Day Out At Sea

I tend to shy away from most social events and parties. I grudgingly accept birthday meals and all that, but I try to wiggle out of bigger dos. I didn't bother to have such parties done at other 'coming-of-age' milestones.

To my utter horror, the man and the BFF made a thing of this 39th birthday by renting a catamaran for a day out at sea. They tried to keep it a secret from me, but that's not easy. I found out anyway, because of a botched text sent to me about rates for a catered BBQ. 🤣 When the first charter company screwed up with securing this specific catamaran they wanted, I was all ready to say 'scrap it'. But no, the bloody resourceful BFF found another better (and friendlier) charter company to give us another suitable catamaran with nicer options for food. The plan was back on track. It sounded so major. UGH. 😯

The weather gods decided to play very nice, giving us a break from the constant rains. It was a glorious day. Blue skies, fluffy clouds, sizzling hot but superbly windy. It would be the night of a full moon, so tidal current velocities were strong near the shore. Sailed out from Sentosa Cove and stopped at Lazarus Island for a stroll, a dip in the clean waters and some kayaking. Strong currents but the catamaran is a big-enough Leopard 51 Powercat and managed just fine, powering through the waves to the delighted squeals of the little girls who wanted 'big and bigger waves' as though we were on a rollercoaster. ☀️💨🏖🏝🛥

My friends don't all know one another. Not even the BFF has seen all my more solitary and introverted girlfriends, even those who currently reside in Singapore. Think of a Venn diagram. Half of them don't even bother with having any social media presence. LOL. Having drinks or a meal together, or heading to a gig or an event is kinda easy and not-too-demanding. I see all these friends regularly. But asking for a huge chunk of the friends' time on a precious weekend is quite something else. I'm touched by these friends who merrily hung out all day. The few hours together gave me sufficient time to go up to each one to get a word and thank them for doing this. Almost teared at some of the hugs. Good job, people. 🖤💙🖤

That's not to say I don't care about those who didn't come. Many good friends don't live in Singapore. People travel; others gotta work over the weekend; some aren't fans of sun and sea. We're old enough to understand why some of us prefer to stay away from large groups, and instead catch up separately one on one or with two more humans. I (introvert) totally get why. Please, we're not petty 18-year-olds. For those who couldn't come for many many reasons- get well soon; we begin anew in the morrow; may some days feel better than the others; my heart aches for your loss, and my thoughts are with you.

[📷: JC]