Year Log - Jan 2010 post

Now probably seems like an appropriate time to write this. With only a month left to the end of 2010, it is time to start the flashback.

It started off with a funeral. Picture this: New Year's Eve, dressed in a white cotton shirt and black pants, I was at my grandpa's funeral till the wee hours of the morning. As the new year approached, I headed back home and turned on the TV, silently wishing myself a happy new year as all around me, fireworks lighted up the sky. It was the new year.

The next few days were spent at the wake, greeting visitors who came to pay their last visits, and the cremation on the last day. I doubt anyone would ever forget that moment. As the coffin was rolled into the furnace, whatever emotions we had held back all but surfaced, and we cried. Mum broke down into hysterical cries, and I hid my tear-stained face in her shoulders. We just cried.

Soon everything was over. We returned home, and life seemed to carry on as usual.

When I returned back to work, condolences were offered. Thinking back from now, I can probably still remember sitting in the office and answering questions, like how I was holding up, how my family was. But I'm glad work continued on. The new classes had commenced, and it got busier in the evenings when parents brought their children over and we had to show them the way to the classrooms.

Meanwhile, I had to study for the upcoming SAT. It fell on the 23rd of Jan, which was a Saturday. All of a sudden studying held an appeal to me, especially when working seemed mundane and predictable. So during meal times and off days I burrowed myself in the guide books and prepared for the test. It was hard work, having to do many questions and studying notes I thought I was already done with.

The next Sunday saw me waking up at 5 in the morning and trying to catch a bus to ECP for the RML marathon. It was a short run of 3km, and enticed by the goodie bag, I made Norman sign up with me to run. Of course, we never really did run that fast; it was more of a jog. That was the day he named me 'Running Monster' for being that enthusiastic about running. In any case it was fun to work out and see so many people around on a bright, cheerful Sunday morning.

And this marks my Jan 2010. Feb coming up next!