十月份的友谊点滴

October 就这样悄悄地插肩而过。

I've had some really nice gatherings and makans, and very good conversations with Herman too. :) Friendships are at different levels and the really close friends type are the most precious; and then there are the colleagues-turned-friends; and then there are those you can engage in good conversations with, and you might not really meet them often, but when we meet, we talk more about life, Singapore, opinions, perspectives. Herman is possibly one of such. And of course, there are the bigger groups of close friends gatherings - like with the ATC gang, or the groups where you gather to get to know new folks. :)

Haha - so basically, I had some good makans and conversations at different levels. 

The one-to-one, heartfelt ones - like with my mum, with Shui Yen, with Zeal - done over zoom. Can any-oh-how talk, can HTHT, share deeper things, pray for each other. 💗

The getting to know colleagues type - and I now have a new team mate, this gal called Jacinta. I've known her for a while as fellow colleagues, but now that she's joined us proper, we have been discussing work, getting to know each other better. 

And - she has a shiba inu too. 💗

And then another type - the growing of friendship over time, brought together by the fact that we are fellow Singaporeans type. And that would be that night out Steve and I had with Herman and Lily - celebrating the 3 of their birthdays together, drinking sparkling prosecco, and needing to wake up at 5am the next day. (How did I do it?). 

So enjoyable. The place was just quiet and, conversations went here and there - Abu Dhabi, Singapore, National Service, Cybersecurity, Jamus Lim, Politics, Malta, Birthdays, Halloween, Italian food, becoming an MP... haha... so many different topics in that one night. 

And then we had the Rihan Alumni type. We grew closer together because we lived in the same compound, and shared life together somewhat. It's alumni because Sean and Viven and their families have moved to another part of Abu Dhabi. The last time we met as a whole group was end of last year during Christmas. This time, we gathered and just talked, chilled, played with the dog and cat, took a walk around their new compound. I was happy to listen to the ATC chat, happy to listen to Hui Ning, and... happy to drink beer. :-D

Later - we have 1 more gathering. And this time with Viven's wife too. :-D More beer and drinks. 

And the get to know people type - with some new Korean friends. The common thread is that we are all here because of the husband's work, and all of us have tried to find meaning and lived well nonetheless. I probably wouldn't interact very much again as the paths do not really cross - but still, there is such types of group gatherings where we are mostly just happy to say hello and hi, and engage in general conversations. 

Hahahah... the ladies love to take photos. So funny. They took so so so many. The men are in another group, and they took NONE.