Ah, what a nice soiree we just had at the office tonight. It was time to celebrate the months spent together and say goodbye to some of our interns (myself included), who are moving on to the next phase of our lives. There are three of us who are leaving within the next couple of weeks and I’m the earliest to go, so we arranged to get together the night before my flight. It was so nice to see everyone come out, including some of the people who have been busy lately and who I have not seen in weeks. The turnout was spectacular, with really only one person I can think of who I would have liked to come.
It felt very much Singaorean.
We started off with a feast of jackfruit fried rice, chicken wings, veggies, and yam cake coupled with a sort of lime drink, wine, or juice. As the conversations flowed and everyone filtered in, some of the people got a game of charades started while others chilled out in the back. There was a lot of laughter from all areas, since nearly all of us know each other, and the atmosphere was cozy and comfortable. It was a really nice chance to see everyone one more time before I fly off and don’t get to see them for who knows how many months or years. So, I took pictures as I always do, as a way to commemorate the event and have a way of looking back on this final night. In the years to come I can look back and smile as I remember the intimate gathering of the people I’d gotten to know in my five months here.
When the first people were about to head out, we gathered everyone together and each of us got a card, as well as a chance to address the group and talk about our experiences. I took the opportunity to individually thank everyone there for the parts that they’ve played in making me feel welcome here and taking care of me when I needed help. In fact, many of them have been instrumental in my survival here, offering me their time, attention, and even homes as I needed. I felt a fondness towards everyone, even those who I hadn’t gotten a chance to know well because of too few encounters. Since I had not anticipating speaking, I pointed them out in a general order of involvement and touched on some of the things that made them so special to me. Of course, a lot could not be said, so I hope they feel appreciated enough, because they certainly are.
Time for some thank yous.
From there, things wound down as people bustled around cleaning and I finished packing everything from my desk. As everyone left, I got multiple reminders to remember my passport, teasing me about the time I forgot it recently as I embarked upon my little vacation a few weeks ago. I assured them that I would have everything with me this time and I’d take extra care with the passport this time. 😛 Eventually, we were all ready to go and went back to rest for the early start tomorrow. Last minute, Zen’s car became available, so he, Mizu, and Starfish are apparently going to send me off tomorrow morning before they all head to work. Isn’t that lovely? 🙂
So with that, I should catch a nap before I need to be up and ready to go.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for five months and even harder to believe I’m about to leave on Friday. Thankfully, there’s lots to do so I don’t have much time to mull over it all. On the one hand I’ve missed Panda for nearly 150 days and I can’t wait to see him, touch him again. It’s been too long of pretending I could touch him and feel him hug me through the webcam. On the other hand, the people here are amazing and have taken great care of me. Plus, I’m just getting around to exploring Singapore! It’s a pity it’s ending already, but I can’t help but look forward to who and what I have waiting for me back home.
Each one has its significance to me (and may not be the most practical, but I was going for more meaningful…): for Zen, a pair of silver dragons because that just seems fitting for an influential man; for Mizu, a pair of gold electric guitars because he truly is a rock star (in so many ways); for Typea, a pair of blue and sea green golf clubs in their bags (or whatever it’s called) for his enjoyment of the game and the lifestyle it represents; for Marylin, a pink cover with a pretty peacock for her growing involvement in the beauty industry; and for Starfish, a cool blue cover with an elegant flower for her cool head and classiness as well as the spray I mentioned above because she loves VS. As for the elephants, I figured that Mac would want the purple one (actually why I bought that particular pack, though I liked it because I like purple too) and Lorry would appreciate the green one (a bit of an inside joke on that one, for all his Greenness). Skim was the only wild card, who could go for the pretty light blue one or the more royal blue one, or maybe even the bright white one.
That’s what I thought, anyway. Then I saw pictures and it was undeniable; these things are PINK. Like little girl playing hopscotch and blowing Bubble Yum gum pink. Like pink rose pink. Like how flamingos are neon pink, they are baby pink. Nothing like the “pink” tint of human skin or other such wannabes. So, I was really excited to go out to see some of these creatures for myself. I almost couldn’t get on a tour, but we managed to book me for a tour before I was due to leave (though I had to delay my intended departure time by a few hours).
When we were first heading out, we were right around the area where the planes were coming in for landing at the airport. Distracted, I took pictures and videos of them as they roared overhead and came down for a smooth landing. By the time one plane landed, another was appearing from the clouds, making its descent. One by one the planes took turns coming in, like clockwork, as others left going in the other direction. I marveled at how many people and how much cargo I had just seen arriving in Hong Kong. It was the first time I’d ever spent some time watching the operations of an airport and it was pretty cool.
At one point when we were further out, I was sitting in front, staring down at the water when a little fish jumped out and quickly got overrun by the boat. I continued staring down and soon more came, jumping just ahead of the boat, then falling off to the sides to avoid being hit. Excited, I started to film and snap away, trying to get a good shot of these little flying fish. Maybe it was just my imagination, but they looked a lot like mini dolphins. I spent a long time observing them and noticed that when they are in groups, they all jump at more or less the same time in some sort of coordinated effort. They also really seemed to like jumping in front of the boat in the rushing water, but once they went off to the side, they seemed to resume swimming more. I guess they’re looking for the adrenaline rush!
I so wanted to hop in the water, toxins and all, and go join them. I wondered if they’d come closer to explore if I had some body parts dangling in the water. Still, it was so rewarding to finally find them, after so many hours of searching. I had even begun to entertain the idea of how I could go on another trip (they offer a free retry if you don’t see any on your trip) – perhaps I could get an IOU that wouldn’t expire, so I could use it years down the line, or whenever I return. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about that in the end and we ended the trip on a happy note.
It’s nearing the time when I need to start looking for a job again. As I prepare for my final weeks in this part of the world, I am reminded of the next stage to come. Then, rather out of the blue, I received an e-mail yesterday, with a job opportunity that I was extremely interested in. The benefit of having a business fraternity network is that I hear of a lot of openings that I otherwise would not have known about. Plus, I could get a direct referral from my fellow brother who was about to leave the post for her next venture (it’s a co-ed organization, but since it’s a fraternity we refer to everyone as brothers).
