Spark "OFF"
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
18 Sept 8pm. Sitting around a typical 6 ft banquet table in the Cathay Restaurant were the few of us coming together for a birthday dinner, or was the table actually bigger than that?
The furnishings and adornments of the restaurant were tastefully done up to the chinese contemporary theme, except the odd choice of background music. The service staff were helpful and friendly. Not forgetting the wide spread of chinese soup and dishes that we all had; it was darn yummilicious. On top of that, there was the usual girls' talk - gossips about old friends, bitchings about office politics and scandals; nothing really serious. Everything seemed to happen the right way. Before we all parted at the train station, there was a quick round of goodbye hugs and stuff. Amid that, I heard one of the girls whisper "Take care, since we hardly see each other." I just smiled politely; I had nothing constructive to say in response to that.
"Take care, since we hardly see each other."
Let's decipher that together. Was that supposed to mean "Till we briefly meet agan for the next 2-hour birthday dinner, let's all continue to lead our lives the way they are now" or "Our paths will never meet, so please do fend for yourself". Which is worse, I can't decide. Anyway, I don't know if I really believe in that, but I believe that shed some new light on the "bond" we share...or once shared. Or, maybe she didn't even put much thought into it when she said that.
However, that wasn't exactly the oddest encounter I had recently. Imagine a sports team coming together 5 years after it dispersed. The gathering time distribution worked out to be 50% on knowing one another all over again, including the names; 30% tucking in the food on our plates, sipping sangria, and playing orientation games; 10% silence - void; final 10%...was I even there? Maybe, it just takes a few more sessions to warm everyone up, especially it is half a decade apart that we are discussing here. But how many of my team mates will actually think of meeting again? Define team spirit, and rethink this gathering.
Friendships generally don't last. Good investment of time and effort is necessary. It's a stale theory, but...novel practice.
--what some might say --
10:20 PM
