So, I'm back. Touched down last night at about 7:45pm. I'm typing this at Carleton right now cuz the laptop that my brother handed down to me is quite screwed up (I think it's due to the banging around in the baggage compartments on the plane, and I've yet to acquire the MAC address from Stan/Darlene's computer so I can hook my Compaq computer up on the net). It kinda sucks that I didn't transfer some files to my flash disk though, which means if I can't recover the hard drive...yeah, I know. Bloody sucks.

So anywayz. Finally got to drive my Dad's Buick around. Noticed that it needed an oil change and got to it immediately. Everything here feels so...surreal. I think I just need a bit of adjustment before I get back on my feet. It was like being back in Singapore and not sure of what to do/expect, though it was better there than here. Cuz when I was back there, it was more like a holiday. I've a lot to expect of myself here. A lot to get things done. Maybe that's why it feels surreal. I've got a shitload of stuff to take care of, and I can't really do much cuz it's Easter holiday. Haha! I'm sure people will be like, "Chill, dude, you just got here. Relax!" and stuff. Um, ya, not when you're about two months behind time. Anyway, I'll figure something out. First I'll have to get organized, find a place, do those taxes...ok.
It's good to be back, though. I'm missing here too much.

So anyhow, I caught up with a lot of people whilst I was back. A friend may have been pissed off at me just before I left, but other than that, I caught up with a good number of people. First there were the regulars, Charissa, Jess, Rei (Serene), Yan and the cousins. I didn't get to hang out too much with my cousins this time around, as most of them have moved on with their lives. There were also the occasionals. I got to meet up with Tess and Gel a couple times, and Sherry, despite their busy schedules. Then there were the semi-newbies. I got to touch base with Yen Ling, Elaine and Siew Wei. Yen Ling was my friend and classmate when I was in Primary 4 (elementary four), and it'd been more than ten years since I saw her. The meetup was thanks to Facebook. I met Elaine at a Journalist course when I was in Secondary 2 (that's equivalent to year 2 in high school here), and we were both connected through a friend, See Hwei. We clicked, somehow, and exchanged msn a good 8 years ago. It was through msn that she added me on Facebook, and again, thanks to Facebook, I got to hang out with her just once this trip. Siew Wei, on the other hand, is a cousin of my cousin's. I think I've mentioned this before...took up quite a few lines to try to explain it, if I remember right. We connected quite well, somehow, despite her being about ten years my senior, and met up about three times the last two months. (Wrote a post on that, should be within the last five posts). She's such a sweet girl. It'd been more than five years since I last saw her before Chinese New Year.
And then lastly, there are the total newbies. There's Alvin, whom I met at Rei's Halloween/Birthday party in October (though I didn't start hanging out with him until March), his friend Mao, Charmaine (Rei's friend since primary school), Wendy (Charissa's ex-supervisor), Ruth (Charissa's friend) and all the new friends I made in all the classes I was in.

So anyhow, I caught up with Jess and Siew Wei on the last day. Wednesday. I fell sick on Monday. Actually, Sunday night. Contribution of late nights, days out and "heaty" food. Funny how it had to happen again just before I go off. Thank goodness I managed to curb the sorethroat before my flight on Thursday. Visited Grandma one last time on Tuesday, and failed to turn up for my night class. I think Sifu should understand. Charissa saw me off Thursday morning. I didn't bring my spear back. All the trouble for...nothing. Oh well. I'll see what my parents' plans are to come to North America in August, and then check if it's okay for them to bring it here. Quinn said we could carve a spear. I was thinking about that too. Not sure how I'll do it, but the first important thing is to get a wooden pole. In the meantime, I'll practise whatever I can. Pissshhh.

This flight back has been the longest flight that I've ever taken. Ready? Okay, here I go. Leaving was okay. This time my flight was at 8:46am, yay! No more 6am flight. Charissa took this opportunity to finally see me off for the first time, she said. It's an ANA flight this time, not the Northwest, that's why. So anyway, to Tokyo. Then from Tokyo to San Francisco. I actually had to stay in San Frans for a night. The next day, I'd to fly to Chicago...then Ottawa.
See what I mean?
After four take-offs and landings, my ears need a break. Seriously, man. It didn't help that I still had quite a bit of phlegm from the past few days that I was sick, so because I was already quite stuffed up, the extra pressure I'd to absorb when the planes landed didn't help...and so my ears hurt everytime we'd to be ready for touch-down. Not to toot my horn here, but I think I can safely say that I've been through almost everything that a person can go through at airports and planes. From two planes leaving within a half hour to the same destination at different terminals (the thing was I wasn't sure which plane to take because they used different flight numbers from the ones on my flight itinerary/boarding pass), to nearly losing my passport at crazy Chicago airport, to taking four planes and staying overnight just to get to my destination. There're probably more, but I'm just talking about the extreme ones.

Alright, what next? I know this is one of the longest posts ever. It's rare, so suck it up or hit alt-F4. Just kidding, lol. I still feel...surreal. Like, I can't believe I'm actually back in Ottawa. Despite being away for just five and a half months...like, wow. I was driving through Carleton going along the canal, and I'm like, "Whoa, I can't believe I'm back. In Ottawa, in Carleton...where I've embraced both haunting and loving memories." And so here comes Phase...5? Let's hope Phase 6 (or Chapter 6, whichever) will be in New York or some other place where I'll be doing what I wanna be doing. If it gets to appear in Phase 5, even better!
I've learned so much whilst away in Singapore, that I can't even practise all that I've learned, I think. I know I kept complaining that I was doing "nothing", but it's only because I wasn't on my way to doing what I want. No regrets back there, seriously. I just wanna kickstart my life as quickly as possible.

My skin hurts. I think it's from back in Singapore. I was suffering the worst of it a couple days before I left because I didn't put on the medicine for it. And that was because I'd go out early in the day and come back late at night, and by the time I got back, Mom would be too tired to do it for me. It's a tedious task.
So yeah, I just got back from the washroom and there're still rashes on my neck, which hurt quite a bit. It's not itching though, which is excellent. I think it's because the weather dried them up immensely. You know, the sudden change of weather kinda thing. From really humid to really dry. In fact, it was about 4°C when I arrived. The ones near my left elbow were hurting like crazy yesterday. I put on some moisturizer and it's a lot better today. The ones at the back of my legs were still driving me nuts last night, but they seem a little better today. We'll see what happens by next week. Hopefully they'll all disappear by then.

Alright, I think I've pretty much said everything I wanted to say. Yes, it gets this long everytime I come back from a trip or something. I've noticed I'd written 12 entries whilst I was in Singapore though. Okay, it's almost four now. I better get to my replies on Facebook and head on out here before it's too late to peek into my storage. Laters.