Dancing into September :D

And well, drinking while we're at it.

Thursday's 'let's meet for a drink while we wait for Nips!" turned into a very happy hour in the form of a jug of mango magarita shared between Karish and me. Happy chatter, banter about boys and all things girly while we go progressively more tipsy and crazy and made our way to Tanjong Pagar to meet Nips (she sang the national anthem on the train, that kind of tipsy). Onward to the mozzarella cheese bar for more wine, cheese and bread, and maybe a few not-so-happy exchanges about anger and life and marriage and so on. But it was a great night for me, and as I tipsy-ly hugged her goodbye in the cab, it dawned on me again, that I am quite blessed to have these few precious girlfriends in my life :)

Friday brought forth a much overdue catch up with Sufen after a two year hiatus. After laughing about IT geeks with low EQs over overpriced and underdelivered Korean food, we strolled our way into the Night Festival and were duly entertained by some weird Amazonian dance troupe, KoFlow and his jazzy voiced singer friend, funny lights on the building facades and some friend of a friend DJ dude at Loof. That kiwi martini was definitely interesting, and probably kept me going through the 45 minute ordeal thereafter to get a cab home :| But something Sufen said to me that night struck a chord: 'Yeah I had a lot of guy friends when I was younger, but as you grow up you kind of realise that girlfriends are more reliable?' So true.

And then came the crazyawesomeunpredicted Saturday. Celine's beautiful wedding at church in the morning made me tear up every 5 mins, together with the goosebump-inducing church boy vocals and sermon about how love is a choice that we make everyday, and that marriage and relationships don't come with guarantees of any sort. A hurried lunch wolfed down and the continued taxi ordeal which ended up in a wait for 45 minutes and me rocking up 20 minutes late at Buona Vista CC..

.. only to be told I was the VIP they were waiting for and then escorted to the VIP table in the middle of the room.

Total OMG moment.

So between making small talk with the other VIPs, freaking out on the inside about having to recite the pledge and sing the national anthem on stage, and just being overall flustered, I somehow was also the 3rd person so go up on stage, then wait for 200 odd people to do so after me, and then be sent up as VIP#4 (it didn't help that #3 was a no show) with the other two unsuspecting victims to say this pledge. While my guest Karishma whooped at the back and bounded to the front to cheer me on...

Memories are made of this stuff..

Anyways after visibly faking the singing of the national anthem, it pretty much was done (they did also produce instant photographic evidence of the uncomfortable moments on stage)- we ate way too much pizza and samosa after, painted batiks and traipsed our way home on the bus.

A nap and a not-so-quick chat with les parents later, I headed out to meet Stephan and Sidra for the champagne birthday do at Bella Pasta. Between weird clams, couple arguments and probably too much bubbly and wine, it was a really nice chilled out dinner, complete with the birthday song and tiramisu on the house! And then, at dinner, the text message from Hoey Lit out of the blue telling me I was on TV. And another one from Daphne a few minutes later... Turns out my oath taking skills were so good Channel News Asia decided to run it on the news.. *cringe*

Total OMG moment.. Again.

After chugging down more bubbly, Karlin (who is ridiculously funny and awesome btw) joined us on the walk to CQ, and after a Fenix 50 bucks for house fail, we ended up at.. *drumroll*.. ChinaOne. No points for that one. But between the jagerbombs, rum and tequila shots, it was an insane night on the dancefloor. So many drunken funnies and losing it completely to the RnB, hip hop and even some of the live band music- we danced till we literally dropped (I definitely did the next day) and then limped out to the taxi stand at 4am :P It felt good to dance (and headbang) so hard, and I couldn't have asked for more fun dance buddies and better music :)

Come Sunday (and September!), the bed called for attention till about noon and I finally watched myself on the news, after which fika with Quig became more of a reason to get out of bed. Happiness in the form of bryggcafe, kanelbulle, meatballs, elderflower cupcakes and dark chocolate cake.. And well, catching up with Quig. The missed birthday and hunt for knives and hangers made for a fun afternoon out, followed by curry puffs and much needed me-time doing absolutely nothing- Suits, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and well, sleep.

All in all, one heck of a weekend to remember :)

[And here's the link to the horrendous news item on CNA: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/video/new-citizens-urged-to/797678.html]

August will always be mine :)

August has always come by with some sort of drama or eventful turn of events. And well, being born in the month, I've kinda sorta claimed it as mine. I'm thankful that this year, it's been good to me :)

After what was a rather dark and messy July, August has been all sunshine, family, friends, great food (lotsa cheese!), coffee, wine and love. The Australian adventure and the birthday had a lot to do with that, but also the other little things interspersed between- reconnections (with people, yoga, running and myself), music, hugs, dance and chocolate.

Some of the anger, sadness and frustration is still there, but with some concentrated effort I've made a little more room for the happiness and peace too. And well, burned a few bridges and cut down on the drama and negativity inflow. Necessary evils I suppose.

Tomorrow, as a fitting crazy finish to the month, I head to church for a wedding in the morning, take my oath and sing the national anthem as a Singaporean in the afternoon, practice some Spanish dialogue in the evening, and celebrate our births with champagne and the Mauritian in the night. One heck of a Saturday, I hope :)

I'm in a much better place, and I'm so grateful for that.

7 days later..

It's been such a wonderful birthday week :)

Birthday lunches, dinners, earrings, wishes and love. Some of it delayed, some of it unexpected, some of it missed. And in terms of fitness alone, I think I just might've outdone myself: Tuesday- Zumba, Thursday- run, Sunday- run, Tuesday- Zumba, Wednesday- Yoga, Friday- Cardio, Sunday- run. And it feels amazing! (except in the mornings, when I have to crawl/limp out of bed)
The night festival turned out to be quite a spectacle, with the acrobats on the walls of the National Museum and then suspended on a pentagon under a crane? Caught up over Thai and tea with Ms Shutterbug and her whirlwind of wedding madness, which also got me thinking about life and it's little surprises, sometimes just round the corner.
Metallica with the boys on Saturday night. The crowds of black-teed fans, the gaping field that held all 40,000 of us, and well, the pure awesome energy that the band (and sound system!) brought on stage. Nothing short of epic. But the moments I treasured most were holding onto Prav and headbanging to Enter Sandman and Creeping Death and Fade to Black, and the foursome swaying in tandem to Nothing Else Matters. Best birthday present ever dude, gonna be hard to top that one up :) And then came the two hour crazymidnightwalkinthemiddleofnowhere to get to civilization and a cab home. Kinda killed the high a bit but hey, despite the neck aches the next day, it was all worth it.
Lotsa quiet time, naps, Spanish, reading, parental madness, sushi and the discovery of the Mindy project.
And today I get the news that the conference in Seoul is confirmed, apparently with a complimentary 2 day weekend thrown in? Woohoooo!

Wanderlust calling..

“Travel is little beds and cramped bathrooms. It’s old television sets and slow Internet connections. Travel is extraordinary conversations with ordinary people. It’s waiters, gas station attendants, and housekeepers becoming the most interesting people in the world. It’s churches that are compelling enough to enter. It’s McDonald’s being a luxury. It’s the realization that you may have been born in the wrong country. 

Travel is a smile that leads to a conversation in broken English. It’s the epiphany that pretty girls smile the same way all over the world. Travel is tipping 10% and being embraced for it. Travel is the same white T-shirt again tomorrow. Travel is accented sex after good wine and too many unfiltered cigarettes. 

Travel is flowing in the back of a bus with giggly strangers. It’s a street full of bearded backpackers looking down at maps. Travel is wishing for one more bite of whatever that just was. It’s the rediscovery of walking somewhere. It’s sharing a bottle of liquor on an overnight train with a new friend. 

Travel is ‘Maybe I don’t have to do it that way when I get back home.” 

- Nick Miller

The space between the moments

While it's kinda true that my adult life has most often been a case of 'Amri and the boys', I do have a few very close girlfriends who I cannot imagine life without. These are the girls who've held me when I've cried (either happy or sad tears), who've listened to me sans judgement over a bottle of wine at my most vulnerable, who have loved me in spite of all my hangups, and who've just always been there, with advice and make up tips and love across distance and time zones and regardless of the battles they're fighting too. Just thinking about them while writing this is making me tear up :)

[Incidently, at the same moment that I'm writing this, the Universe sends me a note. Talk about divine intervention: 

In times of great stress and great joy, Amri, you are completely surrounded by loved ones in the unseen who adore and support you, wanting to share whatever you're experiencing.

So at those times, if you can remember to be calm and quiet and go within, you'll feel them, you'll remember them, and you'll benefit most from their presence.

Actually, Amri, they're there 24/7, lovingly carrying on, hooting and hollering, having their pictures taken with you, each claiming credit for your piercing life insights, your calm in the face of chaos, and your famed 1, 2 thingy when you bop to music and think no one can see you... ]

Anyways Ems and Sid took me out for my birthday last night. And over a cheese platter, burgers, garlic prawns, feta-stuffed grilled eggplant and too much bubbly, we caught up and swapped tales about the going ons in our lives. An amazing chocolate brownie and a birthday song in a random bar later, we hugged each other in a high, way past our curfew. And in the space between those moments of breathless laughter and pure happiness, a feeling of utter gratitude and love crept in at having them in my life. They've seen and been with me through some of the toughest and happiest moments of my life here, and are really part of the family I've had the honour of choosing :)

Dance, an amazing massage, chocolate, cheese, champagne, music, and so much love from so many people.. It's been a good couple of days :)

That maiden post.. again.

It's a funny feeling to create a whole new blog for what must be the 14th time now, and realize you've come a full circle in the world of blogging platforms, back to where you started your first blog years ago :) And well, also stumble across blogs you created along the way and then promptly forgot about.. untouched little corners of cyberspace :)

Birthdays have a way of making you rethink and reevaluate and reconsider your life, and then well, start another blog or something to feel like you're on the right track to achievement. No qualms about it, this blog is exactly that- an attempt at documenting what my life will be like during this next 365 day roadtrip around the solar system... Ooooh, wordplay.

Also, not having your birth date posted on Facebook brings with it the phenomenon of having a clean wall and being pleasantly surprised by those precious few friends who remember your birthday anyway, mostly due to attempts at branding this in their brain over the years.. so this is my public declaration of gratitude for those phone calls and messages and texts across the time zones!

Technically, backtracking 2.5 (and a bit) decades ago, I haven't been born yet, with the whole Swedish time zone and night birth thing, but oh well, it's still my birthday somewhere in the world now so I might as well get down to it. But I'm starting to cringe at how self-involved and narcissistic this post sounds, so I think I might just stop here for now...

.. but not before reliving my Fade to Black birthday cake moment :D