Snippets from the week that was

Friday
I was going to go home and rest after a long week, but after fortifying myself with a late dinner at Mai and helping to put away the prints from the Glimpses of Light exhibition, everyone was going out and my old friend peer pressure decided to call in a favour. The next thing I knew, we were at Rouge, wading in the dregs of some Singapore Fashion Festival event. As the models made their exit, the men followed and by midnight, we had a clear view all the way to the dance floor. The place was smaller than I thought.

Saturday
The plan: go running at East Coast Park with Ondine, then reward ourselves with dinner at the Lagoon hawker centre after. The wrench in the works: the park lights along the jogging and cycling paths from Coasta Sands Resort down to the Tennis Centre were out, and cyclists were avidly ringing their bells so that they didn't run into each other in the dark. So we skipped the run and went straight to dinner, although we felt like real wannabe athletes --- all geared up, but with no whiff of perspiration about us. Cheh!

Sunday
I parked myself at Starbucks for seven hours to grade essays. 'Nuff said.

Monday
So it's possible to go from well to hell in half a day or less. I thought the sneezing was just from the Arctic conditions at my workstation, but by late afternoon it was clearly a full-blown cold and Terz made me skip my usual fitness class. Which was just as well since it was confirmed that he was Nias-bound the next day and we had to go shopping for last-minute supplies.

Tuesday
Tea with the mater and the aunts, part trois (parts one and two here). I shamelessly use Fifth Aunt's sojourns in Singapore as an excuse for these confabs (she lives overseas) and I was supposed to orchestrate someplace charming like Toast, but failed completedly due to my complete lack of free time. Nevertheless, coffee/tea and cakes were had, and family gossip (the whole point of these exercises) was exchanged. The good thing about showing up sick was that First Aunt bestowed upon me throat lozenges and Fifth Aunt some fruit, and at the same time, no one harangued me about how devouring half the chunky chocolate brownie would probably worsen my sore throat. (Perhaps First Aunt trusted in the power of her throat lozenges, because my throat cleared right up immediately after just one lozenge. Sore throat sufferers, run to your local Guardian pharmacy now and invest in Dequaline lozenges!)

Wednesday
For the first time at this job, I missed lunch because I really had no time for it. My mother would disapprove. On the other hand, I was going to indulge in Burger King tonight anyway, so I went ahead and had a whole Whopper at 6:15 pm. Mmmmmm ... flame-broiled burger ...