Found this old pic taken when Cobie was 1 week old.
It was strange how I found Cobie… or actually, Cobie found me. He actually started following me from day 1, before his eyes were even open!
... an old collage I made
Hang in there, buddy… We’d be home soon!
“Those were the days.”
Heard too much of it but do we actually realize what those words mean when we think about who we are today? There are friends we keep happy memories with. Some we are left only with bitterness. But there are those we share some moments that changed our lives and how we view this tricky thing called ‘life’ which eventually mould us into who we are today.
Let me give an illustration.
I used to have the closest friend back in secondary school. Let’s call him J-man. (I did call him J-man.)
Those were the days before computers were common in the average households. J-man and I hung out for skateboarding, wuxia comics (e.g. 少林小子, 龙虎门, 天下, 如来神掌), checking out girls (mostly ah莲 ah花 and other wannabes) and listened to Iron Maiden and Metallica. Those were the happy moments and we became close like brothers.
Things only started to change when he gotten involved with the local 369 trait gang (yes, those were also the days they were still so common and idolized by kids) and started drifting away. With his early years training in taekwando, he became a fighter and within months, he became a leader. Though we still saw each other in school, we went to different classes and only hung out sometimes for kopi and ciggies after school (or sometimes during school hours).
J-man told me he had never killed anyone yet, but had gotten some kids rushed to the hospital. There were even times when we were just walking in AMK central and he suddenly had to dash off. “Go away and pretend you dunno me,” he nudged me and disappeared. Seconds later, some skinny kids came after him with sticks.
That was at the end of secondary three.
It was too much for me. I started thinking about my future, and I really did not want to end up dead and shatter my parents’ heart at such an early age. I had already made some cracks when I ruined my academic records for the year. So I definitely did not want to destroy my chance for GCE O’Levels.
I stopped calling. I quit smoking. I even stopped hanging out on Saturday afternoon in town.
But J still called once in a while. He called because he needed someone to talk to. He even cried sometimes. Slowly, he mentioned he needed out of the gang. I could not ignore him. He was, afterall, still a brother.
Then one day, J called and asked to speak to my mom, who already knew him as a family friend and also told of his unkindly ways. He needed a refuge for a month to hide. He finally quit the gang. Traditionally known for loyalty, such gangs will never let anyone quit. There is usually some form of punishment involved. His own brothers were given instruction to seek him out. They knew where he lived, and they knew where his relatives (which is not many) lived. I was the only choice he had as we had not hung out for a good long while.
So he did. He stayed at our place for a month, during which he did not leave the house. It was the month during mid year school holidays. For the whole month, the only thing he could do at my house was to study. For the entire month, he avoided public places and was constantly on the look out just in case an ex-brother ambushed from no where. He lived his longest month in fear.
A smart kid, but it was just a pity he wasted over a year neglecting his studies. He almost gotten himself into a retainment but decided after he flunked his GCE O’Levels that he could not return to studies. He started taking odd jobs while I entered into JC. Then he went to La Salle Fashion for a fashion merchandiser course. After national service, I went to University and he got married. When I went abroad, we lost contact.
I did try to contact him once and got him during one of my summer holidays back home, but did not manage to meet him. Today, the old phone numbers I had of him do not work anymore. Mine have all changed. The last time I heard about him, he was magazine salesperson and even started a printer cartridge recycling business.
Today, I have no idea.
Yesterday was one of the most ordinary yet ‘extraordinarily pleasant’ Saturday.
Sunsun and me had a drive around sending Annie to her singing class, rushed back home to pick up a free sampling package, back to pick Annie up and then headed to the National Library for her to return some books.
Now this National Library was new to me. It wasn’t the same old red bricked library between National Museum and the S11 kopi thiam (one of the famous chain of open-air hawker food centers). It was now a HUGE building of glass and steel next to Bugis Square. I know this new Library had been built and in operation for a while already, but I just haven’t gotten the chance to visit the place in person… until yesterday.
That was a weird moment, when I was pointing to a picture of that red-bricked building to Annie and telling her how I used to hide in the reference books corner for hours while waiting for our late Mom to run her errands… the building that is now no more. It was also a meeting landmark during my teens… the days of The Substation where my bandmates and I used to hang out… the days when we enjoyed the glory of local rock scene.
... Now what’s our band name again? ‘Blitzkrieg’ was it?
Anyway, it just felt weird as it reminded me of how Mom used to point at pictures of Singapore streets during her younger days, of how Plaza Singapura used to look with the huge fountain pond in front. And how we always need to pop our heads when driving past the side of Istana gate to show the number of people in the car to the police officer.
It is now my turn to point out to a younger generation how different the landscape has changed from my time.
What else will change in years to come? Who will remember the landscape we used to roam on foot and public transport, before we started travelling on personal cars?
I have no idea how this started tonight, but instead of the usual genre I’d play on iTunes, I clicked on A-mei’s albums… and searched for the song 聽海.
I did not start listening to mandarin songs during my younger days. Ironically, I started appreciating mandarin songs when I was in US. I remember it started with songs I heard in my Taiwanese pal’s car, and for a moment felt the thrill of connection with a fellow Chinese in a place where we are a minority. It was a feeling I had never experienced when growing up in a multi-ethnical community. From where I come from, I spoke mandarin with my parents, english with sibblings and friends… with a lil bit of hokkien-teochew mixed rojak dialect. It was weird listening to nice music playing with lyrics in a language I was only used to conversations.
Though I had heard mandarin songs every year during CNY, it had never occurred to me how mandarin songs can also be enjoyable when it’s in a different genre. Mandarin R&B to be exact. Following that encounter, I met a girl during my summer break back in Singapore who intro’d me to A-mei and when I fell in love with her, I fell in love with her favorite music of A-mei as well. Over the years we stayed together when she moved to US with me, my passion for mandarin songs grew more sentimental than musical. Sad chinese lyrics actually brought tears to my eyes. I even got into singing some David Tao’s song in shower!
Even after we had to go separate ways for personal reasons, I brought my likings for mandarin songs back when I returned home to Singapore. I found my likings towards more chinese R&B and rock with the likes of Jay Chow, Eason Chan, and even Taiwanese band MayDay. That went on for a year… until I lost myself after started working. It was all lost then… the sentiments, the screaming of K-song in shower… to the switch to electronic music and then back to jazz… until tonight.
Listening to 聽海 now… feeling the nostrology.
Just received a newsletter from my alma mater Northeastern University today that they have recently been promoted in their ranking for “Best National University” in the States. I still remember how we used to be ranked far beyond public recognition then. The only ‘WOW!’ we used to hear when mentioning the name was when we were mistaken for ‘Northwestern University’, which was rather often. Today, we can rightfully compare with Boston University. And I must add that I am proud to be from NU. I had somewhat grown up during my 4 academic years there.
GO HUSKIES, GO!!!
The 2006 edition of U.S. News & World Report rankings has been released, and I am very pleased to announce that Northeastern University has moved up five spots from last year to a rank of 115. This ranking puts Northeastern, for the second year in a row, in the top-tier of the category “Best National Universities.” Since 2001 we have moved from a ranking of 150 to 142 to 127 to 120 to this year’s 115. Also, for the fourth consecutive year in the specialty rankings, Northeastern has been recognized as one of the top schools in the nation for co-ops/internships.
