Immediately, I felt something is missing as I went through the door after dropping off Ah Ton at D&J's. 少了我的跟屁虫确实很不习惯。There was no excited whining, followed by the scattering of paw steps to greet me. I sat alone at the edge of the bed, waiting. Just earlier this week, I was explaining my itinerary to my colleagues about going back to Sg to fetch my parents over for a week then sending them back to Sg before coming home. Yes, those are my exact words. Coming home. 不知不觉, 珀斯已成为家。
You know you're among Singaporeans when you arrive at the departure gate to find absolutely no seats. Not that they were occupied by people. The seats were "choped" by owners leaving bags on them. 新加坡人就是改不掉这个坏习惯。On every single previous flights, I've tried taking melatonin shots meant for aiding sleep to no avail. I actually fell asleep on the plane this time round without even trying even if it was a fitful 1 due to crying kids. The saying is true: never say never.
Sg is both familiar & yet unfamiliar at the same time. I could no longer get used to the Sg style of driving. As we were exiting BKE from PIE, I was surprised to find that there are now 3 lanes on the BKE, 1 up from when we left. I told hubs that they took only 9 months to finish the upgrading works whereas upgrading works on Gnangara Road started before we arrived & till now, hardly any work has been completed. I finished the statement by saying that efficiency comes at a cost. We were surprised to find that both 190 & 972, the high volume bus services that run from Bukit Panjang to the city are now double decked. It's about time man even if we don't get to enjoy the rewards.
I slept for the 1st time in 10 months, the bed which made me cry on our last night in Sg last May all becoz hubs said that it was our last time sleeping on it. We were so emotional during those last few days in Sg. We had lunch at my MIL's place who wanted to meet us again 2 weeks later. Then, we went home & had steamboat dinner with my parents. But before that, we bought the ingredients at the neighbouring NTUC. Gosh, I had forgotten how crowded it could be. Every direction I turned, I was in someone's face. I have been taking the wide aisles in Perth's supermarkets for granted. The next day, I met up with Dolly & Sharon for lunch. It was as if no time had passed between us. The conversations flowed ceaselessly & easily. I felt so sad when it was time to part. But we made arrangements to have dinner before Dolly leaves for her holiday in a fortnight's time.
Once again on the flight back to Perth, I slept quite easily even though it was an afternoon flight. Once again, I was woken up but this time by the middle aged ang moh couple sitting behind us. They were complaining loudly about the choices of drinks: coke or green tea, which according to them were both horrible drinks. They gave the steward a hard time, then complain about it between themselves, then complained to their friends who came over from another row, then threatened to write a formal complain to the airline to the poor steward. (You can preorder the meals online or order it on the flight itself. But the meals all come with either coke or green tea & you're not allowed to swap it for juice or hot drinks. If you want to, you can purchase them for additional cost.) 只是小事一桩, 又何必? We can't expect full carrier service on a budget airline, can we?
Both are home. But Sg is rapidly becoming foreign to me. It's to be expected since I'm no longer living there. It did make me appreciate how advance Sg is. LKY passed away in the morning on the day we were due to fly back to Perth. I did see on FB people celebrating his death. In fairness, I'll like to say this. We can not agree with the policies he implemented but human to human, we shouldn't wish for or cheer another's death. Outside of politics, he was somebody's son, somebody's father & somebody's grandfather. I mourn his death not becoz he was a great leader. I mourn his death for the loss of a life.
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