Gutter Ball!
K told me this afternoon that she wants to learn how to bowl. I think her interest was probably triggered by some bowling competition that she chanced upon while lunching in Novena Square. I replied that I wouldn’t be able to coach her in the sport since I am not any better off than she is.
I attempted bowling only twice, during my university days. The first time was during the UCC chalet in Year 2. Some of the UCC guys were pretty good at it and they urged the girls to join them. Well, the initial few balls I rolled out went pretty straight and did hit the pins. My best score was 9 out of 10 pins down. As the game continued, my throws got more disappointing. It always fell short of a few feet from the pins before it got swung off and hit the gutter instead. That wasn’t all! I slipped and fell backwards, landing on my butt, as I swung the ball. Embarrassing! I didn’t know that lane was just oiled, so I happily thought that the nearer I move the better I can aim and knock more of those pins down! As much as I was still interested in the sport, I didn’t pursue it since not many of my friends then bowled regularly. Besides, it was expensive.
The second time I had a chance to bowl again was also in Year 2 - Genting Highlands. Though I did not fall down, I replicated my lousy score back in Singapore.
Just received an update from K. She decided to put the plan on the back burner. Looks like I won't have my third go at it soon!
Musings
This is a year of the pig. A symbol of prosperity and fortune. Many of my friends and colleagues turned fathers and mothers as the year progressed into its ninth month. I saw in my previous company 4 baby piglets when I left in June, and another one more was born a month after my departure. The teacher whom I had religiously followed her blog for nearly a year gave birth to a pair of fraternal twins in that same period. A colleague in my present company was also promoted to the ranks of a father in early Aug. I discovered yesterday to my surprise that 2 of my JC classmates had given birth to a son and daughter respectively in that very same month! And there are 2 more baby girls due in Oct, one coming from M & J, and the other from G & A.
Staring at the friendster photos of the newborns and their parents, I saw blissful looks locked in every little and big faces alike. Heartwarming. It makes the once nearly inconceivable thought of being a parent myself a more imaginable notion. Maternal instincts at play? Not really! It's just more fun to build an idea than to realize it. At least for now.
A number of friends have tied the knot for the past 12 months too. It started with Mr. & Mrs. G, A & G, then SC & GZ, and followed by E & D, and SY & K soon to do so before the year turns 2008. It is always interesting and refreshing to listen to the stories told by newly wed couples and their endeavors to lead a life together. :-) Almost inevitably, in their revelations, attention will be turned to T & me. "When is your turn?" As much as love may be in the air, bread and butter aren't. So I can safely reveal that it won't be for the next N number of seconds! (I know some who may take forecasted figures too seriously; and thus I have resorted to taking the basic unit of time for my measurement. It> '> s not a hidden message! :-p) It simply requires too much courage to take the plunge. At least for now.
Sidetrack:I met up with G, SC and J for lunch at Serangoon Gardens last Sunday. SC decided on the recently opened Mushroom Park, which I had mistaken it for Mushroom Pot initially. Following the concept of its predecessor Mushroom Pot, it features various types of mushrooms ranging from the ordinary shitake to the more exotic liver mushroom. Accompanied in each set meal were a handful of vegetables (Chinese cabbage & some green leafy ones), a plate of thinly sliced meat (pork, chicken or beef), a choice of 2 mini steamed buns or white rice, a cup of flower tea and a dessert.
The crockery used was largely ceramic and boasts of a not-so-flattering muddy green color. The restaurant attempts to provide a Zen-like dining experience with its fusion of contemporary Chinese décor and simple, yet nutritious menu. The staffs were friendly and helpful, albeit a little forgetful and slow at times.
At $29 per person, I find that it' s too expensive. The mushrooms, no doubt exotic, have the similar subtle flavors and aroma of the ordinary ones that my mum bought from the supermarket. The only after taste that lingers (and made me hunger for more) came from the saltish dried mushrooms and one other brownish shreddings that tasted a bit like pork floss. Oh, and they are refillable! If there was any satisfaction that I derived from the meal, it was the palatable company I had that afternoon. ;-)
Can I hear the tiger roar?
I did not regret leaving my previous company. But I do regret joining my present one. Nothing of a ferocious tiger was manifested in the incumbent strength of 23. The bite of the beast was soft and reluctant, and soon felt like a nibble of a harmless cub.
I am growing tired from pushing and coaxing the animal to take on a more aggressive stance just so to satisfy my appetite for a bit of high-strung action. Maybe it does not want to entertain an amateurish attempt to provoke its temper; or maybe it could not detect my faltering efforts to excite its slumbering mood. It just lies there, watching my moves, occasionally nudging me whenever it feels like it.
Nothing that happens is truly eventful and more adventurous than my books of The Elenium, a three-part series that introduces me to epic fantasies and rebuilds my interest in reading. I prefer flipping through the pages of imaginary worlds than to engage in substance-less and mundane conversations with the group. Lunch is therefore an exciting one-and-a-half hour affair and one where I can enjoy some respite from office boredom.
It couldn't really agree with this hermit part of me though. It advocates group activities while at the same time emphasizing the need to be independent. I can't help but feel that it's another classic example of its confused and clouded state of mind.
It has already a past that boasted of projects completed in the most indecipherable manner, resulting in consequences that call for the most abstract of minds to understand and further the work done by their predecessors. How am I not to question its convoluted sense of logic when I discovered that step A is performed after step B, and step C is subsequently performed to replace or remove step B?
I decided that I have grown used to looking through standard operating procedures, which come in the form of flowcharts. The wordy manuals that my current employer adopts exposes its weaknesses in creating clarify and providing details in the same sentence.
Maybe I am just biased and too free.
