A review of the one week break:

Mon - Slack. Went to work for a while and then in the evening, head for Kebab dinner and drinks at Recess at Old school with uni gang. We then find out that sitting at an outdoors table just after it's been raining is an open invitation for ants to invade our shapely legs.

Tues - Slack. In evening, send Brother to camp and have dinner at Farmart at Chua Chu Kang. Food is ok-ok only, unless you're a starving army man in one of the camps. At night, have artery-clogging glutton's dinner at Miss Clarity Cafe with Quet and Jules.

Wed - Head to leez's office and watch Jules, Candle and Quet fumble in a photoshoot. Ironic how, as much as we try to look natural we always end up looking more artificial. :p Head to City Plaza for fried chicken lunch and then to Goodwood Hotel for diabetic high tea with colleagues. End off with Sushi Tei dinner.

Thurs - Slack. Watch Evangelion, a remake of the classic series. More scenes added to flesh out the plot so it's not as mind-bogglingly confusing as the original series. Plus, watching giant robots fight it out on the big screen is so much more satisfying. :) Foot massage and then late night dessert at Little Part 1 cafe at Upper Thomson Road. Good fries.

Fri - Wake up, wondering where the time has flown. *sigh*

All in all, a good week break, except for the enormous quantities of good food I seem to have eaten. *ahem* Gym sessions start next week...... :p

From a newspaper article, it was estimated that approximately 1000 Singaporeans leave the island each year for greener pastures.

I didn't think the percentage [1000 out of 4 million] was that large till I started really reading the emails and catching up with a group of friends I have, almost all of which were either already staying overseas with significant others, who were foreign, or considering going overseas, or who would stay overseas if they could.

Like, wow. In this group, my civil servant status and Singaporean boyfriend actually makes me the so-called odd one out, though in another group, it makes me the status quo. :S

Let's do a brief stocktake: Of this group, all are dating foreigners, though some have dated local guys, one has already moved to Europe with her boyfriend, one is about to leave for Australia with her boyfriend, and another is staying in Singapore, though if needs be, she may move if her boyfriend does! Now you know why I consider myself the odd one out?

But I guess I know why I'm the odd one out in this sense. Of the 3 mentioned above, all have studied overseas, whereas I've only briefly sojourned overseas, only to come back to Singapore eventually. My entire education was tied up in Singapore, and now even my job is tied up with the Singapore government.

Partly because of this, and partly because of myself, I've always had the need for some kind of security. Moving overseas gives me a too-wide range of mixed feelings, because of the radically different life I could build for myself, outside of the too-comfortable and one-size-fits-all HDB living here, but yet is filled with unknown challenges of racism, work permits, and hiherto utterly unknown lifestyles. [Shops closing at 5??]

But yet, if I never tried, could I stay that I would never succeed? Actually, no. After all, look at my grandmother. She settled successfully in Australia in her late 40s, and she's been there happily till now.

Me, I do get envious when I hear about friends able to go to all these exciting places, live in apartments with BFs, and get the jobs they're happy with and still be able to pay the rent and all. It sounds almost as if they're already married, albeit without the hassle of wedding dinners, ROMs and annoying relatives. I do to a certain extent envy that degree of independence that they have, which makes me seem, frankly, juvenile. 27 and living with my parents. :S

But for me to move.........? Well, not in the near future. My butt is too comfortable where it is. Maybe that's just my lot in life. To live in HDB, and be happy with it. Because I haven't found another place in the world that has manga store, library and wireless broadband all in one. :p

On the last day of school, and the day we're supposed to have a sleepover at Jul's house, I get hit by a travelling flu bug. What's the justice in that?

My nasal was so blocked that I could actually apply tiger balm right beneath my nostrils, and still not be able to smell it. :s Takes a lot of fun out of eating, I can tell you that.

Fortunately, thanks to lots of sleep, and a vitamin boost from Juls, the virus mostly scattered, and I could still go out with DF on Sat, but we went home early because he had to go back to camp, and I was still sluggish.

Now I get a sense of just how often I go out. When I came home on a Saturday night at 530pm, my family stared at me. "How come you're home?!" is my mother's response to her daughter being home early.

Later in my room, both parents take turns to come in and ask if I'm alright, if I'm sick, Am I having flu etc etc etc...... because I'm lying in bed reading my books.

My presence at home is getting increasingly rare, to the point that when it does happen, it must be due to impending death. Sigh.