No thanks to Jerry, Grace discovered some 'skeletons' in my closet.
According to him, I was 'caught' on two occasions - strolling along Bintang Walk and queueing up for movie in IOI Mall. Each time with a different lady.
That aroused her interest to dig up my past. So tonight, I went back to memory lane and took another look at 'those faded pictures from my scrapbook'.
And I told her about my first love, "Janie".
We learnt piano from the same teacher in Ipoh while we were teens. She was from Ave Maria, Chinese-ed, Catholic (whoa! I can hear some sighs of relief)
The only time we got to meet was when exams drew near... All the students would come together for mock tests. I liked the way she laughed and carried herself with a certain flair. (mysteriously gives people heartache, wan...)
In those pre-email days, I wrote her handwritten letters... She would reply likewise during the next class. Very "mar farn"...
I would read the letter during toilet break. (ya, people do wonder what 'business' requires such a long stay!)
Other than that, we'd never meet...
One fine day, i wandered into a music store after school. Leon Lai's hit song was in the air...
"Yeong o dik mei moong, wun lei yat sai ching"
(Let my beautiful dream be changed for your lifetime of romance)
And I thought, "O Lord, how I wish to see her again!"
Then I looked up, and there she was... standing right in front of me in the blue pinafore.
If you believe in divine guidance, this is a 'bona fide' sign from heaven!
It was such touch-and-go encounters that kept me holding on till uni days...
I finally picked up the courage to ask her out for lunch at a restaurant called Nostalgia.
But being a newbie at the game, I ordered medium rare steak and complained about the blood...
"It's supposed to be like that" she said. Strike One.
Having just gotten my driving license, I made some funny detours, needless U-Turns and almost ran into her gates.
Strike Two. (Forget the 'good afternoon' peck)
It was quite an 'OK' outing despite those not-too-impressive performances.
Maybe she likes a 'sweet loser' after all...
Or maybe she secretly wished I'd never call again!
Whatever it is, we didn't make any progress after that...
On my part, I then realised that the mental picture in my mind was not the same as the real person. I had been in love with an illusion of my own making.
Lesson learnt: This sort of minimal-contact, long-duration infatuation could only be sustained by idealizing the past or nurtured by dreams of a future utopia.
And there were those BBGS-Brethren ladies in college beckoning... (To be continued?)
According to him, I was 'caught' on two occasions - strolling along Bintang Walk and queueing up for movie in IOI Mall. Each time with a different lady.
That aroused her interest to dig up my past. So tonight, I went back to memory lane and took another look at 'those faded pictures from my scrapbook'.
And I told her about my first love, "Janie".
We learnt piano from the same teacher in Ipoh while we were teens. She was from Ave Maria, Chinese-ed, Catholic (whoa! I can hear some sighs of relief)
The only time we got to meet was when exams drew near... All the students would come together for mock tests. I liked the way she laughed and carried herself with a certain flair. (mysteriously gives people heartache, wan...)
In those pre-email days, I wrote her handwritten letters... She would reply likewise during the next class. Very "mar farn"...
I would read the letter during toilet break. (ya, people do wonder what 'business' requires such a long stay!)
Other than that, we'd never meet...
One fine day, i wandered into a music store after school. Leon Lai's hit song was in the air...
"Yeong o dik mei moong, wun lei yat sai ching"
(Let my beautiful dream be changed for your lifetime of romance)
And I thought, "O Lord, how I wish to see her again!"
Then I looked up, and there she was... standing right in front of me in the blue pinafore.
If you believe in divine guidance, this is a 'bona fide' sign from heaven!
It was such touch-and-go encounters that kept me holding on till uni days...
I finally picked up the courage to ask her out for lunch at a restaurant called Nostalgia.
But being a newbie at the game, I ordered medium rare steak and complained about the blood...
"It's supposed to be like that" she said. Strike One.
Having just gotten my driving license, I made some funny detours, needless U-Turns and almost ran into her gates.
Strike Two. (Forget the 'good afternoon' peck)
It was quite an 'OK' outing despite those not-too-impressive performances.
Maybe she likes a 'sweet loser' after all...
Or maybe she secretly wished I'd never call again!
Whatever it is, we didn't make any progress after that...
On my part, I then realised that the mental picture in my mind was not the same as the real person. I had been in love with an illusion of my own making.
Lesson learnt: This sort of minimal-contact, long-duration infatuation could only be sustained by idealizing the past or nurtured by dreams of a future utopia.
And there were those BBGS-Brethren ladies in college beckoning... (To be continued?)
Comments
And that will be your cue to exit the stage by commending on her new hairdo, beautiful skin etc, you are a smart cookie, you know what to do.
... told you to hang out more with us.
heh heh heh...
Ooooo .... goodie goodie... please do so... :)
Kinda fun to read your entries...