People Change, Places Stay The Same

My laments to JH about how quickly time just zoomed by were completely genuine. Indeed, it had seemed like just a while ago that we had watched the first leg of Liverpool vs Man Utd for this season. Who would have thought that that was all the way back in October.

How much had changed since then?

Liverpool had gotten progressively worse, to the point of possibly no return. From Champions League title contenders to the Europa League.

The dreary English weather had turned from its unbearable frostiness to sunny, bright skies and more amicable temperatures (bar yesterday's rain).

The company with which we watched the first match had been modified drastically as well. How ironic was it that at the end of the day, it was only JH and I who remained the constants in this silent film of scenes changing through time.

I told JH I refused to visit the same 'GG.COM' bar that we had watched the first leg in, for reasons that were blatantly obvious, to me and him. I didn't want to be reminded of a time of transient happiness, only to be in the same environment and realise the brutal reality of the present.

So we rewrote memories. And these will be around to stay for a very long time.

Even though Liverpool played horrendously and offered no real threat at all after Torres's goal at the 5th minute. Even though the final score justified defeat compared to the first leg's triumphant victory of 2-0. Even though the only possible real entertainment of the entire match was watching JH squeal with excitement about Park Ji Sung and letting him 'educate' me about how superior Man Utd was to Liverpool. Even though my good luck vibes did not work at all this time around. Even though I had not followed football in so long that my knowledge had deteriorated beyond mention....

I would say that this time I was able to leave the place with a genuine smile.

And remember that Man Utd vs Liverpool will always be associated with only the best memories ever, even if they are not in Liverpool's best interest.

I think we have definitely come full circle. Period.

Push, Climb, Go

"They take pictures of mountain climbers at the top of the mountain. They are smiling. Happy. Ecstatic.

They don't take pictures along the way. 'Cos who wants to remember the rest of it?

We push ourselves because we have to. Not because we like it.

The relentless climb....The pain and anguish of taking it to the next level. Nobody takes pictures of that.

Nobody wants to remember.

We just want to remember the view from the top.

Because it's worth the pain.

It's worth anything."

Who would have thought that I would have gravitated towards Lexie Grey amidst this season's drama and turmoil.

I'll get to the top some day. I will.

Gratitude

To my bestest friends in the whole wide world :)

To Jenn, for the simple act of being so concerned and entertaining me on MSN just to make sure I was alright. Thanks so much. I haven't spoken to you in ages but when we do talk it is as though time had never moved an iota. I have missed you tons, and I'm glad I have sort of managed to keep on par with your updates regularly, but I will write you that long email soon just to keep you adrift with my shenanigans. Alot of the time, when I encounted fair-weather friends in my life, I am reminded of you and our friendship and how it was built to last - and that no matter how sporadic our conversations may be, I am indefinitely here for you as you are for me :)

To Manda, my one-in-a-million, Pri1-through-F5, and favourite person in the whole wide world, for calling me alllll the way from Adelaide despite the time difference and your being so exhausted. Even though we only dwelled on the serious bits for a fraction of the conversation, the entire hour or so was therapeutic beyond words! I miss you heaps.

To Janey, who has so kindly shared her similar experiences with me and dished out all her sentiments just to assure me that it was okay to be not okay. Thank You. I will email you / speak to you online soon, even though I wasn't there when you left me those msgs....but I am beyond words trying to describe how much they meant to me.

And finally to CK, whose simple BBM of concern meant soooo much to me, plus the sharing of her stories - short as my stopover was at her place, really hit home and reality, and made so much sense that I was amazed at how sometimes you just need another person to point out the obvious to you, even if it was something there all along that you never saw yourself.

Not forgetting as well, the rest of my incredible friends for their support / texts / well wishes / concern. I have not gotten around to telling everyone yet, but I will eventually. I am infinitely grateful to have friends like you all. And not to worry, I have shed one of the final few tears for my grandfather, for now at least.

'He who does not weep, does not see.'

I remembered one episode of OTH where there was a death in the school and someone quoted this phrase from Les Miserables, which I found to be suitably appropriate.

Thanks again, people xx

Loss

I do know that my tear threshold is incredibly low, although it has improved tremendously since I started this year.

Swollen eyes, a headache and a distracted mind. Not good timing for an exam. But I've compromised by telling myself I can do all of that after tomorrow.

It wasn't surprising, whom I chose to turn to right away after I heard. And they have all turned out to be no fair-weather friends indeed.

My grandfather will definitely always be one of the best people I have ever known.

London Fashion Weekend

London Fashion Weekend: 25 Feb '10

When I first heard about London Fashion Weekend back in September, I was immediately tempted to pay it a visit, despite the well-known fact that it would cause more damage to my bank account than the insight I hoped to gain about the official London Fashion WEEK in general.

(NB: London Fashion Weekend is a special event held over a 4-day period - over the weekend - where the official venue of London Fashion Week is opened up to the general public to shop the various creations of a host of participating designers)

Fortunately enough (for my bank account), the planned trip in September didn't materialise, but when Hanna suggested visiting LFW this year, I jumped at the opportunity. Hey, I'd never been before, and I probably will never go again (Yes, scoff all you want, but I AM serious!).

We opted for the Gold Ticket Entry which included a chance to watch the Fashion Show / Catwalk / Runway Extravaganza taking place that night. It was all pretty exciting at first, being seated at the foot of the runway, when all the lights dimmed and the blasting music came through the speakers, and the rail-thin, 6-feet tall models started tottering out in heels one by one. Towards the end, I got a little tired of constantly having to arch my neck in various angles because the guy in front of me was busy blocking my plane of view with his tripod and his gigantic DSLR. Which explains the only decent picture I managed to snap with my BB. Pfft.

I had to admit, though, that all the names of the designers mentioned by the host that night drew blanks in my mind, but the different trends introduced this season proved to be interesting enough. Most were too 'Over The Top' for any sane human to wear on the High Streets, but I noted a couple of dresses that caught my eye, only to lament to Hanna afterwards that I never ever saw them anywhere. Blame the lack of time and the hoards of people crowding Somerset House, as well as the fact that the entire place wasn't exactly the easiest to navigate when the clock is ticking profusely.

I later related the experience to my friends as 'Kiasu Shopping'. And there was nothing I could have done wrong more than my attire of a pencil skirt and heeled ankle boots. Anything but comfortable and allowing a good range of movement. Nevertheless, we managed to visit the few outlets that we had eyed on the list of designers: Luella, Juicy Couture, Sass & Bide and Michael Kors being a few of them. I never saw Herve Leger anywhere, though, and I ended up buying two long-sleeved, formal tops from a label I had never heard of when the rest failed to deliver. This just proves my theory again and again that it is not ALWAYS about the label but the garment itself. They were, however, bought as impulse purchases rather than proper contemplating, because we were determined not to leave the place (having paid so much to enter) with empty hands. Most of the smaller sizes of 6/8 or Size Zero were gone by the time we browsed through the racks, which again, reinstated my description of 'Kiasu Shopping', and this was on the very first night itself that the event opened!

A good experience of impulsive buys, nonetheless, but definitely not my kind of thing. I had been afraid that a couple of my purchases would turn out being too dowdy for a 20 something to wear, but they have fared well so far, with much racking of my brains to jazz them up with accessories and pair them with funkier add-ons. Squeezed up all that was left of the creative fashion juices, thank you very much. Not that I had much left, to begin with.

No more 'Kiasu Shopping' OR Shopping for a while now.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

1) On Sunday, while happily chugging along back to London from Edinburgh, the train suddenly stalled in the middle of nowhere and we were informed that some other train had broken down ahead in God-Knows-What station, and was blocking both tracks, causing this massive traffic congestion. YL and I were stranded for 3 whole hours. Thank God for the free food and beverage that they offered to prevent our extreme irritability from mounting to insane heights. Finally got back around 1.30 am, and my BFF JH did not help by reiterating the fact again in subtle ways that I made the wrong choice of going to Edin.

2) On Monday, while innocently walking down the High Street from the hospital in broad daylight at 4.30 pm, I got stopped by this insane stranger who was positively drunk and kept grabbing my arm and blocking my path, so that I could not run away or shake him off. He tailed me all the way from the High Street to the Post Office (I made the mistake of not walking into the nearest shop and calling the cops right away), making me increasingly annoyed by the second, and then progressively more nervous when he almost gave me no way of leaving. I called for help in the end, and managed to leg it in heels alll the way to the tube station in 5 minutes flat.

And both these have masked a positively awesome weekend in the Burgh. Arthur's Seat, Chocolate Soup, PS3, StreetFighter, Honey Mustard Salmon, Canto Movies and Thai Commercials - amidst bountiful laughter from Tham, ChowChow, Hoo, Wynken and Yeap.

I don't think I've had this much fun in ages. Really :)

And this is when you know some friends are meant to last a lifetime.