jjamed's Weblog Site • NuTang.com

Edited - 030110, 0300 hrs for some minor errors; added a small paragraph about Aaron as I had left him out >.<

Title says it all I guess. My 4.5 days of rest and relaxation is coming to an end already.. sadly.

CHRISTMAS LONG WEEKEND

Seems to me that time always seem to accelerate while on the mainland.
Maybe its a psychological thing.

Cabbed to Expo in the morning to attend the Christmas service. Thankfully Liting and Sharon managed to arrive with Ting's relatives in time before the ushers took back the seats I koped. We ended up right at the side though.. Haha. This year's drama tugged at the heartstrings much more intensely than previous years.. Not much comedy on offer. Then again the drama team never fails to impress by illustrating the same fabled take from different angles and scenarios every time.

Later that afternoon some of us went to Huyuan's place to party.. The food was plentiful indeed.. and we had to leave much behind. It feels good just to see everyone again after 2 weeks plus of hell. Enjoyed being the lead singer (again..) on Guitar Hero before the dinner started.

Before that I went to meet Waimin, Judy and Louis at Kovan to collect the food and drinks from his family-run bakery somewhere in Serangoon North. Waimin actually managed to walk past me at the bus stop without noticing me.. Lol. =/ She mentioned that I look less drunk now.. and more like a bloody stalker with the windbreaker and cap.

The night ended too early.. Even the alcohol did not help prolong the feeling of zen I so desperately craved after the first two weeks of shit.

Walked with Woon and Jtay to the station.. then reached home at about 2330 hrs.

The next day was totally burnt at home.. Doing nothing much.

I went for my first ever CGM (after so long.. and Sharon's house is super far away and ulu =/). It was a Thanksgiving CGM cum gift exchange and I did not manage to get a gift in time =/ The food was good though! (: Especially the fries and sandwiches! Our team 2 managed to win the grand prize of 3 PC games for the guys and 50 bucks worth of Taka vouchers for the ladies. Also the 2 teams put aside their friendly rivalry at the end to gang up on Yankai using shaving cream to celebrate her birthday. Lol!

To think that its been 8 months plus since W515 was established.. Cool..

NEW YEAR SUPER LONG WEEKEND thus far..

Our coy booked out super early.. on Wednesday afternoon instead of Thursday as the other companies did. Apparently all the commanders were heading for a Family Day event down at the zoo that afternoon.

I slept so much (must be the medication from camp for my flu and cough) that I woke up at 6pm.. Super pig =/ We enjoyed a steamboat dinner/family gathering that evening. That's why I was unable to meet up with Judy, Jtan and Louis to head towards Marina Square.

Went alone in the end and saw the immense size of the crowd that had gathered by then. As I reached at about 2320, the crowd had swelled to such an extent that the police had to cordon off the entire Marina Square/Esplanade/Fullerton Bridge area - the end result was that it was impossible to meet up with them as they had already reached the Esplanade by then. The mobile phone networks were jammed as well.. thus establishing contact was a major problem I had to contend with.

Actually, don't you feel that fireworks as a whole are over-hyped? I mean, people hogged the best seats braving the sun and rain, missing the whole concert/entertainment in the process just to see rockets light up the night sky on the stroke of midnight in an exhilarating combination of sound and colour that lasts.. only a few minutes.

These events also tend to attract others as well.. The gangsters, clubbers, skinheads, construction workers, foreign nationals.. Blah blah. By 2355 I had jostled and got well-acquainted with Banglas, Indians, Malay punksters, Hokkien bengs and the like trying to get the hell out of the Fullerton Bridge underpass dead end (people were stuck on the stairs to road level approaching the harbour). Witnessed a punch-up as well when a Bangladeshi barged through the crowd of people and pissed some punks.

Lol.. to come up close and personal with my favourite people on the North-East Line every Saturday evening. What a way to welcome the new year..

Alright, in the end I conceded that the fireworks were impressive visually as they were aurally. Was quite irked off by a stupid roadside plant that blocked my view though. Coupled with people pushing from the back wanting to catch a better glimpse (in reality how much difference does arching your head 1 cm make? You still get blocked by the tree and irritate everyone in front of you) and little wonder why my mood was a bit sour.

I realised only later on my way home that Aaron was in the same area as me all along. Then again what're the chances of meeting him amidst a restless and humongous crowd of revelers? =/

So next time if I decide to catch the fireworks live again, I would either follow Jtay and book a room in advance overlooking the harbour at exorbitant rates or get a ticket ($30) and grab a good spot by the river.

It gets pretty frustrating alone as well.. So next time I would be wiser and meet up with friends before navigating the mass of people there. Hopefully at a much earlier time as well instead of 2300 hrs.

Getting out of the area after the show was a nightmare as well. Typical Singaporeans.. all kiasu to siam straight after in all directions. I was quite amazed there wasn't a stampede with the number of people barging into one another and so on. As for myself, I managed to walk down to Raffles Place and then turned to make my way to Clarke Quay.

Finally some air-conditioning after all that. Phew..

Alright that pretty much sums up my weekends.. Shall illustrate with photos next time.. ~~if I'm still alive after next week~~.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all once again!
Go spread some love this festive season (;