Reconnection

Recent events have led to many small gatherings of friends from teenage years. These are friends who had laughed, cried, argued, shared, loved, had crushes on / with, served, worked together.

Each had been busy with his / her life - career, marriage, raising young children, taking care of aged parents.

For a span of a few years, the friendship and connection seemed to have cooled down and became customary.

But since June, somehow we managed to gather together and caught up with each others' life. Every one seems to be at a stage in life where we come to realize the comfort and joy of reconnecting and supporting each other.

I have been greatly encouraged by the turn of event. Our teenage friendship, though interspersed with the busyness of life and age, seems to serve as a strong foundation until today.

It is easier to reconnect and be transparent once again. The facade of success tears away as some of us shared our deepest thoughts with each other. The grass is never greener on the other side of the fence.

On recollection, I am grateful that despite the challenges that I faced these past 20 years, I still seem to be holding on quite well. For that, I'm thankful for my heavenly Father who has guided me in my seasons of sorrow and joy.

Thankful that these friends remain the most sincere relationships that I've ever forged and delighted that we are starting to make it a point to gather together for meals and have a good laugh together.

~~~~~~~~~

DD dearest, thank You so much for Your kind providence. When I am at the brink of losing faith in genuine and sincere friendship, You have brought back my most treasured friends. It has greatly encouraged me and lifted my wavering spirit. I can't thank You enough!

Walking Away?

Somehow reading this article comforted me and gave me so much insights into what I should do (if it ever comes to this) and how I should do it. But will seriously need to re-evaluate the whole situation because I really do not want to make rash decisions. 

I had been feeling so wretched all these while - feeling so guilty - doubting myself so much and feeling so hurt and drained to the point of sleepless nights and actually having headaches because the love and respect I have for this relationship is so much, just too much.

Had so many thoughts, analysis (and over-analysis) and contemplations over this relationship. Shed so much tears yet somehow knowing there may be no way of bringing up these issues because of the anticipated defensiveness. Encountered that a few times over the past two years and it had always made me feel so wretched, lost, confused, feeling as if I'm the wrong party and the matter(s) was never resolved.

But actually now I know that they have been merely swept under the carpet because I lack the courage to pursue... for fear of losing the relationship...

But is this not a one-sided relationship in the first place?

Oh God, please help me! Feeling so wretched and painful... because of the decision I'm about to make...

Nostalgia

Finally I went to FGA KL for its first service on the second Sunday that I was here.

It was indeed good to be back.

FGA was my spiritual home for the 3 1/2 years that I was here. They started an evening service just for uni students, sent buses to pick us up, fed us dinner and spiritual food too.

Whenever I'm in KL, I'd make it a point to worship here since it's so near my uncle's place.

I may not know anyone here, except for Anita, but every time I set my feet in the sanctuary, it feels like home.

The speaker spoke on kindness

The re-furnished sanctuary

After the service, I had breakfast and a good long chat with Anita, my uni mate. We used to go to the early morning service together in our final year.

We would ride her motorbike to the commuter, take the train to Seputeh and hop on a bus to get to church. Those were the good ol' days.

 Long-time friend

July 4: Kuchai Lama

Chums

Elaine is a dear friend of mine since uni days. She was my college-mate for three years and also housemate for half a year.

When she got married to Simon, our college-mate, I had the privilege to be her bridesmaid. ^ ^

Stayed over at her place for a few days since it's nearer to UM and had the chance to meet her brood of boys (1 man + 3 sons) after four years.

Elaine and Benjamin
June 25: Fatty Crab Restaurant @ SS24

Daniel, Simon and Jeremy

Dan

JJ

Ben

Handsome men, no?

Another Birthday

Firefly and Jack Daniels

It has been a consecutive three days of eating rich food with Jen. My waistline is definitely expanding!

Together with Elizabeth, Jacelyn, Monica and of course, Jenny, we celebrated Jen's birthday at the Firefly Bar & Grill at Times Square. It was also my first time setting foot at this 'new' block of shops since its opening. All these while, I had been driving past Times Square, questioning its existence because it had looked like a dead project to me.

True enough, the only signs of life here were the few eateries and pubs.

I was informed by Eliz that this establishment is well-known for its pork dishes, especially its Bourbon Back Ribs where the ribs are marinated in Jack Daniels. The rest ordered this signature dish while I opted for Pork Chop in Alfredo sauce.

Bourbon Back Ribs

Pork Chop in Alfredo Sauce

Verdict? Both dishes were delicious although I thought that the pork chop was slightly on the salty side. The best part had to be its veggies which were well-blanched and sauteed.

Eliz ordered a slice of choc moist cake for Jen, complete with a lit candle and birthday greeting written in choc sauce, which was delivered to our table by the staff.   

Cake

April 19: Firefly Bar & Grill

I'd definitely be coming back for its ribs and choc moist cake.

Roses and Buffet

After class today, I went to order a bouquet of roses for the birthday gal, Jenny, as we were going to celebrate her big day a few days earlier. She has invited Lily and I for dinner.

The florist sprinkled some silver paper strips over the mixed-colour roses which I thought is quite a unique touch to the whole bouquet. 

Dinner was at Tivoli Cafe, Shangrila at Bandaran Berjaya and the spread was quite impressive.

And these were what I had in chronological order... :)

The most unexpected were the desserts. They were just so tasty. As someone who prefers savoury over sweetness, Tivoli's dessert spread was surprisingly good. Its puddings and cakes are well-made and texture, delightful!

Just had to go for a second helping!

Courtesy of Peter, who was also there that night, we got to taste strawberry tea from Germany. It was just lovely! The aroma of strawberry was delightful.

Not forgetting a pic of the three of us before indulging ourselves.

And what's a birthday post without the VIP? Here's a pic of the birthday gal herself with her bouquet of roses.

Birthday Gal

April 17: Tivoli Cafe

Happy birthday, kindred spirit! May God bless you.

Farewell, Leng Zai

We had a small farewell for our electric guitarist, Sam. He will be leaving for Perth, Australia for further study this Thursday.

I still remember the first time he joined us three years ago as a bashful 15-year-old. He seemed eager to play the acoustic guitar yet he was so shy and lacking in self-confidence. Whenever we had our practice, he would start off facing the team but somehow by the end of the session, he would end up facing the wall coz he was just so shy! I never fail to chuckle whenever I recall that.

Nevertheless, over the months, he gained more confidence and skills. I know for a fact that he had always come prepared and did his part well. I did not have to worry about him as he's a very responsible member. From acoustic guitar, he soon found his love for the electric guitar and had his parents invest in some cool equipment.

Quiet and polite, he does have his own quirky ways.

Partners-in-crime

Debs and Chris

Tiff

Samson

Terence

Mr Sam Cool

April 6: Upperstar Damai

Bye-bye, Sam. We wish you all the best in the land of kangaroos. Study hard!

TG for Friends

Choo flew over from Tawau for work and was bunking in at my place for two nights. Since the makan gang is freer on Monday night, Lily decided that we should eat seafood at one of the shops at SEDCO which was offering RM8.80 per dish.

It has been many years since I was last here. Personally, I do not really like going to this area though it's well-known for its fresh seafood because I thought that the shops here have over-priced their food and I have heard that sometimes they really go for an overkill especially on those hapless, unsuspecting tourists / out-of-towners. I'd much prefer another establishment that's cheaper yet offers really fresh and tasty seafood.

RM8.80 per kg

The whole area has been spruced up with extended roofing from one block to the other and homogeneous tiles on the floor. It definitely looks clean and spacious.

My eating buddies:

Jenny & Choo

She's the reason why we're here.

Lily & Cat

We They may be petite but when it comes to eating, don't underestimate them! ;)

Sophie can gobble up much too though it shows, physically :(

Fried oyster with eggs

Sweet & sour crabs

Claypot beancurd and vegetables

Shells / "Tung Fung Lo"

The portions were large and great-tasting although I find that the crabs were too much on the sour side. Another gripe of mine is that the waiter mixed-up our order and delivered our shells to the next table although we had placed our order first. By the time the shells reached our table, it was more than one hour since our placement of order and we had lost the eating momentum.

Yes, there's such momentum - we want our orders to be continuous and not disrupted coz that will interrupt the joy of eating.

This is how much Jenny can eat

vs

Choo's miserable four pieces (after waiting for too long)

We only had to fork out RM15.70 each. Cheap!

And that sums up my third joy of the day!