Part IV - The Movie

As the lights dimmed in the cinema, I heaved a sigh of relief. After all that trouble, we had finally made it in. What looked like a potential washout barely ten minutes ago seemed to be going according to the plan now. Even though the movie was not the major events of the night, the loss of the movie threatened to put the entire evening's plan into jeopardy. Tonight was going to be a special night.

The cinema seemed exceptionally chilly that night. Despite the large number of people in the cinema, the air-conditioner seemed to be set to the lowest possible temperature. Too effective an air-conditioner perhaps. Sensing that my date was feeling the chill, I reached out for my haversack. Fishing out a jacket, I handed it gently in the direction of my date. She was hesitant. Yet, smilingly, she held the jacket as she wrapped herself in its warmth. "Thank You" she whispered. I too, was feeling the chill. But the "thank you" warmed my heart. Surely she needed the extra piece of clothing more than me.

As the figures appeared on the screen, they were greeted with loud gasps of "so cute, so cute". I glanced around the dark cinema and noticed a number of young couples around me. Indeed, the animated figures were well designed and the movie seemed to have an excellent plot. Yet, I remained highly distracted. My attention was not on the movie, and my mind was in a whirl. From the corner of my eye, I realized that she was throughly enjoying the movie. "That's good", I thought to myself, "at least she's enjoying herself and not realizing how I distracted I am."

For the second time that night, my mind raced like a speeding bullet train. Thought after thought and ideas upon ideas came to me. Endless. Possibilities. What If. Fear. As I sat in the plush chair, while my eyes were seemingly focused on the screen, my mind was so far away. I so badly wanted to concentrate on the movie, but there were a million other things holding me back. "What it she says no"? "You would never know unless you try". "Maybe she's waiting for you to ask". "What if the feeling is not mutual?" The debate raged through my mind. Three months of daily SMSes had come down to this. There were too many unknowns, yet, I knew I had to try.

I closed my eyes to think. My mind was messing about with me far too much. There was a clear conflict between my heart and my head. Suddenly, I felt something grab my arm. Stunned. I was jolted back to my senses. "Its scary" was her reply. I held her hand and said "Not to worry, the bad guy's always lose". She broke into a wry smile.

I knew I had to take action. That night, over dinner. Enough suspense. Come what may, she had to know.

Part III

The cinema was bustling with a large crowd. Clearly, the signs of economic recession had yet to hit home. It seemed almost as if the entire Singapore was at City Hall that night. "Thank God for the Internet", I thought to myself as I joined the line for the internet booking ticket collection. To my dismay, there were already ten people in front of me. So much for internet efficiency. As I produced my credit card to collect the two prized tickets, I was horrified. And dumbfounded. "Sorry Sir, you are late. We have already given up your seats". I was informed by the young girl behind the counter. Clearly, she looked as if she could be sitting in my classroom on any given weekday. The power now, had shifted to the young girl behind the counter. She had the chance to ruin my date that very moment. "WWWhhhattt?" I exclaimed in disbelief. "You can't do this. I paid for those tickets and those seats - you can't let it go just like that", my voice growing dangerously low. "Erm... I'll go get my manager" was all she could manage.

As I stood at the counter, I felt like a complete fool. My first date and they gave away my seats was all my mind could manage. I looked over the other line and saw her, in her black dress, waiting to get the popcorn and the coke. "How much worse could it get?" I thought to myself. Frustrated. How was I going to tell her that the cinema was not exactly the friendliest cinema on the island of Singapore. As these thoughts came rushing through my head and heart, a slightly more mature gentlemen appeared in front of me. "I'm sorry Sir, can I help?" Trying my best to remain calm and composed, I explained the predicament. "I'll see what I can do" as all he say after a desperate three minute appeal.

By this stage, my date had already committed to the popcorn and coke. She had added in the nachos for good measure. I smiled at her while trying to remain calm. "Some technical glitches" I said, hoping that she would not sense my panic and read into my slightly shaky voice. My hopes were dashed when she asked "is everything OK?" "Please, please, cinema manager, please come out to save me". I prayed silently. She had sensed the panic in my voice, and I was determined not to lie to her again. Two lies in a night was two too many.

"I am so sorry" the manager apologized profusely. There's been a mistake, my staff was looking at the wrong movie schedule" With that, he handed me the two prized pieces of paper. I heaved a sigh of relief as I smiled at my date, maybe thing were not going to turn out so negatively after all.

The confusion caused us to miss the "best" part of the movie - the trailers and advertisements. As we settled down, the lights had just begun to dim, and the movie was just about to start.

Would tonight be the night?

Part II

Seven O'Clock. Saturday evening. The MRT station was buzzing with people like bees to honey. Throngs and throngs of people passed through the station, everyone seemed to be in a hurry. The incessant announcements of "If you see any suspicious looking person or article lying around, please inform our staff or call 999" was beginning to irk me. I must have heard that announcement over ten times while I waited. And waited.

I had been waiting at the train station since 6.30pm. Eager and anxious, I had arrived there thirty minutes ahead of the appointed hour. I was definitely not going to be late for this one. With my back against the wall, I glanced nervously at my watch, not daring to move from my prime position where I could see the faces coming out the MRT turnstiles. I was not going to miss it for the world.

This had been my highlight of the week, since that SMS was sent a couple of days ago. I had been living on cloud nine for the past forty-eight hours. Nothing was going to pop my bubble. The anticipation was harrowing, yet, exciting. Seven O'Clock. Still no sign of her. Could she have walked past me? Impossible. I had a bird's eye view of every passing individual for the past thirty minutes. I could have been employed as a security guard with my vigilance. There was no way she could have walked past me. 

As I picked up my phone to check on my date, it started ringing. "Hello?" I answered. "Hey, I'm five minutes late, still on the train. Next stop is City Hall." I smiled as I acknowledged her location. My date was slightly delayed, but she, was definitely on her way.

The black dress caught the corner of my eye. Was the her? As the figure approached me, it hit me. That was her alright. I was dumbfounded for a moment. "How come I didn't realize she was so pretty before?" I wondered to myself. The frantic pace of walking soon broke into a bashful smile. "I'm so sorry, I'm late". She apologized sheepishly. "No worries" I replied. "I just got here myself too". "GOSH!" I thought to myself, lying on my first date already?

Bliss.

A series of short stories

Hi guys, I have written a series of short stories for you to read while having your LONG holidays.... hahaha.... Let me know what you think alright. Below is Part I. 

An unforgettable day.

I clutched my handphone tightly. To send the SMS or not. I was unsure. I wanted so badly to send out the SMS. Yet, I did not dare to. Looking at the previous messages, I knew I had to do something, yet, I remained hesitant. What if the result wasn’t favorable? What if the answer was ‘no’? What would happen then? Lost and frustrated, I was totally lost and frustrated. Finally, I hit the ‘send’ button on the touch screen handphone.

The message must have gone through a million miles in cyberspace. The suspense was killing me. What would her answer be? I glanced at my handphone nervously. “What was taking her reply so long?” The ten minute wait seemed like an eternity. Millions of thoughts were running through my head like a bullet train running at 300 km/h. I was unable to compose myself. My mind kept toggling between the possibilities. Could I face the consequences? Would I be able to live with the reply?

She had caught my attention nearly three months ago. The radiant smile and soft voice captivated my heart. Even though we had only met rather recently, I felt that I had known her for the longest time. She never failed to cheer me up when I was down. That camp was where it all began. The place was littered with unfamiliar people and I was much too shy to talk to anyone when I noticed her also sitting quietly in the corner. My heart skipped a beat as she walked towards my direction. “Hi” she said, “You must be as lost as me.” I managed a weak nod and a little smile. It was, love at first sight. Months of text messages followed, and I found myself liking her more and more. 

“Beep, Beep” rang my phone. It brought me crashing back to reality. Nervously, I hit the “read” button on my phone. I was shocked. It read,

“Hey, thanks for your message. Sure. I would love to go out. Saturday, 7pm at City Hall?”

I had got my first date. 

-- End of Part I--

Take care,

Mr Goh. 

The revival of the blog...

Hey guys,

Its been such a LONG while since I last blogged. Yes, i've been extremely busy and kind of ignoring this blog. Don't worry, I'II revive it soon enough. 

Stay tuned for more short stories...

Take Care,

Mr Goh. 

History of the English language

The use of English language

The decision to adopt the English language as Singapore’s lingua franca back in 1965 was the right decision. Being a small nation state means that Singapore’s future is strongly linked towards that of the global economy. The ability to communicate with the rest of the world therefore, becomes absolutely crucial.

Although English has had a relatively short history compared to other languages, it is today, the world’s most widely spoken language. The United Nations lists six major working languages, namely, English, French, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin and Arabic. Of these languages, English is by far the most widely spoken language. This is due to the fact that English exists as the language of international business, science and modern innovation. From being the original language of the English rebels who were fighting against France, much knowledge today is expressed in English, and it has become widely accepted that to advance in the field of science and research, one has to be fluent in English.

English exists today

Breaking my light fitting...

Gosh, what a terrible day. 

I broke my light fitting. Rah. Two nights ago, my bulb started flickering, and last night, it finally died. So i thought that i'd change it this afternoon. Now, goodness knows when was the last time i changed a light bulb, and for this particular light, i don't even remember ever changing it. Well, someone else probably did, considering that this light has been in my room since we moved in (that would have been 15 years ago?). I guess no light bulb ever lasts for 15 years? But anyway, i had to change it this time round.

The casing was kinda stiff so i gave it a tug. And a guy being a guy, i guess i used a bit too much brute force, yup, you can guess where this is going. As i take the casing away, one bit of the bracket mounting falls to the ground. Excellent. I thought it would still be OK considering that there were two more brackets which i can hook onto. Well, after replacing the bulb, i tried to push the casing back on. After some figuring out and trying various ways of putting the casing back on, yup, the second bracket fell to the floor to. 

So, that's that for my light fitting. Its done. Haha.. Time for a new one.... 

Light shopping anyone?

Take care and stay safe,

Mr Goh