Hate to announce this.. but yeah, i am back from my long vacation. This is undeniably the best vacation & possibly the most unforgettable one... I finally found the solution to enjoy ANY country & love it (Well. at least for me that's how it works ) and that is to explore the place by aimlessly walking..
Europe has long ago been the favorite place i will like to revisit, and this time it was no exception. bbbbb made this trip a really special one by planning lotsa of surprises and i cannot be more thankful.
I sure wish to go into details and send you into boredom but i shan't today, (maybe another day.. do watchout for the good ol' wordy Kristal)
Weeks ago we celebrated bbbbb's birthday and it dawn on me that we've knew each other for a good 12 years, having spend the last 5 years dating, if you dont mind me i will like to bring us all back to the time we first met.
It was nothing like the love at first sight for Rodman & I. We were like 2 ugly ducklings who had tried our best to shun from attention.
I was the overweight unattractive girl who had an oily scalp & a pretty obvious tummy. I wasn't all that girly to begin with, and had it not been for the mercy of my best friend Sharon, would no step out beyond the comfort of our classroom into the serangoon area
It was another afternoon after school, Sharon had just started dating a boy in school, and as "unwelcoming" as i always was - i had readily included myself in their courtship, just shadowing their movement, following their footstep as they walked around the Serangoon area, holding hands & enjoying each other's company.
I don't hang around outside the school area much, i had nothing to do & did not fancy staring at my best friend & her new catch ( now ex, and a good friend of us all) "steady-ing". Was i jealous? i probably was, afterall, there were alot of things i did not had the privilege (i.e looks, figure, confidence) to have. After school i will change my school uniform for my favorite Navy blue tee with striking yellow font. It was my best top & the only one i would go to if i had to look my best
How my favorite tee looks like, i got it in Toa Payoh at about $7 and it lasted me for a good 4 years..
Anyway, that afternoon while Besties & her bf were holding hands around that basketball haunt they found, i was sitting alone at the adjacent seats.. in front of me were a bunch of boys playing bball, about 6 of them...
Among them stood bbbbb... i can vividly remember all their names,
GuoQiang; Ah Ben; Wei Jie; Ah Gump; Andrew; Choong Ting (bbbbbb)
It certainly wasnt all love at first sight, in fact i do not remember their faces after the first meeting. We said "Hello" because i was a lone sitting at the bball court where they were playing bball (minus the lovebird i was keeping a distance from )
My first impression of them were general , a bunch of perspire-ry guys in all shapes & sizes// haha.. Amongst them were good looker (as agreed by Besties & I when we discuss the new friendship we've made) - bbbb didnt make it to the list, this was the boy i first met back in year 2001. Both him & i were the sort no one would notice.. but looking back.. if he had caught my attention.. we might not have lasted the length of time (considering all the drastic change i undergo during the next 14 years)...
long story short... all the 6 guys & us girls lost contact after we graduated from Secondary school at 16 year old ( that 2004...) we did spent a good 2 years hanging out after school. They were the best bunch of people you hope to meet when you were young, those who didnt mind u calling them "korkor" or taking advantage of their proclaim-biceps, making then doing the tougher chore for you young girls because you admit to be weak.
There was an incident that left quite an impression, that one Saturday we hang out (all 6 guys & 2 girls) at Bishan Junction 8 on a random weekend. I never really get to hang out on weekend, what's more with guys & Besties.. So i came rather unprepared. We ate lunch (those days our pocket money was a mere $4/day and only limit to 5 days a week ah) at a fine diner and i confess that i hadn't got the $$ to pay..... Needless to say the guys had to fork out their pocket to help me out here and it was bbbb who had pass the $$ to anther of his mate to pay my lunch, he did not hand it to me personally because he was shy (like he still is.. haha) but i caught him doing so and was quite touched..
i mean... this is a 15 year old girl who sees "not-enough-cash" as equivalent to "some-one-call-the-police-on-her" serious, so deep down inside i was really happy at gaining their trust (to pay upfront for me) and acknowledgement (that this girl can be helped).. that incident still make me smile sometimes when i think back..
Fast Forward to about 6 years later, after we all graduated & stop contacting... on 31jan2008 my 21st birthday, we met again, a short Hi-Bye-here's-your-present meetup, no pictures, not much words exchange as he had rush off somewhere... That excahnge really wasnt worth much mentioning.... BUT i still clearly remember his gift
a plushie orange carebear,
a princess pop-up card.
a Roxy tee shirt (the pic below was taken in 2009
Then again on 16May2008 Besties birthday, we invited them all & that was when we all met again.
To be honest, i had not seen bbbb the whole time during besties's birthday party, i was helping out here & there & by the time i had time to say Hello, he had left.. (pictures below with the rest of the usual clique without bbb)
Till that stage, you might find it pretty impossible how bbb & i eventually end up together.. Well, it wasnt till late 2008 when we bump into each other while i was working at Fabrick Far East Plaza, one of the many part time jobs i was handling..
(Taken at Fabrick Far East plaza in 2008)
He was helping RongHua to look for a pair of skinnies and we spoke a bit while his friends were trying on the jeans. I was chirpy that day (in fact i am chirpy about everyday.. ) so while they discuss on the jean, i minded my business, hopping around the shop & provide assistance like i would all the time.
It was probably after that day that bbbb laid his eyes on me.. hehe.. because we started texting after that meet up (years later i learn that fateful day, after they left the shop, he asked his friends if i were a good catch.? can't believe this guy, really -.-".. )
Not long later, after dragging things on for a little too long, i finally had the courage to break things off with my ex-bf. (thankfully we remain as friend till today.. and he is getting married soon!)
For a while i was falling in and out of emotion, one second u see me chirpy like i always was, but when you text i'll put you off with all sorts of emo-shit..
bbbbb & i continue texting, i notice how he was always showing up in town, sometimes offering me a ride home if i knock off the same time he's leaving. I would come up with excuses and then board the last train home.. i guess back then i felt i didnt need anyone to pity me and since bbb was a really good & down-to-earth friend the whole time, i felt he was just being gentleman like he would to all the girls.
Then one day i relented & ask if he needed a dinner kaki since i was knocking off soon. He replied not too soon after that he was in the vicinity so we can meet for dinner. No biggie you might think, but when i finally knock off, he still hasnt replied where we're meeting so off i headed home..
When i reach Yishun i receive his text that he was driving over to my workplace (strange.. he mention he was in the vicinity?!?). so i ask if we could meet in Yishun instead, and he replied within seconds that Yishun is better! We had dinner that night at Chong Pang Nasi Lemak and with this company i had a great night.
So in case you cannot tell, actually each time he mention he was vicinity, he was all but trying his luck, so when i finally agreed to meet, he frantically search for all sorts of excuse to drag time so he could rush to Town where i work, when the whole time he was actually at home in Hougang.
After that night we hang out sometimes, just dinner & home, after my work. Slowly he asked if i would be keen to make more friends & join him on his outing with his cliques, i agree. I was running a fever that week when we arrange to meet, but i decided it was not a good idea to cancel meetups especially since i will be meeting new friends.
Anyhow, believe it or not, the WHOLE time i thought he was just trying to be a gentlemen and help me get over my past & move on. Even when i first met his friends for KTV one night, i hadnt think too much about it. Not till i read a blog entry by his friend Lao Sha (now also one of my closer girlfriend).
i think i must be quite silly, we hang out so often, and he always offer to fetch me when we arrange to meet, even with our friends.. On one occasion, i was in his car and while he drives, his phone rang. Since he was driving i asked if he needed me to pick the call... he hesitated for a while and said yes.. when i took the phone i saw that his phone screensaver was a pic of myself. Then again, i put it off by convincing myself it was a mere coincidence. haha/
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