Monday, July 03, 2006  12:28 AM
Careening through a day
I think I've officially gone through every emotion in the last twenty-four hours, including brain dysfunction that comes about from no sleep.
It all started with high hopes, squeals and anticipation as I looked forward to seeing England and Brazil meet in the semi-final. So I waited over an hour for my maggi mee goreng at Simpang Bedok in the sweltering humid weather, chorused with the crowd when England failed to score and stared in disbelief when Wayne Rooney got red-carded and sent off. Just as I was about to lose my patience in the 80th minute, my food came so that quickly turned into instant delight as I ate like a hundred hungry chickens.
Nick sped us back home at an alarming speed with my heart threatening to give way and Sharon and I screaming at him to slow down. And the next thing we knew, we were sitting at the edge of our seats watching that dreadful penalty shoot-out.
And then, England fell.
I slumped back into the couch with a Snickers ice-cream bar, chewing thoughtfully and comforting myself that I still had Brazil to count on. The minutes ticked by quickly, and soon I made everyone shut up to hear Brazil sing their national anthem and to swoon at Kaka's handsome face. Who knew that it would be the last time? Sharon, Daryl, Munchy, Nick and the two Marks all laughing at me because I shrieked whenever Kaka came on screen. The match began and I slowly felt all the hopes of Brazil making it into the semi-final trickling away like the grains of sand in an hourglass as none of the Brazilian players made it anywhere near threatening Fabien Barthez's goal. Nonetheless, everyone in the room held on to that little glimmer of hope that the stars of the 2002 World Cup would pull of a miraculous feat even at the 92nd minute, seconds away before the referee blew the whistle to seal their fate.
That dreaded whistle did go off with France leading 1-0, and me on the verge of throwing bananas at the French team, first for sending off the cute Spanish team, then landing my favourite Brazilian boys plane tickets back home. I felt like murdering Thierry Henry and Zinedine Zidane, even though I have a small hunch that I will end up supporting them if they get through to the finals, because Zidane has this awesome charisma which is really rather charming.
I moped for the next ten minutes, riding Daryl's terribly high bike around the darkened paths of my condo, before heading upstairs to mope some more and go online to confirm the terrible truth. At 5.30am, the bunch of us set off to Macdonalds at East Coast Park to eat and to catch that lovely sunrise. I should really stop being so lazy and watch the sun rise more often. As I balanced on the edge of the footpath and the vast expanse of sand staring out into the horizon, smelling the salty scent of the sea with that gentle breeze through my hair, I closed my eyes and prayed for that beautiful Sunday morning.
Like all the times I'm alone with God by the beach, my favourite song comes to mind.
When the oceans rise and thunders roar,
I will soar with you above the storm
Father, you are King over the flood
I will be still, know You are God
Quietly, I sang that familiar tune to myself as I reflected upon the events in my life, surrendered my insecurities to Him once again and felt a calming peace encompass me.
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades.
I found myself in church just three hours later, seeing the very faces I had just parted with at YAG camp a week ago. Struggling to stay awake during the sermon proved easier than I thought with Sharon's super-energy drink she bought back from Japan. Sitting in front of the stove during lunch at the usual coffeeshop turned my hair into a smoke-infested mess. I love my Glam Girls because they really understand how that feels. When complaining to Julienne a few hours later after the cell group meeting, she cast me an emphatic gaze and pronounced solemnly, "I feel for you." And that kind of comfort cannot be bought with a million dollars.
Cell group at Janis's proved to be a comfortable experience as I discovered that long plush sofa-bed thing to be a treasure and quickly claimed it to be my love. It's what every house needs. It's right smack in front of the television and allows you to recline 180 degrees with gentle support for the head - the first thing I'm going to insist on purchasing when I get a place of my own. So I stayed in that position for two hours as we shared, giggled, reflected and teased Janis about poor little Jeremiah until I almost felt myself being moulded into the soft springs. So that desirable sofa-bed thing brought out the pig in me - I simply refused to get up after the pretty much sleepless night.
I love the designers, architects and founders of that sofa-bed thing.
Xinyi's surprise birthday party turned out to be not much of a surprise with the ever so bright Corrie writing Xinyi a birthday card apologising, "I'm sorry that I won't be able to make it to your surprise birthday party tonight." Haha. But whatever it was, it was an enjoyable time of feasting on satay, salami, sausages, chicken, Ben & Jerry's, strawberry milkshakes and chocolate cake. And when the bunch of church people get together - the usual routine of the "Aaaah" game, Taboo and Murderer ensued. Of course not forgetting the many unglam shots that can only come out of Jon's evil camera.
In a day, she will become independent on Independence Day. I can't believe how long I took to get that one.
I'm home, all showered and dressed for bed in my huge Winnie the Pooh nightgown which never fails to make me feel like a little girl again. And I'm off to the dreamy world where only some dreams come true.
(Like, that Brazil is going to win the 2006 World Cup.)
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