lazy summerdays

I took the day off for my final interview with new chairman Lim. He’s a nice man. Had a nice chat with all the 4 chairmen of various organizations and academys. But the main highlight of the day wasn’t that. I had rushed off to collect my visa at Tanglin. And since the rest of the day was free, I decided to go walk walk around. But as I walked from tanglin to orchard on a Thursday afternoon, I saw many Caucasians. Yeah. Tanglin seemed to be occupied by more Caucasians than locals, especially on a weekday afternoon when most people are at work. They were lazing around, wearing beetle sunglasses, some sitting on benches, reading books, enjoying the serenity of the place..

That’s what I really missed. Sitting on benches, doing nothing much, just letting the sunlight seep through my skin, watching people walk past, listening to the occasional car driving past, random thoughts filling my relaxed mind. The type of afternoon I enjoyed back in philly, something that I never did since I returned because of time constraint, and because the benches near my home are simply too dirty to sit on. (blame it on my being a biologist too.. bacteria everywhere!)

Instantly, I decided not to go shopping. Instead, I searched around for a nice outdoor café to sit down, and eventually decided on borders. I specially requested for an outdoor seat.. and it was my first time telling the waiter, “one person, please”. ^_^ I sat there, enjoying a nice meal of minestrone soup, asparagus/truffle/olive oil pasta, tiramisu and strawberry milkshake. WOOHOO~ ultimate shiokness ok!! Slowly eating, taking occasional sips on my drink, observing people, reading the book that I had brought along. The sky turned from sunny to a slight drizzle and then a thunderstorm. But though I was outdoors, I was sheltered. I sat there, watching people run for shelter, while others simply didn’t care about getting wet. Ah.. just like the times in Penn.. I never used my umbrella.. nobody did.. a simple down jacket would keep us dry.. for the rain never got too heavy. The carefree lifestyle.. j’adore. ^_^

3 hours of sitting there alone, 3 hours of not bothering about anything else but enjoying myself and pampering myself. I wished I could do this everyday, but I have to be practical. This is Singapore, and though I really adore a different lifestyle, I have no plans to migrate. Thus, I have decided to take a couple of weekdays off each year, just to enjoy lazy afternoons like that. They’re more therapeutic than shopping, and they cost much less. ^_^