love

Onli Fren started her own blog!! My female owner (and I) paid homage to the blog. Set in rosy pink, the first entry was “I still believe in love”. How apt. So nicely written, I feel ashamed of my amateurish writing! (mental note to self: to brush up on my writing)

Anyway, my female owner is at the age and stage where she may not find “true love” and get married and have kids. At this stage of her life, she is pretty happy to be left on her own – mobile, commitment-free, flexibility. However, she is really not sure if she will feel that same way in 25 years time, when most of her peers are married and have their own family, and she is single… and erm.. physically less mobile.

My female owner’s life did not turn out the way she imagined it to be when she was a child, or the way she planned it to be after she graduated. Maybe that’s why she is hesitant to plan. Where would planning lead to, if there are so many external variables beyond her control?

My female owner had been thinking about her ex from time to time. One thing she hasn’t really let go of is, I mean, was, the time when he looked at her and said that he thought she had a mental illness. My female owner told this to Special Fren recently, and his response was “he’s crazy”. Special Fren might not have realised it, but those words brought comfort to my female owner. The feeling of being supported now, even though the incident happened so many years ago and she felt defenceless and vulnerable then.

Nonetheless, like Onli Fren, my female owner still believe in love.

line

An Onli Fren is someone who bothers to ask when you are returning from overseas, remembers the date, convinces her husband to drive to the airport to fetch you, more than a month before you are due to return.

An Onli Fren is also someone who asks about your availability, takes leave in accordance to what you say, more than a month before you are due to return.

An Onli Fren is also someone who tirelessly helps you to pay your credit card bill or call up the credit card company whenever you send out an SOS.

Well, my female owner got into a little tight spot recently with her Onli Fren terminology. One of her friends protested (unprovoked) that having such a name just devalues the significance of her other friends (which also includes him). In his words, “we are standing on a thin line now”. Without being defensive, my female owner then told him the story behind this title.

He responded empathetically and said “So sad. Okay, I will still be your friend… and I will get more wires so that I can strengthen this line. And I will get God to bring a bridge of love”.

Ah, so sweet. There you have it… another friendship established. Well sort-of. Not that my female owner would run to him if she has issues. So strange, she says. But it is good to know that she has such sweet friends around.

only

My female owner finally completed her final assignment for this semester. The deadline had been extremely generous – last day of the semester but in her usual “I need adrenaline” working style, she completed it on the day of submission.

In addition, she multi-tasked and had decent MSN conversations with four individuals while she worked at her assignment for six straight hours. One of the individuals was her Onli Fren, whom my female owner had not spoken to for ages. For certain Frens, ages mean “about a week”.

Through the long chat (no thanks to Onli Fren’s constant disappearance!), they realised that Onli Fren had forgotten how the term Onli Fren came about! How upsetting for my female owner who had real, emotional reasons for coming up with such a term. Onli Fren also got upset coz she felt that “Onli Fren not necessarily only friend”. Ah… someone’s jealous and insecure.

Anyway, to set the records straight, I’ve clarified how the term “Onli Fren” was birthed.

There was a period of time in my female owner’s life when she felt really down and out. However, when she looked through her handphone contact numbers and the friends she had in her life, she realised that there was ONLY one person whom she MIGHT call if she needed to talk to someone. Yes, only one person and that was Onli Fren.

There you go, short and sweet history.

My female owner knew that the reverse was not true. That Onli Fren had several other close friends whom she could turn to in times of need. For instance, Onli Fren had a best friend and other same cohort friends. But for my female owner, Onli Fren was really only friend then.

reality

Reality is catching up with my female owner. She received a call from her research supervisor today (he is currently a visiting Professor at NUS, on a 6-month stint), asking her to meet him on Monday. To start working for him of course.

After a month of denying that she has RA obligations and thesis research to complete during her summer break in Singapore, she is forced to confront the cold hard truth. It is time to pull up her socks and do some real work.

Anyway, my female owner almost died of boredom over her non-activities in the last two days (can anyone really die of boredom?!). She finally went out again with her Onli Fren for a tai-tai experience. Lazing at a coffee joint with aromatic coffee, premium cake, a good book and (this is optional, depending on whether available) Baby.

Quite a refreshing day of make-believe for the Onli Frens (more for my female owner I must say…before she gets suck back to reality!)

ouch

And so, my female owner claims that she forgot to bring us to Onli Fren's house to be cooked. Hence, they had to settle for ABC soup comprising of sweet corn, tomato, carrot, potato and spare ribs.

Pork with red peppers and onion (ironically, the pork came from Kangarooland)
the anyhow put together egg tofu with prawns
And no, they didn't cook Baby. Thought that I should put the first human face ever on my Turtle Pad. Anyway, my female owner had this fleeting thought to borrow Baby to show her aikido friends... claiming that it is hers...

Onli Frens tell you the truth, even when it hurts:

My female owner was whining to Onli Fren last night that she had no clothes to wear in Singapore because she grew fatter ... and Onli Fren offered to lend my female owner her maternity clothes!

Second Onli Fren was talking about how Onli Fren had progress in life, as compared to her or my female owner. My female owner replied to Second Onli Fren "at least you are younger than me!" and Second Onli Fren said "yah, you are really far behind, cannot deny that".

Ouch.

Frens

The day started wrong for us turtles. My female owner had a big hand in it. She was supposed to spend the day at her Onli Fren’s house, cooking and baking (so auntie!). Clueless about what Asian dishes to cook, my female owner suggested brewing turtle soup as a joke. Somebody please tell her that things can never be joked about. It was ever more scary when she identified Nanook and myself as the main ingredients (coz we are not as smart as the boys, and we are her ex-bf’s pets).

Oh well… it was with a big sign of relief when she left the house, without us. She sounded so serious at one point in time, coz she said that I should be cooked, because I eat more than Dodo!

Anyway, it turned out to be a relaxing nua day for my female owner as she spent the time with her Onli Fren and Baby. The sweetener came when her Second Onli Fren came by. Ah, a rare chance to be surrounded with her Onli Frens!

The three gals had known one another for more than 10 years and Second Onli Fren (the youngest of the three) couldn’t help but compare where each of them were in terms of life stages. Onli Fren had progress the most in her life – graduated, worked, got attached, married, honeymoon-ed, pregnant, baby. Second Onli Fren: graduated, worked, attached. Female owner: graduated, back to studies.

Ah.. true to her second nature of being a turtle, my female owner was the slowest in life. As what Onli Fren said “you wasted your youth on him”. So true. 7 years of her life with a guy who personifies AGAB. No thanks to her indecisiveness, naivety and blind faith. There’s nothing she can do about the wasted years and dwelling about the lost years ain’t going to bring back her youth.

What does Jesus say about this? Perhaps Jeremiah 29:11? My female owner’s favourite verse.

birthday ops

My female owner had an impromptu pre-dinner meeting with Potahto. It was impromptu as my female owner had 1.5hrs to spare between appointments and Potahto was available and more importantly, willing to meet her at last minute's notice. Although it was only about an hour long (my female owner had to leave for a dinner appointment), my female owner enjoyed that short encounter with Potahto. It's not how long you spend with someone that matters, it's how that time is spent with someone that matters.

After dinner, my female owner received an impromptu supper jio by her Second Onli Fren. While driving to pick up Goat (whom my female owner actually met earlier in the day for lunch), they decided to perform a birthday ops on Onli Fren, as it was her birthday. Hence, the three Frens turned up at her doorstep at about 2330hr (with the help of Onli Fren’s husband, who let them into the house). And the four of them (who coincidentally went to Phuket together a few years ago around this time), managed to both celebrate Onli Fren’s birthday, and have a few games of bridge – something which Onli Fren had always wanted to do since my female owner came back to Singapore.

That warm and snuggly feeling, so hard to replace or let go.

expectancy

My female owner found out that her Onli Fren is expecting!

My female owner's first encounter with a pregnant woman (from conception to birth of the baby as opposed to a fleeting experience) was not a pleasant one. The woman, her immediate senior colleague, morphed from a reasonably chatty person into a highly demanding, noisy and somewhat unreasonable person. The office had to cater to her idiosyncrasies (or her baby's?). My female owner was somewhat traumatised by the transformation and withdrew even more into her shell. She was thankful when the colleague returned to her usual self after the delivery. Since then, she never quite liked pregnant women and tried to stay clear of them.

Her Onli Fren's pregnancy of course, marks the first one where she is genuinely interested. While their friendship spans more than half their life, the strength of their friendship is even more amazing. Apparently, they started off not liking each other. Onli Fren thought that my female owner was unfriendly (she still is!) while my female owner felt that she was annoying (for deliberately ignoring her at church). Oh well, like the Chinese saying goes, "if you don't cross paths, you won't know each other". So, the friendship developed after Onli Fren called my female owner to clear up a misunderstanding.

Over the years, there were times when they did not speak to each other often. However, any friendship, built upon God's leading, stays strong. The two of them have spent so many precious moments together - studying, celebrating birthdays/ Valentine's days, travelling, hair cuts, facials, praying, leading a cell-group, camping, shopping, eating, suppering, pooling, bridging, driving, lazing with us turtles!, bearing each other's burdens, cooking, MSNing (how can I miss that out?!). The list goes on. Without her Onli Fren's unconditional love, acceptance and patience (whom my female owner calls her affectionately as Cuppie-cake), my female owner won't be who she is today. The baby is blessed to have such a mother (and father of course!).

Such a warm feeling, to know that her Onli Fren is moving on to the next stage of her life. It's like when you make friends in your teenage years, you never really think ahead about your friends becoming mothers. Now that reality has hit home, you then realise that so many years have passed, so many things have changed, but the friendship still remains central in your life.

We are excited too!