Sweets that blow your mind...

I met up with Sean for dinner this evening at the Burger King outside Parkway Parade. This fast food restaurant has some special significance for our friendship coz we used to have dinner there very often while we were still doing our undergraduate studies.

But seriously, I wouldn’t really call it a restaurant at all, coz the quality of food isn’t really that good & there’s just so lack of ambience! Furthermore, this BK outlet (Aha… ‘Outlet’ is the better word for it) has become smaller in floor space, due to a bank taking up the back-end corner of the fast food outlet (Yes, that’s the word). Nevertheless, it’s the presence of friends that really matter in the end.

It was a nice time of chatting once again, although I didn’t feel that the ‘chemistry’ was entirely the same as the last time we met. Maybe it’s because my mind was partly preoccupied with thoughts about when I would get a good job to get myself out of this financial poverty cycle, how the weekdays would be like for my Dad & I who are unemployed, as well as slightly lamenting about the lesser time with Rebecca now that she’s beginning her new teaching semester tomorrow.

Thinking about it, perhaps I do feel different from most people in Singapore this evening. When I noticed that Parkway Parade wasn’t as crowded as usual, my first thought was that it’s probably because tomorrow is the first day of school & work for the new year of 2006… thus many teenagers & working adults are busy preparing for tomorrow & sleeping early. The mood just wasn’t there this evening, though I must confess that I don’t like crowded shopping centers, coz the masses of people just rob me of the inner silence that is required for my thoughts to flow.

Nonetheless, even though I have long accepted the fact that it’s a brand new year for everyone, my heart just doesn’t comply with the reality in my mind. Somehow… somewhere deep inside my subconscious mind… perhaps the year 2005 hasn’t ended, especially not when my status & feeling of being unemployed still resides within me.

Anyway, it was very nice of Sean to give me a Christian book for my belated Christmas gift. When I first opened the gift wrapping & saw the book, I was very happy because Ravi Zecharias is one of my favorite preachers! Another favorite preacher would be Rev Abel Thomas, whose anointed words from the Holy Spirit just speaks straight into my heart. Plus, the topic of this book was particularly relevant to me too… on how to recapture a sense of wonder about our first love & experience of God. Amazing topic… I really thank God for this book! =)

After dinner, Sean & I had some gelato ice-cream, strolled along the shops & went for a back massage at Wan Yang, before we left the shopping centre. It was a bit of an annoying feeling to always start to wonder what to do & where to go thereafter coz both of us didn’t want to go home, but didn’t know where else to go & what to do. Karaoke, playing pool & bowling were activities that were out of my budget… plus it was already 9:30pm. We were both getting rather bored, till Sean even almost wanted to go into the pet shop near the hawker centre, just because I suggested the idea. It was so comical because we didn’t go in the end, coz Sean doesn’t fancy pet animals… & we both laughed when he remarked that he didn’t want a pet… he just wanted a girlfriend!

Just when I thought this evening’s meet-up was over, Sean & I passed by a roadside stall selling a whole variety of cheap Chinese tidbits. None of these tidbits appealed to me & it is no surprise that the man decided to approach Sean instead, coz I probably had that facial expression that said “I’m not interested” or “These sweets do not appeal to me”.

Thinking about it, it’s quite common that people usually don’t approach me to sell things, probably coz I may have this indifferent “This doesn’t interest me” kind of look on my face. Having been bugged by such people trying to sell me things in the past, perhaps I have really learnt how to give them a straight & serious face that tells them to back off. And by now, I have almost no qualms about telling them that I’m just not interested, especially when handling cold-calls from NKF or some other organization.

Anyway, this man tried to get Sean’s attention by enticing him with the offer “100 grams for $1” & used the typical sales pushing tactic of handing the customer a plastic bag straightaway, making it difficult for the customer to refuse not buying. Sean fell for that man’s trick, even though I mentioned that I’m not sure if it’s nice, but then again, no harm trying if you really want to give it a try. I left my reply hanging like that & moved away coz it wasn’t my call to influence Sean to buy or not to buy, coz it’s his money. I never liked aggressive salesmen anyway.

Sean picked a few varieties of sweets & chocolates, which I later carried the plastic bag & estimated that it weighed about 400 grams. I’m not sure if Sean believed in my estimated weight of that bag, but after passing it to the man to weigh the plastic bag, that man concluded that it is 500 grams. I didn’t really take particularly clear notice of the weighing scale, but it didn’t really bother me coz I knew it weighed at least 400 grams… so I knew that the man wasn’t too far off trying to cheat Sean.

Leaving the roadside stall, Sean decided to try one of the Chinese sweets to see if it was edible. I didn’t say anything coz I really didn’t want to guess. To be honest, I really didn’t know & didn’t want to be a ‘wet blanket’, in case these tidbits may have turned out quite alright.

After taking the first bite, it was obvious from Sean’s facial expression that it didn’t taste anything like what it looked like on the picture of the sweet wrapper. Sean didn’t like it & tried another variety of sweet… then another… then another. He had this rather disgusted look on his face, when realizing that my honest concern was proved right that these sweets didn’t taste nice at all! Such an irony that one of the sweet wrappers even stated “Very delicious”… Aiyoh…

Both of us started laughing at the situation, but Sean’s laughter soon turned to unhappiness coz he felt cheated by that man. Yet I couldn’t possibly tell him right then & there, in front of that man, telling him not to buy! It wasn’t polite or considerate towards the man tending the stall & I didn’t want to be put too much pressure on Sean, coz I wanted to respect his decision in what he wants to buy. Of course, I hoped that the Chinese sweets would turn out nice & Sean could eat them when hungry in school. But sadly, my guess did turn out correct – those Chinese sweets weren’t anything close to what was shown on those enchantingly bright colored wrappers.

Sean offered me two types of sweets to try & I didn’t like it after trying. Seriously, I couldn’t even figure out what it tasted like. One of them tasted like tasteless solidified starch & the other had a tiny pinch of sour taste to that weird looking piece of ‘whatever that is’.

I took some photos to remember this incident, coz photos mean a lot to me & helps me in remembering past incidents together with my friends or family. Sean took a photo of me using my hand-phone camera & I kind-of liked the way I cautiously tried to nip a tiny bite from that squarish white block of Chinese candy.

So that’s how the outing ended & I prayed for Sean & Rebecca while walking home, coz it would be the start of their new teaching semester tomorrow. As for me, I will apply for contract teaching, as encouraged by Sean… as well as other jobs, as per usual… & trust God to reveal His plans for me.