The year that was

2005 has been quite a year. So much has happened in the world with all the pandemics and natural disasters and such.

Below are some of the highlights and lowlights for me in 2005:

the death of Camou
It was a long while since I last let a canine into my heart. The last time I loved a dog as much as Camou it was sheer heartbreak. The dog had died a slow and painful death at the hands of a vindictive neighbour. I wept for hours upon the body of my fallen best friend. As a result I learnt not to love a dog so much that it would hurt me later on when it died...until Camou.

Camou was a gift from our family to Paula. She had been pining for a chihuahua for a while and it was about time we made her wish come to pass. She promised to take good care of Camou and all the usual empty promises kids make when they want a pet. But as time went on Camou became rather neglected, and due to the nature of her work Paula was seldom ever around to give Camou the attention he so badly required. So it fell upon me (and Joyce) to bring Cams for his walks and runs, while mum and dad did most of the feeding and cleaning up. As a result he and I slowly but surely formed a bond. I began to look forward to our walks and he would get excited each time I came home early from work as he knew it would be our time together. Then me and Joyce went our separate ways. In a way, Camou became my solace and friend in my season of loneliness. I would go to great extents to plan our outings together. Sometimes we even brought along one of my lady friends and her pet dog. But then love found me in the form of Agnes. Camou helped us get past the initial awkward stage at the start of our courtship. Many of our early dates centred around Camou.
As time passed, Camou developed a back problem and was never to be the same hyperactive hound he was before. He has difficulties walking let alone running. It reached the stage where he had basically lost all use of his hind parts. The vet did not give him long to live, but live long he did. At least longer than all the so-called experts predicted.
As his health deteoriated the entire family rallied around Camou. The night he passed on is still seared into my consciousness.It was almost like in a story book or the finale of a movie. The entire family was there (sans Agnes), which is quite a feat considering our busy schedules which meant usually someone was amiss at any one time. He grew weak and we all knew that the time was nigh. He was cradled gently in Noel's arms as he breathed his last. What followed was one of the most emotional scenes ever in the Boyd household. Noel and Paula were inconsolable. Noel was particularly crushed as it was in his heavily tatooed arms that the bitch spawn had died. Mum was no better. Even dad, the usually stoic one in the family, was in pieces. It fell upon me to make the funeral/cremation arrangements as I was the only one in the right frame of mind. Even Agnes was in tears as I relayed the news to her on the phone. When the people who were doing the funeral came it was also emotional. Everyone came out to say their good byes and were teary eyes as the van pulled away with Camou inside.
Camou's ashes still reside on our mantle pieace in the living room. A grim reminder of the litlle wawa that bit and chewed his way into all our hearts and made my world a better place when I needed a friend during a low point in my life. yet he was also a part in my happiest times. And despite how Camou ended his life, in my heart of hearts he will always be remembered as the hyperactive chihuahua who ran like the wind.
In my heart always... *sob*

Agnes
It was not planned that way. But it is funny how things work themselves out if only we let nature take it's course. In a way it was almost fated.
It all began when I stole Agnes's number off Hasli and started to SMS her on the day of our staff welfare dinner. I had never done such things before(steal a girl's number and sms her unsolicited). As the days passed we still kept in contact and we gradually became more than just mere friends. It was hard for us to reconcile our academic qualifications at first, but in the end love won out.
We enjoyed a nice Valentines Day together. We also shared a Chines New Year dinner at her place, which to me is quite a big deal.

The night we finally became an item was dramatic in itself. We had dinner at that lighthouse-like thing on the Kallang River near the Indoor Stadium, and then headed to Marina Bay for some after dinner chat. We both love the view of the city skyscape and the Singapore River there. *Too bad our favourite place is gonna become an Intergrated Resort* We did have a nice chat and grew comfortable in one anothers presence by then. But we had not officially become a couple yet. A friend of hers, Adam, had been BUGGING her to go out with him. It really pissed me off as I had considered him a friend and he knew that Agnes and I were courting, yet he continued to send her messages to date her out. How ungentlemanly! Anyway it was time to head home and I was already visibly upset my Adam's callous behavior. Agnes sensed it too. She did not like to see me in a bad way so when I asked her," Are we together or not?" for the umpteenth time in the lift on the way up to her flat, she replied," Yes" or something to that effect and gave me the kiss that I will never forget as long as I live. And like they say, the rest is history.
Many hugs and kisses later we are still together. We are gonna celebrate our 11th month in January! And we are still as much in love with one another as we were that day,maybe even more so.
Agnes is gonna start a new term in NUS in January as she takes her Masters. On my part i will more likely than not be taking part-time courses in the interim. 2006 is gonna be a year of new and fresh challenges for us. Study life wiil definitely take a toll on our relationship if we let it. On the brighter side of things, 2006 will really show us both where our priorities and help us gain a better understanding of one another.

Uncle Ong
Uncle Ong had a hard life. He was as stubborn as an ox, but he had a heart of gold. He lacked any form of family life and I was going through tough times at work and in my personal affairs. It was a natural that we spent lots of time together after work, be it having dinner, watching movies, attending live shows or just plain talking. We became so close that my colleagues dubbed us Uncle and Nephew respectively. He even stayed over at my house once, but he did not after that as he did not feel comfortable living under someone elses roof despite how comfortable it may have been.
There had been fears of what was to become of him after he retired. He did not really have much of a family life despite having a wife and 3 kids. His health too had been failing. He was in and out of hospital in the last few months of his life. He was stubborn and set in his ways. He was a proud man in that he never allowed his situation to get in the way of his self esteem and dignity.
He collapsed one morning whilst preparing for work. His youngest daughter called in sick for him later that morning. Little did we suspect that was the last we were to her from him. Later that evening I received news from Lyn that my dear Uncle Ong had passed away whilst I was watching a movie with my dear Agnes. After the movie, Agnes accompanied me to the small jetty near the Big Splash where I grieved quietly as she hugged me. No words were really necessary, her just being there for me at that time said more than spoken words ever could. Agnes even accompanied me down to Singapore Casket later that week despite her better judgement because she did not want me to face it alone.
My folks and I even went down, as the sole representatives from PRB, on the day when he was finally laid to rest.
He will be surely missed, and even to this day lots of the wisdom he imparted to me and the hours we spent still linger with me. He is now in a far better place than he was when we shared those happy times and all the heartbreak in between.

Nadia
We had been close since my zoo days. Six or seven years. A long time by any standards, especially in days when friendships come and go like yesterdays news. I considered her my sister and she returned the favour in kind. There was a time when we kinda drifted apart when she first went over to Perth to study, but other than that we have always been cool. I still remember all those nights that we spoke about boys and Nadia would fall asleep on the other side of the phone line. We spent hours together in the zoo round and about the reptile photography mound. Those were fun days.
But it was not all smooth sailing. Joyce felt very uncomfortable with how close we were although our relationship was purely platonic. Joyce tried all means and ways to drive a wedge between us. But I would not budge.
Through it all we remained steadfast pals despite all the turmoil in our lives. In a way we were like kindred spirits for a time. We made it a point to keep in touch via MSN Messenger and to meet up whenever she was in town. All was fine and dandy.
Then there was trouble brewing in Paradise. The first crack was when Nadia bad-mouthed stuff about me to Agnes on MSN Messenger. She said I called her ‘fat’ and crap like that even though I had always treated her with the utmost respect. Naturally I was upset that she would say things like that to Agnes behind my back and harsh words were exchanged. She claimed she was joking and just having some good-natured fun at my expense. In retrospect I felt that I may have over-reacted and we put our differences aside once more. Things were peachy for a while after that.
The there was the Photoshop Incident. Nadia had done a rather crude photoshop of Bruce in a ‘pink’ shirt. I commented that it was a ‘bad, bad photoshop’. She got upset by my comment and things escalated from there to all out war. I was deemed ‘tactless’ and ‘biased’. Anything and everything was par for the course thereafter. We have not spoken since.
Till today I do not know what I ever did to deserve what she said. It was fun to watch others get on her bad side and subsequently get their heads chewed off. But I never thought I would see the day when I would be the one to be on the receiving end of her wrath. I guess blogs and messenger are not exactly the best way to communicate what you really mean. Something gets lost in the translation.. Goes to show you can’t trust technology. It was a sad and pointless end to what I had figured to be an enduring relationship. Guess I was wrong. But at least we have the memories for whatever it is worth.


Hasli and Lyn

Hasli got married. Lyn did too. But not to each other though.
I consider the 2 of them my best friends no matter what their detractors say. Sure, they are both not saints, but I would not have them any other way.

In many respects, Hasli and I have parallels in what we think and do. Which is why we became fast friends . We hold very much the same opinions on many subjects. Sure at times he may grate on nerves or get on the wrong side of people, but at least he is honest about it. He speaks out of the top of his head and wears his heart on his sleeve. At least I know what he is thinking most times. In many respects we are different too. His hobbies and pastimes are markedly different from mine. He seemingly loves to fish (although I have yet to see him catch anything). He is good in organizing stuff which he inevitably gets roped in to do despite his protestations. Hasli is someone whom I can talk about most things that matter to me. We face the same prejudices and the same obstacles in life. Sure we sometimes push each others buttons at times. And it gets hard at times when people are shouting in your ear to me to be more firm with Hasli, but I think he works best when treated with respect and allowed to express what he feels.
I had feared that when he got hitched that things would change between us, but thankfully Hasli is still very much the same guy he was before. Not sure if that is necessarily a good thing…or a bad thing though. I am still waiting for him to get the job done and produce a little Hasli or Faezah, but still no news. :P

And what is there to say about Lyn. She was a part of many of the best and worst parts of my life over the last couple of years. She is an enigma to her detractors, yet beloved by MOST of her colleagues and friends. People may say it is because she is young and female. But I know better than to trivialize what she is as a person. I think Lyn is just misunderstood by some. They perceive her lack of interaction in group situations as Lyn being deceitful and conniving. It reeks of shallowness and insecurity. I have met few people as giving and with as gentle a spirit as Lyn. I have always cherished our long heart-to-heart chats over dinner. Those may not be possible now that she is married to Poh but we have still managed to cultivate a friendship. And Poh does not seem to mind it as long as he gets to come along.
Of all the things about Lyn, the fact that we share the same faith seems to be the glue that binds us together. We love to discourse about God, faith and grace. Providing encouragement to one another through God’s Word. I do feel we do have a relationship that extends beyond the physical realm at times. Sometimes I feel an urge to SMS her when I feel something is not right. And more often than not something is amiss somewhere. I just cannot explain it. It is almost telepathic. But lately such stirrings have been few and far between, which is indeed Good News. Sure things have not always been smooth sailing. We have had our ups and downs as any close friends will have. But through it all we came out stronger and better on the other side.

I have more memories from 2005 to share which I will in my next post(s).