Wounds that forgot to heal

Wounds that forgot to heal

Yey. About time for an update eh? Yeah, before this blog gets moldy despite its new template and all. 2:56AM and I should be sleeping as I should wake up at 8AM to do some work for Matriculation Fair, but what the heck. Let me type some stuff here before the past few weeks go unchronicled and I lose my sanity from not being able to well, talk about stuff.

Now that seemed to be an intro for something long and profound and insightful, but I've taken my nightly drugs already and according to the label, it "may cause drowsiness" and I shouldn't "drive or operate machinery". I wonder if the computer is some machinery I operate, but what the heck. I've been taking the drugs for three days and I've been having more restful nights since. :) They're not bad drugs, don't worry, they're for this incredibly itchy skin rash I developed the past weeks, which happen to come in two variants, dry and wet. I'll leave the icky details to your imagination. I'll say, though, that it's not chicken pox, but it sure feel likes it. That's half of the "wounds that forgot to heal" story, too.

Anyway, since my last entry, I've flown to Manila, and did a lot of socializing with friends and relatives. It's been fun, and I realize how super important regular albeit occasional contact with friends and family is. Most of my high school peers in the Philippines are in their fourth year in the universities already (I'm in my third since I took a bridging course here in SG), and so it was important for us to meet up before we venture into the dark urban jungle and get caught in the money-making scheme. I also met up with some of my closest friends aside from my High School batchmates: Jacques, Kerwin, Dea, Jasper. I rode the bus too by my lonesome to visit my grandma's sisters in Bulacan. They're extremely nice, and they gave me a lot of food! Hehe yum yum. I stayed in my aunt's place in Quezon City, too, so it was good to catch up with my uncle, aunt, and cousins.

I'll post photos soon. The HS class photos I took are up already, actually, on www.gashong.multiply.com. Gashong is the yahoogroup of my Electron class ("gashong" is a Visayan expression whose meaning I'm not sure what), and I made a Multiply account so I could upload the photos. I'm still waiting for Raissa to upload the pool photos though. :) More photos from the rest of the summer vacation soon.

* * *

I've flown back here to Singapore, and I've moved in to my new room here at the Ridge View Residences, still within the NUS campus. I like my room, although it wasn't too sparkling clean when I arrived. It's still super anyway, as it's on the 8th floor (top of the building), and I have a balcony to my right, the pantry to my left, and it's the laundry floor too. I had this mysterious neighbor when I arrived, and thought he was a sociable Indian guy because some Indian girl/s and Malay/Chinese girl went over to his place the first night I arrived, and all I saw were his slippers. Lo and behold I met him the next morning in the washroom, and it was none other than Keng Khoon my previous NUS Choir president and fellow basso. Haha. It's a choir country this place. I'm this year's Secretary, Aaron the Choir VP is a few doors down, Iris the President is on the 6th floor, KK across me, and his girlfriend and ex-Soprano-Section-leader Michelle near Iris, Joanne ex-Alto-SL on the 4th floor. Nice.

And scholarshipmates and Pisay schoolmates Ivy and Korinna are staying here too! And Karen and Wayne are just blocks away. It's a good place, this one, although I'm a bit worried that we might get sick of each other so soon. Haha. No, really.. how can I escape from my duties now when I'm so easily accessible? Haha.

* * *

So for the past few days, I've basically been doing two things: Matric fair stuff for Choir, and settling my stuff down. That's mostly it. Aaron and I are in-charge of the choir booth, and it's been a pain doing it, but thanks to the help of Joanne, Iris, Johni, we just finished about 90% of it an hour ago. It's nice! We were going for this classy look, and although I'm not sure we accomplished that totally (yet), it's a very decent effort. I'm proud of it.

I'm to help out with the schoolpaper booth, The Ridge, tomorrow too, and hopefully that will turn out less draining. I always treasure Ridge meetings though, as I don't get to meet my fellow writers much as we most always just email, so it's gonna be fun.

* * *

My skin thingy on my arms has been a major pain too. It was diabolically itchy this one time, especially after I moved a huge load of boxes and bags and into my room from the storage place in nearby Raffles Hall. It was so itchy, I had to take bath and say a prayer while scratching stroking the itchy areas on the back of my elbows and neck. I went to the doctor, and hence the creams and tablets. I've been feeling better and less itchier since, although some of the boils are still wet, and thus I'm still disgusted with myself, and worried I might scare people away.

* * *

More than the skin allergy on my arms, I'm worried about my emotional bruises. That sounded too cheesy, but it's true: I'm an angrier, more bitter version of me. Maybe it was last semester's grades (I daresay this is a major factor), maybe it's having strained relationships with some people, heck could it possibly the very rare case of homesickness? I dunno. Maybe I'm missing people too. Maybe Singapore has gotten to me? Maybe it's the excess emotional baggage that's been piling up over the years? Beats me.

I'm thankful I have this balcony to the right of my room. No other floor except the eighth has balconies. It has a splendid view of the track and field oval, some tennis court, the soccer field, the adjacent residences, a lot of trees, the commercial buildings at a distance and a good view of the sky. I go there when I'm pissed, I go there when I'm incredibly pleased. I've been there to visit, at least for a few minutes, every day since I arrived. Easily my favorite place.

Well, if I'm really super pissed, I can easily go to the balcony. Maybe jump too, if I feel like it.

Kidding.


3:35AM, and I think the drug is kicking in. Time to bed, Jose. Goodnight world.