Refurnishings and Reunions

I agreed to meet The Sister at Ikea, as she desperately needed to get new furniture, a bookshelf and a desk in particular, and I've been meaning to get some replacement bookshelves for my room. I also wanted a storage unit that could be placed under my built in tabletop. It was an excuse to get some shopping done before heading over for a class reunion dinner at Corduroy and Finch on Bukit Timah Road.

Ikea was less crowded than we expected it to be, given that it was the final day before the GST hike and given the perennial dollar pinching, bargain hunting psyche of Singaporeans. In the end, I settled on some three relatively simple bookshelves and decided against putting doors on them as there would only be a rather narrow space between the bookshelves and my bed. Besides, the bookshelves would be placed against the wall facing away from the windows and out of direct sunlight.

Afterwards I headed over to Corduroy and Finch for dinner with my classmates from 2AH in ACJC. Quite stunning to think that it has been six and a half years since the whole lot of us were in JC together. In the end, eight of us showed up: Xinyi, Steph, Joy, Sam, Brian, Babs, Victor and myself. It was fantastic catching up for the first time since September last year. I arrived rather late thanks to the horrendous taxi queue at Ikea which I half innocently managed to jump (don't ask - I know I shall be consigned to a special hell for those people jumping long taxi queues let alone queues with people pushing trolleys full of huge bulky items).

It was certainly good to catch up. Victor, we learned, had just returned from a 6 month exchange in Japan, the lucky boy. XY was working as a psychiatrist, Babs and Joy of course were teaching and Brian was about to start at my sister's alma mater no less. I think that the general agreement was that nobody had changed all that much personality and character wise. I was especially pleased to see XY, whom I hadn't had a chance to meet up with since my JC days. I was pleasantly surprised to learn she was keen on salsa dancing; she more so when I told her my parents danced salsa often!

On the whole, Corduroy and Finch was a great place in terms of decor - I love the two tiered seating and the movie screen playing scenes from old Charlie Chaplin and James Bond movies. The food was decent but unspectacular and overpriced in my opinion, with the menu featuring an eclectic mix of Italian, French and British cuisine. It certainly seems like a place trying to be hip and trendy and "fusion" but not in any particularly exciting, innovative or interesting way.

Afterwards, the group repaired to The Old Brown Shoe for drinks since it was relatively nearby. This was when Sandhu made her grand appearance and brought the house down as usual. The rest of us were left bewildered, stunned and quite amused by her descriptions of shopping for a new toilet bowl with her family and her invitation to head over to her place to try the wonderful new Japanese made model (it even washes your bum for you!) once it was installed. That was followed by a seemingly endless stream of good natured chatter and gossip despite her protestations at being "tired". It is good to know that some things are destined never to change.