Saturday, September 03, 2005

Westward ho!

Tonight is Sayesha's last night in the east.

I have been an east-girl for three years. And now it hurts... to leave everything and move to the unfamiliar area of the west. Far away from everyone and everything I have built around myself.

So this morning, I put on my 'It's hip to be happy' T-shirt so I could manage to not break down with every carton I packed and sealed. I also managed to find time to visit some of my favourite places in the east, and relive some of the great moments here.

And suddenly it struck me -- I will still be in touch with my friends who live in the east (considering that three of my closest ones do), but I will have to
let go of some relationships -- some really amazing ones that I have built over the years...

And I will miss them.

I will miss my beautiful house and the pool with the two dolphins.
















I will miss
Samo at Thai Express at Siglap, for probably being the only waiter who could get away with a statement like "It's really fresh, that's why!" when I found a green caterpillar crawling on my salad leaves.

I will miss Sony at the beach outlet of Komalas, who was so incredibly energetic and cheerful (that too, at the end of his shift at 10 in the night!) that every time I saw him, I was filled with inspiration.

I will miss Michael at the provision shop across the road who would always say the same thing every time I popped by to get bread or juice, "You're from India, right? I have atta if you want to buy!"

I will miss Alan my hairdresser and his crazy ways of disciplining my wild tresses.

I will miss William my optician, and how both of us would go "Phew! All ok!" after every eye check up.

I will miss Ivy, William's cashier and her sweet "Pay by cash or card, miss?" and her curiosity at what William and I were cracking up over.

I will miss Dr. Oliver my dentist, for always telling me I have a bright smile and for his gentle dental skills.

I will miss Josephine, the consultant at Lee Hwa at Parkway Parade, who helped me pick a diamond pendant -- a wedding gift for my sis-in-law, and who always smiles whenever I pass by, knowing fully well that I need a long recovery time before I can buy the next diamond.

I will miss the grinning kid-waiters at MOS burger at Parkway Parade.

I will miss 'Georges mad bar' with the huge TV screen, outside which I did a little dance of victory with a middle-aged Malay stranger, when Taufiq won Singapore idol in December 2004.

I will miss my canine nephew who used to freak me out in the lift.

I will miss little six-year-old Charles from the flat upstairs who has been meeting me every day at the bus stop for the last three years, and shyly hiding behind his maid every single time.

I will miss the sign on my swimming pool which holds me responsible for people who can't swim, making me go "what the...??!!"



















I will miss my secret clothes shops at Parkway Parade, the location of which I refuse to disclose even to close female friends.

I will miss my symmetrical phone number which just got disconnected (I'm a land line person. I hate talking on the mobile phone).

But most of all, I will miss the beach and my rock, which used to be my 'Tanhayee point' every weekend.

I feel like I am still in a daze. I still can't believe I have to let go of all of these. It feels like something will suddenly happen at the last minute, and I will just unpack everything and stay on.

Here, where I am happy. Where I am comfortable. Where I'm me.

And suddenly, I feel so scared. It feels like the old days all over again. Of having to let go and move on.
It's time. The end of an era. The beginning of a new one. It's time to move on and start a new life.

This evening, the two Sayeshas sat at the poolside and shed a few silent tears.

ps: My blog's gonna take a longish break till I set up my computer in the new house and get my Internet working.
I don't post from work, so I may not be able to manage any new posts for a while, but I'll still be visiting the comments page.



22 comments:

BP said...

Hey, the west is not so bad... ;)

cubicle said...

It's nearer the school too!

patiala pataka said...

I miss the west since I have come to the North East.... Sayesha take care of my illakaa...

Bhavesh said...

chal yaar letting go of things u are used to is difficult but d grass is always greener on the other side and u r moving on to something greener.. u ll love it..!! no worries!!

L said...

Transfers are always the inevitable and painful part of one's life, Gone thru lots of such times, but most of the times it is the pleasure and excitement of meeting new ppl/places that shadows the pain.

Wishing u a good time throughout..!!!

Anonymous said...

change can be a very good thing..it refreshes you, you broaden your horizons, and a few years down the road, you feel attached to the place you have come to..i personally get a thrill out of change..cant stay in one place all the time..

Anonymous said...

where are u going madam.... east se west means singapore to europe?

Anonymous said...

East ho ya West ... ... How does it matter?

Matterialistically, Anon911

PS: Yeah, I still drop by whenever I can remember

Anonymous said...

hey, you did not send the warning sign-boards to be put up.
the west is not a safe place anymore. :)

Wyatt Earp is back in town. :-D

Anonymous said...

Good luck, Sayesha.
Where're you off to ?

Anonymous said...

Don't kick the dog!

Kroopa Shah (Kr00pz) said...

:-(, but why?

Siddhu said...

West as in West of Singapore? That's a nice place, isn't it?

Didn't see too much of the east except for the fact that there are a hundred condos near that Pasir Ris place.

Okay, tell me if I get hte station order right! I learnt this in three weeks there - so I'm very proud of it.

(N-S) - Woodlands, Kranji, Yew Tee, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Panjong (or something like that) Jurong East Interchange, (E-W)Boon Lay, Clementi, Dover, Buona Vista, Queenstown, Alexandra, Red Hills, Raffles Place, Bugis, Lavender, Clarks Quay, Pasir Ris/Changi.

Yay!

Anonymous said...

East of What? To West of What? Singapore? How big is Singapore anyway? Sorry if my proficiency in Singaporean georgraphy is a little below the national average.
And why? Makaan-maalik ne nikaal diya? Sorry if my knowledge of your personal affairs is slightly below the world average. :)

Sayesha said...

Hey!!!! I get Internet access after 20 hours! (I'm amazed I'm still alive!) Missed you guys!

Banana, Cubicle, Pat Pat, Justme, I, tragicomix,
Thanks, you guys! Yeah, the west isn't too bad, but the east is east! ;)
I've not dismissed the west yet, still have to check out the place though, I am not even familiar with my own condo yet! It was too dark when I moved in last night, and too dark when I left for work this morning. :O

Spam,
Yup, western Singapore.

Anon911,
Yup, it matters.

Ashwin,
Gee thanks! Remind me to bash you up at the next bloggers' meet.

Ash,
I'm still in Singapore, but moved from one end to the other.

Sushant,
Hey, this reminds me of the prank-call forward someone sent me years ago, "You kicked my dowg and now he needs aparation!"

Kroopz,
I was finding it a bit difficult to juggle work with studies and reaching home every day around mindnight was not working out for me... so moved closer to uni, so at least I can reach home at a saner hour.

Siddhu,
Not all correct, but impressive! :)

Arnav,
Singapore is a dot. So technically, I have moved a distance less than the radius of a dot. Seems like it's not a big deal, but it is! :(

Wah Soldier babu,
Aapko ab bhi sab yaad hai! :)

Siddhu said...

Yeah, Soldier. I now remember Commonwealth - non-descript station, but got on there only once.:-P. But i got quite a few right, Yay! And besides, daily commute was more like Kranji - Clementi - bus 95 from Clementi - shuttle bus. So I remembered quite a bit of that route.

Ravi said...

What should I say?
Should I feel sorry for you that you will have to leave the old familier place & will be missing a lot of things from there?
Should I feel happy for you for all the new experiences you are about to have?
I'm confused.

Anonymous said...

yeh ladkiyan bhi na...khalli peeli phukat mein senti hoti hai... itna senti maara...i thought u were leaving the country itself... :_

Sayesha said...

Siddhu,
Nice work man. Still impressed! :)

Ravi,
Feel a bit o f both. Like I'm doing :)

Spam,
What to do man... I get as attached (and hence senti) to non-living things as I do to living things :)

Anonymous said...

Some times change can be a good thing.

Anonymous said...

what's with condos and dolphins? my condo at siglap has 2 dolphins as well in the pool. you have my condolences. i hope i never have to move out of the east coast :)

Sayesha said...

#Venkat,
Actually, I agree. :)

#Astro,
Yeah, dolphins seem kinda popular in Siglap for some reason! :O