Thursday, January 01, 2009
I ushered in 2009 quietly with the 2 Jasons and Charles and even though we didn't have any spectacular celebrations, it was just simple joy to usher in the new year with them. On my way to meet them at wong's place, I received what was probably the last gift 2008 had to offer me in the form of my timetable. I had a final check at my timetable (which read "Your Timetable Is Not Available Yet") before I left my house and less than 30 minutes later, I received a call from Mizi saying that it's out. I believe he's the first, if not one of the few who found out that the timetable was out.
For the past semester, I've been telling him he's damn lucky to have girlfriend who's been a positive influence in his life. Usually it's the girl who requires lots of tender loving care by the guy and helping her with the usual academic work. My melayu brothers in class were even joking in front of him saying he had undergone a drastic but positive change (they wanted the old Mizi back) jokingly. A week before school reopened for last semester, I went to the computer lab and expecting to see nobody inside. You don't have to guess what I was doing in the lab after my afternoon gym and swim - it was to print notes and past years' examination papers in advance. To my surprise, Mizi was there printing the sports psychology notes and he really got it from me during that whole session while we were in the lab.
The moment I reached wong's house, I immediately asked to use his laptop to check my timetable. Well, even though one of my geography modules isn't allocated yet, I can't really complain about my timetable despite having 3 days of lessons that end at 8.30pm (thanks to the tennis module). I've seen timetables that are worse off than me and I rather have some breaks in between than have 4 to 6 hours of lessons continuously. The attention span wanes off and nothing goes in so what's the point right? 5 days week as usual but the bottom line is, there's no more 7.30am lessons. I'm not those who would make a big fuss about the timetable because nobody else outside of my class really understands or bothers anyway. Any free time I have, I would provide devote it to work work work and nothing else. Which is why I rather spend my semester free time in school to revise.
Dinner was crispy noodle at the Phoenix restaurant down the lane and Charles came down to join us after his family dinner. We just sat there chatting till it was almost 9pm and even contemplated catching the "Little Nonya" there. In the end, we rushed back to catch it because Chieh brought some beer down and we decided to wash the dinner down with some coke and beer in front of the tv. I'm glad he came down to join us for awhile despite having to rush off later to meet his girlfriend. We played a little mahjong, saw Jamie (wong's brother) booked out from his ocs training and just like us, his friends came over too.
We finally tuned into the channel 5 countdown party when it was like 15 minutes before 2009 arrived. Was glad to see one of the best bands in South East Asia, Rivermaya, performing live on stage. So before we knew it, it was like 10 seconds to the new year and while Jamie's friends were shouting and welcoming 2009, me and my friends just kept quiet. Maybe 2008 just passed by us so fast that we didn't really have a chance to slow down the pace of our life and enjoy/appreciate it. It didn't really hit me that it was 2009 till I received a few messages from my friends on my phone and saw the date. Life is weird in a number of ways. We can all try to turn back time but it's something that will never happen. I tried my own little way by switching my phone calendar back to December 2008 and then realized that it's not going to happen. The new year had indeed arrived.
Charles drove us out for supper after that and while rail mall was our chosen destination, we eventually drove further down to Bt Timah after that. Not wanting to settle for second best thanks to the limited dishes in the menu, Al-ameen was the place to head to after all. After reaching the carpark, it really makes you wonder if Singaporean do sleep after all because there are many others out there like me - who turn the night into day. The carpark was full and it's a strain on the eye to an unoccupied seat in either Al-ameen or Al-azhar. They ordered butter chicken (which was really boneless curry chicken but freaking nice) and naan which turned out to be a very good meal. It's my first time tasting it despite being a regular there for dinner/supper.
My first meal of 2009 turned out to be excellent and it's definitely something I'll recommend to everyone. It's been a good start to the year so far and I hope good stuff continue to come my way. While obstacles may/could litter the pathway, I'm sure with a positive attitude and mindset, nothing is going to get me down. Don't let it get to you either.
Happy New Year and have a great 2009 ahead of you!
