Reunion

Well, it was actually my alma mater Chancellor's Drinks Reception and Buffet at the Renaissance Hotel on Wednesday evening. I was actually thinking of not going but S and Lin managed to persuade me to change my mind. Sometimes I can really be unsociable. Heh.

In fact, I almost didn’t go, no thanks to the scare of possibly losing my passport [and potentially compromising my citizenship?! OK, me being the drama queen]. I had decided to take half-day on Wednesday for my The Hunt For Red Octo-, I mean, Passport mission should I not manage to locate it in my backpack [see previous posting].

The crowd was OK, the turn-up – especially of our batch - not too bad. Had a chance to catch up with friends who we have not met since ... can’t recall when actually! Thank God for such events held, organised and sponsored by the University. Had it been left to us, we’d probably meet in 10 years’ time. Well, we did talk about meeting up last year but things didn’t quite materialise. Well, that’s what happens when most are married with kids. Most would insist on dragging their spouses and children along. Really, I don’t see the point when most of the time, they’ll be too distracted with their families and having to attend to the kids. So in the end, S, Lin and I met up for a girls’ day out at KLCC. And had great fun.

Anyway, back to the reunion, I mean, reception. We went up to the ballroom and as we neared the ballroom, I turned to my mates and said, ‘It sure sounds suspiciously quiet around here. Are we the only ones to turn up?’ There were only waiters around the tables doing their last-minute check. Turned out there was a drinks reception at the ground floor which we had somehow missed due to the layout of the hotel and absence of notice boards/signs.

We mingled around, delighted to see some familiar places, and did a quick catching-up with each other. Most of us pretty much still look the same except that most of the guys were already paunchy and it took us a short while to recognise one guy [he has chubbier cheeks now!] and as for the three of us girls, well, almost everyone claimed that we hardly changed and still looked like we were students! After a while, we then went into an adjoining room for some speeches by the Chancellor, the British Commissioner and finally the VC who took us through some slides on the progress and changes at the university.

Then it was finally time for the buffet dinner. The food was sumptuous, the spread fantastic, and the company great. Thankfully there was a majority of our guy friends at our table and the other girl who joined the three of us girls was alright too. Hence there were no smug married people [it’s usually married women, not men, who are guilty of being SM] at our table. Before long, we were talking and chatting and giggling loudly [I was laughing out loud alright] – we were definitely more relaxed while sitting down for our meal than standing up during the drinks reception.

Talking about SM, I simply just loathe them. They can just go on and on talking about their supposedly perfect marriage, perfect well-mannered kids, perfect career, perfect house at the perfect address, perfect in-laws and on and on and on. And whip out pictures of their offspring and shove them under your nose for about a quarter of an hour, seemingly oblivious and obviously insensitive that the topic of conversation may not be appreciated by all. Most SM are females; my married male friends don’t talk about their kids or marriage. I have my own family too but I don’t talk about my parents or my siblings or their children. And I don’t talk about my trips at the table or at reunions because I am aware some people may not appreciate it, some may feel left out, some may have loved the chance to travel but lack the opportunity to do it. Sod it, not everyone cares to know about your family, your hobbies or your trips. Anyway, I digress.

We only left after 10. ‘Til the next reunion then.

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My mates and I were supposed to meet today, Friday the thirteenth, for lunch but we had to cancel it. Yes, again. It was a good thing we met yesterday and had an unexpected, unplanned lunch together so at least it was a consolation. Looks like the next possible date where everyone would be able to make it will be end of next month.

It sure isn’t easy to organise a reunion!