Dragons and Adopted Families

Last week was a very socially active one with farewells and celebratory treats and get-togethers. I even squeezed in How to Train Your Dragon 2, but more on that later. Normally, I would shy away from the thought of social gatherings because they are physically (and sometimes mentally) draining, but at my age I have become bold enough to say "No" to gatherings I really do not like and only accept invitations to ones I like. I consider the gatherings with people I like to be worth the after-effects of socialising which include lacking sleep, energy and focus the next day.

Starting with home cooked Sri Lankan food last Sunday, my insides also went on a gastronomic tour around the world experiencing Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Thai and Moroccan cuisine one day after another. I have new-found admiration for Vietnamese food after discovering their vegetarian options. After last week's over-indulgence, I am determined to eat nuts, berries and tree bark for the rest of the month.

Last Thursday, I was late to work (socializing from the night before) and had to work late to finish the backlog. Earlier, when I had checked the times for the MUCH anticipated dragon movie, there was only one cinema quite far away from my place that was showing a 3D version of the movie so I gave up on the idea of watching it on release day because for me it was either 3D or no movie at all. But in a twist of fate around 7:00pm, another colleague who worked late offered a lift to the very same city showing the 3D movie. I jumped on the offer and caught the 9:30pm movie on my own and got home a few minutes after midnight!

Waiting at the bus stop to catch a bus home around 11:30pm when most of the people were safety tucked in their beds. Thankfully, a female can travel alone at that time of the day in Singapore and not worry much about it. 

I suspect I'm too biased about the movie franchise to give an objective review (after all, I waited only FOUR long years for the second movie), but I LOVED EVERY BIT OF IT!!! I was grinning and laughing for most of it and was left desperately wanting to have a dragon-friend like Toothless. Ahh IF only...

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Lunch hour with my three colleagues at work is the highlight of my work day. It sort of reminds me of the social circles I had in Dubai which I miss very much. Sometimes, a mix of different people from different corners of the globe come together so randomly and a perfect recipe is born and like good wine, it ripens with time. Even the colleague who I used as the prime example of extroverts in my research study has grown on me and I've come to realise she's a gem in a sea of ordinary humans. Maybe it's knowing that as projects come and go, this little group will cease to exist in a few months but for now, everyone in it is happy to give and take. 

In this group of four, there's the extroverted story-telling mother goose who's very loving, clever and funny. Then there's the caring, religious, health-conscious elder sister who baffles us with her mysterious mood swings. Also there's the wise, smart, thoughtful workoholic younger brother who's a bit of a mischievous bully sometimes and there's me - the somewhat quiet observer who enjoys watching the group dynamics with much amusement. Sure, we all have our imperfections but we seemed to have been able to leave them behind with all the other differences and meet at a place that we are all happy and comfortable.

What everyone in this group has in common are humble beginnings and a deep attachment to their families, perhaps more so than the average person I'd meet in Singapore. Coming from remote towns and villages in Third World countries, growing up with little, having to take care of their families, putting up with inconveniences and working extra hard at times in life are some of the things that's shaped everyone in this gang in one way or another. And because of this, being in much better circumstances in life now has not changed the 'generous and grounded factor' that lies in all of them. Being in their company, I am constantly reminded to be humble, positive and less selfish. For this, I've come to admire them very much. 

The topics we share at lunch are mostly the reflective and enriching types - travel, family, food, jokes, movies, psychology, history, economics, politics, science - and not the superficial types about other people's personal lives that would easily drive me to boredom. The more life stories I hear from these interesting people, the more pieces I get to weave a bigger mental fabric about each of individuals. I think the study of people and why they act the way they do fascinates me.

In more food news, I finally discovered the Sri Lankan food stall situated at Tekka Market in Little India. The food there was pretty decent and it was good to get a familiar taste of home. 

Raja Bojun (loosely translated as "food fit for Royalty") at Little India