Dinner w XY and Memories

Met up for dinner with Xiuyan just now.. my long time friend of.. 15 years? haha.. Yeah! she was my secondary and JC best friend, and were classmates all the way from Sec 1 to JC2! Bonus being that she also stays so near me so we really got to travel alot together and hang out and talk.

Was so nice again to spend time with her, to be with her... I still remember those times when we would take bus 76 from secondary school and attempt to go all the way to the bus terminal just for fun so we could just hang out on the bus. BUT we never made it, coz i'd get motion sickness at about marine parade and had to get off..hahah!

But some of my best times spent, was on the bus with her, and at times not saying anything, but just resting in the quiet comfort of each other's company. I love the feeling.. of being so comfortable with someone that we can just not talk and enjoy each others' company. I still like it that we are able to challenge each others' thoughts and not get mad at each other..

And i also must say, i applaud her, for being able to put up with me during the trip we took to perth when we were... 18? I remembered that we had plenty of conflicts while planning and being on that trip, though i can't remember what they were about anymore, but i know she was always the patient one. I still remember she climbed King's Park (it's a hill in perth) CARRYING a BICYCLE, together with me.. because i refused to cycle back up the hill coz i knew i didn't have the stamina to do so. How i came to the conclusion that CLIMBING the hill carrying a bicycle was a better solution, i do not know. BUt we did it. and that was the only time we broke sweat during those wintery time in Perth. Still remembered we picked up a magazine which i thought would show us the night scene in Perth and it turned out to be a magazine for "happy" circle. No wonder it was hidden in the corner of the bookstore and no wonder the keeper looked at us 2 asian girls oddly.

Honestly, i loved that trip, esp when we got to kayak in between the flooded trees! It must have been one of the best trips in my life, being able to travel with a friend, free and easy! I think i probably enjoyed it more than she did (esp since she'd been the one to put up with my stubborness) but i came back from that trip, appreciating more of her as my friend. Thank you, XY, for still loving this friend even at her most unloveable!

In the 5-6 years after our graduation from NUS,  our personal experiences have also grown to differ so much now that we went to different schools and worked in different places and meeting different pp, but yet, each time she comes back from Holland/London/Shanghai (different countries she worked in so far), it's always so good to see her. and now that she's back for good in SG, i'm THRILLED! :) I'm happy for her that she can be with her long time boyfriend who's based here, and i'm also happy that once again.. she's only just a few bus stops away! :)

Anyway, just really so nice to spend time with her again.. even if just for 3 hours. Catching up on recent events, on relationships, on future career moves, talk about our friends getting married and just silly things that we've read or seen, talking about ageing, and just walking around the SUNTEC fountain for the sake of walking :) I like walking.. always did (provided the shoes are comfy) 

THinking back at the things i used to do with Xiuyan and some of my other close girlfriends, I just remembered i like to do aimless things just for the companionship.. things like just walking, sitting somewhere (bus, grass, cafe) staring at someplace outside. It's been so long since i've done that with a good friend. It's just now that i realize, it's actually possible to forget what you enjoy doing if you stop doing it for some time. But it's not as easy as it used to be to do what we used to in this season of our lives: The doctors are on 24 hour call, the mothers busy with the children, and the wives with their husbands.. otherwise, in jobs whose hours are also just as irregular. SO when those moments come, let me treasure it for all its worth.

a cuppa, a stroll and a bus ride. (now a car ride)