Saturday, July 28, 2007
Happy Birthday
It was Remy's 19th birthday on Thursday, and I met up with Al and Remy outside the Nike building along Bourke Street before we headed to Taco Bill for dinner (yes, Taco Bill, not Taco Bell, a tiny but significant difference that had Remy and I repeatedly shouting across the din of the trams to confirm.)
We ended up going the wrong way, heading uphill towards Elizabeth and Queen street when we were supposed to head towards east towards Russell street. So we reached Taco Bill, climbing up the hollow wooden steps cold and exhausted. Sze Chien leaped out from behind the door in oversized glasses, giving Al and Remy a delightul surprise (while scaring the beejesus out of me.) The oversized glasses turned out to be the icing on the cake of Remy's expensive present, hidden away in an fcuk bag, the contents of which I was not privy too.
"Let me see," I whine.
"NO." He replied.
"Why not?"
"It's embarassing," he says.
With an accusing mock glare I faced his friends (who had collectively paid for it) and said menacingly, "Alright now, whose bright idea was it to give Remy a bag of condoms for his birthday?!" earning me a well-deserved smack on my shoulder from Remy. Heh.
Overall it was a really good dinner, and I met some new people, including two girls, one who a sweet looking commerce student, the other a more overtly and vivaciously pretty engineering student; both equally friendly and good humoured.
"So are you in your second or third year?" both asked smilingly.
I flushed and stammered a bit, recalling the last time someone had said I 'looked twenty' and had promptly lifted her hands to her face protectively with a quick interjection of "Don't be offended!"
(I am not sure if looking older than your age is meant to be a compliment or an insult. I have heard it being used on me in both ways, and have been told I look anywhere from 15 to 21. But Al rides in shiningly with his Sword of Clarity.)
I tell them I'm still in my first year.
"That means you look old, Alicia" Al says, and the laughter from the table dissipates my anxieties and insecurities.
The conversation was varied. We talked about Xiaxue and Steven Lim (turns out many of the people at the table have seen the infamous Steven Lim video, and soon the entire table was filled with loud cries of "Wad-DEvER!", "you sucks you sucks you sucks" and "COO-coo-COO-coo!" which both surprised and delighted me, seeing that I was the only Singaporean at the table.
Sue Mae and I talked about vegetarianism. Awesomely, she has given up chicken and prawns and seafood, and exists in a perfectly zen-like state of fish and veggie consumption. Sighing in admiration, I realised I was eating chicken for the first time since coming back to Melbourne. Two steps forward, one step back, eh?
The guy sitting directly across me, YK, was apparently more taciturn than usual; Al asks him quite loudly, "Why so shy, YK?"
YK shrugs.
Devilishly, Al goes on, "Is it because of Alicia?" Al now looks at me. "Alicia, it must because you're so pretty and enchanting. You've bewitched him!"
I have no idea if he's being mocking or not, but all the same I snap at him, because now YK looks dreadfuly awkward and I don't feel the least bit comfortable myself.
"Stop it, Al," I say, and underscore the point with my raised fork.
He shuts up, all right.
---------------
After dinner, we head to a sports bar at Melbourne central to play pool. Some of us part company at this point. Of the ten people at the table, only 6 of us remain. We each get a Jäger Bomb, which involves dropping a shotglass of Jägermeister into a glass of red bull, and then skulling the drink. To my embarassment, I realised that I was the slowest drinker of the lot. While the five others around me smack their lips and rub their bellies with satisfaction, my eyes strain to peer out of the bottom of the glass through swirly brown liquid.
All in all, it was a great celebration. I rarely wear dresses, but for that special occasion, I did, and paired it with heels. To my great regret, that meant tottering home from the tram station at 12.30am with the wind whipping at my thinly-stockinged legs, fearing that I would fall at any moment and snap my neck against the curb.
I made it, and I'm alive!
We ended up going the wrong way, heading uphill towards Elizabeth and Queen street when we were supposed to head towards east towards Russell street. So we reached Taco Bill, climbing up the hollow wooden steps cold and exhausted. Sze Chien leaped out from behind the door in oversized glasses, giving Al and Remy a delightul surprise (while scaring the beejesus out of me.) The oversized glasses turned out to be the icing on the cake of Remy's expensive present, hidden away in an fcuk bag, the contents of which I was not privy too.
"Let me see," I whine.
"NO." He replied.
"Why not?"
"It's embarassing," he says.
With an accusing mock glare I faced his friends (who had collectively paid for it) and said menacingly, "Alright now, whose bright idea was it to give Remy a bag of condoms for his birthday?!" earning me a well-deserved smack on my shoulder from Remy. Heh.
Overall it was a really good dinner, and I met some new people, including two girls, one who a sweet looking commerce student, the other a more overtly and vivaciously pretty engineering student; both equally friendly and good humoured.
"So are you in your second or third year?" both asked smilingly.
I flushed and stammered a bit, recalling the last time someone had said I 'looked twenty' and had promptly lifted her hands to her face protectively with a quick interjection of "Don't be offended!"
(I am not sure if looking older than your age is meant to be a compliment or an insult. I have heard it being used on me in both ways, and have been told I look anywhere from 15 to 21. But Al rides in shiningly with his Sword of Clarity.)
I tell them I'm still in my first year.
"That means you look old, Alicia" Al says, and the laughter from the table dissipates my anxieties and insecurities.
The conversation was varied. We talked about Xiaxue and Steven Lim (turns out many of the people at the table have seen the infamous Steven Lim video, and soon the entire table was filled with loud cries of "Wad-DEvER!", "you sucks you sucks you sucks" and "COO-coo-COO-coo!" which both surprised and delighted me, seeing that I was the only Singaporean at the table.
Sue Mae and I talked about vegetarianism. Awesomely, she has given up chicken and prawns and seafood, and exists in a perfectly zen-like state of fish and veggie consumption. Sighing in admiration, I realised I was eating chicken for the first time since coming back to Melbourne. Two steps forward, one step back, eh?
The guy sitting directly across me, YK, was apparently more taciturn than usual; Al asks him quite loudly, "Why so shy, YK?"
YK shrugs.
Devilishly, Al goes on, "Is it because of Alicia?" Al now looks at me. "Alicia, it must because you're so pretty and enchanting. You've bewitched him!"
I have no idea if he's being mocking or not, but all the same I snap at him, because now YK looks dreadfuly awkward and I don't feel the least bit comfortable myself.
"Stop it, Al," I say, and underscore the point with my raised fork.
He shuts up, all right.
---------------
After dinner, we head to a sports bar at Melbourne central to play pool. Some of us part company at this point. Of the ten people at the table, only 6 of us remain. We each get a Jäger Bomb, which involves dropping a shotglass of Jägermeister into a glass of red bull, and then skulling the drink. To my embarassment, I realised that I was the slowest drinker of the lot. While the five others around me smack their lips and rub their bellies with satisfaction, my eyes strain to peer out of the bottom of the glass through swirly brown liquid.
All in all, it was a great celebration. I rarely wear dresses, but for that special occasion, I did, and paired it with heels. To my great regret, that meant tottering home from the tram station at 12.30am with the wind whipping at my thinly-stockinged legs, fearing that I would fall at any moment and snap my neck against the curb.
I made it, and I'm alive!
Labels: Friends
# posted by me lah @ 7:05 pm 
