Of Love and traditions...

for the months that I have gone M.I.A it felt like a million things happened- big breakups, great hookups, death, birthdays, summer school, the end of an amazing italian adventure & the anticipation over new one, trying ktv for the first time ever, finally bringing myself watch the season finale of will&grace- the great'ol circle of life. Series finales always make me feel like I've aged. I grew up channel surfing: sesame street to Barney to buffy to Ally to SATC basically marked the milestones in my life. Stuff like charmed and f.r.i.e.n.d.s were a staple that saw me well through secondary, JC and into Uni.. it's always hard to say good bye to family...

Meanwhile, preparations for my Europe adventure are going seemingly well.. I began accepting donations of winter clothes from my relatives- I got 2 woolly coats, knee length boots, scarves, earmuffs and even vitamin C pills.. Pam generously loaned me a practically brand new backpack to break-in so it definitely deserves a special mention.. My aunts also signed me up some spiritual insurance courtesy of the sky god a.k.a the jade emperor. They were beliefs and traditions I had long abandoned but all in all it was a beautiful gesture of love and the handsclasped-kneeling-smoking joss stick-lotus holding-mixing burning talisman in water-rituals had a nice feel to it. Their generosity also extended to fat ang baos and a Samsung camera...up to the point that I was totally floored and overwhelmed with guilt- money doesn't come easily to them.. I didn't know I mean that much to them..

On a separate issue, it worries me that I feel numb to all the excitement of going overseas..It seems like I have exceed my quota of adrenaline and frankly I can't imagine packing my bags and leaving to travel... financial, academic matters and self esteem issues are weighing me down.. i'm not sure i can do this..the "master" at the temple gave a warning to be extra careful- which i'm sure it's the usual advice she dispenses to all people traveling but i've been squeezing in as much time with my friends as possbile in any case and i'm glad that they are willing to spend time with me... and i've trying to be nice to my dad... que sara sara..

To end: a last taste of home Singapore's EPL lingo: Kopi tiam speak
Here's a glossary of common EPL names Singaporeans have mangled.

Team names:
Arsenal: Tua Pao (hokkien for big cannon)
Chelsea: Chia see ( hokkien for car breakdown)
Middlesbrough: Malboro
Tottenham: Tor Tor harm
West ham: See Harm (see is west in mandarin, see harm read in hokkien means cockels)
Newcastle: New Car sir
Watford: what for

Player names:
Fabio Aurelio: Oreo
Wayne Rooney: Goo Ni
Djibril Cisse: Sissy

not quite the happy gelato stained postcard.
--10:51 PM--