Wonderful Unknown

Here we go, dancing on our own,
Inside this house that we have never known, never known
Here we go, going in alone
Into the dark and wonderful unknown,
Let us go, let us go

Loving Ingrid Michaelson's new album. I've had it playing on loop in YouTube since three nights ago, after learning that she'll be returning to Singapore for a show in September. To be honest, I wasn't even aware that she released a new album until the tour announcement was made, but better late than never, right?

Anyway, she definitely didn't disappoint this time round - the album's beautifully crafted songs speak of life, love and loss with a trademark sensitivity that, as usual, pays a poignant tribute to her life experiences. I also dived in fully expecting the album to be rather mellow, judging from the way it was marketed and all, but my ears were, much to my surprise, warmly greeted by a good number of upbeat tunes, such as 'Afterlife', and 'Girls Chase Boys'. If you ask me, the album's definitely worth a listen (why the hell not?), and if you're the type who has a soft spot for female vocalists who actively participate in the songwriting and producing process, blessing the world not only with their beautiful voices, but also with their stunning music and lyrics, you're in for a wonderful treat. My personal favourites off this album would be her collaborations, namely 'Over You', 'Open Hands' and 'One Night Town', and of course, the song posted above.

In other news, I haven't done a good job at catching up with my life in this place... as expected. The block leave I was forced to clear this week's quickly coming to an end, and although I didn't go out of the way to have lots of fun and make the most out of this period (e.g. spontaneously hopping on a plane to a random country), it still didn't feel wasted, so all is well.

Two Saturdays ago, I woke up at the unearthly hour of 7.30am to accompany my mom to a Shopify sharing session at SingTel ComCentre. Initially, I had misgivings about the event because after all, she was tipped off by a random advertisement that appeared in Her World magazine, so I was expecting it to be rather... femininely out-of-touch, if that's a complete enough description. It turned out to be informative and even engaging in the end, and I thoroughly enjoyed it despite the skewed gender ratio in the audience and the fact that I still don't believe it's good value for money (the entrance fee was a whopping $50 if I'm not wrong). The sharing session did inspire a couple of fresh ideas in me (which I have yet to act upon) though, and I definitely left with a much better impression of Shopify on a whole (entered thinking that it was just an entry-level, non-professional e-commerce start-up website for those looking to dabble casually in online markets, but left affirmed that it's actually an efficient, no-frills solution for both amateurs and professionals alike... I overestimate my IT skills too much for my own good).

The next day, I met Michelle, Sheryl & Lena for a 'night under the stars' with Shakespeare in the Park: The Merchant of Venice. Had dinner at Kith Café @ Park Mall, a place I've been meaning to try for pretty long already, before settling down at Fort Canning Park (with surprisingly good seats considering how we were rather late) for a truly amazing performance by the Singapore Repertory Theatre. The stage could barely be considered fancy and the dialogue was a little too flowery for my liking, but despite that, the cast successfully managed to assimilate their roles and make the story accessible. Overall, it was great value for money, and even now I'm already contemplating if I should attend the event again next year, hahaha.

Before I happily left camp for the enforced block leave last Friday, I had to pull through yet another mini field exercise which turned out memorable (in a bad way of course) due to run-ins with the CSM which saw me signing for three extra duties and kissing my clean record goodbye... all because of a stupid 'mistake' which isn't even worth mentioning here. If anything, it only serves to remind me that in the army, you can literally do anything you want - just don't get caught. Ever.

On Sunday, a few of us 'old birds' (lol) from the E290 days gathered to belatedly celebrate Xiaoshi's birthday with a meal at the ThaiPan in the Mandarin Gardens apartments (老地方 where we used to gather for cell group meetings in the past), followed by a hilarious karaoke session (just because Xiaoshi was so tone-deaf). Returning to places in my recent past, I can't help but find it funny how so much has changed, when it feels like things haven't actually been very different. Aaron, who used to live in Mandarin Gardens and who played host to our cell group meetings in the past, left our lives without leaving so much as a trace in the end, and looking back, church has unknowingly come to play such a huge role in my life such that it's startling to realise how I've actually seen so many changes over the past few years. Perhaps the reason why this hadn't hit me with full impact until now was because the important parts remained more or less the same, and the friendships I most valued remained more or less intact, giving me an illusion that things are just taking their time to change. But in due time, I know God will lead us to different places, even if we don't exactly realise it.

Tuesday was a day to honour a promise that I frankly didn't really bother keeping – exercising, with the exact promise being to exercise regularly, but obviously I'm a horrible person who's too lazy for my own good. Went to Yiren's aunt's condo to swim with Sheryl & him, where I tried to exercise at the gym for a bit and teach Sheryl how to swim the breaststroke... to no avail, unfortunately. The swim also made me realise that my fitness level has plunged more drastically than I thought, and it's an especially sad realisation considering how little I actually care. I guess I need to stop thinking that I'll never be able to gain weight no matter what I do, and start exercising again, even if it means taking baby steps towards a goal that may currently still be out of sight. But of course, this particular thought didn't immediately occur to me, for right after the swim we gladly indulged in hawker fare (wanton noodles + oyster omelette om nom nom) and some waffles with ice cream at the nearby Milk & Honey Gelato which, I have to say, was shockingly underwhelming. I remember cringing upon my first taste of the balsamic strawberry flavour which was way too concentrated and sour, while Yiren & Sheryl were more than satisfied with how the café played their favourite Kari Jobe as background music (I'm not exactly a fan, so sadly that didn't manage to compensate for anything).

Moving on, Wednesday was yet another wet day (albeit more tiring), and this time, I spent the afternoon at Adventure Cove with Kwok Sing & Raman. They were rather unexpected company, for I didn't anticipate to meet any NS friends at all during this block leave, but nonetheless it was a day well-spent. Adventure Cove occurred to me as a more hyped-up version of Wild Wild Wet, and we ended up spending most of our time fooling around in the wave pool and the artificial river which meandered through the park, instead of trying out the water slides. But it was definitely fun to be like a kid again (although half the time it was just the other two who were fooling around, hahaha).

Made it a point to head down to Kinokuniya after my driving lesson on Thursday afternoon to get a couple more titles to read. I settled with 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' and 'Atonement' in the end (hopefully they won't prove to be too overwhelming for my tiny brain), marking the halfway point in my reading challenge for this year – that is, to complete 18 books. Continued to while away quite some time there and in the Orchard area before heading straight down to Jurong West for bible study, which I felt was definitely at least worth the time spent travelling there. I personally really appreciate Pastor Tan's lucid analyses of the Scriptures, and how he always manages to sieve out the most important and enduring themes and messages from the Word. Also, Yuyun, back from a 6-week long trip to Kenya and very obviously full of interesting stories, joined us that night, and I was nothing short of enthralled at her colourful sharings during the cab ride home. If anything, it definitely changed my perspective of Africa, making it a little more personal somehow. Welcome back Yuyun (if you're reading this), and I honestly can't wait to follow your footsteps and embark on journeys similar to yours. :) Six more months to freedom!

Although the block leave's ending very soon, there's still quite a lot to be excited about, what with two upcoming concerts/gigs next week (Red Tour and Ellie Goulding). I can only imagine the post-concert depression that inevitably follow, but for now, I shall just revel in the tense anticipation. So here's to a (hopefully) smooth week ahead, before I go on to unleash the Ultimate Fanboy Mode. I just hope that I don't procrastinate writing about the concerts too much, though.