Primary School Gathering

Last night was our Second Primary School Gathering in 2008!

The earlier one was around April where we had dinner at HK cafe at hougang followed by a drink at a pub at Punggol area. Attendence was about 17-18.

Comparatively, last night's outing only had about 10 pple (including my girlfriend Joan was isn't my primary sch friend, hahaha) so it wasn't one of those big outings, but to me I felt it was one of the best.

Who came:

Stephanie Sim - flying to china on friday n then back to australia to continue her studies, she was the main reason why we had the gathering in the first place. i couldn't contact her on tues night so was a bit annoyed, but haha, i should've trusted her that she will turn up. she's still the same, chirpy n talkative n bubbly, but less tomboy. haha! but can't get used to her accent no matter how she speaks it just feels weird.

Weiyi aka Winnie aka Rion - this guy used to be one of the quiet ones back in pri sch, very low profile and a bit on the plump side. now he's this hunky GP teacher in MI, with a low voice n a charming smile. oh man, how pple change! i don't even remember him being good in english class in primary sch, i don't think i talked to him much.

Lishan - class monitress, n a personal good friend during my sec sch n JC days, we were in the same JC, AJC. my pri sch best friend weixiong used to like her last time n he often went over to her house to visit n play with her. haha! she's still quite pretty n kudos to her for always taking time n effort to organise the gatherings over the years!

Junhao - the NTU IT personnel n part time investor, this guy is a subtle joker! he's still a bit shy in talking to crowds n tends to be quiet when we're engaging in group chats, but personally he's a good friend who still bothers to chat with me on msn n sms me once in awhile to ask whats going on in my life. he's damn funny when he's in the joker mood though. haha

Liangfeng aka Jerald - this large guy used to be sarcastic n aloof, always acting cool in pri sch, but now he's much nicer to everyone n he actually took initiative to organise the first outing this year. think he's helping his dad with his business now, n looking to take over in a couple of years.

Yvonne - the fair n short hair Christian girl who's a sunday sch teacher n works at the supreme court (i found out last night!) who was always with Fungus in pri sch. (Fungus apparently is now a really handsome butch with blond hair. I really can't picture that, gives me the creeps!) she has that nice bubbly personality that somehow didn't quite show in pri sch.

Yingyan - the birthday girl last night! we got a delicious chocolate brownie with sugar coated words on it. i loved the brownie, it was so sweet. she's this petite nice hardworking girl if i remember correctly, always very "on" about class outings. i think she was quite good in english also.

Deborah - the tall dark n pretty one in the class, now working in OCBC doing mortgages n charges over property. didn't really talk much to her in pri sch cos she was very "dao" n hung out with net ball girls from other classes, n Kelly n I made fun of her calling her "the bra". haha! but she's quite friendly now, more of those classy sophisticated girls, so i guess a remnant of her "dao"ness remains, manifested in another aspect.

Shujun - another quiet girl whom i didn't really talk much to in pri sch cos she was sitting at the other end of the class. she's now quite pretty compared to last time, n is now the official photographer of our class outings. still don't know her well, despite her being lishan's closer friend.

Jacob "biscuit" aka Dr Chee Soon Juan lookalike - this guy sat in front of me in class next to yong weiwei (whom i used to like in pri 6, yes yes i know, so childish right? hahaha) so i was pretty envious of him since the girl treated him quite well but treated me like i was some lowlife scum, despite of how nice i was being to her. haha! he's quite a weird guy, who makes comments that somehow doesn't quite flow with other pple, but i suppose he's alright n can take a joke (its usually on him! haha)

Basically these were the pple who turned up last night. We had a nice dinner at Cafe Cartel (although the hawaiian pork chop was sold out, much to the annoyance of some of them) followed by a walk to esplandade to celebrate yingyan's birthday n take lots of photos with Stephanie before she leaves again. it was really good, or surreal as Winnie puts it, that we can still click n be such good friends despite having not seen each other for long periods of up to 10 over years! I mean, we were all what, 11 and 12 years old (pri 5 and 6A1 class) when we first met n now we're all 26 this year! oh my gosh, its 14 years ago since we graduated from Xinmin pri sch! it really goes to show that old friendships formed are somehow firmer n really stand the test of time n even distance. mukesh, AK, stephanie, Jiayong all went to USA, australia, etc but we still keep in touch ever so often, i think its amazing. Mrs Ng would've been proud of us!

And look at us, all achievers n contributors to society. Teachers, IT specialist, investor, businessman, supreme court accountant, lawyers, doctor (she couldn't make it as she was on duty) and other professions. Thank God for such a great primary school environment and even better friends. You know it may sound silly, but Kelly n a few of us had a pact that we would be friends no matter what happens way back in primary school. And this sunday we're going to his housewarming party. We'll also probably be there to see his first child. This is so exciting isn't it?

Life span of a human is about 70-80 years. If we can maintain this friendship until our last breath, we would've been friends for at least 60 years, longer than we've known our partners, husbands, wives or church friends or colleagues or whatever. Its something special, the bond that was formed way back then that lasted till today. =)