Monday, October 25, 2004
fascinating is the word
spent a large part of sat with a fren. we had lunch at madam saigon, somewhere in bugis. the beef noodles she had was more yummy than the stewed chicken with rice i had. think there was too much chicken. dessert was three colour ice. yums, but much coconut. the place was quite nice and it was surprisingly uncrowded, even for a sat afternoon.
after lunch we walked down to a building nearby - parkview square. when i used to take bus 82 to shaw tower, i would always see this forbidding palace and wonder - what building is that? and so my burning question was answered on sat. quite an interesting place, though our favourite feature was the "fountain" thingie. ha.
she planned the itinerary for that day. our next stop was changi. and so we went through the underground tunnel which was seriously under-utilised. the escalators kicked into action upon sensing our motion. fascinating. the bus came immediately when we reached the bus stop. pity it was a single deck and it was pretty crowded. but we managed to get seats when the bus came to the geylang area. it started drizzling/raining on the way to our destination. but she said, "have faith. it will stop." and stop it did. fascinating.
we alighted at the old changi prison site. old memories were demolished when old walls were torn down. so there was nothing much to reminiscence. i was trying to walk quietly so that she could pretend she was alone. for a period of time, her life revolved around that area. when i asked her more good or bad memories, she replied, "more bad". we had planned to visit the changi chapel and museum, though it was no longer the one i visited many years ago during a secondary school outing. the original chapel had been torn down. the old has to make way for the new? but is the new always necessary? we missed the opening hours by half an hour. but nonetheless, i still enjoyed myself.
our next stop was changi village. rather than hopping onto bus 2 immediately, we walked abit and took a detour down a sideroad which brought us past the dog unit. when we stepped into the side road, the crows overhead emitted a warning signal and flew off in a mad rush of calls and flapping wings. and then there was total silence. everything was so still.
the detour also brought us to an area where we could see the planes taxi-ing off the runway after landing.
i learnt that singapore has 15 prisons. of course, i could have remembered the number wrongly. but i was surprised that there are so many.
when we finally reached the bus stop, we boarded 29. as the bus passed by the chalets, she was reminded of the quarters she used to stay in. much eerie experiences and memories. dinner at changi village was a very rushed affair. many people were waiting for seats, and we had to hurriedly finish our food and get the hell out of there because it was so pressurising to eat with someone breathing down your neck.
we walked to changi beach and made our way to the breakwater. she was walking quickly and i pointed it out to her. she said, "when i have a destination in mind, i will walk faster." we sat at the breakwater and talked alot, looked at the lights out at sea and on the planes, and analysed their meaning. having studied about them before, she told me that red=port and green=starboard. but she had trouble realising that the flashing red lights on the plane are different from the port light. haha. :P
at around 9, we started walking back to take bus 2. her faith must be really strong, or else her protective bubble was very effective. it started raining the moment we reached the bus stop after a long walk. fascinating.
i learnt alot that day. not just about the lights, but about her. and her continued existence today can only be described using one word - miraculous.
girl, you've had so many close shaves, so many times when you could have gone home to Him. but everytime, He kept you safe. He let you grow and He moulded you; He shaped you into the person you are today. although He made life miserable for you, He gave you good frens to help you through it. like i said, although i may never be as close a fren as M or R, i am still thankful that i got to know you. thank you for sharing your past with me. when it comes to the day when you can no longer reply my smses or emails, i will grieve. i do not know what happened to you two years ago, and i will not force you to tell. but there will come a day when you are ready, and i will remember to ask you 20 years down the road. remember the promise we made while crossing the road at chinatown. i will have faith. :)
i stand by what i have said long ago - you are fascinating. words alone cannot express how i feel. i love you.
after lunch we walked down to a building nearby - parkview square. when i used to take bus 82 to shaw tower, i would always see this forbidding palace and wonder - what building is that? and so my burning question was answered on sat. quite an interesting place, though our favourite feature was the "fountain" thingie. ha.
she planned the itinerary for that day. our next stop was changi. and so we went through the underground tunnel which was seriously under-utilised. the escalators kicked into action upon sensing our motion. fascinating. the bus came immediately when we reached the bus stop. pity it was a single deck and it was pretty crowded. but we managed to get seats when the bus came to the geylang area. it started drizzling/raining on the way to our destination. but she said, "have faith. it will stop." and stop it did. fascinating.
we alighted at the old changi prison site. old memories were demolished when old walls were torn down. so there was nothing much to reminiscence. i was trying to walk quietly so that she could pretend she was alone. for a period of time, her life revolved around that area. when i asked her more good or bad memories, she replied, "more bad". we had planned to visit the changi chapel and museum, though it was no longer the one i visited many years ago during a secondary school outing. the original chapel had been torn down. the old has to make way for the new? but is the new always necessary? we missed the opening hours by half an hour. but nonetheless, i still enjoyed myself.
our next stop was changi village. rather than hopping onto bus 2 immediately, we walked abit and took a detour down a sideroad which brought us past the dog unit. when we stepped into the side road, the crows overhead emitted a warning signal and flew off in a mad rush of calls and flapping wings. and then there was total silence. everything was so still.
the detour also brought us to an area where we could see the planes taxi-ing off the runway after landing.
i learnt that singapore has 15 prisons. of course, i could have remembered the number wrongly. but i was surprised that there are so many.
when we finally reached the bus stop, we boarded 29. as the bus passed by the chalets, she was reminded of the quarters she used to stay in. much eerie experiences and memories. dinner at changi village was a very rushed affair. many people were waiting for seats, and we had to hurriedly finish our food and get the hell out of there because it was so pressurising to eat with someone breathing down your neck.
we walked to changi beach and made our way to the breakwater. she was walking quickly and i pointed it out to her. she said, "when i have a destination in mind, i will walk faster." we sat at the breakwater and talked alot, looked at the lights out at sea and on the planes, and analysed their meaning. having studied about them before, she told me that red=port and green=starboard. but she had trouble realising that the flashing red lights on the plane are different from the port light. haha. :P
at around 9, we started walking back to take bus 2. her faith must be really strong, or else her protective bubble was very effective. it started raining the moment we reached the bus stop after a long walk. fascinating.
i learnt alot that day. not just about the lights, but about her. and her continued existence today can only be described using one word - miraculous.
girl, you've had so many close shaves, so many times when you could have gone home to Him. but everytime, He kept you safe. He let you grow and He moulded you; He shaped you into the person you are today. although He made life miserable for you, He gave you good frens to help you through it. like i said, although i may never be as close a fren as M or R, i am still thankful that i got to know you. thank you for sharing your past with me. when it comes to the day when you can no longer reply my smses or emails, i will grieve. i do not know what happened to you two years ago, and i will not force you to tell. but there will come a day when you are ready, and i will remember to ask you 20 years down the road. remember the promise we made while crossing the road at chinatown. i will have faith. :)
i stand by what i have said long ago - you are fascinating. words alone cannot express how i feel. i love you.
