whether he wants to work the next day does not make sense, I do not know what does.

He proceeded to point out how it is not right of me to ask why he did not reply, linking to lots of other stuff, many grand theories and reasoning. There was hardly any regard (if fact, none at all) to my request for him to inform should he be leaving his computer for a nap while we are chatting so that I do not end up 'talking' to empty space - and also to ensure that I get my message across to him, and not end up lost in his computer's memory. Now it's MY fault!?!

Finally, after going in circles for eternity, he got to his point, which is that all his actions, even those seemingly negative ones, are intentionally designed to help me correct my flaws. Wow. Well, it's hard to believe this is the real reason given how he kept changing his statement, especially how it seems such an elaborate plan. One that has supposedly been active for months.

Well, I will trust him this time. I will change for the better. Hopefully, the nonsense from him will stop too, if indeed they were intended to make me change.

:-)

My fault again?!

Humans are such complex creatures. It's so hard to understand what others are thinking...

Why would he want to intentionally say something that he knows will hurt me? And what right does he have to be upset with me for being unhappy after that? And yet he insists it's my fault?

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Why bother apologising if you think you are right? How do I accept an apology that is followed by continued insistence that I am in the wrong?

And now I spoil your mood because you disappointed me first?

Carry on being an obstinate Mr Right if you want. I shall try to be as quiet as possible in future. I think you would prefer it that way since you like to keep to yourself so much. In that way, we can also minimise all this unnecessary quarrels.

In any case, I'm tired of being wrong 99% of the time. You can save your double standards for people who don't care.

Disappointed and hurt.

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I miss my primary school friends...

(Now, which girl is willing to help me heal my soul?)