Me-time and walks and evening breeze

The day started off with a piece of good news. AhWU is nominated for Best Actor Award! I know his chances of victory are probably not high but who cares?! I dreamt of goreng pisang (banana fritters) and craved for them this morning. WW got me some from the favourite stall at Clementi Food Centre. Yumms. Good friend Cyclops asked me for lunch SUDDENLY. Let's not say he had an agenda because I like how he is always full of ideas to surprise his girlfriend on special occasions and I am most glad to help him if I am in any way useful. His sweetness struck me that I haven't received anything from a guy on Valentine's Day and my mum would label me a failure when it comes to this. Maybe I really am. But honestly the thought of someone giving me a bouquet of flowers (or even a single stalk) really scares me because I absolutely have no green fingers nor do I appreciate plants. I told good friend Cyclops I would prefer cash anytime and I think from his expression I could tell that statement really amused him. For one split second I felt judged but the next second that feeling vanished. Because I really prefer money! (or a handwritten card?) This coming Sunday will be a busy one for me so today is the right day to have some me-time. I took a bus down to Bras Basah with the intention of finding the lady boss to ask her questions regarding my research. She is however not around, but I managed to catch WF and chatted with her for a short while. She asked me if I had gone to AMK on 10 January. The answer was obvious. Her next reply was that on that day she was queuing behind a lady who bought ten packets of Nescafe and she was flabbergasted, then she thought the lady looked like me but she wasn't certain. I wanted to dig a hole and hide my face. Cat Socrates is my favourite shop at Bras Basah Complex. The big furry cat in the shop is one key reason, but I didn't see it today. But I have always enjoyed spending some half an hour in that shop looking at vintage things and not buying anything. The shop owner should be thankful not every customer thinks like me. The blazing sun gave me a good excuse for a drink. Times are bad. The only way to curb one's craving for Starbucks is to get a drink that's almost comparable to the brand. And of course, something more economical. It could only be KOI. Frankly speaking, the feeling of holding a cup of 50% sweet pearl milk tea and walking along the streets of Bugis is just shiok. Bugis (but not Bugis Street) is always one of my favourite hangouts on a weekday afternoon. I like the smell of art and history there, if you know what I mean. I went around in search of postcards. They are my newfound love. The funny thing being, when you are not looking for something, you see it everywhere. Then you can't seem to find it when you are in search of it. So, yup. I went home empty-handed, but happy that my afternoon was well-spent. On my way home an ex-student texted to tell me that she saw AhWU, then she started telling me about her life and asking me about mine. I don't know whether to feel ashamed or what, that she is so much more matured than me now. Somehow my growth of wisdom became stagnant since who-knows-when, that is if I have any wisdom to speak of in the first place. Then, guess what? I visited Linli laoshi. LIKE FINALLY. Hence, it would be unnecessary for me to describe the joy in me today. I was almost skipping home after I bade him and his little girl goodbye. It was a very long walk home but the evening breeze was exceptionally refreshing.

My student told me today that happiness depends on how much you expect. Some think happiness is seeing the next day's sunrise. Some say it's striking a 10 million lottery. For me it's often seeing the people I care about and knowing that they are happy.