play

While attempting to clean my room, I stumbled upon my Dawson's Creek DVD box sets that I purchased when I was young (okay, fine, two years ago). This was probably the only show I followed religiously, my Thursday night fix of teen angst and verbosity. It was a love/hate relationship; I was hooked but perpetually annoyed by some of the characters.

My high school best friend and I had epic debates over the Dawson/Joey/Pacey love triangle. He was Team Pacey, and I was Team Dawson. Not because I was a Dawson fan, but probably because I was secretly in love with my best friend and living vicariously through the whole Dawson and Joey soul-mate fiasco. He despised Joey Potter, seeing her as indecisive and life-wrecking, while I thought she was just misunderstood.

Feeling nostalgic, I popped a random disc into the DVD player. It was the episode where Pacey and Joey return from their sailing trip. The episode itself wasn't groundbreaking, but the final scene was one of the most romantic of the series. Pacey and Joey took turns reading aloud to each other under the fairy lights on the boat, with Joey falling asleep in Pacey’s arms - a simple yet loving act.

Yesterday, our kayaking plans got canceled due to bad weather, so RD and I stayed indoors. We had lunch with his family, watched TV, and he played on his Xbox while I dozed off next to him on the couch. It wasn't a cinematic romantic moment, but on my drive to Bible study tonight, I replayed yesterday’s events in my head. I remembered waking up to see him smiling at me before turning back to his game. The memory warmed my heart.

confessions of an ebayaholic

I've discovered the ultimate shopping hack: eBay! Since I never try on clothes when I shop anyway, this method seemed like a stroke of genius. Efficient, right? Well, it was until I realised I've become hopelessly hooked. eBay is a minefield for competitive souls like me. I really need to work on this ungodly trait.

The bidding wars are wild - it’s all about winning. Winning! Funny term for something that involves losing money. But the rush of victory? Priceless. For competitive folks, it’s not about the item; it’s about the win. I’m convinced eBay's marketing team knows this and is playing us like fiddles.

In one week, I bought seven items - one for each day of the week. Logical, yes? I have a problem. I'm addicted to eBay. I need to quit. Do they sell patches for this addiction? Maybe something to stick on my wrist to prevent mouse burn?

just friends

When RD and I were friends, we went on many non-dates. We were cautious about where we should go since we didn't want to make the outings date-like. We chose safe places, and the Aquarium at Darling Harbour was one of them. In hindsight, it's beyond me how that was a safe place, with sharks looking into our eyes. I guess it was safer than us looking into each other's eyes, which we were forbidden to do as friends.

It was indeed an interesting year, building a strong foundation as friends, knowing so much yet so little about each other. So close, yet so far. Our friendship was pure, as any platonic relationship should be. We never crossed the line; we knew our boundaries and were conscious of our steps. There was none of this "friends with benefits" garbage. It makes me think about how modern society has soiled the value, innocence, and purity of friendship. People are forgetting the principles of companionship and allowing lust to become their driving factor.

You have two categories for the opposite sex; most of you have probably read or heard of the Ladder Theory before. The first category refers to people you've ruled out as romantic potentials, and the second type is the list of people you might consider dating later on. When I was single, 99% of my male friends were placed in the first category, and I'm sure the feeling was mutual. I'm very decisive when it comes to dating, and I know exactly what and who I want from the first encounter. A girlfriend of mine was confused about her feelings for her boy buddy, so I shared with her my secret boyfriend thermometer.

The test requires you to imagine kissing the person in question. If you're repulsed by the idea, then it's safe to assume you're destined to be friends forever. This experiment doesn't work for everyone, but it works for me. This means I could only imagine myself kissing 1% of the male population in my circle of friends. The test also measures the level of attraction.

In conclusion, two people cannot be friends if they're attracted to each other. They can be in denial, but they'll find themselves naturally drawn to each other, and once the timing is right, they'll grow to become more than friends. When that day finally arrives, they'll discover that the very first kiss is definitely worth the wait.

time management

This year has gone by so quickly, I can feel myself aging as I type this. I've decided to utilise my time and prioritise my fitness goals. I emailed RD a list of my goals so he could help implement and monitor them with me.

The Plan:

1. We should go rock climbing once a month. It was a month ago that we last went

2. Once a month for the 7 AM Saturday Bay Run

3. Salsa class once a week.

4. I'm going to join my friends' soccer team. Their reaction when I told them was laughter. Those clowns don't have any faith in me at all. I'll show them! *raises fist.

The Reality:

1. The last time we went rock climbing, I was exhausted after climbing up two walls and felt like passing out when I had to hold the rope for RD. Evidently, we're not professional climbers, so we need to get into shape before going for Round 2. 

2. Early morning Bay Run: I would probably end up turning it into a bay walk, and it would be lunchtime by the time I reach the end of the track.

3. Salsa dancing: I'm uncoordinated 

4. Soccer: I don't know how the game works. I don't even watch it on TV, so maybe developing some interest in this sport would be helpful. 

RD came up with a new (realistic) plan.

The Revised Plan:

1. Postpone rock climbing until we become fit for it. When I told RD that I was going to faint while holding the rope for him, I think that might have freaked him out, especially since he was hanging in mid-air.

2. We will jog around his block twice a week to train and prepare our bodies for the long Bay Run track.

3. We will commit to 8 weeks of salsa classes.

4. I need to learn the rules of soccer, then I can try playing it. Who knows, it might turn out to be my lifelong passion. I can be the next, err... David Beckham?

Staying in tune with utilising my time, I went to a life drawing session after work in hopes of unleashing some hidden talent. After much tapping, it was safe to say that there was no talent there. My drawings looked like a kindergartener's work; my Sunday school kids could do better than me with their eyes closed. My supportive friends titled one of my sketches "The Emu," even though it was supposed to represent a nude female model. I met up with RD after the class and showed him my "art." He asked me, "Is that a drawing of her front?" The answer was no; it was actually of her back. I'm glad my drawings amused everyone. Even though I discovered (or should I say confirmed) that I wasn't artistically gifted, at least my attempt at being an artist provided entertainment for my friends. And it's a gift to be able to make people laugh, right?

lately

Work's been great. The Advertising Manager amuses me. She is my senior but is dependent and silly. She's the type that makes you want to help her because she's so lost. She's a classic damsel in distress. I absolutely adore her because, for the first time in my life, someone else is more clueless than me. She asks me to help her with funny things like putting the SIM card into her new mobile. She is so lovely and sweet; I just want to plait her hair and feed her grapes. We coincidentally wore the same dress to work, which I think has made us closer than ever. We totally bonded.

I bought RD cologne for Valentine's Day, which was a bad idea because it didn't occur to me that my sense of smell was quite poor. I went shopping with a male friend who insisted that my boyfriend would love the scent and that all the girls wouldn't be able to resist any man wearing it. I wondered why my friend thought that was a good selling point, advising me to purchase cologne for my boyfriend to attract other girls. He wasn't counting me as one of those girls because he should know about my bad sense of smell! Fortunately, I'm secure enough to not let this possibility bother me. My only worry is whenever RD asks me to detect what cologne he's wearing. I'm just going to keep guessing that he's wearing my cologne until told otherwise.