I almost forgot how it feels like doing things and going places without a concrete, detailed plan.
The sense of liberation is once again washed ashore with the rush of the holiday waves, after having sunk it at the start of the year to face the pirates of classes.
Besides, the three of us are celebrating the Lunar New Year locally, no harm wandering about town for a bit, as long as we get home in time for dinner.
So we met up at Jaya One, thinking we might grab something there to eat before heading somewhere else to chill, but we ended up popping into Jo’s car as she cruised past the place and decided on having lunch at SS2. We had Korean, partially due to the lack of parking, the original suggestion of an Italian meal seemed to pricey and non-Chinese restaurants were too sparse and removed from one another so we were forced to pick our choice before slotting the car into the lot and walking to the shop. Oh, also, we wanted to be bold and try something new. Amanda, I know you’re proud of us.
I must say, the food was too heavy in flavour, like a sponge soaked to hold water to its full potential. It tasted spicy, savoury and sweet, all in one mouthful. And the three of us underestimated the array of small bowls of accompanying vegetables or pickled stuff. Jo and her plate of fried rice, me and my octopus set and Jing and her minced pork set. When we tried washing it down with tea, whoa, that was weird, not like the Japanese green tea or those we normally drink at all. Not that it was bad; we were just unaccustomed to the taste and the methods of eating, so you could imagine us staring bewilderedly at the food for a while, then gingerly fishing the food into our bowls as how we would during our daily meals. You can’t really blame us, not when none of us ever caught a Korean drama series, much less venture to try its food and experience its culture.
Once we got over the odd swells of flavours, we strode, sunbathed, towards Starbucks, where I finally got to use the bottle I invested in and saved two bucks from my Java Chip Frappuccino. The upstairs floor was haven; air-conditioned with an open air balcony, lots of tables and chairs or sofas though not crowded or stuffy, a parquet-matching rectangular writing desk surrounded by wooden chairs and complete with overhead lamps, soothing music and coffee-scented aroma. Yes, Eu Chern, I can see why now that you loved studying here.
And so we spent an hour or two there, lapping in the ambiance as much as making the drinks and our walk there worth. Then we wrapped up the day with The King’s Speech at Jing’s place. Loved the movie, though our voices drowned half the conversations of the characters.
Today was awesome (:
This is what Chinese New Year should feel like; light and easy, without scheduled visitation after visitation; being with people I want to be with, rather than a room choked with distant relatives; and most importantly, devoid of all that screechy, ear-splitting festive songs. Then again, it IS Chinese culture to be loud and boisterous and bloated.Oh well.
Till the season is over, I shall shut myself up whenever I can and draw up the world of the Old Kingdom around me and traverse on my own. Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen <3
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