The Ego Episodes

Tuesday, Jun. 10, 2003

Shopping? Do Not Wear Boots - Day 3

Simply exhausted. Been going out a lot (still) and it kills me to say that I'm like a turtle who can't keep up with the hare. Clearly a sign that I need to push my physical fitness level up to a gazillion notches.

Last time, I told you about this. Read that? Now, go on...

Saturday, May 31, 2003. There are plenty of reasons for me to be asleep by 5 pm (read the previous 3 entries) but a big fat NO REASON for waking up 3 hours later. Last thing I need is a renegade biological clock taking precedence over my body's need to replenish itself with useful energy. I am truly, can't go back to bed, awake.

My computer to the rescue. As with other inanimate objects, I have named him Liam. Oh, did that come off as weird? Welcome to my world.

When I saw K's braided hair yesterday, it's hard to take my eyes off the ‘do. How on earth can you French braid like that? Is that a French braid? It's not? What...then um, what is it? As with other things I'm curious about, I Google it and it takes me here. I didn't know there were so many ways to braid your hair! And you're saying, "Big deal." It is! When you have long hair that doesn't conform to the rules of gravity, you'd be easily mistaken for Diana Ross.

So, K's braid is called Fishbone or Herringbone. It looks complicated but it's not that hard to do. According to the instructions. When I tried doing it with my own hair? It's the hardest thing I have to do with my hands since learning (and still learning) how to eat food using chopsticks. Give it a year of regular practice and I'll be a pro at it. In the meantime, I shall hone my French braiding skills (mastered since 1994).

Trying out different hair styles kept me up all night. Liam kept me awake with movies, tv shows, online journals and before I know it, it's 7:30 am. Time to get dressed and go to church. Again.

Sunday, June 1, 2003. After mass and choir practice, I meet my friends for lunch and shopping in the city. (Singapore only has one city, and it's the whole country. That's how small Singapore is. Now when I said "city" before the parenthesis, I meant "where all the skyscrapers (malls, banks, hotels) are". It takes about an hour to get from where I'm staying (school), to the "city".).

Shopping means Orchard. Woohoo! But when I look down on my chosen footwear, heeled killer (literally) boots, I grimace. You don't wear heels when shopping! It's a crime! I have become a victim of spontaneous plans of going to some place where there's a lot of walking involved.

By stealing some time off to sit anywhere sit-able, I survived the day. I even succeeded in resisting buying temptations! Nienna bought me two U2 tops and I can't thank her enough for all the sweet things she has done for me. I am so gonna miss her when she leaves Singapore.

Which brings me to this: most of my postgrad friends are going back to the Philippines, or at least leaving Singapore. They're done with school here. I have nothing but wishes for them to succeed in whatever that is they're doing. Hanging out with them almost everyday serves as both a reminder of how lucky I am to have known this group of cool, fun-loving, smart, caring people (they're motherly, fatherly, sisterly, friendly, in one) and a way of bringing in more memories for all of us to cherish a lifetime. I know I will.

{ joycie at 2:12 p.m.}